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The Armoury Show | |
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Origin | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Genres | New wave, post-punk, pop rock |
Years active | 1983–1988 |
Labels | Parlophone |
Past members | Richard Jobson John McGeoch Russell Webb John Doyle Ray McVeigh Dave Lockwood Ray Weston |
The Armoury Show were a British new wave band, formed in 1983 and consisting of Richard Jobson on vocals, Russell Webb on bass guitar, John McGeoch on guitar and John Doyle on drums. [1]
The band was named after The Armory Show, a famous 1913 modern art exhibition held in New York. They released six singles and one studio album in their brief existence.
The band comprised Richard Jobson, Russell Webb, John McGeoch and John Doyle. Each member had previously been in critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands; Jobson and Webb were in The Skids, whilst McGeoch and Doyle had been in post-punk pioneers Magazine. [2]
The Skids had dissolved in 1981 and Magazine in 1982, each following the release of their final albums ( Joy and Magic, Murder and the Weather , respectively). John McGeoch had left Magazine in 1980, before the recording of their last album, joining Siouxsie and the Banshees. He also replaced Stuart Adamson for a Peel session recorded by The Skids in 1981.
According to Russell Webb, in the sleeve notes of the 2013 re-issue of their album Waiting for the Floods, the intention was not to be a band, but a collective of musicians getting together to write songs and make music in the studio. McGeoch persuaded his compatriots to take their songs on the road and, following a press showcase at The Venue in London, the band signed to Parlophone and EMI America.
Their debut single, "Castles in Spain", was released in 1984, followed later that year by "We Can Be Brave Again". [2] Given the green light to record an album, the band spent four weeks at Manor Studios in rural Oxfordshire, with Public Image Ltd producer Nick Launay at the controls. The resultant album, Waiting for the Floods , and accompanying singles "Glory of Love" and a re-release of "Castles in Spain" came out in 1985. [2]
Richard Jobson spent less and less time with the band. In 1986, following the tour to promote the album, both McGeoch and Doyle left the band, [2] with the former joining Public Image Ltd. and the latter working with former Buzzcocks lead singer/guitarist Pete Shelley.
When Jobson returned from China, where he had been working as a model, he reunited with Webb, calling on Dave Lockwood (guitar) and Ray Weston (drums) to record tracks for their next album. [3] The singles "Love in Anger" and "New York City" followed. In 1988, it was announced that the band had split up, [2] with what would have been their second album Monkey Cry promoted as Richard Jobson's solo debut Badman . After a brief solo career Jobson became a television presenter and film director. Webb pursued a solo career before joining McGeoch in Public Image Ltd in 1992, making his live debut at the Reading Festival.
In 2019, it was announced that the band would be resurrected under the amended name The Armory Show with a new line up (Jobson being the only original member), featuring Nickolas Young & Rory Cowieson of Scottish shoegaze band Domiciles and Nick Hernandez of Foreignfox.[ citation needed ]
Year | Type | Format | Title |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | Single | Parlophone 7R6079 | "Castles in Spain" / "Innocents Abroad" (UK #69) |
1984 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6079 | "Castles in Spain" (Wubb Dug Mix) / "Innocents Abroad" / "Is It a Wonder" |
1985 | Single | Parlophone 7R6087 | "We Can Be Brave Again" (Remix) / "A Feeling" (UK #66) |
1985 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6087 | "We Can Be Brave Again" (Extended Version) / "A Feeling" / "Catherine" ok |
1985 | Album | LP ARM 1 / EMI 17163 / EMI 2403591 | Waiting for the Floods (UK #57) |
1985 | Cassette | MC TC-ARM 1 | Waiting for the Floods |
1985 | Single | Parlophone 7R6098 | "Glory of Love" / "Higher Than the Instrumental" (UK #92) |
1985 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6098 | "Glory of Love" (Universal Mix) / "Glory of Love" / "Higher Than the Instrumental" |
1985 | Single | Parlophone 7R6109 | "Castles in Spain" / "A Gathering" |
1985 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6109 | "Castles in Spain" / "A Gathering" / "Ring Those Bells" |
1987 | Single | Parlophone 7R6149 | "Love in Anger" / "Tender Is the Night" (UK #63) |
1987 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6149 | "Love in Anger" / "Uptown Downtown" / "Tender Is the Night" |
1987 | Single | Parlophone 7R6153 | "New York City" / "Whirlwind" |
1987 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6153 | "New York City" (John Robie Remix) / "New York City (N.Y. Agogo)" / "Whirlwind" |
1987 | 12" | Parlophone 12RX6153 | "New York City" (John Robie Dance Remix) / "New York City (NY Agogo)" / "Whirlwind" |
2001 | Album | Track Records TRK1008CD | Waiting for the Floods reissue |
2013 | Album | Cherry Red Records CDBRED564 | Waiting for the Floods Two-disc extended reissue |
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
Richard Jobson is a Scottish filmmaker who also works as a television presenter. He is also known as the singer-songwriter of the band Skids.
Magazine were a British rock band formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band. The original lineup of Magazine was composed of Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums.
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John Alexander McGeoch was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977–1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980–1982).
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The Absolute Game is the third studio album by Scottish punk rock and new wave band Skids. Recorded in 1980 and produced by Mick Glossop, it was released in September 1980 by record label Virgin. It became their most commercially successful album, reaching No. 9 in the UK Albums Chart.
Joy is the fourth studio album by Scottish punk rock and new wave band Skids. It was their first album after the departure of signature guitarist Stuart Adamson who went on to found Big Country. It represented a change of direction from rock towards folk music—amplifying the traditional Scottish element already hinted at in previous releases. This would be their last album until the release of Burning Cities over 36 years later.
Kaleidoscope is the third studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 1 August 1980 by Polydor Records. With the departure of John McKay and Kenny Morris and their replacement by two new musicians, Budgie on drums and John McGeoch on guitars, the band changed their musical direction and offered an album containing a wide variety of colors. "It was almost a different band", said Siouxsie.
Juju is the fourth studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was recorded at Surrey Sound studio with Nigel Gray as co-producer, and was released on 19 June 1981 by Polydor Records. Two singles were released from Juju: "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights".
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"Spellbound" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The group wrote it and co-produced it with Nigel Gray. It was released in 1981 by record label Polydor as the first single from the band's fourth studio album, Juju.
Magic, Murder and the Weather is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Magazine, and their final album until the band's reformation in 2009. It was released in June 1981 by record label Virgin. One single, "About the Weather", was released from the album.
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Russell Webb is a Scottish new wave bass guitarist who was member of bands such as Slik, PVC2, Zones, Skids, The Armoury Show and Public Image Ltd and collaborated with Richard Jobson, Virginia Astley and The Who.
John Doyle is an English drummer, who was a member of new wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with Magazine for a tour in February 2009.
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"Love in Anger" is a song by British new wave band The Armoury Show, released by Parlophone on 5 January 1987 as the lead single from the band's unreleased second and final studio album, Monkey Cry. The song was written by the Armoury Show and was produced by Howard Gray. "Love in Anger" peaked at number 63 in the UK Singles Chart.
"New York City" is a song by British new wave band The Armoury Show, released by Parlophone on 13 April 1987 as the second single from the band's unreleased second and final studio album, Monkey Cry. The song was written by band members Richard Jobson and Russell Webb and was produced by Howard Gray.
"Glory of Love" is a song by British new wave band The Armoury Show, released by Parlophone in June 1985 as the third single from the band's debut studio album, Waiting for the Floods. The song was written by the Armoury Show and was produced by Nick Launay. "Glory of Love" peaked at number 92 in the UK Singles Chart.