Indians in Moscow -

Indians in Moscow were an English electronic new wave group that placed three singles on the UK Independent Singles Chart and released a 1984 self-titled album on Kennick.

Members: Pete Riches (synthesizer, keyboards, programming), Stuart Walton (bass, synthesizer, keyboards, guitar, programming), Adele Nozedar (vocals, 1981–85), David Page (drum machine), Martin Gosnold (synthesizer), Richard Hornby (drums), John Hornby (guitar), Neil Scott (guitar), Tom Hosie (drums, 1984–85), Chris Guard (vocals, 1988–94), Simon Le Vans (programming, arrangements, from 1995)

Background

Indians in Moscow formed in 1981 in Hornsea, East Yorkshire, when synthesist Pete Riches assembled a trio with bassist-synthesist Stuart Walton and singer Adele Nozedar.

Nozedar first sang backing parts with school friend Rachel England at Hornsea Floral Hall. Riches contacted her through mutual friends a few months afterward when he sought a female singer. Riches and Walton played earlier in The Most, a Hornsea punk band responsible for the 1979 acetate “Carefree” (b/w “In and Out”), recorded at Fairview Studios in Willerby. John Peel played the record three times on BBC Radio One.

At early rehearsals, the core trio welcomed synthesist Martin Gosnold and drum-machine operator David Page. Gosnold opted out while Page remained with Riches, Walton, and Nozedar. In January 1982, Indians in Moscow landed their theme song on Your Secret’s Safe With Us, a Statik Records compilation of unsigned post-punk acts, including Atom Spies, The Chameleons, Makaton Chat, and Pulp.

In February 1983, Indians in Moscow established Kennick Records with drummer Richard Hornby in place of Page. Guitarist John Hornby entered the next lineup. Neil Scott, a founder of Hornsea punk group The Vets, replaced John Hornby ahead of a tour.

Kennick Singles

In November 1983 single “Miranda,” backed with “Naughty Miranda,” the first Indians of Moscow single. They subtitled the “Naughty” side “Why Fling Thiz Filth at Our Pop Kids?” The 12-inch features an extended “Naughty” mix.

A. “Miranda” (3:15)
B. “Naughty Miranda” (5:45)

The group co-produced both sides at Fairview Recording Studio with veteran folk-pop soundman Roy Neave and Surrey Sound co-founder Nigel Gray, credited on 1980–82 titles by The Planets, The Police, Hazel O’Connor, Girlschool, Tank, Fay Ray, Wishbone Ash, and Siouxsie & The Banshees.

On December 4, Indians in Moscow performed “Naughty Miranda” on the Channel 4 music program The Tube. They appeared as part of a Hull spotlight hosted by Jools Holland along with local rivals Red Guitars, Luddites, and International Rescue.

“Naughty Miranda” reached No. 5 on the UK Independent Singles Chart and No. 99 on the Official Singles Chart.

Kennick followed on March 23, 1984, with “I Wish I Had,” backed with “Slide,” a non-album group exclusive. Gray and Neave returned as producers. The 12-inch edition coupled an extended mix with “Slide” and an “early days” version of the A-side.

A. “I Wish I Had” (3:25)
B. “Slide” (3:20)

“I Wish I Had” reached No. 27 on the UK Independent Singles Chart.

On June 8, Kennick issued “Jack Pelter and His Sex-Change Chicken,” backed with “Salt,” a non-album group exclusive. The label pressed 5,000 copies on fried-egg-pattern vinyl.

A. “Jack Pelter and His Sex-Change Chicken” (3:12)
B. “Salt” (2:44)

The 12-inch edition paired an extended mix with “The Bleak Industrial Gits” and “Singing to French.” Kennick pressed 2,000 copies of that configuration on raw-egg-pattern vinyl.

“Jack Pelter and His Sex-Change Chicken” reached No. 16 on the UK Independent Singles Chart.

Big Wheel

Indians in Moscow released the four-track Big Wheel EP in 1984 on Kennick Records.

The EP contains three group originals and a cover of “The Price of Love,” the 1965 Everly Brothers single written by Don and Phil Everly. Their 1982 these song reappears along with “Dies Irae,” another exclusive. “Big Wheel” reappears on their album.

A1. “Big Wheel” (3:30)
A2. “The Price of Love” (3:10)

B1. “Dies Irae” (4:40)
B2. “Indians in Moscow” (3:05)

Indians in Moscow self-produced the EP, which appeared in a picture-sleeve with monochrome photography by Chris Clunn, who captured Nozedar near a night-lighted Ferris wheel.

Indians in Moscow

Indians in Moscow released their self-titled singular album in December 1984 on Kennick.

The album consolidates the three prior Kennick singles and “Big Wheel” with seven additional group compositions. Nozedar sings; Riches plays synthesizers and keyboards with programming; Walton covers bass, synthesizers, keyboards, and programming; Hornby plays drums. All eleven songs carry a group credit.

“Meeting Place” settles into melancholy over restrained electronics. “Witches and Heroes” darkens around icy synthesizer figures. “Jack Pelter and His Sex Change Chicken” drives at a fast, unbroken pulse. “Puppet Dance” builds a repetitive pattern until Nozedar breaks into suggestive cries and mounting frenzy. “I Wish I Had” moves across a sweet surface edged with quiet menace. “Naughty Miranda” skips over a bright, bouncing beat as Nozedar recounts patricide, dismemberment, and cannibalism.

A1. “Big Wheel” (3:27)
A2. “Meeting Place” (3:22)
A3. “Witches and Heroes” (4:28)
A4. “Howard’s at Lunch” (3:55)
A5. “Jack Pelter and His Sex Change Chicken” (3:10)
A6. “Puppet Dance” (3:30)

B1. “Square Dance in the Sepulchre” (3:11)
B2. “Lovesong” (3:10)
B3. “I Wish I Had” (3:25)
B4. “Singing to French” (4:03)
B5. “Naughty Miranda” (3:35)

Sessions took place at Surrey Sound Studios in Leatherhead with Nigel Gray and engineer Jim Ebdon. Gray produced Indians in Moscow in sequence with albums by Lotus Eaters (No Sense of Sin), Danse Society (Heaven Is Waiting), and Eurogliders (This Island).

Richard Manning supplied artwork for Indians in Moscow, with graphics by Richard Evans and photography by Mike Prior. Manning and Evans both worked with Hipgnosis; Manning contributed artwork to sleeves for Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here), Led Zeppelin (In Through the Out Door), Genesis (The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway), and the Alan Parsons Project (I Robot), while Evans served as the design firm’s in-house graphics man. The front image merges a nude female torso with botanical forms across a pale blue-violet wash. Prior also supplied 1984 photography for Aswad (Rebel Souls), Black Uhuru (Anthem) and the inner sleeve of The Stranglers (Aural Sculpture).

Other Voices reissued the album on CD in 2011 as a mini-LP gatefold edition. The expanded edition adds “Underneath the Tree,” “Slide,” and “Dies Irae,” plus extended mixes of “Naughty Miranda,” “I Wish I Had,” and “Jack Pelter and His Sex-Change Chicken.” A separate seven-inch mix of “Naughty Miranda” completes the program.

Later Activity

Management disputes ended the original group as the album reached stores. Tom Hosie replaced Hornby on drums by the final period.

Nozedar and Hosie formed the Fever Tree with bassist Ali McMordie, formerly of Stiff Little Fingers. Guitarists Nik Corfield and Rob Dean, previously of Japan, completed the lineup. In 1985, the Fever Tree issued “The Pixie Shop in Boscastle” (b/w “His Hands (Give Him Away)”).

In 1988, Riches and Walton revived Indians in Moscow with singer Chris Guard. The lineup issued “Wrong Love” and “Babylon” in 1991, then financed the 1994 album Ten Days to Live. Guard departed after the supporting tour.

In 1995, Riches and Walton joined DJ and programmer Simon Le Vans for the Something Wonderful EP. Subsequent releases included the 1998 single “People in Space” and a four-track Melt Productions EP. In 2004, the group issued the Guard-era compilation World in Disguise and the Le Vans album People in Space.

Planet of Sound released the 2012 archival collection Storyland: Demos and Strays 1981–1984.

Discography: