Both a polymath and erudite musician, Jabir (real name, Francisco Javier Sánchez González) decided to pay homage to the marriage of spirituality and science inspired by the legacy of Al-Andalus, the muslim Spanish civilisation. For that aim, he relied on a vast array of acoustic instruments (ney, violin, ud, bendir and daf), as well as on digital synthesizers and a complex system of computers able to generate aleatory melodies in Middle Eastern scales. He released two albums, the cassette 'Vuelo por las Alturas de Xauen' (1989, EKG), and the LP 'Vuelo por las Alturas de Alhambra', originally published in 1988 on Discos Esplendor Geométrico and a hidden gem in the catalogue of this influential Spanish label. The album unfolds a series of subtle and mesmerising compositions, and it's a recommended listening for those into the most narcotic side of Muslimgauze, the Dariush Dolat-Shahi's lps on Folkways, Jon Hassell's "Fourth World" explorations or even the recent work of contemporary Iranian experimentalists like Sote and Saba Alizadeh. [SOURCE: AGUIRRE RECORDS]
Javier Segura
(full name Francisco Javier Segura González) is a Spanish cult musician, composer and sound engineer born in 1955 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. His music could be defined as a mix of darkwave, tribal ambient and minimal synth. He released three albums on the Ja Ja imprint (a Spanish sub-label of Manzana Records specialized in independent pop and rock bands from Canary Islands): 'Javier Segura' (1983), 'Nostalgia de lo Humano' (1986) and 'Lamento Berebeber' (1989).
Before going solo he played in Arte Moderno with drummer/percussionist Mandi Capote, releasing the 7" single 'Ninette In New York' in 1982, and years before in the Psychedelic Rock band Huellas, with Pedro Martínez and Pedro Valverde, releasing the LP 'Huellas' in 1973 on the Acción label.
His piece “Malagueñas 2” sounds like nothing else of the time and space it
was created. Its dramatic, emotional drones, sound like something Jonny
Greenwood might have cribbed during Radiohead’s 'Kid A' sessions alongside
that famous sample of Paul Lansky’s “Mild Und Leise” in “Idioteque". [SOURCE: NTS]
Victor Nubla (1956-2020) was one of the original members of the laboratory group Macromassa, founded in 1976, and experimenting with electronic modifications of wind instruments and voice through advanced or unknown forms of rock, jazz, industrial music, noise or minimal. More than 40 recordings and hundreds of concerts are the product of those years. His solo work started in 1980, founding the Laboratorio de Musica Desconocida ("Unknown Music Laboratory") and working in improvisation, electronic experiments, soundscape, installations and music for cinema, video, theatre and contemporary dance.
He worked at Sonitec S.A. in the 1980s as a recording engineer, and wrote the book "La Nueva Música, del Industrial al Tecno-Pop" with the alias of Adolfo Marín in 1984, published by Editorial Teorema.
Finis Africae was a Spanish ambient collective formed in 1982, that released two albums in the first half of the 80s and remained sporadically active until 2000. The band included musicians coming from the folk and the new age as well as singers-songwriters, such as Juan Alberto Arteche Gual, Luis Delgado, Javier Bergia, Javier Paxariño, Markus Breuss and Juan Carlos Fernández Puerta. The band takes its name from Umberto Eco's novel "The Name of the Rose", in which "Finis Africae" is a secret area of the monastery library, where books considered dangerous for the Christian faith are hidden. In 1991, together with Clónicos and the Swiss painter Daniel Garbade, they presented in Madrid “Cláusulas”, a performance celebating the 700 years of the Swiss Confederation. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Mecanica Popular were formed in 1979 by Eugenio Muñoz and Luis Delgado. They worked together as sound engineers at RCA Studios in Madrid, so they decide to start recording music based on tape manipulation with an “industrial” aesthetics, going back to the beginning of the 20th century, where the Russian “Futurists” (Mayakóvski, Burliuk, etc.) and the Italians (Marinetti, Balla, Carrá, etc.) were different from the “Previsionists” (Verne, Bellamy, Wells, etc.), proposing a more creative and extreme attitude in their principles. Futurism was based on the rejection of previous artistic schemes, proposing speed, dynamism and urban life as a source of inspiration. Taking all this as a simple aesthetic reference, they began to record songs for their first album '¿Qué Sucede Con El Tiempo?' released by DRO in 1984.
The LP received good reviews, entering the specialized lists of the United Kingdom, and receiving praises from avant-garde artists such as Carolyn Carlson.
Three years later the duo released their second album, entitled 'Baku: 1922'. Inspired by the sounds of old printing presses, the title refers to the historic Industrial Music concert held that year in the aforementioned capital of Azerbaijan. It featured army cannons, harbor ship sirens, factory sirens, etc.
After this work, there was a long break during which each of the members of the duo dedicated themselves to different activities within the musical field of production and research. In 2006 they begin to reconsider the possibility of recording a new work for Warner Music, which will be released in January 2010. In the same year the Austrian company N-norm signed a contract for the vinyl reissue of the first two albums. [SOURCE: LUISDELGADO.NET]
Camino al Desván, which existed between 1983 and 1986, were a fundamental part of the cassette label movement of the early eighties in Barcelona with the Ortega y Cassette label, together with other artists such as Melodinamika Sensor (Javier Hernándo) or 32 Guajar's Faragüit. Later, the three of them, together with Avant-Dernieres Pensées, shared the legendary sampler released by Discos Esplendor Geométrico in 1985 'EG002. Cuatro Grupos de Barcelona'.
