The Blushing Brides

The rock & roll band Blushing Brides formed around 1980, started by guitarist Paul Martin and singer Maurice Raymond. The only goal the guys seemed to have at first was to imitate the Rolling Stones, their favorite group. Other early members of the Blushing Brides are guitarist James Green, drummer Richard "Ricco" Berthiaume, and bassist Martin Van Dijk. By 1981, the Blushing Brides had caught the interest of a number of labels, including some major ones. The members had also gone from being fan-loving copycats to performing a list of crowd-pleasing original numbers. A year later, the band had signed with RCA Records and finished recording a satisfactory debut album, Unveiled. The band's first hit came from that full-length effort, "What You Talkin' About." Other tunes from the band include "Lonely Boy," "Can't Come Back," and "Sweet Sister." That same year, Blushing Brides also completed a self-titled EP. It was recorded in French in an effort to reach a new cluster of fans. After those two recordings, the band spent time touring, and time a part. Members fleeing and returning after solo gigs failed them. After a couple of hard years, when things weren't working out well for the group either, the guys went back to their Rolling Stone style of music, dropping a lot of the original Blushing Brides' numbers. The fire was gone though, and fans had moved on. In 1995, over a decade later and after a change of names to simply the Brides, the band's lineup changed, bringing in some new faces, like bassist Glen Olive, guitarist Desmond Leahy, and keyboardist Dylan Heming. With a new label, Strawberry Records, the band released one last album, this one self-titled the Brides. It was a last gasp for breath as a group. ~ Charlotte Dillon