Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Active: 1980-1984
Known for their blistering anthem ‘Waiting For The War’, which was also their only officially released recorded output. Søren Johnsen and Karsten Hjarsø went on to UCR, Lars Top-Galia was in Sods/Sort Sol and Stig Pedersen formed Disneyland After Dark aka D.A.D.
Related: UCR, Sods, Sort Sol, Disneyland After Dark, D.A.D., Copenhagen, Denmark, 1980, Punk
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1021379-ADS-3
Location: Düsseldorf, Germany
Active: 1980-1991 (+)
One of the best offerings of the early gothic scene of Germany. After a brief duration as punk band Aspirin in 1980, with Monique Maasen on vocals, drums by Katharina Müller-Elmau, and bassist Andy Wahl reformed the band as Asmodi Bizarr. During the 1980s they supported Sex Gang Children, The Southern Death Cult, and Christian Death on tours. Sunsierra was their first album, released in 1986 on the label Ata-Tak (a sub-label of Das Büro) produced by Pyrolator (D.A.F. Der Plan, Fehlfarben), but the second album ‘Gotta Move On’ in 1991 failed to match it’s power. After they split up in 1992, they made some reformation performances after 2001.
Related: Pyrolator, D.A.F., Der Plan, Fehlfarben, Sex Gang Children, The Southern Death Cult, and Christian Death, Xmal Deutschland, Germany, Düsseldorf, 1980
Links
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/330088-Asmodi-Bizarr
Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asmodi_Bizarr
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Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Active: 1980-1984
Known for their blistering anthem ‘Waiting For The War’, also their only officially released recorded output. Søren Johnsen and Karsten Hjarsø went on to UCR, Lars Top-Galia was in Sods/Sort Sol and Stig Pedersen formed Disneyland After Dark aka D.A.D.
Related: UCR, Sods, Sort Sol, Disneyland After Dark, D.A.D., Copenhagen, Denmark, 1980
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1021379-ADS-3
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Location: Oxford, England
Active: 1980-1986
Play Dead was an early entry into what was becoming known as post punk and even gothic, with a much more rhythmic sound along the lines of what The Southern Death Cult and UK Decay were starting to develop. Initially a punk band, they quickly found their direction and released many singles (beginning on Fresh Records along with The Dark and UK Decay) and three albums in their relatively short existence. After they disbanded in 1986, founding members Rob Hickson and Pete Waddleton, guitarist Steve Green, were joined by Mich Ebeling of Look Back In Anger and formed Mankind’s Audio Development aka M.A.D.
Related: Oxford, UK, 1980, Punk, Gothic, The Dark,The Southern Death Cult, UK Decay, Rob Hickson, Pete Waddleton, Steve Green, Mich Ebeling, Look Back In Anger, Mankind’s Audio Development, M.A.D.
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Location: Cheltenham, UK
Active: 1980-1985, 1997-1999, 2014-present
Formed in Cheltenham UK in 1980, Screaming Dead were a punk band that took aspects of camp horror movies for their name and songs, as well as their graphic design. Before terms like goth or deathrock were being tossed around as genres in the UK, ‘horror punk’ was an apt description, though their inclusion in any gothic rock collection by todays standards would be essential for variety and originality. Their first demo circulated as a tape before they were picked up by No Future records for their next two singles ‘Night Creatures’ and ‘Paint It Black’, with their following releases ‘Danse Macabre Collection’ and ‘Dream Of Yesterday’ on their own imprint label, Angel Records, before disbanding in 1985.
Guitarist Tony McCormack went on in 1989 to form gothic rock/pagan band Inkubus Sukkubus. The 1993 CD release of ‘Bring Out Yer Dead’ is the best compilation of the bands original material. However, in 1997 McCormack reformed a version of Screaming Dead, this time with a female vocalist, re-recording the bands early material on the ‘Death Rides Out’ album, which unfortunately often gets mistaken as the original material to those just discovering the band now. This incarnation lasted until 1999, and not much was heard again until 2014 when the other members, this time without McCormack reformed for another stab at it, releasing ‘The Resurrection EP’ in 2016 and touring the eastern USA in 2018.
Links:
Discogs.com: https://www.discogs.com/artist/263703-Screaming-Dead
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Dead
Related: The Waste, Inkubus Sukkubus
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Location: London, UK (Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire)
Active: 1980-present
Rudimentary Peni began in the UK (north of London) in 1980. Prior to that vocalist/guitarist Nick Blinko and drummer Jon Greville were The Magits. Joined by Grant Matthews, Rudimentary Peni released their first self-titled EP in 1981, followed by the Farce EP in 1982 which began their relationship with Crass Records and it’s Corpus Christi imprint (UK Decay).
Combined with their sometimes morbid themes, the artwork of Blinko was their dominant visual characteristic and earned them a reputation as dark and twisted. One look at the deluxe gatefold sleeve for their ‘Death Church’ LP should be enough to convince the non-believer! Though their association with anarcho-punk bands through the Crass label wasn’t unwarranted due to the social-political context of some half of their songs, Rudimentary Peni were deemed too weird for that clientele. They were often shunned by anarcho punks, but loved by generations of deathrockers to come.
After a hiatus due to Matthews’ cancer diagnosis, and Blinko’s stint in a mental institution, Rudimentary Peni returned with Cacophony in 1988, exploring the themes of Lovecraftian horror, which at the time was an oddity, and reaffirmed their interest in things weird and surreal. Since then, their output has continued on the slow but steady track with an album every half decade or so. Notoriously reticent to appear live or be photographed, the surreal artwork of Nick Blinko is the primary representation of the band outside the music.
In addition to his work for the band, Blinko’s illustrations have also earned him a name in the outsider art category. His work was used on the album cover for Coil’s ‘Unnatrural History III’ collection. Blinko also authored his own fictionalized auto-biography, Primal Screamer and the Haunted Head novel. Nick Blinko: Visions of Pope Adrian 37th is an art book detailing his output of illustrations during his 1983 institutionalization.
Links:
Discogs.com: https://www.discogs.com/artist/253948-Rudimentary-Peni
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudimentary_Peni
Related: Magits, Crass, UK Decay, Coil, Corpus Christi Records, London
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Location: Los Angeles
Active: 1979-1996
Fusing elements of punk, blues, voodoo, horror comics and a western atmosphere, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Kid Congo Powers co-founded The Gun Club in Los Angeles in 1979 as Creeping Ritual until adopting the new name by early 1980. Their membership fluctuated on a regular basis around Pierce’s wild behavior, with Kid Congo joining The Cramps later that year. Their early lineups saw Terry Graham, Rob Ritter (45 Grave), both formerly of The Bags and Ward Dotson (Der Stab). Patricia Morrison, also a former Bag, would join in 1982.
After touring as support with Siouxsie and the Banshees and another headline tour with support band Sisters of Mercy, The Gun Club split up in 1985, leading Morrisson and Desi Desperate to form the band Fur Bible, while Pierce went on a solo career. They would reform in 1986 with Kid Congo Powers (then with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) back on guitar. Lineup changes continued to occur during their next few albums. Jeffrey Lee Pierce died March 31, 1996 of a brain hemorrhage, leaving behind a legacy that his peers and new generations of musicians continue to revere.
Related: 45 Grave, The Cramps, Tex & The Horseheads, The Bags, Patricia Morrison
Links:
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gun_Club
Discogs.com: https://www.discogs.com/artist/270779-The-Gun-Club
This profile is in development. Contributions?