Camino al Desvan developed a unique and varied style that sometimes could remind us of groups like Tuxedomoon. They emerged camouflaged within the industrial electronic movement of the 80's, although their interests and proposals violated the elementary precepts of the genre. Crouched in a vital and aesthetic corner that placed them in a more singular place and full of reminiscences and references both daily and artistic that distanced them from this industrial tradition. As if they were distilling a homemade brandy. [SOURCE: ROTOR DISCOS]
Tears for Fears were always more ambitious than the average synth pop group. From the beginning, the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were tackling big subjects -their very name derived from Arthur Janov's primal scream therapy, and his theories were evident throughout their debut, 'The Hurting'. Driven by catchy, infectious synth pop, 'The Hurting' became a big hit in their native England, setting the stage for international stardom with their second album, 1985's 'Songs from the Big Chair'. On the strength of the singles "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout," the record became a major hit, establishing the duo as one of the leading acts of the second generation of MTV stars. Instead of quickly recording a follow-up, Tears for Fears labored over their third album, the psychedelic and jazz-rock-tinged 'The Seeds of Love'. Smith left the group in the early '90s while Orzabal continued with Tears for Fears as a solo project for several years, issuing a pair of albums. They reunited briefly for 2004's 'Everybody Loves a Happy Ending' and permanently to tour and record 2022's 'The Tipping Point'.
Orzabal and Smith met as children in Bath, England. Both boys came from broken homes, and Smith was leaning toward juvenile delinquency. Orzabal, however, turned toward books, eventually discovering Arthur Janov's primal scream therapy, a way of confronting childhood fears that John Lennon embraced after The Beatles disbanded. Orzabal turned Smith on to Janov, but before the duo explored this theory further, they formed the ska revival band Graduate in the late '70s. After releasing a handful of singles, including "Elvis Should Play Ska," Graduate dissolved in the early '80s, and the duo went on to form Tears for Fears, a synth pop outfit directly inspired by Janov's writings.
Riding in on the tail-end of new wave and new romantic, Tears for Fears -which featured musical contributions from former Graduate keyboardist Ian Stanley on early albums- landed a record contract with Polygram in 1982. The following year, the band released its debut, 'The Hurting', which became a major hit in Britain, generating no less than three Top Five hit singles. Two years later, the group released 'Songs from the Big Chair', which demonstrated a more streamlined and soul-influenced sound. 'Songs from the Big Chair' became a huge hit in America, rocketing to the top of the charts on the strength of the singles "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout," which both hit number one, and the number three "Head Over Heels," which were all supported by clever, stylish videos that received heavy MTV airplay.
Instead of quickly following 'Songs from the Big Chair' with a new record, Tears for Fears labored over their new record, eventually delivering the layered, Beatlesque 'The Seeds of Love' in 1989. Featuring soulful vocals from Oleta Adams, who dominated the hit "Woman in Chains," the album became a hit, reaching number eight, while the single, "Sowing the Seeds of Love," reached number two in the U.S. Again, Tears for Fears spent several years working on the follow-up to 'Seeds of Love', during which time they released the collection 'Tears Roll Down: Greatest Hits 82-92'. Smith and Orzabal began to quarrel heavily, and Smith left the group in 1992, making Tears for Fears' 1993 comeback 'Elemental' essentially a solo record from Orzabal. On the strength of the adult contemporary hit "Break It Down Again," 'Elemental' became a modest hit, reaching gold status in the U.S., yet was hardly up to the group's previous levels. Smith, meanwhile, released a solo album in 1993, 'Soul on Board', which went ignored. Orzabal returned with another Tears for Fears album, 'Raoul and the Kings of Spain', in 1995, which failed to make much of an impact. In late 1996, they released a rarities collection. In 2004, Orzabal reunited with Smith for the colorful 'Everybody Loves a Happy Ending', their first collaboration in over a decade.
It wouldn't be until 2013 that newly recorded material would surface, although the duo had been active on the live circuit, with dates in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. A three-track EP, released especially for Record Store Day, appeared that year and featured covers of Arcade Fire's "Ready to Start," Animal Collective's "My Girls," and Hot Chip's "Boy from School." Used as a springboard for writing and recording new music, Tears for Fears inked a deal with Warner Records the following year and continued to work on their seventh album.
During this time, Orzabal spent time caring for his wife, who passed away in 2017; her death profoundly influenced his songwriting. After a few false starts, mainly due to additional songwriters being brought in, Smith and Orzabal sat down together to write in a manner inspired by the world around them, resulting in songs that poignantly dealt with everything from the climate crisis to political upheaval. They spent a summer touring and in 2021 entered the studio and completed 'The Tipping Point' for Craft Records. It arrived in February 2022 as their first full-length studio recording of original material in 18 years, and marked their return to touring. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
T.A.S.S. II
was an industrial experimental duo formed by Thomas Scholz (a.k.a. Hartmann), and Thomas Schmitt, who ran the label Das Cassettencombinat and released an audio fanzine called "Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit". Later he wrote for the german Hard Rock and Heavy Metal magazine "Rock Hard". Their music is a brilliant mixture of Portion Control meeting SPK and Throbbing Gristle. [SOURCE: SOUNDOHM]
Meshing '60s-styled guitar pop with an understated '80s dance beat, The Stone Roses defined the British guitar pop scene of the late '80s and early '90s. After their eponymous 1989 debut album became an English sensation, countless other groups in the same vein became popular, including The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets, and Happy Mondays. However, The Stone Roses were never able to capitalize on the promise of their first album, waiting five years before they released their second record and slowly disintegrating in the year-and-a-half after its release.
The Stone Roses emerged from the remains of English Rose, a Manchester-based band formed by schoolmates John Squire (guitar) and Ian Brown (vocals). In 1985, The Stone Roses officially formed, as Squire and Brown added drummer Reni (born Alan John Wren), guitarist Andy Couzens, and bassist Pete Garner. The group began playing warehouses around Manchester, cultivating a dedicated following rather quickly. Around this time, the group was a cross between classic British '60s guitar pop and heavy metal, with touches of goth rock. Couzens left the group in 1987, followed shortly afterward by Garner, who was replaced by Mani (born Gary Mounfield) and the group recorded its first single, "So Young," which was released to little fanfare by Thin Line Records. (Pete Garner died on November 3, 2023; he was 61.) At the end of 1987, The Stone Roses released their second single, "Sally Cinnamon," which pointed the way toward the band's hook-laden, ringing guitar pop. By the fall of 1988, the band secured a contract with Silvertone Records and released "Elephant Stone," a single that set the band's catchy neo-psychedelic guitar pop in stone.
