Marine Girls

Last updated

Marine Girls
Origin Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
Genres
Years active1980–1983
LabelsWhaam!
Cherry Red
Cooking Vinyl
Past members Tracey Thorn (1980–1983)
Jane Fox (1980–1983)
Alice Fox (1981–1983)
Gina Hartman (1980–1981)
Website Label Page

Marine Girls were an English post-punk group from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The group was formed in 1980, by two sixth form schoolfriends; Tracey Thorn and Gina Hartman. Originally, Thorn just played guitar and Hartman was the lead vocalist and percussionist. Thorn overcame her shyness and started singing too by the time they started making records. They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her younger sister, Alice, on joint vocals and percussion.

Contents

History

Contemporaries of acts such as Young Marble Giants and The Raincoats, the group applied the DIY ethic of the time to record a self-produced and self-released cassette called A Day by the Sea. This features otherwise-unavailable songs such as "Getting Away from It All", "Lorna", "Hour of Need" and "Harbours".

They went on to record an album called Beach Party which was recorded in a garden shed by Pat Bermingham and released on In-Phaze then re-released by Dan Treacy of Television Personalities for his label Whaam! Records. [1] In October 1981, Thorn moved to Hull to attend university, and Hartman left the band in 1981 to pursue other musical projects whilst the Fox sisters both went on to art school in Brighton. The group still performed together and released a second album, Lazy Ways , in April 1983. [1] It was ranked at number 42 among the "Albums of the Year" by NME . [2]

Marine Girls recorded two Peel Sessions. Their first, from 1982, contains five songs; "Don't Come Back", "Love to Know", "He Got the Girl", "Fever" and "A Place in the Sun". [3] Their second, from 1983, contains four songs; "Lazy Ways", "That Day" (otherwise unavailable by Marine Girls, although reworked by the Fox sisters for Grab Grab the Haddock), "Seascape" (otherwise unavailable by Marine Girls although it's a reworking of a song by Tracey Thorn from her début solo album A Distant Shore ) and a cover version of "Love You More" by Buzzcocks. [3]

From 1982, Thorn concentrated on her studies and her growing personal and professional relationship with fellow Hull student Ben Watt (who had contributed the photograph for the front cover of Lazy Ways). [1] They formed their own musical project, Everything But The Girl, and their first single included a re-recording of the Marine Girls song, "On My Mind".

Marine Girls formally disbanded in 1983. [1] Jane and Alice Fox joined up with guitarist Lester Noel and drummer Steven Galloway in Grab Grab the Haddock and released two singles in 1984 and 1985 before splitting up. [1] Tracey Thorn continued working with Everything But The Girl until the early 2000s. [1] and then again from 2022.

Beach Party was named as one of Kurt Cobain's 50 favourite albums in his diaries. [4] [5] The two albums were reissued as a "two-fer" on CD by Cherry Red in 1997.

Current activities

Alice Fox is Deputy Head of the School of Art at University of Brighton [6] and works as a visual and performance artist with socially excluded groups. [7]

Jane Fox is a visual artist [8] and a Senior Lecturer at University of Brighton. [9]

Gina Hartman continues to make music, including in the group Fenestration with Mark Flunder, formerly of TV Personalities. [10]

Tracey Thorn is an author, columnist and solo recording artist. [11]

Discography

ReleaseTitleFormat UK Indie [12]
December 1981"On My Mind"/"The Lure of the Rockpools"Single—
1981 Beach Party Album29
February 1983"Don't Come Back"/"You Must Be Mad"Single21
April 1983 Lazy Ways Album4

Various artists compilation albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey Thorn</span> British singer (born 1962)

Tracey Thorn is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 1999, and again from 2022. She was in the band Marine Girls from 1980 to 1983. Since 2007 she has been active as a solo artist; and as a writer of books and essays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything but the Girl</span> English musical duo

Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences before undergoing an electronic turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.

"The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" is a 1966 song written by Smokey Robinson. It was a hit single in 1967 for the American girl group The Marvelettes for the Motown label, from their self-titled album released that same year.

<i>Journals</i> (Cobain) Collection of writings and drawings by Kurt Cobain

Journals is a collection of writings and drawings by American musician Kurt Cobain, who was the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana. Though the content is undated, it is arranged in approximately chronological order. It was published in hardcover by Riverhead Books in November 2002, and in paperback by Riverhead Books in November 2003. Journals opened at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list (non-fiction). It contains scrawled notes, drafted letters, shopping lists, and drawings by Cobain.

<i>A Distant Shore</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Tracey Thorn

A Distant Shore is the first studio album by Tracey Thorn, released via Cherry Red Records in 1982. It includes a cover version of The Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale".

Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well as the compilation album Pillows & Prayers. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Watt</span> British musician (born 1962)

Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt is a British musician, singer, songwriter, author, DJ, and radio presenter, best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl.

