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Ambrose Reynolds | |
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| Also known as | Ambrose |
| Born | 12 June 1960 |
| Origin | Merseyside, England |
| Genres | New wave, synthpop, punk rock, post-punk |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1976–1990s |
Ambrose Reynolds (born 12 June 1960; credited also as Ambrose) is an English musician and artist who formed part of the 1970s and 1980s musical scene in Liverpool, playing bass in various bands.
Reynolds began making music as a chorister at Liverpool Cathedral at the age of 7. A few years later, he teamed up with David Knopov in a street busking band called The O'Boogie Brothers. The O'Boogie Brothers expanded its membership to include Ian Broudie on guitar and Nathan McGough (later to manage the Happy Mondays). With a new 6 piece line-up, they became a proper band after supporting legendary Liverpool band Deaf School on Christmas Eve 1976 at Eric's Club, Mathew St, Liverpool. The O'Boogie Brothers eventually split in 1977. After a short stint playing with various Liverpool bands including the infamous Big in Japan with Jayne Casey and Ian Broudie, Reynolds teamed up with David Knopov to put a new band together.
In late 1977, Reynolds and Knopov formed a new band, Ded Byrds, a kind of cabaret punk band featuring Denyse D'arcy (sax & vocals), Dave Wibberley (guitar), Wayne Hussey (guitar) and Jon Moss (drums), with Knopov on vocals. Ded Byrds were hugely successful in the new wave band scene, playing regularly at Eric's Liverpool and The Factory (at the Russell Club), Manchester. Ded Byrds were spotted supporting The Pretenders by Sire Records boss, Seymour Stein who signed them on the spot to a five-year record contract on the proviso that the band changed its name. In June 1979, Walkie Talkies released one single, "Rich and Nasty" b/w "Summertime in Russia". The band split in November of that year.
In the 1980s, Reynolds was still tied to Sire Records and unable to start a new project so he worked with a close succession of other Liverpool groups. He played with and produced in the Pete Burns band Nightmares in Wax, recording one single "Black Leather", and worked with Factory Records to produce the single "We Love The Moon" and the album, The Project with The Royal Family and the Poor. [1]
In 1980, Reynolds formed a new band, Frankie Goes To Hollywood with Holly Johnson, BF Tin and Steve Lovell. The name is a matter of contention; Johnson wanted to call the band Hollycaust, Reynolds disagreed, Johnson responded "we could call it anything"; his eyes then drifted to a poster on the wall of Frank Sinatra (from a book called Rock Dreams) as he read out the caption, saying disparagingly, "we could even call it Frankie goes to Hollywood, it doesn't matter", at which point Reynolds said, "yes, that's what we SHOULD call it, it's original and different". The band split up soon after that, and Reynolds continued to work under that name until 1981, when Johnson began using the name for his more successful band of the same name a few years later.
Reynolds teamed up again with Jayne Casey, to form an experimental electronic pop group Pink Industry. Reynolds and Casey also formed their own record company, Zulu Records, releasing many records between 1981 and 1985. Pink Industry released Fort-Five EP (1981), Low Technology (1982), Who Told You You Were Naked? (1982), What I Wouldn't Give EP (1983), New Beginnings (1984), Cruel Garden EP (1984), and Don't Let Go (1985, produced by Ian Broudie).
Reynolds' Zulu label also released The Zulu Compilation in 1984, featuring an early version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Wish (the lads were here)" entitled "Love Has Got A Gun" and Reynolds' solo album Greatest Hits, an album of famous political speeches and assassinations from the mid-1960s set to music. In 1985, Pink Industry split up and Reynolds began working in theatre music, touring Europe with various shows.
In 1987, Reynolds formed Urban Strawberry Lunch with BF Tin, specializing in making and playing music on recycled materials. Urban Strawberry Lunch have gone through many line-up changes but Reynolds is still active in the band.
