Tontrix, Hambi and the Dance

Tontrix, (see also Street to Street vol. 1, below) formed in 1978 featuring Hambi Haralambous on vocals (later Victims of Romance, Hambi and The Dance), Steve Lovell on guitar (later of Hollycaust, Hambi and The Dance, Blitz Brotherss, Julian Cope), Mike Score on bass (later Flock of Seagulls), Bobby Carr on keyboards (ex Those Naughty Lumps, later Moderates, Surreal Estate), Chris Hughes on drums (later of Hambi and The Dance, Adam and The Ants), who replaced Ian Johnston. The band had only one official release in 1979, the 7" single called Shellshocked, containing the tracks:

Shellshocked
Slipping Into Life

Another track was included in the ‘Street to Street vol. 1’ compilation (see below) namely Screen Love (a.k.a. Clear on Radar). The band played many gigs across North West and by late 1979 Tontrix members went their separate ways: Mike Score formed A Flock of Seagulls.

Hambi Haralambous, Steve Lovell and Chris Hughes joined forces with Wayne Hussey on guitar (ex Walkie Talkies, later Dead or Alive, Sisters of Mercy) and Gazza Johnson on bass and synthesizers (later China Crisis). But, as the name suggests, the band was purely the vehicle for Hambi Haralambous’ creativity. The first line-up in fact went through several changes, concerning especially the drum-stool, with the arrival of The Major (later Windows, The Balcony, Red, Hatework, New Dodos and Logic Of Impossibility) and later Les Hughes (soon to join White Russians), but also the keyboard position, with the ‘provisional’ inclusion in the line-up of Phil Coxon (ex Visual Aids, later OMD). Hussey was soon to leave the band, which, with the collaboration of musicians and friends (Nick Plytas and James Lascelles on piano, Steve Power and Mick Glossop on synthesizers) in 1981 released a couple of singles (Too late to fly the flag [b/w She Doesn’t Talk] and L'image craqué), both of which were included in the 1982 album, an interesting combination of synthesized art-rock and traditional rock'n'roll,:

Hambi and the Dance - Hearthache

Time After Time
Living In A Heartache
Madelaine
L'Image Craqué
Spirits
The World
Dancing Inside You
Major Major
Too Late To Fly The Flag
Standing In The Rain

For the live act, Hambi recruited several players (Guy Chambers, who later worked with Julian Cope – and much later wrote ‘Angel’ for Robby Williams – Roger Askew, who will then play keyboards for a variety of artists including Joe Strummer, Peter Gabriel, Bliss) among whom ex-Spitfire Boy Paul Rutherford, as backing vocalist and… dancer. The group hosted the first live appearance of the newly-formed Frankie Goes to Hollywood (at Pickwicks, in Liverpool, 1982) whose line-up included the female backing-vocalist Sonya Mazunda, Apparently, Rutherford got so caught up in Frankie's performance he joined in with them on stage. After this night Paul replaced Sonya in the group permanently, leaving Hambi to his dance….

After years of silence, Hambi and the Dance made their come back with the 7” 25 Tears A Day in 1984, and I Don’t Want to Lose You in 1985.