Having already recorded a duo album with Darden Smith in between previous Bible commitments, Hewerdine now began a solo career. As Hewerdine later remembered it, "we all took it so personally that we split up." Post-split work and mid-'90s reformation (1990–1994) Having flown to Germany to perform "Honey Be Good" on what turned out to be a TV talent show, they lost to a man who performed under the name of Mr Gadget, wore a spinning bowtie with lights on it, and won by 140,000 votes as compared to The Bible's twelve. In early 1990, The Bible broke up in farcical circumstances. There were a lot of people telling me what I should do and I felt very bullied." The additional commercial pressures of being on a larger label did not sit well with Hewerdine, who later recalled "I think I felt under a lot of pressure. As further promotion, the Eureka single "Honey Be Good" was re-released and gave The Bible a second hit later that year, reaching number 54. Leroy Lendor returned to the band in time for a re-recording of "Graceland" which provided The Bible with their highest charting single to date (reaching number 51 in the UK in April 1989 ) Chrysalis then opted to compile the song with most of the Eureka tracks as a stopgap album called The Bible, filling out the remaining space on the record with a number of B-sides. Although the band had begun to record a third album (to be titled Anticlockwise), Chrysalis rejected the initial recordings in favour of repackaging earlier material. In spite of good reviews, the commercial performance of Eureka was disappointing – the album peaked at number 71 on the UK Albums Chart and its three singles failed to chart. These formed the basis for most of the second Bible album, Eureka, released in January 1988. At the suggestion of their management, the band recruited American country-rocker Steve Earle as their new producer, and recorded a more successful set of sessions with yet another guest bass player (this time Greg Harewood of Incognito/ Mirage/ Soul II Soul). Unsatisfied with their initial work, The Bible ditched the existing new album recordings (some of which would later surface as B-sides) and opted to start again. Neill MacColl's brother Calum – a respected multi-instrumentalist from the folk music scene – guested on bass guitar for the sessions. By the time The Bible began recording tracks for a second album (initially self-producing with Pete Smith and Owen Morris), the band were without a bass player again. Leroy Lendor had left the band at this point, and to cover for him the band brought in former Christian Death bass player Constance Redgrave to play on the remaining tracks on the "Graceland" EP and on 1987 live dates. "Graceland" was re-mixed for single re-release in February 1987 (though it eventually charted only slightly higher than the original release). On the strength of Walking the Ghost Back Home, The Bible signed to Chrysalis Records. Chrysalis period: "Eureka", "The Bible" and first split (1987–1990) Dave Larcombe was recruited as a full-time drummer (allowing Shepherd to concentrate on keyboards), Larcombe's former Roaring Boys bandmate Neill MacColl (brother of Kirsty MacColl) was recruited as lead guitarist after performing on various Bible B-sides, and Clive Lawson was replaced by a full-time bass guitarist, Leroy Lendor. After follow-up single "Mahalia" (which reached number 15 on the UK Independent Chart ) The Bible was consolidated as a five piece group. This was followed by the first release of "Graceland" as a single, which gave them a minor hit in the UK. The album was well received by music pundits, giving The Bible a top-ten hit on the UK Independent Chart and staying in the chart for ten weeks. Walking the Ghost Back Home was released in 1986 on the independent record label Backs Records. Using Hewerdine's savings and several budget-rate studios, the duo recorded The Bible's debut album Walking the Ghost Back Home with the assistance of bass player Clive Lawson, jazz saxophonist Kevin Flanagan and drummer Dave Larcombe (the latter of failed "Oxbridge Duran Duran" band Roaring Boys). The Bible was formed in 1985 in Cambridge, when former Great Divide frontman Boo Hewerdine teamed up with keyboard player/drummer Tony Shepherd (who'd played with jazz bands and drummed for Cambridge bands The Wobbly Jellies and Somewhere in the Foreign Office, the latter of which had featured future satirist Chris Morris on bass). History Early years and "Walking the Ghost Back Home" (1985–1986) 1.2 Chrysalis period: "Eureka", "The Bible" and first split (1987–1990).1.1 Early years and "Walking the Ghost Back Home" (1985–1986).
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