Saturday, March 21, 2009

Fashion of 1984 part 1.






















!!!!NEWS FOR FASHION FANS!!!!

New album just came out!!!!!


FASHION - Stairway to Nowhere (2009)

"All the songs are written and performed by Luke Sky. Check it out and spread the word!!" (Vuk)




Thank you Vuk!

Friday, March 06, 2009

CACTUS WORLD NEWS


"Thinking of her brought to mind “Cactus World News”. These guys went ballistic in Ballyhale overnight around the same time and I’ll never forget my friend Shaun stating categorically that they would be bigger than U2." (http://conoroneill.com/2006/10/)


"Ah yes - Cactus World News - one of the best Irish bands - that deserve greater recognition than they received!" ( http://mog.com/music/Cactus_World_News)

Country:
Ireland
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Folk Rock, New Wave, Psychedelic Rock, Alternative Rock

Members:

Eoin McEvoy - Guitar, Vocal
Fergal MacAindris (Fergal Andrews) - Bass (-1989)
Frank Kearns - Guitar
Wayne Sheehy (Wayne P Sheehy) - Drums (-1989)

after 1989
Chris McGoldrick - Bass (member of Alabama 3)
John Doyle - Bass (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Doyle_(musician)
JJ Collier - Drums (
http://latino.myspace.com/jjcollier)

VIDEO:
"Church Of The Cold"











































































URBAN BEACHES (1986, re-realesed in 2001)

Credits:
Bass - Fergal MacAindris
Drums - Wayne Sheehy
Engineer - Mark Freegard
(http://www.markfreegard.com/), Thomas Stiehler (recording engineer for Marillion, Killing Joke, Psychedelic Furs, etc)
Guitar - Eoin McEvoy , Frank Kearns
Piano - Wayne Sheehy (tracks: 11)
Producer - Chris Kimsey (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Kimsey and www.myspace.com/wonderknob1), Ian Wilson (also produced The Alarm,Stiff Litte Fingers (track 17) Producer - Bono (U2), Jon Kelly (http://www.record-producers.com/roster/jon-kelly/biography.html) (track 12-14)
Vocals - Eoin McEvoy, Vocals - Joan Whyte (
www.rte.ie/performinggroups/rtephilharmonicchoir/choirmembers.html)
(track 05)
Written-By - Cactus World News

Notes:
Recorded in Wissellord Studios, Hilversum Holland and Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin.

2001 Rerelease with Bonus-Tracks and 24-paged booklet. New Artwork digitally remastered in Dublin by Mary Kettle


VIDEO:
"Worlds Apart/Years Later (Live)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXzTSp4RQzs

Tracklist:

01 Worlds Apart (3:36)
02 In A Whirlpool (3:36)

03 The Promise (5:03)
04 The Bridge (4:15)
05 State Of Emergency (7:10)
06 Years Later (4:10)
07 Church Of The Cold (3:49)
08 Pilots Of Beka (6:04)
09 Jigsaw Street (3:19)
10 Maybe This Time (7:00)
11 Cashen Bay Strand (5:12)
12 The Bridge (Original EP Version) (3:51)
13 The Other Extreme (4:13)
14 Frontiers (4:54)
15 Go Dti An Tra (2:59)
16 Tables Overturn (4:19)
17 State Of Emergency (RTE Radio Session) (6:18)


Link to download:

"Cactus World News wastes no time in making a first impression on its debut album Urban Beaches. The opening track "Worlds Apart" explodes from the speakers with screeching, reverberating guitars, tumbling drums, and fervent vocals. The anthemic chorus and breathtaking energy of "Worlds Apart" will remind listeners of U2's "I Will Follow" in its feel and execution. However, despite similarities to the music of fellow Irish band U2, Urban Beaches is a smart, hypnotically melodic album bristling with youthful exuberance and sparkling musicianship. The impassioned singing of Eoin McEvoy on "Worlds Apart," "In a Whirlpool," "The Promise," and "The Bridge" is contagious; after hearing him bellow "Worlds apart, worlds apart/Closer than I've ever been/To you" a few times, listeners will find themselves mouthing the words or perhaps singing it in the shower. Frank Kearns' driving, electrifying riffs magnify the urgency in McEvoy's voice; nearly every track has thrilling, dramatic guitar playing. Urban Beaches should've been a hit in the U.S.; instead, it became a buried treasure in the cutout bins."(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fbfpxqqgldte)

"Of all the bands in U2's wake coming out of Dublin, Cactus World News was the best, and "The Bridge" better than most of U2's output. Anthemic Rock, baby"
(
http://recluseshow.blogspot.com/2008/12/bridge-cactus-world-news.html)

"The first band signed to U2’s Mother Records and a corresponding big record label (MCA), one would think that Dublin’s Cactus World News would benefit from the hand that was given them for their debut release in 1986. Indeed their first single (“The Bridge”) was well received by critics and although it didn’t sell by the bucket full was sought fervently by die hard U2 fans. Rolling Stones engineer Chris Kinsey was brought in to produce on the back of his brilliant Production effort of Marillion’s “Misplaced Childhood” album the previous year.
Unfortunately, due to the bands relationship with Mr Bono’s band, one tends to consider that every song is a parody of U2, and the term “poor man’s U2” could never be more apt. The stripped Bass and Drum track, the eternally long sustain on the Guitar track and the New Wave influenced Stadium Rock sound makes one immediately think of the bands benefactors. The problem is that the songs just aren’t strong enough, and no matter whose weight you put behind average songs, they will always be average songs."

""Worlds Apart" will set even the most jaded of hearts afire. I'm not sure this band was the U2 imitation that some detractors m
ake them out to be, but unfortunately it's hard for any band to shake such a tag."The Promise" is great; "Years later" has a huge chorus; "In A Whirlpool" is about as passionate and masterful as The Sound's "Golden Soldiers." (And its title seems to be an homage to The Sound's "Whirlpool.") There's a lot to dig into on this album. A nice touch is that the last song on each side ends with a lengthy, spacey (improvised?) ambient coda, which helps to balance out the band's almost unrelenting urgency. The singer's most obvious vocal idol is Ian McCUllough (of Echo & The Bunnymen).
RIYL: U2, early Bunnymen, The Sound, Comsat Angels, Feverdream [Australia], Spy Vs. Spy [Australia]"

"Excellent album from the 80's. Stand-out tracks for me are State of Emergency and World's apart.
Remember that State of Emergency appeared in an episode of Miami Vice.
I really liked the vocals and the ringing/singing guitars."

"U2 signed this Dublin quartet to its label, Mother, so it's hard to discern if the resemblance would have been diminished without that association. Their first single, "The Bridge," is an atmospheric exaltation that found quick (albeit short-lived) success and was improved for Urban Beaches, on which it is the standout tune. Similar-sounding tracks fill whatever gaps existed between U2 and era-mates Big Country and the Alarm."
(
http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=cactus_world_news)

"An awful lot. When I was a kid living in Canada, my brother exposed me to such a wide range of music, often from the UK, that I still value his taste in music. He's still trying to get me to listen to NOFX! Anyway, I first heard of Cactus World News during the mid 80s when he gave me Urban Beaches by the band. The tape, yes those were the days, was never far from the tape deck in my stereo... Then 15 years later the tape was dying. Thankfully, I managed to find Red Coral Records on the internet and buy a remastered version on CD. I was astonished by the clarity, having listened to a tape that had been overused! The CD is never far from my CD player and often brings back the nostalgia.
What does the music sound like? Well, if you like U2, you'll certainly like it as Urban Beaches was produced by Bono I believe. It does have a U2 vibe, but it is very much its own thing...
I was talking to my brother about the band last year, and he was pleasantly surprised that I still have the album after all these years, but to me, I'll always listen to it, because it reminds me of family, is part of my youth, is different to anything else and is bloody great!"


More review:
http://drivebymedia.wordpress.com/2007/07/16/cactus-world-news-urban-beaches-and-more/

http://www.u2wanderer.org/disco/solo037.html

http://www.squidoo.com/altmusic


NO SHELTER (1989, re-released in 2004)

Credits:
Frank Kearns - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Producer
Eoin McEvoy - Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals, Producer, Concept, Tape Research, Photo Research Wayne P. Sheehy - Percussion, Piano, Drums, Producer
Andrew Boland (
www.myspace.com/andrewboland ),Tim Martin - Engineer/Thom Cadley,Chris Laidlaw - Assistant Engineer
Mary Kettle (
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/credits/0,,656321,00.html) - Assistant Engineer, Digital Remastering
Simon Clarke - Keyboards, Organ (Hammond)
Frank Donnelly - Tape Research
Mark Feltham (9 Below Zero,see:
http://www.ninebelowzero.com/html/mark.htm) - Harmonica
Stuart Gordon (ex-The Korgis,and works lot with Peter Hamill,see:
http://www.rondotheatre.co.uk/production.php?ID=307 and www.myspace.com/3caballeros) - Strings, Arranger
David Rhodes (
http://www.davidrhodes.org/) - Guitar, Percussion, Producer
Deirdre Rutkowski (ex-Sunset Gun and worked with THIS MORTAL COIL) - Vocals
Matthew Schwartz - Cover Photo/Colm Henry - Photography
Andy Wallace (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Wallace_(producer)), Kevin Killen (http://www.killenmix.com/ and http://www.reverse-thread.com/kevinkillen.html) - Producer, Engineer, Mixing

Tracklist:

01 Window To Your World (3:33)
02 Taste Of Mercury (4:00)
03 Rebound (3:39)

04 On The Run (4:42)
05 Say Goodbye (4:49)
06 Town Like This (3:39)
07 Falling Sun (4:14)
08 Sleep All Day (3:58)
09 Volcano (5:06)
10 Furious Love (3:43)
11 Everytime (2:20)
12 Memory Harbour (4:34)
13 City Of Angels (4:05)
14 Reconcile (3:56)
15 Window To Your World (Demo Version) (4:17)


Link to download:


"Originally scheduled for release in 1989. It was decided by the record company not to release it. Due to that the band split.
Finally released in 2003 by Red Coral.
The waiting for ages has ended and it was worth.
Superb album with ringing guitars and excellent harmonies. But it could not quite compete with Urban Beaches. No shelter is a bit more polished and produced and the rawness of the debut is sometimes missing.But after all these years it still sounded fresh. No Shelter really deserved to be published.
My stand-out tracks are Taste of Mercury ,Say Goodbye and Volcano."

"A second, more pop-oriented album was shelved after two singles failed to draw attention and was not released until much later. (Just for fun, play No Shelter's "Falling Sun" for that annoying collector who claims to own every rare U2 track.)"


More review:
http://www.hotpress.com/archive/2780446.html

http://www.emagine.ie/portfolio/graphic_design/cactus_world_news

http://www.araglin.nl/pivot/entry.php?id=314

SINGLES, B-SIDES

Notes:
Tracks 01-03: THE BRIDGE EP (released November 1985)
Tracks 04-06: YEARS LATER 12" - SPECIAL EDITION (released on 06 Jan. 1986)
Track 07: YEARS LATER 12" (1986)
Track 08: WORLDS APART (12") (1986)
Tracks 09: THE BRIDGE (12") (1986)
Track 10: 7" - Melody Maker, MM VINYL CONFLICT 1 (given away in Feb. 1986 issue of MELODY MAKER magazine (UK))
Tracks 11-14: REBOUND 12" (1989)
Tracks 15-17: TOWN LIKE THIS (12") (1989)
Tracks 18-19: DON'T LET ME DOWN (7") (1990)
VIDEO:
"The Bridge-Live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b0OiptaQZA

Tracklist:

01 The Bridge (Original EP Version)
02 The Other Extreme
03 Frontiers
04 Waiting In the Lowlands (acoustic)
05 The Bridge (acoustic piano)
06 Years later (12")
07 Hurry Back
08 Worlds Apart (Extended Version)
09 The Bridge (Extended Remix)
10 Skin And Dust
11 Rebound (7" Version)
12 Reconcile
13 Break On Through (Live)
14 City Of Angels
15 Town Like This
16 Volcano
17 State Of Emergency (Live)
18 Don't Let Me Down
19 Funny


Link to download:


Detailed info:
http://members.tripod.com/~dirkh/cwn-disco.html



Biography:
Cactus World News were an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1984. Founded by Frank Kearns and Eoin Mc Evoy the original members were: Frank Kearns, Eoin McEvoy, Wayne Sheehy, and Fergal MacAindris. Their early influences were The Clash, The Ramones, Talking Heads, U2, The Waterboys, and R.E.M.
Their first recording, and best known song, was "The Bridge", which was produced by U2's Bono, and released on their Mother Records label. They performed at the Self Aid concert in Dublin on May 17, 1986. The band released their debut album, Urban Beaches in 1986 and gained minor hits with its three singles: "Years Later", "Worlds Apart" and a re-recording of "The Bridge". After their second album, No Shelter, was shelved at the 11th hour in 1989, the band were dropped by their record label and underwent several personnel changes. MacAindris and Sheehy both quit in 1989. McEvoy and Kearns continued for a couple more years, with various other band members coming and going, including Chris McGoldrick (bass), John Doyle (bass) and JJ Collier (drums).


After leaving Cactus World News, Sheehy went on to play drums with Hinterland (appearing on their Kissing The Roof Of Heaven album in 1990), Hothouse Flowers (appearing on Live), Leslie Dowdall (appearing on Out There, 1998) and Dave-Id Busarus.
Frank Kearns (using the name Francis Xavier) released a solo album, Walking The Waves, in 2005, which featured Sheehy and McEvoy.
MacAindris is now playing Bass for London band Cloudbase.

Trivia:
MacAindris is the son of the late, Irish-born, English-based, television broadcaster Eamonn Andrews.

"The Irish band Cactus World News received a boost from one of their compatriots before they even recorded their first album. In 1985, the group sent a demo tape to Bono of U2 and he promptly brought the band into the studio to record their EP The Bridge. Formed in Dublin, Ireland, Cactus World News would've received comparisons to U2 even without Bono's connection with the group. Eoin McEvoy's moody, passionate vocals and Frank Kearns' soaring electric guitars were reminiscent of U2's early work, especially on anthems like "Worlds Apart" and "The Bridge" from Cactus World News' first album Urban Beaches. Released in 1986 on MCA Records, Urban Beaches was predicted to be a breakthrough debut. However, despite much press attention and even a performance on MTV, Cactus World News was unable to sell records in the U.S. Once touted as the next big thing, Cactus World News' popularity couldn't extend beyond the frequency range of college radio stations. In 1989, Cactus World News released a second album called No Shelter. Unhappy with the commercial potential of the LP, MCA immediately deleted it before it was distributed. Many fans doubted its existence until copies of it were passed around on the Internet. Cactus World News disbanded in 1990."

Frank Kearns:
"I went to school in Mount Temple where I was in bands. The U2 guys were in a band called Feedback and they got a deal in 1979, and my band supported them on their first Irish tour. Cactus World News started out in 1984. Eoin McEvoy, the lead singer, and myself started jamming together in a house in Cabra and we wrote a song called 'The Bridge'. Bono heard the song and loved it, wanted to produce it so we went into the studio with him, made an EP and that really got the attention of all the record companies at the time, resulting in a record deal with MCA.

You thought with a record deal you'd just won the lotto but it's far removed from the image of signing a cheque in a dressing room. Most deals are eightalbum option and after each album the option is always on the record company's side so there is no such thing as a million pound deal. For us what it meant it we were able to survive without being on the dole and go to rehearsal without starving. It wasn't a champagne lifestyle. We were a hardworking rock band who took ourselves very seriously.

When we were starting off, all the criticism at that time was 'You just want to be the next Thin Lizzy' and then when U2 made it, it was 'Oh, you just want to be the next U2'. It was very exciting because if they could do it, anyone could do it.

When we signed the deal we were full of hope and optimism and did really well. We had singles in the British charts; we toured America and played lots of big clubs and places in the States.

I was in the States last week and I turned on the radio and heard a Cactus World News song. It was great because we had a real connection with America and we sold a lot of records there . . . we sold more in a suburb of LA than we did in the whole of Ireland.

We were the loudest band in the country and we unfortunately paid the price for that which is Eoin's tinnitus in the ear. It's improving at the moment but it affected him big time.

We've all been through different things ourselves.

Wayne, the Cactus drummer plays with Damien Dempsey's band. I've just released an instrumental album under the title Francis Xavier and that's completely different to Cactus but it's still atmospheric and in that vein. The old Miami Vice episodes have just been re-released and Cactus are on a couple of them. Ferris Bueller's Day Off has a Cactus track on it.

When I look back I'm proud of what we've done. I would have had liked to gone on further and done some more stuff but life got in the way . . . we had difficulties with management . . . and sometimes these hurdles are too hard to get over."
(
http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2007/oct/28/eye-of-the-tiger-feature-1980s/)

ALBUMS:
Live - Spin Magazine Concert Series (1986)
Urban Beaches (1986; re-released with extra tracks 2001)
No Shelter (1989, unreleased until 2004)



WAYNE SHEEHY
as a member of Driveshaft (or Drive Shaft) around 1980-1982(http://irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/driveshaft.html), 1990 (around 1983,see: http://irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/1990.html) and Hinterland (1987-1994,see: http://irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/hinterland.html and http://www.love-song.co.uk/hinterland/index.htm) is one of Irelands premier Drummer/Percussionsts & has worked with the following International musicians: Jeff Martin (The Tea Party), Eric Burden (the animals) Cactus World News, Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones), Robert Palmer, Bo Diddley, Carl Carlton, Michelle Shocked, Bobby Womack, Damien Dempsey, Paul McGann, Hot House Flowers, Donavon, Juliet Turner, Paul Brady, Ian McLagan, Paul Young, Hinterland, The Chieftans, Pierce Turner, Steve kilbey, Mary Coughlan, Van Morrison, Andy White, Kieran Kennedy, Andrew Strong, Lesley Dowdall, Nina Hynes, Slide,Trevor Hutchinson, Doug Winbush, Robert Malone, Greg Cohen, Kieth Duffy, Chris Kimsey, Andy Wallace, Ron St Germain, Kevin Killen, David Rhodes, Malcolm Burn, Bono, Amina, Iona Green And many more!!!(http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=51075692&blogID=353966815)

He Toured with Ron Wood (1991-1994),Bo Diddley (1993-1994),Andrew Strong Commitments (1991-1994),Hothouse Flowers (1995-1998),Juliet Turner (since 1997), The Chieftains (2001)
Recorded (They Don't Teach This Shit In School CD (2000)) and toured (1998-2004) with Damien DempseyAlso worked with Michelle Shocked,Paul McGann,Virgil Kane (2006),Carl Carlton.(see more info below)

He formed his own band The Sofas (1995-1999) with The Hothouse Flowers' bassist Robert Malone. Condor Brady: "The Sofas are Wayne Sheehy, Rob Malone, Justin Carroll, Felim Gormley and myself (Condor Brady). We dont get out together much anymore but we recorded lots of stuff that s laying around in the vaults."(
www.myspace.com/conorbrady)

Appeared on Bobby Womack's 1993 album
Dave-id Busaras' 1995 album
Leslie Dowdall-Out There (1998)
Donovan's 2002 album
Maggie Khiane - Out To The World CD (2006) (as producer)
Niall Duffy-Time Sleeps For No One (2008 with Frank Kearns!,see:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/niallduffy)
Stephen Branigan's 2008 EP

He remains one of the directors of the Kingdom management company.. Wayne also runs "The Drum Collective" a fun, therapeutic and skill based drumming and rythmn workshop , for all levels and age groups, these workshops are nationwide and outside of Ireland they correspond with touring schedules.

Wayne continues to tour , write and record with Jeff Martin and is very exited at the Release and launch of there new band and album The Armada.


NEWS:
"Former Tea Party front man Jeff Martin (http://www.jeff-martin.net/) and legendary percussionist Wayne Sheehy are on a mission. With their newly formed rock'n'roll powerhouse, The Armada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Armada_(band) and www.myspace.com/jeffmartinandthearmada), the dynamic duo are set to launch an attack on the aural landscape, mixing the captured audio slaves of numerous campaigns into a set of wholly new material for release in the Autumn" (http://www.flybynight.org/suscribe.html)

!!!!! Don't miss to download HINTERLAND - Kissing Roof Of Heaven (1990) here:
http://mineforlife.blogspot.com/2008/03/hinterland-kissing-roof-of-heaven-1990.html

Awesome good album where Sheehy plays drums!!


More info:
http://www.myspace.com/waynesheehy

http://www.carl-carlton.net/e/songdogs_special.php

http://www.hothouseflowers.com/home.asp?s=music&p=born

http://www.thearmada.com/

http://officialpaulmcgann.com/default.aspx?id=51

www.myspace.com/paulmcgannmusic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lou_777/2330083825/




FRANK KEARNS
has a long and glorious history in the music biz. He went to school with U2 and was the guitar player with Cactus World News.Now Frank runs a Salt Recording studio in Sutton in Dublin. He’s developed a wonderful comfortable studio (http://www.saltrecordingstudio.com/) with both Digital (Protools) and analogue ( 2 inch Tape) equipment. Frank also runs a ‘Rock School’ where budding musicians can learn from an expert.We’ve supplied Frank with Apogee converters, a custom Auralex acoustic treatment and he’s currently looking at Neve and Portico converters. Take a peek at saltrecordingstudio.com (www.audiowarehouse.ie/clients.html)

He was a member of the followin bands:

FRANKIE CORPSE AND THE UNDERTAKERS’, formed in 1976:
""Punk really was that seismic," agrees Frank Kearns, a schoolmate of U2 and guitarist in punk band Frankie Corpse & The Undertakers. "It was like Year Zero. I mean it's impossible to describe or to visualise the impact it had on a generation of young people in Ireland. No one had experienced anything like it before. Suddenly, everything changed and nothing that happened previously mattered."
(
http://www.stevecummins.net/stevecummins.net/Irish_punk_scene.html)
"My band, Frankie Corpse And The Undertakers, were about to support U2 at a gig. I got a firsthand taste of his managerial ruthlessness when he cut our set from thirty minutes to fifteen. Our guitarist, Frankie himself, was philosophical. "We'll just have to play faster," he decided. It was punk rock. Fast was good."
(
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/neil_mccormick/blog/2008/07/31/paul_mcguinness_how_to_take_over_the_world_with_a_phone)

THE FAST (1979) (world’s first Ramones tribute band). Then came THE MYSTER MEN (1979) (
http://irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/mystermen.html and www.myspace.com/made_in_dublin)

