The Church

The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Canberra in 1980. Initially associated with New Wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of "progressive rock," featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay.

The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981), earned them their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment". They were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the U.S. However, the U.S. label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing the album. This put a dent in their commercial success, but they made a comeback in 1988, with the album Starfish and the American Top 40 hit "Under the Milky Way." Subsequently commercial success proved elusive, however, and the band weathered several line-up changes in the 1990s. The last decade has seen them settle on their current lineup, which features the original three founding members plus drummer Tim Powles.

A survey among readers of Melbourne newspaper The Age garnered 37,000 votes and the majority chose "Under the Milky Way" as the best Australian song of the last 21 years.

The Church, this week unveiled the dates of its “So Love May Find Us” tour of the U.S. in June and July. The American trek follows the release of "Untitled #23", a record that the band, on its Web site, calls “a haunting, dark, thrilling, ecstatic, melodic, psychedelic journey in 10 unforgettable pieces.” The band’s 19-date U.S. trek opens June 10 in Solana Beach, Calif., north of San Diego. Adam Franklin and Bolts of Melody, featuring the ex-Swervedriver frontman, will open the dates.

The Church, Untitled #23 Tracklist 1. “Cobalt Blue” 2. “Deadman’s Hand” 3. “Pangaea” 4. “Happenstance” 5. “Space Saviour” 6. “On Angel Street” 7. “Sunken Sun” 8. “Anchorage” 9. “Lunar” 10. “Operetta”

The Church tour dates: June 10: Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA June 11: The Roxy, Hollywood, CA June 12: Slim’s, San Francisco, CA June 14: Sun Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR June 15: Triple Door, Seattle, WA June 18: Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO June 20: House Of Blues, Chicago, IL June 21: Varsity Theatre, Minneapolis, MN June 23: Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI June 25: The Magic Bag, Detroit, MI June 26: Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH June 27: Rex Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA June 28: The State Theatre, Washington DC June 30: Ram’s Head Onstage, Annapolis, MD July 1: The Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA July 2: Showcase Live, Boston, MA July 3: Tupelo Music Hall, Londonderry, NH July 8: Irving Plaza, New York, NY July 9: The Ridgefield Playhouse, Danbury, CT

"Almost Yesterday" is the Church's third odds-and-ends collection (the first was 1987's HINDSIGHT, the second was the somewhat difficult-to-find 1991 release, A QUICK SMOKE AT SPOT'S), featuring tracks spanning the years 1981 through 1990. Though ... Full Descriptionthere's some crossover with the earlier collections, this one includes the band's biggest "hit," the brilliant "Under the Milky Way," and more importantly, their inspired cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock," only available on CD in this collection. It also features the staggering "Texas Moon," a hard-to-find track that ranks among the band's best ever.

Everything here is good. "The Unguarded Moment" is a gorgeous pop masterpiece, "Electric Lash" features a dated but astonishingly cool drum loop and Steve Kilbey's lyrics at their hallucinogenic best, and "Tantalized" highlights Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes' amazing guitar interplay.

(1994) Almost Yesterday 1981-1990 Download 69.85mb | Link The Unguarded Moment For A Moment We're Strangers Tear It All Away Life Speeds Up Almost With You When You Were Mine I Am A Rock Electric Lash Into My Hands Constant In Opal Shadow Cabinet Tantalized Myrrh Under The Milky Way Reptile Metropolis Texas Moon

The Church Discography
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The History of New Wave

New Wave's older siblings, Punk and Power Pop, surfaced during the latter half of the 70's and helped ignite what was to become one of the biggest musical explosions of the last 20 years, certainly in terms of creativity and diversity. Disco and early electropop pioneers—namely Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk—made their mark on new wave as well. While disco revolutionized dance music, widespread backlash forced it into the underground by the dawn of the eighties, leaving new wave to keep dance music afloat and the airwaves and club scene bristling with unheard of energy.
New wave proved to be breathtaking in its scope—it was hard to perceive where it began and ended, both chronologically and musically. I would venture that new wave music occupied the era from 1978 to 1986, after which there was a notable decline offset by movements such as Industrial and Acid House (both seeds of Techno) and the great rise in college indie rock (alternative rock). Musically, new wave should not be pigeonholed or written off simply as "skinny ties," synthesizer geeks, new romantics, and pretentious, fashion-as-content bands. Certainly at the core of most new wave *was* an infectious dance beat or D.I.Y. energy, and more mainstream artists like Joe Jackson, Greg Kihn and rock veterans like David Bowie and The Kinks brushed the fringes of this musical tapestry. Movements like the more guitar-driven Power Pop often seemed to mesh virtually indistinguishably.

Movements and styles such as Synthpop (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Human League, Soft Cell) and New Romantic (Ultravox, Visage, Classix Nouveaux, Spoons, Peter Godwin, early Talk Talk) were, to many, the defining styles of new wave. Gary Numan's "Cars," Soft Cell's stark electronic take on "Tainted Love," and The Human League's "Don't You Want Me" helped push this new futuristic synthesizer-driven sound into the US mainstream. New romanticism, on the other hand, never managed much of an impression in the US—it remained very much a European (and Canadian) movement. Despite the general inadequacy of pigeonholing, there were the other requisite, defining styles from the era: Goth (Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Sound, Specimen, Bauhaus), Postpunk (The Chills, Gang of Four, The Cure, Joy Division, Comsat Angels), Ska (Madness, The Specials, The English Beat, The Untouchables, Bad Manners), Rockabilly (Dave Edmunds, Stray Cats, Polecats, The Cramps), and Power Pop (The Vapors, The Producers, 20/20, The Records). And still that's only scratching the surface. Even Top 40 radio itself was fresher than it ever could hope to be. Hardly the same can be said today.

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The New Wave Genre
The Cure Biography

New Wave Genre

New Wave is a rock genre that originated in the late 1970s and continued in the 1980s. It emerged from punk rock as a reaction against the popular music of the 1970s. New Wave was basically the reinvention of rock 'n' roll of the 1960s but it also incorporated various influences as well as aspects of mod subculture, electronic music, disco, and funk.

Overview

The term New Wave itself is a source of much confusion. It was introduced in 1976 in Great Britain by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren as an alternative label for what was also being called "punk". The term referenced the avant-garde, stylish French New Wave film movement of the 1960s. The label was soon picked up by British punk fanzines such as Sniffin' Glue and then the professional music press. For a period of time in 1976 and 1977 the two terms were interchangeable. By the end of 1977, "New Wave" had replaced "Punk" as the definition for new underground music in the United Kingdom.
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In the United States, Sire Records needed a term by which it could market its newly signed bands, who had frequently played the club CBGB. Because radio consultants in the U.S. had advised their clients that punk rock was a fad (and because many stations that had embraced disco had been hurt by the backlash), they settled on the term "New Wave". Like those film makers, its new artists, such as The Ramones and Talking Heads, were anti-corporate, experimental, and from a generation that had grown up as critical consumers of the art they now practiced. At first most American writers exclusively used the term "New Wave" to describe British Punk acts. Starting in December 1976 The New York Rocker which was suspicious of the term "Punk" became the first American journal to enthusiastically use the term starting with British acts, and later appropriating it to acts associated with the CBGB scene.

Soon, listeners began to differentiate some of these musicians from "true punks". The music journalist Charles Shaar Murray, in writing about the Boomtown Rats, has indicated that the term New Wave became an industry catch-all for musicians affiliated with the punk movement, but in some way different from it:

The Rats didn’t conform precisely to the notional orthodoxies of punk, but then neither did many other bands at the forefront of what those who were scared of the uncompromising term 'punk' later bowdlerized to New Wave. You weren’t allowed to have long hair! The Ramones did. Guitar solos verboten! The defence calls Television. Facial hair a capital offence! Two members of The Stranglers are in mortal danger. Age police on the prowl for wrinklies on the run! Cells await Ian Dury, Knox from The Vibrators and most of The Stranglers. Pedal steel guitars and country music too inextricably linked with Laurel Canyon coke-hippies and snooze-inducing Mellow Mafia singer/songwriterismo. Elvis Costello, you’re busted.

Music that followed the anarchic garage band ethos of the Sex Pistols was distinguished as "punk", while music that tended toward experimentation, lyrical complexity, or more polished production, was categorized as "New Wave". This came to include musicians who had come to prominence in the British pub rock scene of the mid-1970s, such as Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Eddie and the Hot Rods and Dr Feelgood; acts associated with the New York club CBGBs, such as Television, Patti Smith, Mink DeVille and Blondie; and singer-songwriters who were noted for their barbed lyrical wit, such as Elvis Costello, Tom Robinson and Joe Jackson. Furthermore, many artists who would have originally been classified as punk were also termed New Wave. A 1977 Phonogram Records compilation album of the same name (New Wave) features US artists including the Dead Boys, Ramones, Talking Heads and The Runaways.

Later still, "New Wave" came to imply a less noisy, more pop sound, and to include acts manufactured by record labels, while the term post-punk was coined to describe the darker, less pop-influenced groups, such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure, and The Psychedelic Furs. Although distinct, punk, New Wave, and post-punk all shared common ground: an energetic reaction to the supposedly overproduced, uninspired popular music of the 1970s.

The term fell out of favour in The United Kingdom during the early 1980s because its usage had become too general.

Reception in The United States

In the summer of 1977 both Time and Newsweek magazines wrote favorable lead stories on the "Punk/new wave" movement. Rock critics had mixed opinions. Acts associated with the movement received little or no radio airplay or music industry support. Small scenes developed in major cities. Continuing into the next year public support remained limited to select elements of the artistic, bohemian and intellectual population as arena rock and disco dominated the charts.

Around 1979, acts associated with punk and acts that mixed punk with other genres began to make chart appearances. Blondie, Talking Heads, The Knack and The Cars would chart that year. The release during this period of Gary Numan's album The Pleasure Principle would be the pop chart breakthrough for gender bending synthpop acts with a cool detached stage presence[8]. New Wave music scenes developed in Ohio and Athens, Georgia.

The arrival of MTV in the early 1980s would usher in New Wave's most successful era and one of the most democratic periods in American Pop history. British artists unlike many of their American counterparts had learned how to use video early on. Several British acts signed to independent labels were able to outmarket and outsell American artists that were signed with major labels. Journalists labeled this phenomenon a "Second British Invasion".

The music had strayed far from New Wave's punk roots. Starting in this period and continuing until around 1988, the term "New Wave" was used in America to describe nearly every new pop or pop rock artist that largely used synthesizers or who did not have long hair. New Wave is still used today to describe these acts. Fans and artists would rebel against this catchall definition by inventing dozens of genre names. Synthpop was a broad subgenre that saw groups such as The Human League, Depeche Mode, a-ha ,Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark , and the Pet Shop Boys. chart. The period saw a number of one hit wonders. "New Wave" soundtracks were used in Brat Pack films such as Valley Girl, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. Critics would describe the MTV acts as shallow or vapid, but the danceable quality of the music and quirky fashion sense associated with New Wave artists appealed to audiences.

The use of synthesizers by New Wave acts influenced the development of the House music in Chicago and Techno in Detroit. New Wave’s indie spirit would be crucial to the development college rock and grunge/alternative rock in the latter half of the 1980s and beyond.

Post 1980's influence

During the 1990s, in the aftermath of grunge rock, the British Music press launched a campaign to promote New wave of new wave. This campaign involved overtly punk and new wave influenced acts such as Elastica and Smash. This movement would be eclipsed by Britpop. No Doubt an American act that arrived in 1996 as well as Gwen Stefani in her solo career have been described as New Wave influenced.

