Box of Toys - 3D - The Light (1982-1986)

While New Romanticism was spreading all over London, in Liverpool several bands formed with the purpose to capture the spirit of the day by mixing sythesized drum machines, saxes and decadent vocals. A Select Committee (1981-82), was one of those, combining powerpop with neo romanticizing. The band, that only released one track (Shape Our Lives on the compilation cassette Crackin Up At The Pyramid in 1982) featured Tim Lees (vocals) and Brian Jones (bass) (both later Something French), Steve Downey (guitars) (later Come in Tokio, with Pete Wylie’s brother), Phil Martin (only occasionally, sax, later Come in Tokio), and Andy Redhead (drums and keyboards). After the split of A Selected Committee (1982), Redhead and Martin (on drums and guitar the former, on sax, keyboards and vocals the latter) teamed up with Brian Atherton (vocals and keyboards), Roy Campbell (bass and vocals) to form Box of Toys. This line-up recorded and released two singles:

BOX OF TOYS

I'm Thinking Of You Now (1983)
- I'm Thinking Of You Now
- Old Man Rome


Precious is the Pearl (1984)
- Precious is the Pearl
- It Goes Without Saying
- When Daylight is Over

Before the release of the second single, Box of Toys also recorded a Peel Session, in April 1983, playing both their old and their forthcoming single. In 1984 BoT disbanded, and members went their separate ways. Andy Redhead formed 3D, with Johnny 'Riff' Reynolds (ex Berlin, ex Fun, on guitars) and Brian Rawlins (ex Fun, and Victims of Romance, on drums). The band released a first promo one sided-single (Nearer) in 1984 (then to be included as a b-side in a later release), soon to be followed by a couple of other singles:

3D

Break The Fix(ation) (1984)
- Break The Fix(Ation)
- I Hear The Rhythm


Dance to Believe (1985)
- Dance to Believe
- The Club
- Nearer (Revenge)

After the split of Box of Toys, Brian Atherton formed The Light, another one-man act (as the covers of the singles suggest). The Light released two singles:

THE LIGHT

Contrasting Strangers (1985)
- Contrasting Strangers
- Monument


Pride Of Winning (1986)
- Pride Of Winning
- Ten Million Years

.
(see also: http://www.thelightatherton.piczo.com/?cr=3 )

BoT_3D_TL

Mayhem - 1982-83

Southport punk band, formed late 1979, feat; Mick McGee (voc), Johnny (gtr), Deadcat (bass), Mick ‘Collo’ Collinson (drms) (ex Dumb Blondes). Chris Hand (aka Chris Hind) and Guz Sumner (both also Blitzkrieg) also provided help on guitar and bass. Between the year 1982 and 1983 the band recorded two Eps:

Gentle Murder (August 1982)
A1 Dogsbody
A2 Street Fight
B1 Blood Money
B2 Patriots

Pulling Puppet Strings (November 1983)
A Gentle Murder
B1 (Your Face Fits) Lie & Die
B2 Clean Cut

In 1985 Mayhem tried to evolve from the small-time local punk rock band they had been and attempted to reinvent their raucous Motörhead-inspired sound with a three-song EP entitled Bloodrush. Despite a limited number of devoted followers, public recognition and success never came and Mayhem split up.

1982-83

Afraid of Mice - 1980-82

Afraid of Mice is the musical creation formed in Liverpool in 1979, drawing inspiration both from the infamous theatricality of progressive tradition and the energy of punk. The band’s leader, Phil Franz Jones had been in music for quite some time before putting the band together. His music career started in 1977 with the WC Wardrobe’s Swinging Clit, a band quite at odd with what was going on in London, whose sound was structured around a flute, a rhythm guitar and bongos. In the same year he left WWCWSC to join Skyfall and Mothmen, first, and form Next, then. Next ad a quite fluid line-up including at some point -- besides Jones on vocals and sax -- Dave Cunningham (guitars and vocals), Ronnie Stone (guitars), Steve Emberton (bass, future Motion Pictures), Terry Sterling (drums, ex Love Ponies, later Personal Column), Geoff Kelly (bass, ex Strange Band), and occasionally Charlie Griffiths (keyboards, also Pink Military, Wah! Heat, Mothmen, then Simply Red and James). Next recorded one single (Funny Lady), and several track for an album that never got released, due to the band split (1978).
James and Geoff recruited drummer Clive Gee (ex Hitlerz Underpants, with Paul Humphreys and Amdy McCluskey who went on to form OMD) and through after various changes of names (among which Beano, Press, Jones) they finally settled on Afraid of Mice. This act started out as a cover band and only later they started to write their own material. At this point in the band history other members entered the picture, first guitarists Ronnie Stone (later to form Freeze Frame) and then Roddie Gilliard (then to join Windows). The four-piece band (with Giliard on guitar) recorded two song to be featured in the Liverpool compilation ‘A Trip To The Dentists’ (1980).

- I'm Not A Fighter
- Transparents

(Both tracks were to to be re-recorded for future releases: the former for the band’s first album, the latter as a 1982 7” single).
Sam Brew (Visual Aid) joined in 1981. This enlarged line-up, thanks to their a reputation for putting on great live shows, managed to attract some interest from record companies, and also managed to persuade Tony Visconti (the producer of Bowie, among others) to produce them. In 1981 the bands firs singles were released -- I’m on fire (b/w Down in the Dark) and Intercontinental (b/w What Shall We Do) both of which were then included in the band’s first album, released in 1982.

Afraid of Mice (1982)

1. Popstar
2. Fool of myself
3. Video queen
4. I'm on fire
5. Intercontinental
6. The important man
7. Taking it easy
8. Bad news
9. Politicians
10. After eight
11. I'm not a fighter
12. I will wait

The album is not considered to be a cornerstone in music history:
“This Liverpool quartet's sole LP is humorless Bowiesque dance-rock, produced by former Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti. Leader Philip Franz Jones, who wrote all but one of the songs, performs on sax, flute and keyboards in addition to providing mannered lead vocals. For all his versatility, Jones' songs are not particularly memorable; the dour, solipsistic views of life and romance he expresses, while fashionable, seem petty and witless. Sophomoric boredom.”[Dave Schulps]
( http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=afraid_of_mice )

1980-82

Beyond the Implode - 1979-80 EPs

DIY post-punk band from Runcorn, gathered by Eddie Smith (aka Eddie Cameron) with the purpose of performing and recording some of the songs he had written – a mix of Barrett and early-Floyd psychedelic music and sombre Warsaw / Joy Division aesthetics. The original line-up included Smith on guitar and vocals and Frank Hughes on bass, then expanded to include Ian Gardler (later Wild Weekend, Flesh Impact) on ‘second’ bass and minimalistic electronics, and the latter’s brother, Mike Gardler on lead guitar (who left before their first single came out). This line-up recorded (in Hughes’ and Mike Gardler’s bedroom) the songs that ended up on the band’s first vinyl release, on the band’s own label (Diverse Records), in September 1979.

Last Thoughts (1979)
- This Atmosphere
- Midnight Adventures
- Lassitude
- Escape Thru Levitation
- Steel Car

Only 250 copies of the EP were released and mainly distributed in local record shops (in Liverpool and Runcorn). The Ep received positive reviews in the music press, and John Peel played some of the band’s songs during his shows. In 1980 the band’s personnel changed. Ian Gardler replaced is brother on guitar, and new members were added: Keith O’Connell (aka Keith Discreet, later Avant Garde Elitists) on bass, Kev Shields (later Havoc of Fusion) on keyboards and Nick Evans on drums (in the picture above, Ian, Nick and Eddie, during the band’s only gig in North Wales). This line-up, with the inclusion of some friends on backing vocals – Ste O’Leary and Peter Thomas (DJ at the Swinging Apple in Liverpool, the Club for those not cool enough for Eric's) – recorded the band’s second Ep, released in June 1980:

11th Hour Breakdown (1980)
- 11th Hour Breakdown
- Look Back and Crash
- Lassitude

This time again only 250 were pressed, on Diverse Records and sold in local shops.
In 1981, Gardler left the group, to be replaced by Marshall Parsons (later Havoc of Fusion). Paul Randall joined on bass and Mark Berckley on sax. This final line-up did record some tracks which were never released.

beyond the implode

(see also http://www.detour-records.co.uk/beyondtheimplode.htm
http://www.hyped2death.com/Kugelberg100.html
http://agonyshorthand.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_agonyshorthand_archive.html#108543537599356184 http://www.link2wales.co.uk/lpool/B.htm )

Bee Vamp - 1981

The band, named after an early '60s Booker Little jazz-tune, formed in 1978 and featured Jim Paris (aka Jim Parris, future Carmel) on bass, Paul Ablett on saxophone, Martin King on guitar and Rory Lynch on drums. They band’s first vinyl released appeared in 1979 on the compilation Monsters in Orbit 2. The song (Valium Girl) was a loosely-sprung and rather depressed Slits-jazz tune - creepily true to its title. The group, active between Liverpool, Manchester and London, attracted a lot of publicity after its debut shows in London especially for their policy of inviting guest musicians to improvise freely with the group. Carmel McCourt sometimes would guest as a singer and Gerry Darby – Parris’ cousin, and a self-taught drummer – on percussion.
In 1981 the band put out their first ep:

Valium Girl (1981)
- Valium Girl
- Lucky Grills
- Without Berry in Bengal
.
In October 1981, the original four-piece recorded a Peel Session (recording all the tracks in their ep plus thei upcoming single) but were soon to disband (a posthumous release, the single Our Eyes Met Across The Disco Floor b/w Jungle Fever, came out in 1982). After Bee Vamp split in 1981, the Parris, Darby and McCourt went on to form the band Carmel.

bee vamp

Ellery Bop - 1981-82

The post Eric’s time in Liverpool was also featured by a quite tough guitar act called Ellery Bop, “fronted by a macho rocker named Jamie [Farrell] and his quieter sidekick Kev. They were referred to (out of earshot) as ‘the Thug and the Drunk’. Jamie used to work as ‘security’ in Eric’s, where he was given to wading into any fracas. ‘I got paid for hitting people, basically. When Eric’s closed me whole world finished.’ Kev did not actually play, but supplied moral support and the financial proceeds of certain business dealings. Jamie once threatened to beat up Pete Wylie [Wah! Heat, Wah!], who talked him into taking up the guitar instead. But his own career in live performance was frustratingly brief: ‘There was always trouble. […] I hate playing live cos’ I’d get so worked up and nervous that if anyone was being funny I’d end up getting off and fighting them.’ […] Jamie stuck a close, if incongruous, friendship with Julian Cope, eventually signed to a London record company and recorded with Ian Broudie.” (Du Noyer 2004).

The band formed around 1981, and originally pivoted around Jamie Farrell on vocals and guitar (one of the first punks in town - then turned ted and rockabilly lover - who had been, if briefly, in the English Opium Eaters, with future FGTH’s Paul Rutherford in 1979), and Mark Perry (later Thunderboots, Steppin’ Razor, Western Promise) on drums.
In June 1981 the band released their first single, featuring a more energetic sound than contemporary bands (except maybe for the early Wah! Heat).


Hit the Moon (b/w One True Way)


In October of the same year they recorded their first Peel Session, with the aid of Ian Broudie (ex Big in Japan) on bass, performing their upcoming single and b-side. The single was only released in March 1982:


Ringing (b/w Fight and Desire)


In November of the same year a third single was released:


We Deny (b/w To Fall)


By this time the line-up became less stable, as the credits of their second Peel Session reveal, featuring Rob Jones (ex Wah! Heat) on drums and Tim Whittaker (ex Deaf School) on percussion, thus taking the place of Perry, and Steve ‘Johnno’ Johnson on bass (Wah!).


1981-1982

It's Immaterial - 1985-1986

In 1983 Campbell, Whitehead, Priestman shared a flat in Liverpool, around Sefton Park, “signed the dole every second Thursday, [hung] around in cafes where they read the music weeklies and despair at the success of their rivals. […] At 1983’s Larks In The Park show, which also featured the budding Frankie Goes To Hollywood, [Priestman]’d been impressed by an a cappella act called The Christians. At irst he arranged for them to add their vocals to It’s Immaterial’s music, but them became a full-time Christian himself” (Du Noyer 2004). Between the start of 1985 and 1986 the two-piece Immaterial released their last pre-album records, the Ep Fish Waltz (March 1985), and the singles Ed's Funky Diner (October 1986) and Driving Away From Home (March 1986).

Fish Waltz (1985):
1. The Better Idea (Push the Boat Out)
2. Several Brothers
3. Lullaby
4. Fish Waltz


Ed's Funky Diner (1985)
- Ed's Funky Diner
- Washing the Air



Driving Away From Home (1986)
- Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune)
- Trains, Boats, Planes


The a-sides of the three singles were then to appear to the band's 1986 lp Life Is Hard Anf Then you Die.


link

Wah! - Part 2 (1982-1983)

In April 1982, under the altered name of Shambeko! Say Wah!, Wylie’s group released the single ‘Remember’ (the b-side features Alan 'Pops' Peters on trumpet)

Remember (7”)
a. Remember
b. A Crack Is A Crack (Theme From "Square One")

In May 1982, under the same pseudonym, Pete Wylie (Guitar, Vocals), ‘Oddball’ Washington (Bass, Backing Vocals), King Bluff (Keyboards) and ‘Jungle Beat’ Joe Musker recorded their third Peel session. The tracklist for that session included original material (among which a sung version of ‘A Crack Is A Crack’, appeared in its instrumental version on the b-side of the band’s latest single) and the reworking of traditional songs (eg. You’ll Never Walk Alone/Again”):
.

Peel Session (1982)
- You'll Never Walk Alone
- Papa Crak
- Satie's Faction
- 8.00-8.30 Or 10.00 'til 12.00
- You'll Never Walk Again

In November of the same year another single was released: ‘The Story of the Blues’. The 7” version features ‘The Story of the Blues (Part One)’ b/w ‘The Story of the Blues (Part Two)’ , whereas the 12” version featured a longer version of the song ‘The Story Of The Blues (Part One and Part Two) Talkin' Blues’ b/w a live version of ‘Seven Minutes to Midnight’. In the folder you’ll find the a-side of both versions of the single:

- The Story of the Blues (Part One)
- The Story Of The Blues (Part One and Part Two) Talkin' Blues’
.

By the beginning of the new year the band went through a phase of drastic personnel reorganization: Musker was fired and Joy Naughton recruited on keyboards. The band next Peel session is an evidence of this turmoil: in February 1983, Wylie, Washington, together with ‘old’ King Bluff and ‘new’ Jay Naughton (on Piano), Ruby and Sylvie (of Sylvia and the Sapphires on Backing Vocal) and an uncredited drummer (possibly Chris Joyce), performed their upcoming single and b-side, plus two other original tracks:
.

Peel Session (1983)
- Hope (I Wish You'd Believe Me)
- Sleep (Lullaby For Josie)
- Year Of Decision
- Silver And Gold

In March 1983, Wah!’s line-up became definitive: King Bluff was definitely out of the picture, Chris Joyce (ex Durutti Column, later Simply Red) was recruited on drums, Naughton and Charlie ‘Gruff’ Griffiths (ex Pink Military) on keyboards. With Ruby and Sylvia on backing vocals, the group released their last single under this name, before transforming into The Mighy Wah!

Hope (7” version)

a. Hope (I Wish You'd Believe Me)

b. Sleep (A Lullaby for Josie)

Wah 2