Joe Meek (born Robert George Meek; 5 April 1929 — 3 February 1967 in London[1]) was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter acknowledged as one of the world's first and most imaginative independent producers.
His most famous work was The Tornados' hit "Telstar" (1962) audio clip (help·info), which became the first record by a British group to hit #1 in the US Hot 100. It also spent five weeks atop the UK singles chart, with Meek receiving an Ivor Novello Award for this production as the "Best-Selling A-Side" of 1962.
Meek's other notable hit productions include "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" and "Cumberland Gap" by Lonnie Donegan (as engineer), "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, "Just Like Eddie" by Heinz, "Angela Jones" by Michael Cox and "Have I the Right?" by The Honeycombs, "Tribute to Buddy Holly" by Mike Berry. Meek's concept album I Hear a New World is regarded as a watershed in modern music for its innovative use of electronic sounds.
Joe Meek was also producing music for films, most notably Live It Up! (US title Sing and Swing), a 1963 pop music film starring Heinz Burt, David Hemmings and Steve Marriott, also featuring Gene Vincent, Jenny Moss, The Outlaws, Kim Roberts, Kenny Ball, Patsy Ann Noble and others. Meek wrote most of the songs and incidental music, much of which was recorded by The Saints and produced by Meek[2].
His commercial success as a producer was short-lived and Meek gradually sank into debt and depression. On 3 February 1967, using a shotgun owned by musician Heinz Burt, Meek murdered his landlady before turning the gun on himself. Aged only 37, he died eight years to the day after his hero, Buddy Holly.
Contents[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Pre-London years
1.2 London 1954-1959
1.3 Triumph Records
1.4 304 Holloway Road
1.5 Murder and Death
2 Meek's legacy
2.1 Artists Meek recorded
3 Tributes and references
3.1 Songs
4 "Telstar - The Joe Meek Story" - play and film
5 Documentary film
6 Photography
7 Literature
8 References
9 External links
//
[edit] Biography
[edit] Pre-London years
A stint in the Royal Air Force as a radar operator spurred a life-long interest in electronics and outer space. From 1953 he worked for the Midlands Electricity Board. He used the resources of his company to develop his interest in electronics and music production, including acquiring a disc cutter and producing his first record.
[edit] London 1954-1959
He left the electricity board to work as a sound engineer for a leading independent radio production company that made programmes for Radio Luxembourg, and made his breakthrough with his work on Ivy Benson's Music for Lonely Lovers. His technical ingenuity was first shown on the Humphrey Lyttelton jazz single "Bad Penny Blues" (Parlophone Records, 1956) when, contrary to Lyttleton's wishes, he 'modified' the sound of the piano and compressed the sound to a greater than normal extent. The record became a hit. He then put enormous effort into Denis Preston's Landsdowne Studio but tensions between Preston and Meek soon saw Meek forced out.
[edit] Triumph Records
In January 1960, together with William Barrington-Coupe, Meek founded Triumph Records. The label very nearly had a #1 hit with Meek's production of Angela Jones by Michael Cox. Cox was one of the featured singers on Jack Good's TV music show Boy Meets Girls and the song was given massive promotion. Unfortunately, Triumph, being an independent label, was at the mercy of small pressing plants, who couldn't (or wouldn't) keep up with sales demands. The record made a respectable appearance in the Top Ten, but it proved that Meek needed the muscle of the major companies to get his records into the shops when it mattered.
Despite an interesting catalogue of Meek productions, indifferent business results and Joe proving difficult to work with eventually led to the label's demise. Meek would later license many of the Triumph recordings to labels such as Top Rank and Pye.
That year Meek conceived, wrote and produced an "Outer Space Music Fantasy"' concept album I Hear A New World with a band called Rod Freeman & The Blue Men. The album was shelved for decades, apart from some EP tracks taken from it.
[edit] 304 Holloway Road
Meek went on to set up his own production company known as RGM Sound Ltd (later Meeksville Sound Ltd) with toy importer, 'Major' Wilfred Alonzo Banks as his financial backer. He operated from his now-legendary home studio which he constructed at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, a three-floor flat above a leather-goods store (currently empty).
His first hit from Holloway Road was a UK #1 smash: John Leyton's Johnny Remember Me (1961). This memorable "death ditty" was cleverly promoted by Leyton's manager, expatriate Australian entrepreneur Robert Stigwood. Stigwood was able to get Leyton to perform the song in several episodes of the popular TV soap opera Harpers West One in which he was making a series of guest appearances. Meek's third UK #1 and last major success was with The Honeycombs' Have I The Right? in 1964, which also became a number 5 hit on the American Billboard pop charts. The success of Leyton's recordings was instrumental in establishing Stigwood and Meek as two of Britain's first independent record producers.
When his landlords, who lived downstairs, felt that the noise was too much, they would indicate so with a broom on the ceiling. Joe would signal his contempt by placing loudspeakers in the stairwell and turning up the volume.
A blue plaque has since been placed at the location of the studio to commemorate Meek's life and work.
[edit] Murder and Death
Meek was obsessed with the occult and the idea of "the other side". He would set up tape machines in graveyards in a vain attempt to record voices from beyond the grave, in one instance capturing the meows of a cat he claimed was speaking in human tones, asking for help. In particular, he had an obsession with Buddy Holly (claiming the late American rocker had communicated with him in dreams) and other dead rock and roll musicians.
His professional efforts were often hindered by his paranoia (Meek was convinced that Decca Records would put hidden microphones behind his wallpaper in order to steal his ideas), drug use and attacks of rage or depression. Upon receiving an apparently innocent phone call from Phil Spector, Meek immediately accused Spector of stealing his ideas before hanging up angrily.
Meek's homosexuality - illegal in the UK at the time - put him under further pressure; he had been charged with "importuning for immoral purposes" in 1963 and was consequently subjected to blackmail. In January of 1967, police in Tattingstone, Suffolk, discovered a suitcase containing the mutilated body of Bernard Oliver, an alleged rent boy who had previously associated with Meek. According to some accounts, Meek became concerned that he would be implicated in the murder investigation when the Metropolitan police stated that they would be interviewing all known homosexuals in the city.
In the meantime, the hits had dried up and as Meek's financial position became increasingly desperate, his depression deepened. On 3 February 1967, the eighth anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, Meek killed his landlady Violet Shenton and then himself with a single barreled shotgun that he had confiscated from his protegé, former Tornados bassist and solo star Heinz Burt at his Holloway Road home/studio. Meek had flown into a rage and taken the gun from Burt when he informed Meek that he used it while on tour to shoot birds. Meek had kept the gun under his bed, along with some cartridges. As the shotgun had been registered to Burt, he was questioned intensively by police, before being eliminated from their enquiries.
Meek was subsequently buried in plot 99 at Newent Cemetery in Newent, Gloucestershire. His black granite tombstone can be found near the middle of the cemetery.
[edit] Meek's legacy
Despite not being able to play a musical instrument or write notation, Meek displayed a remarkable facility for writing and producing successful commercial recordings. In writing songs he was reliant on musicians such as Dave Adams, Geoff Goddard or Charles Blackwell to transcribe melodies from his vocal "demos". He worked on 245 singles, of which 45 were major hits (top fifty or better).