In 2004 a number of acts with a new wave influenced sound were popular. Some of these were Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand , The Killers, Interpol, The Faint, and Bloc Party. The Ting Tings and Santogold are more recent acts of note.

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Joy Division

Modern English

Robbie Grey (Vocals),Gary McDowell (Guitar),Richard Brown (Drums),Michael Conroy (Bass),Stephen Walker (Keyboards)
Dig these
Breaking Away
The Border
Hands Across The Sea
Ink And Paper
Ink And Paper (Live)
I Melt With You (Live)
I Melt With You (12 Inch)
I Melt With You

Modern English are an English rock band best remembered for their songs "I Melt with You," "Hands Across the Sea," and "Ink and Paper". The group disbanded for a period in 1991, but later recorded in 1995 with some new members.
Formed in Colchester, Essex, England, in 1979, Modern English were originally known as The Lepers. The group expanded to "Modern English" when Richard Brown (drums) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) were subsequently added to the line-up of the band ). [bxA]
After a single on their own 'Limp' label in 1979, the band signed to 4AD the following year, with two further singles released, and a session for John Peel recorded before the band's debut album, Mesh & Lace, in 1981, the band in the early days showing a strong Joy Division influence. A second Peel session was recorded in October 1981. The follow-up, After The Snow (April 1982), was more keyboard-oriented and was compared to Simple Minds and Duran Duran. It was also released in the United States by Sire Records the following year, where it reached number 70 on the Billboard chart, and sold over 500,000 copies. Grey said of the album, "We used to think 'God, we'll never make a pop record. We're artists!', but things don't always turn out as you planned and when you actually create a pop record, it's so much more of a thrill than anything else". The second single from the album was also a hit in the US, the jangly "I Melt With You" reaching number 78. When he reviewed the album, Johnny Waller of Sounds described the track as "A dreamy, creamy celebration of love and lust, which deserves to be showcased on as 12" single all by itself, with no b-side", while his colleague Tony Mitchell described it as "susburban amateurism at its most unrewarding". The band relocated to New York City and worked on a third album, Ricochet Days, which again made the top 100 in the US, after which the band left 4AD and were solely signed to Sire. The single "Stop Start" (1986) was the last record Modern English record released by Sire, the band splitting up.
Grey and Conroy along with Modern English worked with This Mortal Coil before re-forming Modern English with Mick Conroy and Aaron Davidson for a new album in 1990, Pillow Lips, now on the American TVT label. The album featured a re-recorded "I Melt With You", which was released as a single, and saw the band again in the Billboard top 100. The band split up for a second time in 1991, after contractual problems with TVT, with Grey forming Engine. In 1995, with the legal issues with TVT sorted out, Engine evolved into the next incarnation of Modern English and signed to the Imago label, with Grey and Matthew Shipley (keyboards). This line-up recorded the 1996 album Everything Is Mad.
Robbie Grey toured the US with a new Modern English lineup coast to coast across the US and recorded a new album with Hugh Jones (producer of Melt With You). The songs written with guitarist Steven Walker and including Matthew Shipley came together on the road and back home in London between tours , after a few years on the shelf this collection of songs is due to be released later this year.

A dark debut that has been overshadowed by the later, lighter works and is more akin to Bauhaus and Joy Division. The original album has been augmented by adding singles and rare tracks.

(1981) Mesh and Lace Released April 6, 1981 67 Megabytes: Link1 16 Days Just A Thought Move In Light Grief The Token Man A Viable Commercial Black Houses Dance Of Devotion (A Love Song)

(1981) Gathering DustDownload 32 Megabytes Gathering Dust Mesh and Lace Smiles and Laughter Swans on Glass Home

DISCOGRAPHY

After the Snow January 1982 I Melt with You [Cassette Single] November 1989 I Melt With You 90 June 1990 Beautiful People July 1991 Everything Is Mad March 1996 Best of 80s Pop: Party Songs October 2003 In Concert January 2008

Ricochet Days January 1984 Pillow Lips May 1990 Life's Rich Tapestry October 1990 After the Snow [Bonus Tracks] October 1992 Life in the Gladhouse, 1980-1984 March 2001 Everything is Mad January 2007

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The Cure Discography

Joy Division Discography

New Order Discography

Joy Division

Originally known as Warsaw, this Manchester post-punk outfit comprised Ian Curtis (b. July 1956, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, d. 18 May 1980; vocals), Bernard Dicken/Albrecht (b. 4 January 1956, Salford, Manchester, England; guitar, vocals), Peter Hook (b. 13 February 1956, Manchester, England; bass) and Steven Morris (b. 28 October 1957, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England; drums).

Borrowing their name from the prostitution wing of a concentration camp, Joy Division emerged in 1978 as one of the most important groups of their era. After recording a regionally available EP, An Ideal For Living, they were signed to Manchester's recently formed Factory Records and placed in the hands of producer Martin Hannett.
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Their debut, Unknown Pleasures , was a raw, intense affair, with Curtis at his most manically arresting in the insistent 'She's Lost Control'. With its stark, black cover, the album captured a group still coming to terms with the recording process, but displaying a vision that was piercing in its clinical evocation of an unsettling disorder. With Morris's drums employed as a lead instrument, backed by the leaden but compulsive bass lines of Hook, the sound of Joy Division was distinctive and disturbing.

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Joy Division Discography
New Order Discography
New Order

Here's the eighth and last performance from the Ian Curtis biopic "Control".
Download the FLV format 6.35mb | Joy Division Perfromances from "Control"
By the time of their single 'Transmission', the quartet had already established a strong cult following, which increased after each gig. Much of the attention centred on the charismatic Curtis, who was renowned for his neurotic choreography, resembling a demented marionette on wires. By the autumn of 1979, however, Curtis's performances were drawing attention for a more serious reason. On more than one occasion he suffered an epileptic seizure and blackouts onstage, and the illness seemed to worsen with the group's increasingly demanding live schedule.

