Delta 5 -

Delta 5 was an English post-punk band that released three 1979–80 Rough Trade singles and the 1981 album See the Whirl.

Members: Bethan Peters (bass, vocals), Ros Allen (bass, vocals), Julz Sale (vocals, guitar, 1978-81), Kelvin Knight (drums, 1979-1981), Alan Riggs (guitar, 1979-81), Jacqui Callis (vocals, guitar, 1981-82), Graeme Haigh (drums, 1981-82)

Formation

Delta 5 formed in early 1979 at Leeds University when guitarist–singer Julz Sale teamed with two bassist classmates, Ros Allen and Bethan Peters. They soon added drummer Kelvin Knight and guitarist Alan Riggs of unsigned locals the Dead Beats. The London indie label Rough Trade added Delta 5 to its growing roster of post-punk talent.

First Three Singles

In October 1979, Delta 5 debuted with the single “Mind Your Own Business” backed with “Now That You’ve Gone,” both co-produced by the band and Gang of Four manager Rob Warr.

A. “Mind Your Own Business” (3:13)
B. “Now That You’ve Gone” (4:13)

Delta 5 recorded the single at London’s Workhouse Studios, where Mekons guitarist Jon Langford provided auxiliary musicianship and provided the green–black sleeve illustration, which presents the song words and member credits in a dense cluster of line art.

“Mind Your Own Business” appears on Wanna Buy a Bridge? (A Rough Trade Compilation of Singles), a 1980 Rough Trade comp with cuts by Cabaret Voltaire (“Nag Nag Nag”), Essential Logic (“Aerosol Burns”), The Pop Group (“We Are All Prostitutes”), The Raincoats (“In Love”), Robert Wyatt (“At Last I Am Free”), Scritti Politti (“Skank Bloc Bologna”), Spizzenergi (“Soldier Soldier”), Swell Maps (“Read About Seymour”), and Young Marble Giants (“Final Day”).

On February 4, 1980, Delta 5 performed their first of two sessions for BBC Radio One DJ John Peel. The five-song session (“Delta 5,” “Colour,” “Make Up,” “Anticipation,” “You”) aired on February 11 and re-aired four times between March and December.

In May 1980, Delta 5 released their second single: “You” backed with “Anticipation,” both co-produced by Warr and co-written between he band, Langford, and drummer Simon Best of Scottish post-punks Flowers.

A. “You” (3:51)
B. “Anticipation” (2:11)

Langford illustrated the magenta–white “You” sleeve in the same style as its predecessor with ‘etched’ doodles and words, including eight instances of the name Delta 5.

“You” appears on Clear Cut, a 1981 Japanese Rough Trade comp with cuts by The Fall (“City Hobgoblins”), Girls at Our Best (“Politics”), Josef K (“Kind of Funny”), Orange Juice (“Simply Thrilled Honey”), The Red Crayola (“Born In Flames”), and This Heat (“Health and Efficiency”). In 1982, the Osaka pop-punk trio Shonen Knife covered “You” with Japanese lyrics as “Saboten” (“Cactus”) for their debut album Minna Tanoshiku.

On September 2, Delta 5 performed four songs (“Triangle,” “Journey,” “Try,” “Leaving”) for their second Peel session (aired 9/11/80).

In November 1980, Delta 5 released their third single: “Try” backed with “Colour,” which features Nite People trumpeter Jeff Evans and Bad Manners saxophonists Chris Kane and Andrew Marson.

A. “Try” (3:05)
B. “Colour” (2:03)

Delta 5 cut the two sides in September 1980 at The Point, a 24-track studio in London’s Belgravia district also used by the Thompson Twins for their first two singles (both 1980).

In 1981, Rough Trade licensed the first three Delta 5 singles to the Italian indie Base Records, which gathered them on an EP titled 6.

Meanwhile, Delta 5 jumped ship to PRE, the nascent reggae/post-punk subsidiary of Charisma Records.

See the Whirl

Delta 5 released their singular album, See the Whirl, in 1981 on PRE. It contains a re-recording of their second b-side (“Anticipation”) and their fourth a-side (“Shadow”), plus twelve exclusive originals.

Alan Riggs and Kelvin Knight both play marimba on “Different Fur.” Their Dead Beats bandmate Melv Jefferson adds syndrums and backing vocals.

London-based American pianist Michael McEvoy plays on four tracks and conducts horn charts, performed by Steve Bishop and brothers John and Steve Sidwell (NYJO). Veteran steel guitarist B.J. Cole (Cochise) plays on “Triangle.”

A1. “Innocenti” (2:03)
A2. “Final Scene” (2:42)
A3. “Circuit” (1:59)
A4. “Open Life” (3:39)
A5. “Trail” (2:57)
A6. “Shadow” (2:30)
A7. “Delta 5” (2:05)
A8. “Anticipation” (2:14)
B1. “Journey” (2:54)
B2. “Make Up” (2:51)
B3. “Triangle” (3:34)
B4. “Waiting” (2:29)
B5. “Telephone” (4:23)
B6. “Different Fur” (2:40)

Delta 5 lifted “Shadow” as a single backed with the non-album “Leaving.”

B. “Leaving” (2:45)

Sessions occurred at Utopia Sound with Adam Kidron, a prior soundman for the Pop Group and Monochrome Set who produced See the Whirl in sequence with 1981 albums by The Raincoats (Odyshape), Rip Rig + Panic, This Heat (Deceit), and Zounds. Under the nickname Skipper, Kidron engineered titles by Robert Wyatt and James Blood Ulmer.

See the Whirl displays silhouetted profiles of the five members through cutouts in an ancient mud-brick wall. The photographer, Joe Lyons, also has credits on 1980–82 sleeves for Siouxsie & the Banshees (Kaleidoscope, Juju) and Yazoo (Upstairs at Eric’s).

Final Activity

In late 1981, Julz Sale and Kelvin Knight cleared out for guitarist/singer Jacqui Callis and drummer Graeme Haigh. They play on the fifth and final Delta 5 single: “Powerlines” backed with “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” released on August 13, 1982, on PRE.

A. “Powerlines” (3:12)
B. “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (3:09)

“Powerlines” appeared as the label’s penultimate single (PRE 24) ahead of PRE’s 25th and final 7”, “Edge of Night” by ex-Manicured Noise frontman Steve Walsh.

Delta 5 dissolved in 1982. The members left music apart from Bethan Peters, who played bass for Fun Boy Three on their 1983 second album Waiting.

In 2021, “Mind Your Own Business” played in a commercial for the Apple privacy drive.

Discography: