This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2007) |
Mclusky | |
---|---|
![]() Mclusky at 2000trees Festival in July 2022, (l-r) Falkous, Egglestone, Sayell | |
Background information | |
Also known as | Best, mclusky*, 'mclusky' |
Origin | Cardiff, Wales |
Genres | Post-hardcore, noise rock |
Years active | 1996–2005, 2014–present |
Labels | Too Pure |
Spinoffs | Future of the Left, Shooting At Unarmed Men, Poor People, Christian Fitness, Harmony, The St. Pierre Snake Invasion |
Members | Andrew Falkous Jack Egglestone Damien Sayell |
Past members | Mat Harding Geraint Bevan Jonathan Chapple Julia Ruzicka |
Mclusky (often stylized as mclusky), originally known as Best, are a British post-hardcore band formed in Cardiff in 1996. The group originally consisted of Andrew Falkous (vocals, guitar), originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, [1] Geraint Bevan (bass) and Matthew Harding (drums); the latter two were replaced by Jonathan Chapple and Jack Egglestone in 1997 and late 2003 respectively. The band released three studio albums before splitting in 2004, reconvening in 2014 – without Chapple – under the monikers 'mclusky' and mclusky*, before ultimately dropping the asterisk.
According to the band, they originally formed in 1996 when Falkous and Harding met at the Blackwood Miners Institute, a venue in their home town. The pair met Chapple a short time afterwards at the Reading Festival when they caught him urinating on their tent late in the night.
More realistically it has been suggested that Falkous and Harding met when working together at Anglian Windows, a small double-glazing call centre in Cardiff. They discussed their musical ambitions after a conversation about Reading Festival, Falkous gave Harding a tape of songs he had written on his own, and shortly after they formed a band called Best after early Beatles drummer Pete Best. The original bass player for Best was Geraint Bevan, Harding's old musical comrade from The Derelicts.
Best existed in this form for almost a year before Bevan left to concentrate on his acting career, but not before Best had played a show with a band called 'Myrtle', which featured the bass guitarist Jon Chapple.
Shortly after the departure of Bevan, the remaining two members managed to convince Chapple to join the band; this was based on the strength of the three track demo Best had recently finished at 'Ocean Studios' in Cardiff (this cassette – which was sold by the band themselves – was the unofficial debut, entitled the Benedict EP).
Best signed to London label Seriously Groovy and released their official debut record, the 3-track single "Huwuno".
The band changed its name to Mclusky in 1999, releasing their first full-length album My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours in 2000 on the Fuzzbox imprint before drawing international attention with their critically praised second album Mclusky Do Dallas in 2002. In 2004 they released their third album The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire to positive reviews.
They worked frequently with recording engineer Steve Albini.
The band called it quits on 7 January 2005, with Falkous making the following announcement on the band's website three days later:
Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falkous and Chapple. The root of these tensions can be traced back to an incident in 2004 when all of the band's equipment was stolen on the Arizona leg of their American tour (this equipment – worth over £5000 – was never recovered).[ citation needed ]
A compilation of the band's singles, Mcluskyism , came out in February 2006; a limited-edition version came with two additional CDs of B-sides (labelled as B-sides and C-sides), rarities and live recordings from their final headline performance at the University of London Union (The band would make one further live appearance on 01/12/04 supporting Shellac at the Scala in London). This compilation is, without doubt, the final chapter in Mclusky's nine-year saga, as Falkous informs in the Mcluskyism liner notes, "that's it, then. No farewell tour... no premature deaths (at time of writing), no live DVDs..."
The first Mclusky member to release material after the band's demise was Chapple, with his outfit Shooting at Unarmed Men – Chapple had dabbled with the band as a side project to Mclusky in the years prior, and wasted little time in making it his first priority after Mclusky disbanded. The band released two albums before Chapple emigrated to Australia in 2006. He has since revived the band in Australia with a new lineup, and released another album with the Australian lineup. Shooting at Unarmed Men disbanded shortly after the release of With The Youthful Energy of a Zealot. Chapple played drums with Melbourne band Poor People until 2012, and played bass and provided backing vocals for the six-piece outfit Harmony, which also featured Tom Lyngcoln of The Nation Blue.
After Falkous had conducted a handful of interviews discussing the then-fresh Mclusky breakup, he and Egglestone were not heard from publicly for a number of months. Almost immediately, rumours began to swell that the pair were collaborating with some members of also-defunct Cardiff noise-core act Jarcrew (the project, which received no official title for eighteen months, was jokingly referred to as "Jarclusky") – however, the full extent of the collaboration was not known until Falkous created an unassuming MySpace page for the group under the name Future of the Left, complete with unpolished recordings of the band's first songs. The outfit have since incorporated members of now-defunct British punk rock act Million Dead, and have (after several years of resistance from Falkous) started including Mclusky tracks in their live sets.
In 2014, Falkous announced a benefit gig to help save venue Le Pub in Newport, with a lineup consisting of Jarcrew and a set of mclusky songs played by Falkous and Jack Egglestone, joined by future of the left bassist Julia Ruzicka and Damien Sayell, vocalist of Bristol band The St. Pierre Snake Invasion. This lineup has been referred to by Falco as 'mclusky' (with inverted commas) and announced a second concert at Clwb Ifor Bach upon the quick sale of all tickets for the Newport event. Since, they have played another 'closing venue' benefit gig, in London at the soon-to-close Buffalo Bar. The following year, mclusky were announced alongside future of the left in the lineup of British music festival 2000trees.
Then known as Mclusky* (the asterisk in reference to missing members), the band reformed to play The Garage in London on 3 December 2015 to raise money for cancer research [2] with Rat the Magnificent (featuring Ian Catskilkin of Art Brut). The band have continued to play since, with Sayell ultimately being brought in as bassist as well as a vocalist. In July 2020, Falkous announced plans to record a new Mclusky album. The asterisk was ultimately dropped, confirming the return to the official moniker.
In April 2022, the band announced a commemorative 20-year anniversary tour of Mclusky Do Dallas. [3] [4] This tour, along with the band's Australian dates, was later postponed to early 2024 due to a health issue for Falkous. [5] [6] In September 2023, the band released a four-track EP – their first new music in 19 years – entitled unpopular parts of a pig. Its title track, as well as the second track "the digger you deep", are said to be lifted from the band's fourth studio album. [7]
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne, Bevan, and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
Melvins are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with either two drummers or two bassists. Since 1984, vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been constant members.
Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the riot grrrl movement, with feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren.
Built to Spill is an American indie rock band that formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1992. Centered on lead vocalist and guitarist Doug Martsch, the only permanent member, Built to Spill has released nine full-length albums since its inception.
The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their career the Move were led by guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Wood. He wrote all the group's UK singles and, from 1968, also sang lead vocals on many songs. Initially, the band had four main vocalists who divided the lead-vocal duties among themselves.
The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's current line-up consists of Mercer, alongside Yuuki Matthews, Mark Watrous, Patti King (keyboards), and Jon Sortland (drums). They are based in Portland, Oregon.
Balance of Power is the eleventh studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in 1986. It is the final album by the band to feature co-founder Bev Bevan on drums, as well as the last album to feature a significant contribution from keyboardist Richard Tandy.
Mclusky Do Dallas is the second studio album by British rock band Mclusky, released on 1 April 2002 by Too Pure.
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 Martini Henry Rifles were a British noise-punk band based in Cardiff, Wales.
The Difference Between Me and You Is that I'm Not on Fire is the third studio album from British rock band Mclusky. It was released to positive reviews by Too Pure in 2004. The two singles to be released from this album were "That Man Will Not Hang" and "She Will Only Bring You Happiness", though it was later revealed in the liner notes of Mcluskyism that "Without MSG I Am Nothing" had been intended for single release, but the band's implosion prevented this from happening.
Shooting at Unarmed Men was the music project of former Mclusky member Jon Chapple (vocals/guitar), Steve Morgan (drums), and Big Joan member Simon Jarvis (bass). The original bassist for the band's formal incarnation was King Alexander member Simon Alexander (bass/vocals), although the band had existed as a sporadic joke since circa 1999. Alexander also co-wrote the Mclusky song "Chases", from the Mclusky Do Dallas album.
Jarcrew was a five-piece dance-punk band from Ammanford, Wales. They were a relatively well known underground band for approximately five years between 2000 and their early 2005 split. They played a bizarre mixture of electronica/house and prog-rock/punk/funk that baffled audiences up and down the UK. Since disbanding, several Jarcrew off-shoots have emerged, most notably Future of the Left, a band that contained Jarcrew frontman Kelson alongside ex-mclusky members Andrew Falkous and Jack Egglestone. In 2014, the band reformed for a charity fundraiser and have since made a number of other appearances.
Mcluskyism is the final release by British rock band Mclusky. A singles and rarities package, it is released in two formats, a one disc singles only package, and a three disc format. On April 18, 2015 it was released as a one disc vinyl edition that was limited to 2000 pressings.
My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours is the first studio album by British rock band mclusky. It was initially released on Fuzzbox in 2000 and re-released by Too Pure in 2003. Andy Falkous is recorded as saying that the album started out as a collection of demos, which were later turned into album form. The album was predated by two singles, "Joy" and "Rice is Nice".
Future of the Left are an alternative rock band formed in Cardiff. The group consists of former Mclusky members Andrew Falkous and Jack Egglestone (drums) and former Million Dead bassist Julia Ruzicka.
Curses! is the debut release of Welsh band Future of the Left, released by Too Pure in 2007.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. It was released on February 3, 2009 by Slumberland Records. The band recorded the album at Honeyland Studios in Brooklyn. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released to generally warm critical reception.
Cloud Nothings is an American indie rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States, founded by singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi. It currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Dylan Baldi, drummer Jayson Gerycz, and bassist Chris Brown.
Andrew "Falco" Falkous is a British musician best known for being the founding member/frontman for the Cardiff-based punk rock outfit Mclusky, current lead singer/guitarist of the band Future of the Left and the sole member of Christian Fitness.