Dance Macabre

Dance Macabre

Friday 24 April 2015

A Few Figures From The New Wave

Steve Strange was the singer for early 1980's New Wave band Visage, and the founder of the brief New Romantic movement, a glammed up response to the dark and angry world of Punk, Posy Punk and Goth. Strange (real name Steve Harrington) was originally one of the group of early fans of the Sex Pistols who followed the band around wearing flashy punk gear including and who later formed bands of their own including Siouxsie Sioux and Steve Severin (of the Banshees), Billy Idol and Tony James (Generation X), Shane McGowan (Pogues), and Sid Vicious who later joined the Pistols. Strange began forming abortive bands of his own using musicians like Chrissy Hynde (later of the Pretenders) Vince Ely (Psychedelic Furs), Mark Ryan (Adam & The Ants) and Topper Headon (The Clash).

VISAGE ~ "THE DAMNED DON'T CRY";


By 1979 Strange was able to put together a group working with Midge Ure scooping a member of Ures old band The Rich Kids Rusty Eagan (later in Ultravox along with Ure) and members of Magazine (then on hiatus); Barry Adamson, John McGeoch and Dave Formula. They recorded the first album "Visage" produced by Martin Rushent in 1979 and scored hits with the classic "Fade To Grey", "Mind Of A Toy" and "Tar". A followup album "The Anvil came in 1981 with hits in "The Damned Don't Cry" and "Night Train".

VISAGE ~ "FADE TO GREY";


With it's first album Visage moved away from it's Punk roots and into a more glam image influenced by the Holy Trinity of Bowie, Roxy Music and T-Rex and Strange as the frontman became the defacto spokesman of the New Romantic movement. The New Romantics response to the dark and angry Punk and Post-Punk was to retreat into dance music with often pretentious but meaningless lyrics and over-the-top flashy clothes and makeup. Later, far more successful New Romantics included Adam & The Ants, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet.

VISAGE ~ "MIND OF A TOY";


As for Visage, such a flashy collection of veterans led by a prima-donna singer in Strange was bound to be unstable and Strange's increasing drug problems didn't help. By 1981 Ure had left to take over a reformed Ultravox (after John Foxx left), taking Billy Currie. Barry Adamson went off to record with Steve Shelly and Nick Cave and John McGeogh joined Siouxsie & The Banshees. Legal problems further tied up the band until 1984 by which time Visage (never popular with critics anyway) were decidedly old hat. A very slick and fashionable hat mind you but old. An attempt at a solo career fared no better and Strange retreated into drugs for more than a decade returning in 2004 for the 80's revival circuit. He died of a heart attack at age 55.

VISAGE ~ "NIGHT TRAIN";


John Bradbury ~ 62 ~ English drummer w/ 1980's Ska band the Specials and JB's All-Stars

Rico Rodriguez ~ 80 ~ Cuban-born British trombonist w/The Specials and Jools Holland

THE SPECIALS ~ "GHOST TOWN";


THE SPECIALS ~ "TOO MUCH TOO SOON";


THE SPECIALS ~ "A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDY";


Nick Marsh ~ 53 ~ Singer w/British New Wave/Goth band Flesh For Lulu ("I Go Crazy" used in soundtrack for "Some Kind Of Wonderful" and "Postcards From Paradise" later covered by The Replacements and The Goo Goo Dolls). Marsh later formed Gigantic and Urban Voodoo Machine.

FLESH FOR LULU ~ "I GO CRAZY";


FLESH FOR LULU ~ "POSTCARDS FROM PARADISE";


Adam Roth ~ 57 ~ Guitarist for 1980's American Cow Punk band the Del Fuegos

THE DEL FUEGOS ~ "DON'T RUN WILD";


THE DEL FUEGOS ~ "I STILL WANT YOU":


Carlos Gomez - 40's - Singer/guitarist with Los Angeles Rockabilly band Hi-Strung Ramblers

THE HI-STRUNG RAMBLERS ~ "MEAN OLD WOMAN";


THE HI-STRUNG RAMBLERS ~ "DON'T LEAVE ME";


THE HI-STRUNG RAMBLERS ~ "IF SHE EVER GOES AWAY";


Bryn Merrick ~ 56 ~ Welsh bassist w/The Damned (during their Goth phase), Victimized and The Shamones

THE DAMNED ~ "GRIMLY FIENDISH";


Francisco "Paco" Carreno - 49 - Drummer with UK Hardcore band Conflict

CONFLICT ~ "TOUGH SHIT MICKEY";


CONFLICT ~ "THE POSITIVE JUNK" & "LAW & ORDER";


Mick Lynch ~ Irish rock singer with 1980's and 90's Anglo-Irish indie rock band Stump

STUMP ~ "CHAOS";


STUMP ~ "BUFFALO";


Graham Brazier ~ 63 ~ New Zealand musician and songwriter w/ 1970's Power-Pop band Hello Sailor ("Blue Lady")

HELLO SAILOR ~ "BLUE LADY";
HELLO SAILOR ~ "GUTTER BLACK";


Don Joyce ~ 71 ~ Singer with American Avant Garde Noise/Collage band Negativeland. Originally Negativeland didn't have a singer at all and built songs by using sound collages. Joyce was a host radio show Over the Edge on the Berkeley, California, radio station KPFA who joined the band to contribute snidely mocking vocals that often parodied popular songs including U2 on their cover of "I'm Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Another former band member Ian Allen died in January.

NEGATIVELAND ~ "I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR";


NEGATIVELAND ~ "CHRISTIANITY IS STUPID";


ESP Records Label Founder Dies

Bernard Stollman ~ 85 ~ Founder of American Jazz, Folk and Underground Rock record label ESP-Disk. ESP was an odd label orginally set up by Stollman to release records in Esperanto, an artificially created language which still has thousands of hobbyist followers. Realizing that this was not exactly a large audience base Stollman was persuaded to branch out into other music focusing on an eccentric collection of avant garde folk (The Holy Modal Rounders, Old Time Custard Suckers), Free Jazz (Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, Pharaoh Sanders, Sun Ra) re-releases of other jazz (Billie Holliday, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Paul Bley) underground Rock (The Fugs, Godz, Pearls Before Swine, Jayne County), spoken word (William Bouroughs, Timothy Leary) world music and assorted weirdness (Charles Manson, Yma Sumac) . The label suspended recordings in the 1970's although the existing catalog has always been kept in print. ESP recorded a number of artists who other wise might have been forgotten and kept their work in print. On the down side Stollman was notorious for not paying royalties to his artists.

THE GODZ ~ PROMO CLIP;


THE GODZ ~ "CANDY'S GOING BAD";


JAYNE COUNTY ~ "ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH TO BE A WOMAN?"


THE FUGS ~ "KILL FOR PEACE";


THE FUGS ~ "BOOBS-A-LOT";


THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS ~ "BOUND TO LOOSE";


ALBERT AYLER ~ "SUMMERTIME";


SUN RA ARKESTRA ~ "SHADOW WORLD";


ORNETTE COLEMAN ~ "ROMA";


Tuesday 14 April 2015

Some 1950's & 1960's Figures Pass On



Jack Ely ~ 71 ~ Singer with 1960's Garage Band The Kingsmen on classic hits like "Louie Louie", "Jolly Green Giant". Quit the Kingsmen after a messy legal dispute and formed The Courtmen and recorded a cover of "Louie Louie" and "Ride Baby Ride" to limited success. Later drafted into the army during the Vietnam War, developed a drug habit and quit the music business.

THE KINGSMEN ~ "LOUIE LOUIE";


THE KINGSMEN ~ "MONEY";


Keith McCormack ~ 74 ~ 1950's & 60's American singer w/The Patio Kids, the Rock 'n' Rollers, the Latin Teens and the String-A-Longs and songwriter of "Sugar Shack" later covered in hit version by Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs

JIMMY GILMER & THE FIREBALLS ~ "SUGAR SHACK";


Doug Rowe ~ Singer for New Zealand/Australian/Canadian Country-Rock band The Flying Circus

THE FLYING CIRCUS ~ "LA LA";


THE FLYING SAUCER ~ "FINDING MY WAY";


Johnny Gimble ~ 88 ~ Western Swing fiddle with Bob Wills & Texas Playboys, later with Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty,Connie Smith, Lefty Frizzell, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, and Chet Atkins> Appeared (as Wills) in Clint Eastwood's 1982 movie "Honky Tony Man".

BOB WILLS & TEXAS PLAYBOYS ~ "STAY A LITTLE LONGER";


BOB WILLS & TEXAS PLAYBOYS ~ "IDA RED";


BOB WILLS & TEXAS PLAYBOYS ~ "SAN ANTONIO ROSE";


Jim Ed Brown ~ 81 ~ Singer with 1950's Country group The Browns w/hits "Three Little Bells", "Scarlet Ribbons", "Blue Christmas"

THE BROWNS ~ "THREE LITTLE BELLS";


Dorothy Ann Dillard ~ 91 ~ Singer with 1950's & 60's pop vocal group The Anita Kerr Singers who sang backup for Perry Como, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Pete Fountain, Al, Hirt, Burl Ives, Snookie Lanson, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Jimmy Dean as well as on The Grand Ole Opry.

ANITA KERR SINGERS ~ "OH LONESOME ME";


Wally Lester ~ 73 ~ American singer w/1950's Doo-Wop group The Skyliners ("Since I Don't Have You" & "Pennies From Heaven").

THE SKYLINERS ~ "SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU";


Twinkle ~ 66 ~ (Real name Lynn Annette Ripley) British 1960's singer/songwriter had hits w/"Terry" (a reworking of "The Leader Of The Pack") and "Golden Lights" (later covered by the Smiths) TWINKLE ~ "TERRY";


Ernie Maresca ~ Doo-Wop singer and songwriter from the 1950's & 60's. Sang with The Monterays and The Desiresand solo, had hit with "Shout! Shout! Knock Yourself Out!". Wrote songs for Dion & Belmonts including several hit songs including "Runaround Sue", "The Wanderer", "Lovers Who Wander"; and "Donna the Prima Donna".

DION ~ "RUNAROUND SUE";


DION ~ "THE WANDERER";


DION ~ "DONNA THE PRIMA DONNA";


Monday 6 April 2015

Some 1960's Prog & Psyche Rockers Pass On

Edgar Frosse ~ Keyboardist and founder of German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream. Originally playing with a Psychedelic Rock band The Ones who recorded a single in 1967, Frosse formed Tangerine Dream and recorded their first album in 1969. Over more than a dozen albums Tangerine Dream's sound utilized the new technology of Moog synthesizers to make long insturmentals which paved the way for later electronic groups such as Kraftwerk and early Industrial groups like Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire and later New Age electronic noodlers like Jean Micheal Jarre and Yani. Unlike most other electronic groups who mostly kept to the studio Tangerine Dream toured heavily throughout the 1970's and 80's recording many live albums. They also moved into soundtrack work with influencial music for "Thief" and "Sorcerer". By the 1990's most other such groups evolved into dance music but Tangerine Dream instead drifted into dull New Age albums and some ill-advised attempts at crossover appeal by adding the occasional vocalist. By then after several lineup changes Frosse was the only original member left although his son did join the group.

TANGERINE DREAM ~ "ARTEM";


TANGERINE DREAM;


Dave Ball ~ Guitarist for 1960's Prog-Rock band Procul Harum ~ 65

PROCUL HARUM ~ "WHITER SHADE OF PALE";


PROCUL HARUM ~ "A SALTY DOG";


Preston Ritter, 65, American drummer w/The Electric Prunes, later w/Beach Boys, Linda Rondstad

THE ELECTRIC PRUNES ~ "I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT";


THE ELECTRIC PRUNES ~ "GET ME TO THE WORLD ON TIME";


THE ELECTRIC PRUNES ~ "LONG DAY'S FLIGHT";


Micheal Brown ~ 65 ~ Keyboardist for 1960's Baroque Pop band The Left Banke ("Don't Walk Away Rene"), later in Montage, The Stories, The Beckies.

THE LEFT BANKE ~ "WALK AWAY RENEE";


Chris Squire ~ 67 ~ English bass guitarist for 1970's Prog Rock Band Yes

YES ~ "OWNER OF A LONELY HEART";


YES ~ "FLY FROM HERE";


John Trout ~ Keyboardist for U.K. Prog Rock band Renaissance

RENAISSANCE IN 1977;


John Renbourn, 70, British guitarist w/ 1960's folk-rock band Pentangle, later solo and with Stefan Grossman

PENTANGLE ~ "MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN";


PENTANGLE ~ "LIGHT FLIGHT";


Jerome Cooper ~ 68 ~ Free Jazz drummer with 1960's & 70 group The Revolutionary Ensemble also, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Lester Bowie, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor. Also played trumpet, flute and piano.

THE REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE ~ "INVASION";


THE REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE ~ "PSYCHE";