The Railway Children | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Wigan, Greater Manchester, England |
| Genres | New wave [1] |
| Years active | 1984–1991, 1996, 2016–2019. |
| Labels | Factory, Virgin, Ether |
| Members |
|
The Railway Children are a British indie guitar band, formed in Wigan in 1984, by Gary Newby [2] (songwriter/vocals/guitar/keyboards), Brian Bateman (rhythm/guitar), Guy Keegan (drums), and Stephen Hull (bass). [3]
Factory Records recorded their debut single "A Gentle Sound" in 1986. This was followed by their first album, Reunion Wilderness in 1987, which topped the UK Indie Chart. [2] They left Factory shortly afterwards and were signed to Virgin Records. [3]
1988 saw the release of their second album, Recurrence, on Virgin Records, and support tours with R.E.M. in Europe (Work Tour) and The Sugarcubes in the US. A national chart hit eluded them with singles "In the Meantime", "Somewhere South" and "Over and Over". The US-only promo "A Pleasure" was a commercial/college rock hit. In 1990, they released Native Place , an album that saw the band take a more pop oriented direction, with keyboard textures coming more to the fore than previously. "Every Beat of the Heart" became a top 40 hit in the UK with a peak at No. 24, [4] and the song became a No. 1 hit on the newly founded Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. [5]
The band parted with Virgin Records in 1992, and broke up soon after. [3] Keegan later had a spell in the Wigan-based folk rock band The Tansads, The Crash Band, and The Ultras, while Hull and Bateman left music for good.
Newby continued solo, [3] and has since released several albums as the Railway Children: Dream Arcade (1997, Ether Records), Gentle Sound (2002, Ether Records) and two collections of rare recordings: Rarities #1 in 2007 and Rarities #2 in 2010; the latter available only by download from his official site. Newby spent several years in Japan from 2002 onwards, writing/arranging music and lyrics for several major Japanese artists, including Anna Tsuchiya, Every Little Thing, V6, Detroit Metal City, Sailor Moon and Yoshikuni Douchin.
In 2016, the original line up of Newby, Keegan, Hull and Bateman decided to get together purely for a series of live dates. They went on to play several times over the following two years, including the NYC Popfest, the Shiiine On Weekender and concerts in Manchester, Berlin and London as well as a hometown gig at the Wigan Diggers Festival. Their final concert was at the Borderline, London in December 2018, after which Hull and Bateman decided to bow out of performing for good.[ citation needed ]
| Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Indie [6] | UK [4] | ||||
| 1987 | Reunion Wilderness | Factory Records | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Recurrence | Virgin Records | — | 96 | |
| 1990 | Native Place | — | 59 | ||
| 1997 | Dream Arcade | Ether Records | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt. [5] | UK Indie [6] | UK [4] [7] | ||
| 1986 | "A Gentle Sound" | — | 6 | — |
| 1987 | "Brighter" | — | 3 | — |
| 1988 | "In the Meantime" | — | — | 95 |
| "Somewhere South" | — | — | — | |
| "Over and Over" | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "Every Beat of the Heart" | 1 | — | 24 |
| "Music Stop" | — | — | 66 | |
| "So Right" | — | — | 68 | |
| 1991 | "Something So Good" | — | — | 57 |
| 2002 | "Skinship" | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||
Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, amongst other genres. The band initially polarized audiences within the hardcore punk scene of California's Inland Empire and then found wider acceptance and, eventually, an international audience. Their strong iconoclasm and emphasis on do-it-yourself values proved influential to the burgeoning indie rock movement.
InMe are an English alternative metal band originally formed in Brentwood, Essex in 1996.
Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band recruited Larne bassist Michael McKeegan. The band signed with major label A&M Records in 1992, for which they released four albums, most notably Troublegum in 1994 and Infernal Love in 1995. Ewing's departure in early 1996 preceded the arrivals of his replacement Graham Hopkins and Martin McCarrick on cello and guitar. Neil Cooper replaced Hopkins on drums in 2002. The band have remained a three-piece since the departure of McCarrick in 2004.
Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2021. Their track "Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globally licensed for promotional and advertising campaigns. The single was also nominated for a Grammy award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1991, as was its album, Doubt. They also achieved chart success with the songs "Real Real Real", "International Bright Young Thing" and "Info Freako".
Turin Brakes are an English band, comprising original duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, and long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer. They had a UK top 5 hit in 2003 with their song "Painkiller ". Since starting out in 1999, the band have sold around one million records worldwide. They are currently signed to Cooking Vinyl.
James are an English rock band from Manchester, formed in 1982. They achieved popularity during the 1990s, with four top-10 hits on the UK Singles Chart and nine top-10 placings on the UK Albums Chart. The band's best-known singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", "She's a Star" and "Laid". "Laid" also became a hit on American college radio. Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but members reunited in January 2007 and have since released a further seven albums. Live performance has continually remained a central part of the band's output. As of 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.
Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single "Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and the core members of the band also charted in Canada and internationally as M + M.
Starsailor are an English post-Britpop band, formed in 2000. Since their formation the band has included guitarist and vocalist James Walsh, drummer Ben Byrne, bassist James Stelfox and keyboardist Barry Westhead. They are best known for their 2003 single "Silence Is Easy", which reached number 9 in the UK, and "Four to the Floor", which reached number one in France as well as the top five in Australia.
"Today" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, written by lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan. The song, though seemingly upbeat, contains dark lyrics; Corgan wrote the song about a day in which he was having suicidal thoughts. The contrast between the grim subject matter of the song and the soft instrumental part during the verses, coupled with use of irony in the lyrics, left many listeners unaware of the song's tale of depression and desperation. The song alternates between quiet, dreamy verses and loud choruses with layered, distorted guitars.
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a compilation album of singles by English rock band the Who, released in 1971 as Track 2406 006 in the UK and as Decca DL 79184 in the US. It entered the US Billboard 200 chart on 20 November 1971, peaking at number 11, and the UK chart on 3 December 1971, peaking at number 9.
Jackyl is an American rock band formed in 1991. Their sound has been described as hair metal and southern rock. Their self-titled debut album has sold more than a million copies in the United States with hit singles like "Down on Me" and "When Will It Rain". The band is best known for the song "The Lumberjack", which features a chainsaw solo by lead singer Jesse James Dupree.
"Rocket" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was the fourth and final single from their second album, Siamese Dream, and was written by Billy Corgan. The song charted in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, as well as on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It was one of the few singles that did not appear on the Smashing Pumpkins' greatest hits album Rotten Apples.
Doctor and the Medics is a British glam rock band formed in London in 1981. The group was most successful during the 1980s and is best known for their cover of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The band currently performs with a newer and established line-up. As well as previously being classed a tribute act to various artists, they include many of their original songs in their live set. The group's musical style includes neo-psychedelia, glam rock, new wave and pop rock.
Theatre of Hate are a British post-punk band formed in London, England, in 1980.
My Vitriol are a British alternative rock band, formed in 1999 in London. The band currently comprises singer and guitarist Som Wardner, drummer Ravi Kesavaram, guitarist Seth Taylor and bassist Tatia Starkey. The band had success with their debut album Finelines in 2001, which spawned three top-40 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart, before announcing a hiatus in 2002. The band were credited as spearheading a new shoegazing movement, dubbed nu gaze. They released new material in 2007, and released limited fanbase album The Secret Sessions in October 2016. The band name is taken from the Graham Greene novel Brighton Rock.
The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk.
The Mock Turtles are an English indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s. Their most famous song "Can You Dig It?", which was released in the UK in 1991, charted at number 18. When the song was re-released in slightly remixed form in 2003, it again reached the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.
Sophia is a British indie rock band consisting of Robin Proper-Sheppard—former member of The God Machine—and the Sophia collective, a group of musicians who collaborate with Sophia. "Oh My Love" from the album People are like Seasons became an indie hit in several countries.
British pop music is popular music, produced commercially in the United Kingdom. It emerged in the mid-to late 1950s as a softer alternative to American rock 'n' roll. Like American pop music it has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, as well as that of the Singles Chart usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs. While these basic elements of the genre have remained fairly constant, pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, particularly borrowing from the development of rock music, and utilising key technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. From the British Invasion in the 1960s, led by The Beatles, British pop music has alternated between acts and genres with national appeal and those with international success that have had a considerable impact on the development of the wider genre and on popular music in general
Native Place is an album by the English band the Railway Children, released in 1990. The band broke up after the album's release, in part due to EMI's acquisition of Virgin Records.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
