Brendan Perry

Last updated

Brendan Perry
Brendan Perry.jpg
Brendan Perry on stage in 2010
Background information
Birth nameBrendan Michael Perry
Born (1959-06-30) 30 June 1959 (age 64)
Whitechapel, London, England
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, producer
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, hurdy-gurdy, percussion, bouzouki, mandolin, low whistle, hammered dulcimer
Website brendanperry.com

Brendan Michael Perry (born 30 June 1959) [1] is a British singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.

Contents

Early life

Perry was born in Whitechapel, London, England, UK, in 1959 to a mother from Cavan, Ireland, [2] and a father from London. [1] He was raised and schooled in the East End of London until his family moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 1973. Having received no formal musical education, Perry began to play the guitar at St Paul's College, [3] the Catholic school he attended in Ponsonby. After failing to become a primary school teacher and to join the civil service, Perry worked at a series of jobs until joining the Scavengers in 1977. At first Perry played bass guitar, later taking on the duties of lead vocalist when the original singer left the band. Apart from a handful of original songs, the band covered music from the Stooges, New York Dolls, and late-1960s psychedelia. After two years, having failed to secure a recording deal or live dates, the band moved to Melbourne, Australia, in November 1978 [4] and changed its name to Marching Girls. In 1980, Perry left the Marching Girls to pursue a solo career, experimenting with tape loops, synthesis, and alternative forms of rhythm. In 1981, Perry formed Dead Can Dance with Simon Monroe and Paul Erikson (both of whom were to leave soon after they had relocated to London), and Lisa Gerrard. [1]

Career

The Scavengers - Perry (centre), Ken Cooke (left), Simon Monroe (right) Thescavengers.jpg
The Scavengers – Perry (centre), Ken Cooke (left), Simon Monroe (right)

The Scavengers and Marching Girls

Though now primarily known for his work with Dead Can Dance, Perry's first musical forays were in a markedly different style. In 1977, Perry was a leading member of New Zealand punk rock band the Scavengers, working under the pseudonym of Ronnie Recent. Perry started as the band's bass player, becoming lead vocalist after a lineup change in 1978. In 1979, the band moved to Melbourne and changed its name to the Marching Girls. Perry left the band in 1980. Perry's work with these two bands can be found on the 1979 compilation album AK79 that was re-released on CD in 1994 and on vinyl in 2020. [5] The Scavengers have released two collections of their tracks in New Zealand, in 2003 and 2014. [6] The Scavengers are regarded as New Zealand's equivalent of the Buzzcocks, with the Perry co-penned song "Mysterex" regarded as one of the country's best and most distinctive punk-rock recordings. Marching Girls also reached the New Zealand singles charts in 1980 with "True Love." [1]

Dead Can Dance

Perry and Lisa Gerrard during a concert of Dead Can Dance in Paris, June 2013 Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard in concert as group Dead Can Dance, Paris, June 2013.jpg
Perry and Lisa Gerrard during a concert of Dead Can Dance in Paris, June 2013

Dead Can Dance originally formed as a quartet in 1981 in Melbourne, with Perry, drummer Simon Monroe, bass player Paul Erikson, and, last to join the band, Lisa Gerrard. In 1982, Dead Can Dance moved to London leaving Simon Monroe in Australia. Peter Ulrich played drums on the band's first demos, concerts and recordings. Paul Erikson soon left the band to fly back to Australia, leaving the band a duo. The band went on to record eight albums on the 4AD Records record label beginning with the self-titled Dead Can Dance album, which was released in February 1984. [1]

Solo career

In 1999, Perry released his solo album Eye of the Hunter on 4AD Records. The album contained songs written by Perry and a cover of Tim Buckley's song "I Must Have Been Blind." Perry would eventually cover more Tim Buckley songs: "Happy Time", "Chase the Blues Away", "Dream Letter" and "Song to the Siren". [7]

Perry in 2013 Brendan Perry 2013.jpg
Perry in 2013

Around 2001, Perry did the music for a 10-minute film (Mushin) made by Graham Wood, who designed the artwork of the box set Dead Can Dance (1981-1998) and the album Wake .