Shortly after the release of "Elephant Stone," The Stone Roses' bandwagon took off in earnest. In early 1989, the group was playing sold-out gigs across Manchester and London. In May, band released their eponymous debut album, which demonstrated not only a predilection for '60s guitar hooks, but also a contemporary acid house rhythmic sensibility. The Stone Roses received rave reviews and soon a crop of similar-sounding bands appeared in the U.K. By the end of the summer, The Stone Roses were perceived as leading a wave of bands that fused rock & roll and acid house culture.
"She Bangs the Drums," the third single pulled from the debut, became the group's first Top 40 single at the end of the summer. In November, the group had its first Top Ten hit when "Fool's Gold" climbed to number eight. By the end of the year, the band had moved from selling out clubs to selling out large theaters in the U.K.
For the first half of 1990, re-releases of the band's earlier singles clogged the charts. They returned in July 1990 with the single "One Love," which entered the charts at number four. Prior to the release of "One Love," The Stone Roses organized their own festival at Spike Island in Widnes. The concert drew over 30,000 people and would prove to be their last concert in England for five years. After Spike Island, the group became embroiled in a vicious legal battle with Silvertone Records -the band wanted to leave the label but Silvertone took out a court injunction against them, preventing the group from releasing any new material. For the next two years, they fought Silvertone while allegedly preparing the follow-up to their debut album. However, The Stone Roses did next to nothing as the court case rolled on. In the meantime, several major record labels began negotiating with the band in secret. In March of 1991, the lawsuit went to court. Two months later, the band won its case against Silvertone and signed a multi-million deal with Geffen Records.
For the next three years, The Stone Roses worked sporadically on their second album, leaving behind scores of uncompleted tapes. During these years, the group kept a low profile in the press but that wasn't to preserve the mystique -they simply weren't doing much of anything besides watching football. Finally, in the spring of 1994, Geffen demanded that the group finish the album and the band complied, completing the record, titled 'Second Coming', in the fall. "Love Spreads," The Stone Roses' comeback single, was debuted on Radio One in early November. The single received lukewarm reviews and entered the charts at number two, not the expected number one. 'Second Coming' received mixed reviews and only spent a few weeks in the Top Ten.
The Stone Roses planned an international tour in early 1995 to support the album, but the plans kept unraveling at the last minute. Before they could set out on tour, Reni left the band, leaving the group without a drummer. He was replaced by Robbie Maddix, who had previously played in Rebel MC. After Maddix joined the band, they embarked on a short American tour at the conclusion of which John Squire broke his collarbone in a bike accident. Squire's accident forced them to cancel a headlining spot at the 25th Glastonbury Festival, which would have been their first concert in the U.K. in five years. As Squire recuperated, The Stone Roses continued to sink in popularity and respect -even as their peers, The Charlatans and former Happy Mondays vocalist Shaun Ryder, made unexpectedly triumphant comebacks.
The band added a keyboardist to the lineup prior to their U.K. tour at the end of 1995; it was the first British tour since 1990. In the spring of 1996, Squire announced that he was leaving the band he'd founded in order to form a new, more active group. The Stone Roses announced their intention to carry on with a new guitarist, but by October of that year the group was finished. Squire's new band, Seahorses, released its debut album in June 1997, while Brown began a solo career in 1998 with 'Unfinished Monkey Business'. Mani joined Primal Scream as full-time bassist, although he also played on several tours by Stereophonics.
Aside from continual denials from Squire and others that no reunion was forthcoming, there was no news about The Stone Roses for close to 15 years, until 2011. During the early part of the year -after an emotional reunion of Brown and Squire at the funeral for Mani's mother- rumors swirled that the Roses would be back for at least one show. Then, in October 2011, the band announced a full reunion, including tour dates that began with a three-show appearance in Manchester in late June of 2012, and extended through the entire festival season. By December, a recording contract had also been announced, with the band's future recordings appearing on Universal in Great Britain and Columbia in the United States. Four years after those contracts were signed, the first fruits from recording sessions at Paul Epworth's studios appeared. In May 2016, the band released the single "All for One," the first new material from the four-piece in some 21 years. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Best known for their early-'80s new wave pop hits, particularly "I Got You," Split Enz -after surviving a dizzying array of image and personnel changes and a full decade without any recognition outside of their homeland- became the first New Zealand band to achieve worldwide success. Although they never reached superstar status outside of Australia and New Zealand, the band developed a strong international cult following that continued to thrive over a decade after their breakup. Split Enz's output always seemed slightly outside of the times and often frustratingly obscure, but in the end, they left behind a body of work that was always interesting and often reached pure pop brilliance.
The group was founded in 1972 in Auckland, New Zealand, by Brian Timothy Finn and Phil Judd. Initially, the band was a light acoustic combo called Split Ends consisting of Judd (guitar, vocals), Finn (vocals, piano), Miles Golding (violin), Mike Howard (flute), and Mike Chunn (bass). Finn and Judd were the main songwriting force of the band's early years. Judd drew his inspiration from a wild variety of often non-musical sources while Finn's tastes leaned toward the British pop of The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Move. In a creative rush that lasted several months, the two bashed out songs on acoustic guitars -Judd working out the basic song with lyrics and Finn providing the melodies. Miles Golding came from a classical background and pushed the band into complex, neo-classical structures and arrangements. The result was an eclectic mix of styles that was quite original though not very commercial. After months of rehearsals, the group went into the studio to record their first single, "For You"/"Split Ends," in February of 1973. After the single was released, the band launched a small tour; upon its completion, Golding left the group to study in London. At Chunn's urging, the band went for a new, electric sound, adding Geoff Chunn on drums, Wally Wilkinson on guitar, and saxophonist Rob Gillies, who was only a part-time member. After the new lineup was in place, Judd refused to tour, claiming their music was too complex for stage presentation; he stayed behind to write and record new material while the rest of the band toured, although he would later rejoin the live lineup. The group made an appearance on the televised New Zealand talent contest "New Faces" -though they finished second to last, it gave them some crucial early exposure. In 1974, former Space Waltz keyboardist Tony (Eddie) Rayner was added to the band and they changed their name to Split Enz. Following the name change, the group embarked on a series of radio-sponsored "Buck-a-Head" shows -rather than play the more traditional pub circuit, they played theaters, which seemed more suited to the band's style. The group's shows took on a theatrical tone, as the bandmembers wore wild, colorful costumes and sported a variety of odd hairdos. Finn acted as master of ceremonies, giving odd spoken soliloquies. Judd made the occasional appearances as did costume designer and spoons soloist Noel Crombie. By the fall of 1974, Crombie was added as a full-time member on percussion. Before the tour was completed, Geoff Chunn was replaced by Paul Crowther and Rob Gillies left the group.
In March of 1975, the group traveled to Australia -at this time, all members except Judd switched to using their middle names. Mistakenly billed as "New Zealand's raunchiest rock & roll band," the band struggled for nine months but they eventually earned a small cult following and secured a contract with Mushroom Records. Their debut album, 'Mental Notes', was recorded in two weeks. While their inexperience in the studio combined with an unsympathetic producer led to a less than satisfying result in the band's eyes, the album encapsulated the band at its artiest and most ambitious. The album made a brief appearance on both the Australian and New Zealand charts. By November of 1975 Wilkinson was fired and Gillies rejoined.
Split Enz had caught the attention of Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera, who offered to help the band with their next album; they arranged to meet him in England to redo 'Mental Notes'. Before leaving, they recorded a new single, "Late Last Night." Despite the complex song structure, the single showed the band moving toward a pop direction; nevertheless, it failed to have much impact. "Late Last Night" was accompanied by a video clip, which was an uncommon practice in 1976; the band would continue to make conceptual clips from that point on. In April of 1976, Split Enz joined up with Manzanera in England and signed to Chrysalis for worldwide distribution. While the recordings went well, they found it impossible to secure live work in Britain without an agent. The band rehearsed constantly, although the songwriting partnership of Judd and Finn had dried up and no new songs were being written. 'Second Thoughts', essentially a reworked 'Mental Notes', was released toward the end of 1976 (it was released internationally as 'Mental Notes'). Before the band supported the album with a U.S. tour in early 1977, Crowther was replaced on drums by Mal Green. Judd, fed up with uninterested audiences and the demands of promotion, left the band during the tour and Chunn left two months later. The band returned to England to regroup -they replaced Judd with Tim's younger brother Neil and recruited bassist Nigel Griggs.
Tim Finn assumed leadership of the new incarnation of Split Enz and the group began to move away from its arty, theatrical tendencies on their next LP, 1977's 'Dizrhythmia'. In Australia, the album went gold and the single "My Mistake" became their first Top 20 hit. In England, the group fared far worse. In the wake of the punk explosion, Split Enz seemed slightly out of touch. Though their odd looks and new, leaner material wasn't so far removed from post-punk styles, their earlier reputation seemed more in line with the progressive rock the punks sought to destroy. However, they did manage to keep a small cult following within the U.K.
By early 1978, Split Enz had been dropped by Chrysalis and, unable to get gigs, they were forced to go on the dole. They continued writing new material at a feverish pace and rehearsing constantly. Gillies was fired and Judd rejoined but he found himself unable to fit into the new direction of the band and left the group shortly thereafter; he later found limited success as the leader of The Swingers and as a solo artist. The New Zealand Arts Council came to the band's aid with a 5,000-dollar grant. A studio in Luton was booked and the band knocked off 28 songs in under five days. These sessions, known as the "Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes," displayed a newfound edge and considerable commercial potential. Around the same time, they recorded a new single with producer David Tickle -a straight-ahead rocker called "I See Red"- which charted respectably in Australia. Split Enz returned to Australia to make their next album, 1978's 'Frenzy', re-recording many songs from the Luton tapes. However, the final product paled in comparison to the demos -the high energy of the original tapes simply wasn't captured and many of the best songs were left on the demos. Many of the Luton recordings would later resurface on the A&M version of 'Frenzy', released in North America in 1981.
The band teamed up again with David Tickle for their next album, 'True Colours', in 1979. The album lacked the excesses of their previous albums and showcased their new pure pop direction. With Neil Finn's seductive "I Got You," the band finally broke through -the single and album hit number one in Australia and New Zealand, with the album eventually selling 200,000 albums in Australia, the equivalent of one in every ten homes in that country. The success led to an international deal with A&M Records. 'True Colours' performed well in the U.K. and the U.S. and went platinum in Canada. The band quickly recorded a follow-up during a mid-year break in touring. The result -called 'Corroboree' in Australia and 'Waiata' internationally- was released in April of 1981. The record was somewhat disappointing, seeming to follow the same formula as its predecessor but with decidedly lesser material. The album failed to match the success of 'True Colours', but it did manage two hit singles, "One Step Ahead" and "History Never Repeats." On their subsequent North American tour, Split Enz were billed equally with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, which stands as a testament to the band's growing popularity. Mal Green left the band to work on solo projects and Crombie took over on drums.
By late 1981, after many months of intensive touring, the band retreated to the studio to record their most personal and creatively satisfying album to date, 'Time and Tide'. Released in 1982, it immediately topped the Australian and New Zealand charts. The advent of MTV and the channel's commitment to new wave acts helped the band's growing cult status in America -both "Dirty Creature" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" (as well as earlier videos) saw heavy airplay on the channel- but the album failed to see much chart action.
Early in 1983, Tim took a break from Split Enz to work on a solo album, 'Escapade'. The album was a big success in Australasia, spawning several hits singles including the Top Ten "Fraction Too Much Friction." For all of its success, though, the album distracted Tim, delaying the follow-up to 'Time and Tide' and effectively ending the momentum Split Enz had built over the previous three albums. 'Conflicting Emotions' was finally finished by the fall of 1983. Prior to this album, Tim had been the primary contributor, but for this effort, he was overshadowed by brother Neil who had written a considerable majority of songs for the first time. The album, while predictably successful in Australia/New Zealand, saw a delayed release in the States and failed to make much impact. A new drummer, Paul Hester, was added, demoting Crombie to percussion. Before work was begun on the next album, Tim announced that he was leaving the band. With Neil Finn as the leader, the band carried on for one more album -1984's 'See Ya Round', an uneven album that was released only in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Neil decided to fold the band following a farewell tour, Enz with a Bang!, for which Tim rejoined the group.
Neil and Paul Hester went on to form the internationally successful Crowded House, Tim continued a sporadic solo career, joining Crowded House for the 'Woodface' album in 1991. Nigel Griggs, Noel Crombie, and Phil Judd formed Schnell Fenster, releasing two albums before disbanding and Eddie Rayner has done session work and formed his own combo, The Makers. Tim and Neil Finn reunited for a Finn Brothers album in 1995. Split Enz remains an institution in their homeland, occassionally playing reunion gigs. In 1996, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra performed a symphonic tribute to Split Enz under the direction of Eddie Rayner with contributions from both Tim and Neil Finn as well as other New Zealand artists including Dave Dobbyn. The resulting album, 'ENZSO', spent several weeks in the Australian and New Zealand Top Ten. A second ENZSO project, 'ENZSO 2', followed in 1999. The classic Enz lineup reunited for a New Year's Eve millennium gig in New Zealand. In 2005 the band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the 'True Colours'-era lineup reunited again for a brief but highly successful Australian tour in 2006. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
As one of the leading New Romantic bands, Spandau Ballet racked up a number of British hits -as well as one Top Ten American hit, "True"- during the early '80s, becoming one of the most successful groups to emerge from the new wave. The only other New Romantic band to enjoy greater commercial success was Duran Duran, yet Spandau Ballet was there first, scoring three Top Ten hit singles during 1981 with their synthesized dance-pop. By 1983, the London-based quintet had shed its Roxy Music-inspired robotic art-disco and picked up on Bryan Ferry's latter-day crooner persona, revamping themselves as a slick, stylish white soul act. It was in this incarnation that Spandau Ballet experienced its greatest success, as "True" reached number one in Britain and number four in America. However, their time in the spotlight was short-lived. Though they had a few more hits in Britain, none of them were particularly big, and in America they disappeared at the end of 1984. By the end of the decade, the group had split, with their core members, brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, launching acting careers in the 1990 film "The Krays", and the group began a consistent series of reunion tours and recordings in 2009.
The Kemps -who played guitar and bass, respectively- founded Spandau Ballet in 1979 with Tony Hadley (vocals), Steve Norman (rhythm guitar, saxophone, percussion), and John Keeble (drums). The group hired their school friend Steve Dagger as manager. Spandau Ballet began playing nightclubs in London that had responded to punk by embracing exaggeratedly fashionable clothes and makeup. Soon, the band was one of the most popular attractions on this scene, which was subsequently dubbed by the British press as "New Romantic." Chris Blackwell, the head of Island Records, saw the group at a London party and offered them a contract on the spot. They rejected his offer, choosing to set up their own label, Reformation. Early in 1980, the group licensed Reformation to Chrysalis, giving their label the distribution power of a major label.
"To Cut a Long Story Short," Spandau Ballet's first single, shot to number five in Britain upon its fall 1980 release. It was quickly followed by the number 17 hit "The Freeze" in early 1981, and "Musclebound," which reached number ten in the spring, followed by the release of their debut album, 'Journeys to Glory'. The singles made their way over to America, where they received play in dance clubs. In the summer, they released a new, non-LP single, "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)," which boasted a funkier beat and soulful flourishes. The group continued to pursue this direction on their subsequent singles, including the gold-selling Top Ten U.K. hits "Instinction" and "Lifeline," as well as their 1982 album 'Diamond', but it didn't reach fruition until the 1983 album 'True'.
'True' was a full-fledged white soul album, much like the sophisticated pop of late-'70s Roxy Music albums. The title ballad reached number one in Britain during the spring and a few months later, the single and album became hits in America, peaking at number four and 19, respectively. Spandau Ballet managed to hit the Top Ten once more in the U.K. with "Gold," which peaked at number two; in the U.S., it reached 29. "Communication," a third American single from 'True', fizzled in the spring of 1984. Its failure was the beginning of the band's commercial downfall. "Only When You Leave," the first single from 1984's 'Parade', was a number three hit in the U.K., yet it only reached 34 in the U.S.; furthermore, it was their last American hit ever. 'Parade' was a success in Britain, but it wasn't as big as its predecessor. In 1985, Spandau Ballet sued Chrysalis, claiming that the label wasn't providing enough promotional support for the band, especially in the U.S., and thereby harming their career. The suit was settled in 1986, and the group jumped ship for CBS/Columbia (Epic in the U.S.), where they released 'Through the Barricades' that same year. The title track was a Top Ten hit, but its follow-up, "How Many Lies?," became the group's last Top 40 hit. Following the release of 'Heart Like a Sky' in 1989, they quietly disbanded.
Gary and Martin Kemp played the notorious British mobsters the Krays in a 1990 film of the same title. Gary Kemp pursued acting as his vocation during the '90s, appearing in "The Bodyguard" with Whitney Houston, HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show", and "Embrace of the Vampire" with Alyssa Milano. Tony Hadley released a solo album, 'State of Play', in 1993. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Soundgarden carved out a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. They were not the first band to draw upon the heavy, sludgy sounds of the '70s; the group picked up a thread left hanging by fellow Seattle rockers Green River, grunge pioneers who favored the scuzzy rock of The Stooges, and they shared Jane's Addiction's love of grandiose heavy rock. Nevertheless, Soundgarden popularized metal within alternative rock, even obliterated the line separating the two subcultures. Melding the slow grind of Black Sabbath and cinematic scope of Led Zeppelin with the D.I.Y. aesthetics of punk, Soundgarden played with an intelligence and ironic sense of humor that was indebted to the American underground of the mid-'80s. Their music contained a similar sense of adventure, often taking detours into psychedelia, unconventional guitar tunings, and complicated time signatures. Vocalist Chris Cornell and guitarist Kim Thayil were excellent foils, with Cornell's powerful wail pushing against Thayil's winding riffs, a chemistry that gave the band a distinctive character that belonged neither to the mainstream nor the underground. This chemistry was evident from the band's start, when Soundgarden was one of the first groups to release a recording on Seattle's pioneering Sub Pop label. Those early records built a considerable buzz, suggesting Soundgarden would be the band that broke down the commercial doors for alternative rock. That didn't turn out to be the case. They were eclipsed by the meteoric success of Nirvana, fellow Sub Pop alumni whose 'Nevermind' became a blockbuster while Soundgarden was working on 'Badmotorfinger' in the fall of 1991. As it turns out, Soundgarden received a boost from grunge exploding in the mainstream. 'Superunknown', their 1994 album, became an international smash, with its hit single "Black Hole Sun" becoming a standard of its era. The group didn't weather success well, disbanding after 1996's 'Down on the Upside', but their catalog endured, leading the band to reunite in 2010. Over the next few years, the group toured regularly, releasing a new album called 'King Animal' in 2012, before Cornell died tragically in 2017.
For a band so heavily identified with the Seattle scene, it's ironic that two of its founding members were from the Midwest. Kim Thayil (guitar), Hiro Yamamoto (bass), and Bruce Pavitt were all friends in Illinois who decided to head to Olympia, Washington, to attend college in 1981. Though none of them completed college, all of them became involved in the Washington underground music scene. Pavitt was the only one who didn't play -he founded a fanzine that later became the Sub Pop record label. Yamamoto played in several cover bands before forming a band in 1984 with his roommate Chris Cornell (vocals), a Seattle native who had previously played drums in several bands. Thayil soon joined the duo and the group named itself Soundgarden after a local Seattle sculpture. Scott Sundquist was originally the band's drummer, but he was replaced by Matt Cameron in 1986. Over the next two years, Soundgarden gradually built up a devoted cult following through their club performances.
Pavitt signed Soundgarden to his fledgling Sub Pop label in the summer of 1987, releasing the single "Hunted Down" before the EP 'Screaming Life' appeared later in the year. 'Screaming Life' and the group's second EP, 1988's 'FOPP', became underground hits and earned the attention of several major labels. The band decided to sign to SST instead of a major, releasing 'Ultramega OK' by the end of 1988. 'Ultramega OK' received strong reviews among alternative and metal publications, and the group decided to make the leap to a major for its next album, 1989's 'Louder Than Love'. Released on A&M Records, 'Louder Than Love' became a word-of-mouth hit, earning positive reviews from mainstream publications, peaking at 108 on the charts, and earning a Grammy nomination. Following the album's fall 1989 release, Yamamoto left the band to return to school. Jason Everman, a former guitarist for Nirvana, briefly played with the band before Ben Shepherd joined in early 1990.
Soundgarden's third album, 1991's 'Badmotorfinger', was heavily anticipated by many industry observers as a potential breakout hit. Though it was a significant hit, reaching number 39 on the album charts, its success was overshadowed by the surprise success of Nirvana's 'Nevermind', which was released the same month as 'Badmotorfinger'. Prior to 'Nevermind', Soundgarden had been marketed by A&M as a metal band, and the group had agreed to support Guns N' Roses on the fall 1991 'Use Your Illusion' tour. While the tour did help sales, Soundgarden benefited primarily from the grunge explosion, whose media attention helped turn the band into stars. They were also helped by the Top Ten success of Temple of the Dog, a tribute to deceased Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood that Cornell and Cameron recorded with members of Pearl Jam.
By the spring release of 1994's 'Superunknown', Soundgarden's following had grown considerably, which meant that the album debuted at number one upon its release. (A year before its release, Shepherd and Cameron released an eponymous album by their side project, Hater.) 'Superunknown' became one of the most popular records of 1994, generating a genuine crossover hit with "Black Hole Sun," selling over three million copies and earning two Grammys. Soundgarden returned in 1996 with 'Down on the Upside', which entered the charts at number two. Despite the record's strong initial sales, it failed to generate a big hit, and was hurt by grunge's fading popularity. Soundgarden retained a sizable audience -the album did go platinum, and they were co-headliners on the sixth Lollapalooza- but they didn't replicate the blockbuster success of 'Superunknown'. After completing an American tour following Lollapalooza that was plagued by rumors of internal fighting, Soundgarden announced that they were breaking up in April 1997 to pursue other interests.
During the late '90s and 2000s, each member kept very busy. Cornell released three solo albums, also recording and touring as Audioslave with former members of Rage Against the Machine. Cameron toured his Wellwater Conspiracy project, and played and recorded with Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam. Thayil collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Cameron, Dave Grohl, Steve Fisk, and Boris. Meanwhile, Shepherd helped out with Wellwater Conspiracy, and also played and recorded with Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees. Finally, in 2010, the band announced a reunion with a few live shows during the summer (including that year's edition of Lollapalooza) which preceded a compilation, 'Telephantasm', in the fall. 'Telephantasm' was initially available as a double-disc set on September 28, with a single-disc version appearing a week later (the single-disc was also included in "Guitar Hero" on September 28). In 2011, Soundgarden released their first live album, 'Live on I-5', which featured material recorded during the band's supporting tour for 'Down on the Upside'. All of this activity would be the prelude to Soundgarden's full-on return in 2012, when they released their sixth album, 'King Animal', in the fall of that year.
'King Animal' debuted at five on the Billboard Top 200 upon its November 2012 release and the band supported it throughout the next year with a tour. Matt Cameron took a hiatus from the band in November 2013 due to commitments with Pearl Jam; former Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain replaced him for live dates in 2014. That year, Soundgarden celebrated the 25th anniversary of 'Superunknown' with the release of two deluxe editions of the 1991 album: a double-disc set and a seven-disc Super Deluxe box set. During 2015, Chris Cornell mentioned that Soundgarden had started working on material for a new studio set and the band made it official in 2016, announcing that they were beginning to record an album. In the meantime, the band released a deluxe reissue of 'Ultramega OK' in March 2017 and began an American tour that April. On May 17, following the band's concert at Detroit's Fox Theater, Cornell was found dead in his hotel room; he had taken his own life at the age of 52.
In the wake of Cornell's death, the surviving members of Soundgarden took time to regroup. In an October 2018 interview, Thayil suggested that the remaining trio would retire the Soundgarden name but perhaps work together in some capacity. The three did perform at a Chris Cornell tribute concert in January 2019, a show where vocals were handled by several singers, including Brandi Carlile, Taylor Momsen, and Taylor Hawkins. In July 2019, the band released their first posthumous record, the double album 'Live from the Artists Den', which captured a concert from 2013. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Solid Space was a short-lived British minimal wave band, formed in 1980 by Matthew 'Maf' Vosburgh and Dan Goldstein. Vosburgh and Goldstein, who met at age 11, were previously involved in 1970s new wave band Exhibit A and formed a record label, Irrelevant Wombat Records, at age 14. The band's music and lyrics were heavily indebted to science fiction, in particular the television series "Doctor Who".
The band spent the next couple of years after their formation recording, with contributions from Jonathan "Jon Winegum" Weinreich.
The band's only release that featured all of their material, titled 'Space Museum', was released on cassette in 1982 through In Phaze Records. Following its release, Solid Space disbanded and their members drifted into obscurity. Despite staying underground, the band was influential in the development of minimal wave and other related electronic music genres, influencing acts such as In Trance 95.
Following the dissolution of the band, Dan Goldstein pursued a career in journalism, which included a stint as editor of Maplin's Electronics & Music Maker magazine, whilst Maf Vosburgh studied photography and became a photographer for music magazines, before later moving on to work as a software engineer for Apple and Google. Both members are currently based in the United States. In 2017, under the supervision and approval of Solid Space, 'Space Museum' was remastered onto vinyl by indie label Dark Entries. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The Senseless Things' bounding, enthusuastic blend of loud guitars, punk tempos, and bubblegummy pop melodies made a splash on the British scene in the early 1990s. After a few indie singles, including the insistent "Too Much Kissing," the band turned out a fine trio of albums notable for their Jamie Hewlett-drawn covers, their mix of snappy singles, and their more thoughtful, sometimes political album tracks.
Formed in 1987 in the town of Twickenham in West London, the band (Mark Keds on guitar and vocals, Ben Harding on guitar and vocals, Cass Browne on drums, Morgan Nicholls on bass) made a series of fast, melodic, and charmingly light-hearted singles for indie label Way Cool. Their 1988 album, 'Postcard C.V.', solidified their feel-good punk style and found them sounding like a perfect mix of the Buzzcocks and The Undertones with a little Archies thrown in. Around this time, the band struck up a friendship with Jamie Hewlett, creator of "Tank Girl", and their record sleeves featured his work. A single taken from the album, "Too Much Kissing," soon became a solid indie hit and a larger label, Decoy, snapped up the band. Decoy was the home of the Mega City Four, another fine British pop-punk group.
The Senseless Things released two well-received EPs in 1990, and after a storming appearance at the Reading Festival and a packed house tour of U.K. clubs, Epic Records signed them. The band was maturing musically and their first album for Epic found them utilizing acoustic guitars and exploring slower tempos. 1991's 'First of Too Many' was a medium-sized hit, as were the singles taken from it, and the band seemed poised for more success. The next album, 1993's 'Empire of the Senseless', showed the band maturing lyrically as well. "Homophobic Asshole" was the first single from the record and although it was not a huge commercial hit, it showed that the band may have a future beyond bubblegum punk, but it was not to be. They released one more album, 1995's 'Taking Care of Business', and split after one last tour.
The band felt they had taken their sound as far as they could and decided to move in other directions. Keds formed a band called Jolt in late 1995, and would later perform with Deadcuts and The Wildhearts; Harding played with 3 Colours Red; Nichols released a solo album then joined The Streets and Muse as a live bassist; Browne was a vital part of Gorillaz for a decade and in 2019 formed the band Loup GarouX with Ed Harcourt. Along with all this indiviual activity, there was a brief Senseless Things reunion in 2007, then a more serious one in 2017 that resulted in a new single called "Lost Honey." Any chance of further concerts or recordings was curtailed by the death of Mark Keds in January of 2021. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Seers were a British rock group active between 1984 and 1991.
In 1988 they became the first unsigned band to play the main stage at the Reading Festival. This was swiftly followed by a blaze of publicity when their Rough Trade single 'Lightning Strikes' was released at the time of the Hungerford shootings. Signing a major deal with Virgin subsidiary Head Records they were left in limbo when the company folded. [SOURCE: CHERRY RED RECORDS]
The Sandkings were an indie pop music band from Wolverhampton, England who had minor success in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
They were named after a 1981 collection of sci-fi short stories by George R. R. Martin (called "Sandkings").
Their first four singles were released on their own Long Beach Records; the first, "Rain", featured a singer called Andy Parton, before they recruited Jas Mann as their lead vocalist. They toured with other West Midlands bands including The Wonder Stuff, Pop Will Eat Itself and Ned's Atomic Dustbin as well as being the opening act for Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses in the early 1990s.
Mann left the band in 1992 because of creative differences, and they disbanded. Mann went on to form Babylon Zoo who had a No. 1 single with "Spaceman" in over 20 countries in 1996. Guitarist Glenn Dodd went on to form Gravity Wheel with bassist Dave Brown and producer/DJ Lee 'Peza' Perry, and released several critically acclaimed singles "WSH", "Tears in the Rain", and "U Mudda U", as well as the album 'Bulldogtunawasp'. They also provided several re-mixes for other artists. Drummer Terry Kirkbride went on to play for Southern Fly and Proud Mary, as well as touring the world with a solo Noel Gallagher (Oasis). He also is credited as playing on Oasis' album 'Don't Believe the Truth', and Paul Weller's '22 Dreams'. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
In their mid-’80s heyday (such as it was), New York’s Raunch Hands were retro-rock representatives of that presumed golden age of sleaze, the mid-’50s to mid-’60s. Thus 'El Rauncho Grande' offers neo-rockabilly, neo-R&B and even neo-Mex, all filtered through the band’s beer-heightened (lowered?) sensibilities. 'Learn to Whap-a-Dang' is less quaint than the EP, and its denser band sound helps the Raunch Hands barrel through their own R&B: Raucous & Bawdy. Mike Chandler isn’t much of a singer, but attitude counts for a lot here, and guitarist Mike Tchang’s occasional sax is a definite plus. Too bad their originals (about half of each record) can’t match the ’50s obscurities for sheer mindlessness -not counting 'Whap-a-Dang‘s “Kangaroo Juice,” an “original” stolen from Eddie Cochran.
On following recordings the band increased its songwriting contributions, with mixed results. The last thing the Raunch Hands’ chosen genre needs is ambition, and 'Payday' sometimes chokes on it; thus “Detox Moon,” an over-five-minute (!!) wino response to the Stones’ “Moonlight Mile.” The schoolyard couplets of “Bottle-Now!” (in praise of cheap booze) and immature humor of “Hare-Raisin'” (in praise of the Raunch Hands’ hapless career) prove that less is definitely more.
Which may be why 'Have a Swig' is under a half-hour long. Highlights here include a lascivious stomp, “Everybody Loves Yo’ Mama,” and the less-than-existential “Naked, Naked, Naked.” More power to these guys, whose gutter-view perspective has undeniable aroma and charm. [SOURCE: TROUSER PRESS]
Although the best-known band of the early Australian punk scene of the late '70s was The Saints, the first band to wave the punk rock flag in the land down under was Radio Birdman. Formed by Australian émigré Deniz Tek (originally from Ann Arbor, MI) and Aussie surfer-turned-vocalist Rob Younger in 1974, Radio Birdman's approach to rock & roll was rooted in the high-energy, apocalyptic guitar rant of The Stooges and MC5, sprinkled liberally with a little East Coast underground hard rock courtesy of Blue Öyster Cult. Their first EP, 'Burn My Eye', released in 1976, was a great record and still remains a seminal chunk of Aussie punk. Loud and snotty, with Younger bellowing his guts out and Tek on a search-and-destroy mission with his guitar, this was a great debut that set the stage for the impending deluge of Aussie punk bands waiting in the wings.
After the release of their debut LP, 'Radios Appear' (the title comes from a lyric in the Blue Öyster Cult song "Dominance and Submission"), in Australia a year later, Radio Birdman seemed poised to break Aussie punk worldwide. And although the American label Sire (then the home of the Ramones) was quick to sign them and distribute 'Radios Appear' internationally in 1978, there was a gap of three years before they released a second album, 'Living Eyes'. During that time, dozens of other Aussie punk bands stole their thunder, and Radio Birdman split up almost immediately after 'Living Eyes' was released. Sire never released the record outside of Australia, and Radio Birdman, who should have been the biggest band in Aussie punk, was now a highly regarded punk forefather.
After the band split, various members were busy forming other bands: Tek formed the New Race with Younger, ex-Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, and ex-MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson, released a handful of solo singles and EPs, and became a surgeon; Younger started his own band, The New Christs, and produced records by the second generation of Aussie punk bands influenced by Radio Birdman, most notably The Celibate Rifles; other Radio Birdman alumni ended up in assorted Aussie bands such as The Lime Spiders, Hoodoo Gurus, and Screaming Tribesmen. Now the grand old man of Aussie punk, Tek formed a part-time project with Celibate Rifles guitarist Kent Steedman that rocks with the same reckless abandon Radio Birdman did when they were changing the course of Australian rock forever. Tek also reunited with vocalist Rob Younger in 2001 on the second album by Deep Reduction, one of Tek's many side projects. Radio Birdman also staged occasional reunion shows, starting with an appearance at Australia's Big Day Out Festival in 1996.
2001 also saw a renewal of interest in Radio Birdman thanks to an excellent compilation, 'The Essential Radio Birdman: 1974-1978'; it was released by Sub Pop in the States, where much of the band's catalog had been out of print. 'Murder City Nights: Live', a document of a 1976 concert in Sydney, arrived in 2003, and in 2006 Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, Chris Masuak, and Pip Hoyle joined new members Jim Dickson (bass) and Russell Hopkinson (drums) in the studio to record a new album, 'Zeno Beach'. Along with extensive Australian touring, the American release of the album brought Radio Birdman to the United States for the first time. Two concerts from the 2007 leg of Birdman's U.S. tour were featured in part on the 2010 album 'Live In Texas'. By the time 'Live In Texas' appeared, Radio Birdman had split again, as Younger opted to focus his time and energy on The New Christs. However, in 2014 Radio Birdman returned for another Aussie tour, though Chris Masuak's absence from the lineup proved controversial among fans. The tour was staged in part as a warmup for the release of a career-spanning box set, featuring remastered editions of the group's albums, studio rarities, and an unreleased live disc. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
