The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set is an English new wave band that was formed in Hornsey, London in 1978 . Appreciated as a “cult band”, they mix different styles of music, including pop , ska , folk and white soul . Well-known bands like The Smiths , Franz Ferdinand and Belle and Sebastian were influenced by her.
history
The Monochrome Set was founded by the singer Bid and the guitarist Lester Square . Lester Square came from the B-Sides , who recently renamed themselves Adam & the Ants . John Haney was on the drums, but the bassist changed several times at the beginning.
Under the label Rough Trade Records , the band released three singles in 1979: He's Frank , A Symphony of Horror and The Monochrome Set . In 1980 her first studio album, Strange Boutique, was released by DinDisc . Andy Warren was playing bass at the time , previously with Adam Ant. In the same year, the second album Love Zombies , also on DinDisc, was released.
In 1982 the band switched to Cherry Red Records , where the third album was released under the title Eligible Bachelors . Various changes were made at the same time. Cherry Red released the album Volume, Contrast, Brilliance ... with older and previously unreleased recordings in 1983 . Then some singles appeared before the album The Lost Weekend was released in 1985 under the label Blanco y Negro Records . Since the commercial success failed to materialize, the band broke up. The band only occasionally accompanied Jessica Griffin with her band Would-Be-Goods when recording their first album The Camera Loves Me .
In 1990, Bid, Square and Warren reunited. Orson Presence was on the keyboards , the drummer was Mike Slocombe , who was soon replaced by Trevor Ready . They were particularly successful in Japan . During this period they recorded a number of albums and various compilations and singles appeared before the band took a break in 1998. One of the founding members, Bid, released several albums shortly afterwards under the band name Scarlet's Well .
On October 8, 2008, The Monochrome Set performed once again at the celebration of Cherry Red's 30th anniversary. The band itself could also look back on 30 years of band history. In addition to Bid, Warren and Square, Jennifer Denitto (drums) and Sian Dada (keyboards) from Scarlet's Well played .
Since 2011 the band has been touring regularly and producing new albums. On their 2016 tour, the band consisted of Bid, Andy Warren (b), Mike Slocombe (dr) and John Paul Moran (key).
Publications
Studio albums
- 1980: Strange Boutique (Dindisc)
- 1980: Love Zombies (Dindisc)
- 1982: Eligible Bachelors (Cherry Red)
- 1985: The Lost Weekend (Blanco Y Negro)
- 1990: Dante´s Casino (Vinyl Japan)
- 1991: Jack (Honeymoon)
- 1993: Charade (Cherry Red)
- 1994: Misère (Cherry Red)
- 1995: Trinity Road (Cherry Red)
- 1995: I Love Lambeth (Cherry Red)
- 2012: Platinum Coils (Disquo Bleu)
- 2013: Super Plastic City (Disquo Bleu)
- 2015: Spaces Everywhere (Wallpaper Records)
- 2016: Cosmonaut (Wallpaper Records)
Compilation albums
- 1983: Volume, Contrast, Brilliance ... (Sessions & Singles Vol. 1) (Cherry Red)
- 1988: Westminster Affair (Gang Original Du Film) (Él)
- 1988: Color Transmission (Virgin)
- 1992: What a Whopper! (Richmond Records)
- 1995: Tomorrow Will Be Too Long - The Best of The Monochrome Set ( Caroline Records )
- 1995: Black & White Minstrels 1975–1979 (Cherry Red)
- 1996: Compendium 75-95 (Cherry Red)
- 1997: Chaps (Recall, DoCD)
- 2000: The Best of The Monochrome Set (Cherry Red)
- 2008: The Independent Singles Collection (Cherry Red)
- 2010: Early Recordings: 1975–1977 White Noise (Captured Tracks)
- 2016: Volume, Contrast, Brilliance (Unreleased & Rare, Vol. 2) (wallpaper)
Live albums
- 1993: Live (Code 90)
- 2013: M-80 (Wienerworld)
Video albums
- 2002: The Monochrome Set (Classic Rock Productions)
- 2006: Destiny Always Calls Twice (Cherry Red Films)
- 2013: M-80 (Winerworld)
Singles
- 1979: He's Frank / Alphaville (Rough Trade)
- 1979: He's Frank (Slight Return) / Silicon Carne / Fallout (Rough Trade, Disquo Bleu)
- 1979: The Monochrome Set / Mr. Bizarro (Rough Trade)
- 1979: A Symphony of Horror / Lester Leaps In (Rough Trade)
- 1980: 405 Lines / Goodbye Joe (Dindisc)
- 1980: The Strange Boutique / Surfing SW12 (Dindisc)
- 1980: Apocalypso / Fiasco Bongo (Dindisc)
- 1981: Ten Don'ts for Honeymooners / Straits of Malacca (PRE Records)
- 1982: The Mating Game / JDHANEY (Cherry Red)
- 1982: Cast a Long Shadow / The Bridge (Cherry Red)
- 1983: The Jet Set Junta / Love Goes Down the Drain / Noise (Eine Kleine Symphonie) (Cherry Red)
- 1984: Jacob's Ladder / Andiamo (Blanco Y Negro)
- 1985: Wallflower / Big Ben Bongo (Blanco Y Negro)
- 1991: Killing Dave / House of God (live) (Honeymoon)
- 1993: Forever Young / Hurting You / Little Noises (Cherry Red)
- 2015: Iceman (wallpaper, download only)
Web links
- Website of The Monochrome Set (English)
- The Monochrome Set at Allmusic (English)
- The Monochrome Set at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Monochrome Set: Comeback of a cult band ( Memento from March 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). Stern , March 18, 2015
- ^ John Robb: The Monochrome Set: Remembering the band that history forgot . The Guardian , January 9, 2009 (English)
- ↑ Allmusic, see web links
- ↑ No poses, no show - but unique . Die Welt , March 18, 2014