On 18 May 1980, the eve of Joy Division's proposed visit to America, Ian Curtis was found hanged. The verdict was suicide. A note was allegedly found bearing the words: 'At this moment I wish I were dead. I just can't cope anymore'. The full impact of the tragedy was underlined shortly afterwards, for it quickly became evident that Curtis had taken his life at the peak of his creativity.

While it seemed inevitable that the group's posthumously released work would receive a sympathetic reaction, few could have anticipated the quality of the material that emerged in 1980. The single, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', was probably the finest of the year, a haunting account of a fragmented relationship, sung by Curtis in a voice that few realized he possessed. The attendant album, Closer , was faultless, displaying the group at the zenith of their powers. With spine-tingling cameos such as 'Isolation' and the extraordinary 'Twenty-Four Hours', the album eloquently articulated a sense of despair, yet simultaneously offered a therapeutic release. Instrumentally, the work showed maturity in every area and is deservedly regarded by many critics as the most brilliant rock album of the 80s.

The following year, a double album, Still, collected the remainder of the group's material, most of it in primitive form. Within months of the Curtis tragedy, the remaining members sought a fresh start as New Order.

In 1995 Curtis's widow, Deborah, published a book on her former huband and the band, while a compilation album and a re-released version of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' were back on the shelves on the 15th anniversary of his death.

Joy Division: Performances From Control

Control is a 2007 black-and-white biopic film about Ian Curtis (1956–1980), lead singer of post-punk band Joy Division. The screenplay written by Matt Greenhalgh is based on the book Touching from a Distance, by Curtis's widow, Deborah, who is also a co-producer of the film. The film was directed by Dutch director Anton Corbijn. In the film, Ian Curtis is played by previously little-known actor Sam Riley. Samantha Morton plays Deborah, while Alexandra Maria Lara plays Annik, the woman with whom Curtis had an extramarital affair.

The film details the life of the troubled young musician, who forged a new kind of music out of the punk rock scene of the United Kingdom in the 1970s, and the band Joy Division, which he headed from 1977 to 1980. It also deals with his rocky marriage and extramarital affairs, as well as his increasingly frequent seizures, which were thought to contribute to the circumstances leading to his suicide on the eve of Joy Division's first U.S. tour. The title is a reference to the Joy Division song, "She's Lost Control"—believed to be a reference to an epileptic client befriended by Curtis while employed at a Job Centre in Macclesfield, who later died during a seizure.

joy Division - Disorder from Uknkown Pleasures album
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Leaders of Men | Download FLV format 3.94mb Transmission | Download the FLV format 7.13mb She's Lost Control | Download FLV format 4.82mb Dead Souls | Download FLV format 6.22mb

Digital | Download FLV format 2.11mb Insight | Download FLV format 2.07 mb Candidate | Download FLV format 3.72mb Disorder | Download FLV format 6.53mb

Candidate (Wide) | Download FLV format 5.75mb



Transmission (Wide) | Download FLV format 9.49mb



Leaders of Men (Wide) | Download FLV format 6.57mb



Joy Division record the song Isolation from the album Closer in the 2007 Ian Curtis biopic Control.
Download Joy Division Performances from "Control' MP3 format 24mb
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Joy Division Biography
Joy Division Discography
New Order

HOME

New Order

Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s; embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contemporaries, the group's pioneering fusion of new wave aesthetics and dance music successfully bridged the gap between the two worlds, creating a distinctively thoughtful and oblique brand of synth pop appealing equally to the mind, body, and soul. New Order's origins officially date back to mid-1976, when guitarist Bernard Sumner (formerly Albrecht) and bassist Peter Hook -- inspired by a recent Sex Pistols performance -- announced their intentions to form a band of their own. Recruiting singer Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris, they eventually settled on the name Joy Division, and in 1979 issued their landmark debut LP, Unknown Pleasures.
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New Order - Love Will Tear Us Apart

After completing sessions for Joy Division's sophomore effort, Closer, Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980; devastated, the remaining trio immediately disbanded, only to re-form soon after as New Order with the addition of keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. With Sumner assuming vocal duties, the new group debuted in March 1981 with the single "Ceremony," a darkly melodic effort originally composed for use by Joy Division. The LP Movement followed a few months later, and when it too mined territory similar to New Order's previous incarnation, many observers were quick to dismiss the band for reliving former glories. However, with its next single, "Everything's Gone Green," the quartet first began adorning its sound with synthesizers and sequencers, inspired by the music of Kraftwerk as well as the electro beats coming up from the New York underground; 1982's "Temptation" continued the trend, and like its predecessor was a major favorite among club-goers.

After a year-long hiatus, New Order resurfaced in 1983 with their breakthrough hit "Blue Monday"; packaged in a provocative sleeve designed to recall a computer disk, with virtually no information about the band itself -- a hallmark of their mysterious, distant image -- it perfectly married Sumner's plaintive yet cold vocals and abstract lyrics with cutting-edge drum-machine rhythms ideal for club consumption. "Blue Monday" went on to become the best-selling 12" release of all time, moving over three million copies worldwide. After releasing their brilliant 1983 sophomore album, Power, Corruption and Lies, New Order teamed with the then-unknown producer Arthur Baker to record "Confusion," another state-of-the-art dance classic, which even scraped into the American R&B charts. The group's success soon won them a stateside contract with Quincy Jones' Qwest label; however, apart from a pair of singles, "Thieves Like Us" and "Murder," they remained out of the spotlight throughout 1984.

