Biography
Burning Skies of Elysium were a 3 piece post punk guitar band from Horley, Surrey, England.
It was the Autumn of 1981 when brothers Chris & Graham Mitchell and best friend Matthew Venn started writing songs, taking them into the studio in March 1982, they released the 4 track casette only e.p. "Amongst Those Clouds". Their debut gig taking place at the "Kensington Arms" pub Brighton was followed by dates at "The Cartoon" Croydon, the" Half Moon" Herne Hill London, and "The Richmond" in Brighton. The band released the 7" single "Summer House" on Crawleys Cauldron records in 1984 before signing to Crisis records and releasing the 12" single "Carousel" in 1985. The band became a 4 piece in late 1985 with the addition of Ronnie Howe on Sax who they had previously worked with before, and they recorded the album "The Last Revolving Door" during 1986, but it wasn't until the Autumn of 1987 that the album was released, and with the record company in financial trouble it received little promotion.
The end of 87 saw the departure of Ronnie Howe who went on to pursue other interests and the collapse of the record company.
1988 saw the passing of Graham Mitchell who had previously been diagnosed with cancer in 1984 at the age of 19, and tragically died in April at the age of 23.
The band took a break before returning to live performance, now reduced to 2 and a drum machine, and then under the guidance of new manager Paul Lock they recruited Mark Simmonds on drums and played reguarly on the London club circuit.
The band recorded several more songs but without securing a record deal they were never released, and the band split in 1995.
The Last Revolving Door was rereleased in 1993 with bonus tracks added and the band members reformed in 1996 as the indie guitar/ alternative rock band lolatwist, where they continued to record and play live until the tragic death of Matt Venn in 2001.
Songs from the last Burning Skies of Elysium studio session were released on the lolatwist album "Sold On It"
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