 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2010) |
The Ukrainians | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Leeds, England |
| Genres | Folk rock |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Members | Peter Solowka Len Liggins Steve Tymruk Paul Weatherhead James Howe Woody |
| Website | the-ukrainians.com |
The Ukrainians are a British band, which plays traditional Ukrainian music, heavily influenced by western post-punk.
The Ukrainians were formed in 1990 by Wedding Present guitarist Peter Solowka, with singer/violinist Len Liggins and mandolin player Roman Remeynes, after all three had played on the Wedding Present's Ukrainian John Peel Sessions recordings (Ukrainski Vistupi v Johna Peela, released 1989). Following the success of that release, the trio began composing and recording in Ukrainian as a separate band.
In 1991, their first EP, Oi Divchino, was awarded Single of the Week by British music weekly, NME. [1] Notably, the video for this release was filmed in pre-revolution Kyiv making them the first western band to produce a video entirely in Eastern Europe. [1]
In the same year, Solowka left the Wedding Present, later claiming that he had been kicked out, the success of the Ukrainian project making him the scapegoat for the band's lack of mainstream success. [2]
Since 1991, the band has released seven studio albums as well as various live albums and EPs, all without chart success in the UK. They continue to tour regularly, especially in Poland and England. They celebrated 20 years of the band in 2011 with a tour of British Ukrainian clubs.
Besides Solowka, Liggins and Remeynes, band members have included:
The current line-up comprises Liggins, Solowka, Tymruk, Wood, Weatherhead and Howe.
Albums and EPs and singles include:
Men Without Hats are a Canadian new wave and synth-pop band, originally from Montreal, Quebec. Their music is characterized by the baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk, as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing. They achieved their greatest popularity in the 1980s with "The Safety Dance", a worldwide top ten hit, and "Pop Goes the World". After a hiatus for most of the 1990s and 2000s, Doroschuk reformed the band in 2010, and released Love in the Age of War (2012). The group, based in Vancouver, has continued to perform, including tour dates announced in support of the release of two studio albums, Men Without Hats Again , in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Vigilantes of Love was an American rock band fronted by Bill Mallonee, with many secondary players drawn from the musician pool in and around Athens, Georgia, United States. In its later manifestations in the later 1990s and early 2000s, Mallonee usually sang, played lead and rhythm guitar and harmonica, although in earlier bands he played drums.
Värttinä is a Finnish folk music band that started as a project by Sari and Mari Kaasinen in 1983 in the village of Rääkkylä, in Karelia, the southeastern region of Finland. Many transformations have taken place in the band since then. Värttinä shot into fame with the release of their 1991 album Oi Dai. As of 2009, the band consists of three lead female vocalists supported by three acoustic musicians. The vocalists sing in the Karelian dialect of the Finnish language.
The Popes are a band originally formed by Shane MacGowan and Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness, who play a blend of rock, Irish folk and Americana.
Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They began as a trio made up of Sheff and friends he had met in his native state of New Hampshire but, over time, have gone through many lineups.
The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, by members of The Lost Pandas. The band has been led by vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band's only constant member.
Gogol Bordello is an American punk rock band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 by musicians from all over the world and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Romani and Ukrainian music mixed with punk and dub, incorporating accordion and violin.
The Blood are an English, London-based punk rock band, formed in 1982. Led by Cardinal Jesus Hate and JJ Bedsore, the band formed in the early 1980s under the name "Coming Blood". Their music is a blend of hardcore punk, Oi!, heavy metal, football chants and shock rock.
Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group which is noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Frank Orrall founded the band in Hawaii in 1984, initially as a solo project. In 1985 Orrall formed the first line-up of PDP to perform its first concert at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The band embarked on a yearlong street performance busking tour across North America. They eventually settled down in Austin, Texas in 1987, where they recorded their first three albums. In 1992, the band relocated to Chicago and they began to incorporate orchestral arrangements and elements of electronic, house music, and soul music into their acoustic rock style. The membership of Poi Dog Pondering has evolved from album to album, with Frank Orrall a constant player since the inception of the band.
Ukrainian John Peel Sessions is a compilation album by The Wedding Present, originally gathering their first three Ukrainian language John Peel radio sessions. It was scheduled to be released in late 1988 by their own record company, Reception Records, but was ultimately released in February 1989 by their new record label RCA.
Seamonsters is the third studio album by English rock band The Wedding Present. It was recorded in ten days in 1991 by American producer Steve Albini at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Albini had earlier recorded two EPs with the group; Brassneck and 3 Songs and, with those records, Seamonsters has a rougher, harsher sound than the group's earlier two albums.
Blitz were an English punk rock band from New Mills, Derbyshire, formed in 1980 which recorded several singles, EPs and albums.
Peter Solowka or Solovka is a musician of Ukrainian and Yugoslavian descent. He has been involved in music since 1985, most notably as guitarist with The Wedding Present from their inception until 1991, and then with The Ukrainians until the present day.
Asia featuring John Payne is a British–American rock group band formed in 2007 following a schism in the lineup of Asia. The band is a continuation of singer and bassist John Payne's career as the band's frontman from 1991 to 2006, performing songs recorded before and during this time. In December 2017, Payne and keyboardist Erik Norlander formed a new group, Dukes of the Orient, with various members and ex-members of Asia featuring John Payne as collaborators. Asia featuring John Payne remains active as a touring stage show.
FliT is a Ukrainian–American punk rock band that was formed in 2001 in Ivano-Frankivsk. Influenced by SoCal punk, FliT crafted their own brand of music and cultivated a massive following, releasing three albums, touring Europe and playing multiple festivals. They themselves call their musical direction as "intelligent punk rock".
Simon Smith has been the drummer with several British Indie rock bands, most notably The Wedding Present from Leeds, which he joined in 1988, and also worked with its offshoot The Ukrainians.
Tse Tse Fly were an alternative rock group from Leeds, England, formed in 1988 by former A.C. Temple guitarist Paul Dorrington, along with Jayne Lockey and Simon Cleave. They released several EPs and an album before splitting up in 1994. All three original members went on to join The Wedding Present.
Markus Krunegård is a Swedish-Finnish singer and songwriter.
Teoriia Gvaltu – a Ukrainian music band that plays in the genres of street punk, ska and folk punk.
Booze & Glory is a Polish-British Oi! band from London, formed in 2009.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
 | This article on a United Kingdom band or other musical ensemble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
