Barry Adamson | |
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Background information | |
Born | Moss Side, Manchester, England | 11 June 1958
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums |
Years active | 1977–present |
Labels | Central Control International, Mute |
Formerly of | Magazine, Buzzcocks, Visage, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds |
Website | www |
Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958) [1] is an English pop and rock musician, composer, writer, photographer and filmmaker. [2] He came to prominence in the late 1970s as a member of the post-punk band Magazine and went on to work with Visage, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electro musicians Pan Sonic. In addition to prolific solo work, Adamson has also remixed Grinderman, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Recoil and Depeche Mode. He also worked on the soundtrack for David Lynch's surrealistic crime film Lost Highway .
Adamson was born in Moss Side, Manchester, England to a white mother and a black father. [3] He read comic books from an early age. At school he immersed himself in art, music and film and produced his first song – "Brain Pain" – at the age of 10. His diverse musical tastes range from Alice Cooper to Motown to David Bowie.
After leaving school, Adamson drifted into graphic design whilst attending Stockport Art College [4] but quit shortly after, preferring to venture into the exploding punk rock scene of the late 1970s. He joined ex-Buzzcocks singer Howard Devoto's band Magazine to play the bass guitar, with whom he scored one chart single, "Shot by Both Sides"; in late 1977, he joined the Buzzcocks, as a temporary replacement for Garth Smith. He played on all of Magazine's albums in their original incarnation and contributed to Devoto's solo album and his next band, Luxuria. He also contributed to the studio-based band Visage, playing on the ensemble's first two albums, Visage and The Anvil .
After Magazine broke up, Adamson worked with another ex-Buzzcock, Pete Shelley, before joining Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, featuring on four of their albums: From Her to Eternity , The Firstborn Is Dead , Kicking Against the Pricks and Your Funeral, My Trial . After his stint with the band and a European tour with Iggy Pop in 1987, he went solo, releasing an EP, The Man with the Golden Arm in 1988, and his first solo album, Moss Side Story , the following year, the "soundtrack" to a non-existent film noir. [5] The album incorporated newscasts and sampled sound effects and featured guest musicians Marcia Schofield (of The Fall), Diamanda Galas, and former colleagues from the Bad Seeds. [5] Adamson's second solo album was the soundtrack to a real film this time – Carl Colpaert's Delusion , and he would go on to provide soundtracks for several other films. [5]
Adamson's third album, Soul Murder , was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1992. [5] [6]
His solo work has mostly been influenced by John Barry, Elmer Bernstein and Ennio Morricone, whilst his later works include jazz, electronica, soul, funk, and dub-styles.
In 1996, Adamson contributed to the AIDS-Benefit Album, Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip , produced by the Red Hot Organization. His own album that year, Oedipus Schmoedipus , reached #51 in the UK Albums Chart. [7] It would later be included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list, along with Moss Side Story . [8]
In 2002, Adamson left his long-term label, Mute Records, and started his own production home, Central Control International. In 2006, he released Stranger on the Sofa , first for his Central Control International imprint, to critical acclaim. Back to the Cat, his second album for the label, was released in March 2008. [9]
In 2007 it was announced that Magazine would re-form for concerts in 2008. Adamson took part in the same band line-up that recorded Secondhand Daylight, with the exception of the late John McGeoch, who was replaced by Apollo 440 member Noko. However, Adamson has since withdrawn from the reunion and new recordings.
On 27 August 2010, Adamson released the track "Rag and Bone", as a digital download and as a 12-inch vinyl record.
In 2011, Adamson premiered his directorial debut, Therapist, for which he also provided the music. [10] He then released a studio album, I Will Set You Free, on 30 January 2012. [11]
Adamson collaborated with the Bad Seeds on their 2013 album, Push the Sky Away , playing bass guitar on two songs. He also toured with the band on drums and keyboards, to fill in for an ailing Thomas Wydler. [12]
His 2016 album Know Where To Run was accompanied by a book with photos that Adamson shot in the US while on tour with Nick Cave. 2018 saw the release of Memento Mori, an album celebrating his 40th anniversary as a professional musician, which was followed by a concert at the Union Chapel in London. A recording of this concert was released on vinyl and CD.
Adamson's "Refugee Song" was included in Derek Jarman's The Last of England soundtrack. He composed the soundtrack to Delusion , which has also been released. Adamson also contributed soundtrack material to Gas Food Lodging and David Lynch's Lost Highway .
In the earliest Real Life Magazine videos, Adamson played a Rickenbacker 4001, and on Secondhand Daylight, a Gibson EB-3. His primary bass during Magazine's touring was an Ovation Magnum Mk1. The Ovation can be seen in Magazine's appearance in Urgh! A Music War as well as on the cover of the live album Play . For the 2008 Magazine concerts, he alternated between the Ovation, a Fender Artist and a Fender Jaguar Bass. He often used a Boss Chorus unit on his basses, giving a slightly processed sound that was much imitated in the UK 1980s rock scene. [13]
In his autobiography, It's So Easy (And Other Lies), Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses said he was influenced by bass-driven bands such as that of Barry Adamson in Magazine. [14] In an interview with German music magazine Gitarre & Bass, Billy Gould of Faith No More said that Adamson was one of his influences, because he combined soul music with post-punk when he played with Magazine. [15]
Year | Title |
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1989 | Moss Side Story |
1992 | Soul Murder |
1996 | Oedipus Schmoedipus |
1998 | As Above So Below |
2002 | The King of Nothing Hill |
2006 | Stranger on the Sofa |
2008 | Back to the Cat |
2012 | I Will Set You Free |
2016 | Know Where to Run |
2024 | Cut to Black |
Year | Title |
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1989 | Taming of the Shrewd |
1993 | The Negro Inside Me |
2017 | Love Sick Dick |
2021 | Steal Away |
Year | Title | Album |
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1988 | "The Man with the Golden Arm" | Moss Side Story |
1991 | "These Boots Are Made for Walking" (with Anita Lane) | Delusion |
1998 | "What It Means" | As Above So Below |
1998 | "Can't Get Loose" b/w non-album tracks "Trouble Asunder (Oedipus Returns)", "Hear the Angels", "Namaste MPC (End Title)" [16] | |
1999 | "The Crime Scene" | split single with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion |
2001 | "Motorlab #3" (with Pan Sonic) | N/A |
2002 | "Black Amour" | The King of Nothing Hill |
2002 | "Whispering Streets" | |
2006 | "The Long Way Back Again" | Stranger on the Sofa |
2008 | "Straight 'til Sunrise" (download only) | Back to the Cat |
2010 | "Rag and Bone" [17] | N/A |
2016 | "Up in the Air" | Know Where to Run |
Year | Title | Album |
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1996 | "Hip No Therapy" | Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip |
2012 | "I Wanna Be You" | The Journey Is Long: The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project |
2019 | "4'33" | STUMM433 |
Year | Title |
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1991 | Delusion |
2011 | Dreams of a Life |
2023 | Scala!!! |
Year | Film | Track(s) |
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1987 | The Last of England | "Refugee Theme (15 Rounds)" with Martin McCarrick |
1992 | Gas Food Lodging | 6 tracks |
1997 | Lost Highway | 3 tracks |
Year | Title | Type |
---|---|---|
1992 | Cinema Is King | EP |
1995 | Movieology | |
The Big Bamboozle | ||
1999 | The Murky World of Barry Adamson | Album |
2018 | Memento Mori |
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Bolton in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. They achieved commercial success with singles that fuse pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy; these singles were later collected on Singles Going Steady, an acclaimed compilation album music journalist and critic Ned Raggett described as a "punk masterpiece".
Magazine were a British rock band formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band. The original lineup of Magazine was composed of Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey, guitarist George Vjestica, touring keyboardist/percussionist Larry Mullins, also known as Toby Dammit, and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos. Described as "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward", they have released eighteen studio albums and completed numerous international tours.
James Sclavunos is an American drummer, multi-instrumentalist musician, record producer, and writer. He is best known as a drummer, having been a member of two seminal no wave groups in the late 1970s. He is also noted for stints in Sonic Youth and the Cramps, and has been a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since 1994. Sclavunos has led his own group the Vanity Set since 2000.
Pete Shelley was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 when Devoto left. The group released their biggest hit "Ever Fallen in Love " in 1978. The band broke up in 1981 and reformed at the end of the decade. Shelley also had a solo career; his song "Homosapien" charted in Australasia and Canada in 1981 and 1982.
From Her to Eternity is the debut studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in May 1984 on Mute. Produced by Flood and the band itself, the album's title is a pun on the James Jones novel, From Here to Eternity, and its subsequent 1953 film adaptation.
Live Seeds is the first official live album by Australian post-punk band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded live from 1992 to 1993, at various concerts throughout Europe and Australia, at the touring stage promoting their previous studio album, Henry's Dream. Nick Cave wanted to give the songs a raw feeling as originally intended before production problems occurred. Live Seeds includes a not previously studio-recorded track, "Plain Gold Ring", which is a cover of a song performed by Nina Simone.
Anita Louise Lane was an Australian singer-songwriter who was briefly a member of the Bad Seeds with Nick Cave and Mick Harvey and collaborated with both bandmates. Lane released two solo albums, Dirty Pearl (1993) and Sex O'Clock (2001).
Michael John Harvey is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Noko is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alvin the Aardvark and the Fuzzy Ants, the Umbrella, the Pete Shelley Group, the Cure, Luxuria, Apollo 440, Stealth Sonic Soul, Fast, Maximum Roach, James Maker and Noko 440, Magazine, Raw Chimp, Levyathan, SCISM, Am I Dead Yet? and Buzzcocks.
Rowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career.
Real Life is the debut studio album by English rock band Magazine. It was released in June 1978 by record label Virgin. The album includes the band's debut single "Shot by Both Sides", and was also preceded by the non-album single "Touch and Go", a song from the album's recording sessions.
Dave Formula, is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk bands Magazine and Visage during the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s and in the "world music" band The Angel Brothers.
The Correct Use of Soap is the third studio album by English post-punk band Magazine, released by Virgin Records in 1980. It contains some of Magazine's best-known and most popular songs, including the singles "A Song from Under the Floorboards" and "Sweetheart Contract" and their cover of Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You ". A different version of the album, entitled An Alternative Use of Soap, was released in Canada in 1980 by then-distributor Polygram Records.
Magic, Murder and the Weather is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Magazine, and their final album until the band's reformation in 2009. It was released in June 1981 by record label Virgin. One single, "About the Weather", was released from the album.
"Shot by Both Sides" is a song written by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley, and performed by the English post-punk band Magazine. It was released in January 1978 as the band's first single, reaching No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart and appearing, a few months later, on their debut album Real Life. The song has been cited as a seminal work of the post-punk genre, as well as of pop punk and new wave.
Jerky Versions of the Dream is the only solo album recorded by Howard Devoto, the original singer of Buzzcocks and Magazine. It was his only studio album, which was released at the time with two singles, "Cold Imagination" and "Rainy Season", being a short-lived solo career for Devoto, who in 1986, went to form a band alongside guitarist Noko, which later was named Luxuria.
No Thyself is the fifth and final studio album by the band Magazine, and the first since their 2009 reformation. It was released on the Wire-Sound label on 24 October 2011, about 30 years after the release of their previous studio album, Magic, Murder and the Weather.
Oedipus Schmoedipus is an album by the English musician Barry Adamson, released in 1996. Like Adamson's previous albums, Oedipus Schmoedipus was conceived as a soundtrack to an imaginary film. The album peaked at No. 51 on the UK Albums Chart.