Spherical Objects -

Spherical Objects were an English post-punk band from Manchester that released two singles and four albums between 1978 and 1981 on self-press Object Music. Leader Steve Solamar partook in the side projects Alternomen Unlimited, The Noyes Brothers (both with Steve Miro) and The Warriors.

Members: Steve Solamar (vocals, guitar, harmonica), John Bisset-Smith (guitar, vocals), Duncan Prestbury (keyboards, vocals), Fred Burrows (bass, guitar), Roger Hilton (drums), Roger Blackburn (guitar)

Background

Spherical Objects formed in early 1978 in Manchester when singer/guitarist Steve Solamar assembled bassist Fred Burrows, drummer Roger Hilton, guitarist John Bisset-Smith, and keyboardist Duncan Prestbury.

Solamar was born Steve Scrivener in 1950 in Gosport, Hampshire, and sang with Band of Three as a teenager. He taught himself harmonica from early 1965, then took up guitar and songwriting. Solamar moved from Hampshire to Manchester in 1972 for work as a computer analyst. After a period in Maidstone, he returned to Manchester and settled in Hulme.

Solamar formed Joe Panic in 1975 with bassist Martin Claydon, drummer Alan Robinson, and guitarists Steve Miro and Chris Gribble. Joe Panic played Manchester pubs and clubs through late 1976 and built songs around extended improvisations between opening and closing verses. Robinson became manager of Electric Circus after Joe Panic split late that year.

Solamar DJed the Sex Pistols at Electric Circus on Dec. 9, 1976, one of three original dates to survive the cancellations that dismantled the 19-date Anarchy in the UK Tour. He returned for a second Pistols appearance at Electric Circus on Dec. 19, a replacement for the terminated Guildford date. From April 1977, he served as resident DJ for Sunday punk nights until the October closure of Electric Circus. Solamar DJed subsequent Buzzcocks shows at Rafters and the Mayflower Club.

Formation

Meanwhile, Solamar stockpiled original songs at his flat on William Kent Crescent in Hulme. He sequenced Past & Parcel in 1977 before formation of Spherical Objects. Solamar auditioned roughly twenty musicians at the start of 1978 before selecting Burrows, who knew Prestbury and Hilton, while his sister Inga knew Bisset-Smith. Prestbury grew up around Latin American, blues, classical, and soul records and attended rock festivals in the 1970s.

Bisset-Smith was born in Manchester in 1960 and learned piano before adopting guitar as his main instrument in childhood. He joined Manchester Musicians’ Collective while still at school and studied at Rochdale Art College in 1978. Bisset-Smith also performed experimental pieces under the name Pride at Collective nights at Band on the Wall.

Solamar gave each musician a cassette with the complete album sequence and a set of song sheets before the first gig. Through Bisset-Smith, Spherical Objects joined Manchester Musicians’ Collective and made their live debut on May 28, 1978, at Band on the Wall on Swan Street in Manchester. The group played two further Collective shows at the venue before entering the studio.

Solamar established Object Music to issue the group’s records. After three performances, Spherical Objects entered Indigo/Arrow Studio off Deansgate on July 10, 1978, for their first professional recording session, which Solamar booked for Past & Parcel.

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