Green River were arguably the first grunge band, forming around the same time as the rest of Seattle's first wave (The Melvins, Soundgarden, and Malfunkshun). In 1985, they became the first grunge band to release a record, kickstarting the Seattle music scene and later helping to establish the Sub Pop label. However, Green River are even more famous for the bands that sprang from their breakup: Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone, the latter of which also contained the roots of Pearl Jam. That lineage somewhat overshadows Green River's actual music, which helped lay out the blueprint for grunge but didn't necessarily rank among its most transcendent expressions. Green River specialized in a dirty, sludgy, gleefully ugly hybrid of punk, heavy metal, and bluesy hard rock, drawing from bands like The Stooges and Aerosmith in addition to the hardcore punk outfits where many of the members first cut their teeth. Its appeal tends to depend upon the depth of the listener's interest in grunge, but regardless, the seeds of a revolution are certainly audible.
Green River were formed in Seattle in 1984, taking their name from the area's notorious, then-recent serial killer (who wasn't brought to justice until around two decades later). Lead vocalist/guitarist Mark Arm and guitarist Steve Turner had previously played together in the local hardcore bands Mr. Epp and The Limp Richerds, while drummer Alex Vincent (aka Alex Shumway) came from Spluii Numa and bassist Jeff Ament from Deranged Diction. Late in the year, second guitarist Stone Gossard -Turner's onetime bandmate in The Ducky Boys- came onboard, allowing Arm to concentrate exclusively on singing. Green River started playing local clubs, and in 1985 they recorded two tracks for the compilation album "Deep Six", the inaugural release on local indie C/Z Records (it also featured early tracks by Soundgarden, The Melvins, Malfunkshun, and Skin Yard). Later in 1985, Green River went to New York to record their debut EP, 'Come On Down', for the Homestead label.
Following the release of 'Come On Down', Steve Turner left the band (reportedly over his distaste for its metal influences) and was replaced by Bruce Fairweather, who had played with Ament in Deranged Diction. In the summer of 1986, the group recorded another EP, 'Dry as a Bone', in Seattle with producer Jack Endino; it was issued by Bruce Pavitt's fledgling Sub Pop label in July 1987. Green River subsequently began work on an eight-song mini-album for Sub Pop, which was released in early 1988 under the title 'Rehab Doll'. By the time it appeared, though, intra-band tensions were tearing Green River apart. The central issue was commercialism: Gossard and Ament wanted to pursue a major-label deal, while Arm preferred to remain independent and record for Sub Pop. The final straw apparently stemmed from a gig in Los Angeles; Arm wanted to give his friends backstage passes, but found that Ament had reserved them all for A&R reps who never showed up. Not long after 'Rehab Doll' appeared, Green River officially disbanded.
Arm reunited with Turner to form the punkier Mudhoney, while Gossard, Ament, and Fairweather joined up with ex-Malfunkshun singer Andrew Wood in the glammier Mother Love Bone. Following Wood's death from a heroin overdose, Gossard and Ament moved on to found the hugely successful Pearl Jam with vocalist Eddie Vedder. Fairweather, meanwhile, moved on to Love Battery. In late 1993, during a Pearl Jam encore in Las Vegas, Arm and Turner joined Gossard and Ament on-stage for a one-time-only Green River reunion. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Bristol, England indie pop icons The Flatmates were formed in mid-1985 by singer/guitarist Martin Whitehead -also the founder of the famed Subway Organization label- and drummer Rocker, whose roommate Kath Beach soon signed on to play bass. With the addition of another roommate, singer Deb Haynes, Whitehead relinquished vocal chores, and the group set about recording its first demos, comprised primarily of covers of favorites by the Ramones, The Stooges, and The Velvet Underground. Asked by a local journalist who was in the still-unnamed group, Rocker responded, "Oh, me and my flatmates"; the name stuck, and in early 1986, they played their first official gig in support of Half Man Half Biscuit. Though not appearing on NME's famous now-famous C-86 cassette, The Flatmates nevertheless emerged from the same anorak pop scene which also spawned the likes of the Shop Assistants, The BMX Bandits, and The Soup Dragons -not only did the band's debut single "I Could Be in Heaven" appear that fall, but they also regularly opened for the many C-86 bands performing at the Bristol club the Bunker, which Whitehead and Rocker jointly managed.
