THE HEART THROBS were a band formed in Birmingham by college students Rose Carlotti (lead vocals/guitar) and Stephen Ward (guitar) that further developed in Reading in 1986, when Rose’s sister, Rachael DeFreitas (bass/backing vocals), and Mark Side (drums) completed the line-up. Rachel DeFreitas and Rose Carlotti (real name: Rosemarie DeFreitas) are sisters of the late ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN drummer Pete DeFreitas, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident in 1989 at the age of 27.
The band’s first single, the 12" vinyl of ''Toy'', was released in mid-1987 on Marc Riley's In-Tape independent label, followed in 1988 by the singles ''Bang'' and ''Too Many Shadows'' on Rough Trade, both hits on the UK Independent Chart. After two further singles on their own label, Profumo (a reference to the politician involved in the sex scandal that shocked Britain in the 60s), the band got signed by One Little Indian Records in the UK, affiliated with Elektra Records in the USA. Now joined by guitarist Alan Barclay (aka Alan Borgia), and with original guitarist Stephen Ward moving to keyboards, the band released their long-awaited debut album titled 'CLEOPATRA GRIP' (a name that is a euphemism for female genitalia) in 1990, simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic (on 6 August in UK and on 7 August in US).
"Dreamtime" produced by Gil Norton was released in July 1990 as the second single off 'CLEOPATRA GRIP' album in UK and as a promo only CD-single on Elektra Records in US. Provisionally titled "Shut Down", it was included in a John Peel Session aired on BBC Radio 1 in the previous year (27 July 1989).
A promo video was shot to accompany the release of the single directed by Angus Cameron, and produced by Bill Davies. Cameron known for his videos having a distinctive 'psychedelic' visual style is also responsible for many music videos in the early 90’s for bands like Ride, Primal Scream, Carter USM and My Bloody Valentine, amongst others.
"Dreamtime" unlike the previous single ("I Wonder Why" released in March 1990) gained extensive airplay in the States and turned into a hit by entering the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, where it stayed for a total of eleven weeks, peaking at #2 on September 8, 1990.