Peter Becker is one half of famous Eyeless in Gaza. In 1979/80 Peter Becker and Martyn Bates formed their own label called Ambivalent Scale Recordings in order to release their own music as well as projects of friends like Kevin Harrison or Bron Area. Peter released two Solo-Tapes called 'They Brought the Statosphere' (ASR04) and 'By Train to the Coast' (ASR10, which also found release on Ian Dobson's Flowmotion Label). Peter's recordings from those two Solo-Tapes contain a wide variety from athmospheric and melodic compositions in style of Eyeless in Gaza to more abstract and minimal-electro-tunes. [SOURCE: CLONE.NL]
One of the most prolific bands on Bristol, England's legendary indie pop label Sarah Records, The Orchids were also one of the label's most press-shy outfits. Formed in 1986 in Penilee, Scotland, a suburb of Glasgow, The Orchids took their initial inspiration from some of the city's better-known acts of the time, particularly Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (singer James Hackett sounded more than a little like Cole and was often unfairly derided in the U.K. press for that resemblance) and Primal Scream during that band's original '60s pop phase. Hackett, rhythm guitarist Matthew Drummond, lead guitarist John Scally, bassist James Moody, and drummer Chris Quinn fit neatly into the bowl haircut and anorak look of the British indie scene, and their songs, the sort of archetypal late-'80s U.K. guitar pop for which terms like "winsome," "jangly," and "twee" were invented, made them both new pop heroes for a certain audience and an easily dismissible target for others. Press reaction tended to be either laudatory or scathing, with very little in between.
The Orchids first hooked up with Sarah's Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd just as the label was getting underway in 1987, and so The Orchids' debut single, 1988's 'I've Got a Habit', was only the second Sarah release. A second single, 'Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink', followed later in the year. The Orchids' early singles were successful enough that, simultaneous to the release of their third 7", 'What Will We Do Next' in September 1989, Sarah released the label's first-ever album, the 10" 'Lyceum', a lengthy eight-track EP that, consistent with Sarah's value-for-money ethic, contained no songs that had previously appeared on singles.
The Orchids' next single, 1990's 'Something for the Longing', is possibly the group's all-time high point, a gently yearning lost love song with a gorgeous chorus. Later that year, The Orchids released a one-off single on the short-lived Caff Corporation imprint, the moody 'An Ill Wind That Blows'. Around this time, Drummond and Moody started a sideline career playing guitar and bass for their Sarah labelmates and fellow Glaswegians The Wake, a situation that would remain in place until The Wake split in 1994.
For the first three years of their career, The Orchids concentrated almost exclusively on 7" singles, in keeping with the British indie scene's preference for immediacy and disposability. However, beginning with the 'Penetration EP' in February 1991, The Orchids released only EPs and LPs for the remainder of their career. Unlike The Chills and some other bands who finally began releasing full-length records after a long string of singles, The Orchids seemed to have amassed quite a stockpile of good songs during the time when they only released four to six tunes per year, because there's no drop-off in quality evident on 1991's 'Unholy Soul'. Even more importantly, The Orchids' sound remained neither boringly static nor succumbed to the sort of trend-hopping jumps into acid house or other fads that felled some of their Sarah labelmates. A more reflective, mature quality started creeping into the group's later records, and the guitar jangle became supplanted, though never entirely replaced, by '60s-style Farfisa organ textures, while various female friends of the band began adding harmonies to Hackett's previously unadorned vocals. The 1992 EP 'Thaumaturgy' introduced this shimmering new sound, but its January 1994 follow-up, 'Striving for the Lazy Perfection', outshines all of The Orchids' other albums. Whether the group decided not to follow up a career highlight or to bow out as Sarah was winding up its operations, The Orchids quietly disbanded after a final performance at the Sarah Records farewell party in 1995.
The breakup wasn't destined to last, however. About a decade later, The Orchids reunited, wrote some new songs, and released their fourth full-length album, 2007's 'Good to Be a Stranger'. The reunion went so well that the group decided to stay together, releasing their next album, 'The Lost Star', in the autumn of 2010. The album was mixed by Ian Carmichael, who had produced most of their earlier work. Working at roughly the same rate of speed, and in the same manner, the band released their third post-reunion album in 2014. 'Beatitude #9' was issued by Spain's Acuarela label. Over the next few years, the band played the occasional show or festival and began working on a career-spanning compilation. 'Who Needs Tomorrow' featured one disc of songs from singles and albums, while the other side was all demos and unreleased tracks. The band also recorded a new version of their early song "Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink" for inclusion. The set was issued by Cherry Red Records in September of 2017. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Nord is a Japanese noise project, originally form in 1979 by Satoshi Katayama and Hiroshi Oikawa. This lineup released a self-titled LP on Pinakotheca in 1980. The duo split in 1983 and both members continued to use the name Nord. Oikawa put out several releases on L∴S∴D∴ Records, but didn't play live. He ceased activities in the late 80s. Katayama continued as a duo with new member Makoto Ito. Ito left in 2003 and was replaced by Hiroshi Hasegawa (Astro). Hasegawa left in 2006 and Nord became Katayama's solo project. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Mauthausen Orchestra is a musical group founded by Pierpaolo Zoppo, Italian noise musician of the early industrial and power electronics school from the 1980s. Along with Maurizio Bianchi he was one of the pioneers of Italian noise.
Zoppo's work explored morbid subjects, usually extreme sex, perversion, nazism, tortures and disease. The sound was a brutal collage of noise, electronics distortions and very high pitched vocals. The original Mauthausen Orchestra albums were published on Zoppo's own label, Aquilifer Sodality. The original phase of Mauthausen Orchestra ended in 1986, but reformed in 1997 to release new material. Between 1986 - 1997, there was also a Mauthausen Orchestra track called "Kill The P.A.S.T." from 'Power To Destroy', an early 90s comp on a label owned by The Grey Wolves. This was credited to simply "Mauthausen". Following a brief return to music in 2008 to work on Ambient music, on June 16, 2012 Pierpalo died. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Little Nemo is a French rock band formed in 1983 and originating from the region of Paris (Vallée de Chevreuse). The name of the band was directly inspired by the comic "Little Nemo in Slumberland". They and fellow coldwave bands Mary Goes Round and Asylum Party were part of the "Touching Pop" movement.
The band was originally composed of Olivier Champeau (vocals, keyboards) and Vincent Le Gallo (vocals, guitar, bass). Their first releases were two cassettes, 'La Cassette Froide' (1986) and 'Past and Future' (1987). Before the recording of their first EP, 1988's 'Private Life', the pair added Nicolas Dufaure, also known as "Bill" (bass, guitar, vocals). On stage (and in the studio, starting in 1990), the group expanded to include Yves Charreire (drums), Ronan Le Sergent (keyboards, piano, organ) and Georges Remiet (guitar).
Little Nemo disbanded in 1992 but reformed in 2008 with a lineup of Le Gallo, Dufaure, Charreire and Le Sergent, releasing the 'Out of the Blue' comeback album on 21 September 2013. Former member Champeau has released several techno-oriented albums under the alias Doctorolive. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Kosmonautentraum published mostly on cassettes and on the ZickZack label, with changing accompanying musicians until the mid-1980s. Ziggy XY also published a volume of poetry titled "Der Deutsche" and published together with E.K.T. the fanzine "Heute", which contained mostly collages and fictitious concert reviews and record reviews. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
One of the most shadowy, mysterious figures of the early-'80s experimental music underground, John Bender released three LPs and several cassettes of cold, sparse, abstract synth pop songs that later became the holy grail for aficionados of "minimal synth" or "minimal wave" music. Born in 1950 in Nuremberg, Germany, Bender relocated frequently as a child, eventually settling in Cincinnati. Inspired by experimental rock luminaries such as The Velvet Underground and the Motorik rhythms of Krautrock groups like Can, but with a limited supply of electronic instruments on hand, Bender began recording experimental synth pop songs during the mid-'70s. He issued his debut LP, 'I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want to Talk About It' (which featured a cover of Faust's "It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl"), on his own Record Sluts label in 1980. 'Plaster Falling' followed in 1981, and the aptly titled 'Pop Surgery' appeared in 1983. Bender also participated in a performance project called Johnny Vortex along with artists Jason Tannen and Kate Gallion; they released a tape in 1986. His recordings subsequently gained a cult following among record collectors and college radio DJs. His LPs have been bootlegged, and original copies have fetched extravagant sums on the secondhand market. German label Vinyl-on-Demand finally granted Bender's music an official reissue in 2012 with the release of the seven-LP box set 'Memories of Mindless Mechanical Monologues: 1976-1985'. In 2016, Superior Viaduct released standalone reissues of 'I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want to Talk About It' and 'Plaster Falling'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Insekt was formed in 1989 by Mario Vaerewijck and Eric Van Wonterghem, respective members from the eighties legendary Belgian EBM bands Vomito Negro and Klinik. With their unique and compelling mixture of powerful rhythmic flare, nasty virulent synth strings, colliding sample collages, harsh angry vocals and characteristic freezing melodic lines, Insekt immediately caught the attention of the electronic crowds with their debut album 'We Can't Trust The Insect'. [SOURCE: SPUTNIK MUSIC]
A scatterbrained and perhaps drunken recording entity based on the collective talents of guitarist Joachim Pimento aka Adrian Borland (The Sound, Second Layer, Witch Trials), fuzz guitarist / keyboardist Zoe Zettner, fuzz guitarist / vocalist Lord Sulaco (aka Pete Williams), fuzz guitarist / percussionist Daiquiri J. Wright (aka Graham Pearson), fuzz guitarist Franklin Silverheels, and bassist Smoky Alvaro (yes, they apparently liked the sound of a fuzz guitar), the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils gathered occasionally throughout the late '80s and early '90s to patch together records that threw almost anything imaginable into a blender (from Kraftwerk to Tom Waits to the Ramones to Black Sabbath to Neu! and all points between). The ill-rehearsed results were always uneven, but a fun time was guaranteed each time they gathered into a studio. The only true ambition of the Daffodils was to have their records exist in obscurity until developing a cult of fans via a steady slew of dollar bin discoveries. In fact, as legend has it, the artwork for the 1987 album 'Guitars of the Oceanic Overgrowth' was designed to look as if it had spent at least two decades gathering dust in a record shop's sunshine-prone window display. 'Guitars' was their first album and was followed the next year by 'Tequila Dementia', and then the trilogy was completed three years later by 'Aloha Sayonara' (the 'Psychic Hit-List Victims' EP was released in 1991). Apparently the band split up soon thereafter; lord (or Lord Sulaco) knows why. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Affectionate parodies of pop music and occasional humorous cultural commentary gave the Dutch new wave band Gruppo Sportivo a cult following in the early 1980s, although much of their material was available only through import sources. Signed to the British division of Epic, the group debuted in 1978 with '10 Mistakes', an album that featured a lineup of vocalist / guitarist / songwriter Hans Vandenburg, keyboardist Peter Calicher, bassist Eric Wehrmeyer, drummer Max "Climax" Mollinger, and additional vocalists The Grupettes: Josee Van Iersel and Meike Touw. '10 Mistakes' and its follow-up, 'Back to '78', were produced by R.J. Stips, soon to join venerable fellow Dutch popsters The Nits. Gruppo Sportivo were introduced to American listeners through the 1979 'Mistakes' compilation, which gathered highlights from those first two albums. 1980's lyric-oriented 'Copy Copy' introduced new bassist Martin Bakker and added a three-piece horn section called The Skamasters, which included tenor saxophonist Laurens de Jonge, baritone saxophonist Jan de Ligt, and trumpeter Edwin Theuerzeit. 1981's 'Pop! Goes the Brain' found Vandenburg adopting an English accent in place of the familiar Dutch; by 1982's 'Design Moderne', Dick Schulte Nordholt had taken over the bass spot, and The Grupettes had become more of a free-floating addition, with Van Iersel joined by Lies Schilp on this particular outing. Another bassist, Michiel Eilbracht, was employed for 1984's 'Sombrero Times', and the original Grupettes duo had been restored.
However, it would be the last Gruppo Sportivo album widely available overseas; subsequent releases found the nucleus of the band gradually dwindling down to Vandenburg plus an aggregation of studio musicians and whatever past members were available to record. A steady stream of albums like 'Sucker of the Century', 'Young and Out' (1992), the live 'Sing Sing' (1995, released two years later in America as 'Second Life'), and 'Shake Hands With Vandenburg' (1996) followed, mostly recorded for Dutch labels, where Gruppo Sportivo's main audience now resides. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
As one of the co-leaders of the seminal post-hardcore punk group Hüsker Dü, Grant Hart was one of the most influential musicians of the '80s, blending raw sonic aggression with pop melodies and songs. Following the group's demise in 1987, he launched a solo career that was marked by an erratic work schedule. After releasing one solo album, he formed a trio called Nova Mob in 1989, which released two albums between 1991 and 1994, when Hart became a solo artist again.
Playing drums and singing lead, Hart formed Hüsker Dü along with Bob Mould (lead vocals, guitar) and Greg Norton (bass) in the late '70s in St. Paul. Over the course of the early '80s, the group initially built a strong following in the U.S. hardcore punk underground, eventually breaking into wider recognition with their 1984 album, 'Zen Arcade'. Within two years, the Hüskers signed to Warner, becoming one of the first indie bands of the '80s to move to a major label. Though the group was poised to break into the mainstream, certain parts of the industry, including radio, resisted them. Furthermore, the group was splintering, as all the members suffered from substance abuse; Hart and Mould were also developing a debilitating rivalry. At the end of 1987, the group imploded; according to different sources, Hart either quit or was fired because of his heroin addiction.
In the spring of 1988, Hart became the first Hüsker Dü member to release a solo recording when his primarily acoustic '2541' EP (named after the address of the group's old office and studio) was released on the band's old record label, SST. The following year, he released the full-length 'Intolerance', which he recorded as a one-man band.
Later in 1989, Hart formed Nova Mob. In 1991, the group released the EP 'Admiral of the Sea' on Rough Trade. Nova Mob's first album, a rock opera named 'The Last Days of Pompeii', appeared in 1991. Following its release, the group was dormant for several years, eventually re-emerging in 1994 with an eponymous album. Hart quietly split up the trio after Nova Mob, and disappeared for two more years. In 1996, he released the live acoustic album 'Ecce Homo' in Britain. 'Good News for Modern Man' followed in 1999.
The next decade was relatively quiet for Hart, as he pursued other artistic avenues outside of music. One of the highlights of these ten quiet years was a 2005 reunion with Bob Mould at a benefit concert for Soul Asylum's Karl Mueller, who was then suffering from cancer. Hart returned to action in 2009 with 'Hot Wax', which was greeted with positive reviews. Four years later, the concept album 'The Argument' -based equally on works by William S. Burroughs and John Milton- was released in the summer of 2013. Four years later, Hart died in September 2017 at the age of 56, after a battle with kidney cancer. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Fizzbombs were a short lived Edinburgh band who consisted of Katy McCullars on vocals, Margarita Vasquez-Ponte (Jesse Garon And The Desperadoes / Rote Kapelle) on guitar / backing vocals, Angus McPake (Jesse Garon And The Desperadoes) on drums and Ann Donald (Shop Assistants) on bass. The band existed between 1987 and 1989.
That line-up released the 7″ single 'Sign On The Line b/w The Words That' (Nardonik, 1987) and they also released a track called "You Worry Me" on the 'Wild Rumpus' Flexi Disc (1987). McCullars and Donald left the band joining The Secret Goldfish. Sarah Kneale (ex The Shop Assistants) joined on bass with Vasquez-Ponte on vocals. In 1988 this line up released 'The Surfin Winter EP' on Calcalus Records and they also recorded a session for Janice Long ("Blue Summer" / "Cherry Cherry" / "Not As Simple As That" / "Beach Party") in the same year.
There were 7″ and 12″ versions of the EP with the 12″ containing a different version of the lead track "Surfaround", a cover of Neil Diamond’s "Cherry Cherry" and another track called "Test Pilot". The other tracks were "Blue Summer" and "Beach Party" which also featured on the 7″ version of the single which included the other mix of "Surfaround".
The band split when Vasquez-Ponte along with Kneale joined the re-formed Shop Assistants during their Avalanche Records period (1989/90). [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Europa was a short-lived synthpop group from Valencia, Spain formed in 1980 by Julio “Nexus” Pastor (synthesizers), Alfonso Aguado (vocals, guitar), Lino Oviaño (vocals, drum machine), and José Luis Macias (synthesizers). The quartet championed the use of synthesizers, drum machines and other polyphonic gadgets in a city that was stuck in the throws of progressive rock. They recorded and released their only album 'La Última Emoción' in 1981 on cassette, released by DAI (Division Avanzada Independiente) a label interested in bands “capable of building electronic sounds from drum machines, sequencers, synths and effects, rather than conventional instruments like guitars and basses.”
The original issue of 'La Última Emoción' was a single-sided cassette and limited to 500 copies. The band mixed all the tracks at their home studio using a Roland Juno 60, Casiotone 202, Korg Polysix, MS-20, MS-10 and the KR-55 drum machine. As part of the Spanish Techno-pop movement of the 1980s, Europa’s songs featured arpeggiated synthesizers and upbeat drum machines that flashback to the sound of Vince Clarke’s Depeche Mode days. Comparisons could be made to other Spanish Techno-pop bands like Aviador Dro, Vocoder or Metal y Ca but Europa weaved a unique style of driving, energetic rhythms, bouncy keyboards and soaring vocals perfect for dancing or speeding into outer space. Shorty after their debut release the band would switch their name to Última Emoción releasing an EP in 1983 and an album in 1984 before breaking up. Alfonso Aguado went on to front Los Inhumanos, Julio Pastor launched the Valencia techno bands Megabeat and Interfront, while José Luis Macias and Lino Oviaño formed Comité Cisne. In 2010 the original Europa line-up reformed to play a few select live shows celebrating the re-issue of their 1984 cassette 'Máquinas Románticas' on Turia Records of Spain. Their sound remains clean, rhythmic and futuristically strange, transporting crowds to another dimension. [SOURCE: DARK ENTRIES RECORDS]
The second monicker in the continuing evolution that finally birthed The Cult, Death Cult was formed in 1983 by Ian Astbury, who had recently dissolved Southern Death Cult. He teamed up with guitarist Billy Duffy (ex-Theatre of Hate), bassist Jamie Stewart (ex-Ritual), and drummer Ray Mondo to release an EP on Situation Two in mid-1983. Nigel Preston replaced Mondo in the fall, and another EP appeared later in 1983. By the end of the year, however, Death Cult had become The Cult. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Initially a solo project formed by Patrick Blain shortly after the 1979 break-up of his earlier band C.O.M.A. (often compared to Devo), Charles De Goal were first signed to emerging record label New Rose, the now notorious independent giant of 1980's France, and released debut album 'Algorythmes' in 1980.
Their music could be described as a collection of minimal synth, punk / post-punk, experimental / avant garde pop and new wave -usually polished with a dark edge, leading the band to be placed on the borders of the Nouvelle Vague scene
and often labeled as 'cold wave', a term which first became popular for French dark wave bands at the time.
Charles de Goal began as a mysterious entity with virtually zero information being available
about the elusive Blain or his sometimes-band, even within the sleeves of releases, and they remained largely anonymous in the early years -not touring their work or revealing their true identity until 1985.
Despite this, Charles De Goal found acclaim, underground fame and a large amount of airtime on French independent radio stations, managing to shift over 15,000 copies of their debut record.
The second Charles De Goal album, 'Ici L'Ombre', followed quickly with a 1981 release but was considered much darker than their first effort and faired less well with critics. A three year break then came (during which time Blain contributed to the Danse Macabre project) before the release of the bands third album '3' in 1984. '3' was a far more accessible affair which saw the band go on to reach a much wider audience and find greater radio and TV success -a popularity which increased with the bands unveiling and the 1985 debut tour that came after.
Two years later and 1986 swallowed the arrival of 'Double Face', the bands fourth and final album before a mammoth hiatus, interrupted briefly with the release of the compilation album 'Commemoration' in 1989.
In 1992 Charles de Goal completed work on their 5th studio album, 'Revolution', which found itself without a home -or a launch pad- following the purchase of the bands label, New Rose, by Fnac Music in the same year. With no other interested parties the album was shelved, only to be picked up by Last Call Records in 1997 and released as a double album (alongside a remastered edition of 'Algorythmes') under the title of 'État Général'.
As well as appearing on the 'Crucifixation' EP with the band Danse Macabre in 1983,
Blain also went on to form the mythical punk / electro band Monkey Test in 2000.
Some years later, in 2006, Patrick Blain performed, along with fellow Monkey Test members Etienne Lebourg and Jean-Philippe Brouant and AE (of End of Data, Raendom) as Charles de Goal once more in what was intended to be a one-off concert. The success of the show was so great that the band played further dates in France before launching a full European tour and beginning to write new material together.
Released on Self-Control (Blain's own record label) in April 2008, 'Restructuration' was the result - the first official release from Charles de Goal in over two decades. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
BOB were an indie pop band from North London, England, formed in 1985. The initial line-up was Richard Blackborow (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Simon Armstrong (guitar, vocals). Jem Morris (bass guitar), joined the duo in 1986, and, augmented with a drum machine, they recorded the band's first release, a flexi disc, released in 1986 on their own House Of Teeth label, and containing three short songs: "Prune (Your Tree)", "Groove" and "Brian Wilson's Bed". The band gave a copy to John Peel in a fortuitous encounter in the Rough Trade record shop, and he played it many times. The drum machine was replaced by Gary Connors (drums) in 1987, and this line-up recorded 1987's 'What a Performance' EP and the first of three BOBJohn Peel sessions.
Early in 1988, Gary Connors was replaced by former Jamie Wednesday drummer Dean Legget, and the band recorded their second single, the 'Kirsty' EP, a session for BBC Radio One's Simon Mayo, and their second John Peel session. Both singles received heavy play by John Peel. The two singles were compiled together with the earlier flexi disc as 'Swag Sack', which was their final recording for the Sombrero label. All later releases were on their own House Of Teeth label.
In 1989, the band released the 'Convenience' EP (which reached no.31 in John Peel's Festive Fifty at the end of the year), followed by a limited edition / fan club release containing three songs: "Esmerelda Brooklyn", "I Don't Know" and "Sink". After their third and final John Peel session, Morris was replaced by ex-Caretaker Race bassist Stephen 'Henry' Hersom, and this final line-up recorded the 'Stride Up EP' in 1990, an LP 'Leave The Straight Life Behind' and the 'Tired' EP in 1991, and one last single, the 'Nothing For Something' EP in 1992. BOB became one of the victims of the demise of Rough Trade's distribution arm, which limited sales of the album and forced the band to tour for an extended period to recoup the album's costs. A feeling of disillusionment with the 'business' side of the music caused a drop in morale, and they disbanded early in 1995.
The BOB single "Convenience" was released for the first time on a digital format on the John Peel compilation box set 'Kats Karavan' in October 2009. In February 2014, 'Leave the Straight Life Behind' was re-released by British independent label 3 Loop Music as a 2CD expanded edition which included the remastered album plus a bonus CD of all the John Peel and BBC sessions, as well as extra tracks. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
After the dissolution of 1919 in 1984, former members Mark Tighe, Iean Tilleard, Steven Madden, joined drummer Stefan Khacheturian and became Another Cinema, taken under the wing of Red Rhino founder Tony Kostrzewa, this time releasing their single 'Phase One' (1984), and 'Midnight Blue Oceans' under the Altered States banner. They disbanded by 1986. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
→ ↑ → (pronounced as three clicks, often written incorrectly as "Tsk Tsk Tsk" or "Tch Tch Tch") was an Australian music, art and performance group, best known for their experimental music. They formed in Melbourne in 1977 and were led by Philip Brophy. The group performed music, produced artwork, films, videos, live theatre, multi-media, and wrote literature.
The Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill's Community Music Centre, an artist run space focused on the performance of new sound art and experimental music, was the base for Philip Brophy's project, → ↑ →. Sometimes compared to Andy Warhol's Factory collective, the group provided experimental music (Brophy on drums or synthesiser), films, videos, and live theatrical performances exploring his aesthetic and cultural interests, often on a minimal budget. → ↑ → were often seen as working with Roland Barthes theory of "The Death of The Author". They were primarily interested in demystifying creative practices and analysing cultural phenomenons, stripping them down to their most basic defining characteristics. Musically the group touched upon a wide range of experimental styles including minimalism, punk rock, muzak, krautrock and disco, usually with no vocalist, which frustrated countless music audiences. Although they were regularly performing and presenting music and performances in art spaces like the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre and even the National Gallery of Victoria, → ↑ → frequently played with post-punk and new wave bands, including The Boys Next Door at pubs like the Crystal Ballroom in St. Kilda to non-art audiences.
Over the project's operation it involved over sixty of Brophy's friends in variable line-ups that included musician David Chesworth from Essendon Airport, a post-punk band who explored similar experimental music forms, on synthesiser, and visual artists Maria Kozic and Jayne Stevenson both on synthesiser. The group grew to notable popularity in the early-mid 1980’s, being asked to participate in a range of large scale Australian exhibitions, including Paul Taylor’s Popism at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1982, the 1982 Biennale of Sydney, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales art festival Perspecta in 1983. Artistically, they were closely linked to Paul Taylor, the artists in his Popism exhibition including Juan Davila, Howard Arkley and Jenny Watson, and Taylor’s journal Art & Text which Brophy was a contributor. Crossover between this art scene with the Melbourne post-punk and new wave can be seen in both Arkley and Watson painting of images of Nick Cave, but also in Art & Text publishing articles about music subcultures, Taylor even using current music terms to describe these young visual artists as the “Australian New Wave”. → ↑ → is the only group to cross both though, appearing in exhibitions with the aforementioned artists but also performing frequently with groups like The Boys Next Door and including them in gigs they organised such as Punk Gunk where they performed their work / band “Punk Band”.
The band performed or exhibited in Europe, including London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and Paris' Museum of Modern Art. In 1983 Brophy produced a retrospective book, "Made by → ↑ →", which is co-credited to → ↑ →. He dissolved the project shortly after the 1986 European tour of Stills, and continued to work with, his then partner, Kozic for some time, prior to her relocation to New York City. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Weimar Gesang was a Post-Punk / Dark Wave band from Milan (Italy). First formation: Paolo Mauri (voice and bass), Fabio Magistrali (drums) and Beppe Tonolini (guitar). Other members in the time: Enrica Toninelli (keyboards, 1983-1984), Donato Santarcangeli (guitar, 1986)
and Cesare Malfatti (guitar, 1986-1987). [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
V-Sor, X is the project around Morgan Bryan, who started playing guitar some time in the 70’s. The band had several line-up changes and therefore style changes from post punk experimental through electronic to guitar based alternative. Some of the main and most constant other members were Ian Rowlands, Alastair Boyle and Rob Derbyshire. In the DIY, punk and new wave era they played many gigs in England and their songs got positive response by John Peel. A collection of their more synth based tracks has come out on Genetic Music. Morgan has always and still continues to play music, these days with his band Morgan Bryan And The Art. [SOURCE: GENETIC MUSIC]
Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, few were as enduring and popular as The Cure. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist / vocalist Robert Smith (born April 21, 1959), the band became well-known for its slow, gloomy dirges and Smith's ghoulish appearance, a public image that often hid the diversity of The Cure's music. At the outset, The Cure played jagged, edgy pop songs before slowly evolving into a more textured outfit. As one of the bands that laid the seeds for goth rock, the group created towering layers of guitars and synthesizers, but by the time goth caught on in the mid-'80s, The Cure had moved away from the genre. By the end of the '80s, the band had crossed over into the mainstream not only in its native England, but also in the United States and in various parts of Europe. The Cure remained a popular concert draw and reliable record-seller throughout the '90s, and their influence could be heard clearly on scores of new bands during the new millennium, including many that had little to do with goth.
Originally called The Easy Cure, the band was formed in 1976 by schoolmates Smith (vocals, guitar), Michael Dempsey (bass), and Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (drums). Initially, the group specialized in dark, nervy guitar pop with pseudo-literary lyrics, as evidenced by the Albert Camus-inspired "Killing an Arab." A demo tape featuring "Killing an Arab" arrived in the hands of Chris Parry, an A&R representative at Polydor Records; by the time he received the tape, the band's name had been truncated to The Cure. Parry was impressed with the song and arranged for its release on the independent label Small Wonder in December 1978. Early in 1979, Parry left Polydor to form his own record label, Fiction, and The Cure was one of the first bands to sign with the upstart label. "Killing an Arab" was then re-released in February of 1979, and The Cure embarked on its first tour of England.
The Cure's debut album, 'Three Imaginary Boys', was released in May 1979 to positive reviews in the British music press. Later that year, the group released the non-LP singles "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train". That same year, The Cure embarked on a major tour with Siouxsie and the Banshees. During the tour, the Banshees' guitarist, John McKay, left the group and Smith stepped in for the missing musician. For the next decade or so, Smith would frequently collaborate with members of the Banshees.
At the end of 1979, The Cure released a single, "I'm a Cult Hero", under the name The Cult Hero. Following the release of the single, Dempsey left the band to join The Associates; he was replaced by Simon Gallup at the beginning of 1980. At the same time, The Cure added a keyboardist, Mathieu Hartley, and wrapped up production on the band's second album, 'Seventeen Seconds', which was issued during the spring of 1980. The addition of a keyboardist expanded the group's sound, was which now more experimental and often embraced slow, gloomy dirges. Nevertheless, the band still wrote pop hooks, as demonstrated by the group's first U.K. hit single, "A Forest", which peaked at number 31. After the release of 'Seventeen Seconds', The Cure launched its first world tour. Following the Australian leg of the tour, Hartley exited the lineup and his former bandmates chose to continue without him, releasing their third album in 1981 ('Faith') and watching it peak at number 14 in the charts. 'Faith' also spawned the minor hit single "Primary". The Cure's fourth album, the doom-laden, introspective 'Pornography', was released soon after in 1982. 'Pornography' expanded their cult audience even further and cracked the U.K. Top Ten. After the 'Pornography' tour was completed, Gallup quit the band and Tolhurst moved from drums to keyboards. At the end of 1982, The Cure released a new single, the dance-tinged "Let's Go to Bed".
Smith devoted most of the beginning of 1983 to Siouxsie and the Banshees, recording the 'Hyaena' album with the group and appearing as the band's guitarist on the album's accompanying tour. That same year, Smith also formed a band with Banshees bassist Steve Severin; after adopting the name The Glove, the group released its only album, 'Blue Sunshine'. By the late summer of 1983, a new version of The Cure -featuring Smith, Tolhurst, drummer Andy Anderson, and bassist Phil Thornalley- had assembled and recorded a new single, a jaunty tune named "The Lovecats". The song was released in the fall of 1983 and became the group's biggest hit to date, peaking at number seven on the U.K. charts. The new lineup of The Cure released 'The Top' in 1984. Despite the pop leanings the number 14 hit "The Caterpillar", 'The Top' was a return to the bleak soundscapes of 'Pornography'. During the world tour supporting 'The Top', Anderson was fired from the band. In early 1985, following the completion of the tour, Thornalley left the band. The Cure revamped their lineup after his departure, adding drummer Boris Williams and guitarist Porl Thompson; Gallup returned on bass. Later in 1985, The Cure released their sixth album, 'The Head on the Door'. The album was the most concise and pop-oriented record the group had ever released, which helped send it into the U.K. Top Ten and to number 59 in the U.S., the first time the band had broken the American Hot 100. "In Between Days" and "Close to Me" -both pulled from 'The Head on the Door'- became sizable U.K. hits, as well as popular underground and college radio hits in the U.S.
The Cure followed the breakthrough success of 'The Head on the Door' in 1986 with the compilation 'Standing on a Beach: The Singles'. 'Standing on a Beach' reached number four in the U.K., but more importantly, it established the band as a major cult act in the U.S.; the album peaked at number 48 and went gold within a year. In short, 'Standing on a Beach' set the stage for 1987's double album 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me'. The album was eclectic but it was a hit, spawning four hit singles in the U.K. ("Why Can't I Be You", "Catch", "Just Like Heaven", "Hot Hot Hot!!!") and the group's first American Top 40 hit, "Just Like Heaven". Following the supporting tour for 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me', The Cure's activity slowed to a halt. Before The Cure began working on their new album in early 1988, the band fired Tolhurst, claiming that relations between him and the rest of the band had been irrevocably damaged. Tolhurst would soon file a lawsuit, claiming that his role in the band was greater than stated in his contract and, consequently, he deserved more money.
In the meantime, The Cure replaced Tolhurst with former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Roger O'Donnell and recorded their eighth album, 'Disintegration'. Released in the spring of 1989, the album was more melancholy than its predecessor, but it was an immediate hit, reaching number three in the U.K. and number 14 in the U.S., and spawning a series of hit singles. "Lullaby" became the group's biggest British hit in the spring of 1989, peaking at number five. In the late summer, the band had its biggest American hit with "Love Song", which climbed to number two. On the 'Disintegration' tour, The Cure began playing stadiums across the U.S. and the U.K. In the fall of 1990, The Cure released 'Mixed Up', a collection of remixes featuring a new single, "Never Enough". Following the 'Disintegration' tour, O'Donnell left the band and The Cure replaced him with their roadie, Perry Bamonte. In the spring of 1992, the band released 'Wish'. Like 'Disintegration', 'Wish' was an immediate hit, entering the British charts at number one and the American charts at number two, as well as launching the hit singles "High" and "Friday I'm in Love". The Cure embarked on another international tour after the release of 'Wish'. One concert, performed in Detroit, was documented on a film called 'Show' and on two albums, 'Show' and 'Paris'. The movie and the albums were released in 1993.
Thompson left the band in 1993 to join Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's band. After his departure, O'Donnell rejoined the lineup as a keyboardist, and Bamonte switched from synthesizer duties to guitar. During most of 1993 and early 1994, The Cure were sidelined by an ongoing lawsuit from Tolhurst, who claimed joint ownership of the band's name and also sought to restructure his royalty payments. A settlement (ruling in the band's favor) eventually arrived during the fall of 1994, and The Cure shifted their focus to the task at hand: recording a follow-up album to 'Wish'. However, drummer Boris Williams quit just as the band prepared to begin the recording process. The group recruited a new percussionist through advertisements in the British music papers; by the spring of 1995, Jason Cooper had replaced Williams. Throughout 1995, The Cure recorded their tenth proper studio album, pausing to perform a handful of European musical festivals in the summer. The album, titled 'Wild Mood Swings', was finally released in the spring of 1996, preceded by the single "The 13th".
A combination of pop tunes and darker moments that lived up to its title, 'Wild Mood Swings' received a mixed reception critically and commercially, slowing but not halting the momentum gained by 'Wish'. 'Galore', The Cure's second singles collection focusing on the band's hits since 'Standing on a Beach', appeared in 1997 and featured the new song "Wrong Number". The Cure spent the next few years quietly -giving a song to the "X-Files" soundtrack, Robert Smith appearing in a memorable episode of "South Park"- re-emerging in 2000 with 'Bloodflowers', their last album of original material, for Fiction. Designed as the final installment in a heavy goth trilogy that stretched all the way back to 'Pornography' and included 'Disintegration', 'Bloodflowers' was well-received and a respectable success, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The next year, The Cure closed out their contract with Fiction with the career-spanning 'Greatest Hits', which was also accompanied by a DVD release of their most popular videos. During 2002, they spent some time on the road, capping off their tour with a three-night stand in Berlin, where they played each album of their "goth trilogy" on a different night; the event was documented on the home video release 'Trilogy'.
The Cure signed an international deal with Geffen Records in 2003 and then launched an extensive reissue campaign in 2004 with the rarities box set 'Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years)'; double-disc expanded editions of their earliest albums soon followed. Also in 2004, the band released its first album for Geffen, an eponymous effort recorded live in the studio. Heavier but not necessarily harder -and certainly not gloomier than 'Bloodflowers'- 'The Cure' was partially designed to appeal to a younger audience familiar with The Cure through their influence on a new generation of bands, many of which were showcased as opening acts on the band's supporting tour for the album. The Cure underwent another lineup change in 2005, as Bamonte and O'Donnell left the group and Porl Thompson came back for his third stint. This new, keyboard-less lineup debuted in 2005 as the headlining act at the benefit concert "Live 8 Paris", then headed out on the summer festival circuit, highlights of which were captured on the 2006 DVD release 'Festival 2005'. The Cure popped up on various festivals over the next two years, playing a more extensive European tour in early 2008, as they completed their 13th album. Originally conceived as a double album, the record was split in two prior to its release, with the lighter, poppier material released first as '4:13 Dream' in October 2008. After a three-year break, the group returned to the live circuit with their "Reflections" tour -kicking off in Australia and seeing the return of original drummer and keyboardist Lol Tolhurst after some 22 years- which saw the band play their first three albums, 'Three Imaginary Boys', 'Seventeen Seconds', and 'Faith', in their entirety. A career-spanning 150-minute headline slot at 2011's Bestival on the Isle of Wight was recorded and released that same year and the band continued to tour throughout 2012 and 2013 with festival shows in Europe and North America and headline shows in Latin America. In early 2014, Smith announced that they would release the follow-up to '4:13 Dream' later in 2014, and would also follow up their "Reflections" tour with another series of full album shows, this time performing 'The Top', 'The Head on the Door', and 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me' in their entirety. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