After eight gigs Beach left The Flatmates, and was replaced by bassist Sarah Fletcher; although their second single, 1987's "Happy All the Time," cracked the U.K. indie Top Five, professional commitments forced Rocker (a practicing dental surgeon) to quit the group in mid-1987, with drummer Joel O'Beirne signing on to record their third single, "You're Gonna Cry." The follow-up, "Shimmer," topped the indie charts in the spring of 1988, and after adding second guitarist Tim Rippington, The Flatmates toured Germany; at the end of the tour Fletcher exited the lineup, with Whitehead doubling on bass to record "Heaven Knows," which despite a strong promotional push failed to match the success of "Shimmer," in the process spelling Subway's end. Bassist Jackie Carrera was added in time to tour Britain in the fall; Rippington was dismissed from the roster after showing up drunk for The Flatmates' gig at the University of London, however, and with the subsequent departure of Haynes, the group was finished, with the remaining members briefly continuing on as The Sweet Young Things. 1989's 'Love and Death' assembled The Flatmates' singles as well as material recorded for a planned LP for London Records. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
One of new wave's most innovative and (for a time) successful bands, Devo was also perhaps one of its most misunderstood. Formed in Akron, Ohio, in 1972 by Kent State art students Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo took its name from their concept of "de-evolution" -the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society. Their music echoed this view of society as rigid, repressive, and mechanical, with appropriate touches -jerky, robotic rhythms; an obsession with technology and electronics (the group was among the first non-prog rock bands to make the synthesizer a core element); often atonal melodies and chord progressions- all of which were filtered through the perspectives of geeky misfits. Devo became a cult sensation, helped in part by their concurrent emphasis on highly stylized visuals, and briefly broke through to the mainstream with the smash single "Whip It," whose accompanying video was made a staple by the fledgling MTV network. Sometimes resembling a less forbidding version of The Residents, Devo's simple, basic electronic pop sound proved very influential, but it was also somewhat limited, and as other bands began expanding on the group's ideas, Devo seemed unable to keep pace. After a series of largely uninteresting albums, the band called it quits early in the '90s, and Casale and Mothersbaugh concentrated on other projects.
Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh both attended art school at Kent State University at the outset of the '70s. With friend Bob Lewis, who joined an early version of Devo and later became their manager, the theory of de-evolution was developed with the aid of a book entitled "The Beginning Was the End: Knowledge Can Be Eaten", which held that mankind had evolved from mutant, brain-eating apes. The trio adapted the theory to fit their view of American society as a rigid, dichotomized instrument of repression which ensured that its members behaved like clones, marching through life with mechanical, assembly-line precision and no tolerance for ambiguity. The whole concept was treated as an elaborate joke until Casale witnessed the infamous National Guard killings of student protesters at the university; suddenly there seemed to be a legitimate point to be made. The first incarnation of Devo was formed in earnest in 1972, with Casale (bass), Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals), and Mark's brothers Bob (lead guitar) and Jim, who played homemade electronic drums. Jerry's brother Bob joined as an additional guitarist, and Jim left the band to be replaced by Alan Myers. The group honed its sound and approach for several years (a period chronicled on Rykodisc's 'Hardcore' compilations of home recordings), releasing a few singles on its own Booji Boy label and inventing more bizarre concepts: Mothersbaugh dressed in a baby-faced mask as Booji Boy (pronounced "boogie boy"), a symbol of infantile regression; there were recurring images of the potato as a lowly vegetable without individuality; the band's costumes presented them as identical clones with processed hair; and all sorts of sonic experiments were performed on records, using real and homemade synthesizers as well as toys, space heaters, toasters, and other objects. Devo's big break came with its score for the short film "The Truth About De-Evolution", which won a prize at the 1976 Ann Arbor Film Festival; when the film was seen by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, they were impressed enough to secure the group a contract with Warner Bros.
Recorded under the auspices of pioneering producer Brian Eno, 'Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!' was seen as a call to arms by some and became an underground hit. Others found Devo's sound, imagery, and material threatening; Rolling Stone, for example, called the group fascists. But such criticism missed the point: Devo dramatized conformity, emotional repression, and dehumanization in order to attack them, not to pay tribute to them.
While 1979's 'Duty Now for the Future' was another strong effort, the band broke through to the mainstream with 1980's 'Freedom of Choice', which contained the gold-selling single "Whip It" and represented a peak in their sometimes erratic songwriting. The video for "Whip It" became an MTV smash, juxtaposing the band's low-budget futuristic look against a down-home farm setting and hints of S&M. However, Devo's commercial success proved to be short-lived. 1981's 'New Traditionalists' was darker and more serious, not what the public wanted from a band widely perceived as a novelty act, and Devo somehow seemed to be running out of new ideas. Problems plagued the band as well: Bob Lewis successfully sued for theft of intellectual property after a tape of Mothersbaugh was found acknowledging Lewis' role in creating de-evolution philosophy, and the sessions for 1982's 'Oh, No! It's Devo' were marred by an ill-considered attempt to use poetry written by would-be Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley, Jr. as lyrical material.
As the '80s wore on, Devo found itself relegated to cult status and critical indifference, not at all helped by the lower quality of albums like 1984's 'Shout' and 1988's 'Total Devo'. With the band's shift toward electronic drums, Alan Myers departed in 1986, to be replaced by ex-Sparks and Gleaming Spires drummer David Kendrick. Devo recorded another album of new material, 'Smooth Noodle Maps', in 1990, after which its members began to concentrate on other projects. Mark Mothersbaugh moved into composing for commercials and soundtracks, writing theme music for MTV's "Liquid Television", Nickelodeon's "Rugrats", Pee-Wee's "Playhouse", and the Jonathan Winters sitcom "Davis Rules". He also played keyboards with The Rolling Stones, programmed synthesizers for Sheena Easton, and sang backup with Debbie Harry. Buoyed by this success, Mothersbaugh opened a profitable production company called Mutato Muzika, which employed his fellow Devo bandmates. Jerry Casale, meanwhile, who directed most of the band's videos, directed video clips for The Foo Fighters' "I'll Stick Around" and Soundgarden's "Blow Up the Outside World." No reunions were expected, but as Devo's legend grew and other bands acknowledged their influence (Nirvana covered "Turnaround," while "Girl U Want" has been recorded by Soundgarden, Superchunk, and even Robert Palmer), their minimalistic electro-pop was finally given new exposure on six dates of the 1996 Lollapalooza tour, to enthusiastic fan response.