BLUE RUSSIA (1980) (
http://irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/bluerussia.html):
"Frank Kearns was the original member and founder of BLUE RUSSIA. Noel: "He was a key inspriration to me then and again 25 years later. Frank went on to form Cactus World News and is presently travelling the islands of the pacific (Western Samoa) capturing sound & vision for his latest concept album. It should be released sometime in the next few months."
(http://www.trcjt.ca/ab950/lizzy4/blurusia.html)

CACTUS WORLD NEWS (1984) and SAND PUZZLE (1994)

Frank Kearns (using the name Francis Xavier) released a solo album Walking the Waves (2005)where featured two ex Cactus World News' members Wane Sheehy (percussion) and Eoin McEvoy (vocal) harmonies. (
http://www.1969records.com/shop/xavier_walking.htm (review)

He also works with Kilbey brothers:

"in The Esoteric Music Club (EMC,see:
http://www.karmichit.com/EMC.html and http://homepage.mac.com/fipster/church/side-projects/side-projects.html?esoteric-music-club.html&main), which is a Karmic Hit-based, donation driven music project created by John Kilbey, who is the brother of The Church's fame Steven Kilbey"

"CWN shared the bill with Australian band The Church on several occasions, and Frank Kearns has since worked with singer/songwriter Steve Kilbey on a series of recordings"

"Frank Kearns and Steven Kilbey plan to release their album this year, tentatively titled "Coral Kingdom". You can read more about Frank at his studio's site."
(
http://www.shadowcabinet.net/archive/current/steve.htm)

He is the founder of Rockschool (http://www.rockschool.ie/):
"As a professional rock musician and producer, my vision was to facilitate young musicians in exploring their creativity and expressing their unique individuality through music. Each year, I see students realise how creative they are and am thrilled to witness their new found confidence and self esteem." (Frank Kearns)

More info:
http://www.francisxavier.net/home.html

www.rockschool.ie/fxk_hotpress_2008.pdf



FERGAL ANDREWS
"My name is Fergal Andrews. I am a musician and sound engineer. I live on the coast, north of Dublin city in Ireland. "Io" (eye-oh) is the name I use for my music. I began my musical career in 1985, playing bass with a rock band called "Cactus World News" which I left in 1988. Since then, while playing with several bands and working as a recording engineer, I have developed a passion for electronic music. A couple of years ago I started writing music for theatre (http://www.irishplayography.com/search/person.asp?Personid=1905), which led to a growing love for music of a more classical nature. It is from the marriage of these two relative extremes that Io was born. Falling into the category of Electro-Acoustic, the music itself is also a mixture of extremes, moving from warm and inviting to cold and disturbing."
(
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/muses/275/ioinfo.htm)

He recently plays with Cloudbase (since 2004)

More info:
http://www.xfmuploaded.co.uk/cloudbase/

www.myspace.com/cloudbaseuk



EOIN McEVOY:

what i know is that he was a member of Jump Iceland (1980-1981,see: http://irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/jumpiceland.html) and guested as vocalist on Francis Xavier's new album.

I also found some guys with the same name, people that can
be him:
1, Eoin McEvoy, Senior QEat Abbotts Education Waterford Institute of Technology
2, Eoin McEvoy, Financial Controller at Horseware Products Limited
3, Eoin McEvoy, Senior QE at Abbotts
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/eoin/mcevoy
4, Eoin McEvoy, Managing Editor of the Irish Times.
5, Eoin McEvoy, Grove Turkeys Ltd.


If you know who is right person, let me know please!



Please support the band by using ITUNES music store, where you can download all their songs!:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/music.html

or try here:
http://www.cactusworldnews.com/purchase1.htm

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

SAVAGE PROGRESS


Country:
UK
Genre:
Electronic ,Pop
Style:
Synth-pop, New Wave


Members:
Glynis Thomas - Vocals
Rik Kenton - Bass, Vocals
Ned Morant - Percussion
Carol Isaacs - Keyboards, Back. Vocals
Andrew Edge - Drums, back. Vocals
Stewart Elliott - Drums (only on Peel Sessions, see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1980s/1984/Jul18savageprogress/)


VIDEO:
"My Soul Unwraps Tonight"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6rUPbgmHRs





































































(click on the pictures to enlarge!)
CELEBRATION (1984)

Credits:
Backing Vocals, Bass - Rik Kenton
Backing Vocals, Vocals - Glynnis
Congas, Percussion - Ned Morant
Drums - Andrew Edge
Keyboards, Piano - Carol Isaacs

Keyboards - Michael Graves (alias
Kwesi Graves) (track 01,08 and11)
Producer - Danny Hyde (
http://www.brainwashed.com/coil/info/danny.html) , Wix

VIDEO:
"Burning Bush"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWGo7tOn2cA&feature=related

Tracklist:

01 My Soul Unwraps Tonight (3:24)
02 Passport (2:50)
03 Burning Bush (4:02)
04 Falling (3:27)
05 Reclaim The Night (3:54)
06 Heart Begin To Beat (2:47)
07 Hip Parade (2:53)
08 Tinman (2:33)
09 Etty (2:56)
10 Ball And Chain (4:04)

Bonus:

11 My Soul Unwraps Tonight (12" remix) (from "My Soul Unwraps Tonight" (12") (1984))
12 Heart Begins To Beat (Derrick Carter 2003 mix)


HEART BEGIN TO BEAT (12") (1984)

13 Heart Begin To Beat (Extended)
14 Darktown


BURNING BUSH (12") (1984)

15 Burning Bush (Testify) (Mad Mix II.)
16 Tears Of Love

17 Angel Chorus (feat. Glynnis) - Devil On My Shoulder (1985)
18 Angel Chorus - Devil On My Shoulder (Razormaid) (1985)
19 Yelll (Carol Isaacs) - Build It Up (1988)
20 Bassomatic (Rik Kenton) - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Bass (1990)
21 Rik Kenton - The Libertine (1976)
22 Rik Kenton - Bungalow Love (1974)


Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/209831706/savage_progress_-_celebrations__1984_.rar

A great, but sadly forgotten masterpiece with Thompson Twins style (Savage Progress says thanks to the Thompson Twins their band & crew as you can see on the inlay sleeve!), richful in sounds and loaded with catchy melodies. Though most people describe them as a one hit wonder band, but it is far from the truth.! It contains such classics as "Passport", "Burning Bush" and "Heart Begin To Beat" etc. apart from their hit single "My Soul Unwraps Tonight".
So if you ask me, this is a wonderful new wave pop with exotic rhythms and intelligent, danceable sounds . One of the best albums of the 80s.
I would be happy to see this album as a rereleased CD with some bonus !

Some about the bonus songs:

Angel Chorus - Devil On My Shoulder is a synth-pop song and was written by Glynnis and Mark Ferda (The Wolfgang Press, Jah Wobble, Bill Laswell, Brian Eno) . It was produced by Gina X Performance fame Zeus B. Held. Anyway Mark Ferda worked also with another Savage Progress member, Ned Morant on the 1989 album of The 4 Of Us.

The rare acid house song Yelll - Build It up was written by Carol Isaacs and Matthew Seligman (ex-Thompson Twins, also appeared on Thomas Dolby's albums etc). They also worked on Ghostland's albums in the late 90s. The song was produced by Nicky Tesco who also worked with another Savage Progress member, Andrew Edge.

Bassomatic (
http://www.rarevinyl.de/records/bassom10.html) - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Bass was a progressive house song composed by William Orbit and Laurie Mayer. Rik Kenton arranged it as well as played on guitar and clavinet.

Rik Kenton's two songs: Bungalow Love '76 is a reggae tune similiar to COCKNEY REBEL's style, Libertine '74 is a rather GOOD glam-pop song along the lines of ROXY with good bass and horns
(www.angelfire.com/vt2/70sinvasion/page4.html)


Andrew Edge:
"I was 'stolen' from Viva Lula by Savage Progress. At least, I like to think that. Savage Progress had only worked with a drum machine before I joined. This was the era of a multi-cultural, ethnic 'World Music' bands and performers. We were definitely multi-cultural. Glynnis was African/English - 'Ned' was Asian/English - Carol was Jewish/English and Rik and myself were.........well, we were from Nottingham and Leeds."

Quick memories:

"Standing in a 'Kentucky Fried Chicken' after the first rehearsal. Rik: 'So, Andrew, I heard you used to play with The Thompson Twins.' Andrew: 'Yes - who have you played with?' Rik: 'Roxy Music.....could you add a portion of chips to that order, please?' My jaw dropped to the shop floor. I remembered hearing 'Virginia Plain' by Roxy Music when I was still living at home and dreaming of being in a band. I had met my first boyhood hero - in a shop selling fried chicken. Rik told me he once played in a Working Men's Club in Nottingham when he was just starting out. Whilst the band were playing somebody announced loudly over the Intercom: 'The pie and peas have arrived!'. Everybody left within 30 seconds. The band played on to an empty room. Supporting the Thompson Twins at the Hammersmith Odeon. It was a holy temple of music to me. Everybody had played there. We played 5 nights. It felt like clocking on for work.

After supporting Tina Turner at The Venue in Victoria, London, Tina's record company had a party upstairs after the gig. I brushed past Rik and Tina's piano player. I bumped into them slightly. Rik said: "Don't worry, it's only the drummer." Tina's piano player grabbed me by the arm and said to me: "Hey man, you're good!" Ahhhh.... The tour of Europe. Being made to feel totally welcome everywhere we went. Going into the back of the camper and crying to myself everyday because the emotional strain was overwhelming; Christmas/Birthday/drunk/ego-surges/happy/bored/excited - every single day - every hour - for a month. John Lennon: "It's all too much, for me to take." Seeing my face on a 'K-Tel - Hits of 1984' album cover. Stardom at last. Being lost in the middle of some German town and forgetting which hotel I was staying at."
(http://andrew-edge.blogspot.com/2007/07/savage-progress.html)

"Led by bassist/songwriter Rik Kenton — one of the two bassists on the first Roxy Music album over a decade earlier — Savage Progress plays dance-rock with much the same loose and funky feel as the Thompson Twins. The quartet incorporates glints of various Third World musics, adding character to the otherwise plain melodies and banal lyrics. Vocalist Glynnis sings like a member of Bananarama; the band (whose lineup fields bass, keyboards and percussion) is facile and flexible, making easy transitions from the calypso of "Falling" to the eerie Arabia of "My Soul Unwraps Tonight" to the Bow Wow Wow-styled "Heart Begin to Beat." By not allowing themselves to become too involved in any of these flavors, Savage Progress remains light and likable, but they will need stronger songs to keep from being just a well-produced shell of appealing styles"
(http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=savage_progress)

""Celebration" was one of the best records of the its era. "Heart begins to Beat" was, and still is, a classic!"

