Lycia are regarded as one of the primary acts associated with the darkwave and ethereal wave styles. Generally consisting of layers of atmospheric guitars and keyboards as well as hushed vocals and slowly pounding drum machines, their work has constantly evolved over the years, spanning dark ambient as well as gothic pop. While rarely receiving mainstream attention, they have developed a loyal cult following, and have counted Trent Reznor and Peter Steele among their fans. Formed as a solo project by singer, songwriter, and keyboard player Mike VanPortfleet in 1988, Lycia have gradually shifted their lineup over the years, with vocalist Tara Vanflower and multi-instrumentalist David Galas being two of the group's most prominent members. Both musicians appeared on 1995's 'The Burning Circle and Then Dust', simultaneously one of Lycia's most ambitious and most accessible works. The group continued releasing bleakly beautiful albums such as 'Cold' (1996) and 'Empty Space' (2003). Following a period of group inactivity and solo releases, Lycia reactivated during the early 2010s and released full-length 'Quiet Moments' in 2013. The band's 2018 album, 'In Flickers', marked their return to Projekt, the influential label which released all of Lycia's material during the '90s.
Lycia began when Mike VanPortfleet started making guitar-based experiments using a four-track recorder in 1988, when he was based in Tempe, Arizona. Will Welch briefly collaborated with VanPortfleet, but John Fair replaced him by the end of the year. After recording dozens of songs, Lycia released 'Wake' as a six-song cassette on Orphanage Records in 1989. The group gradually began incorporating more synthesizers into its sound. Fair left and joined Caterwaul in 1990, and Welch rejoined Lycia. The group signed to Projekt and worked on an album titled 'Byzantine', but the album was eventually aborted, and Welch quit the group. VanPortfleet reworked some of the album's material into 'Ionia', which was released by Projekt in 1991. Lycia began performing live in 1993, assisted by David Galas, and 'A Day in the Stark Corner' was released by Projekt, which also issued an expanded edition of 'Wake'. Galas became a full-time member of Lycia in 1994, additionally working on a noisier side project called Bleak. 'Live' appeared on Projekt that year. VanPortfleet and Fair formed an instrumental side project called Dust, but their recorded full-length never surfaced, and select tracks appeared on compilations.
Following the early 1995 release of Bleak's full-length 'Vane', Lycia's long-labored double album 'The Burning Circle and Then Dust' arrived, featuring acoustic guitar-based songs as well as more electronic material. It also marked the first appearances of Tara Vanflower, who had just joined the group. They toured throughout the year, including dates opening for goth metal legends Type O Negative, and Lycia relocated to Ohio. Following the 1996 release of 'Cold', VanPortfleet and Vanflower were wed. Lycia's 'Estrella' appeared in 1998, and Vanflower's experimental solo debut 'This Womb Like Liquid Honey' was released in 1999. 'The Time Has Come and Gone', an acoustic EP originally released under the name Estraya, appeared via the group's Lycium Music in 2000. 'Compilation Appearances, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2' were released by Projekt in 2001, and the duo returned to Arizona during the year. 'Tripping Back Into the Broken Days', an Estraya-style acoustic recording, was issued as a Lycia album by Projekt in 2002. The group then left the label, and 'Empty Space', recorded with a full-band lineup beginning in 1999, was issued by Silber Records in late 2003.
Lycia took a long break during the rest of the 2000s, as VanPortfleet, Vanflower, and Galas all released solo albums. The group returned with a digital EP titled 'Fifth Sun' in 2010, and 'Quiet Moments', the first Lycia full-length in ten years, was released by Handmade Birds in 2013. 'A Line That Connects', the group's first album to feature Galas since 'Empty Space', followed in 2015. Following a split 7" single with Black Mare and several digital releases of archival material, including early demos and 'The Byzantine Sessions', Lycia, once again including Fair, returned to Projekt with their 2018 full-length 'In Flickers'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Old school hated band from Boston, Kilslug formed in 82 from the ashes of The Sickness, and always known as the bastard child of the Boston punk scene. While SSD, DYS and the rest of the Boston Crew were playing fast singing about straightedge and unity, Kilslug were playing heavy slow dirge with singer Larry Lifeless whining evil and twisted lyrics. They released two 7"s and an one LP on Taang! in 1985 before breaking up in 1987. In 2007 they reunited, That was recorded and released as 'Bringing Back The Dead - 20 Year Reunion Live LP' on Limited Appeal. In 2010 they went into the studio. 'God's Funeral' was the first new material since the monolithic 'Answer The Call' LP in 1985. [SOURCE: INTERPUNK]
The Jaywalkers were a Greek c86-era band formed by Paschalis Plissis and Giorgos Mouchtarides. The two were previously in a punk band called Migraine. Their only ever release was their 'Mini LP', a four-track 12” on Virgin Hellas in 1987.
Although the 12” was a commercial failure then, it has now become highly sought after, due to the relative success of the track "(You Can’t Be) Happy All the Time" which featured on Pop Art’s 'Try A Little Sunshine' compilation.
For that mini LP The Jaywalkers were:
Paschalis Plissis (guitar, voice, piano, backing vocals),
Giorgos Mouchtarides (guitar, voice, backing vocals),
Giannis Divolis (violin, harmonium, greek laouto, vocals),
Vassilis Divolis (kettle drums, percussion, goblet drum) and
Giorgos Manos (bass, piano, Chinese violin). [SOURCE: UK FESTIVAL GUIDES]
International Exiles was an australian Post-Punk / New Wave band. They only released two singles, both in 1980: 'Let's Be Sophisticated / Note To Roger' and a split shared with The Jetsonnes (Melbourne based post punk band comprising future members of Hunters & Collectors and vocalist Margot O'Neill), 'Miniskirts In Moscow / Newspaper', both on the Missing Link label, founded in 1977, by the owners of the Melbourne record store of the same name, Keith Glass and David Pepperell.
Members were
Adam Learner (Bass, Keyboards), also in Bill Tolson & The Learners, Blue Ruin, Dear Stalker, Dirty Strangers, Scrap Museum and The Fiction; David Adams (Drums);
Rob Wellington (Guitar), also in Garry Gray & The Sixth Circle (with Spencer P. Jones), Little Murders, and The Fiction; Andy Calender
(Keyboards, Vocals) and Laine (Vocals). [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Formed by Rose Carlotti (b. Rosemarie DeFreitas, 16 December 1963, Barbados; guitar, vocals) and Stephen Ward (b. 19 April 1963, Chelmsford, Essex, England; guitar, vocals) from an idea conceived at college in Birmingham and developed in Reading in 1986, when Rose’s sister, Rachael (b. 25 May 1966, Oxfordshire, England; bass, vocals), and Mark Side (b. 24 June 1969, Oxfordshire, England; drums) completed the line-up. Within a year The Heart Throbs had made inroads towards infamy, supporting The Jesus And Mary Chain on tour and releasing ‘Bang’ in a controversial ‘car crash’ record sleeve. Further publicity followed at the close of the decade when the band started up their own Profumo label, named after the political sex scandal that shocked Britain in the early 60s, and which prompted tastefully ‘saucy’ pictures of singer Rose posing as the notorious Christine Keeler had done 20 years earlier (added to which one of the main scandal protagonists shared the same name as guitarist Ward). In spite of these tactics and several waves of acclaim for their harshly bittersweet pop songs, commercial success remained out of reach. A contract with the One Little Indian Records label in the UK coincided with the band signing to Elektra Records in the USA. Now joined by guitarist Alan Barclay (b. 4 April 1968, Singapore), they achieved moderate success on both sides of the Atlantic with the long-awaited debut album 'Cleopatra Grip', which included the superb "Dreamtime"; the band embarked on a tense tour towards the end of 1990 which resulted in the departures of both bass player Rachael Carlotti and drummer Mark Side.
They were dropped by Elektra and a subsequent contract with A&M Records for the USA also collapsed, while the line-up struggles were compounded by a change of management. Colleen Browne took over on bass for the disjointed but largely ignored 'Jubilee Twist'. The follow-up, 'Vertical Smile', was another strong album, but The Heart Throbs struggled to regain the ground they had lost in the intervening period, and the band ground to a halt the following year. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Generic was a hardcore / punk band from Newcastle, UK, active from 1985 to 1989; and impossible to understand the evolution of the UK HC in the late eighties without this band.
Among their members were
Dickie Hammond (guitarist) born in Sunderland.
First made his mark with H.D.Q. and was part of the line-up that recorded the band's debut album ‘Hung, Drawn And Quartered’ which was released in 1985.
He died 31 Oct. 2015.
He played in other groups such
Angelic Upstarts, Doctor Bison, Hex, Leatherface, Medictation, Stokoe, The Dipsomaniacs, The Jones and Toy Dolls; Micky McGuinness, that has played in a wide and varied range of bands such as Blood Robots, Anything But That, One By One, Ebola, and Jinn.
Micky also writes gritty fiction; Sned (drummer and founder of the punk label Flat Earth), was also member of groups such
Blood Robots, Boxed In, Cydernide, Doom, Formby Channel, Gruel, Health Hazard, John Holmes, Oi Polloi, One By One, Pleasant Valley Children, Sawn Off, Suffer, The Wankys, Thisclose, Threads and War All The Time; and Wizz (Michael Wise, singer).
[SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Frightwig is an all-female punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1982 by Deanna Ashley and Mia Levin. After many line-up changes, Frightwig retired in 1994, but reformed in 2012 with Rebecca Sevrin and Rachel Thoele.
Ashley was raised by a "hippie" mother who introduced her to Buffy Sainte-Marie, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles. When Ashley was 16 years old, she moved to San Francisco. She met Levin at a movie theater in the city. When the band first formed in 1982, Frightwig received a certain amount of attention for being female, including catcalls that made them feel it necessary to defend their "right" to be on stage with the men. On "A Man's Gotta Do, What A Man's Gotta Do", Frightwig invited men onto the stage to strip as "a sexist turnaround."
The bandmates worked minimum wage jobs to support themselves. In San Francisco, Frightwig played the Valencia Tool & Die, The Fillmore, Mabuhay Gardens, the On Broadway, and The Farm.
Frightwig toured the United States several times, British Columbia many times, and Europe in the fall of 1985, opening for D.O.A., and in 1994 for a Swiss tour. In New York City, they often performed at 8BC. The band gained momentary fame after Kurt Cobain was seen at Nirvana's MTV Unplugged concert wearing a Frightwig T-shirt. Frightwig also toured with Flipper, Funkyard, The Butthole Surfers, Snakefinger, GBH, Redd Kross and No Means No, and played with Dead Kennedys, Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch, L7, SWA and Bikini Kill. Bands and performers who list Frightwig as influential include Hole, L7, Bikini Kill, and Faith No More. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Emerald Vein has a completely unique sound that is difficult to compare with anyone. With elements from both progressive rock and the avante-garde scene, the band almost defies genres. At times minimalistic and at times dense, Emerald Vein has a sound which you will immediately love and never forget.
Before Emerald Vein, band founder Bob Young was in a band called UZI which opened for groups like Sonic Youth. In 1982 they did one EP called 'Sleep Asylum' which got great reviews in the New York Times. Bob relates that they were all too crazy to keep it going. After that Young formed a band with the bass player and another singer called A Scanner Darkly which signed to Sub Rosa Records in Belgium. The group did one LP called 'This Is the Way'. Shortly after that Bob Young was born again and quit the band. He began Emerald Vein as a recording project and did all the instruments and sequences.There were a few people playing different things like Terry Donahue on drums and Mimi Thiel on vocals. Emerald Vein released two albums on the Sub Rosa label from Belgium. They received limited exposure in America as Sub Rosa concentrated on European distribution.
Young has a very clear concept hidden in the enigmatic name of the band. “The idea behind the name Emerald Vein is related to Revelation chapter 4 (in the Bible) where it talks about the emerald rainbow that surrounds the throne of God… the Vein (is) like the music going in all directions with the glory of God,” Bob relates. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
New York-based one-off combo Details At Eleven were founded as an experimental avantgarde project featuring Lin Culbertson (voices, synthesizers, flute, electric harp) -currently a core member of White Out-, David Humphrey (saxophones, synthesizers, television), Ken Heer (bass, voices) and Katie O'Looney (drums), and found their place in the turbulent downtown scene somewhere between 3 Teens Kill 4 and Elliott Sharp (collaborating upon the debut album sleeve) or his project Semantics. Their eponymous debut was released via a German independent label Dossier Records in 1986. Details was a highly collaborative band that embodied a variety of
genres including punk, no wave and pop. [SOURCE: CLOCKTOWER]
Circus Mort was an American post-punk band from New York City. Formed in 1979, the band included future Swans singer Michael Gira on vocals, guitarist Rick Oller, bassist Dan Braun, Josh Braun on keyboards and Angelo Pudignano on drums. Jonathan Kane, also of Swans, would become the third drummer for the group. The group recorded only one EP, a self-titled effort on Labor Records, before disbanding in 1981.
The first members of Circus Mort included Don Christensen on bass guitar. Before adopting the name Circus Mort the band was called Metal Envelope. Twin brothers Josh and Dan Braun joined in September 1979 on the recommendation of Christensen, followed by Pudignano who answered an advertisement in the Village Voice. The band recorded two songs at Sorcerer Sound Studios in late 1979, "Require Require" and "Working for Pleasure", which led to the interest of promoter Jim Fouratt. He hired the band to play at the rock disco Hurrah in February 1980, opening for Snatch.
Pudignano left the band, and was replaced by Mike Pedulla. The band gigged around New York throughout 1980 playing at various clubs. In late 1980, Pedulla announced that he was leaving the band, and Jonathan Kane took his place. Shortly after, the band landed a recording contract with the newly formed Labor Records. The band recorded demos of two songs, "Children Remember" and "Yellow Light" at Sorcerer Sound to prepare for a forthcoming EP. Producer Peter Ivers oversaw the recording of further tracks at Minot Sound in White Plains, New York.
Their first concert after the recording was supporting Bauhaus in early 1981 which was recorded on video but has never been released. The band's final performance was in Boston, with The Neats, before disbanding thereafter.
Gira, with Kane, later went on to form Swans. Dan Braun also joined Swans for a short period, and recorded live with them at CBGB, which was released as 'Body to Body, Job to Job'. Kane went on to play with Rhys Chatham and La Monte Young. Gira later formed The Angels of Light, and was the founder of Young God Records. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Breeding Ground were a Canadian alternative rock band in the 1980s, based out of Toronto, Ontario. Lead singer John Shirreff and guitarist Hugh Gladish were the only consistent members of the band, and they founded the group in 1981 with original bassist Jonathan Strayer. Breeding Ground played over 40 shows on the Queen Street West circuit before they released their first eponymous debut EP, 'Breeding Ground', on Mannequin Records, recorded at Montclair Sound in November 1982, with original drummer Ken Jones. This was produced by Paul Tozer, their live audio technician, who worked with them on their first two EPs. Within a month of its release they were asked to open up for Bauhaus on December 4, 1982 at Larry's Hideaway in Toronto.
Comparisons to Joy Division and the British cold-wave invasion were quick to surface after this release.They were managed by longtime friend David Hart (who also masterminded and operated the stage lighting) during this era. Breeding Ground also played at Lee's Palace in Toronto in 1986. Within a little over a year, they had returned to the studio with this line-up to record 'Reunion / Slaughter', their second 12" single. Jonathan Davies, the drummer for local band Kinetic Ideals, expressed an interest in assisting with production, and 3 months before the release replaced Jones in the live line-up. This EP was recorded at Quest Studio, Oshawa, and released in October 1983. 'Reunion / Slaughter' was playlisted on Toronto radio station CFNY and again on college stations across Canada.
Davies was later replaced by Kevin Hunter, who would stay with the band until their break-up in 1990.
Three years after releasing 'Reunion / Slaughter', the band returned to the studio in the late winter of 1985 to record their third release, with label Fringe Product. This album, 'Tales of Adventure', was released April 25, 1986, and spawned the hits "This Time Tomorrow" and "Happy Now I Know" featuring Molly Johnson. Videos were produced for these songs, both directed and produced by Jonathan Strayer's younger brother Colin Strayer; the video for "This Time Tomorrow" was shot on January 28, 1986. However, a year later, bassist Strayer had left, leading to a brief hiatus in which they disbanded, until reforming with Gary Quinn on bass leading to the follow-up recording, 'Obscurity & Flair'. Chris Wardman joined soon after the release of 'Obscurity & Flair' as an additional guitarist. Gary Quinn wrote the lyrics for, and played slide guitar on the track "Live Like Fear". 'Obscurity & Flair' produced the hit "Ceremony of
Love", once again featuring Johnson. A third video was shot for this
song, produced by Mark Mowad, but received minimal exposure on MuchMusic
because it was so dark, literally. Keyboardist Tad Winklarz from Chalk
Circle added saxophone on the track "Bells Descend".
They were invited to open for touring acts such as The Stranglers at The Concert Hall in April 1983 and Echo and the Bunnymen as well as Let's Active on the Ontario portion of their tour in March 1984.
With the release of 'Tales of Adventure' the band started to receive even more national radio airplay, and the two music videos were getting regular rotation on Canadian television music channel MuchMusic. Breeding Ground made it to the number one spot on the college and university music charts, a first for an independent Canadian act. In 1989, four years after releasing 'Tales of Adventure', the band went to the studio for the last time, with the line-up of Shirreff, Gladish, Quinn and Hunter, with a mixture of song-writing including Chris Wardman, before he officially joined the live line-up. Gladish and Shirreff made a decision to end the second phase of the band in March 1990. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, 'Radio Free Europe', was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground. While there were a number of hardcore and punk bands in the U.S. during the early '80s, R.E.M. brought guitar pop back into the underground lexicon. Combining ringing guitar hooks with mumbled, cryptic lyrics and a D.I.Y. aesthetic borrowed from post-punk, the band simultaneously sounded traditional and modern. Though there were no overt innovations in their music, R.E.M. had an identity and sense of purpose that transformed the American underground. Throughout the '80s, they worked relentlessly, releasing records every year and touring constantly, playing both theaters and backwoods dives. Along the way, they inspired countless bands, from the legions of jangle pop groups in the mid-'80s to scores of alternative pop groups in the '90s, who admired their slow climb to stardom.
It did take R.E.M. several years to break into the top of the charts, but they gained a cult following after the release of their debut EP, 'Chronic Town', in 1982. 'Chronic Town' established the haunting folk and garage rock that became the band's signature sound, and over the next five years, they continued to expand their music with a series of critically acclaimed albums. By the late '80s, the group's fan base had grown large enough to guarantee strong sales, but the Top Ten success in 1987 of 'Document' and "The One I Love" was unexpected, especially since R.E.M. had only altered their sound slightly. Following 'Document', R.E.M. slowly became one of the world's most popular bands. After an exhaustive international tour supporting 1988's 'Green', the band retired from touring for six years and retreated into the studio to produce their most popular records, 'Out of Time' (1991) and 'Automatic for the People' (1992). By the time they returned to performing with the 'Monster' tour in 1995, the band had been acknowledged by critics and musicians as one of the forefathers of the thriving alternative rock movement, and they were rewarded with the most lucrative tour of their career. Toward the late '90s, R.E.M. were an institution, as their influence was felt in new generations of bands.
Though R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980, Mike Mills (born December 17, 1958) and Bill Berry (born July 31, 1958) were the only Southerners in the group. Both had attended high school together in Macon, playing in a number of bands during their teens. Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960) was a military brat, moving throughout the country during his childhood. By his teens, he had discovered punk rock through Patti Smith, Television, and Wire, and began playing in cover bands in St. Louis. By 1978, he had begun studying art at the University of Georgia in Athens, where he began frequenting the Wuxtry record store. Peter Buck (born December 6, 1956), a native of California, was a clerk at Wuxtry. Buck had been a fanatical record collector, consuming everything from classic rock to punk and free jazz, and was just beginning to learn how to play guitar. Discovering they had similar tastes, Buck and Stipe began working together, eventually meeting Berry and Mills through a mutual friend. In April of 1980, the band formed to play a party for their friend, rehearsing a number of garage, psychedelic bubblegum, and punk covers in a converted Episcopalian church. At the time, the group played under the name The Twisted Kites. By the summer, the band had settled on the name R.E.M. after flipping randomly through the dictionary, and had met Jefferson Holt, who became their manager after witnessing the group's first out-of-state concert in North Carolina.
Over the next year-and-a-half, R.E.M. toured throughout the South, playing a variety of garage rock covers and folk-rock originals. At the time, the bandmembers were still learning how to play, as Buck began to develop his distinctive, arpeggiated jangle and Stipe ironed out his cryptic lyrics. During the summer of 1981, R.E.M. recorded their first single, 'Radio Free Europe', at Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studios. Released on the local indie label Hib-Tone, 'Radio Free Europe' was pressed in a run of only 1,000 copies, but most of those singles fell into the right hands. Due to strong word of mouth, the single became a hit on college radio and topped The Village Voice's year-end poll of Best Independent Singles. The single also earned the attention of larger independent labels, and by the beginning of 1982, the band had signed to I.R.S. Records, releasing the EP 'Chronic Town' in the spring. Like the single, 'Chronic Town' was well-received, paving the way for the group's full-length debut album, 1983's 'Murmur'. With its subdued, haunting atmosphere and understated production, 'Murmur' was noticeably different than 'Chronic Town' and was welcomed with enthusiastic reviews upon its spring release; Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1983, beating out Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and The Police's 'Synchronicity'. 'Murmur' also expanded the group's cult significantly, breaking into the American Top 40.
The band returned to a rougher-edged sound on 1984's 'Reckoning', which featured the college hit "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)." By the time R.E.M. hit the road to support 'Reckoning', they had become well known in the American underground for their constant touring, aversion to videos, support of college radio, Stipe's mumbled vocals and detached stage presence, Buck's ringing guitar, and their purposely enigmatic artwork. Bands that imitated these very things ran rampant throughout the American underground, and R.E.M. threw their support toward these bands, having them open at shows and mentioning them in interviews. By 1985, the American underground was awash with R.E.M. soundalikes and bands like Game Theory and The Rain Parade, which shared similar aesthetics and sounds.
Just as the signature R.E.M. sound dominated the underground, the band entered darker territory with its third album, 1985's 'Fables of the Reconstruction'. Recorded in London with producer Joe Boyd (Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake), 'Fables of the Reconstruction' was made at a difficult period in R.E.M.'s history, as the band was fraught with tension produced by endless touring. The album reflected the group's dark moods, as well as its obsession with the rural South, and both of these fascinations popped up on the supporting tour. Stipe, whose on-stage behavior was always slightly strange, entered his most bizarre phase, as he put on weight, dyed his hair bleached blonde, and wore countless layers of clothing. None of the new quirks in R.E.M.'s persona prevented 'Fables of the Reconstruction' from becoming their most successful album to date, selling nearly 300,000 copies in the U.S. R.E.M. decided to record their next album with Don Gehman, who had previously worked with John Mellencamp. Gehman had the band clean up its sound and Stipe enunciate his vocals, making 'Lifes Rich Pageant' their most accessible record to date. Upon its late summer release in 1986, 'Lifes Rich Pageant' was greeted with the positive reviews that had become customary with each new R.E.M. album, and it outstripped the sales of its predecessor. Several months after 'Lifes Rich Pageant', the group released the B-sides and rarities collection 'Dead Letter Office' in the spring of 1987.
R.E.M. had laid the groundwork for mainstream success, but they had never explicitly courted widespread fame. Nevertheless, their audience had grown quite large, and it wasn't that surprising that the group's fifth album, 'Document', became a hit shortly after its fall 1987 release. Produced by Scott Litt -who would produce all of their records over the course of the next decade- 'Document' climbed into the U.S. Top Ten and went platinum on the strength of the single 'The One I Love', which also went into the Top Ten; it also became their biggest U.K. hit to date, reaching the British Top 40. The following year, the band left I.R.S. Records, signing with Warner Bros. for a reported six million dollars. The first album under the new contract was 'Green', which was released on U.S. Election Day 1988. 'Green' continued the success of 'Document', going double platinum and generating the Top Ten single 'Stand'. R.E.M. supported 'Green' with an exhaustive international tour, in which they played their first stadium dates in the U.S. Though they had graduated to stadiums in America, they continued to play clubs throughout Europe.
The 'Green' tour proved to be draining for the group, and they took an extended rest upon its completion in 1989. During the break, each member pursued side projects, and 'Hindu Love Gods', an album Buck, Berry, and Mills recorded with Warren Zevon in 1986, was released. R.E.M. reconvened during 1990 to record their seventh album, 'Out of Time', which was released in the spring of 1991. Entering the U.S. and U.K. charts at number one, 'Out of Time' was a lush pop and folk album, boasting a wider array of sounds than the group's previous efforts; its lead single, 'Losing My Religion', became the group's biggest single, reaching number four in the U.S. Since the bandmembers were exhausted from the 'Green' tour, they chose to stay off the road. Nevertheless, 'Out of Time' became the group's biggest album, selling over four million copies in the U.S. and spending two weeks at the top of the charts. R.E.M. released the dark, meditative 'Automatic for the People' in the fall of 1992. Though the band had promised a rock album after the softer textures of 'Out of Time', 'Automatic for the People' was slow, quiet, and reflective, with many songs being graced by string arrangements by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Like its predecessor, 'Automatic for the People' was a quadruple platinum success, generating the Top 40 hit singles 'Drive', 'Man on the Moon', and 'Everybody Hurts'.
After piecing together two albums in the studio, R.E.M. decided to return to being a rock band with 1994's 'Monster'. Though the record was conceived as a back-to-basics album, the recording of 'Monster' was difficult and plagued with tension. Nevertheless, the album was a huge hit upon its fall release, entering the U.S. and U.K. charts at number one; furthermore, the album received accolades from a number of old-school critics who had been reluctant to praise the band, since they didn't "rock" in conventional terms. Experiencing some of the strongest sales and reviews of their career, R.E.M. began their first tour since 'Green' early in 1995. Two months into the tour, Bill Berry suffered a brain aneurysm while performing; he had surgery immediately and had fully recovered within a month. R.E.M. resumed their tour two months after Berry's aneurysm, but his illness was only the beginning of a series of problems that plagued the 'Monster' tour. Mills had to undergo abdominal surgery to remove an intestinal tumor in July; a month later, Stipe had to have an emergency surgery for a hernia. Despite all the problems, the tour was an enormous financial success, and the group recorded the bulk of a new album. Before the record was released in the fall of 1996, R.E.M. parted ways with their longtime manager Jefferson Holt, allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against him; the group's lawyer, Bertis Downs, assumed managerial duties.
'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' was released in September 1996, just before it was announced that the band had re-signed with Warner Bros., reportedly for a record-breaking sum of 80 million dollars. In light of such a huge figure, the commercial failure of 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' was ironic. Though it received strong reviews and debuted at number two in the U.S. and number one in the U.K., the album failed to generate a hit single, and it only went platinum where its three predecessors went quadruple platinum. By early 1997, the album had already begun its descent down the charts. However, the members of R.E.M. were already pursuing new projects, as Stipe worked with his film company, Single Cell Pictures, and Buck co-wrote songs with Mark Eitzel and worked with a free jazz group, Tuatara.
In October of 1997, R.E.M. shocked fans and the media with the announcement that Berry was amicably exiting the group to retire to life on his farm; the remaining members continued on as a three-piece, soon convening in Hawaii to begin preliminary work on their next LP. Replacing Berry with a drum machine, the sessions resulted in 1998's 'Up', widely touted as the band's most experimental recording in years. It was only a brief change of direction, since R.E.M.'s next album, 2001's 'Reveal', marked a return to their classic sound. 'Around the Sun' followed in 2004. A worldwide tour convened in 2005, which included an appearance at the London branch of Live 8. In 2007, R.E.M. were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and began work on their next album, 'Accelerate', which was released in 2008. The album sported a faster, more guitar-driven sound than 'Around the Sun', which had received lukewarm reviews and sold poorly, particularly in America. It earned rave reviews and topped charts around the world (although it halted at number two in America).
For 2011's 'Collapse Into Now', the band favored a more expansive sound, one that combined 'Accelerate's rock songs with slower ballads and moody atmospherics. Reviews were mostly positive, and it debuted in the Top Five in America. Unexpectedly, in September 2011, R.E.M. announced their amicable breakup after 31 years together. Immediately after the split, the band issued a double-disc compilation entitled 'Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage: 1982-2011', covering their years at both I.R.S. and Warner. In 2015 the band signed a deal with Concord Bicycle to distribute their Warner recordings, and the first fruits of this partnership surfaced in 2016, when a 25th Anniversary Edition of 'Out of Time' appeared in November of that year. The next installment in this reissue campaign was a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of 'Automatic for the People' in November 2017. A year later, the group released 'R.E.M. at the BBC', a box set containing eight CDs and a DVD chronicling all their live work for the British Broadcasting Company. A 25th Anniversary edition of 'Monster' appeared in 2019. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Few rock groups of the '80s broke down as many musical barriers and were as original as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Creating an intoxicating new musical style by combining funk and punk rock together (with an explosive stage show to boot), the Chili Peppers spawned a slew of imitators in their wake, but still managed to be the leaders of the pack by the dawn of the 21st century.
The roots of the band lie in a friendship forged by three school chums, Anthony Kiedis, Michael Balzary, and Hillel Slovak, while they attended Fairfax High School in California back in the late '70s/early '80s. While Balzary and Slovak showed great musical promise (on trumpet and guitar, respectively), Kiedis focused on poetry and acting during his high school years. During this time, Slovak taught Balzary how to play bass, while the duo encouraged Kiedis to start putting his poetry to music, which he soon did. Influenced heavily by the burgeoning L.A. punk scene (The Germs, Black Flag, Fear, Minutemen, X, etc.) as well as funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, etc.), the trio began to rehearse with another friend, drummer Jack Irons, leading to the formation of Tony Flow & the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, a quartet that played strip bars along the Sunset Strip during the early '80s. It was during this time that the four honed their sound and live act (as they stumbled across a stage gimmick that would soon become their trademark -performing on-stage completely naked, except for a tube sock covering a certain part of their anatomy). By 1983, Balzary had begun to go by the name "Flea", and the group changed their name to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Word spread quickly about the up-and-coming band, resulting in a recording contract with EMI. But before the Chili Peppers could begin work on their debut, Flea and Kiedis were dealt a disappointing blow when both Slovak and Irons announced that they were leaving to focus more on another group they were in, What Is This. With replacement members Jack Sherman (guitar) and Cliff Martinez (drums) filling in, the Peppers released their self-titled debut in 1984. The absence of the two original members showed, though, as the album failed to capture the excitement of their live show. While the record didn't set the world on fire sales-wise, the band began to build a dedicated underground following with college radio buffs. By 1985, What Is This were kaput (after issuing a single self-titled album) and Slovak and Irons returned to the Peppers, resulting in the George Clinton-produced 'Freaky Styley'. While the album was an improvement over its predecessor, it still lacked the fire of the band's in-concert experience, a problem that would finally be solved with their next long-player, 1987's 'The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'. The album was the group's first to make an impression on the charts, and they followed it up a year later with a stopgap five-track release, 'The Abbey Road EP', in 1988. However, just as the world was warming up to the Peppers, tragedy struck when Slovak died from a heroin overdose on June 25, 1988.
In the wake of Slovak's death, Irons left the group for the second and final time, while Kiedis (who was also battling drug addiction at the time) and Flea decided to soldier on. After a new lineup featuring former Parliament guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight and former Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro didn't work out, the duo found worthy replacements in newcomers John Frusciante and Chad Smith. The new-look Chili Peppers hit pay dirt straight away, as their first album together, 1989's 'Mother's Milk', became a surprise hit due to MTV's exposure of their videos for a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and a song about their fallen friend Slovak, "Knock Me Down," as the album was certified gold by early 1990. The bandmembers knew that their next release would be the most important one of their career, so they moved into a mansion turned recording studio with producer Rick Rubin to work on what would become their most successful release yet, the stripped-down 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' (their first for the Warner Bros. label). The record became a monster hit upon its September 1991 release (eventually going on to sell a staggering seven million copies in the U.S. alone), as it spawned such hits as "Give It Away" and the group's first Top Ten single, "Under the Bridge."
But not all was well in the Chili Peppers camp. Like his predecessor, Frusciante had become addicted to hard drugs, and abruptly left the band mid-tour in early 1992. Undeterred, the group enlisted new member Arik Marshall, and they headlined Lollapalooza II in the summer. When the band returned to the studio to work on their sixth release overall, it quickly became apparent that Marshall didn't fit in, and he was replaced by Jesse Tobias. But before Tobias could record a note with the group, he was handed his walking papers as well, and former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro signed on. After a layoff of four years, the Peppers' much-delayed follow-up to BSSM, 'One Hot Minute', was released in 1995. While the album was a sizable hit, it failed to match the success and musical focus of its predecessor, as it became apparent during the record's ensuing tour that Navarro wasn't fitting in as well as originally hoped, and he left the band in early 1998.
Following Frusciante's departure from the group, he released a pair of obscure solo releases, 1995's 'Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt' and 1997's 'Smile from the Streets You Hold', yet rumors circulated that the guitarist was homeless, penniless, and sickly with a death-defying drug habit. After checking himself into rehab and putting his demons behind him, Frusciante emerged once again refocused and re-energized, and promptly accepted an invitation to rejoin the Peppers once more. The group's reunion album, 1999's 'Californication', proved to be another monster success, reconfirming the Chili Peppers as one of alternative rock's top bands.
The group put in a quick guest appearance on Fishbone's 'Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx' before hitting the road to support the album. The following months found the band getting involved in bizarre situations and controversies. First, their refusal to play songs from 'One Hot Minute' during the tour was an unpopular decision with some fans and a sore spot for Dave Navarro. Next, they re-ignited a personal feud between Kiedis and Mr. Bungle singer Mike Patton by refusing to play a series of European concerts with Bungle. Patton responded with a "tribute" show for the Peppers, where Bungle mocked their stage moves, faked shooting up heroin, and imitated Kiedis' comments about Patton. They also played the ill-fated Woodstock '99 festival, where their headlining performance was met with piles of burning rubble and a full-scale riot. Tours with the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam brought them into the next year without problems, but the Peppers stepped off the road after a planned stop in Israel was halted due to security worries.
The band returned to the studio in November 2001, and by the summer of 2002 they had a new album ready for release, 'By the Way'. Warner Bros. issued a 'Greatest Hits' compilation in 2003, followed by a chart-topping two-CD album of all-new material, 'Stadium Arcadium', in 2006. After an extensive supporting tour, the Red Hot Chili Peppers took an extended hiatus and the members pursued individual interests. Flea began studying music theory at USC and played in a variety of side projects. Kiedis attempted to turn his autobiography, "Scar Tissue", into a television show. Smith joined Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Joe Satriani in the party supergroup Chickenfoot. Frusciante released 'The Empyrean' in 2009, by which time he had left the band. His replacement was Josh Klinghoffer, who played secondary guitar on the 'Stadium Arcadium' tour.
Klinghoffer's first album with the band, the Rick Rubin-produced 'I'm with You', was released in late summer of 2011. It performed well around the world, hitting number one in numerous countries and reaching gold or platinum status. Touring the globe occupied much of the next three years, although the band's most prominent appearance was in America, playing with Bruno Mars at the halftime show for 2014's Super Bowl. By the end of the year, they'd begun writing songs, and entered the studio with Danger Mouse in the production chair and Nigel Godrich mixing. In 2016, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 11th studio album, 'Getaway', which featured the lead single 'Dark Necessities'. Jack Sherman, who played guitar on the Peppers' first album, died on August 18, 2020, at the age of 64. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Automatics are an English punk rock and new wave band that was formed by Dave Philp in 1976 after a brief stint as the singer with The Boys.
Along with the Sex Pistols and The Damned, the Automatics regularly played the Marquee Club in London and toured clubs around the U.K. and Europe. Their hit song "When the Tanks Roll Over Poland Again", (released on Island Records in 1978) was number one on the punk/new wave charts. It was one of the first records to be produced by Steve Lillywhite, who was Philp's flatmate at the time, and who went on to produce U2.
The Automatics also played gigs with Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers and Thunders himself played on the Automatics first album, 'Walking with the Radio On'. The Automatics toured England with The Vibrators and played the Reading Festival in 1979.
In 1980, Dave Philp moved to California, where he remained lead singer and songwriter for the Automatics but with different players in the band. As punk declined in popularity, Philp went into business for himself in Los Angeles, California, but continued to write, record songs and play small clubs as the Automatics. Yet, even he was surprised in 2000 when a punk rock record promoter in Tokyo contacted him about releasing his first album and going on tour in Japan. Toshio Iijima of Base Records had Philp play sold-out clubs in Tokyo and Kyoto being backed by Japanese punk musicians who had memorized both the music and lyrics of his first record. The success of that tour led Iijima to bring Philp back to Japan in 2002 and 2004. He also released two more albums: '2' in 2002 and 'Forty Virgins in the Afterlife' in 2004.
The Automatics albums released through Base Records in Japan were produced by Jim Wirt (Incubus, Hoobastank, Fiona Apple, No Doubt and Jacks Mannequin). In 2006, bassist Wirt (formerly of Fool's Face), became a regular member of the band and brought on drummer Paul Crowder (formerly of Eric Burdon, Flogging Molly) and lead guitarist Brian Coffman (Fool's Face).
Wirt, Crowder and Coffman joined Philp to become the Automatics for the 2006 'Britannia' album, which is a collection of songs about England and Englishness from an expatriate's point of view released on Dork Records UK/U.S.
Veteran DJ Mike Read in London invited Philp to tour England playing some of the songs in the summer of 2006 and the single 'Old River Thames' went to number one on the Big L/Capital Radio charts in London in January 2007. After the release of 'Britannia' in the U.S. in the spring of 2007, other songs found airplay among independent DJs such as Jonathan L at KUPD-Phoenix, leading Philp to perform at the South by Southwest event in Austin, Texas. By September 2007, other singles had found airplay including "England Expects", "Who Died and Made You Brian Jones" and "British Beat", which features guitar work by Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols.
Though Philp's style has changed and is more oriented to song-writing and less toward pure punk, 'Britannia' still features many of his friends from the punk rock days including Ian McCallum (Stiff Little Fingers), Mick Rossi (Slaughter and The Dogs), and Michael Des Barres (Power Station). In 2008, Automatics released 'Jukebox of Human Sorrow'. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