The following year, Devo released a CD-ROM game ("The Adventures of the Smart Patrol") and accompanying music soundtrack, in addition to playing selected dates on the Lollapalooza tour. 2000 saw the release of a pair of double-disc Devo anthologies: the first was the half-hits/half-rarities "Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology" (on Rhino), while the second was the limited-edition mail-order release "Recombo DNA" (on Rhino's Handmade label), the latter of which was comprised solely of previously unreleased demos. In 2001, the Mothersbaugh and Casale brothers reunited under the name The Wipeouters for a one-off surf release, 'P'Twaaang!!!' Casale would introduce his Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers solo project with the 2006 album 'Mine Is Not a Holy War'. It was that same year that the band teamed with Disney for Dev2.0, a band/project/album that involved a set of preteens re-recording classic Devo tracks, although some lyrics were adjusted to be more "family friendly." Devo got back to releasing their own material in 2007 with the downloadable single "Watch Us Work It," but a new, promised album failed to materialize. In 2008 they returned to Akron for a rare show and in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign with all proceeds going toward the Summit County Democratic Party. After deluxe 2009 reissues of 'Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!' and 'Freedom of Choice' sent the band back on the road to play said albums live in their entirety, work resumed on a new album. By the end of the year, it was announced that the band had once again signed with Warner for an album originally titled "Fresh." An Internet campaign where fans got to choose the full-length's 12 tracks inspired the 2010 effort, 'Something for Everybody'. Sadly, Bob Casale died suddenly and unexpectedly from heart failure on February 17, 2014; he was 61 years old. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
One of the original forefathers in the industrial boom of the 1980s, Chrome's amalgam of distorted guitars and vocals, samples from TV, and a raw punk aesthetic (inspired by The Stooges) became much more popular in the early '90s than it ever was while the band was around in the '70s and '80s. Although active for only six years, Chrome left behind a huge discography, including nine full LPs (several of which were released posthumously) and numerous EPs and singles.
Chrome were formed in San Francisco around 1977 by vocalist/drummer Damon Edge, vocalist/guitarist Mike Low, guitarist John Lambdin, and bassist Garry Spain; each played other instruments as well, including tape machines, electric violin, and Moog. Chrome's sound wasn't quite fully formed by the time of their first album, 'The Visitation'; it's surprisingly poppy with few hints of what was to come, though an obsession with science fiction made its debut. Second album 'Alien Soundtracks' was the true genesis for Chrome, thanks in part to new member Helios Creed, who joined after the departure of Low. Creed's grinding guitar attack and Edge's tape manipulation on tracks like "All Data Lost" and "Chromosome Damage" would characterize the Chrome sound for years to come. Lambdin and Spain virtually disappeared by 1979's 'Half Machine Lip Moves', and the industrial effects became even more experimental.
Chrome jumped to the major label Beggars Banquet/WEA in 1980 for third full-length 'Red Exposure', and the uncompromising sound was compromised slightly. The album wasn't a success, though, and the duo found itself on the Dossier label for 1981's 'Blood on the Moon'. Creed and Edge added a rhythm section (Hilary and John Stench) for the album, and it proved to be their best effort. Though 1982 was the year of Chrome's breakup, it saw the release of '3rd from the Sun' along with the compilation LP 'No Humans Allowed', which included the EPs 'Inworlds' and 'Read Only Memory'. Also in 1982, 'Chrome Box' appeared, comprised of 'Alien Soundtracks', 'Half Machine Lip Moves', 'Blood on the Moon', and 'No Humans Allowed', plus the previously unavailable 'Chronicles, Vols. 1-2' LPs. Helios Creed began a successful solo career in 1985, while Damon Edge continued the Chrome name sporadically over the next ten years, until he died in the mid-'90s. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Formed in the late 80s in Liverpool, England, Benny Profane featured Dave Jackson (vocals), Joseph McKechnie (guitar, drums), Robin Surtees (guitar) and Becky Stringer (bass). The permanent drummer had been Frank Sparks (ex-Ex Post Facto) but when he left, both Roger Sinek and Dave Brown helped out on the band’s debut album. Jackson, Stringer and Peter Baker, who filled in as an additional member providing organ, had all previously played in The Room. In many ways they were effectively an update of that commercially overlooked group. The new member McKechnie was rescued from the layout desk of the Merseyside health magazine "Who Cares?" They took their name from a character in Thomas Pynchon’s book "V", and their first single, ‘Where Is Pig’, came from his dialogue in the novel. A succession of low-key gigs at Monroes pub in Liverpool gave them a high local profile. However, they never repeated the success of the other local group who made the venue their home, The La’s, despite two strong albums and three fondly remembered sessions for the BBC disc jockey John Peel. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Scottish new wavers Altered Images formed in early 1979, consisting of vocalist Clare Grogan, guitarist Tony McDaid, drummer Tich Anderson, and bassist Johnny McElhone. The teenagers cut a demo and sent it to Siouxsie and the Banshees, who were impressed enough to have the band open for them for several dates in support of their "Kaleidoscope" record. Two impressive BBC Peel Sessions helped the band land a contract with Epic. The Banshees' Steve Severin took them under his wing, producing their first two singles. Though both didn't do well, "Dead Pop Stars" gained controversy for its release shortly after the assassination of John Lennon. (The song was recorded prior to his death.) Both singles were striking for their dark post-punk leanings, which oddly went well with Grogan's youthful, chirpy voice.
Severin continued to help the band with their first full-length, but the label brought in Martin Rushent, who would help the band craft more radio-friendly material. 'Happy Birthday' definitely crossed over, but the siphoning away of the band's dark edge in favor of bubbly pop lost them a few fans as well. Despite this, NME voted them Best New Group of 1981. 'Pinky Blue' followed a year later, charting much higher than 'Happy Birthday'. The inevitable press backlash failed to deny the band of any commercial loss. Anderson and second guitarist Jim McKinven (who had joined after the second single) left the group and were replaced by Steve Lironi.
After the lineup change, the band struck up an allegiance with producer Mike Chapman, who guided them through a move into somewhat synthetic dance pop. The singles weren't faring well on the charts, but their third album ('Bite') managed to do well, albeit briefly. After a couple lineup changes and a tour, the band broke up.
Grogan, who had starred in Bill Forsyth's "Gregory's Girl" (1980) prior to her band's success, focused on acting in British TV shows, most notably "Red Dwarf" and "East Enders". She essentially left music for good after recording an unreleased solo album in 1987 and forming the short-lived Universal Love School with mate Lironi. Grogan also popped up infrequently as a guest vocalist, including an appearance on the 6ths' 'Hyacinths and Thistles'. Lironi also became a noted producer and session hand for Hanson and Black Grape. McElhone joined Hipsway and also spent several years in Texas. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Misunderstood, mistreated, underrated, and/or just plain unknown, Greg Sage should be mentioned in the first breaths about trailblazing guitarists and U.S. independent music of the '80s and '90s. Since forming his band, Wipers, in Portland, OR, in the late '70s, Sage has been put through the ringer more than enough to justify his hermetic operating methods and attitude. While most of his devout fans consider it a travesty that his name isn't as known as a contemporary like Bob Mould or even an unabashed fan-boy turned legend like Kurt Cobain, Sage would likely retort that it's not for the notoriety that he began making music. Unlike most other musicians who gain inspiration and motivation from watching their favorite stars revel in popularity and idol worship, Sage's inspiration stemmed more from the joy he got from cutting records on his own lathe. He has been more than content to remain in the underground, retaining optimum control over his own career while lending production help and support to younger bands that look to him for his guidance. Throughout his lengthy and prolific career, he has downplayed or shunned any attention or recognition given to him, preferring to let the music speak for itself.
Initialized with the intent of being a recording project and not a band in the truest sense, Sage formed Wipers in 1977 with drummer Sam Henry and bassist Doug Koupal. Sage's original goal was to release 15 records in ten years, free of traditional band aspects like touring and photo shoots. However, he found out early on that being involved with independent labels involved plenty of compromise -and that independent labels took a great deal of independence away from him, rather than empowering him.
After a debut 7" on Sage's Trap label (an outlet that Sage also used to release a pair of Portland scene compilations), Wipers recorded 'Is This Real?' on a four-track recorder (free of overdubs) in their rehearsal space. Park Avenue Records was willing to release it, but they insisted that Sage and company re-record everything in a professional studio. Despite the relatively polished outcome, 'Is This Real?' remained the group's rawest and most direct outing. It was full of Sage's raging but agile guitars and what would become his trademark songwriting style, dealing with extreme isolation, confusion, and frustration with an agitated sense of melody. 14 years after its release, Sub Pop picked up the record and reissued it without any involvement from Sage.
