Strontium 90 (band)

Last updated

Strontium 90
Also known asThe Elevators
Origin London, England
Genres Pop rock
Years active1977
LabelsPanagea/Ark 21
Spinoff of Gong, The Police
Past members Mike Howlett, Sting, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland

Strontium 90 were a short-lived British band active in 1977 whose members were Mike Howlett (bass, vocals) from the band Gong, Sting (vocals, guitar, bass), Stewart Copeland (drums), and Andy Summers (guitar). The band is most notable for introducing Summers to Sting and Copeland, who as a trio would go on to massive success as the Police.

Strontium 90 was formed in mid-1977 by Howlett after he quit Gong and recruited Sting and Summers to participate in a new project. Chris Cutler was unavailable to play drums, so Sting brought along Copeland, with whom he had been playing in an early lineup of the Police.

Strontium 90 recorded several demo tracks at Virtual Earth Studios, and then performed at a Gong reunion concert in Paris on 28 May 1977. [1] An album with some of these studio and live tracks was released in 1997 under the title Strontium 90: Police Academy on Ark 21 Records. The foursome also performed at a London club as The Elevators in July 1977. [2]

Footnotes

  1. Summers 2006 , pp. 168–169.
  2. Summers 2006 , pp. 170.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Police</span> English rock band

The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting, Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland, and remained unchanged for the rest of the band's history. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s. Emerging in the British new wave scene, they played a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gong (band)</span> International progressive/psychedelic rock band

Gong are a psychedelic rock band that incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into their musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Band members have included Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, Pierre Moerlen, Bill Laswell and Theo Travis. Others who have played on stage with Gong include Don Cherry, Chris Cutler, Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Dave Stewart and Tatsuya Yoshida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Copeland</span> American drummer and composer (born 1952)

Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Police, he played drums with English rock band Curved Air from 1975 to 1976. As a composer, his work includes the films Wall Street (1987), Men at Work (1990), Good Burger (1997), and We Are Your Friends (2015); the television shows The Equalizer (1985–1989), The Amanda Show (1999–2002), and Dead Like Me (2003–2004); and video games such as the Spyro series (1998–present) and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001). He has also written various pieces of ballet, opera, and orchestral music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Summers</span> British guitarist

Andrew James Summers is an English guitarist who was a founding member of the rock band the Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated with other musicians, composed film scores, written fiction, and exhibited his photography in galleries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Hillage</span> British guitarist

Stephen Simpson Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo recordings he has been a member of Khan, Gong and System 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Howlett</span> Musical artist

Michael John Gilmour Howlett is a bass guitar player, record producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxanne (The Police song)</span> 1978 single by the Police

"Roxanne" is a song by British rock band the Police. The song was written by lead singer and bassist Sting and was released as a single on 7 April 1978, in advance of their debut album Outlandos d'Amour, released on 2 November. It was written from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute. When re-released on 12 April 1979, the song peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walking on the Moon</span> 1979 single by the Police

"Walking on the Moon" is a reggae song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to become the band's second No. 1 hit in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Padovani</span> French musician

HenryPadovani is a French musician, noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to August 1977 and was replaced by Andy Summers, who had originally been part of the band as a second guitarist. Following his departure from the band, Padovani was handed the rhythm guitar spot with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, before forming his own band, The Flying Padovanis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Message in a Bottle (The Police song)</span> 1979 single by the Police

"Message in a Bottle" is a song by British rock band the Police. It was released as the lead single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). Written by the band's lead singer and bassist Sting, the song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island, who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. A year later, he has not received any sort of response, and despairs, thinking he is destined to be alone. The next day, he sees "a hundred billion bottles" on the shore, finding out that there are more people like him out there. Over the course of the song, Sting mentions sending an S.O.S. 31 times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic</span> 1981 single by the Police

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by the British rock band the Police from their fourth studio album, Ghost in the Machine (1981). The song, notable for featuring a pianist, dates back to a demo recorded in the house of Mike Howlett in the autumn of 1976. It was also a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981 and hit No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.

<i>Gong est Mort, Vive Gong</i> 1977 live album by Gong

Gong est Mort, Vive Gong is a double live album by the progressive rock group Gong, recorded on 28 May 1977 at the Hippodrome, Paris, France, and originally released in 1977 as a double LP by Tapioca Records, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bed's Too Big Without You</span> 1980 single by the Police

"The Bed's Too Big Without You" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the final single from their second studio album Reggatta de Blanc (1979). It was written by lead vocalist and bassist Sting. An alternate version was released as a single in the UK in 1980 in the set Six Pack in conjunction with the re-release of the Police's earlier singles "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", "So Lonely", "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirits in the Material World</span> 1981 single by the Police

"Spirits in the Material World" is a song by the British rock trio the Police, written by Sting. It is the opening track for their 1981 album Ghost in the Machine. It was released as a single in 1981 and reached No. 12 in the United Kingdom and No. 11 in the US in early 1982.

<i>Strontium 90: Police Academy</i> 1997 studio album by Strontium 90

Strontium 90: Police Academy is the only album by Strontium 90, released by Mike Howlett in 1997. This album consists of live tracks recorded at Gong's reunion concert in Paris on 28 May 1977, five studio tracks recorded in London just before the concert, and Sting's solo demo of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic".

<i>Gong Live Etc.</i> 1977 live album by Gong

Gong Live Etc. is a live album by Gong, recorded between 1973 and 1975 and originally released in 1977. It is a set of live recordings, studio out-takes and BBC session recordings spanning the years 1973 to 1975.

<i>Xitintoday</i> 1978 studio album by Nik Turners Sphynx

Xitintoday is a studio album released by Nik Turner's Sphynx in 1978. It was produced by Steve Hillage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daevid Allen</span> Australian musician (1938–2015)

Christopher David Allen, known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bring On the Night (song)</span> 1979 single by the Police

"Bring on the Night" is a song by British rock band the Police. Written by the band's bassist and vocalist Sting, the song appeared as the fourth track on the band's second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979).

References