The Happy Family (band)

Last updated
The Happy Family (band)
OriginScotland
Genres Post punk
Years active1981 (1981) – 1983 (1983)
Labels 4AD Records
Les Temps Modernes
Past members
  • Nick Currie
  • Malcolm Ross
  • Dave Weddell
  • Paul Mason
  • Ronnie Torrance
  • Neil Martin

The Happy Family were an early-1980s post punk band from Scotland, featuring Momus and members of Josef K.

Contents

History

The band was initially formed in 1981 by Nick Currie (vocals, guitar), who had dropped out of college to form the band, [1] Malcolm Ross (guitar), Dave Weddell (bass) of Josef K and Paul Mason. After a debut EP on 4AD Records in March 1982, they expanded to a 5-piece with the recruitment of former Josef K and Boots For Dancing drummer Ronnie Torrance, keyboard player Neill Martin. [2] The band's debut album, The Man on Your Street was issued on 4AD in November 1982 (later reissued on CD in 1992 with the EP tracks added). The band split in 1983, Currie frustrated by the indifference of 4AD towards them (although he later cited poor sales as the reason), [3] with Currie embarking on a solo career. [2] Some demos the band had recorded were released on a cassette album entitled This Business of Living in 1984 on the Les Temps Modernes label (later known as LTM).

Discography

Singles

Albums

Related Research Articles

Swans (band) American experimental rock band

Swans are an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Gira. One of few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.

Cocteau Twins Scottish rock band

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often abandon recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative rock subgenre of dream pop.

Ultravox

Ultravox were a British New Wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".

Midge Ure Scottish musician

James Ure is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, Rich Kids and Visage, and as the frontman of Ultravox. In 1984, he co-wrote and produced the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which has sold 3.7 million copies in the UK. The song is the second highest-selling single in UK chart history. Ure co-organised Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 with Bob Geldof. He acts as a trustee for the charity and also serves as an ambassador for Save the Children.

Momus (musician) British songwriter and author

Nicholas "Nick" Currie, more popularly known under the artist name Momus, is a Scottish songwriter, author, blogger, and former journalist for Wired.

The F.U.'s are a hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. They formed in 1981 as a three-piece band, released two records and appeared on the compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A. before changing their name to Straw Dogs in 1986 to market themselves as a heavy metal act. In 2010 The F.U.’s reformed under their original moniker.

Justin Currie Musical artist

Justin Robert Currie is a Scottish singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the band Del Amitri.

Josef K were a Scottish post-punk band, active between 1979 and 1982, who released singles on the Postcard Records label. The band was named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. Although they released just one album while together and achieved only moderate success, they have since proved influential on many bands that followed.

Xmal Deutschland, often written as X-Mal Deutschland, was a musical group from Hamburg, West Germany, which existed from 1980 to 1990. Founded in 1980 with a completely female line-up, they became chart hit makers both within, and outside, their native country. The lead singer of the band was vocalist Anja Huwe. Xmal Deutschland's last album was released in 1989.

The Pandoras American female garage punk band

The Pandoras is an all-female garage punk band from Los Angeles, California who were active from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed. From the beginning, the band found a strong following in the Hollywood garage rock and Paisley Underground scene. The Pandoras enjoyed strong radio support from DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. The band graduated from the garage rock sound to a more contemporary, hard rock style in later years, spawning the off-shoot band The Muffs. The Pandoras founder/singer/songwriter, Paula Pierce, died on August 10, 1991, of a brain aneurysm at the age of 31. The Muffs front-woman/founder Kim Shattuck who played bass in the Pandoras from 1985 to 1990 passed in October 2nd, 2019 from ALS. Shattuck had appeared as lead singer/lead guitarist of the reunited Pandoras in recent years, until her passing.

Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and future Operation Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. They grew out of the East Bay scene, centered on 924 Gilman Street, and had an important influence on later East Bay bands such as Operation Ivy, Green Day and punk rock in general.

Anti-Pasti are a British punk rock band, founded by vocalist Martin Roper and guitarist Dugi Bell in 1978, featuring Kev Nixon on drums and Will Hoon on bass guitar. Later they were joined by a second guitarist, Ollie Hoon. Their first album, The Last Call, spent seven weeks in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 31. Roper left the band in 1982, and Anti-Pasti effectively ended until reformations in both 1995 and 2012.

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.

Juluka was a South African music band formed in 1969 by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. Juluka means "sweat" in Zulu, and was the name of a bull owned by Mchunu. The band was closely associated with the mass movement against apartheid.

Jude Anthony Cole is an American singer, songwriter, manager, and record producer. After signing to Reprise Records, Cole's solo career began with his eponymous debut studio album in 1987, which was followed up 4 subsequent releases until 2000. From then, he outsourced his talent onto managing, producing, and co-writing for the band Lifehouse, whom Cole took under his wing. He is the co-founder of the Ironworks music label alongside actor Kiefer Sutherland.

And Also the Trees

And Also the Trees are an English post-punk band, formed in 1979 in Inkberrow, Worcestershire. They are characterised by their poetic lyrics and evocative music which are strongly influenced by the native English countryside.

Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.

The Pale Fountains were an English band formed in Liverpool in 1980, and composed of Mick Head (vocalist/guitarist), Chris McCaffery (bassist), Thomas Whelan (drummer), trumpet player Andy Diagram (horns) and Ken Moss (Guitar/Bass). Diagram was simultaneously a member of Dislocation Dance for most of the Pale Fountains' existence.

Kendra Smith is an American musician who was a founding member of The Dream Syndicate, a member of Opal, and later recorded as a solo artist.

<i>Hypnoprism</i> Album by Momus

Hypnoprism is an album by Scottish musician Momus. It was released on 27 September 2010 through independent label Analog Baroque in the United Kingdom, and in the United States by American Patchwork, distributed on CD by Darla Records.

References

  1. Chun, Kimberley (2001) "SF GATE INTERVIEW: The Cutting Remarks And Handheld Love Songs of Momus", SF Gate
  2. 1 2 Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, ISBN   0-86241-913-1
  3. Louv, Jason (2002) "Momus" (interview), Disinformation