The Clash
ARCTIC MONKEYS
By distilling the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Clash, the Strokes, and the Libertines into a hybrid of swaggering indie rock and danceable neo-punk, the Arctic Monkeys became one of the U.K.'s biggest bands of the new millennium. Their meteoric rise began in 2005, when the teenaged bandmates fielded offers from major labels and drew a sold-out crowd to the London Astoria, using little more than a self-released EP as bait. Several months later, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest-selling debut album in British history, entrenching the Arctic Monkeys in the same circle as multi-platinum acts like Oasis and Blur.
Frontman Alex Turner and guitarist Jamie Cook began their music careers in 2001, when the friends both received guitars for Christmas. Two years later, they began performing shows around their native Sheffield with drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson, two fellow students at Stocksbridge High School. A series of demo recordings followed, and the Arctic Monkeys' audience swelled as fans circulated those recordings via the Internet. The musicians soon found themselves at the center of a growing media circus, with such outlets as BBC Radio examining the band's music and mounting hype.
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By distributing their homemade material on the Internet, the Arctic Monkeys were able to build a rabid fan base without the help of a record label, effectively circumventing the usual road to superstardom. They continued to buck tradition by signing with Domino Records in 2005, eschewing a major label's help for Domino's D.I.Y. mentality and hip roster (which also included Franz Ferdinand, a touchstone for the band's sound). The smart moves paid off as the Arctic Monkeys' first two singles -- "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down" -- both topped the U.K. charts. Critical reception was similarly favorable, but few could have predicted the whirlwind success of the band's debut album, which ousted Oasis' Definitely Maybe as the fastest-selling debut in British history (a record that was lost one year later to Leona Lewis' Spirit). Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not sold 363,735 copies during its first week alone, transforming the Arctic Monkeys from underground stars into mainstream figures.
The Arctic Monkeys' debut sold approximately 300,000 total copies in America -- enough to warrant more media coverage, but notably less than the album's British sales during its first week alone. Nevertheless, the band's success continued as they released a spring EP, Who the F**k Are Arctic Monkeys, and prepared for a stateside tour. Temporary bassist Nick O'Malley was brought aboard for the band's American shows, while a fatigued Nicholson stayed at home. Nicholson then announced his official departure when the band returned home in June 2006, and O'Malley remained with the Arctic Monkeys as a permanent member. That fall, the musicians received the 2006 Mercury Prize and donated the accompanying money to an undisclosed charity. Additional accolades included Best British Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards and Best New Band at the NME Awards. NME also made a bold assertion by deeming the band's debut one of the Top Five British albums ever released.
Released in April 2007, Favourite Worst Nightmare updated the the Arctic Monkeys' sound with louder instruments and faster tempos. The bandmates had recorded the sophomore album quickly, wishing to return to the road as soon as possible, and the speedy turnaround between records only helped solidify the band's popularity at home. Favourite Worst Nightmare sold 85,000 copies during its first day of release, while all 12 tracks entered the Top 200 of the U.K. singles charts. As Alex Turner briefly turned his attention to a side project, the Last Shadow Puppets, the Arctic Monkeys received another Mercury Prize nomination and took home two titles at the 2008 Brit Awards.
Recording sessions for a third album commenced in early 2008 and lasted throughout the year. Meanwhile, the band released a concert album entitled Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo -- with accompanying video footage captured on 35mm film -- to maintain their prolific pace. ~ All Music Guide
Albums:
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Domino, 2006.
Favourite Worst Nightmare, Domino, 2007.
Humbug, Domino 2009.
Suck It and See, Domino, 2011.
Source: Andrew Leahey
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THE SPECIALS
True innovators of the punk era, the Specials began the British ska revival craze, combining the highly danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude, and taking on a more focused and informed political and social stance than their predecessors and peers.
The band was originally formed in Coventry, in 1977, as the Coventry Automatics and later the Special A.K.A. by songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers, with Terry Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (guitar, vocals), Neville Staples (vocals, percussion), Roddy Radiation (guitar), Sir Horace Gentleman (bass), and John Bradbury (drums).
An opening slot for the Clash stirred up interest with the major labels, but Dammers instead opted to start his own 2-Tone label, named for its multiracial agenda and after the two-tone tonic suits favoured by the like-minded mods of the '60s. The Dammers-designed logos, based in '60s pop art with black and white checks, gave the label an instantly identifiable look.
Dammers' eye for detail and authenticity also led to the band adopting '60s-period rude-boy outfits (porkpie hats, tonic and mohair suits, and loafers). The band released the "Gangsters" single, which reached the U.K. Top Ten. Soon after, hordes of bands and fans followed in the same tradition, and the movement was in full swing. Over the next several months, 2-Tone enjoyed hits by similar-sounding bands, such as Madness, the (English) Beat, and the Selecter.
Late in 1979, the band released its landmark self-titled debut album, produced by Elvis Costello. They followed with several 2-Tone package tours and a live EP, Too Much Too Young (confusingly credited to Special A.K.A.). The title track, a pro-contraception song, was banned by the BBC but reached the number one spot in the U.K. At this time, the band switched musical directions, releasing album number two, More Specials, with a new neo-lounge persona.
Signs indicated that the movement was fading and 2-Tone began to experience financial troubles. Nevertheless, a film documenting the 2-Tone package tours, Dance Craze, as well as its companion album, saw considerable success.
The Specials released the timely "Ghost Town" single in 1981 amid race-related unemployment riots in Brixton and Liverpool. The single jumped to number one, but the band was falling apart. Hall, Staples, and Golding left to form Fun Boy Three, leaving the band without its trademark voice. Dammers held on, reverting back to the old name, Special A.K.A., and enlisted a new vocalist, Stan Campbell.
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After several years, they returned with In the Studio in 1984. They managed a few hits with "Racist Friend" and "Free Nelson Mandella," but the album stiffed. The band's final single, "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend", failed to break the British Top 40. Dammers dissolved the unit, pursuing political causes such as Artists Against Apartheid.
Shortly after the official breakup, various members of the band joined up with other bandless ska revivalists (English Beat, etc.) to form a touring unit named Special Beat. By the mid-'90s, in response to the third wave ska revival, a Dammers-less version of the Specials reappeared with a series of shameful cash-in albums: Today's Specials (1996,) Guilty Til Proved Innocent! (1998,) and Conquering Ruler (2002.) ~ , All Music Guide
Source: Chris Woodstra; John F. Packel
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse was formed in 1975 in Birmingham, England. The band capitalised on the punk and roots reggae combination made popular in the era of recession and political upheaval. The band initially had difficulty in getting live gigs because of their revolutionary ideals and satirical stage presence. But this was overcome with the support of bands like The Police and The Clash.
Steel Pulse’s key early singles gained them some following amongst many reggae fans and critics. These were 1978’s Prodigal Son, Soldiers and 1979’s Babylon Makes the Rules.
In the late 80s, Steel Pulse broke the American market and eventually won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album for Not King James Version.
The 1992 live album, Rastafari Centennial, marked the beginning of a return to the group’s roots origins. The following the year, Steel Pulse performed at US President Bill Clinton’s inaugural celebration.
Despite being plagued with numerous line-up changes, the band remains to be one of Britain’s most successful Afro-centric bands in terms of creative and commercial successes. Its 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution remains a landmark in the roots-reggae genre.
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Steel Pulse is stilla ctive in the reggae genre and continues to contribute to the musical landscape with a political message like with a special song dedicated to US President, Barack Obama's campaign.
Juanita Appleby
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THE HIGSONS
The Higsons were active from 1980 to 1986. Their main creative driver, front man, and singer was Charlie Higson, now better known for “The Fast Show” and increasingly as the writer of the Young James Bond novels.
The Higsons were the best of a pretty good crop of Post Punk and New Wave bands that came out of the University of East Anglia in the late seventies and early eighties, many of whom were featured on the “Norwich, A Fine City” collection. There is a story that the greatest adoptive East Anglian of them all called them onto his show in frank amazement that any bands were active in Norfolk. John Peel championed The Higsons, and they had consistent Indie Chart success from the release of their first single “I Don’t Want To Live With Monkeys” in July 1981, through their excellent debut album “The Curse Of The Higsons” in October 1984, and right up to their eventual demise in 1986. Openly acknowledging a debt to The Talking Heads (something I myself only hear sporadically) The Higsons’s sound has echoes of Joy Division and Iggy Pop (if that isn’t a tautology), with some Ska blended into the mix which isn’t that surprising as they ended up on the 2 Tone label. If you haven’t heard any, download a couple of tracks at random – they’re all good.
The Higsons didn’t really do much wrong, had a loyal following both in London and amongst their many friends and fans from Norwich, and trod the boards with apparently sober professional well-rehearsed and packed gigs. They probably would have achieved commercial success to match their critical acclaim if they hadn’t got their timing exactly wrong. Looking back all those years as Punk descended Rome-like into the parody of Glam Rock it did so much to end, and music scratched around in the New Romantic void created by the death of the high priest of New Wave Ian Curtis, Switch, as we knew Charlie Higson then, seemed earnestly out of sorts with an eighties of big hair and covers. (Ironically this frustration contributed to his first taste of real fame, as the joint creator of “Loadsamoney”.)
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Three years earlier and they’d have been at ease alongside The Clash, and three years after they split The Stone Roses reinvented what was to become Brit Pop. The Higsons might have been another La’s. All we were left with is a most remarkable post-dissolution adieu in “The Attack Of The Cannibal Zombie Businessmen”(1987), a tantalising bazaar of the greatest of never to be hits.
Albums:
The Curse of The Higsons (October 1984)
©JD Shanks September 2009
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Stone Roses
The roots of the Stones Roses delve right back to 1980, with their first LP ranking one of the greatest debut’s of all time, their influence casting a shadow over many Brit-pop bands in their wake.
However, edging slowly into 80’s Manchester, a scene dominated by the likes of The Smiths, Primal Scream, and Boddingtons’s Beer, it was difficult to win the affection of wily ‘Dr Martins’ sporting mancunians. Quivering with our haircuts, and oversized trench coats, we almost seemed unsure. They had a long haired bass player for one, and a singer partial to wearing leather trousers? It almost seemed untoward.
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In 1984, after an off-putting show in front of The Who’s Pete Townsend, at Hampstead’s Moonlight Club as part of an ‘Anti Heroin Benefit,’ the band took on the assistance of manager Howard Jones, and finally after many broken records, released their debut album in 1989 amidst the perplexity of the ‘Madchester’ movement. A gratifying blend of Slaughter and the Dogs, The Clash, and George Clinton, the album was defended vigorously amongst mixed reviews, as it plunged into the UK charts, eventually landing them a lucrative deal with Geffen Records.
Great music, always, seeps through the holes of such nostalgic prejudice, soon it was dubbed perfection for post-club comedowns, they were nor accepted or rejected, paving way for a timeless conclusion. However, in 1994, a disappointing follow-up ‘Second Coming’ and many disastrous festival appearances, spelled the tragic end to a band, who after several line-up changes, never really got to grips with acceptance. In 1996, vocalist Ian Brown issued a press release, stating; “Having spent 10 years in the filthiest business in the universe, it is a pleasure to announce the end of the Stone Roses.”
Tristen Lee
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The Clash
The Clash was an English Punk Band founded in 1976. The bands stalwarts were Joe Strummer on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Mick Jones lead guitar/ vocals and Paul Simon on on bass guitar and backing vocals. Nicky “Topper" Headon on drums and percussion would join the band later.
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After some time, Headon left the group as did Mick Jones, however the band continued to perform with new members until they disbanded in 1986. The Clash’s sound was based on punk rock, reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly and their lyrics and musical experimentation had such an influence on rock and, in particular, alternative rock they were referred to by some as “The Only Band That Matters".
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The Clash signed to CBS Records in 1977. Their first album "The Clash” was a major success in the UK and while CBS released only a “radio friendly” version in the US, the original album became the best selling imported album of all time in the USA. The Clash’s third Album “London Calling” released in 1977 is regarded as one of the greatest rock albums every recorded.
The band recorded a further three albums: “Sandinista,” “Combat Rock” and “Cut the Crap” before disbanding in 1986.
Unfortunately Joe Strummer died of a heart problem in 2002, The Joe Strummer Foundation (Strummerville) was set up by Lucinda, his wife shortly after his death and continues to champion new music.
Mick Jones continues to play and collaborates with Tony James releasing several albums under the Band name Silicon/Carbon.
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