Prior to the recording of the group's finest moment, 1981's 'Youth of America', Henry left to join Napalm Beach. Koupal stayed on long enough to play on a couple of the album's songs but left the band to move to Ohio; Brad Davidson moved in to play bass and Brad Naish took over on drums. Having been unimpressed by the professional studio experience, Sage took it upon himself to record and engineer everything by himself. The move paid off, resulting in a furiously spirited but brief LP full of extended passages that allowed Sage to flex his astounding skills on guitar without sounding like a showoff.
For 1982's excellent 'Over the Edge', the structures of the songs tightened, the pop sensibility hit full stride. As a result, "Romeo" and "Over the Edge" each sustained a fair amount of radio play in the U.S., thanks to a few stations that were developing play lists that would later be identified as alternative or modern rock. Another factor in Wipers' somewhat increased exposure had to do with the better distribution of their new label, Restless. Before 'Over the Edge''s release, Sage fell out with Park Avenue on a number of unresolved issues.
The next studio record, 'Land of the Lost', didn't appear until 1986. During the lull between studio time, the band toured, Sage released his first solo album (1985's hushed 'Straight Ahead'), and the band released a self-titled live album. Naish left the group in 1985 and was replaced by Steve Plouf. 'Follow Blind' came out in 1987 and 'The Circle' followed in 1988. Aside from some slight production nuances and the occasional dabbling with stylistic curveballs, the three studio albums between 1986 and 1988 more or less swam in the wake of the first three but are far from embarrassments.
A 1989 tour was accompanied with an announcement from Sage that Wipers would be ending. The end result of mounting frustrations with the independent music business and the fact that the band had lost the lease on a studio space they had devoted three years to developing, Sage packed up and headed for Phoenix to remain close to his mother. He left a town that he couldn't get arrested in, let alone reviewed. Plouf came along to Arizona (Davidson married, moved to London, and sporadically played with The Jesus & Mary Chain), and Sage built a fully operational studio in his new hideout. He recorded a second solo record, 'Sacrifice (For Love)', and released it in 1991.
Meanwhile, several alternative rockers became vocal about their admiration for Sage. The most notable was Kurt Cobain, whose band Nirvana covered Wipers songs and asked Sage to open for them on tours. Never wanting to be opportunistic and never wanting to draw attention to himself, Sage politely turned down the offers. Sage would also reason that the timing was never right, as he and Plouf had trouble securing a bassist who would be willing to learn over 100 songs and tour unglamorously to little fanfare. Sage himself was never a fan of touring; trudging through the States to promote records had been nothing but one nightmare after another, he never got a thrill from the attention that comes with being a frontman, and only a couple towns -specifically Boston and Chicago- were regularly supportive. Wipers enjoyed most of their touring success in Europe, where they were treated with much more respect and filled theaters holding a couple thousand fans.
With a 1993 tribute record called "Fourteen Songs for Greg Sage & The Wipers" floating around, the Sup Pop reissue of the first record, and the attendant exposure gained from them, Sage effectively squashed any steam his "career" was gaining by releasing 'Silver Sail' in 1995, a Wipers record that hardly resembled the storming fury that made his back catalog suddenly revered. And then, once the attention waned, Sage and Plouf returned to their '80s aggression with 1996's 'The Herd'. Three years later, the duo unleashed 'Power in One' on Sage's new Zeno label. In 2001, Sage used his own label to release a three-for-one package of Wipers' first three albums. Remastered with plenty of bonus tracks, it's probably one of the most unselfish moves committed by a musician. 'Electric Medicine', Sage's third solo record, came in 2002. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Despite their extremely short-lived tenure, U.K. experimentalist trio This Heat left behind a legacy that would open the doors for the formation of forward-thinking genres like post-rock, industrial, and post-punk. The group came together in January of 1976 in Brixton, London, made up of Charles Bullen, Charles Hayward, and Gareth Williams. All three members contributed vocals and played a variety of instruments including guitar, keyboards, clarinet, viola, and prerecorded tapes. Bullen and Hayward had played together previously under the name Radar Favourites and Hayward been a member of The Amazing Band and Gong as well as playing alongside Phil Manzanera in Quiet Sun. Between 1976 and 1977 the band rehearsed, cultivating its wild and uncompromising sound through live performance and homemade recording experiments. The trio experimented heavily with tape manipulation and early makeshift tape looping, creating sounds that ranged from as ambient soundscapes to percussive squalls of noise.