Heralded by the superb single "The Perfect Kiss," New Order resurfaced in 1985 with Low-life, their most fully realized effort to date; breaking with long-standing tradition, it actually included photos of the individual members, suggesting an increasing proximity with their growing audience. Brotherhood followed in 1986, with the single "Bizarre Love Triangle" making significant inroads among mainstream pop audiences. A year later the group issued Substance, a much-needed collection of singles and remixes; it was New Order's American breakthrough, cracking the Top 40 on the strength of the newly recorded single "True Faith," which itself reached number 32 on the U.S. pop charts. The remixed "Blue Monday 1988" followed, and in 1989 -- inspired by the ecstasy-fueled house music that their work had clearly predated and influenced -- New Order issued Technique; their most club-focused outing to date, it launched the hits "Fine Time" and "Round and Round."

After recording the 1990 English World Cup Soccer anthem "World in Motion," New Order went on an extended hiatus to pursue solo projects; Hook formed the band Revenge, longtime companions Morris and Gilbert recorded as the Other Two, and, most notably, Sumner teamed with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant in Electronic, which scored a Top 40 hit with the single "Getting Away with It." New Order reconvened in 1993 for their biggest hit to date, Republic, which earned the band its highest charting American single ("Regret") and fell just shy of the U.S. Top Ten, despite charges from longtime fans that the band had lost its edge. A major tour followed, although rumors of escalating creative conflicts plagued the group; refusing to either confirm or deny word of a breakup, New Order simply spent the mid-'90s in a state of limbo, with Sumner eventually recording a long-awaited second Electronic LP and Hook mounting another new project, Monaco. "Brutal," the first new effort from New Order in a number of years, was featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 film The Beach, and the full-length Get Ready followed one year later. By this time, Gillian Gilbert had left the band to care for her and Stephen Morris' children, and Marion guitarist Phil Cunningham had been added to bolster the lineup. Dedicated touring followed the release of Get Ready, and New Order recorded a follow-up for release in 2005, Waiting for the Sirens' Call. Source

New Order Discography

New Order: Discography

New Order Singles October, 2005 New Order Waiting For The Sirens' Call March, 2005 New Order In Session April, 2004 New Order International October, 2002 New Order Get Ready August, 2001 New Order (the rest of) NewOrder August, 1995

New Order (the best of) NewOrder November, 1994 Warsaw Warsaw January, 1994 New Order Republic May, 1993 New Order BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert January, 1992 New Order Peel Sessions September, 1990

New Order Technique January, 1989 New Order Substance 1987 August, 1987 New Order Brotherhood September, 1986 New Order Low-Life May, 1985 New Order Power, Corruption and Lies May, 1983 New Order Movement November, 1981

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Joy Division Discography
Modern English Discography

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The Chameleons

The Chameleons (called The Chameleons UK on some American releases) were a post-punk band that formed in Middleton, in Greater Manchester, England in 1981. They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever (replacing original drummer Brian Schofield). The core quartet were sometimes augmented live by keyboardists Alistair Lewthwaite and Andy Clegg in the 1980s, and percussionist/vocalist Kwasi Asante during their reunion period (ex-Magazine drummer Martin Jackson also briefly replaced Lever during 1982-83 while the latter was on sabbatical).

Through Mark Burgess' vocals and dark and ironic lyrics, their songs often dealt with personal themes of childlike innocence and a reverence for nostalgia. Musically, perhaps most notable in their work was the band's innovative and distinctive use of dual guitar melodies, courtesy of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, as opposed to the traditional rhythm-and-lead guitarist format prevalent in rock music even to this day. These arrangements were often characterized by the use of delay and chorus effects.

The band initially released three studio albums in the 1980s, following 1981 debut single "In Shreds" (the fruit of a brief signing to Epic), and several radio sessions for late legendary Radio 1 DJ John Peel. The Chameleons released their first full-length studio LP, the critically-acclaimed Script of the Bridge, on the Statik label in 1983. The album features a blend of rhythmic electric guitar textures, providing a moody and intense backdrop for Mark Burgess' haunting vocals. After their third release, 1986's Strange Times and the 1987 sudden death of band manager Tony Fletcher, they abruptly disbanded. Burgess then fronted The Sun and the Moon (with Lever), who issued only one eponymous album on Geffen in 1988, followed by an array of solo projects. Guitarists Fielding and Smithies formed The Reegs, who released two albums: Return of the Sea Monkeys (1991) and Rock the Magic Rock' (1993). John Lever later joined Bushart, who released the album Yesterday is History (2008).

The Chameleons were, for all practical purposes, extinct for well over a decade before a small series of successful live dates in 2000 and the concurrent release of the album Strip (which reworked older material in an acoustic format). After a final studio album, 2001's Why Call It Anything?, another unplugged album (This Never Ending Now), and a successful reunion tour which took them across Europe and the United States, the band dissolved once again in early 2003 due to personal differences.

Although The Chameleons never attained the level of commercial success or fame enjoyed by their contemporaries (e.g. The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen), their body of work is still critically acclaimed within the music press and influenced bands as diverse as Kitchens of Distinction, Puressence, Interpol, and Editors.

Discography

Albums

• 1983 Script of the Bridge (Statik; issued 1984 on MCA in the US; reissued 2008 as 25th Anniversary 2CD edition)
• 1985 What Does Anything Mean? Basically (Statik)
• 1986 Strange Times (Geffen) # 44 UK Albums Chart | Download Here
• 2000 Strip (Paradiso)
• 2001 Why Call It Anything? (Artful)
• 2002 This Never Ending Now (Paradiso)

Live Albums

• 1992 Tripping Dogs (Glass Pyramid)
• 1992 Here Today...Gone Tomorrow (Imaginary)
• 1993 Aufführung in Berlin (Imaginary)
• 1993 Free Trade Hall Rehearsal (Imaginary)
• 1996 Live at the Gallery Club Manchester (Visionary; reissued 2001 on Cherry Red)
• 1996 Live Shreds (Cleopatra)
• 2002 Live (Paradiso)
• 2003 Live at the Academy (Paradiso)

