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Big Flame were a post-punk/indie rock three piece band, based in Manchester, England and active from 1983 to 1986. The members were Alan Brown, Greg Keeffe (guitar) and Dil Green (drums). After a debut EP ("Sink") on their own Laughing Gun label, they joined the Ron Johnson roster for a series of mid-1980s singles as well as an appearance on the NME's C86 compilation.
A Certain Ratio are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 in Flixton, Greater Manchester by Peter Terrell and Simon Topping, with additional members Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson (drums), and Martha Tilson (vocals) joining soon after.
The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band. The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" was a UK Number 1 single in December 1986.
Alien Sex Fiend are an English gothic rock band, formed in London, England in 1982. The current lineup of the band consists of Nik Fiend and Mrs Fiend. Five of the group's albums and 12 of their singles reached top 20 positions in the UK indie charts in the period up to 1987.
Shop Assistants were a Scottish indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'. After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986. After splitting in 1987, with singer Alex Taylor moving on to The Motorcycle Boy, they reformed for two further singles in 1990.
Stump were an Irish-English indie/experimental/rock group consisting of Mick Lynch (vocals), Rob McKahey (drums), Kev Hopper (bass) and Chris Salmon (guitar). Their music has been described as a mixture of Captain Beefheart and The Fall, and they are best known for their influential, critically acclaimed, but poor selling 1988 album, A Fierce Pancake.
Bogshed were an Indie band formed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, in 1985 by Phil Hartley (vocals), Mark McQuaid (guitar), Mike Bryson (bass) and Tristan King (drums). They released two albums, two EPs and two singles before splitting up in 1987.
A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band, who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP Loudhailer Songs and début album I am John's Pancreas brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel, for whom they recorded four sessions. Their career was brought to a halt with the death of guitarist Rick Aitken in 1989. Founder member and songwriter Vince Hunt revived the band with a new line-up for a series of UK-wide dates in 2014 marking the 25th anniversary of Aitken's death, and the band continues to play live.
The June Brides are an English indie pop group, formed in London in 1983, by Phil Wilson and Simon Beesley of International Rescue. Influenced by Postcard-label bands such as Josef K and punk-era bands such as Buzzcocks, The Desperate Bicycles and The Television Personalities, their mix of guitar pop with viola and trumpet formed a blueprint for many of the indie pop bands that would follow.
Scars were a Scottish post-punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland, and were a part of that city's music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Age of Chance were a British alternative rock-dance crossover band from Leeds, England, active from 1983 to 1991. They were perhaps most known for their mutant metallic cover of Prince's "Kiss" which topped the UK Indie Chart in 1986, and peaked at No. 50 in the UK Singles Chart in January the following year. Despite signing for major label Virgin, and being favourites with the UK music press, they never enjoyed a major hit in the UK, although "Don't Get Mad… Get Even" reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart.
Ron Johnson Records was a UK independent record label based in Long Eaton operating between 1983 and 1988. The label contributed five tracks to the NME's C86 compilation. Run by Dave Parsons, the label released records by artists such as Big Flame, The Shrubs, A Witness, The Great Leap Forward, Stump, The Mackenzies, Twang and The Ex. Despite the press attention and critical acclaim for the label's bands and releases, sales were insufficient to make the label profitable and financial difficulties brought it to an end in 1988.
The Three Johns were an English post-punk/indie rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, England, originally consisting of guitarist Jon Langford, vocalist John Hyatt and bassist Phillip "John" Brennan, augmented by a drum machine.
The Leyton Buzzards a.k.a. The Buzzards were an English rock band, active between 1976 and 1980, best known for their minor hit single, "Saturday Night ".
BOB were an indie pop band from North London, England, formed in 1986.
The Very Things were an English Dadaist post-punk band from Redditch, Worcestershire, England, formed in 1983 and active until 1988.
The Room were a new wave band from Liverpool formed in late 1979. They released three albums and several singles before breaking up in 1985. Two of the band members went on to form Benny Profane, Dust and Dead Cowboys.
Twang were an indie band from Manchester/Preston, England, signed to Ron Johnson Records. Their first release was a flexi-disc, "What's The Rub" in 1985 distributed with Debris magazine. Debut single proper, "Sharp" was released on the Stet label, and later released by Ron Johnson, reaching number 19 on the UK Indie Chart in 1986. This was followed by "Kick and Complain", which reached number 35. A final 12-inch release, "Snap Back", was issued late in 1987. The band were bracketed with other indie acts as part of the 'shambling' genre. However the band and similar hard edged label mates Big Flame and The MacKenzies somewhat disliked what they saw as lazy journalism.
Serious Drinking were an English humorous punk rock band from Norwich, England, whose lyrical themes often covered football and drinking.
Cud are an English indie rock band formed in Leeds in 1987. The original line-up included vocalist Carl Puttnam, guitarist/keyboardist Mike Dunphy, bassist William Potter and drummer Steve Goodwin.
References
- ↑ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 0-85112-579-4.
- 1 2 Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
