The Associates (band)

Last updated

The Associates
Associates sire.jpg
Billy Mackenzie (left) and Alan Rankine in a Sire promotional image, c. 1981
Background information
Origin Dundee, Scotland
Genres
Years active
  • 1979–1990
  • 1993 (reunion)
Labels
Past members

The Associates (or simply Associates) were a Scottish post-punk and pop band, formed in Dundee in 1979 by lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine. The band released an unauthorized cover version of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" as their debut single in 1979, which landed them a recording contract with Fiction Records. [1] They followed with their debut studio album The Affectionate Punch in 1980 and the compilation album Fourth Drawer Down in 1981, both to critical praise. [1]

Contents

They achieved commercial success in 1982 with the UK Top 10 studio album Sulk and UK Top 20 singles "Party Fears Two" and "Club Country", during which time they were associated with the New Pop movement. [2] Rankine left the group that year, leaving MacKenzie to record under the Associates name until 1990. [1] They briefly reunited in 1993. MacKenzie's suicide in 1997 was the band's end; Rankine died twenty-six years later in 2023.

History

1979–1982: Formation and independent success

Billy Mackenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine met in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1976 and formed the cabaret duo the Ascorbic Ones, [3] although Rankine claimed that this was "a fantasy band that Bill and I dreamt up to give ourselves a past". [4] In 1978, they recorded songs as Mental Torture before changing the name to the Associates.

Disappointed that their early recordings were not getting picked up, MacKenzie concocted the stunt of doing a cover of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging", without copyright permission, just six weeks after Bowie's version hit the UK Top 10. [4] Released in June 1979, this debut Associates single reached No. 15 in Record Mirror 's Scottish chart and gained them airplay on John Peel's Radio One show. [4] MacKenzie later said that the band recorded the Bowie song "to prove the point. It was a strange way of proving it, but it worked. People said, 'That is awful. How dare they!'" [5] The ensuing attention earned them a contract with Fiction Records, and their debut album, The Affectionate Punch , followed on 1 August 1980. [1] By this time the duo of MacKenzie and Rankine had been joined by bassist Michael Dempsey [6] and drummer John Murphy, [7] though in most promotional material the group were still marketed as a duo.

A string of 1981 non-album singles on the label Situation Two were compiled as Fourth Drawer Down , released that October. [8] These releases saw the band develop an interest in experimenting with unorthodox instrumentation and recording techniques, including sounds being amplified through the tube of a vacuum cleaner on the track "Kitchen Person". Also in 1981, Rankine and MacKenzie released a version of "Kites" under the name 39 Lyon Street, with Christine Beveridge on lead vocals. The B-side, "A Girl Named Property" (a remake of "Mona Property Girl" from the "Boys Keep Swinging" single), was credited to the Associates.

1982–1988: WEA/Warner years

As Situation Two's parent label Beggars Banquet [9] [10] had a labels deal with WEA International at the time (primarily for Gary Numan), the Associates found themselves signed to Warner with their releases now going out on their own Associates record label. [11] The band's breakthrough came in 1982 with the release of the single "Party Fears Two". Buoyed along by the popularity of synthpop at the time, the song reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart [3] with the band becoming one of the leading acts of the new pop movement. [12] [13] Two other hits followed, "Club Country" and "18 Carat Love Affair", a vocal version of the instrumental track "Nothinginsomethingparticular". On 14 May 1982, the band released their most commercially successful album, Sulk . Martha Ladly, of Martha and the Muffins, contributed backing vocals and keyboards to this album.

Mackenzie performing in 1985 Billy-Mackenzie-Dundee-Scotland-1985.jpg
Mackenzie performing in 1985

Rankine left the band in 1982 just before the Sulk tour. This proved disastrous for the band's career; the band was being courted by Seymour Stein of Sire Records, but without MacKenzie's willingness to tour, Stein lost interest. [14] MacKenzie continued to write and record music under the name Associates until 1990. In 1985 the album Perhaps was released and charted at No. 23 in the UK Albums Chart.

In 1988, WEA/Warner rejected the fourth Associates album The Glamour Chase considering it not commercially viable (it was later released on a two-disc set with Perhaps). However, they decided to release MacKenzie's synthpop/techno-pop cover of "Heart of Glass" [15] as a single and also put the track on the record company's Vaultage From The Electric Lighting Station compilation. This track was to be MacKenzie's last release whilst under contract to WEA in the United Kingdom, as he signed to AVL/Virgin subsidiary Circa Records (still under the Associates name at this point). "Heart of Glass" was released in September 1988 on a number of formats [16] including a 12 inch single with an anaglyphic 3-D cover (which came with 3-D glasses) and a CD single. It reached number 56 on the UK Singles Chart and was put on Popera: The Singles Collection, [17] by WEA in 1990 alongside withdrawn follow-up single "Country Boy", and a version of the MacKenzie/Boris Blank song, "The Rhythm Divine".

Between 1987 and 1992, MacKenzie worked with Blank and musical partner Dieter Meier of Swiss avant-garde outfit Yello. MacKenzie wrote the lyrics of the song "The Rhythm Divine", which can also be found on the Yello album, One Second , with lead vocals by Shirley Bassey and MacKenzie singing backing vocals. During these years MacKenzie contributed to three Yello albums: One Second (1987), Flag (1988) and Baby (1991), whilst tracks for The Glamour Chase and Outernational were recorded with Blank at Yello's recording studio. [18]

1989–1997: Circa and solo years

After his fourth album was rejected and "Country Boy" single scrapped, MacKenzie signed to AVL/Virgin subsidiary Circa Records, to release the fifth Associates album Wild and Lonely (the fourth studio album to be released during Billy MacKenzie's lifetime). [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] The album was released on 24 March 1990 and was produced by Australian record producer Julian Mendelsohn. It peaked at No. 71 on the UK Albums Chart and had three singles charting in the lower parts of the UK Singles Chart with "Fever", "Fire to Ice" and "Just Can't Say Goodbye", peaking at numbers 81, 92 and 79 respectively. [19] Wild and Lonely was the last album MacKenzie recorded under the name The Associates, as from this point his releases would go out under his own name. However, recordings were sporadic and subsequent records failed to reach the UK chart and sold far fewer than their/his early albums. In 1992, MacKenzie released an electronica-influenced solo album, Outernational, for Circa Records with limited success. [18]

In 1993, MacKenzie and Rankine began working on new material together. News of an Associates revival generated hype and speculation of a tour, and the demos recorded by the two were promising. However, MacKenzie was not fully committed to the reunion and especially touring with it, so Associates split for a final time. MacKenzie went back to his solo work, signing a deal with Nude Records and finding a new collaborative partner in Steve Aungle. [18]

Rankine later became a lecturer in music at Stow College in Glasgow, and worked with Belle and Sebastian on their 1996 debut album, Tigermilk .

1997–present: Legacy releases

MacKenzie committed suicide in 1997 at age 39, shortly after the death of his mother. [24] [25] He had been suffering from clinical depression. He was contemplating a comeback at the time with material co-written with Aungle. The albums Beyond the Sun (1997) and Eurocentric (2000) were released posthumously and, in 2004, reconstructed and expanded with new unreleased songs into the two albums Auchtermatic and Transmission Impossible. [26]

Before MacKenzie's death, almost all Associates records had been deleted. Former band member Michael Dempsey and the MacKenzie estate began a reissue programme to make sure the band's legacy continued, reissuing almost every Associates album, including a 25th anniversary edition of The Affectionate Punch in 2005. In addition to the original albums, two compilation albums were released: Double Hipness (2000), a collection of early tracks with the 1993 reunion demos; and Singles (2004), an extended version of Popera – The Singles Collection which caught up with post-1990 material and included the cover of Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging". In 2002, The Glamour Chase (recorded in the years 1985–87) was finally released as a set titled The Glamour Chase & Perhaps. Finally, Wild and Lonely and MacKenzie's solo album Outernational were repackaged with bonus tracks in 2006.

The Tom Doyle book The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy Mackenzie, first published in 1998 and reissued in 2011, documented the band's career and MacKenzie's subsequent life. [27]

Rankine died on 3 January 2023 at age 64. [28]

Legacy and influence

The Associates drew stylistically on a variety of genres, including art rock, disco, glam, minimalism, balladry and cabaret. [1] Their music has been described as post-punk, [29] synth-pop, [30] new wave [31] and experimental pop. [32] The group was hailed by the likes of Björk and U2 singer Bono. Björk stated that her "love affair with the Associates started when I was fifteen [...], it was Sulk I really got into". "I really admired the way Billy used and manipulated his voice on that record". [33] Bono said about the Associates: "We ripped them off. Billy was a great singer: I couldn't rip him off". [33] Artists who have covered "Party Fears Two", include the Divine Comedy, [34] Dan Bryk, King Creosote and Heaven 17. Journalist Simon Reynolds, called the group "great should-have-beens of British pop". [35] Chris Tighe wrote that the band have "been belated acknowledged as one of the '80s' most inspired pop groups". [36]

Ian Rankin took the title of his 2015 Inspector Rebus novel, Even Dogs in the Wild , from a track on The Affectionate Punch, and the song itself has a role in the story.

Upon news of Rankine’s passing, Ladytron wrote on social media, "No Associates = No Ladytron" while saying that he was the "creator of amongst the most joyous magnificent pop music of all time." [37]

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yello</span> Swiss music group

Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983.

<i>One Second</i> (Yello album) 1987 studio album by Yello

One Second is Yello's fifth original studio album, having been preceded by a 'new mix' compilation the previous year. Released in 1987, the album is noteworthy for featuring both Billy Mackenzie and Shirley Bassey, the latter singing vocals on "The Rhythm Divine".

<i>Flag</i> (Yello album) 1988 studio album by Yello

Flag is the sixth studio album by Swiss electronic duo Yello, released in 1988. It features an eight-minute version of "The Race", the edited version of which reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart in August of that year. "The Race" was used as a trailer for Eurosport, and the opening theme to the US quiz show It's Academic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Mackenzie</span> Scottish singer (1957–1997)

William MacArthur MacKenzie was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also had a brief solo career releasing his debut studio album, Outernational, in 1992, his only solo album released during his lifetime.

Paul Haig is a Scottish indie musician, singer and songwriter. He was originally a member of post-punk band Josef K, active between 1979 and 1982.

Michael Stephen Dempsey is an English musician, best known as the bassist for the Cure and the Associates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boys Keep Swinging</span> 1979 song by David Bowie

"Boys Keep Swinging" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released on 27 April 1979 by RCA Records in the United Kingdom as the lead single from his 1979 album Lodger. It was written by Bowie and Brian Eno and recorded in Montreux and New York City in September 1978 and March 1979. The recording utilised techniques from Eno's Oblique Strategies cards, which resulted in the musicians swapping instruments. Adrian Belew contributed a guitar solo, which he played receiving little guidance and was composited from multiple takes. The song was also built on the same chord sequence as the album track "Fantastic Voyage". Musically, "Boys Keep Swinging" contains elements of glam rock, funk and new wave, while lyrically, the song deals with the concept of gender identity, featuring various gender-bending lyrics. Bowie himself stated that the song was full of irony.

B.E.F. was a band/production company formed by former Human League members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh which became largely eclipsed by its best-known project, Heaven 17.

Alan Rankine was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cut Here</span> 2001 single by The Cure

"Cut Here" is a song by English rock band The Cure, released as a single on 29 October 2001 from their best-of compilation Greatest Hits released the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William, It Was Really Nothing</span> 1984 song by the Smiths

"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a single in August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is featured on the compilation albums Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs, as well as other best of and singles collections. In 2004, the song was ranked No. 425 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

<i>Sulk</i> 1982 studio album by the Associates

Sulk is the second studio album by the Scottish post-punk and pop band the Associates. It was released on 14 May 1982 on their own Associates imprint of Beggars Banquet Records for the UK and throughout the rest of Europe on WEA Records and in the US on 4 October by Sire Records.

<i>Then Again</i> (Paul Haig album) 2004 compilation album by Paul Haig

Then Again is a collection of rarities, remixes and lost songs by former Josef K frontman Paul Haig recorded between 1982 and 1998, including previously unreleased material. Guests include Alan Rankine, Cabaret Voltaire, Mantronik, Bernard Sumner, Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio and Finitribe.

<i>The Affectionate Punch</i>

The Affectionate Punch is the debut studio album by the Scottish post-punk and new wave band the Associates. It was released on 1 August 1980 on the Fiction label.

<i>Fourth Drawer Down</i> 1981 compilation album by the Associates

Fourth Drawer Down is a compilation album by the Scottish post-punk and new wave band the Associates, released in October 1981 by independent record label Situation Two. It compiles the A- and B-sides from the six singles the band released that year on the label. The album was re-issued in 2000 by V2 Records, containing five bonus tracks.

<i>Perhaps</i> (album) 1985 studio album by the Associates

Perhaps is the third studio album by the Scottish post-punk and pop band the Associates, released on 8 February 1985 by WEA. It is their first album without founding member, keyboardist and guitarist Alan Rankine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rhythm Divine</span> 1987 single by Yello and Shirley Bassey

"The Rhythm Divine" is a 1987 song written by Boris Blank, Dieter Meier, and Billy Mackenzie and recorded by Yello with Shirley Bassey.

<i>Wild and Lonely</i> 1990 studio album by the Associates

Wild and Lonely is the fourth studio album by the Scottish act the Associates. The album was released on 24 March 1990 by AVL/Virgin subsidiary Circa Records, a label MacKenzie had signed to after WEA/Warner rejected the fourth Associates album The Glamour Chase. Wild and Lonely was produced by Australian record producer Julian Mendelsohn, it peaked at No. 71 on the UK Albums Chart. Three singles were released from the album: "Fever", "Fire to Ice" and "Just Can't Say Goodbye", all of which failed to chart in the UK Top 40, peaking at numbers 81, 92 and 79 respectively.

MacKenzie Lea Porter is a Canadian country singer, songwriter, and actress. She has released two albums and achieved four Canada Country number ones with "About You", "These Days", "Seeing Other People", and "Pickup". She is featured on Dustin Lynch's number one Country Airplay hit "Thinking 'Bout You". As an actor she is best known for her leading role as a future-sent medic in the television series Travelers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party Fears Two</span> 1982 single by the Associates

"Party Fears Two" is a song by Scottish new wave band the Associates, written by Billy Mackenzie and Alan Rankine. It was included on their second studio album Sulk (1982) and released as both a 7-inch and 12-inch single with the preceding track on the album, "It's Better This Way" as its B-side.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ankeny, Jason. "Associates – Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Harvell, Jess. "Now That's What I Call New yeahPop!". Pitchfork . Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 Strong, Martin C. (1998). The Great Rock Discography. Times Books. ISBN   0812931114.
  4. 1 2 3 Doyle, Tom (2011). The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie. Edinburgh: Polygon.
  5. ↑ Morley, Paul (27 September 1980). "Boys Keep Scoring". NME.
  6. ↑ "BBC Radio 2 - Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies, Alan Rankine and Michael Dempsey". BBC. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Associate: An Interview with MICHAEL DEMPSEY". Electricityclub.co.uk. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Fourth Drawer Down – The Associates". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Beggars Group". Beggars.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Beggars Banquet". Shsu.edu. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "party fears two | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  12. ↑ Chan, Ange (27 February 2020). "The Associates: 'Perhaps' (Expanded Collection) reviewed » We Are Cult". Wearecult.rocks. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "The Associates: Perhaps, 2CD Expanded Digipak Collection". Cherryred.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  14. ↑ Dingwall, John (6 May 2016). "The Associates in talks to stage anniversary concerts". Dailyrecord.co.uk.
  15. ↑ "heart of glass | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "A Young Person's Guide To: Associates – Heart Of Glass". Postpunkmonk.com. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "Popera: The Singles Collection - The Associates | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 "The Vinyl Villain – SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 11)// // BTRread". Btrtoday.com.
  19. 1 2 "ASSOCIATES | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  20. ↑ "Random Jukebox: the Associates cover Blondie's Heart of Glass". Stevepafford.com. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "A Beginner's Guide to BILLY MACKENZIE - THE ELECTRICITY CLUB". Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  22. ↑ The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy Mackenzie by Tom Doyle (published by Birlinn General ISBN   9781846972096)
  23. ↑ "Wild and lonely". Recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  24. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (2 April 2007). "Billy Mackenzie Tribute". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  25. ↑ "Dead rockers and our inner ghouls". The Scotsman. 18 January 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "Billy Mackenzie: Transmission Impossible". PopMatters.com.
  27. ↑ "The Glamour Chase by Tom Doyle - The Skinny". Theskinny.co.uk.
  28. ↑ "Alan Rankine of the Associates dies aged 64". Thetimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  29. ↑ Hawking, Rom. "10 Bewilderingly Underrated Post-Punk Bands You Need to Hear". Flavorwire. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  30. ↑ Armond White (22 February 2016). "Remembering the Captain of Gay Pop and His Loveboat". Yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  31. ↑ Spitz, Marc (27 October 2009). Bowie: A Biography . Crown/Archetype. p.  296 – via Internet Archive. The Associates new wave band.
  32. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "White Car in Germany – The Associates: Song Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  33. 1 2 Doyle, Tom (2011). The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie. Polygon. ISBN   978-1846972096.
  34. ↑ Divine Comedy recorded a version of "Party Fears Two" on their album Victory for the Comic Muse in 2006, Parlophone – 00946 365372 2 1
  35. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (2 April 2009). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber. ISBN   9780571252275 . Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  36. ↑ Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). "The Associates". The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 44. ISBN   9781843531050.
  37. ↑ "Ladytron - RIP Alan Rankine". Ladytron official. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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.