Richard Strange’s first band was Doctors of Madness, formed in 1975, recording three influential but non-commercial albums. The band was supported by the Sex Pistols, The Jam and Joy Division. He disbanded the band in 1978, after Dave Vanian of The Damned briefly joined him on vocals.
Related: Doctors of Madness, Sex Pistols, The Jam, Joy Division, Dave Vanian, The Damned
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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: Islington, London, England, UK
Active: 1978-1982
Formed in London in 1978, The Dark alongside The Damned stood out as capable of more melodic and dynamic sounds, though they never achieved wide success or recognition. Despite never focusing on a particularly gothic sound as their name might imply, their single ‘The Masque’ is a cornerstone on any gothic punk compilation. Like many of their peers in the movement at the time, they highlighted political and social topics, but more directly and succinctly than style over substance bands that achieved more attention.
The majority of their music was put out on the label Fresh Records, who brought out some of the earliest UK Decay, Play Dead, and Second Layer records, some more experimental bands like Cuddly Toys and Family Fodder, not to forget about more punk fare like The Wall, Menace, and the fantastic Punk and Disorderly. Their final record was a 1982 live recording of what was to be their final gig, though their actual last gig was at the Klub Foot in August with The Lurkers.
The initial lineup consisted of John Flannagan, Billy O’Neil, Jim Kane and Phil Langham (later Action Pact and staff at Cherry Red Records), soon joined by Andy Riff. Other members over their career would include Jim Bryson and Razzle (both formerly of Demon Preacher, with Nik Wade aka Nik Fiend in Demon Preacher – the band that would become Alien Sex Fiend). Razzle would end up with Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks until his tragic death in 1984.
Related: UK Decay, The Damned, Alien Sex Fiend, Hanoi Rocks, Play Dead, Demon Preacher, Second Layer, Cuddly Toys, Family Fodder, The Wall, Menace, London, UK, 1978, Action Pact, Anagram Records, Cherry Red Records, Fresh Records, Punk and Disorderly
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Abbo (Steve Abbot), Steve Harle, and Martin Segovia Smith prior to forming UK Decay.
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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: Luton, UK
Active: 1979-1983, 2008-present
UK Decay came up from the second wave of UK punk from the London-adjacent town of Luton in 1979. It was this era of the punk rock scene where things were already being described as post punk, as the first wave bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash etc were already perceived as having imploded, and divisions and definitions began to distinguish themselves. Despite this fracturing, new possibilities and diversities were possible, and UK Decay were at the forefront of what was becoming a more gothic punk, along with Bauhaus and positive-punk bands like Southern Death Cult/Death Cult. Their first single was a split 7”, their contribution being the graphic and gory depiction of an automobile accident, titled “Car Crash”, and an politically charged social commentary, the eponymous track, “UK Decay”. The flip side was from fellow local band Pneumonia, whose guitarist Steve Spon would soon join UK Decay.
They followed up with the Black EP in 1980 which was socially critical punk, but Black Cat, and the name itself, as well as the band lurking in a tunnel revealed a darker nature. The ‘For My Country’ single next up in that same year didn’t show much as far as their gothic leanings, although the band did use the term goth to describe a certain element of their sound. It was not until after a US tour with Dead Kennedys, that their 1981 single ‘Unexpected Guest’, a song about a suspenseful presence of an unknown stranger in the house, did the band come into their own as goth punks, retaining a certain horror element from then on. Their debut LP ‘For Madmen Only’ came in 1981, and it was a theatric goth punk opera that stands out, to me at least as one of the most unique albums of all time. From it came the ‘Sexual’ single.
After Fresh Records was bought out, UK Decay teamed up with Crass Records on the Corpus Christi sub-label for their final release, the ‘Rising From the Dread’ EP, featuring the brooding ‘Werewolf’ which took up the entirety of the A side, laced with crescendos and dirges, howls, grunts and growls, then flipping over to give us, among others, the epic (though shorter) song “Testament”. Represented on the legendary ‘Gothic Rock’ (1992) compilation companion to Mick Mercer’s photo book of the same name, “Testament” was the gateway song to UK Decay for many a young goth in the 1990s, and for me the best song on the album.
Unfortunately the Rising From The Dread EP would be the last studio release from UK Decay for some time. In 1983, a cassette of their final show was released, ‘A Night for Celebration’. Also that year, ‘The Whip’ compilation was released containing a self-titled track from Slave Drive and then as Meat of Youth with another self titled track on the equally fantastic batcave compilation, ‘Young Limbs And Numb Hymns’. Both short lived bands consisted of UK Decay alumni Eddie Branch, Steve ‘Abbo’ Abbott and Steve Harle before they teamed up with Albie De Luca (Gene Loves Jezebel) to become Furyo. Meanwhile, Steve Spon teamed up with remnants of another gothic rock/postpunk/batcave band Ritual to become In Excelsis.
UK Decay reunited briefly in 1993, and then again on a more solid basis in the early 2000s, resulting in the ‘Death So Fatal’ compilation, containing the first split single, Peel Sessions, and live recordings. In 2008 they performed at the Drop Dead Festival in Lisbon, Portugal introducing them to a yet a new generation of gothic punks and deathrockers. This was followed by several other gigs and festivals and the next drop dead in Berlin. Their second studio album was released in 2013, titled ‘New Hope For The Dead’ preceded by the single ‘Killer”/”Heavy Metal Jews’ earlier that year. As of 2020 UK Decay remains active.
Related: Resiztors, Pneumonia, Slave Drive, Meat Of Youth, Ritual, In Excelcis, Furyo
Links:
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