Heavenly, Chime School, Swansea Sound

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Heavenly are an indie pop band who released four critically acclaimed

albums between 1991-1996, becoming key figures in the independent music

scenes of both the UK and US through their associations with seminal labels

Sarah Records and K Records. Highly influential on what has become known

as “twee pop”, they inspired generations of musicians with their perfect blend

of punk energy and pop sensibility.

Originally forming in Oxford in 1989 from the ashes of legendary punk pop

combo Talulah Gosh, Heavenly features Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Peter

Momtchiloff (guitar), Robert Pursey (bass), Cathy Rogers (keyboards/vocals)

and Ian Button (drums).

Members of the indiepop scene in the UK and the burgeoning Riot Grrrl scene

in the US, Heavenly created a unique blend of infectious melody and

sharp-edged lyrics. The band’s original catalogue ran from jangly debut

“Heavenly vs. Satan” (1991), through the harmony-rich “Le Jardin de

Heavenly”(1992) and riot grrrl-influenced “The Decline and Fall of Heavenly”

(1994), to the Britpop era “Operation Heavenly” (1996).

Heavenly reformed in 2023, after a 27 year hiatus. Amelia and Rob had been

angrily approached by their daughters, wanting to know why their parents’

old songs were all over their TikTok timelines. Having established that this

was not an algorithmic blip, and that there was genuine interest in their old

songs, the band decided to play a few shows. Reunion shows in London,

Paris, Madrid and New York sold out quickly, with both original Heavenly fans

and a much younger audience clamouring to see the group live.

Newly rejuvenated, the band started writing songs again. A new 7” single

“Portland Town” was released in July 2025 and their fifth album “Highway To

Heavenly” comes out in February 2026.

On their spring 2026 dates, the band will play songs from the band’s past

career alongside tracks from the new album. This combination is important to

the group. “If you’re just doing your old songs and nothing else, you’re almost

like one of those cover bands—but of yourself. That would have felt pretty

weird pretty quickly,” says Amelia Fletcher.

Their spring 2026 tour also marks three decades since the release of

“Operation Heavenly.” The band had expected their fourth album to be their

most successful but they never promoted it properly due to the death of

original drummer Mathew Fletcher just before its release. Drummer Ian

Button now completes the Heavenly line-up.

Alongside Heavenly these days, Amelia, Rob and Ian currently also play in

Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires and Swansea Sound; and Peter plays

in The Would-Be-Goods and Tufthunter.