Ghost dance
| Ghost dance | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | New wave , gothic rock |
| founding | 1985 |
| resolution | 1990 |
| Founding members | |
| Gary Marx | |
| Anne-Marie Hurst | |
| Last occupation | |
| Gary Marx | |
| Anne-Marie Hurst | |
| Etch | |
| Guest musician | |
Guitar, secondary voice |
Steve Smith |
Guitar, secondary voice |
Richard Steel |
Drums, secondary voice |
John Grant |
| Julian Stewart-Lindsay | |
Secondary voice |
Jan Johnstone |
Ghost Dance (English " Ghost Dance ") was a British rock band that was quite successful in Britain's independent scene in the late 1980s , but broke up in 1990.
history
The beginnings (mid 1985)
In April 1985 guitarist and founding member Gary Marx (actually Mark Pearman) left the band The Sisters of Mercy . In an interview with Zillo magazine in 1989, he said in retrospect that the time with the Sisters as a songwriter had been a very frustrating one. Shortly after his departure, the Sisters line-up broke up for good.
At the same time, the singer Anne-Marie Hurst got out of Skeletal Family . Skeletal Family were the opening act for the Sisters in 1984 and like them were again and again assigned to the Gothic-Rock genre, although both bands defended themselves against this categorization.
Both were producing their first demos at this time, supported by the “Pandora” drum computer. At that time, Gary Marx was still contractually bound to the old Sisters record company. In July 1985, they presented the WEA with a tape with five tracks: Cruel Light , No Return , Gone Tomorrow , Yesterday Again and Holding On . The record company didn't take their option and Gary Marx was out of his old contract. A first record deal for the new band was signed with the indie label Karbon .
Band foundation and first successes (1985–1987)
The first concert with the bassist Etch took place on November 29, 1985. In early 1986 Steve Smith from Red Lorry Yellow Lorry joined them. He played a radio session with Janice Long, but was replaced after recording the band's first record release, the EP River of No Return (released April 18, 1986), by Paul Southern (also previously with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry) . Southern didn't stay long either - Richard Steel replaced him in July.
At the end of July 1986 the EP Heart Full of Soul followed , which only contained cover versions . Until the end of 1986 the band was on tour in Great Britain , the Benelux countries and the Federal Republic of Germany . At some of these concerts, the band was accompanied by live drummer John Grant. On The Grip of Love (published October 31, 1986), however, Pandora was used again. The first three singles River of no Return , The Grip of Love and Heart Full of Soul became hits in the British indie charts and are now sought-after rarities.
In 1987, Pandora had meanwhile been finally replaced by John Grant, A Word to the Wise entered the British Top 100. The subsequent tour of Great Britain was completely sold out. A compilation with the songs of the first three Maxis appeared: Gathering Dust. This LP also marked the end of the collaboration between Ghost Dance and Karbon Records. In the following year Ghost Dance played at numerous festivals, including a. Reading .
Decline (1989–1990)
Further tours followed and in late 1988 Ghost Dance signed a record deal with the major label Chrysalis Records . The band was very optimistic about the future and expected a lot from this collaboration. She spent almost half a year in the studio, directed by producer John Brand. Brand steered the band towards mainstream pop. This change of course heralded the demise of Ghost Dance.
The first Maxi Introducing Ghost Dance flopped, as did the album Stop the World (actually received quite favorably by the press) . The newer version of Celebrate became the second single.
In 1989 Ghost Dance was last seen as the opening act for the Ramones on German concert stages. The band went under in the disinterest of the Ramones fans. At the end of 1989, Ghost Dance was dropped by Chrysalis, personal differences in the band arose and culminated in Etch's departure. In early 1990 the band broke up.
After ghost dance
Anne-Marie Hurst tried in vain to start a solo career. In 2003 she was initially supposed to be part of the reunification of the Skeletal Family, but for family reasons she again refrained from these plans. Since 2009 she has been playing concerts again with the participation of former members of the Skeletal Family, which also includes songs by Ghost Dance.
Etch later played u. a. at The Mission , Loud and All About Eve .
Gary Marx first worked in the Leeds music scene with local musicians, later he worked as a music teacher at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. In 2004 he released a solo album and a collection of demos that he originally made for Andrew Eldritch and his Sisters in 1995, but which were never used. In addition, the official website of Ghost Dance went online in 2004.
Discography
- River of No Return (12 ", April 18, 1986)
- Heart Full of Soul (7 ", July 25, 1986)
- Heart Full of Soul (12 ", July 25, 1986)
- The Grip of Love (7 ", October 3, 1986)
- The Grip of Love (12 ", October 31, 1986)
- A Word to the Wise (12 ", August 10, 1987)
- Gathering Dust (LP, February 15, 1988)
- Down to the Wire (7 ", June 5, 1989)
- Introducing Ghost Dance (12 ", June 5, 1989)
- Down to the Wire (CDS, June 5, 1989)
- Celebrate (7 ", September 4, 1989)
- Celebrate (12 ", September 4, 1989)
- Celebrate (Picture-12 ", September 4, 1989)
- Celebrate (CDS, September 4, 1989)
- Stop the World (LP / CD, September 25, 1989)