"The first track is "Heart Begin To Beat" which was also released as a single. This song is one reason that the band is still remembered these days as it is such a great "unclassic" and was used by the DJs of the arising house scene in the middle of the eighties such as Larry Heard/Mr. Fingers and Frankie Knuckles. The song has got such an incredibly cracking beat that it is no wonder that it was dropped oftenly in house clubs like the "Power Plant" or the "Muzic Box". I really love those mixes from that era. It was a time were the DJs created a unique style by searching the past for useful tunes they could play out next to the latest modern house tracks. It was a great mixture of old italo-disco songs, some decent disco classics, industrial and new wave-ish songs like "Heart Begin To Beat". The track is very unique in its concetration on rhythmical elements and the cold and "fey" voice of Carol Isaacs combined with a funky bass riff. You won't get the lines "begin to beat let my heart begin to beat, begin to beat let my heart begin to beat..." out of your head, trust me! This tune is still a killer on every dancefloor today. i found a copy of the 12" for 1€ on a flea market over here in düsseldorf. Quite a good find i guess.
The second track "Hip Parade" is taken from their LP Celebration. It's the standout track of the record for me. The song is unbeatable in its supercooled new-wave-extravaganza! Carol Isaacs sings like an original Snow Queen on valium over a straight beat with some nice synthesizer action going on. You can even here some nice ice wind echoes in the background if you listen intensively enough! I guess it's really Isaacs' distinctive voice which makes the music so cool. Also in the actual sense of freezing you, hehe."

(http://kosmonautenschule.blogspot.com/2008/02/savage-progress.html)


Biography:
Savage Progress was a pop group in the 1980s from England that had hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.The band started with the meeting of Kenton and Glynnis Thomas (later to be known only as Glynnis) in 1982. They later recruited Ned Morant, who was not a professional percussionist, but was eager to learn and fitted in with the visual style of the band.They recorded a few basic demos over Christmas in 1982, at The Point studio in Victoria, London, with a young tape operator called Danny Hyde.He used the free time he was allowed by the studio to record four basic tracks. At that time the Point studio was under the control of Rupert Merton, who owned the Point Music publishing company.After hearing their demos he asked them to record more songs. Merton was then the Thompson Twins publisher, and later signed Freur/Underworld.As Savage Progress had no drummer, they invited Andrew Edge to join.
Edge used to rehearse in The Point studio a few years before with the Thompson Twins, and was a friend of Alex Burak, the chief engineer.
"Andrew Edge joined them on drums for less than one year, but left because of the subliminal tension between the other band members. Edge went on to join Savage Progress, who later toured with the Thompson Twins as their support act on the 1984 UK tour. This came about because both bands had the same publishing company, Point Music. Its owner (Rupert Merton) would later sign the band known as Underworld."

(http://www.discoogle.com/wiki/Thompson_Twins)

Edge later introduced Carol Isaacs to the group, as they had both previously worked together in a band called Viva Lula, which had been signed to Arista records the previous year

They were a mixed-race group of musicians who used traditional pop styles as well as reggae, Caribbean dance rhythms and African rhythms.The racial mix within Savage Progress was never fully stressed in the media, but had a definite effect on their music: Glynnis was born in Botswana to English-African parents, Kenton is from Nottingham, England, Isaacs is English-Jewish, Morant has Indian parentage, and Edge is from Leeds, in northern England. This mix of differing cultures proved to be advantageous for Savage Progress´ music, as Kenton infused their songs with as many cultural influences as possible. Larry Heard commented on his early influences, which include the Savage Progress song, "Heart Begin To Beat".

Savage Progress joined the Thompson Twins on the "Into The Gap" tour of Britain (February, 1984) as support act. Savage Progress biggest hit was "My Soul Unwraps Tonight", which was written by Rik Kenton (born October 31, 1945). Kenton was a former member of Roxy Music.

After signing a publishing contract with Point Music, the band signed a contract with '10 Records' (a subsidiary of Virgin Records) and released their first single, which was, "My Soul Unwraps Tonight".The first album—Celebration—was partly-produced by Paul "Wix" Wickens, who later played/plays keyboards for Paul McCartney.

Savage Progress supported Tina Turner at The Venue in Victoria, London, and joined the Thompson Twins on the "Into The Gap" tour of Britain (February, 1984) as support act.[12] In October of the same year they went on a tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, to capitalize on the success of their single releases.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Progress)


(Photo of Savage Progress from Bravo (05. july '84))


ANDREW EDGE
is a musician from Leeds, England who has played pop music, dance, synth pop and ballads. After playing in local Leeds jazz-rock bands and Working Men's Club bands, he moved to London in the late 1970s, and joined the Thompson Twins. After one year Edge left the group and joined Viva Lula, who released three singles (on Arista Records) and supported Big Country on a tour of Britain. Edge then joined Savage Progress, who supported the Thompson Twins on a tour of Britain in 1984, and in the same year embarked on a tour of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, to support their album and single releases there.Although a percussionist, Edge changed to vocals and writing songs after he moved from London to Linz, Austria. He started the group YOYO in 1990, signing with EMI records, before working with Robert Ponger (producer of Falco). Edge later released a solo album in 1996; Northern Sky, on BMG records (Austria).(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Edge)

Before savage progress Edge had played with the Thompson Twins (toured about 8 months with them), and Viva Lula, as well as drumming for various artists.
moved to Austria to start a singing career, signing with EMI (YOYO) and later, BMG (as a solo artist) and singing on various recordings:
Boys Will Be Boys
Big View - August Grass (7") (1982) (with Thomas Bailey of Thompson Twins)
Viva Lula, originally titled Uropa Lula (with Carol Isaacs), releasing four singles on Arista Records.
Freur/Underworld. Played original backing track drums on the single ( 'Doot - Doot')
Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth (last song) (1984)
Nicky Tesco (
www.myspace.com/nickytesco)
Thomas Leer (1 song)
The Chills- The Pink Frost (1984)
Hipsway - The Honey Thief (1986)
Stump (concerts)
Died Pretty (toured with them)
YoYo - Yoyo (1990)/ Missing Ep (1993)(with members of The and Red Flag)
Wagner And Beat-HovenCamorra
Walkner.Möstl - Heaven Or Hell (2000)
Karl Moestl* - Touching This (2003)

solo:
Northern Sky (1996)


