This four-piece band from Hamilton, Ontario, was formed in 1973 by Edgar Breau on lead guitar and vocals, Kevin Christoff on bass, Neil DeMerchant on drums, and Ping Romany on electronics. Though Simply Saucer had the guts to bring together tremendous influences from rock's past, including the Velvet Underground, early Pink Floyd, and The Stooges, the band was hardly noticed outside of its local area. After numerous lineup changes and shifts in sound, Simply Saucer disbanded by the end of the '70s, leaving only partial live recordings and a few studio tracks produced by Bob and Daniel Lanois in their basement. The Lanois brothers would become super-producers, but the only lasting product of that time was a reissue on Fist Puppet, which includes the original Lanois recordings and some live tracks recorded on top of a shopping mall in downtown Hamilton. Nearly three decades went by, and then in 2007, after regrouping for a reunion gig at the Casbah in their hometown, they returned to the studio to record 'Half Human, Half Live' for their new label, Sonic Unyon. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Best known in the U.S. for their 1985 number one hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from the film "The Breakfast Club", Scotland's Simple Minds evolved from a post-punk art rock band influenced by Roxy Music into a grand, epic-sounding pop band along the lines of U2. The band grew out of a Glasgow punk group called Johnny and the Self-Abusers, which featured guitarist Charlie Burchill and lead singer Jim Kerr. The inaugural 1978 lineup of Simple Minds featured a rhythm section of Tony Donald on bass and Brian McGee on drums, plus keyboardist Mick McNeil; Donald was soon replaced by Derek Forbes.
Their early albums leaped from one style to another, with 'Life in a Day' consisting mostly of dense, arty pop songs; critical acclaim followed the darker, more experimental art rock of 'Reel to Real Cacophony' and the Euro-disco of 'Empires and Dance'. The group began a transition to a more accessible pop style with the albums 'Sons and Fascination' and 'Sister Feelings Call', originally issued together and subsequently split up. 'New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)' became their first chart album in the U.S., and the tour-shy McGee quit (owing to the group's burgeoning popularity), eventually being replaced by Mel Gaynor. Following the Steve Lillywhite-produced 'Sparkle in the Rain', Jim Kerr married Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde (the two groups had toured together).
After Bryan Ferry rejected the opportunity to sing "Don't You (Forget About Me)," Simple Minds almost did so as well; Kerr was dissatisfied with the song's lyrics, which he regarded as formulaic. His change of heart gave Simple Minds their only American chart-topper, and the song later became an international hit as well; however, Kerr's feelings about the song remained ambivalent, and it did not appear on the follow-up album, 'Once Upon a Time'. The album went gold and reached the U.S. Top Ten in spite of criticism for its bombastic, over the top approach. A live album and the uncompromisingly political 'Street Fighting Years' squandered Simple Minds' commercial momentum, however. By the time the group returned to more personal themes and its straightforward, anthemic rock on 1991's 'Real Life', personnel changes and audience loss left the group's future viability in doubt.
They weren't totally deterred, however. Kerr and Burchill trudged on, releasing 'Good News from the Next World' in 1995, while the single "She's a River" received moderate airplay. A short tour of North America soon followed, but Simple Minds' direction also quickly faded. They needed a break to clarify their own personal stance in music. Derek Forbes returned for 1998's 'Néapolis', but that, too, wasn't strong enough to sustain Simple Minds' newfound creativity. Their famed pop songs had been diluted a bit; however, the new millennium proved poignant. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill signed to Eagle Records in early 2001 and constructed their first covers album, 'Neon Lights', later that fall, paying tribute to Patti Smith, Neil Young, David Bowie, and others. In summer 2002, Kerr and Burchill issued 'Cry', Simple Minds' first batch of new material since 1995's 'Good News from the Next World'. 'Our Secrets Are the Same', an album that was intended for release in 2000, saw official release in 2003.
An extensive reissue program and live recordings followed. 'Black & White', a new studio album, appeared in 2005, and the charting 'Graffiti Soul' (which saw the return of original drummer Mel Gaynor to the fold) arrived in 2009. Simple Minds accepted a spot at London's iTunes Festival that year and issued a digital EP of their performance. After a global tour, Simple Minds returned with 'Big Music' in 2014, an album that included two songs co-written with Chvrches' Iain Cook. A stripped-down set called 'Acoustic' arrived in late 2016, featuring acoustic reworkings of many of the band's hits. In 2018, the band released its 18th studio long-player, 'Walk Between Worlds'. Co-produced by the band with Andy Wright and Gavin Goldberg (both of whom had worked on 'Big Music'), the album contained two distinct "sides": The first half revisited the glassy guitars and new wave dance grooves of the post-punk era that signified the band's earliest records, while the second explored more cinematic sounds reflected best in the title track and "Barrowland Star," which were both completely orchestrated at Abbey Road. Concert album 'Live in the City of Angels' landed the following year alongside a comprehensive compilation of hits, 'The Best of 1979-2019', which included a cover of King Creosote's "For One Night Only." [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
One of the U.K.'s most iconoclastic bands of the late '80s and early '90s, Silverfish featured singer Lesley Rankine, guitarist Andrew "Fuzz" Duprey, bassist Chris Powforth, and drummer Stuart Watson. Before joining the group, Rankine sang with The Grizzelders, a '60s-style punk band; Duprey, Powforth and Watson caught one of the group's performances and persuaded her to join Silverfish. Rankine's fierce, commanding vocals and aggressively feminist outlook -the chorus of "Big Bad Baby Pig Squeal" and "Hips Tits Lips Power," became a mantra of sorts for angry young women- foreshadowed and echoed the sentiments of the burgeoning riot grrrl movement, but musically the group was more indebted to metal and industrial influences. Silverfish released several EPs in the late '80s which were collected into the 1990 compilation 'Cockeye'; the following year they released their debut album, 'Fat Axl', and toured with Pigface. 1992 saw the group earn more widespread acclaim thanks to a second full-length, 'Organ Fan', and tour dates supporting the like-minded 7 Year Bitch. Soon after, however, Silverfish disbanded; Rankine went on to collaborate with Mark Walk as Ruby. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Struggler
is a Belgian punk / cold wave band, active in the early 1980's and founded on March 7, 1979.
Initially the group consisted of five members. After numerous changes in the line-up, the group became a threesome from 1988 onward. Until June 1981 Struggler was incredibly active on the scene, with among others a big tour in Belgium with Siglo XX.
From December 1982 there were numerous gigs in Belgium and Holland, and even some excursions into Switzerland and France.
From 1985, things grew more quiet around the band, there were many changes in the line-up with experiments here and there. However, the group never was disbanded and kept on playing together from time to time. From 1996 thing started to heat up once again, with various gigs in Belgium and Holland and new material on CD. [SOURCE: HOUBI.COM]
L. Voag
is the Art-Rock / Experimental / Post-Punk solo project of Jim Welton, bassist of The Homosexuals. Under this moniker he only issued the LP 'The Way Out', recommended for fans of Desperate Bicycles, This Heat and Mark Perry.
The start of recording 'The Way Out' crossed over with the last days of his involvement with The Homosexuals. The gravity around which 'The Way Out' took shape issued from a decidedly asinine idea: what if we lived in a world where the music of the avant-gardists (Stockhausen, Oliveros, Henry) provided the best-selling, chart-topping pabulum of the day, while pop music was an obscure, nigh impenetrable, elitist niche product? L. Voag is a fiction used to describe a character from the pop milieu who, desperate for a hit, attempts to knock out a crossover album combining both worlds. Not surprisingly, he fails miserably.
'The Way Out' was recorded at Surrey Sound Studios, founded in 1976 by brothers Nigel and Chris Grey. While Nigel concentrated on music biz staples The Police and others, Chris -a visionary with at least one if not both feet planted in the future- opened up the studio to all manner of experiment, actively inviting mavericks and crazies to participate. Maniacs like The Homosexuals, Milk From Cheltenham, and L. Voag were granted access to gold standard, 24-track recording equipment, so long as it was during so-called dead time between 1:00 and 7:00 A.M. [SOURCE: SUPERIOR VIADUCT]
King Snake Roost (also known as KSR), formed in 1985 in Adelaide, were one of a number of Australian and International guitar-based bands who emerged from within the punk rock and post-punk scene of the mid-1980s that came to be defined as noise rock.
King Snake Roost's debut EP, 'From Barbarism to Christian Manhood' (1987), exemplified their heavy, guitar-driven style of garage music. Soon after its release, David Quinn replaced bassist Michael Raymond and the band moved from Adelaide to Sydney where they released three singles: 'Top End Killer / A Storm Brewin'' (May 1988), Alice Cooper's 'School's Out' and 'More Than Love'.
