There may only be a few people who remember Mr. Food reaching the dizzy heights of Number 62 in the UK singles chart back in 1990 with Geordie monologue 'And That's Before Me Tea' or, indeed, that he was a regular contributor of jingles to Steve Wright's BBC Radio 1 show. Over a decade on and the man behind the gastronomic identity, David Sanderson, has produced a record which certainly has its fair share of whimsy but is an altogether more serious proposition. For Sanderson's Flowerbed project is like a chapter from the XTC manual, late-80s psychedelic edition. Belying the independent release, the arrangements on 'Songbook' are colourful and imaginative with some neat harmonies never far away. Melodic peaks are reached on 'Believe The Rumours', 'In Circles' and 'Answers'; compensating for a couple of tracks which veer too far into twee territory. Yet this is the kind of record which should dismiss any claims that Sanderson is purely a novelty act.
There may only be a few people who remember Mr. Food reaching the dizzy heights of Number 62 in the UK singles chart back in 1990 with Geordie monologue 'And That's Before Me Tea' or, indeed, that he was a regular contributor of jingles to Steve Wright's BBC Radio 1 show. Over a decade on and the man behind the gastronomic identity, David Sanderson, has produced a record which certainly has its fair share of whimsy but is an altogether more serious proposition. For Sanderson's Flowerbed project is like a chapter from the XTC manual, late-80s psychedelic edition. Belying the independent release, the arrangements on 'Songbook' are colourful and imaginative with some neat harmonies never far away. Melodic peaks are reached on 'Believe The Rumours', 'In Circles' and 'Answers'; compensating for a couple of tracks which veer too far into twee territory. Yet this is the kind of record which should dismiss any claims that Sanderson is purely a novelty act.
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