Compilations

• 1986 The Fan and the Bellows (Hybrid)
• 1990 John Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit)
• 1992 Here Today...Gone Tomorrow (Imaginary)
• 1993 The Radio 1 Evening Show Sessions (Nighttracks)
• 1993 Dali's Picture/Live in Berlin (Imaginary)
• 1994 Northern Songs (Bone Idol)
• 1997 Return of the Roughnecks: The Best of the Chameleons (2CD) (Dead Dead Good)

Singles and EPs

• 1982 "In Shreds/Less Than Human" (Epic)
• 1983 "Up the Down Escalator" (Statik; Germany)
• 1983 "Don't Fall" (Statik; France)
• 1983 "As High As You Can Go" (Statik)
• 1983 "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days" (Statik)
• 1985 "In Shreds"/"Nostalgia" [#11 UK Indie; Epic]
• 1985 "Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)" [#2 UK Indie; Statik]
• 1986 The Wait Until Dark E.P.
• 1986 "Mad Jack" [Geffen]
• 1986 "Tears" [UK #85; Geffen]
• 1986 "Swamp Thing" [UK #82; Geffen]
• 1990 Tony Fletcher Walked on Water....La La La La La-La La-La-La (post-breakup EP, recorded in 1987; Glass Pyramid)

The Cure

From left to right: Lol Tolhurst (Keyboards) | Simon Gallup (Bass) | Robert Smith (Vocal and Guitar) | Porl Thompson (Guitar) | Boris Williams (Drums)

nWu BONUS Friday I'm In Love (Rare Extended Version) Close To You (Closer Mix) Signal To Noise (Unreleased Acoustic Version) Cut Here (2001 Greatest Hits Acoustic Version) Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix)

DIG THESE Boys Do't Cry (1980) The Head On The Door (2006 Deluxe Edition) Coachella Concert (2009) Greatest Hits (2001 Limited Edition)

It all started in 1976 as 'Easy Cure', formed by Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) along with schoolmates Michael Dempsey (bass), Lol Tolhurst (drums) and local guitar hero Porl Thompson. They began writing and demoing their own songs almost immediately, playing throughout 1977 in Southern England to an ever growing army of fans.

The Story of the Cure Three Imaginary Boys | Killing An Arab Paris 12/17/1980

EASY CURE Peter O'Toole, Robert Smith, Porl Thompson, Michael Dempsey & Lol Tolhurst

Biography

Robert Smith Full name: Robert Smith Date of birth: 21 April 1959 Height: 5ft 10ins Weight: 11 stone Color of eyes: blue (sometimes grey) Town of origin: Blackpool Educated: Sometimes Qualifications: Some "O" levels, some "A" levels Hobbies: All below and more Likes: Sleeping, preferably 16 hours at a time Dislikes: Waking, Mad Bob. Previous jobs: Christmas postman 1977 Favorite food: Vegetarian Favorite drink: Tequila Sunrise, cold lager, cold milk, earl grey tea Favorite music: classical Favorite bands: Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Banshees! Favorite films: 2001, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Eraserhead, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Mad Max II, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Favorite TV: News, Dallas, Minder, Sky At Night, Late Night Film Favorite actor: De Niro, Nicholson, Gibson, Curtis, Lemmon, Matthau Favorite actress: Steadman, Monroe, Divine!, A. Hepburn, Bow, Leigh, Davis, Crawford, Kinski, Poole. Favorite books: "Les Enfants Terribles" Cocteau, "Gormenghast Trilogy" Peak, Malagor Favorite author: Camus, Kafka, Peake, Cocteau, Salinger, Thomas Favorite team: Brazil, player: Glen Hoodle Best Live Show seen: Tommy Cooper

Simon Gallup Full name: Simon Johnathon Gallup Date of birth: 1 June 1960 Height: 5ft 11ins Weight: 11 stone Color of eyes: brown Town of origin: Horley Educated: Balcombe Road Comprehensive Horley Qualifications: none Marital status: none Children: none Pets: none Hobbies: games on TV computers and buying groceries/drinking Likes: ice & vodka & grapefruit Dislikes: catching trains & lack of ice Previous bands: Mag Spys/Fools Dance Previous jobs: plastics mould dipper Favorite food: Indian/cheese and tomato rools Favorite drink: vodka and grapefruit with lots of ice Favorite music: The Cure, Kate Bush, some New Order, John Martyn, Nick Cave Favorite bands: Kate Bush, The Cure Favorite films: Peter Pan/Irma la Douce/Star Wars/First Blood/Willy Wonka Favorite tv: Catweazle/Bullseye Favorite actor: Mel Gibson sometimes/Roy Kinnear in Willy Wonka Favorite actress: Carrie Fisher Favorite books: Peter Pan/Something Wicked This Way Comes Favorite author: Ray Bradbury, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Hero: Wolverine Heroine: Judge Anderson Most admired person and why: - Best Live Show seen: Genesis in 1973 Best experience: The Cure Worst experience: planes/godstone fair/this plane is shaking

Paul Thompson Full name: Paul Stephen Thompson (Porl for short) Date of birth: 8 November 1957 Height: 5ft 7ins Weight: 9 stone 4 pounds Color of eyes: green Town of origin: Merton Educated: yes Qualifications: none Marital status: happy Children: none Pets: Jack Russel named 5 mins Hobbies: camping Likes: dreaming Dislikes: most things Previous bands: Exotic Pandas & A Lifetime of Trials Previous jobs: none that I can remember Favorite food: cheese Favorite drink: tea Favorite music: Mahler, most chamber music, Eno Favorite bands: Captain Beefheart Favorite films: old black & whites Favorite tv: watching old films and most Channel 4 programmes Favorite actor: Dirk Bogarde, Gregory Peck Favorite actress: Doc Favorite books: all Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland Favorite author: D.M. Thomas Hero: none Heroine: Simon in stockings Most admired person and why: Janet, because she still puts with me Best Live Show seen: Demon drummers of Kodo Best experience: 1st cup of tea of the day Worst experience: last cup of tea of the day

Lol Tolhurst Full name: Laurence Andrew Tolhurst Date of birth: 3 February 1959 Height: 5ft 10ins Weight: 10 stone Color of eyes: brown Town of origin: Horley, Surrey Educated: yes Qualifications: yes Hobbies: no. gardening Likes: yes, swimming Dislikes: yes, dishonesty Previous jobs: yes, two Favorite food: Japanese, anything exotic Favorite drink: Irish whiskey Favorite music: impossible! Favorite bands: Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. etc. Favorite films: any with Jack Nicholson Favorite TV: try not to watch it! (snooker) Favorite actor: Jack Nicholson Favorite actress: Natassia Kinski Favorite books: impossible! Favorite author: D.M. Thomas Favorite team: Manchester United Hero: Jade Knipe (German Anarchist) Heroine: Porl Most admired person and why: my friends Best Live Show seen: impossible! (life) Best experience: reality Worst experience: reality

Boris Williams Full name: Boris Bransby Williams Date of birth: 24 April 1958 Height: 5ft 10ins Weight: 10 1/2 stone Color of eyes: brown Town of origin: Belgrade Educated: Earnley School Chichester Qualifications: 4"O" levels Marital status: single Children: none Pets: none Hobbies: riding motor bikes Likes: cricket, sleeping, traveling, sunshine Dislikes: red tape, officialdom, cold, waking up Previous bands: T.Twins, Kim Wilde, Tomatoe City Previous jobs: planting Xmas trees, making nuts & bolts Favorite food: lettuce with French dressing Favorite drink: Coke Favorite music: depends on mood Favorite bands: depends on mood Favorite films: Sir Henry at Rawlinsons End Favorite TV: Sony 14" portable Favorite actor: Gerald de Pardieu (sic), Alistair Sim Favorite actress: Lauren Bacall Favorite books: science fiction Favorite author: - Hero: Daffy Duck Heroine: Cindy Most admired person and why: don't have anyone I admire that much Best Live Show seen: Mothers of Invention at Royal Festival Hall Best experience: spending a year traveling in India Worst experience: spending a year traveling in India Lol Tolhurst, Robert Smith & Michael Dempsey

Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey & Lol Tolhurst Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith & Lol Tolhurst Lol Tolhurst & Robert Smith

History

In 1978 the 'Easy' was dropped, along with Porl, and an eager trio now known simply as The Cure were quickly signed to Chris Parry's new Fiction label.

In May 1979 their debut album Three Imaginary Boys was released to great acclaim, and as the band toured extensively around the UK, the singles “Boys Don't Cry” and “Jumping Someone Else's Train” were released. Michael left the band at the end of the year, and Simon Gallup (bass) and Matthieu Hartley (keyboards) joined. In early 1980 the 4-piece Cure embarked on an exploration of the darker side of Robert's songwriting, and emerged with the minimalist classic Seventeen Seconds, along with their first bona-fide 'hit single' “A Forest.”

After an intense world tour Matthieu left the group, and in early 1981 the trio recorded an album of mournful atmospheric soundscapes entitled Faith, which included another successful single in “Primary.” The band then set out on a second global trek, named “The Picture Tour,” during which they released the non-album single “Charlotte Sometimes.” In 1982 The Cure went back into the studio, and their increasingly ugly fascination with despair and decay culminated in the unrelenting sonic attack of Pornography. An intensely volatile tour ensued, and the single “The Hanging Garden” was released just as Simon left the band.

After pushing the limits of excess, Robert felt he had to change things, and did so by 'going pop' again. Rejuvenated, the now 2-piece Cure released their first real dance single, the cheesy “Let's Go To Bed,” and during the making of the accompanying video forged a colorful and lasting relationship with director Tim Pope. The band continued into 1983 with the groovy electronic dance of “The Walk,” followed by the demented cartoon jazz of “The Lovecats.” In 1984 The Top was released, a strange hallucinogenic mix, which contained the infectiously psychedelic single “The Caterpillar.” The world ‘Top Tour’ saw the band expand to a 5-piece, with the addition of Andy Anderson (drums) and Phil Thornalley (bass), and the return of Porl Thompson (guitar).

The new Cure sound was captured live for the album Concert. Andy and Phil left soon after the end of the tour, and were replaced by Boris Williams (drums) and further returnee Simon Gallup (bass). This new incarnation started work on 1985's The Head On The Door with a very real sense of 'something happening'... The vibrant hit single “Inbetween Days” was followed up by “Close To Me,” and the ensuing world tour paved the way for the massive success of the singles collection Standing On A Beach in 1986. That summer saw the band headline the Glastonbury Festival for the first time, and a year of extensive gigs and festivals was crowned by Tim Pope's live concert film The Cure In Orange.

In 1987 The Cure brought out Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, an immense double album of extreme and extraordinary stylistic range, and with the arrival of Roger O'Donnell on keyboards the 6-piece Cure traveled the world with the 'Kissing Tour', enjoying 4 more hit singles along the way. The wonderfully atmospheric Disintegration was demoed in 1988 and released in 1989, and despite being a work of powerful brooding grandeur, it too gave rise to 4 hit singles. The awesome 'Prayer Tour' that followed, with the band back down to a 5-piece following the departure of Lol Tolhurst, included some of The Cure's best performances to date, and was captured live for the album Entreat.

In early 1990 Roger O'Donnell left the group, and was replaced by long-time band friend Perry Bamonte, just in time for a series of headlining European festival shows that included the band's second Glastonbury headline slot. The album Mixed Up was released, supported by the re-mixed singles “Never Enough,” “Close To Me” and “A Forest,” and in 1991 The Cure at last won some long overdue “home” recognition with a Brit Award for “Best British Group.”