The band spent some time recording a demo in an abandoned meat locker they dubbed "Cold Storage" and these early recordings were picked up by legendary BBC DJ John Peel in early 1977. Peel would eventually invite the band to participate on two separate occasions in his in-studio "Peel Sessions" recording workshops. The results of these sessions still rank among the most untamed sounds the group ever made. In their formative early days, This Heat also recorded a session with Ghanaian musician Mario Boyer Diekuuroh, excerpts of which would see release in 1982 on a split cassette with Albert Marcoeur.
Their self-titled debut album was recorded between February 1976 and September 1978, and surfaced in August 1979. It was characterized by heavy use of tape manipulation and looping, combined with more traditional instrumental performance, to create dense, eerie, electronic soundscapes and dub-inflected experimental rock. The album was followed shortly thereafter by the 'Health & Efficiency' EP, a precursor to the more traditional rock-rooted sound of their second and final album, 'Deceit'. Released in 1981 on Rough Trade, 'Deceit' was a more explosive and angular trip than the world music-influenced sounds the band composed beforehand. An underlying theme of international paranoia about what then seemed like imminent nuclear warfare ran throughout the album, rendering a more scattered punk sound. 'Deceit' incorporated improvisation, collaged audio clips of live shows and other found sounds, as well as live mixing by reggae producer Martin Frederick, culminating in a pastiche of wild sounds that would go on to be considered one of the foundational records of the post-punk era.
In the summer of 1981 Williams left the band to travel to India, and This Heat regrouped briefly with Ian Hill on keyboards and Trefor Goronwy on bass. This iteration of the group lasted only a little over a month, doing a short European tour before calling it quits in May of 1982. The members of the band stayed busy in widely variant fields of music and performance. Bullen joined the avant jazz group Circadian Rhythms while Hayward and Goronwy formed the experimental Camberwell Now with former This Heat soundman Stephen Rickard. Hayward also appeared as a drummer on The Raincoats' flagship album 'Odyshape' as well as Lora Logic's 'Pedigree Charm'. Williams continued his studies of Indian religion and music, staying moderately active in music until losing a battle with cancer in 2001. In 1993 'Repeat' emerged, gathering previously unissued recordings from the nascent This Heat days. The album's three extended tracks included a remix of early tape looping experiment "24 Track Loop." The 'Out of Cold Storage' box set, a six-disc collection of the entire official This Heat catalog, including the Peel Sessions and live material, was released in 2006.