Perry announced his departure from 4AD in September 2008, and promised a new album titled Ark in early 2009. According to a reply Perry made to a comment on his Myspace blog, the new album would be very different from Eye of the Hunter , notably because it would feature rhythm machines and electric guitars. "Utopia", a demo version of a song from the album, was made available on his Myspace blog. [8] Ark was eventually released on 7 June 2010. [9]

In March 2016 it was announced that he would collaborate with French musician Olivier Mellano and the Breton traditional band Bagad Cesson on a project titled No Land. [10]

Discography

Solo albums

Compilations

Contributions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Can Dance</span> British-Australian music duo

Dead Can Dance are an Australian neoclassical darkwave band from Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty; African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chant, Middle Eastern music, mantras, and art rock."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Gerrard</span> Australian musician, singer and composer

Lisa Germaine Gerrard is an Australian musician, singer and composer and member of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique (glossolalia). She has a dramatic contralto voice and has a vocal range of three octaves.

<i>Dead Can Dance</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance is the debut studio album by Australian musical act Dead Can Dance. It was released on 27 February 1984 on the 4AD label.

<i>Spleen and Ideal</i> 1985 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Spleen and Ideal is the second studio album by Australian band Dead Can Dance. It was released on 25 November 1985 by 4AD. The album spearheaded the group's sonic transition from their post-punk and gothic rock-influenced roots towards a neoclassical dark wave style.

<i>Within the Realm of a Dying Sun</i> 1987 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Within the Realm of a Dying Sun is the third studio album by Australian band Dead Can Dance. It was released on 27 July 1987 by 4AD.

<i>The Serpents Egg</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Dead Can Dance

The Serpent's Egg is the fourth studio album by the Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 24 October 1988 by record label 4AD.

<i>Toward the Within</i> 1994 live album by Dead Can Dance

Toward the Within is the first live album by Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 24 October 1994 by 4AD. It contains 15 songs, of which only four appeared on their previous albums, and two of which were later re-recorded and included on Lisa Gerrard's first solo album, The Mirror Pool. The others previously existed only in live performances and unofficial bootlegs, but were not officially released until Toward the Within. Along with Perry and Gerrard were a number of musicians who had performed with them on other occasions.

<i>Itll End in Tears</i> 1984 studio album by This Mortal Coil

It'll End in Tears is the first album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The album was released on 1 October 1984, and reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart. It features many of the artists on the 4AD roster at the time, including Cocteau Twins, Colourbox, and Dead Can Dance; as well as key post-punk figure Howard Devoto, who sang "Holocaust", one of two covers of songs from the Third/Sister Lovers album by Big Star. The other Alex Chilton-penned track, album opener "Kangaroo", was released as a single to promote the album. Two key songs were performed by Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, including Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", which reached #66 on the UK Charts when released as This Mortal Coil's debut single a year before the album. The song remained on the UK Indie Chart for almost two years. Fraser also performed on "Another Day" by Roy Harper. 4AD would go on to release two further albums under the name of This Mortal Coil: Filigree & Shadow (1986) and Blood (1991).

<i>Into the Labyrinth</i> (Dead Can Dance album) 1993 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Into the Labyrinth is the sixth studio album by Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 13 September 1993, by 4AD. It marked a strong shift from their previous albums, putting ethnic music influences at the forefront, as would be the case in the later albums. It was their first album completed on their own without the aid of guest musicians, and their first album to have a major-label release in the US, thanks to a distribution deal that 4AD had with Warner Bros. Records. It featured the single "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove". Into the Labyrinth was a major success, selling more than 500,000 copies worldwide.

<i>Dead Can Dance (1981–1998)</i> 2001 compilation album by Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance (1981–1998) (2001) is a four-disc box set, containing three CDs of music spanning Dead Can Dance's career and a DVD of their 1994 video release Toward the Within.

<i>Garden of the Arcane Delights</i> 1984 EP by Dead Can Dance

Garden of the Arcane Delights is the first EP by Australian band Dead Can Dance. It was released in August 1984 on record label 4AD. The tracks were later added to Dead Can Dance's self-titled debut album when it was re-released on CD.

<i>Aion</i> (Dead Can Dance album) 1990 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Aion is the fifth studio album by the Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 11 June 1990 by 4AD. The first album Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry wrote after the end of their romantic partnership, it was recorded at Perry's new estate, Quivvy Church in Ireland, with additional recording on "The Arrival and the Reunion" and "The End of Words" taking place at Woodbine Street Recording Studios in Leamington Spa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hector Zazou</span> French composer and record producer (1948–2008)

Hector Zazou was a prolific French composer and record producer who worked with, produced, and collaborated with an international array of recording artists. He worked on his own and other artists' albums, including Sandy Dillon, Mimi Goese, Barbara Gogan, Sevara Nazarkhan, Carlos Núñez, Italian group PGR, Anne Grete Preus, Laurence Revey, and Sainkho since 1976.

<i>Eye of the Hunter</i> 1999 studio album by Brendan Perry

Eye of the Hunter is the debut solo album by Brendan Perry, previously the male half of the band Dead Can Dance. The album was released by 4AD on 4 October 1999 in the UK and a day later in the US.

<i>AK79</i> 1979 compilation album by various artists

AK79 is a collection of unreleased tracks by punk bands active in Auckland, New Zealand in the late 1970s. The album was compiled by Bryan Staff, with artwork from Terence Hogan, and was released by Ripper Records in December 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Scavengers</span> New Zealand rock band

The Scavengers were a New Zealand-Australian punk rock band that formed in 1977. They moved to Melbourne, Australia, in November 1978 and became Marching Girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Ulrich</span> British songwriter and recording artist

Peter Lawrence Ulrich is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, recording artist and author.

<i>Sahara Blue</i> 1992 studio album by Hector Zazou

Sahara Blue is a 1992 concept album produced by Hector Zazou. The album commemorated the 100th year of the death of French poet Arthur Rimbaud and included collaborative musical works by John Cale, Khaled, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tim Simenon, and David Sylvian.

<i>Anastasis</i> (album) 2012 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Anastasis is a 2012 studio album by the British-Australian band Dead Can Dance. It is the eighth studio album by the band and the first after Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard disbanded in 1998. It was officially released on 13 August 2012 by PIAS Recordings, 16 years after the group's last album, Spiritchaser. It is also the band's first album since it left 4AD. "Anastasis" is the Greek word for "resurrection".

<i>Garden of the Arcane Delights - The John Peel Sessions</i> 2016 compilation album by Dead Can Dance

Garden of the Arcane Delights + The John Peel Sessions is a compilation coupling the re-issue of the first and only EP by Australian band Dead Can Dance and two different sessions for the BBC Radio One John Peel show. It was released in November 2016 on record label 4AD with the Peel-supervised recordings allowed by arrangement with BBC Music.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brendan Perry. "Brendan Perry biography". Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  2. "Brendan Perry: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  3. Brendan Perry, Robin Guthrie. Ticketfly. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. "The Scavengers - AudioCulture". Audioculture.co.nz.
  5. "Various - AK•79". Discogs.com.
  6. "The Scavengers". Discogs.com.
  7. "Eye of the Hunter on AllMusic". Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  8. "Featured Content on Myspace". Profile.myspace.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  9. "Ark". Amazon.co.uk. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2016 via Amazon.
  10. "No Land". Mellanoland.com. March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  11. 1 2 Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 1828. ISBN   1858284570 . Retrieved 15 July 2015.