The Cure Gets Inducted Into The Rock Walk in Hollywood
Members of the English rock band The Cure (from left): Jason Cooper, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Roger O'Donnell and Perry Bamonte place their hands in cement during their induction into the Rock Walk at the Guitar Center on April 30, 2004 in Hollywood, California.
In 1992 they produced Wish, a richly diverse multi-faceted guitar driven album hailed by some as their best work to date. It spawned 3 fabulous hit singles, and the glorious ‘Wish Tour' that followed was a worldwide sell-out. The sheer power of the shows inspired the release of two live works in 1993, Paris and Show. Immediately after the tour ended, guitarist Porl Thompson left the band again (this time with a smile!), and The Cure headlined the XFM 'Great Xpectations Show' in London's Finsbury Park as a 4-piece. The band also contributed '”Burn” to the film ‘The Crow’ and covered “Purple Haze” for the Hendrix tribute album 'Stone Free'.

In 1994 Boris Williams decided to move on, and in early 1995 Jason Cooper took up residency behind the drum kit, with Roger O'Donnell rejoining once more on keyboards. Work on the next album was interspersed with recording “Dredd Song” for the film ‘Judge Dredd’, a cover of Bowie's “Young Americans” for an XFM album, and headlining several major European festivals, including the 25th Glastonbury. Wild Mood Swings was released in 1996, and went straight into almost every top ten around the world. The Cure hit the road once more with 'The Swing Tour', their longest to date, and released 4 more singles.

Galore, the follow up singles and video compilation to Standing On A Beach, was released in 1997, after which work took place in 1998 on a variety of projects, including “More than This” for the ‘X Files’ album, and a memorable appearance by Robert in the TV cartoon show ‘South Park’! In 1999 the band completed the recording and mixing of what many regarded as their best studio album so far, the Grammy Nominated Bloodflowers. With it's release in 2000 the band set off on the massive world-wide ‘Dreamtour' - playing to more than a million people in 9 months.

2001 saw the long awaited release of the Cure's Greatest Hits album, which featured all the band's biggest selling singles along with 2 new songs, the elegiac “Cut Here” and the ebullient “Just Say Yes,” a duet with Saffron. This year also saw the end of the group's relationship with Fiction Records, the label they had been instrumental in starting 23 years before.

In 2002 the band spent the summer headlining a number of European Festivals before going into rehearsals for two very special nights in November at the Tempodrom Berlin, where they performed all the tracks from Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers plus encores! Both performances were shot in Hi-Def video on 12 cameras, and Trilogy DVD was released.

In 2003 as another chapter of The Cure story opened, the band signing a 3 album global deal with the Geffen label. 2004 saw the release of Join the Dots, a 4cd Box set compiled by Robert of all the B-sides and Rarities, followed by the widely acclaimed new album The Cure, co-produced with the renowned Ross Robinson. 3 singles, “The End Of The World”, “alt.end” and “Taking Off” all hit big, and another hugely successful world tour ensued, with the 23 date North American Curiosa Festival leg especially notable for seeing the band supported by a number of hand picked younger bands including Interpol, Mogwai, The Rapture and Muse. The year ended with an MTV Icon Award presented at a special televised London show.


In 2005 Perry Bamonte and Roger O’Donnell left the band and Porl Thompson joined for a third time. The quartet’s debut show was headlining Live 8 Paris, followed by a number of other summer European Festivals. The first four Cure albums (Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography) were re-released, with Robert providing 'rarities' for Deluxe Edition extras CD's, as part of an ongoing campaign to re-master and re-issue all the Cure albums. Immediately after closing a week of Teenage Cancer Trust Shows at the Royal Albert Hall in April 2006, the band started recording their 13th studio album, breaking off in June to allow Robert to work on a live DVD. In August the second set of re-releases (The Top, The Head On The Door, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me) was released, each album as a 2CD Deluxe Edition, along with 1983’s Glove album Blue Sunshine. In November Festival 2005, a 155 minute 5.1 DVD comprising a 30 song selection of live performances captured the previous summer by a mix of fans, crew and ‘on-the-night-big-screen cameras’, was put out.

Spring 2007 saw The Cure headline the Miami Ultra Music Festival before heading back into the studio to continue work on new songs. The 11 show Australasian leg of ‘The Cure 4Tour 2007-2008’ kicked off in July with a headline slot at the Fuji Rock Festival, the band’s first performance in Japan since 1984, before moving on through Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. In October the band headlined the San Francisco Download Festival, before playing 3 wild nights in Mexico City at the Palacio de los Deportes, followed by an outstanding performance at the MTV Latin America Awards.

In February 2008 The Cure kicked off the 23 date European leg of ‘The 4Tour’, and in May released “The Only One”, the first of 4 singles to be released every 13th of the month for 4 months. “Freakshow”, “Sleep When I’m Dead” and “The Perfect Boy” followed, and as the band continued ‘The 4Tour’ with a sell-out 27 date North American leg, all 4 singles reached #1 on the Billboard chart. Indeed, for one remarkable week in August, 4 Cure singles were in the USA Top 20 at the same time! In September the “Hypnagogic States” EP was released, featuring remixes of the first 4 singles by acclaimed younger artists Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), Pete Wentz & Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Jade Puget (AFI) and 30 Seconds To Mars. 4Tour support band 65 Days Of Static joined in the fun, remixing all four singles as one track. All artist royalties from this EP were donated to the International Red Cross.

In a radical move the new album 4:13 Dream was performed in its 13 song entirety by The Cure 2 weeks prior to release at a live broadcast MTV event in the Piazza San Giovanni in Rome before an estimated crowd of 75,000 and a potential TV audience of 200 million. The reaction to the event has been awesome, with many fans already acclaiming this new Cure album as a bona fide classic…

In late October 4:13 Dream, The Cure’s 13th studio album - recorded, engineered, produced and mixed at Parkgate Studios UK by Robert Smith and Keith Uddin - is released worldwide…