Though active for only a very short time, the influence of This Heat's groundbreaking experimentation was immediately visible in the pre-industrial grit of Public Image, Ltd., Sonic Youth's early skronk, and Glenn Branca's wiry wall-of-noise symphonies. Their limited available recordings would go on to inform generations of experimental-leaning rock acts, with elements of the band's sound showing up in Chicago's mid-'90s post-rock scene and later in the tape manipulation assaults of C. Spencer Yeh and the watery polyrhythmic sound portals of Gang Gang Dance, among many others. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Pete Shelley, the leader of the seminal punk band The Buzzcocks, actually had recorded a solo album in 1974, two years before The Buzzcocks formed. Released in 1979, 'Sky Yen' was a collection of electronic music that didn't sound much like his full-time band's blistering guitar pop, yet it did contain the roots of his solo career. After The Buzzcocks disbanded in 1981, Shelley began a solo career which incorporated the electronic experimentations of 'Sky Yen' with the pop sensibilities of his punk singles. Released in 1981, 'Homosapien' showcased this musical merger and resulted in the U.K. hit single, "Homosapien." The following year Shelley released 'XL1', which added more guitar to his dance-oriented synth pop. Three years later he released his final solo album, 'Heaven and the Sea', which failed to capture an audience. Shelley then joined the short-lived band Zip; after its breakup, he rejoined the reunited Buzzcocks in 1988. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The band was formed by former Fatal Microbes Pete Fender (Dan Sansom, guitar), Gem Stone (Gemma Sansom, bass) and It (Quentin North, also bass), with vocalists Annie Anxiety and Womble, and drummer Sid Ation (born Sid Truelove, 18 April 1960, Sutton Coldfield, a former chef, later also the drummer with Flux of Pink Indians). Annie, Womble and It were involved only initially, left and were replaced by vocalist Zillah Minx (born Zillah Elaine Ashworth, 31 March 1961, Birkenhead). Fender and Stone were the son and daughter of Poison Girls singer Vi Subversa. The band used Poison Girls equipment to jam and write songs and their first performance was when they took to the stage at a Crass/Poison Girls concert. They had originally been called Rubella Babies. The band's first proper gig was a fundraiser for the Theatre Royal in Stratford, which ended in a riot, and the band played frequently, often asking audience members to put them up after gigs.
The new line-up were soon known for wearing brightly coloured dayglo clothes on stage, to differentiate themselves from the anarcho-punk bands who tended to wear black, 'army-surplus' style clothing. Pete Fender left at the end of 1982 and soon afterwards joined Omega Tribe as a full-time member, having been their early mentor and record producer.
The band released one album on cassette tape, entitled 'Ballet Bag' (1981) and a 4 track 7" EP, 'Ballet Dance' (1982), both for Poison Girls' XNTRIX Records, after rejecting the opportunity to put out a record on the Crass label. Adrian Thrills, reviewing the single in the NME stated "the Ballet have an appealing sharp edge to their claustrophobic punk thrash, a poppy surge and even a discernable funk readjustment...of course, they could always just be taking the piss". After releasing the '42ºF' single on Jungle Records (with Sean replacing Fender) the band started their own Ubiquitous label. Rubella Ballet toured extensively with Poison Girls and Crass, and recorded two John Peel sessions for BBC Radio. In 1984 they embarked on an ill-fated tour of Italy to promote '42ºF'. The band had only been given single airline tickets and after a week of playing without getting paid, they returned to England by train.
The band's line-up underwent several changes before their next release, 'Money Talks' (1985); Sean and Gem had left, to be replaced by Adam and Rachel Minx (Zillah's younger sister Rachel Irene Jane Ashworth), and Adam himself has replaced by Steve Cachman prior to the recording of the debut album 'At Last, It's Playtime', the same year, an album that has been described as "chugging mid-paced stuff, many of the tracks dominated by Zillah's steamroller-flat vox". The line-up stabilized over the next few years, the band recording a second album, 'If...' in 1986. A compilation and a double live album followed, but it would be 1990 before the next studio album, 'At the End of the Rainbow'. The band split up shortly after its release, Sid already playing in the dance band Xenophobia.
In 2000, the band reformed for a performance at the European Gathering festival in Milton Keynes, and have continued on and off since, with the core members Sid and Zillah joined by a varying line-up including original guitarist Fender. A retrospective covering the first half of the band's career, 'Anarchy in the U.V.', including 'Ballet Bag', 'Ballet Dance', 'At Last It's Play Time', the 12-inch version of "Money Talks", and two previously unreleased tracks, was released in December 2008. A second volume was released in 2010, containing the remaining tracks from the band's back-catalogue. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