Their second album, 'Things That Play Themselves', was released in March 1989. Later that year, King Snake Roost toured the U.S. with Babes in Toyland, Helmet, and the Hard-Ons. During the two-month tour, they recorded their third album with producer Butch Vig. During this time, guitarist Charles Tolnay also worked with the Dead Kennedys' lead singer Jello Biafra and members of U.S. band Steel Pole Bathtub under the banner Tumor Circus. 'Ground Into the Dirt' was released in 1990 on the Amphetamine Reptile label in the U.S. and Megadisc in Europe. Quinn and drummer Bill Bostle then left the band and were replaced by Paul Kitten and Craig Rossi, respectively. King Snake Roost broke up by the end of the year, and although they re-formed for a brief time in 1990, no recordings resulted. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Shoes for Industry were a post punk band formed in Bristol in 1979. The band released a couple of 7" and participated in the 'E(gg)clectic 1' compilation. In 1980 released the LP 'Talk Like a Whelk'. A record for all the fans of Bristol's post punk scene. The LP recorded on the Ronnie Lane at the Crystal Theatre Warehouse, Bristol and released by Fried Egg records (Fry 1).
They used to play a dodgy pub called The Old Castle Green
and the singer wore an exploding brain wig. They were dead scary and
you couldn't argue with them. Line up:
Andy Leighton (co-founder of Fried Egg Records), John Schofield, Paul Bassett Davies, Steve Lonnen and Tim Norfolk (later in Startled Insects, The Flies and The Insects). [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Jean Gilbert was a German experimental new wave band active during the early 80's and formed by members Helium, Mulk, Pogo and Steffen Schütze. They only recorded two cassettes, both in 1981, 'Jean Gilbert' and the 'Live (24.10.1981)'. 'Jean Gilbert' was released on the Neuer Frühling and Gegentakt labels owned by Schütze. Steffen Schütze was also a member of other bands such as No Aid, Messehalle, Poli D'Or, The Peculiarity Of Everyday Motion and Non Toxique Lost.
A Japanese techno-pop trio of the early '80s led by singer/songwriter Masami Tsuchiya, Ippu-Do was the missing link between Japan's Yellow Magic Orchestra and England's Japan -neither as purely electronic as the former nor as prettily atmospheric as the latter. (YMO's Ryuichi Sakamoto collaborated with Tsuchiya on his 1982 solo album 'Rice Music', and Tsuchiya played guitar with Japan on the Asian tour documented on the live album 'Oil on Canvas'.)
Ippu-Do debuted in 1980 with the new wave-influenced 'Normal', on which the trio (Tsuchiya on vocals and guitar, Akira Mitake on keyboards, and Shoji Fujii on drums) sound a little like a Nipponese version of New Musik or Split Enz. The trio quickly followed this with 'Real', which was more of the same, but 1981's 'Radio Fantasy' (the trio's first release outside of Japan) was almost completely electronic. The group went on hiatus after that release, with Tsuchiya beginning his solo career and his temporary membership in Japan. A best-of disc, 'Lunatic Menu', was released in 1982 in Japan and the U.K.
When Ippu-Do reappeared in late 1983, they were reduced to a duo of Tsuchiya and Mitake. Supported by drummer Steve Jansen and keyboardist Richard Barbieri of Japan and American bassist Percy Jones, the duo recorded the danceable 'Night Mirage', a supple blend of Japan's crystalline sound with some surprising R&B and funk rhythms. A two-disc live set with this lineup, 'Live and Zen', came out in 1984, but Tuschiya returned to his solo career at that point, bidding farewell to Ippu-Do with a well-chosen compilation in 1985. An expanded compilation, 'The Very Best of Ippu-Do', came out in 1998. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The biting sounds of grunge and industrial ruled the alternative airwaves in the 1990s, and most of the era's guitarists learned their licks from The Sex Pistols, Zeppelin, Sabbath and Metallica. A fair number, though, were also inspired by the science-fiction paranoia of Helios Creed, who formed the proto-industrialist group Chrome and erected a lengthy discography of over 20 albums (roughly half of them as a solo act) to enforce his standing in the second tier of influential guitarists in his time.
Helios Creed joined Chrome in San Francisco around 1978 with vocalist/drummer Damon Edge, guitarist John Lambdin and bassist Gary Spain. Over the following five years, Chrome explored punk and hardcore, with an increasing reliance on synthesizers, tape loops and samples from TV. The group broke up in 1982, and Creed was dormant for several years until his debut solo album, 'X-Rated Fairy Tales', appeared in 1985. Another dry spell endured until the end of the decade, when 'Superior Catholic' was released on the Subterranean label. (Both albums were later reissued on one disc.) For his third album 'Last Laugh', Creed moved to the grunge imprint Amphetamine Reptile. He recorded 'Boxing the Clown', 'Kiss to the Brain' and 'Lactating Purple' for AmRep, but has also released albums through the industrial label Cleopatra -including 'Busting Through the Van Allan Belt' and 'Cosmic Assault'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