More info:
http://www.andrewedge.com/

http://andrew-edge.blogspot.com/



RIK KENTON (Richard Kenton)
was a member of Houndogs in the early 60's (http://www.billyfurystory.co.uk/index.php/category/graham-wyvill/)

He guested on:

Armada (?)
Woody Kern - The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk (1967)
G.F. Fitzgerald - Mouseproof (1970)
Neil harrison - All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go (1974)
Had a brief stint in Roxy Music, hired May 1972 and fired Jan 1973.
After Roxy Music, Kenton recorded Bungalow Love in 1974 for Island Records (1974 /UK Island 7 Inch , WIP6214).In 1976 Kenton recorded "The Libertine/Messin' Around" (7" single)
(www.chrisspedding.com/session/rk/rk.htm). His band members for the recording included Chris Spedding/guitars, Jim Cregan/guitars, Herbie Flowers/bass, and Tony Newman/drums.
Orchestra JB - Come Alive (1990)

and worked with Bassomatic on one track of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass in 1990, but has not released any solo material.

More info:
????


CAROL ISAACS (http://flickr.com/photos/indigospike/397062523/ and http://flickr.com/photos/indigospike/1399277333/)
went on to work with many other artists, such as Sinéad O'Connor, Sam Brown, Squeeze,The Latin Quarter.
She now plays with Indigo Girls (since 1999) and divides her time between LA and London where she is also an illustrator.(
http://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/small%20hours.htm)

She played on:
Small Hours (1980)
Viva Lula (with Andrew Edge)
Second Image - Second Image (1983) (
http://saltyka.blogspot.com/2008/06/second-image.html)
Yelll - Build It Up 12" (1988) (Written-By - Carol Isaacs)
Sam Brown - April Moon (1990)
Squeeze - Play (1991)
Abdel Ali Slimani - Mraya (1995)
Natacha Atlas - Halim (1997)
Latin Quarter - Bringing Rosa Home (1997)
Sunhouse - Crazy On The Weekend (1998)
Ghostland - Ghostland (1998)
Indigo Girls - Come On Now Social (1999)
Indigo Girls - Become You (2002)
Caroline Lavelle - Brilliant Midnight (2001)
Ghostland - Guide Me God (2002)
Ghostland - Interview With an Angel (2003)
Sinead O'Connor - Goodnight, Thank You, You've Been a Lovely Audience (2003)
Indigo Girls - All That We Let In (2004)
Indigo Girls - Despite Our Differences (2006)

(http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/artist/Carol%20Isaacs/a/Carol%20Isaacs.htm)
More info:
????


NED MORANT
has worked with other bands, such as The 4 Of Us, Alabama 3, and Anne Clark:

Anne Clark - Hopeless Cases (1987) (two tracks)
Anne Clark - R.S.V.P. (1988)
The 4 Of Us - Songs For The Tempted (1989) (one track)
Alabama 3 - La Peste (2000) (one track)


More info:
?????


GLYNNIS THOMAS
left the band after their tour of Europe in October, 1984. The band were offered the chance to play European festivals in the summer of 1985 (with another singer) but Kenton declined and broke up the band. The remaining members played together as a backing band for other artists, but never re-formed using the original name.

She appeared on Angel Chorus - Devil On My Shoulder (12") (1985) (Written by,performed Glynnis) . This was her collaboration with Mark Ferda and it was producer by Zeus B. Held
(i added it as bonus see above)

Apparently, Glynnis stopped singing, and left the music business.


More info:
?????


More info:
www.myspace.com/savageprogresspassport

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1980s/1984/Jul18savageprogress/

http://hitparade.ch/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Savage+Progress

http://www.br-online.de/bayern3/musik-center/ohw-savage-progress-my-soul-unwraps-tonight-ID1200388831824.xml



REPOSTED


KEN LASZLO

Ken Laszlo (1987)

Maxi Versions


AZTEC CAMERA
Stray

Dreamland


NONE NIGHT OF FLEXIPOP vol. 3, 4, 5

vol 3.


vol 4.

vol 5.


MISSING PERSONS

Color InYourLife(1986)

Spring Session M (1982)

Rhyme& Reason (1984)


NEW MUSIK - Warp (1982)


THE ART COMPANY - Get It Out Of Your Head (1984) http://rapidshare.com/files/211038463/the_art_company.rar


APB - Something To belive In (2006)

DARONDO - Let My People Go (2006)

THE EDGE and MICHAEL BROOK- Captive (Soundtrack) (1987)http://rapidshare.com/files/211045493/captive.rar


THE TWINS - 12 Inch Collection



YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI

Cine Techno Love

Saravah (1977)


MAMA BUBO - Planeta Haj (1985)


ABECEDARIANS - Eureka EP

ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION - More More More (1976)http://rapidshare.com/files/211040587/atcn76.rar


BIONIC BOOGIE:
Bionic Boogie (1977)
Hot Butterfly (1978)

Tiger,Tiger (1979)


GREGG DIAMOND - Starcruisin' or Star Cruiser (1978)http://rapidshare.com/files/105562549/starcruiser__.rar.html

COLONY 5 - Lifeline (2002)

BABBLE

Ether (1996)

Love Has No Name (1996 cd single)

The Stone (1994)
The Stone Plus (compilation from 12" releases)http://rapidshare.com/files/211782904/babblestopl.rar
RULES OF ROCK by guitarist Robert Strain 1) All sax players look the same 2) All drummers are mad, and are always late 3) All singers are vain and precious 4) All keyboard players are slightly eccentric - 'boffins' 5) All bass players are sensible (van driving, arranging gigs, doing the accounts) 6) All guitarists are handsome and brilliant - well, I would say that ;-) Actually, all guitarists just want to play guitar (we can't be bothered with all the other nonsense). Well, that and attend to all the women the singer rejects! :)