10 Greatest Indie Guitar Heroes

8. Terry Bickers €“ The House of Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_kiBGZNeLA Terry Bickers literally was great lost hope of British guitarists. This was a mercurial player who ironically had just one problem €“ he wasn't remotely interested in fame. Why's that a problem? Well, the best guitarists, no matter how shy they are, all have something in common, they want to be heard and adored. And whilst Terry Bickers definitely had that about him, when fame came knocking, he didn't want it. There were a variety of reasons for this, The House of Love were touted as 'The New Smiths' after Morrissey and Marr's split the time was ripe for an angst ridden singer and outstanding guitar player, but internal band tensions, too much money and far too many drugs created a dysfunctional unit. Add to this the growing envy from lead singer and songwriter Guy Chadwick, Bickers was left in a horribly dysfunctional band set up that didn't value him. He went on to form a band of space rockers called Levitation, who again split when it got too hot in the kitchen. So what makes him a guitar hero? Well let's start with the way he played, he sounded like 20 guitarists playing at the same time. But Bickers was part of the new breed of unmacho guitar players, he could play very quickly if he wanted to, but instead loved the power that effects gave him. The House of Love had a mixed legacy; virtually all of the Shoegaze bands that would follow them were eternally indebted to Terry Bickers. If there's a happy end to the story it's this: there was reconciliation between Chadwick and Bickers and they continue to perform as The House of Love, but there's a terrible 'what might have been' to this story. What a shame. The boy should have been a contender.
Contributor
Contributor

What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about. As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash