The Wall (band)
| The Wall | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Punk rock |
| founding | 1978 |
| resolution | 1982 |
| Founding members | |
singing |
Ian Lowery (until 1979) |
guitar |
John Hammond (until 1979) |
Bass, vocals |
Andy "Andzy" Griffiths |
Drums |
Bruce Archibald (until 1979) |
| Later members | |
singing |
Ivan Kelly (1979-1980) |
guitar |
Nick Ward (1979-1980) |
guitar |
Andy "Heed" Forbes (1980–1981) |
guitar |
"Baz" (1981-1982) |
guitar |
Al Gregg (1982) |
bass |
Claire Bidwell (1981-1982) |
Drums |
Rab Fae Beith (1979-1982) |
The Wall was a British punk band that existed from 1978 to 1982.
history
The band The Wall was founded at the end of 1978 by four musicians from Wallsend on Hadrian's Wall in northern England, who met at Newcastle Art School . Three songs, which the band had sent to Small Wonder Records in London in early 1979 , were promptly released as a single, which sold very well and was played on the radio several times.
Ian Lowery, Andy Griffiths and Bruce Archibald then dropped out of their studies, moved to London and went on tour with the new guitarist Nick Ward in June 1979 as opening act for Patrik Fitzgerald , after which Archibald was replaced by Fitzgerald's drummer Rab Fae Beith, who also did the Took over management of The Wall. A second single was recorded in early August 1979 in the London Sound Suite studio with ex- Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones as producer. In October 1979 singer Ian Lowery was kicked out of the band when he tried to replace the guitarist on his own initiative. Lowery then founded the post-punk band Ski Patrol .
The Wall went on tour in England in October 1979 with their new singer, Northern Irishman Ivan Kelly, as a support act for the Angelic Upstarts . A new single " Ghetto ", produced by Sham 69 singer Jimmy Pursey , followed in the summer of 1980, after which the band went back to the studio to record their first studio album. Towards the end of the recording session, to the horror of the band, Ivan Kelly beat up a pensioner on the street for no reason, after which he was immediately fired from the band. Guitarist Nick Ward also got out, so that at the time the first album was released, The Wall only consisted of Andy Griffiths and Rab Fae Beith.
Andy Griffiths took over the vocals, and in January 1981 the two went into the studio with new guitarist Andy Forbes and recorded new songs. Polydor then signed The Wall, followed by a new single " Remembrance " in April 1981 and a tour of England in May 1981 as a support act for Stiff Little Fingers . With the new bassist Claire Bidwell, the band recorded their second studio album in the fall of 1981, but the guitarist left the band again during the recording session. The album was completed with a new guitarist named Baz, released in April 1982, and flopped.
In mid-1982 Polydor terminated the contract with The Wall, who received £ 10,000 severance pay. Baz and Claire Bidwell left the band. Andy Griffiths and Rab Fae Beith recorded their last studio album "Day Tripper" in September 1982 with the help of guitarist Al Gregg , which was released in November 1982 on a small Oi Punk label. Andy and Rab decided to break up the band and gave one last farewell concert in the small Blue Boy Club in London.
Andy Griffiths studied sculpture and now lives as an artist in Wales. Rab Fae Beith still played drums for other bands (e.g. UK Subs ) for a while and now lives in Arizona.
Guitarist Al Gregg put together a new band in 2007 under the name The Wall, which gave two concerts in Blackpool and Stockport on August 11 and 12, 2007 . Another concert in Glasgow followed on April 5, 2008 .
Discography
Albums
- Personal Troubles And Public Issues (Fresh Records, December 1980)
- Dirges And Anthems ( Polydor , April 1982)
- Day Tripper (No Future Records, November 1982)
- The Punk Collection ( Captain Oi! Records , December 1998)
- The Wall Live (Captive Records, September 2009)
Singles
- New Way / Suckers; Uniforms ( Small Wonder Records , April 1979)
- Exchange / Kiss The Mirror ( Small Wonder Records , September 1979)
- Ghetto / Another New Day; Mercury (Fresh Records, August 1980)
- Remembrance / Hsi Nao; Hooligan Nights ( Polydor , April 1981)
- Hobby For A Day / 8334; Redeemer (Fresh Records, June 1981)
- Epitaph / rewind; New Rebel ( Polydor , November 1981)
- Plastic Smiles / Missing Presumed Dead; Victims Of Future Wars (Supplement to Dirges And Anthems album, April 1982)
- Day gonorrhea; Animal Grip / When I'm Dancing; Castles (No Future Records, November 1982)
literature
- Ian Glasper: "Burning Britain - The History Of UK Punk 1980–1984" (Cherry Red Books, 2004)