<i>Eden</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1984 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Eden is the debut studio album by the British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 4 June 1984, by Blanco y Negro Records. The album contains the single "Each and Every One", which peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. The cover design was by lead singer Tracey Thorn's former colleague in Marine Girls, Jane Fox.

<i>Temperamental</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1999 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Temperamental is the tenth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 27 September 1999 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Virgin Records in Europe.

<i>Pillows & Prayers</i> 1982 compilation album by Various

Pillows & Prayers is a compilation album released at Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence, which helped ensure that the album peaked and remained at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart for five weeks and sold over 120,000 copies.

<i>Love Not Money</i> 1985 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Love Not Money is the second studio album by British band Everything but the Girl, which consisted of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It was produced by Robin Millar, recorded at Powerplant Studios in London and was released in the UK on 15 April 1985 by Blanco y Negro Records. It spent nine weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 10. In the United States, Sire Records issued the album with two additional tracks.

<i>The Language of Life</i> 1990 studio album by Everything but the Girl

The Language of Life is the fifth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 5 February 1990 by Atlantic Records and Blanco y Negro Records.

Peter Julian Alexander Collins is an English record producer, arranger, and audio engineer. He has produced records by Gary Moore, Bon Jovi, Billy Squier, Rush, Air Supply, Alice Cooper, Nik Kershaw, Blancmange, Suicidal Tendencies, Queensrÿche, Indigo Girls, Nanci Griffith, Jermaine Stewart, Jane Wiedlin, October Project, The Cardigans, Rosetta Stone, Josh Joplin, Tracey Ullman, Drake Bell, Ultraspank and The Brian Setzer Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection (Massive Attack song)</span> 1995 single by Massive Attack

"Protection" is a collaboration between English trip hop collective Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn from English duo Everything but the Girl. The song appears on Massive Attack's second studio album, Protection (1994). Released as a single on 9 January 1995 by Wild Bunch and Circa, "Protection" reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the chart for four weeks, and also peaked at number 27 in New Zealand. Michel Gondry directed the accompanying music video. The song was also included on Everything but the Girl's compilation The Best of and Like the Deserts Miss the Rain.

<i>Tinsel and Lights</i>

Tinsel and Lights is a Christmas album by British singer Tracey Thorn. It was released on 30 October 2012 on Buzzin' Fly Records and Merge Records. It is her fourth solo studio album.

Grab Grab the Haddock were an English indie pop group that was formed in 1984.

<i>Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015</i> 2015 compilation album by Tracey Thorn

Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982–2015 is a compilation album by Tracey Thorn, released in the UK on 23 October 2015. It features 34 tracks spanning her career as a solo artist and includes collaborations with other artists, including The Unbending Trees ("Overture"), Massive Attack ("Protection") and The Style Council. Further collaborations include tracks with Robert Wyatt and Hot Chip. The tracks are arranged over two discs. It is also available as a digital album, and as a shortened single-disc compilation.

<i>Record</i> (Tracey Thorn album) 2018 studio album by Tracey Thorn

Record is the fifth solo studio album by English singer and songwriter Tracey Thorn. It was recorded by Thorn with producer Ewan Pearson and a number of backing musicians, including singers Shura and Corinne Bailey Rae, drummer Stella Mozgawa, bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, and guitarist Jono Ma. The album released by Merge Records on 2 March 2018 to mostly positive reviews from critics.

<i>Beach Party</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Marine Girls

Beach Party is the debut album of the British indie pop group, Marine Girls. The album was recorded in a home studio by Pat Bermingham and released as a cassette on his own In Phaze label in 1981. It was released on vinyl by Whaam! Records in 1981 and then by Cherry Red Records in 1987 and 2014. The albums Beach Party and Lazy Ways were reissued together on one CD with bonus tracks by Cherry Red Records in 1988.

<i>Lazy Ways</i> 1983 studio album by Marine Girls

Lazy Ways is the second album of the British indie pop group, Marine Girls. The album was released by Cherry Red Records in 1983. The song "Lazy Ways" appears on the Cherry Red showcase compilation Pillows & Prayers, while "A Place in the Sun" appears on Pillows and Prayers 2. The albums Lazy Ways and Beach Party were reissued together on one CD with bonus tracks by Cherry Red Records in 1988.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN   1-84195-335-0, p. 408
  2. ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME . 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 Garner, Ken (1993) In Session Tonight, BBC Books, ISBN   0-563-36452-1, p. 269
  4. ↑ "Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]". Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 152. ISBN   978-0-7603-4521-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "Alice Fox – Academic staff – Arts and Humanities". Arts.brighton.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Alice Fox - including the excluded". Brighton.ac.uk. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Jane Fox « a-n The Artists Information Company". A-n.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Jane Fox – Academic staff – Arts and Humanities". Arts.brighton.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "Mixcloud". Mixcloud.com.
  11. ↑ "Tracey Thorn - Official Website". Traceythorn.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  12. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1998) Indie Hits 1980–1989, Cherry Red Booke, ISBN   0-95172-069-4, p. 141
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.