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 After the friendly split with The Motors, Bram Tchaikovsky formed a power trio with Micky Broadbent on bass and ex- Heavy Metal Kid Keith Boyce on drums. The original name of the band was Battle Axe, quickly changed to Bram Tchaikovsky. That's the reason why the very first 12" was called Battle Axe and released on Criminal Records before signing with Radar. Bram wanted The Motors to record "Sarah Smiles" on the Approved album but there was some kind of personal conflict with Andy McMaster, so Bram kept this gem of a powerpop classic for his own band.

Nick Garvey went to produce all of the Bram Tchaikovsky first recordings, including another 12" for Criminal Records plus the first and third Bram's albums. None of the original Criminal versions have been reissued on CD.

BATTLEAXE (12" Criminal EP BRAM 1)
Sarah Smiles / Turn On The Light / Bloodline

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LULLABY OF BROADWAY (12" Criminal EP BRAM 5)
Lullaby Of Broadway / Rock 'n' Roll Cabaret / (Who Wants To Be A) Criminal

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GIRL OF MY DREAMS (2 x 7" Radar ADA 28)
Girl Of My Dreams (single version) / Come Back / Robber (Live) / Whiskey & Wine (Live)

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 I'M THE ONE THAT'S LEAVING (7" Radar Single ADA 37)
I'm The One That's Leaving / Amelia

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Bram Tchaikovsky signed to the new Radar label in 1978 along with Stiff expatriates Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello. The band showed a great deal of promise with their first album, Strange Man Changed Man, fitting in nicely with the growing power pop movement. "Strange Man, Changed Man" remains Bram Tchaikovsky's finest moment. Produced by his former Motors bandmate Nick Garvey on a shoestring budget, the resulting thin sound only serves to enhance the songs which owe as much to '60s pop as they do to pub/punk rock. The pure pop of "Girl of My Dreams" (a minor hit in the U.S.) perfectly encapsulates late-'70s Brit-pop and stands as one of the classic singles of the era

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"The Russians Are Coming" was released in 1980 with an added member. Dennis Forbes had been brought in to play guitar and The Rumour's Bob Andrews helped keyboards on the "Pressure" track. Due to the cold war of the time, the original title had to be changed to "Pressure" when it was released in the USA. The track list was also modified and a new artwork elaborated. Though not as brilliant as "Strange Man, Changed Man", this album had some fine songs (specially the great "Can't Give You Reasons"). The original british album was briefly reissued on CD in Japan, and is quite hard to find. "Pressure" was never reissued. This is the CD reissue

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After the first two albums "Strange Man, Changed Man" bringing the unforgettable "Girl Of My Dreams", and "The Russians Are Coming" (retitled "Pressure" in the USA 'cause of the cold war), Micky Broadbent left the band due to personal conflict with Bram Tchaikovsky about the leadership. The band themselves left Radar and signed to Arista. Funland was produced by Nick Garvey and recorded at Rockfield studios in 1981 with a brand new line-up of Tchaikovsky, Forbes, Lord Richard Itchingham playing bass, and Derek Ballard playing drums. An old Motors B-side, "Soul Surrender," was recorded as an afterthought by Bram, Garvey and deputized drummer Hilly Michaels. It would be the last album by the band. Bram then retired from music business.

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Bram Tchaikovsky and his band toured the USA in 1979. The show was recorded at the Paradise Theatre in Boston, Ma on the 14th of October. It was aired on WNEW FM. The quality of the recording is quite excellent. Fifteen songs (12 well-known plus 2 covers such as Jimi Hendrix's Red House and Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock never offially recorded). The performance has never been officially released. I made a special artwork for the blog.

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Singles (13 May 2007)

Strange Man Changed Man (AWoS 2009)

The Russians Are Coming (9 June 2013)

Funland (13 May 2007)

Paradise Theatre, Boston (9 September 2007)