Ben Harding | |
---|---|
Also known as | Nylons Hot Grease |
Born | 1965 London, England |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist, vocalist |
Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | Way Cool, Decoy, Epic, Creation, Soviet Beret, Raritan |
Member of | The Charlemagnes Senseless Things |
Formerly of | 3 Colours Red Thee Faction |
Ben Harding (born 1965) is an English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from London, best known for performing in the punk/rock bands Senseless Things, [1] 3 Colours Red [1] and Thee Faction. Louder Than War called him "one of the UK's finest rock guitarists." [2]
Harding joined vocalist/guitarist Mark Keds, bassist Morgan Nicholls and drummer Cass Browne in pop punk/alternative rock group Senseless Things in 1987, completing the line-up of the band. [3] Senseless Things released four studio albums and a Peel Sessions album between 1989 and 1995, had two Top 20 singles, and toured internationally. Harding is credited as songwriter on tracks including the 1993 single "Homophobic Asshole", from album Empire of the Senseless. [4]
After Senseless Things split in 1995, Harding joined 'Britrock'/punk band 3 Colours Red with vocalist/bassist Pete Vuckovic, guitarist Chris McCormack and drummer Keith Baxter. [5] Three Colours Red released two LPs and a series of singles/EPs between 1996 and 1999, achieving two UK Top 20 albums, and six Top 40 singles, including the Top 20 hit "Beautiful Day" [6] before dissolution in 1999. The band played Sex Pistols' Finsbury Park comeback gig in 1996; they also supported KISS and Aerosmith. [7]
After a hiatus from the London music scene, Harding returned in 2009 joining Thee Faction as lead guitarist, [2] a self-styled 'Socialist RnB' band [8] in which members performed under pseudonyms. Thee Faction released four studio albums between 2010 and 2015 and played gigs on the post-punk circuit with artists such as the Membranes, Jon Langford, TV Smith, and the Darling Buds, as well as for political events and campaigns. [9] [10]
With Thee Faction no longer active, Harding joined garage band the Charlemagnes as lead guitarist [2] in 2016; their first album Three Chords and a Half-Truth was released in 2018. [11] The band have performed with groups such as Moving Targets, [12] the Cravats, the Bellrays, [13] Eight Rounds Rapid, Dealing With Damage, [14] the Men of Gwent, Crazyhead [15] and Gaye Bykers on Acid. [16]
Harding joined Senseless Things for three reunion concerts in 2017, culminating in a farewell gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire. [17] [18] [19]
Ben Harding appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2003. [20]
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine were an English indie rock band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les "Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style of power pop, fusing samples, sequenced basses and drum machines with rock 'n' roll guitars and off-beat wordplay-loaded lyrics. They reached the height of their fame in 1992. Over the following years the band took on new members, reaching a six-piece, but struggled to regain their earlier popularity. They initially split up in 1998 after releasing seven albums.
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The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne, and saxophonist Abi Harding.
Senseless Things were an English pop punk band, formed in 1986 in London. The band released four studio albums and achieved two UK Top 20 hit singles before splitting up in 1995. Senseless Things reformed in 2017 to play several gigs including Shepherd's Bush Empire, as well as to record and release new material. Vocalist Mark Keds died in early 2021.
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally built in 1903 as a music hall for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham; among its early performers was Charlie Chaplin. In 1953 it became the BBC Television Theatre. Since 1994, it has operated as a music venue. It is a Grade II listed building.
3 Colours Red were an English rock band, formed in 1994 in London. They achieved their biggest chart success at the end of the 1990s, along with other British rock bands such as Ash, Stereophonics and Feeder. The band was named by sticking a pin in a London listings magazine, Time Out. It landed randomly on an advertisement for the concluding part of the Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski's, Three Colors, trilogy. They went on to record two UK Top 20 albums, and six Top 40 singles.
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Empire of the Senseless is an album by the English rock band Senseless Things. It was released in 1993, and was produced by Senseless Things and Ralph Jezzard. It was not released in the United States.
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Cass Browne is an English musician and writer.
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Deadcuts is an English post punk group formed in 2012 by former Senseless Things front man, Mark Keds (vocals/guitar) and Jerome Alexandre . Keds was also known for his previous work with The Wildhearts and Jolt, as well as co-writing The Libertines' "Can't Stand Me Now".
Mark Myers, better known as Mark Keds, was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, from Twickenham, London, best known for leading the bands Senseless Things and Deadcuts. Kerrang! hailed him as a "prolific musician" and "unvarnished talent".