Colin Newman

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Colin Newman
Colin Newman nov 2011.jpg
Newman performing in November 2011
Background information
Born (1954-09-16) 16 September 1954 (age 70)
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Origin London, England
Genres Punk rock, art punk, post-punk, experimental rock, electronic, alternative rock
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1976–present
Labels swim ~, Crammed, 4AD, Beggars Banquet Records, Sentient Sonics

Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire.

Contents

Early life

Newman was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1954 and grew up in Newbury, Berkshire. [1] He later attended the Watford School of Art. [2]

Music career

In 1976 Newman formed the band Wire and was its main songwriter, singer and guitarist. [2] Their first performance was on 19 January 1977 at the London nightclub Roxy. [3] At the start, the band was considered a part of London's punk rock scene but later reached critical acclaim for their massive influence on post-punk, new wave and alternative rock. When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo album, A-Z , was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet record label. The album veered from extremely skewed pop to more mainstream numbers, such as "Order for Order", which was compared by some to Gary Numan. [4] A track from the demos for this LP (but not included on the original vinyl release), "Not Me", was covered by This Mortal Coil on their It'll End in Tears LP; This Mortal Coil then covered the A-Z track "Alone" on their second album Filigree & Shadow . Newman's second LP, the entirely instrumental Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish , in which all the tracks were titled for numbered fish, was released on the 4AD Records label in 1981. A third LP, Not To , which along with original compositions reworked a number of tracks originally written for Wire, was released in 1982 on 4AD. [5]

Following this, Newman travelled to India to collect sound recordings before rejoining Wire in 1984. [6]

Colin Newman, 2011 Colin Newman b nov 2011.jpg
Colin Newman, 2011

In 1986, another solo LP, Commercial Suicide , was released on the Crammed Discs label. A massive change in style for Newman, the album is reflective and highly orchestrated. His next LP, It Seems , followed a similar path, albeit with far more use of sequencers – something Newman would continue to work with for a number of years. Both Crammed albums featured Malka Spigel who has been included in all subsequent solo and collaborative work. [2]

Newman's only other de facto solo outing was the mid-1990s release Bastard , an almost entirely instrumental release with tracks largely built from guitar loops and samples. Released on his own label, Swim ~, the first pressing of the album was packaged with a free copy of Newman's four-track Voice EP. Despite Newman's name being on the cover, he says these releases, along with several others on Swim ~, are essentially collaborative efforts with his wife and musical partner, Malka Spigel. [2]

Newman's song "Alone" made an appearance in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs in a scene in which the character Buffalo Bill is sewing in a basement. This song was also covered by This Mortal Coil on their Filigree & Shadow LP. [2]

Newman has produced, arranged and mixed various other artists. These include Virgin Prunes, Parade Ground, Minimal Compact, Alain Bashung, Silo & Lobe on the production and arrangement side and Hawkwind, Dead Man Ray, Fennesz, Polysics and Celebricide on the mix side. He has also mixed all new Wire releases since 2000.

Since 2004, Newman has worked with Githead, a quartet composed of Newman, Spigel, Max Franken, and Robin Rimbaud. Newman has run the Pinkflag label for Wire since 2000. Immersion re-emerged in 2016. Newman also re-released his first three solo albums on Swim ~ sub-label Sentient Sonics in 2016.

Discography

Solo albums

Solo singles and EPs

Collaborative albums and mini albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wire (band)</span> English rock band

Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, Bruce Gilbert (guitar), George Gill and Robert Grey. They were originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on The Roxy London WC2 album, and were instrumental to the development of post-punk, while their debut album Pink Flag was influential for hardcore punk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4AD</span> British record label

4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.

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<i>Filigree & Shadow</i> 1986 studio album by This Mortal Coil

Filigree & Shadow is the second 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 supergroup consists primarily of artists attached to the 4AD label, of which Watts-Russell was the co-founder and the owner and director. The album was released in September 1986, and entered the UK Independent Music chart on 11 October 1986 and peaked at #2, spending 16 weeks on the chart in total.

Malka Spigel is a London-based Israeli musician and artist. She was a founding member of the Israeli-Belgian rock band Minimal Compact. She has also worked as a solo musician and as a visual artist, exhibiting in prominent venues such as The Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Royal Festival Hall. She is a member of Githead along with husband Colin Newman, Robin Rimbaud and fellow Minimal Compact refugee Max Franken.

Githead is a musical collaboration that includes Wire's Colin Newman as well as electronic musician Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) alongside Minimal Compact members Malka Spigel and Max Franken.

Immersion are a sound and art duo composed of Wire & Githead's Colin Newman & Minimal Compact & Githead's Malka Spigel.

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<i>A–Z</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Colin Newman

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swim (record label)</span> British record label founded in 1993

Swim is a record label founded in 1993, and jointly run, by Wire guitarist and singer Colin Newman, and Minimal Compact bass player and singer Malka Spigel. The label has published various solo projects and collaborations by Spigel and Newman, most notably Githead, a group formed on the occasion of the label's tenth anniversary, as well as music by a number of indie bands such as Ronnie and Clyde, Lobe and Silo.

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<i>Sleeps with the Fishes</i> 1987 studio album by Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook

Sleeps with the Fishes is the lone collaborative album from Clan of Xymox founding member Pieter Nooten and Canadian guitarist/producer Michael Brook, released by 4AD on 12 October 1987. Intended as Nooten's debut solo album after a brief split from Clan of Xymox, the record turned into a collaboration with Brook after a suggestion from 4AD label founder and boss Ivo Watts-Russell. Though not a huge commercial success, Sleeps with the Fishes was described by AllMusic as "essential listening for fans of 4AD, ambient music, minimalism, experimental electronic music, and morose themes alike... an overlooked masterpiece."

<i>Commercial Suicide</i> 1986 studio album by Colin Newman

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<i>Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish</i> 1981 album by Colin Newman

Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish is the second studio album by Colin Newman, lead singer of post-punk band Wire. It was released in 1981, through record labels Beggars Banquet and 4AD.

<i>Not To</i> 1982 album by Colin Newman

Not To is the third studio album by Colin Newman, lead singer of post-punk band Wire. It was released in 1982, through record labels Beggars Banquet and 4AD.

<i>It Seems</i> 1988 album by Colin Newman

It Seems is the fifth studio album by Colin Newman, lead singer of post-punk band Wire. It was released in 1988 by Crammed Discs.

<i>Bastard</i> (Colin Newman album) 1997 album by Colin Newman

Bastard is the sixth studio album by Colin Newman, lead singer of post-punk band Wire. It was released in 1997 on Newman's label Swim ~.

References

  1. ↑ "Colin Newman (Wire) and Malka Spigel". Beginnings podcast. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Artist Biography by Wilson Neate". allmusic.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "Turning Points: Wire's Colin Newman". crackmagazine.net. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "COLIN NEWMAN A-Z". headheritage.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Ham, Robert. "Wire's Colin Newman on the Music That Made Him". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Lester, Paul (11 November 2009). Lowdown: The Story of Wire. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857120410 . Retrieved 9 April 2020.
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