The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool that released twelve albums between 1963 and 1970. They had seventeen No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart and twenty No. 1’s on the US Billboard Hot 100. With global estimated sales of 600 million units, they are the biggest-selling musical act of all time. […]
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band that released five albums between 1980 and 1987 on Korova and Sire. They formed amid the post-punk explosion in Liverpool, where singer–guitarist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant, and bassist Les Pattinson performed as a trio with a drum machine dubbed “echo.” After one single, drummer Pete […]
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — also known by the acronym OMD — are an English electronic band that released seven albums between 1980 and 1986 on DinDisc and Virgin. Singer–bassist Andy McCluskey and keyboardist–singer Paul Humphreys are the mainstays of the band; joined on successive releases by drummer Malcolm Holmes and saxophonist–keyboardist Martin Cooper. […]
The Pale Fountains were an English sophisti-pop band that released three standalone singles and two albums on Virgin between 1982 and 1985. Members: Michael Head (guitar, vocals), John Head (guitar), Chris McCaffery (bass), Thomas Whelan (drums), Andy Diagram (trumpet) Background Formed in 1980 Liverpool, The Pale Fountains were part of that city’s post-Deaf School musical […]
Hambi & the Dance were an English New Wave band from Liverpool that released the album Heartache with accompanying singles on Virgin in 1982. Alongside A Flock of Seagulls, the band were the second significant spinoff to emerge from the 1979 Merseyside shortplayer act Tontrix. Namesake vocalist/guitarist Hambi Harolambous released further singles and the album […]
Deaf School are an English art-rock band that released three albums on Warner Brothers between 1976 and 1978. On its first two albums — 2nd Honeymoon (1976) and Don’t Stop the World (1977) — the band pairs ’30s/’40s ambience (cabaret, music hall) with the lavish arrangements of contemporary theatrical pop (Sparks, Sailor, Cockney Rebel, Brian […]
Dalek I were an English electro/art-pop combo from Liverpool that released two albums and a clutch of singles between 1979 and 1983. Originally called Dalek I Love You — a space-age play on the phrase “darling I love you” — the band distilled from a late-’70s Liverpudlian conglomerate that would also yield future members of […]
Wah! was the revolving band-moniker of Liverpudlian guitarist/vocalist Pete Wylie. The name first appeared as Wah! Heat on a pair of singles issued by small-press Inevitable Music in 1980. In 1981, the band dropped “Heat” from its name and issued a standalone single and the album Nah=Poo – The Art of Bluff on WEA-subsidiary Eternal, […]
The Original Mirrors were an English New Wave/modern-rock band from Liverpool that released a self-titled album on Mercury in 1980, followed by Heart Twango & Raw Beat on the label in 1981. Vocalist Steve Allen had co-fronted the Merseyside eight-piece Deaf School, where he was known by the moniker “Enrico Cadillac.” Members: Steve Allen (vocals), […]
Godot were an English coldwave/synthpop combo from Liverpool that self-released a four-song EP in 1981, followed by a standalone single on Pinnacle Records in 1982. Keyboardist David Hughes had been one-half of Dalek I on its two 1979/80 singles and the album Compass Kum’pas. He briefly played with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, appearing on […]
Modern Eon were an English New Wave/goth band from Liverpool that released an EP on self-press Eon Records in 1979, followed by the album Fiction Tales with accompanying b-sides on DinDisc in 1981. Members: Alix Plain [aka Alex Johnson] (guitar, vocals, percussion, keyboards, horn), Danny Hampson (bass, vocals), Tim Lever (guitar, saxophone, 1980-81), Joey McKechnie […]
Jimmy Campbell (1944–2007) was an English singer-songwriter from Liverpool who started in the 1960s beat group The Kirkbys, which morphed into psych-pop legends The 23rd Turnoff. As a solo artist, he released the albums Son of Anastasia (Fontana, 1969), Half Baked (Vertigo, 1970), and Jimmy Campbell’s Album (Philips, 1972). His partnership with bassist Bill Kinsley […]
The Lotus Eaters were an English sophisti-pop combo from Liverpool that released five singles and one album on Arista/Sylvan between 1983 and 1985. Members: Peter Coyle (vocals), Jeremy ‘Jerry’ Kelly (guitar), Michael Dempsey (bass), Gerard Quinn (keyboards), Steve Creese (drums) In 1982, The Lotus Eaters formed around the trio of Peter Coyle, Jeremy Kelly, and […]
It’s Immaterial were an English sophisti-pop band from Liverpool that released a string of shortplayers on assorted small-press labels between 1980 and 1985, followed by two albums on Siren between 1986 and 1990. Members: John J. Campbell (vocals), Martin Dempsey (guitar, 1980-84), Henry Priestman (keyboards, 1980-84), Paul Barlow (drums, 1980-84), Jarvis Whitehead (guitar, keyboards, 1982-90) […]
The Koobas — initially spelled “Kubas” — were an English pop-psych band that released a pair of Pye singles circa 1965/66, followed by six singles on Columbia (EMI) between 1966 and 1968. After the band’s breakup, their self-titled album appeared on Columbia in 1969. Bassist Keith Ellis played on the first album by Van Der […]
Parchment were an English folk-rock trio from Liverpool that released two albums on Pye in 1972/73, followed by two further titles on Myrrh and Grapevine between 1975 and 1977. Members: Sue McClellan [aka Sue Mack] (vocals, guitar, mandolin, slide guitar), John Pac (sitar, dulcimer, guitar, mandolin), Keith Rycroft (Dobro, guitar, vocals, ?-1973), Jeff Crow (1973-78), […]
Nasty Pop was an English pop-rock band that released a self-titled album on Island in 1975, followed by Mistaken I.D. on Polydor in 1977. Musically, the band crossed the folksy whimsy of Stackridge and Stealers Wheel with the updated Revolver-isms of Pilot and the string-laden effervescence of Jigsaw. Members: Jon Fitzpatrick (piano, vocals), Steve Grace […]
A Flock of Seagulls are an English modernist pop band that was initially active during the first half of the 1980s. Their name originates from the climactic verse of the 1978 Stranglers epic “Toiler on the Sea.” Hailing from Liverpool, A Flock of Seagulls achieved iconic status with their highly acclaimed, mega-selling debut album. With […]
Nutz was an English hard rock band from Liverpool that released the 1974–76 A&M albums Nutz, Nutz Two, and Hard Nutz, followed by the 1977 concert disc Live Cutz. When the New Wave of British Heavy Metal arrived, Nutz reconstituted as Rage for the 1981–83 Carrere albums Out of Control, Nice ‘n’ Dirty, and Run […]
Frankie Goes to Hollywood was an English musical extravaganza that was active during the mid-1980s. Comprised of Liverpudlian New Wave alumni, the band linked with producer Trevor Horn to craft the monumental double-set Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Bolstered with tie-in merchandise and provocative videos for the socio-political production anthems “Two Tribes,” “Relax,” and the album’s […]
Tony Hazzard (born Oct. 31, 1943) is an English singer/songwriter from Liverpool who released an album of covers and originals on CBS in 1969, followed by two albums on Bronze between 1971 and 1973. A collaborative album with pop vocalist Richard Barnes appeared on Warner Bros. in 1976. During the 1960s, his songs were recorded […]
The Teardrop Explodes was an English new wave band that released three 1979–80 singles on Liverpool indie Zoo, followed by the 1980–81 Mercury albums Kilimanjaro and Wilder. Frontman Julian Cope took the band name from a caption in issue No. 77 of the Marvel Comics series Daredevil. Members: Julian Cope (vocals, bass), Gary Dwyer (drums), […]
The Real Thing were an English soul-funk quartet of the 1970s. Starting with a 1972–74 run of singles for Bell and EMI, the band scored back-to-back 1976 chart-toppers with “You to Me Are Everything” and “Can’t Get By Without You” on Pye, which issued the act’s first three albums. Members: Eddie Amoo (vocals, guitar), Chris Amoo […]
The Icicle Works are an English anthemic rock quartet that were initially active as a recording unit between 1981 and 1988. Essentially a vehicle for frontman/guitarist Ian McNabb, the band has specialized in a lyrical brand of alternately folksy/dramatic martial-tinged rock — a combination heard most widely in the storming verses and exuberant chorus of […]
The Planets were an English New Wave/pop-rock band that released two albums between 1979 and 1980. The band was fronted by ex-Deaf School bassist Steve Lindsey, who also sings here — something the now-multi-instrumentalist never did in his former band. Members: Steve Lindsey (vocals, bass), Tony Wimshurst (guitar, 1979-80), Andy Duncan (drums, 1979-80), Chris Skornia […]
China Crisis are an English art-pop band from Kirkby, Merseyside, that released five albums on Virgin between 1982 and 1989. Members: Gary Daly (vocals, keyboards), Eddie Lundon (guitar, vocals), Dave Reilly (percussion, 1982), Gazza Johnson (bass, 1982-95), Kevin Wilkinson (drums, 1983-95), Brian McNeill (keyboards, 1983-84) China Crisis was formed in Kirkby, near Liverpool, in 1979 […]
Bette Bright — aka Anne Martin — is an English vocalist from Whitstable, Kent, who emerged in the Liverpudlian New Wave/art-rock band Deaf School, which released three albums on Warner Bros. between 1976 and 1978. She formed her own band, the Illuminations, for a pair of singles on Radar Records in 1978/79, followed by the […]
Pinnacle was an English space-rock band from Liverpool that released the album Assasin on Stag Music in 1974. Members: Alan Lawrence (bass), Neil McKenna (drums), Dave Mylett (organ, Moog), Owen McCann (vocals), Paul Thomas (guitar) Background Pinnacle started as a post-psych quartet in Liverpool comprised of singer Owen McCann, guitarist Paul Thomas, bassist Alan Lawrence, […]
Afraid of Mice were an English New Wave band from Liverpool that released a self-titled album and a handful of singles on Charisma in 1981/82. Members: Philip Franz Jones (vocals, saxophone, flute, keyboards), Geoff Kelly (bass, vocals), Clive Gee (drums), Ronnie Stone (guitar, 1979-80), Rod Gilliard (guitar, 1980-81), Sam Brew (guitar, vocals, 1981-?), Mark Singleton […]
Supercharge were an English R&B/big band from Liverpool that debuted with an album on Stag Music in 1974, followed by five albums on Virgin between 1976 and 1979. After an album apiece on Criminal Records and Intercord during the 1980–82 period, the band released two live discs and a comeback studio album on Memo Music […]