Between 2003 and 2014, Reynolds and Urban Strawberry Lunch worked in Liverpool's "bombed out church", St. Luke's, regenerating the ruined building through the arts, presenting music, exhibitions, poetry, dance, outdoor film screenings and weddings.
Reynolds is married with one daughter.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop band that formed in Liverpool in 1980. They comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford, Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). They were among the first openly gay pop acts and made gay rights and sexuality a theme of their music and performances.
Big in Japan were a punk band that emerged from Liverpool, United Kingdom in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music.
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement.
Larry Wallis was a British rock guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.
The Lightning Seeds are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie, formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well known for their single "Three Lions", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1996 and 2018, with a re-worked version also reaching the top spot in 1998.
Ian Zachary Broudie is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums for artists including Echo & the Bunnymen, the Fall, the Coral, the Zutons and the Subways.
From Y To Z and Never Again is an EP by the seminal punk band Big in Japan. It includes four of their six recorded songs and is notable for being the first release on Zoo Records, the label created by band members Bill Drummond and David Balfe. It was also one of the first releases that came from the late '70s-early '80s Liverpool rock scene. The EP has been out of print since 1978, but the tracks are available on the Zoo Records compilation Zoo Uncaged.
Care were an English new wave band formed by Paul Simpson and Ian Broudie in 1983 in Liverpool, England. Care was created after the split of the Wild Swans when singer Paul Simpson came together with guitarist Ian Broudie. The first single was released in June 1983.
Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band Big in Japan. The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, a Balfe and Drummond band which they formed after Big in Japan folded. Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen. The label also released the first single, "Iggy Pop's Jacket", by the Liverpool band Those Naughty Lumps.
The Wild Swans are a post-punk band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1980 shortly after Paul Simpson left The Teardrop Explodes. The band's personnel has been subject to regular turnover, with vocalist Simpson being the only constant member.
Jayne Casey is an English artistic director who was known for being involved in the Liverpool punk and new wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s, with Big in Japan, Pink Military and Pink Industry. A Keychange Inspiration Award was presented to Casey at Liverpool Sound City.
Urban Strawberry Lunch (USL) were an English, Liverpool based group and Community Arts organisation, who made music on everyday objects. Formed by Benjamin F Tin and Ambrose Reynolds in 1987, USL began making their own musical instruments after a fire destroyed all of their (uninsured) musical instruments. Among other activities, they are known for their performances and music festivals hosted within Liverpool's landmark "bombed-out church", the Church of St Luke, Liverpool.
Howards Alias were a band in the turn-of-the-millennium UK underground punk scene. They formed in 1999 in Southampton, England, and blended an eclectic mix of rock, progressive, punk and ska influences into their own musical output. They permanently disbanded in April 2008.
"Brutality, Religion and a Dance Beat" is a 7" split single of two songs. It contains the songs "Big in Japan", by eponymous band Big in Japan, and "Do the Chud", by the Chuddy Nuddies, both groups formed in the 1970s punk scene of Liverpool. It was released by the Eric's label in November 1977.
The Onset were an indie rock band formed in 1987 by Mike Badger after he left his former band the La's. Badger teamed up with locals Danny Dean on guitar, Hamish Cameron on piano and Colin Becket on drums. The first demo "Let's Go Home" can be found on the 2006 compilation CD, Lo Fi Electric Excursions by Mike Badger & Friends.
Pink Military were a post-punk band from Liverpool. Led by former Big in Japan singer Jayne Casey, other band members included former Deaf School drummer Tim Whitaker, guitarist Martin Dempsey who also played in Yachts and It's Immaterial and drummers Chris Joyce and Budgie.
Pink Industry were a post-punk band from Liverpool formed by Jayne Casey after her previous band Pink Military split up in 1981.
The Royal Family and the Poor are a band from Liverpool, England, centred on multi-instrumentalist Mike Keane. After recording two singles and two albums for Factory Records in the 1980s, they continued to release music into the 21st century.
Ken Testi is British entrepreneur most notable for his involvement with the bands Queen and Deaf School and with the Liverpool music venue Eric's Club.
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