Art Bears

An uncompromising avant-garde rock band consisting of Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, and vocalist extraordinaire Dagmar Krause. Frith and Cutler were longtime members of the seminal English radical political avant-garde art rock band Henry Cow, while Krause sang primarily with the fine German band Slapp Happy and in Henry Cow's latter years. The Art Bears were intended as a short-term project, but, even so, their three-year existence resulted in three excellent albums that relied more on shorter, more traditional, almost pop-oriented song forms than huge, complex musical and lyrical extrapolations. The political tinge of the Henry Cow years never went away, and it was unsurprising that Marxist rhetoric and anti-capitalist diatribes formed much of band's lyrical firmament. Frith, as he proved in Cow, was (and is) a guitarist of astonishing ability, combining a searing, complex technique reminiscent of the free music improvisations of seminal British guitarist Derek Bailey with a boyhood love of blues and early British rock & roll. Cutler, a pop music theorist as well as drummer, skittishly plays his trap kit, providing a propulsive rhythmic base upon which Frith can dazzle. Admittedly, Dagmar Krause's quasi-operatic, very German style can take some getting used to, but she is a daring singer, unafraid to bend and twist her voice into knots or screech with uncontrolled passion and exuberance. Their life was fleeting, but the Art Bears wrote and recorded bold, challenging, idiosyncratic music that, despite its occasional difficulty, is ultimately very rewarding. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Wet Taxis

Louis Tillett's first band, The Wet Taxis, commenced life as an experimental outfit in the manner of fellow Sydneysiders Severed Heads and Scattered Order before taking on a tougher 1960s-influenced direction. Their classic debut single on the Hot label, 'C'mon' (1984), boasted an authentic garage / R&B sound heavily influenced by such American garage / punk bands as The Moving Sidewalks, We The People and The Chocolate Watchband, and the legendary Australian group The Atlantics (which originally issued the song as "Come On" in 1967). Alongside the likes of Died Pretty, The Celibate Rifles, The Lime Spiders, The New Christs, The Hoodoo Gurus and The Eastern Dark, The Wet Taxis came to epitomize the Australian garage rock sound and aesthetics of the 1980s. The band's only album was the appropriately named 'From The Archives'. [SOURCE: SHINY BEAST] 

Zip

Zip was an obscure side project by legend Pete Shelley from 1988 and it sees him working with producer John Fryer; 'Your Love' was the only release from the trio formed by Pete Shelley (Guitar, Vocals), Gerrard Cookson (Guitar and Programming) and Mark Sanderson (Bass). It is typical Shelley with pop songs hiding under a layer of electronics, blending punk rock guitar and sequencers. [SOURCE: MY VINYL DREAMS] 

Every New Dead Ghost

Nottingham’s finest sons of Postpunk-Goffic Rock were amongst the most unique and active bands of the Mothercountry since their foundation in 1986. Every New Dead Ghost -the opposite of etheral, aesthetic Artgoth, but rather forceful and direct, motocross boots rather than stilettos, leather rather than velvet. 

3 glorious studio albums, 1 live album and a bunch of spectacular singles / EP’s is what this legendary band has left us after their demise in 1992; a time when polished (and mostly gloomy-for-the-sake-of-gloom-) Goth seemed to be the only variety to be able to attract the goth masses, in the face of which the quartet decided to call it a day -after years of hard struggle, massive touring and storming performances. 

Their own goth variety, a sensational und inspired postpunky mixture of Killing Joke, Play Dead and Southern Death Cult with loads of own potential came to an end. But for many years onwards no decent dancefloor could possibly do without ENDG’s driving and stomping supersmashers such as awe-inspiring "Miranda" and "Assassin", "Obvious", or their probably most famous track, the Gothic Rock hymn "Not In A Lifetime", which Mick Mercer included in his classic first 'Gothic Rock' compilation. [SOURCE: STROBELIGHT RECORDS] 

Scattered Order

Scattered Order were formed in 1979 in Sydney by Mitchell Law Ross-Jones (a.k.a. Mitch Jones) on vocals, guitar and bass guitar; Michael Tee on guitar and Simon Vidale on drums. Jones worked as a live sound engineer for The Birthday Party and Pel Mel. Jones and Tee formed their own record label, M Squared. They were joined in Scattered Order by Patrick Gibson on guitar and synthesiser in January of the following year. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, their "aim was to combine all manner of 'found sounds' and loose song structures with a perverse absurdist sense of humour (in the Snakefinger / Residents vein) and set them to a rock backing; in short, white noise with an amphetamine beat".

The group's first recording, "Bent Up", appeared on a Various Artists album, 'Growing Pains' (November 1980), for their own label. The band issued a four-track extended play, 'Screaming Tree' (May 1981). They followed with another track, "I'm not Whole", for another Various Artists compilation, 'A Selection' (November). In November 1982 they released their debut album, 'Prat Culture', which was recorded with the line up of Gibson, Jones and Tee joined by Michael Prowse on drums.

Gibson and Tee left the group late in 1982. A seven-track EP, 'I Feel so Relaxed with You' (October 1983), was issued by the line up of Jones, Prowse and Simon Fahey on synthesiser and vocals (ex-The Makers of the Dead Travel Fast). It was recorded from March to May at M Squared Studio with Drusilla Johnson supplying cover artwork. McFarlane cited Mark Mordure's description the EP, "all open guts and withered emotions", who compared it to work by Public Image Ltd. Jon Casimir of The Canberra Times felt the group were, "Heavily influenced by European electronic music, particularly the likes of Can, their objective was to explore the possibilities of mixing 'white noise with a beat'".

Johnson, who later married Jones, (a.k.a. Drusilla Dorothy Ross-Jones) joined the group on synthesiser and vocals along with Craig Bottle on bass guitar (ex-Pel Mel) and R. Scott-Holmes on vocals, guitar, synthesiser and percussion (ex-Same). Bottle was soon replaced by D. C. "Craig" Robertson (Prowse's band mate from Flaming Hands) on bass guitar. At the end of 1983 Jones discontinued the label, M Squared, and the group were signed with Volition Records. They recorded a live seven-track EP, 'A Dancing Foot and a Praying Knee Don't Belong on the Same Leg' (May 1984), at Wakefield Musicians Club in January with Tim Whitten producing. Fahey left before the album appeared.

Scattered Order's next studio album, 'Career of the Silly Thing' appeared in September 1985. They toured with fellow Sydney-based label mates, Severed Heads, and supported United States group, The Residents, on their Australian tour.

Geoff Holmes (ex-Wildcat Tamers) joined on guitar in August 1986, while Scott-Holmes left early in the next year. They released a four-track EP, 'Selling the Axe to Buy the Wood', in June 1987. Prowse had already left the band and in January of the following year they recorded their next album, 'Comfort' (May 1988), using session drummers, Greg Fitzgerald and Robert Souter. One of its two discs contained new work while the other was a compilation of eight tracks of earlier material. "King of Blip", appeared as their next single in April. With Fitzgerald joining them, they toured the east coast of Australia for four weeks and were supported by Canberra group, Falling Joys.

They issued their next album, 'Professional Dead Ball', in November 1991, then went into hiatus and returned in April 1997 with another album, 'Chicken Hilton', on the Rather Be Vinyl label. The group disbanded in 2000. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

Systematics

Sometimes The Systematics were Patrick Gibson, at other times Michael Filewood and Patrick Gibson, and at yet other times Fiona Graham, Michael Filewood and Patrick Gibson. Spontaneously generated one afternoon in 1978, they played live sporadically over the course of a year and a day (or thereabouts) during 1981, and expired with a smile on their lips early the next morning of the new year. Cause of death: a song in the heart. 

For more detail see Patrick Gibson's Systematics Notes at Phil Turnbull's always excellent "Sydney Post - Punk Memoirs" [SOURCE: M SQUARED] 

Tame O'Mearas

In many ways, The Tame O'Mearas were the definitive post-punk band: a do-it-yourself attitude with almost non-musicians learning instruments and making sounds and switching roles seemingly at random -do it now and then go on to something else. Overall, they sounded light and airy with small percussion and chiming guitar tones anchored by fluid bass. They sounded closest amongst us all to English bands like The Raincoats but, of course, they were really like no-one else. Nothing released officially but songs like "Sweat and Babble" and "Curl Curl" are favourite cassette icons. [SOURCE: NO NIGHT SWEATS] 

Slugfuckers

The Slugfuckers were started in the late 1970s in Sydney, Australia by Terry Blake (vocals), John Laidler (guitar) and Graham Forsyth (bass) who were all at the time students or recent graduates of the Department of General Philosophy at Sydney University. As well as the original punk / DIY / primitive / anti-competence ethos they were inspired by, among other things, "Anti Oedipus" by contemporary philosophers Deleuze and Guattari. 

They released an EP, 'Three Feet Behind Glass / Live at Budokan' containing "Cacophony", "Mechanical Boy", "Artificial Slits", "Schizo Revolution" and "Rhizome" and the single 'Instant Classic' containing "Deaf Disco" and "Deaf Dub" - the titled of the A side inspired by or lampooning a Public Image song and feel but not mood or musicianship borrowed from Blondie's "Heart of Glass". [SOURCE: LAST.FM] 

Severed Heads

Severed Heads were one of the pioneering acts on Australia's alternative music scene, a group whose work embraced elements of industrial, synth pop, electronic, and experimental music, with found sounds, tape loops, samples, and full-on noise playing as large a role in their music as any conventional instruments. Eclectic and stubbornly refusing to confine themselves to any single genre, Severed Heads evolved constantly from their debut in 1979 to their final retirement in 2008, as they used a wide variety of formats to distribute their prolific output (from vinyl and cassettes to VHS, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, MP3 downloads, and even the short-lived MP2 format before MP3s became common), while 20 musicians drifted in and out of their recording and performing lineups, with Tom Ellard the sole constant (though he's bristled at suggestions that the group is exclusively his brainchild). 

Severed Heads' story begins with two Sydney-based musicians, Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, who had formed an experimental combo called Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign. After Tom Ellard signed on and they became a trio, the combo recorded its first cassette-only release. When they sent a demo tape to Sydney's 2JJ Radio, they used the group name Severed Heads, as one of the disc jockeys was interested in early industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle; while the name was meant more as a joke than anything else, the demo received enough airplay for the name to stick. By 1980, Wright had left the band and Severed Heads made their vinyl debut on a split LP called 'Ear Bitten', with one side featuring Severed Heads and another Aussie act, Rythmyx Chymx, on the flip side. Released in 1981, 'Clean' was recorded as Fielding parted ways with Severed Heads; their music became more melodic and accessible as they embraced more conventional song structures, and new member Garry Bradbury encouraged Ellard and his collaborators to move their live performances from experimental venues and art spaces to rock clubs, which were better equipped for concerts and drew audiences who would be challenged by what they heard. 

Frustrated with the expense and limitations of releasing music on vinyl, Severed Heads' 1983 album 'Since the Accident' was initially released as a 60-minute cassette; to fill out the lineup, Ellard added the song "Dead Eyes Opened" to the end of the running order. As luck would have it, the tune was catchy enough that Severed Heads scored record deals with Ink Records (distributed by Virgin) in the U.K. and Virgin Records' new Australian branch at home, and the tune became a minor hit. Severed Heads' live shows were also becoming more ambitious, as Ellard began collaborating with video artist Stephen Jones, who created a new video synthesizer that created stylized backdrops for Severed Heads' performances. And Ellard also began creating information booklets for the band's releases, detailing how they were recorded and what source materials were used; when they weren't included with the albums, Ellard was willing to mail them to fans who sent in requests along with stamped return envelopes. 

In 1984, as the 'City Slab Horror' album was awaiting release, Bradbury left the group, and Ellard was the group's principle songwriter from that point on. Severed Heads were invited to tour the U.K., and Ellard chose to tour as a duo -he performed all the music, and Jones provided video images. During the U.K. tour, Severed Heads signed a North American deal with Nettwerk Records, and as Ellard's relationship with Virgin Australia was deteriorating, they entered an agreement with Volition Records. The group became more visible, and Ellard began exploring the possibilities of digital sampling and new recording technologies (their early albums were tracked at home on four-track cassette machines) while his vocals played a larger role as the group took on a larger lineup for live shows, which became more sophisticated as Jones kept pace with advancing video technology. Severed Heads continued to record and tour at a steady pace, and in 1989 they enjoyed a U.S. alternative hit with "Greater Reward" from the album 'Rotund for Success'. However, while the group had a solid commercial profile and still made video a major part of its presentation after Jones left the group in 1992, Ellard became increasingly dissatisfied with the strictures of the mainstream music business, and Severed Heads ended their deal with Nettwerk, leaving the 1994 album 'Gigapus' unreleased in North America until 1996. By this time, "Dead Eyes Opened" had gained new life in Australia thanks to a remix by Robert Racic, and the new release went Top 40 at home as Severed Heads became regular fixtures in the Boiler Room, the dance-oriented stage at the Australian Big Day Out touring festival. But Volition Records began experiencing financial problems in 1996, and Ellard chose to find a new label in his homeland. 

Severed Heads began documenting their multimedia work on CD-ROM releases in 1994, and were one of the first Australian bands with a presence on the Internet (the group included an e-mail contact address on the 'Gigapus' artwork so fans could directly communicate with the group). As new media gained acceptance, Ellard embraced it with enthusiasm, as it allowed Severed Heads to operate with greater independence. He created Sevcom Music Servers as the band's new label, and from the 1998 album 'Haul Ass' onward, new releases were issued as CD-Rs (and later MP3s) by SMS. In 1996 Ellard issued 'Severything', a single-disc collection that featured nearly the complete Severed Heads catalog compressed onto one disc using the new MPEG 1, layer 2 format; it was the first in a long series of archival releases self-replicated from the Severed Heads archives. The Aussie label LTM Records reissued 'Rotund for Success' in 2004 and began partnering with Severed Heads for selected catalog reissues and anthologies, and in 2005 Severed Heads scored the film "The Illustrated Family Doctor", which earned an award as Best Film Soundtrack of the year from the Australian Recording Industry Association. Ellard finally brought the Severed Heads story to a close in 2008; according to their official website, "It was euthanised...as it no longer brought happiness". The Sevcom website, however, is still active and provides information on Severed Heads as well as CD-R releases of their back catalog. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

The Limp

Pel Mel came down from Newcastle (one of Sydney's steel producing neighbours) and caused quite a stir. You could tell they liked the early stuff of The Cure and Wire, exemplified by 'No Word From China'. Poppy without being smarmy, highly energetic when they put their minds to it and quite musicianly as well, they showed that you could be experimental without being noisy. Easily the most 'successful' of the bands playing in the inner city during this time, they slowly evolved to become a more funk influenced, hard working troop whose music started to suffer even as they tried harder and harder to break the bigger time. Although that sounds a bit disparaging, it should be noted that they were the only band amongst us who had even a smidgin of a chance at greater popularity and they did at least try. There were two big houses at either end of Commonwealth Street, near Central Station, where most of Pel Mel, Wild West and associated friends lived in each other's pockets. Influenced by the 'little bands' idea from Melbourne, small bands would be formed on any evening after a few unsteady jams in cluttered rooms. Probably the most long-lasting of these was The Limp which contained a goodly portion of Pel Mel (in slightly different roles) and who, therefore, created music in a similar vein but who also had their own lingering charm and success. [SOURCE: NO NIGHT SWEATS] 

Faith No More

With their fusion of heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, and progressive rock, Faith No More have earned a substantial cult following. By the time they recorded their first album in 1985, the band had already had a string of lead vocalists, including Courtney Love; their debut, 'We Care a Lot', featured Chuck Mosley's abrasive vocals but was driven by Jim Martin's metallic guitar. Faith No More's next album, 1987's 'Introduce Yourself', was a more cohesive and impressive effort; for the first time, the rap and metal elements didn't sound like they were fighting each other. 

In 1988, the rest of the band fired Mosley; he was replaced by Bay Area vocalist Mike Patton during the recording of their next album, 'The Real Thing'. Patton was a more accomplished vocalist, able to change effortlessly between rapping and singing, as well as adding a considerably more bizarre slant to the lyrics. Besides adding a new vocalist, the band had tightened its attack and the result was the genre-bending hit single "Epic", which established them as a major hard rock act. 

Following up the hit wasn't as easy, however. Faith No More followed their breakthrough success with 1992's 'Angel Dust', one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label. Although it sold respectably, it didn't have the crossover potential of the first album. When the band toured in support of the album, tensions between the band and Martin began to escalate; rumors that his guitar was stripped from some of the final mixes of 'Angel Dust' began to circulate. As the band was recording its fifth album in early 1994, it was confirmed that Martin had been fired from the band. 

Faith No More recorded 'King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime' with Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. During tour preparations he was replaced by Dean Menta. Menta only lasted for the length of the "King for a Day" tour and was replaced by Jon Hudson for 1997's 'Album of the Year'. Upon the conclusion of the album's supporting tour, Faith No More announced they were disbanding in April 1998. Patton, who had previously fronted Mr. Bungle and had avant-garde projects with John Zorn, formed a new band named Fantômas with Melvins guitarist Buzz Osbourne, Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Roddy Bottum continued with his band Imperial Teen, who released their first album, 'Seasick', in 1996. A posthumous Faith No More retrospective, 'Who Cares a Lot', appeared in late 1998. 

In 2009, after 11 years of dissolution, Faith No More staged a reunion tour, playing festivals in Europe and scattered American dates; Jim Martin did not participate, but Jon Hudson and the rest of the band's 1988 lineup took part. As the band continued to play shows, speculation grew concerning the possibility of a new studio album, and in November 2014, the band confirmed the rumors with the release of a single, "Motherfucker", titled with their typical cheek. In May 2015, Faith No More released their first album since 1997, 'Sol Invictus', through Reclamation Records, a label distributed by Patton's Ipecac imprint; the band supported the release with an extensive tour of the United States, Europe, and South America. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Everything But The Girl

Originating at the turn of the 1980s as a leader of the lite-jazz movement, Everything but the Girl became an unlikely success story more than a decade later, emerging at the vanguard of the fusion between pop and electronica. Founded in 1982 by Hull University students Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, the duo took their name from a sign placed in the window of a local furniture shop, which claimed "for your bedroom needs, we sell everything but the girl." At the time of their formation, both vocalist Thorn and songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Watt were already signed independently to the Cherry Red label; Thorn was a member of the sublime Marine Girls, while Watt had issued several solo singles and also collaborated with Robert Wyatt. 

Everything but the Girl debuted in 1982 with a samba interpretation of Cole Porter's "Night and Day"; the single was a success on the U.K. independent charts, but the duo nonetheless went on hiatus as Thorn recorded a solo EP, 'A Distant Shore', while Watt checked in with the full-length 'North Marine Drive' in 1983. EBTG soon reunited to record a cover of The Jam's "English Rose" for an NME sampler; the track so impressed former Jam frontman Paul Weller that he invited the duo to contribute to the 1984 LP 'Cafe Bleu', the debut from his new project, The Style Council. 

Everything but the Girl's own beguiling 1984 debut, 'Eden', followed on the heels of the single "Each and Every One", a U.K. Top 40 hit. The jazz-pop confections of the group's early work gave way to shimmering jangle rock by the time of 1985's 'Love Not Money', while a subtle country influence crept into the mix for 1986's lush, orchestral 'Baby, the Stars Shine Bright'. The beautifully spare 'Idlewild' followed in 1988, spawning the single "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a poignant cover of a song by the late Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten which became EBTG's biggest hit to date, landing at the number three spot on the British charts. 

Watt and Thorn traveled to Los Angeles to record 1990's slick, commercial 'The Language of Life', produced by Tommy LiPuma and featuring a guest appearance by jazz great Stan Getz. After a return to pop textures with 1991's 'Worldwide', Everything but the Girl mounted a series of club performances which resulted in 1992's 'Acoustic', a spartan set of covers (including Elvis Costello's "Alison", Bruce Springsteen's "Tougher Than the Rest", and Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange") which presaged the coming ascendancy of the "Unplugged" concept. In the wake of the record's release, Watt fell prey to Churg-Strauss Syndrome, a rare auto-immune system disease which brought him to the brink of death; after a year in recovery, he wrote several new songs which the duo recorded for inclusion on 'Home Movies', a 1993 hits collection. 

In 1994, EBTG collaborated with trip-hop innovators Massive Attack on their LP 'Protection'; Thorn's vocal turn highlighted the hit title track, and the cinematic Massive Attack sound clearly informed Everything but the Girl's own 1994 effort, 'Amplified Heart', another strong and eclectic outing featuring an appearance by guitar great Richard Thompson. In 1995 the soulful single "Missing" was innovatively remixed by Todd Terry, and after first becoming a club sensation the track blossomed as a major international hit, reaching the number two position on the U.S. pop charts. More importantly, Terry's remix, combined with the lessons of the Massive Attack sessions, launched the duo into an entirely new -and equally satisfying- musical direction: with 1996's brilliant 'Walking Wounded', Everything but the Girl dove headfirst into electronica, crafting sophisticated, assured excursions into trip-hop and drum'n'bass. In 1999, the duo reappeared with 'Temperamental'. 'Back to Mine' was issued in spring 2000. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Negative Reaction

Negative Reaction were an obscure Australian group formed by Michael "Mick" Kingham, Milan Stojanovic, and Jim Bodnar in 1978. They released a cassette on the legendary Australian industrial and home-taping label Terse and eventually also released a self-titled LP in 1981. The album ranks amongst the most captivating and gripping albums from the Australian experimental post-punk time and contains good dark poetical lyrics. The music reflects the times in which the industrial and DIY-culture played an important role in the Australian music underground. [SOURCE: YOUTUBE] 

The Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast

The Makers of the Dead Travel Fast were formed in Sydney in 1980 as an experimental music group by Greg Addison on guitar and vocals; David Bullock on percussion; Steve Couri on bass guitar; Shane Fahey on synthesiser and vocals; Peter Richardson on piano, percussion and vocals; and Tim Schultz on saxophone, vocals and percussion. The band's name is a quote from Bram Stoker's "Dracula".

They signed with M Squared late in 1980, which was a label and studio set up by Scattered Order's Mitch Jones and Michael Tee. The Makers of the Dead Travel Fast issued their debut single, 'Tael of the Saeghors', in December 1980. Bullock had left before the single appeared.

'Vessels', the group's debut album, appeared in 1981, described as having "mixed atmospheric, uncluttered sound textures with understated dynamics. The music drew certain parallels with the work of Brian Eno and the second side of David Bowie's 'Low'". They followed with a four-track extended play, 'Why Won't We Wake?', at the end of that year. The group went into hiatus for about a year.[1] 

The Makers of the Dead Travel Fast returned to the recording studio in 1983 to work on their second album, 'Zoom Is Less than Man' (styled as 'Zoom < Man'). They disbanded by the end of that year. Shane Fahey later joined Scattered Order. A retrospective compilation, by the group, 'G'arage D'Or', was released on the Extreme label in 1991.

In January 2010 Ascension Records reissued the band's music on disk two of a commemorative compilation CD, 'Terrace Industry' (ANCD036), along with bands such as Scattered Order, Systematics, A Cloakroom Assembly and Prod. In 2011 Ascension released another compilation, '41 Pardons', which also includes six songs from the band. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

Elvis Hitler

Elvis Hitler is an American psychobilly / hellbilly band from Detroit, Michigan. The band was named after the moniker of their lead singer, Jim Leedy. 

The band currently consists of singer Jim Leedy (a.k.a. "Elvis Hitler"), guitarist John Defever, bassist Jimmy Taylor, and drummer Geno OneMore. Their first album, 'Disgraceland', was initially released on Wang Head records in 1987 (WH004) and early copies came in a handmade sleeve formed from corrugated cardboard with a black-and-white sheet pasted to the front and back. 

The band put out three CDs on Restless Records, 'Hellbilly', and 'Supersadomasochisticexpialidocious'. Their song "Green Haze" consisted of the lyrics from the successful TV show "Green Acres" sung to the tune of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and was a college radio hit. 

Due to the resistance of having a band with the name Hitler in the title, regardless of its intent, the band released one album under the name Splatter. The band and their song "Green Haze" are mentioned in Thomas Pynchon's 2013 novel "Bleeding Edge". [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

X

Hailing from Sydney, Australia, punk rockers X labored through a quintessential punk existence; banned from playing venues, harassed by the police, and suffering through several lineup changes -including the untimely death of guitarist Ian Krahe- they eventually achieved legendary status after years of performing. Formed by bassist Ian Rilen, who had left Rose Tattoo in 1977, X initially started life as Evil Rumours. Composed of vocalist Steve Lucas, guitarist Ian Krahe, and drummers Steve Cafiero and Eddie Fisher, they began playing Sydney punk rock hangouts before the unfortunate death of Krahe, who died in his sleep in May 1978. Only three demo tracks survive with Krahe's work which were later released on the 1985 Aberrant punk compilation 'Why March When You Can Riot?' Geoff Holmes took up Krahe's duties only to be replaced by Peter Coutanche in early 1979. He left soon after, and the band, now a three-piece, released the single 'I Don't Wanna Go Out' before the raw and aggressive 'Aspirations' album in 1980. Coutanche rejoined the band, but by mid-1980, X had called it quits. 

They reformed in mid-1983 with Rilen, Lucas, and Cafiero and released a cover of John Lennon's 'Mother' in November 1984 before relocating to Melbourne where Cathy Green replaced Cafiero. In early 1985, X released their second album, 'At Home With You', a more polished affair than their first apocalyptic effort. The next five years saw the band's live reputation grow and they were often joined on stage by bluesman Chris Wilson. Their third single, a cover of Roy Orbison's 'Dream Baby', was released in July 1987. Their third album, 'And More' (1989), was dedicated to Steve Cafiero, who had died in December 1988. The group disbanded for a second time, but the X legend would not die and U.S. label Amphetamine Reptile released 'Aspirations' to the North American market in 1993, spurring Rilen and Lucas to revive X with new drummer Stefan Berg. X continued playing on an irregular basis with Cathy Green and supported The Damned during their Australian tour in April 1997. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

The Work

Ex-Henry Cow co-founder Tim Hodgkinson began recording with Bill Gilonis in 1979. They experimented with tape collages which led to the creation of an independent record label, Woof Records and a band. Enlisting the services of Mick Hobbs and Rick Wilson they formed The Work, a post-punk rock group.

In 1981, The Work made their first recording, an EP 'I Hate America', released on the Woof label. They then embarked on a tour of Europe, performing in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, France, Italy and Yugoslavia. Extracts from these live performances were later released on a cassette tape album, 'The Worst of Everywhere' (1983). In 1982, the band played at a Rock in Opposition Festival in Bonn with vocalist Catherine Jauniaux, after which they recorded their first album 'Slow Crimes' on the Woof label with Jauniaux as guest musician. 'Slow Crimes' took punk rock to new heights by introducing elements of avant-rock.

The band's next commitment was a tour of Japan in June 1982, but before the tour began, Wilson left to study chenda temple drumming in Kerala, South India, and Hobbs followed soon after over disagreements about the band's musical direction. Committed to the tour, Hodgkinson and Gilonis asked ex-Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler and bassist Jim "Amos" Welton to join them in Japan. With this altered line-up, the group played three concerts in Tokyo and one in Osaka. The Osaka concert was recorded with a cassette recorder halfway down the hall, which was later cleaned up and released by Recommended Records Japan on an LP 'Live in Japan'. At the end of the tour, the group split up. 

In 1989, The Work reformed with its original members and recorded an industrial/noise album 'Rubber Cage', after which they returned to touring Europe, performing in France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Italy over the next two years. In 1992, they made their last album, 'See', which they played live on their ongoing European tour. In 1993, the band played at the St. Petersburg Open Music Festival in Russia. The Work's last performances were in 1994 in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, where they had begun drawing on Hopi Indian mythology for their sets.

'The 4th World', a live album recorded in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany in 1994, was released by Ad Hoc Records in 2010. The original mono recordings were reprocessed into stereo by Udi Koomran. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

V;

V; were a post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, comprising guitarists Gary Gogel and George Petcoff, drummer Matt Burns, bassist Joe Cuneo and vocalist Susan Anway. Active on the East Coast music scene from 1979-1982. Also known as Vee. [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

The Unknowns

The Unknowns were an unusual L.A. group blending stripped-down punk energy and gloomy contemporary lyrical settings with the reverb-heavy instrumental guitar sound of The Ventures and early surf groups, as well as a dash of rockabilly. After a disappointing EP on Sire ('Dream Sequence'), the group released a raw, self-titled album on the small indie Invasion in 1982 that ranks among the finest obscure new wave releases of the time with its strong songwriting, dripping wet production values, magnificent drumming, and crisp Mosrite guitar sound. Lead singer Bruce Joyner (who co-wrote most of the material with guitarist Mark Neill) has released several albums with backing groups The Plantations and The Tinglers. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]