Doctors of Madness
| Doctors of Madness | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Glam rock , protopunk |
| founding | 1975 |
| resolution | 1978 |
| Last occupation | |
| Richard Harding Richard Kid Strange | |
| Peter Hewes Pete DiLemma | |
| Dave Vanian | |
| Colin Bentley Frankenstein Stoner | |
| former members | |
| Geoffrey Hickman Urban Blitz (until 1978) | |
Doctors of Madness was a British rock band that existed from 1975 to 1978 and influenced the emerging punk movement in Britain.
history
Doctors of Madness was founded in 1975 by Richard Harding , who sang and played guitar, drummer Peter Hewes, bassist Colin Bentley, and violinist Geoffrey Hickman. The band members were mostly school friends who had previously played together in the band Great White Idiot .
Doctors of Madness was mainly defined by front man and songwriter Richard Harding, whose lyrics were influenced by Bob Dylan , John Lennon and Lou Reed . The shows were based on the rock theater. On stage they kindled an inferno of lightning, smoke and explosions, accompanied by a screeching violin. Accordingly, Hardins soon called himself Richard 'Kid' Strange, Geoffrey Hickman became Urban Blitz, Peter Hewes became Pete DiLemma and Colin Bentley took the stage name Frankenstein Stoner .
The band was under contract with Polydor and released three albums from 1976 to 1978. Urban Blitz left the band shortly after the third album was released and was replaced by Dave Vanian, lead singer of The Damned . In this formation, Doctors of Madness played a new song called Don't Panic England , the composition of which was a collaboration between Richard Strange and T.V. Smith . Polydor not only turned down the single, but dropped the band and in October the group announced their breakup. Doctors of Madness said goodbye with a two-hour show at London's Music Machine on October 26, 1978, with guest appearances by T.V. Smith and Dave Vanian.
On October 11, 2014, the Doctors of Madness reformed themselves in the original cast for a single concert in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London. They played a set of eight songs as part of an evening in honor of William S. Burroughs , who was a major literary inspiration to Richard Harding and the music of the Doctors of Madness. The Doctors of Madness were accompanied by Joe Elliot , Def Leppard's singer and fan of the band, on the final song Suicide City .
Colin Bentley Stoner died of cancer in November 2014.
Since 2016, Richard Strange has reformed the Doctors of Madness, the cast includes original member Urban Blitz and Japanese Goth / Glam / Death Metal duo Sister Paul (Susumu Bass and Mackii Drums). In May 2017 the original albums were released as a 3-CD box set “PERFECT PAST- THE COMPLETE DOCTORS OF MADNESS” on CHERRY RED RECORDS. An England tour was played in June 2017 and a Japan tour in September 2017.
Richard Strange has announced a new Doctors of Madness album for 2019.
Discography
- 1976: Late Night Movies, All Night Brainstorms
- 1976: Figments of Emancipation
- 1978: Sons of Survival
- 2002: Into the Strange - The Doctors of Madness Live
Web links
- Doctors of Madness in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Doctors of Madness at Allmusic (English)
- Doctors of Madness at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dave Thompson : London's Burning. 2009, ISBN 978-1-55652-769-2 . Page 31.