He pioneered studio tools such as multiple over-dubbing on one- and two-track machines, close miking, direct input of bass guitars, the compressor, and effects like echo and reverb, as well as sampling. Unlike other producers, his search was for the 'right' sound rather than for a catchy musical tune, and throughout his brief career he single-mindedly followed his quest to create a unique "sonic signature" for every record he produced.
At a time when many studio engineers were still wearing white coats and assiduously trying to maintain clarity and fidelity, Meek, the maverick, was producing everything on the three floors of his "home" studio and was never afraid to distort or manipulate the sound if it created the effect he was seeking.
Meek was one of the first producers to grasp and fully exploit the possibilities of the modern recording studio. His innovative techniques -- physically separating instruments, treating instruments and voices with echo and reverb, processing the sound through his fabled home-made electronic devices, the combining of separately-recorded performances and segments into a painstakingly constructed composite recording -- comprised a major breakthrough in sound production. Up to that time, the standard technique for pop, jazz and classical recordings alike was to record all the performers in one studio, playing together in real time, a legacy of the days before magnetic tape, when performances were literally cut live, directly onto disc.
Meek's style was also substantially different from that of his contemporary Phil Spector, who typically created his famous "Wall of sound" productions by making live recordings of large ensembles that used multiples of major instruments like bass, guitar and piano to create the complex sonic backgrounds for his singers.
[edit] Artists Meek recorded
He passed up the chance to work with David Bowie, The Beatles (the latter he once described as "just another bunch of noise, copying other people's music") and Rod Stewart. John Repsch, in The Legendary Joe Meek recounts that upon hearing Stewart sing, Meek rushed into the studio, put his fingers in his ears and screamed until Stewart had left. He preferred to record instrumentals with the band he sang with - The Moontrekkers.
In 1963 Meek worked with a then-little-known singer Tom Jones, then the lead vocalist of Tommy Scott & The Senators. Meek recorded seven tracks with Jones and took them to various labels in an attempt to get a record deal, with no success. Two years later after Jones gained popularity with the worldwide hit It's Not Unusual in 1965, Meek was able to sell the tapes he'd recorded with Jones to Tower (USA) and Columbia (UK)[3]. Meek also recorded the following artists:
Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages, The Tornados, The Honeycombs, The Syndicats, The Buzz, Mike Berry, The Outlaws, The Moontrekkers, Gene Vincent, Billy Fury, Deke Arlon and The Offbeats, David John and the Mood, John Leyton, Geoff Goddard, Petula Clark, Lonnie Donegan, Humphrey Lyttelton, Diana Dors, The Blue Men, Tom Jones, Tony Dangerfield and the Thrills, Heinz and The Wild Boys, Dave Adams, Joy and Dave, Chico Arnez, Jimmy Miller and the Barbecues, Mike Preston, Emile Ford and the Checkmates, Chris Williams and the Monsters, Lance Fortune, Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, Yolanda, Big Jim Sullivan, Ricky Wayne, George Chakiris, Michael Cox, Frankie Vaughan, Iain Gregory, Danny Rivers, Gerry Temple, Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, The Charles Blackwell Orchestra, Don Charles, The Stonehenge Men, Andy Cavell, The Dowlands, Houston Wells and the Marksmen, The Packabeats, Jenny Moss, Burr Bailey and the Six Shooters, The Checkmates, The Saints, The Cameos, Sounds Incorporated, The Puppets, The Beat Boys, Mike Sarne, The Ambassadors, Pamela Blue, Glenda Collins, The Sharades, Roger LaVern and the Microns, Gunilla Thorne, Kim Roberts, Billie Davis, Freddie Starr and the Midnighters, Shade Joey and the Night Owls, Flip and the Dateliners, Valerie Masters, Alan Dean and his Problems, The Blue Rondos, Peter Cook, Jess Conrad, The Saxons, The Shakeouts, Bobby Rio and the Revelles, Peter London, The Four Matadors, The Cryin' Shames, The Riot Squad, The Millionaires, The Impac, Shirley Bassey, Anne Shelton, Kenny Graham and the Satellites, Tommy Steele, Chris Barber, The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers, Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, Brian White & The Magna Jazz Band, The Ferridays (Scorpions), Ray Dexter and The Layabouts, Neil Christian, Kenny Hollywood, Jamie Lee and The Atlantics, Toby Ventura, Wes Sands, The Thunderbolts, Silas Dooley Jr., Bobby Cristo and The Rebels, Malcolm and The Countdowns, The Diamond Twins, The Hotrods, Charles Kingsley Creation, Danny's Passion, The Classics, The Manish Boys and Joe Meek himself...
J.Repsch: The Legendary Joe Meek Published 2003
The Manish Boys
[edit] Tributes and references
[edit] Songs
British punk Wreckless Eric recounts Meek's biography and recreates some of his studio effects in his song "Joe Meek" from the album Donovan of Trash:
On the second floor of number 304
Above a handbag store and the heavy roar
Of traffic rolling down the Holloway Road
A one time bedroom housed the studio of Joe Meek
Where he conjured with the sound of another world
That Tin Pan Alley thought was too absurd
But miles of wire and recording tape
Brought fortune fame and no escape for Joe Meek
As he stirred up the sound of a hurricane
Joe Meek
Called upon forces from beyond the grave
Joe Meek
Suffered alone for his madness and pain
These were the only rewards that the hit parade
Held in store for Joe Meek
Joe Meek [4]
According to some, the song "Green Door" alludes to Meek. "When I said, 'Joe sent me,' someone laughed out loud behind the green door".[5]
The Marked Men, a Texas punk band, have a song titled "Someday" with lyric: "Joe Meek wanted all the world to know about the news he found."
The Bleeder Group, a Danish alternative rock group has a song on their second album Sunrise, called "Joe Meek Shall Inherit The Earth"
Matmos, an Electronic duo, have a song on their 2006 album The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of the Beast called "Solo Buttons for Joe Meek".
Pluto Monkey, British left field artist, released a three track CD single on Shifty Disco featuring the tracks "Joe Meek" and "Meeksville Sound Is Dead"
Swing Out Sister include a short instrumental named "Joe Meek's Cat" on their 1994 album Shapes and Patterns, inspired by Joe's 1966 ghost-hunting expeditions to Warley Lea Farm during which he allegedly captured recordings of a talking cat channeling the spirit of a former landowner who committed suicide at the farm
Graham Parker's 1992 album Burning Questions includes the cryptic "Just Like Joe Meek's Blues"
Sheryl Crow claimed that her song "A Change Would Do You Good" was inspired by an article she read about Joe Meek
Jonathan King recorded a song about Meek called "He Stood In The Bath He Stamped On The Floor".[6]
Johnny Stage, Danish producer and guitarist released an album in tribute of Meek, entitled The Lady with the Crying Eyes featuring various Danish artists, on 3 February 2007
Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin recorded the song "Your Lucky Star" dealing with the life and death of Joe Meek, released on the 1991 album "Spin".
The Spanish label Spicnic released in 2001 a tribute CD, "Oigo un nuevo no mundo. Homenaje a Joe Meek" , featuring various Spanish bands. [7]
Trey Spruance from the band Mr. Bungle has stated that the 10 part song/instrumental "The Bends" from their album Disco Volante is inspired by Joe Meek's music. Specifically "I Hear a New World".
Thomas Truax regularly performed his Meek tribute "Joe Meek Warns Buddy Holly" on his 2008 tours, a song apparently about Meek's supposed warning via spirit-writing predicting Buddy Holly's death. A single and accompanying video is scheduled for release on February 3, 2009, the 50th anniversary of Holly's demise, also the date of Meek's suicide.
