James are an English rock band from Manchester, formed in 1982. They achieved popularity during the 1990s, with four top-10 hits on the UK Singles Chart and nine top-10 placings on the UK Albums Chart. The band's best-known singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", "She's a Star" and "Laid". "Laid" also became a hit on American college radio. Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but members reunited in January 2007 and have since released a further seven albums. Live performance has continually remained a central part of the band's output. As of 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.
The Soup Dragons are a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Named after a character in the 1970s children's television series Clangers, the group is best known for its cover of the Rolling Stones' song "I'm Free", which was a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom in 1990; and "Divine Thing", a top 40 hit in the United States in 1992.
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record in the United States, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970, and reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 22 song of 1970. It also climbed to No. 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970.
We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It!!, often shortened to Fuzzbox, are a British alternative rock group. Formed in Birmingham in 1985, the all-female quartet originally consisted of Vix, Magz, Jo Dunne and Tina O'Neill. The band's name was shortened to Fuzzbox for the US release of their debut studio album. They disbanded in 1990 after releasing two studio albums and reunited in 2010 for a series of concerts. A second reunion was confirmed in 2015.
The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.
Shop Assistants were a Scottish indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'. After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986. After splitting in 1987, with singer Alex Taylor moving on to The Motorcycle Boy, they reformed for two further singles in 1990.
Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah left the Fall, after playing on the band's debut album Live at the Witch Trials. Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper Clarke the band recorded for Rough Trade and acted as backing band for the Velvet Underground's Nico before a 25-year period of intermittent activity and fluctuating line-ups.
The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk.
The Mock Turtles are an English indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s. Their most famous song "Can You Dig It?", which was released in the UK in 1991, charted at number 18. When the song was re-released in slightly remixed form in 2003, it again reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.
The Heart Throbs were an indie rock band from Reading, England. They released three albums on the One Little Indian label before splitting up in 1993.
Skeletal Family are an English rock band formed in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in December 1982. The band was formed from the remaining members of an earlier group called the Elements, and took their name from the title of the song "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" from the 1974 David Bowie album, Diamond Dogs.
Ghost Dance is a British gothic rock band formed in 1985 by Gary Marx and Anne-Marie Hurst as both were leaving their respective bands. The band were originally signed to Nick Jones' record label, Karbon Records, then were later signed to the major label Chrysalis Records, before splitting up in 1989.
Crazyhead are an English garage punk band from Leicester, England. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like the Ramones, The Stooges and Captain Beefheart. They have often described themselves as an "urban bastard blues band", and their songs range in theme from trenchant social commentary to the surreal, but always with an underlying vein of black humour.
Instigators were an anarcho-punk band from Dewsbury, England, formed in 1980. The original line-up split up in the mid-1980s, but the band carried on into the 1990s.
The Fits were a punk rock band from Blackpool, Lancashire, England, who were active between 1979 and 1985, having several hits on the UK Indie Chart. They reformed in 2011.
Rabid are a punk rock band from Leicester, England, initially active between 1979 and 1986. A new lineup of the band was reformed in 2013.
I Keep Thinking It's Tuesday is the 1987 album by Doctor and the Medics.
Laughing at the Pieces is the 1986 debut album by Doctor and the Medics. It reached #55 in Canada.
"Hanging Around" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released on their 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Hugh Cornwell, and is notable for its driving bassline and its lyrics about urban alienation.
The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.