[edit] "Telstar - The Joe Meek Story" - play and film
Telstar, a stage play by Nick Moran and James Hicks, premiered in 2005, is a dramatisation of Joe Meek's his life and starred Con O'Neill as Meek and Linda Robson as his landlady.[8] It is now being made into a film starring Kevin Spacey, Nick Moran and Martine McCutcheon with O'Neill reprising his stage role[9][10].
[edit] Documentary film
A Life in the Death of Joe Meek, an independent American documentary,[11] by Howard S. Berger and Susan Stahmann premiered on 24 January 2008 on the Reel Music Film Festival (Portland, Oregon). The production, which began shooting in 2003, includes over 60 interviews with Meek's family, close friends, associates, musicians and pop culture movers and shakers such as Alex Kapranos, Keith Strickland, Edwyn Collins, Liam Watson, Huw Bunford and Simon Napier-Bell.
The Very Strange Story of the Legendary Joe Meek A 1991 UK TV-documentary from the "Arena"-Series. Often repeated on BBC4 in the UK, the last time being 5 September 2007 [12].
[edit] Photography
Clive Bubley: Images of Joe Meek - a series of photographs of Joe taken both in the flat and outside 304 Holloway Road, shortly before he died. (All photographs copyright © 1966 Clive Bubley) [1] [13]
David Peters - Has the only genuine colour photographs of Joe, 2 taken in his studio and 1 in his lounge. details e-mail; dppeters1@tiscali.co.uk
[edit] Literature
John Repsch: The Legendary Joe Meek (UK; 1989, Jul 2003) ISBN 1-901447-20-0
Barry Cleveland: Creative Music Production - Joe Meek's BOLD Techniques (USA; Jul 2001) ISBN 1-931140-08-1
Nick Moran with James Hicks: "Telstar - The Joe Meek Story", (UK, Oberon Books 1/2007) ISBN 9781840025880 [14]
[edit] References
^ Joe Meek
^ Live It Up! at the Internet Movie Database
^ "Tom Jones' Visual Discography". B.J. Spencer. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
^ Untitled Document
^ Brian Boyd "The truth behind The Green Door" The Guardian 8 September 2006
^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbCsq9Rx-yc Video: "He Stood In The Bath He Stamped On The Floor"
^ Spicnic label website
^ http://www.musicomh.com/theatre/telstar.htm
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6132464.stm BBC news, 11 Nov 2006: "Rhys Ifans to play '60s pop mogul Meek"
^ Telstar at the Internet Movie Database
^ A Life in the Death of Joe Meek (documentary) at the Internet Movie Database
^ Arena: The Very Strange Story of the Legendary Joe Meek at the Internet Movie Database
^ Joe Meek - Holloway Road. High resolution images for reproduction can be supplied. Please contact Clive Bubley for details, e-mail: clive(at)bubley.co.uk
^ http://www.oberonbooks.com/ Oberon Books
Tony Kent Holloway Road Hit Factory (Interview, 2007)
www.redferns.com enter Joe Meek in search box, to find the only 3 colour photographs taken of Joe Meek at 304 Holloway Road, these are copyright David Peters
[edit] External links
Joe Meek at the Internet Movie Database
Photo of Meek's grave
BBC Music Profile: Joe Meek
Biography by John McCready (Mojo Magazine)
Joe Meek: Portrait of a Genius feature
http://www.joemeekpage.info/ Fan site with list of recordings
http://www.rhis.co.uk/jmas/ The Joe Meek Appreciation Society
http://myspace.com/robertgeorgemeek Robert George Meek Appreciation Society (a different group, founded in 1966)
Joe Meek at Discogs
http://www.bubley.com/joemeek Clive Bubley: Images of Joe Meek, 1966
Gay Great From Fyne Times Magazine
Persondata
NAME
Meek, Joe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Meek, Robert George (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION
English record producer
DATE OF BIRTH
5 April 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH
Newent, Gloucestershire, England
DATE OF DEATH
3 February 1967
PLACE OF DEATH
London, England
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Meek"
Life on the big screen
Telstar the Meek Cover
Telstar by the Tornados
All the stars in the sky
Do you come here often
Blackpool rock
Riding the wind
Life on mars
A life in the death of Joe Meek
The Joe Meek Story
The Joe Meek story pt 2
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 1
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 2
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 3
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 4
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 5
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 6
The strange story of Joe Meek pt 7
Joe Meek
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Friday, 24 October 2008
UK Subs: Official Website,Blog,History,Discography,Photos & More
The U.K. Subs are an English punk band, the mainstay of which is vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R & B scene.
Contents[hide]
1 Career
1.1 Band members
2 Discography
2.1 Albums
2.2 Miscellaneous albums
2.3 Compilation albums
2.4 UK chart singles
2.5 12" singles
2.6 Singles / EPs
2.7 Tributes/References
3 References
4 External links
//
[edit] Career
The U.K. Subs were part of the original punk rock movement in England that formed in 1976, with the initial name of the Subversives. The band's founder, Charlie Harper selected guitarist Nicky Garratt, bassist Paul Slack, and various drummers (eventually Pete Davis became fairly stable) under the initial name "U.K. Subversives". The London based band's early line-up changed frequently.
Their style combined the energy of punk and the rock and roll edge of the then thriving pub rock scene. The band had some hit singles such as "Stranglehold", "Warhead", "Teenage", and "Tomorrow's Girls", with several of their songs managing to enter the United Kingdom's Top Forty.
The band played several John Peel sessions in 1977 and 1978 for BBC Radio 1, and then signed a recording contract with GEM Records. Under GEM, the U.K. Subs recorded an album in 1979 called Another Kind of Blues. The group also played a few opening gigs for The Police, as well as recording a set at The Roxy (a punk club), which was issued in 1980 as Live Kicks. Their biggest selling album came with 1980s Crash Course.
With the arrival of new bassist Alvin Gibbs and drummer Steve Roberts in the early 1980s, the songs took on a more heavy metal-influenced edge. In 1991, the U.K. Subs also had Lars Frederiksen (now of Rancid) on guitar for a 30 date UK tour. Decades after the disbanding of other late-1970s punk groups such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, the U.K. Subs continue to perform.
It is noted that successive U.K. Subs album titles, start with consecutive letters of the alphabet. The U.K. Subs song "Down on the Farm" was covered by Guns N' Roses on their 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?". The U.K. Subs joined the bill for the 2006 Fiend Fest. The band have toured with The Misfits, The Adicts, Osaka Popstar, Juicehead, and Orange. The U.K. Subs song "Warhead" is played in the movie, This Is England.
[edit] Band members
Charlie Harper - lead vocals (1976-present)
Nicky Garratt - lead guitars (1977-1983, 1988, 1999, 1999-2002, 2004-present)
Rab Fae Beith - drums (1984-1988)
Jim Moncur - guitar (1984-1988)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
Another Kind of Blues (1979) (UK #21)
Brand New Age (1980) (UK #18)
Crash Course (1980) (UK #8)
Diminished Responsibility (1981) (UK #18)
Endangered Species (1982)
Flood of Lies (1983)
Gross Out USA (1984)
Huntington Beach (1985)
In Action (1986)
Japan Today (1987)
Killing Time (1988)
Live in Paris (1989)
Mad Cow Fever (1991)
Normal Service Resumed (1993)
Occupied (1996)
Peel Sessions 1978-79 (1997)
Quintessentials (1997)
Riot (1997)
Submission (1999)
Time Warp (2000)
Countdown (2001)
Universal (2002)
Violent State (2005)
Complete Riot (2006)
[1]
[edit] Miscellaneous albums
Live Kicks (1979) (Recorded Live at the Roxy 1977)
Original Punks Original Hits (2006)
[edit] Compilation albums
The British Punk Invasion Vol 2 (1996)
[edit] UK chart singles
"Stranglehold" - 1979 - No. 26
"Tomorrow's Girls" - 1979 - No. 28
"She's Not There" / "Kicks" (EP) - 1979 - No. 36
"Warhead" - 1980 - No. 30
"Teenage" - 1980 - No. 32
"Party In Paris" - 1980 - No. 37
"Keep On Runnin' (Till You Burn)" - 1981 - No. 41
[1]
[edit] 12" singles
"Another Typical City" (1983) (EP)
"The Magic" (1984) (EP)
"Hey Santa" (1987) (EP)
"Motivator" (1988) (EP)
"Sabre Dance" (1989) (EP)
[edit] Singles / EPs
"C.I.D." (1978) (EP)
"Stranglehold" (1979) (EP)
"Tomorrows Girls" (1979) (EP)
"She's Not There" (1979) (EP)
"Warhead" (1980) (EP)
"Teenage" (1980) (EP)
"Party in Paris" (1980)
"Keep on Running" (1981) (EP)
"Countdown" (1981)
"Shake Up The City" (1982) (EP)
"Another Typical City" (1983)
"This Gun Says" (1985) (EP)
"Live in Holland" (1986) (EP)
"The Road is Long, The Road is Hard" (1993) (EP)
"Postcard from L.A." (Split single) (1994) (U.S. only)
"Betrayal" (1995) (U.S. only)
"War on the Pentagon" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
"Day of the Dead" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
"Cyberjunk" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
"Riot" (1998) (EP)
"The Revolution's Here" (2000) (EP)
"Drunken Sailor" (2002)
"666 Yeah" (2006)
[edit] Tributes/References
"I Lost My Love (to a UK Sub)" track by The Gonads (1982)
"(Give Me) Charlie Harper (Any Day)" track by The Bus Station Loonies (1996)
[edit] References
^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 574. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
[edit] External links
Biography at Allmusic
Official website
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.K._Subs"
Stranglehold
Warhead
C.I.D.
New York state police
I couldn't be you
Tomorrows girls
Nazi cunts
Cocaine
I live in a car
I couldn't be you
Party in Paris
Keep on running (until you burn)
Teenage
Kicks
Organised crime live
Emotional blackmail live
Left for dead
Born a rocker die a rocker
Short biography
Contents[hide]
1 Career
1.1 Band members
2 Discography
2.1 Albums
2.2 Miscellaneous albums
2.3 Compilation albums
2.4 UK chart singles
2.5 12" singles
2.6 Singles / EPs
2.7 Tributes/References
3 References
4 External links
//
[edit] Career
The U.K. Subs were part of the original punk rock movement in England that formed in 1976, with the initial name of the Subversives. The band's founder, Charlie Harper selected guitarist Nicky Garratt, bassist Paul Slack, and various drummers (eventually Pete Davis became fairly stable) under the initial name "U.K. Subversives". The London based band's early line-up changed frequently.
Their style combined the energy of punk and the rock and roll edge of the then thriving pub rock scene. The band had some hit singles such as "Stranglehold", "Warhead", "Teenage", and "Tomorrow's Girls", with several of their songs managing to enter the United Kingdom's Top Forty.
The band played several John Peel sessions in 1977 and 1978 for BBC Radio 1, and then signed a recording contract with GEM Records. Under GEM, the U.K. Subs recorded an album in 1979 called Another Kind of Blues. The group also played a few opening gigs for The Police, as well as recording a set at The Roxy (a punk club), which was issued in 1980 as Live Kicks. Their biggest selling album came with 1980s Crash Course.
With the arrival of new bassist Alvin Gibbs and drummer Steve Roberts in the early 1980s, the songs took on a more heavy metal-influenced edge. In 1991, the U.K. Subs also had Lars Frederiksen (now of Rancid) on guitar for a 30 date UK tour. Decades after the disbanding of other late-1970s punk groups such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, the U.K. Subs continue to perform.
It is noted that successive U.K. Subs album titles, start with consecutive letters of the alphabet. The U.K. Subs song "Down on the Farm" was covered by Guns N' Roses on their 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?". The U.K. Subs joined the bill for the 2006 Fiend Fest. The band have toured with The Misfits, The Adicts, Osaka Popstar, Juicehead, and Orange. The U.K. Subs song "Warhead" is played in the movie, This Is England.
[edit] Band members
Charlie Harper - lead vocals (1976-present)
Nicky Garratt - lead guitars (1977-1983, 1988, 1999, 1999-2002, 2004-present)
Rab Fae Beith - drums (1984-1988)
Jim Moncur - guitar (1984-1988)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
Another Kind of Blues (1979) (UK #21)
Brand New Age (1980) (UK #18)
Crash Course (1980) (UK #8)
Diminished Responsibility (1981) (UK #18)
Endangered Species (1982)
Flood of Lies (1983)
Gross Out USA (1984)
Huntington Beach (1985)
In Action (1986)
Japan Today (1987)
Killing Time (1988)
Live in Paris (1989)
Mad Cow Fever (1991)
Normal Service Resumed (1993)
Occupied (1996)
Peel Sessions 1978-79 (1997)
Quintessentials (1997)
Riot (1997)
Submission (1999)
Time Warp (2000)
Countdown (2001)
Universal (2002)
Violent State (2005)
Complete Riot (2006)
[1]
[edit] Miscellaneous albums
Live Kicks (1979) (Recorded Live at the Roxy 1977)
Original Punks Original Hits (2006)
[edit] Compilation albums
The British Punk Invasion Vol 2 (1996)
[edit] UK chart singles
"Stranglehold" - 1979 - No. 26
"Tomorrow's Girls" - 1979 - No. 28
"She's Not There" / "Kicks" (EP) - 1979 - No. 36
"Warhead" - 1980 - No. 30
"Teenage" - 1980 - No. 32
"Party In Paris" - 1980 - No. 37
"Keep On Runnin' (Till You Burn)" - 1981 - No. 41
[1]
[edit] 12" singles
"Another Typical City" (1983) (EP)
"The Magic" (1984) (EP)
"Hey Santa" (1987) (EP)
"Motivator" (1988) (EP)
"Sabre Dance" (1989) (EP)
[edit] Singles / EPs
"C.I.D." (1978) (EP)
"Stranglehold" (1979) (EP)
"Tomorrows Girls" (1979) (EP)
"She's Not There" (1979) (EP)
"Warhead" (1980) (EP)
"Teenage" (1980) (EP)
"Party in Paris" (1980)
"Keep on Running" (1981) (EP)
"Countdown" (1981)
"Shake Up The City" (1982) (EP)
"Another Typical City" (1983)
"This Gun Says" (1985) (EP)
"Live in Holland" (1986) (EP)
"The Road is Long, The Road is Hard" (1993) (EP)
"Postcard from L.A." (Split single) (1994) (U.S. only)
"Betrayal" (1995) (U.S. only)
"War on the Pentagon" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
"Day of the Dead" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
"Cyberjunk" (1997) (EP) (U.S. only)
"Riot" (1998) (EP)
"The Revolution's Here" (2000) (EP)
"Drunken Sailor" (2002)
"666 Yeah" (2006)
[edit] Tributes/References
"I Lost My Love (to a UK Sub)" track by The Gonads (1982)
"(Give Me) Charlie Harper (Any Day)" track by The Bus Station Loonies (1996)
[edit] References
^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 574. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
[edit] External links
Biography at Allmusic
Official website
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.K._Subs"
Stranglehold
Warhead
C.I.D.
New York state police
I couldn't be you
Tomorrows girls
Nazi cunts
Cocaine
I live in a car
I couldn't be you
Party in Paris
Keep on running (until you burn)
Teenage
Kicks
Organised crime live
Emotional blackmail live
Left for dead
Born a rocker die a rocker
Short biography
Discharge: Official Website,Blog,History,Discography,Photos & More
Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tez" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. While the band had substantial lineup changes over its history, the core members over the early 1980s, when the band produced its key recordings, were Kelvin "Cal" Morris (vocals), Tony "Bones" Roberts (guitar), Roy Wainwright (bass), and Terry Roberts (drums).[1]
The band's music is characterized by a heavy, distorted, and grinding guitar-driven sound and shouted or screamed vocals, with lyrics on anarchist and pacifist themes. The band's first album in 1982, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, went to number two on the UK Indie charts and number 40 in the UK Album Chart. In the early 1980s, the group had a number of singles and EPs place in the top 10 of the UK indie charts, including the 1981 EP Why(#1) and the 1982 single State Violence State Control.
After 1982, the addition of guitarist Peter "Pooch" Purtill brought significant thrash metal crossover elements to the band. In the 1990s, the band released several metal-influenced albums, which alienated some of the original fan base. In the early 2000s, the original line up was reunited and they released a self-titled album using the 1980s musical style. Discharge's music influenced hardcore punk, thrash metal, crust punk, grindcore and various extreme metal subgenres. The most well-known thrash metal bands covering Discharge songs include Metallica, Anthrax, and Sepultura.
Contents[hide]
1 Career
1.1 Late 1970s
1.2 1980s
1.3 1990s-2000s
2 Influence
2.1 D-beat
2.2 As cover songs
3 Discography
3.1 Singles
3.2 EPs
3.3 Albums
3.4 Compilations
3.5 Other
4 Past members
4.1 Vocals
4.2 Guitar
4.3 Bass
4.4 Drums
5 References
6 External links
//
[edit] Career
[edit] Late 1970s
Discharge formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, an industrial city in the West Midlands region of England, by Terry "Tez" Roberts (vocals) and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright (guitar).[1] They soon recruited Terry's younger brother Tony "Bones" Roberts on lead guitar, Nigel Bamford on bass and Tony "Akko" Atkinson on drums.[1] This line-up recorded a demo in 1977. Atkinson left, followed by Bamford, and the band recruited Kevin "Cal" Morris (previously one of their roadies) as vocalist, with Tez moving to drums and Wainwright moving to bass.[1] The musical style of the band was initially influenced by 1977-era punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash.
When Cal joined the band, the group abandoned their previous Sex Pistols-style material, and developed a new set of songs for the lyrics written by Cal. With this new lineup, the band's sound changed. "Bones" played guitar with a heavy, distorted, and grinding sound and Cal shouted or screamed vocals in an anti-melodic fashion. The tempo of the band's songs also steadily increased over the next year or so.[1]. The stylistic transition made by the band was part of a broader trend in the early 1980s in the UK, which is known as "UK 82" or Second Generation UK Hardcore. Bands such as Discharge, Chaos UK, Amebix, and Charged GBH took the existing 1977-era punk sound and melded it with the incessant, heavy drumbeats and "wall of sound" distortion guitar sound of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Motörhead. The new, harder-edged style also tended to use much darker, more nihilistic, and more violent lyrics, and vocals were often shouted rather than sung.
The first gig with this new line-up and new sound was at Northwood Parish Hall, and among the audience was local record shop owner Mike Stone. He had just started the Clay punk record label, and had attended the gig at the band's request.[1] Cal's lyrics focused on anarchist and pacifist themes emphasizing the grisly effects of nuclear warfare and the social ills caused by capitalism. Cal's approach to lyric-writing also added to the raw power of the band's sound. Cal's songs often stripped down the lyrics to a guttural, repeated message, to forcefully express a song's theme. Perhaps the most extreme example of this approach is the song "Free Speech for the Dumb," which consists solely of the words from the song's title.
The band also expressed its political and social themes in its albums artwork, which depicted the horrors of war using an iconic black-and-white photography style.
[edit] 1980s
In 1980, Discharge signed with Clay Records, and recorded their first single "Realities of War" in February 1980, which made the UK Indie Chart when it was released in April, after being played on John Peel's show, peaking at number 5 and spending 44 weeks in the chart.[1] The band also performed their first shows outside of Stoke-on-Trent in 1980, playing in Leicester, Preston and Glasgow. After two further EP releases in that same year, founding member Terry Roberts (drums) departed, later joining UK Subs, and he was replaced by Dave 'Bambi' Ellesmere (formerly of The Insane) before the Why EP was recorded.[1]Ellesmere did not stay long, and the band replaced him with Gary Maloney of The Varukers on drums. Why gave the band their first UK indie number one[1].
A reviewer from Punknews.org calls the music from this period "ugly and jagged without the artistic convolution of their no-wave contemporaries overseas", comprised of "catchy, repetitive, stomping chords[,]...drumming that seems to emphasize creating a hellacious racket rather than keep a steady beat" and "very serious and socially conscious" song lyrics. The reviewer notes that "Instead of creating a melody, vocalist Cal’s grunting shout...blends in with the rhythm", in effect becoming "a fourth [rhythm] instrument". [2] The reviewer argues that the early 1980 EP "Why?" "...revolutionized everything...[paving the] way for the atonal shredding of hardcore punk, thrash, death metal, and grind, but also the dead-serious political ideals and brutal backing of crust hardcore." [2] Ian Glasper described the EP as "one of the most potent anti-war records ever made".[3]
Discharge recorded their first album, 1982's Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing, which was the number one punk album of all time in a poll by Terrorizer magazine.[1] The album reached number two on the indie album chart and number 40 in the UK Album Chart.[1] The group played regularly throughout the UK, often appearing with bands such as GBH and The Exploited, and the success of the debut album also saw them touring Canada, the United States, Italy, Yugoslavia, Holland, Finland, and Sweden.[1]
Guitarist Tony "Bones" Roberts departed after 1982's "State Violence State Control" single, later joining his brother Terry in Broken Bones, and he was replaced by Peter "Pooch" Pyrtle who brought significant metal influences. The "Warning..." EP shows drastic stylistic differences, with Cal changing his angry shouts to a mix of regular singing and football chants. As well, the band used significantly slower tempos and their D-beat punk style was replaced with metal-oriented beats. With the release of Ignorance, Pyrtle and Maloney left the band to form the punk/metal crossover band HellsBelles. The lineup changed once more in 1986 for Grave New World, a mainstream metal album with a glam sound from Cal's high-pitched singing style. Although the album reached the indie top 10 (before exiting the chart as swiftly as it had entered), the change from punk band to a typical hard rock band prompted a negative reaction from fans, and the group disbanded in 1987.
[edit] 1990s-2000s
Morris formed a new version of the band in 1991 following the reelase of the Live at City Garden, New York City album by Clay, with Andy Green on guitar, Anthony Morgan on bass, and Garry Maloney on drums.[1] In 1991 they released "Massacre Divine", which retained the metal sound, though with a noticeably harder edge than on "Grave New World". Cal changed his vocal style, this time to rougher growling, similar to Brian Johnson of AC/DC. They toured widely in support, including their only visit to Japan, but the tour was negatively received. In 1993 they released "Shootin' Up The World", which continued Cal's new vocal style, but the songs were significantly heavier than on Massacre Divine. The album retains the metal direction, although experiments with strange lyrics and song structures, coming close to thrash metal at times. The album received no publicity, and the band did not tour in support of it, resulting in the group's disbandment once more.
In 2001, the original line up reunited after meeting at a party held by original bassist Bamford, and in 2002 they released their self-titled album Discharge, a return to their early 1980s style of politically infuriated and aggressive playing.[1] As well, they brought back their intense D-beat drumming style, although combined with the remaining metal influence, it gave the album a speed metal influence with its thrashy riffs. Cal would not commit to touring to promote the album and left the band, to be replaced by "Rat" of The Varukers. The single "The Beginning Of The End" was released in 2006, finally casting off all metal influences to a return to true hardcore D-beat punk. The band is currently recording a new album with Rat, slated for release in 2008. A book is also currently being written about Discharge, although as Cal's whereabouts are unknown, and his input is essential on documenting the history of Discharge, it is indefinitely on hold. [2]
[edit] Influence
[edit] D-beat
The intense Motörhead- and Buzzcocks-influenced drum beat used by Discharge early in their career is referred to as D-beat (with the D referring to Discharge). It was first played as the drum-beat to the song "Fascist Dictator" by London school-age punks The Cortinas and was copied by a number of hardcore bands in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, D-beat became a subgenre of hardcore punk, especially in Japanese, Brazilian, and Scandinavian hardcore and punk scenes.
Many bands that followed Discharge's stylistic approach, primarily in Sweden, began using the "Dis-" prefix and "-charge" suffix in their names, and even began using "Des-" words with "Dis-" in its place as a parody. Examples include Disfear, Disclose, Discard, Recharge, Disarm, and Distraught. The bands who followed this naming trend also imitated Discharge's logo.
[edit] As cover songs
Discharge's influence on the musical scene can also be seen in recordings of Discharge songs by range of hardcore punk and metal groups from the 1980s to the 2000s. The Scottish anarcho-punk band Oi Polloi covered the song "State Violence, State Control". During the same period, the Swedish hardcore punk band Mob 47 covered "Never Again" on their Ultimate Attack recording. New York City anarchist crust band Nausea, which was active from 1985-1992, recorded "Ain't No Feeble Bastard" along with "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing", on The Punk Terrorist Anthology, Vol. 1. Swedish grindcore band Nasum covered "Visions of War" for a tribute compilation. D-beat/hardcore punk band From Ashes Rise recorded the nuclear war-themed "Hell on Earth". In 2003, New Jersey hardcore band, Ensign, covered "Protest and Survive" on their album of covers, Love the Music, Hate the Kids.
Metal groups from several metal subgenres have recorded Discharge songs. Thrash metal bands covering Discharge material include Metallica ( "Free Speech For The Dumb" and "The More I See", on their studio covers album Garage Inc.); Anthrax ("Protest and Survive" on their studio album Attack of the Killer B's); and Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura ("A Look At Tomorrow", "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" and "Protest and Survive").
Discharge songs also attracted interest from the "darker" metal subgenres, such as doom metal and black metal. UK doom metal band Moss covered "Maimed & Slaughtered", and Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest covered "The Possibilities of Life's Destruction" on their compilation album We're Going to Hell for This - Over a Decade of Perversions, and the grindcore/death metal band Napalm Death covered "War's No Fairytale" on their Leaders not Followers Part 2 album. As well, the Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At the Gates covered "The Nightmare Continues" as a hidden track on their With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness album.
The Canadian industrial metal band Monster Voodoo Machine named their second album release State Voodoo/State Control after Discharge's "State Violence/State Control", and they included a cover version of "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing", on their "Bastard Is As Bastard Does" single. Other metal bands covering Discharge songs include Soulfly ("Ain't No Feeble Bastard" and "The Possibility of Life's Destruction") and Machine Head ("The Possibilities of Life's Destruction" on The More Things Change digipack).
[edit] Discography
Chart placings, unless stated, are shown are from the UK Indie Chart.[4]
[edit] Singles
State Violence State Control (1982) (#4)
The Price of Silence (1983) (#5)
The More I See (1984) (#3)
Ignorance (1985) (#7)
[edit] EPs
Realities of War (1980) (#5)
Fight Back (1980) (#4)
Decontrol (Discharge EP) (1980) (#2)
Why (Discharge EP) (1981) (#1)
Never Again (Discharge EP) (indie #3, UK Singles Chart #64)[5]
Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983) (#6)
Beginning of the End (Discharge EP) (2006)
[edit] Albums
Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982) (indie #2, UK Album Chart #40)[5]
Grave New World (Discharge album) (1986) (#8)
Massacre Divine (1991)
Shootin' Up The World (1993)
Discharge (Discharge album) (2002)
Desensitise (August 2008)
[edit] Compilations
Never Again (1984) (#13)
1980-1986 (1986)
Protest and Survive (1992)
Vision of War (1997)
The Clay Punk Singles Collection (1995)
Hardcore Hits (1999)
Society's Victims (2004)
[edit] Other
Demo recording from 1977
Live album: Live at the City Gardens, New Jersey (1989)
Tribute album: Discharged (1992)
Live album: Live: The Nightmare Continues (1996)
Tribute album: In Defence Of Our Future: A Tribute To Discharge (1999)
Split album with MG15 (2006)
[edit] Past members
[edit] Vocals
Tony Rat* 2008
Terry "Tez" Roberts (1977)
Kelvin "Cal" Morris (1977-1987, 1991-1995, 1997-2003)
Rob "Rocky Shades" Berkley (1987)
[edit] Guitar
Roy "Rainy" Wainwright (1977)
Tony "Bones" Roberts
Andy Green (1991-1995)
Stephen "Fish" Brooks (1986-1987)
Les "The Mole" Hunt (1984-1986)
Peter "Pooch" Pyrtle (1983-1984)
Labanthorsen "The Torn" Ekeroth (1995-1999)
[edit] Bass
Roy "Rainy" Wainwright
Anthony "Jake" Morgan (1991-1995)
Nick Bushell
Nigel Bamford
[edit] Drums
Dave "Proper" Caution (2006-present)
Terry "Tez" Roberts (1977-1981, 1997-2006)
Micky Gibson (1984-1986)
Garry Maloney (1981-1984, 1986-1987, 1991-1995)
Dave 'Bambi' Ellesmere (1981)
Tony "Akko" Atkinson (1977-1979)
Keith Haynes (1981)
Andrea Pisu 2005
[edit] References
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glasper, Ian (2004). Burning Britain: The History of Punk 1980-1984. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 1-901447-24-3.
^ a b Punknews.org Discharge - Why [reissue]
^ Glasper 2004, p. 171.
^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
^ a b Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 0-86241-913-1.
[edit] External links
Discharge Official Website
Discharge at MySpace
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discharge_(band)"
State violence, State control
Never again
Realities of war
Live punk and disorderly
Hyper overload
They lie, you die
Decontrol
See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing
2006 live in Croydon London pt 1
2006 live in Croydon London pt 2
TJ's Newport South Wales 2008
A look at tomorrow: Wasted 2004
A look at tomorrow: Bristol 2006
Cries of help: Newport 2008
Never Again:Hanley 1983 crowd camera.
Live '83-The Possibility Of Life's Destruction
The band's music is characterized by a heavy, distorted, and grinding guitar-driven sound and shouted or screamed vocals, with lyrics on anarchist and pacifist themes. The band's first album in 1982, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, went to number two on the UK Indie charts and number 40 in the UK Album Chart. In the early 1980s, the group had a number of singles and EPs place in the top 10 of the UK indie charts, including the 1981 EP Why(#1) and the 1982 single State Violence State Control.
After 1982, the addition of guitarist Peter "Pooch" Purtill brought significant thrash metal crossover elements to the band. In the 1990s, the band released several metal-influenced albums, which alienated some of the original fan base. In the early 2000s, the original line up was reunited and they released a self-titled album using the 1980s musical style. Discharge's music influenced hardcore punk, thrash metal, crust punk, grindcore and various extreme metal subgenres. The most well-known thrash metal bands covering Discharge songs include Metallica, Anthrax, and Sepultura.
Contents[hide]
1 Career
1.1 Late 1970s
1.2 1980s
1.3 1990s-2000s
2 Influence
2.1 D-beat
2.2 As cover songs
3 Discography
3.1 Singles
3.2 EPs
3.3 Albums
3.4 Compilations
3.5 Other
4 Past members
4.1 Vocals
4.2 Guitar
4.3 Bass
4.4 Drums
5 References
6 External links
//
[edit] Career
[edit] Late 1970s
Discharge formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, an industrial city in the West Midlands region of England, by Terry "Tez" Roberts (vocals) and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright (guitar).[1] They soon recruited Terry's younger brother Tony "Bones" Roberts on lead guitar, Nigel Bamford on bass and Tony "Akko" Atkinson on drums.[1] This line-up recorded a demo in 1977. Atkinson left, followed by Bamford, and the band recruited Kevin "Cal" Morris (previously one of their roadies) as vocalist, with Tez moving to drums and Wainwright moving to bass.[1] The musical style of the band was initially influenced by 1977-era punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash.
When Cal joined the band, the group abandoned their previous Sex Pistols-style material, and developed a new set of songs for the lyrics written by Cal. With this new lineup, the band's sound changed. "Bones" played guitar with a heavy, distorted, and grinding sound and Cal shouted or screamed vocals in an anti-melodic fashion. The tempo of the band's songs also steadily increased over the next year or so.[1]. The stylistic transition made by the band was part of a broader trend in the early 1980s in the UK, which is known as "UK 82" or Second Generation UK Hardcore. Bands such as Discharge, Chaos UK, Amebix, and Charged GBH took the existing 1977-era punk sound and melded it with the incessant, heavy drumbeats and "wall of sound" distortion guitar sound of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Motörhead. The new, harder-edged style also tended to use much darker, more nihilistic, and more violent lyrics, and vocals were often shouted rather than sung.
The first gig with this new line-up and new sound was at Northwood Parish Hall, and among the audience was local record shop owner Mike Stone. He had just started the Clay punk record label, and had attended the gig at the band's request.[1] Cal's lyrics focused on anarchist and pacifist themes emphasizing the grisly effects of nuclear warfare and the social ills caused by capitalism. Cal's approach to lyric-writing also added to the raw power of the band's sound. Cal's songs often stripped down the lyrics to a guttural, repeated message, to forcefully express a song's theme. Perhaps the most extreme example of this approach is the song "Free Speech for the Dumb," which consists solely of the words from the song's title.
The band also expressed its political and social themes in its albums artwork, which depicted the horrors of war using an iconic black-and-white photography style.
[edit] 1980s
In 1980, Discharge signed with Clay Records, and recorded their first single "Realities of War" in February 1980, which made the UK Indie Chart when it was released in April, after being played on John Peel's show, peaking at number 5 and spending 44 weeks in the chart.[1] The band also performed their first shows outside of Stoke-on-Trent in 1980, playing in Leicester, Preston and Glasgow. After two further EP releases in that same year, founding member Terry Roberts (drums) departed, later joining UK Subs, and he was replaced by Dave 'Bambi' Ellesmere (formerly of The Insane) before the Why EP was recorded.[1]Ellesmere did not stay long, and the band replaced him with Gary Maloney of The Varukers on drums. Why gave the band their first UK indie number one[1].
A reviewer from Punknews.org calls the music from this period "ugly and jagged without the artistic convolution of their no-wave contemporaries overseas", comprised of "catchy, repetitive, stomping chords[,]...drumming that seems to emphasize creating a hellacious racket rather than keep a steady beat" and "very serious and socially conscious" song lyrics. The reviewer notes that "Instead of creating a melody, vocalist Cal’s grunting shout...blends in with the rhythm", in effect becoming "a fourth [rhythm] instrument". [2] The reviewer argues that the early 1980 EP "Why?" "...revolutionized everything...[paving the] way for the atonal shredding of hardcore punk, thrash, death metal, and grind, but also the dead-serious political ideals and brutal backing of crust hardcore." [2] Ian Glasper described the EP as "one of the most potent anti-war records ever made".[3]
Discharge recorded their first album, 1982's Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing, which was the number one punk album of all time in a poll by Terrorizer magazine.[1] The album reached number two on the indie album chart and number 40 in the UK Album Chart.[1] The group played regularly throughout the UK, often appearing with bands such as GBH and The Exploited, and the success of the debut album also saw them touring Canada, the United States, Italy, Yugoslavia, Holland, Finland, and Sweden.[1]
Guitarist Tony "Bones" Roberts departed after 1982's "State Violence State Control" single, later joining his brother Terry in Broken Bones, and he was replaced by Peter "Pooch" Pyrtle who brought significant metal influences. The "Warning..." EP shows drastic stylistic differences, with Cal changing his angry shouts to a mix of regular singing and football chants. As well, the band used significantly slower tempos and their D-beat punk style was replaced with metal-oriented beats. With the release of Ignorance, Pyrtle and Maloney left the band to form the punk/metal crossover band HellsBelles. The lineup changed once more in 1986 for Grave New World, a mainstream metal album with a glam sound from Cal's high-pitched singing style. Although the album reached the indie top 10 (before exiting the chart as swiftly as it had entered), the change from punk band to a typical hard rock band prompted a negative reaction from fans, and the group disbanded in 1987.
[edit] 1990s-2000s
Morris formed a new version of the band in 1991 following the reelase of the Live at City Garden, New York City album by Clay, with Andy Green on guitar, Anthony Morgan on bass, and Garry Maloney on drums.[1] In 1991 they released "Massacre Divine", which retained the metal sound, though with a noticeably harder edge than on "Grave New World". Cal changed his vocal style, this time to rougher growling, similar to Brian Johnson of AC/DC. They toured widely in support, including their only visit to Japan, but the tour was negatively received. In 1993 they released "Shootin' Up The World", which continued Cal's new vocal style, but the songs were significantly heavier than on Massacre Divine. The album retains the metal direction, although experiments with strange lyrics and song structures, coming close to thrash metal at times. The album received no publicity, and the band did not tour in support of it, resulting in the group's disbandment once more.
In 2001, the original line up reunited after meeting at a party held by original bassist Bamford, and in 2002 they released their self-titled album Discharge, a return to their early 1980s style of politically infuriated and aggressive playing.[1] As well, they brought back their intense D-beat drumming style, although combined with the remaining metal influence, it gave the album a speed metal influence with its thrashy riffs. Cal would not commit to touring to promote the album and left the band, to be replaced by "Rat" of The Varukers. The single "The Beginning Of The End" was released in 2006, finally casting off all metal influences to a return to true hardcore D-beat punk. The band is currently recording a new album with Rat, slated for release in 2008. A book is also currently being written about Discharge, although as Cal's whereabouts are unknown, and his input is essential on documenting the history of Discharge, it is indefinitely on hold. [2]
[edit] Influence
[edit] D-beat
The intense Motörhead- and Buzzcocks-influenced drum beat used by Discharge early in their career is referred to as D-beat (with the D referring to Discharge). It was first played as the drum-beat to the song "Fascist Dictator" by London school-age punks The Cortinas and was copied by a number of hardcore bands in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, D-beat became a subgenre of hardcore punk, especially in Japanese, Brazilian, and Scandinavian hardcore and punk scenes.
Many bands that followed Discharge's stylistic approach, primarily in Sweden, began using the "Dis-" prefix and "-charge" suffix in their names, and even began using "Des-" words with "Dis-" in its place as a parody. Examples include Disfear, Disclose, Discard, Recharge, Disarm, and Distraught. The bands who followed this naming trend also imitated Discharge's logo.
[edit] As cover songs
Discharge's influence on the musical scene can also be seen in recordings of Discharge songs by range of hardcore punk and metal groups from the 1980s to the 2000s. The Scottish anarcho-punk band Oi Polloi covered the song "State Violence, State Control". During the same period, the Swedish hardcore punk band Mob 47 covered "Never Again" on their Ultimate Attack recording. New York City anarchist crust band Nausea, which was active from 1985-1992, recorded "Ain't No Feeble Bastard" along with "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing", on The Punk Terrorist Anthology, Vol. 1. Swedish grindcore band Nasum covered "Visions of War" for a tribute compilation. D-beat/hardcore punk band From Ashes Rise recorded the nuclear war-themed "Hell on Earth". In 2003, New Jersey hardcore band, Ensign, covered "Protest and Survive" on their album of covers, Love the Music, Hate the Kids.
Metal groups from several metal subgenres have recorded Discharge songs. Thrash metal bands covering Discharge material include Metallica ( "Free Speech For The Dumb" and "The More I See", on their studio covers album Garage Inc.); Anthrax ("Protest and Survive" on their studio album Attack of the Killer B's); and Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura ("A Look At Tomorrow", "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" and "Protest and Survive").
Discharge songs also attracted interest from the "darker" metal subgenres, such as doom metal and black metal. UK doom metal band Moss covered "Maimed & Slaughtered", and Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest covered "The Possibilities of Life's Destruction" on their compilation album We're Going to Hell for This - Over a Decade of Perversions, and the grindcore/death metal band Napalm Death covered "War's No Fairytale" on their Leaders not Followers Part 2 album. As well, the Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At the Gates covered "The Nightmare Continues" as a hidden track on their With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness album.
The Canadian industrial metal band Monster Voodoo Machine named their second album release State Voodoo/State Control after Discharge's "State Violence/State Control", and they included a cover version of "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing", on their "Bastard Is As Bastard Does" single. Other metal bands covering Discharge songs include Soulfly ("Ain't No Feeble Bastard" and "The Possibility of Life's Destruction") and Machine Head ("The Possibilities of Life's Destruction" on The More Things Change digipack).
[edit] Discography
Chart placings, unless stated, are shown are from the UK Indie Chart.[4]
[edit] Singles
State Violence State Control (1982) (#4)
The Price of Silence (1983) (#5)
The More I See (1984) (#3)
Ignorance (1985) (#7)
[edit] EPs
Realities of War (1980) (#5)
Fight Back (1980) (#4)
Decontrol (Discharge EP) (1980) (#2)
Why (Discharge EP) (1981) (#1)
Never Again (Discharge EP) (indie #3, UK Singles Chart #64)[5]
Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983) (#6)
Beginning of the End (Discharge EP) (2006)
[edit] Albums
Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982) (indie #2, UK Album Chart #40)[5]
Grave New World (Discharge album) (1986) (#8)
Massacre Divine (1991)
Shootin' Up The World (1993)
Discharge (Discharge album) (2002)
Desensitise (August 2008)
[edit] Compilations
Never Again (1984) (#13)
1980-1986 (1986)
Protest and Survive (1992)
Vision of War (1997)
The Clay Punk Singles Collection (1995)
Hardcore Hits (1999)
Society's Victims (2004)
[edit] Other
Demo recording from 1977
Live album: Live at the City Gardens, New Jersey (1989)
Tribute album: Discharged (1992)
Live album: Live: The Nightmare Continues (1996)
Tribute album: In Defence Of Our Future: A Tribute To Discharge (1999)
Split album with MG15 (2006)
[edit] Past members
[edit] Vocals
Tony Rat* 2008
Terry "Tez" Roberts (1977)
Kelvin "Cal" Morris (1977-1987, 1991-1995, 1997-2003)
Rob "Rocky Shades" Berkley (1987)
[edit] Guitar
Roy "Rainy" Wainwright (1977)
Tony "Bones" Roberts
Andy Green (1991-1995)
Stephen "Fish" Brooks (1986-1987)
Les "The Mole" Hunt (1984-1986)
Peter "Pooch" Pyrtle (1983-1984)
Labanthorsen "The Torn" Ekeroth (1995-1999)
[edit] Bass
Roy "Rainy" Wainwright
Anthony "Jake" Morgan (1991-1995)
Nick Bushell
Nigel Bamford
[edit] Drums
Dave "Proper" Caution (2006-present)
Terry "Tez" Roberts (1977-1981, 1997-2006)
Micky Gibson (1984-1986)
Garry Maloney (1981-1984, 1986-1987, 1991-1995)
Dave 'Bambi' Ellesmere (1981)
Tony "Akko" Atkinson (1977-1979)
Keith Haynes (1981)
Andrea Pisu 2005
[edit] References
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glasper, Ian (2004). Burning Britain: The History of Punk 1980-1984. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 1-901447-24-3.
^ a b Punknews.org Discharge - Why [reissue]
^ Glasper 2004, p. 171.
^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
^ a b Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 0-86241-913-1.
[edit] External links
Discharge Official Website
Discharge at MySpace
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discharge_(band)"
State violence, State control
Never again
Realities of war
Live punk and disorderly
Hyper overload
They lie, you die
Decontrol
See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing
2006 live in Croydon London pt 1
2006 live in Croydon London pt 2
TJ's Newport South Wales 2008
A look at tomorrow: Wasted 2004
A look at tomorrow: Bristol 2006
Cries of help: Newport 2008
Never Again:Hanley 1983 crowd camera.
Live '83-The Possibility Of Life's Destruction
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