Interview (band)
Encyclopedia
Interview were a five piece pop
/rock
band from Bath, Somerset
, England
. They were signed to Virgin Records
, and between 1978 and 1981 released two album
s and four singles
.
(later of Tears for Fears
) on drums and Phil Crowther on bass. In 1978, they signed up to a five album recording contract
with Virgin.
Their debut album, big oceans, produced
by Colin Thurston, was released in 1978 and “was a lackluster effort”. Peter Gabriel
also did a session with the band, producing demo
versions of "You Didn't Have to Lie To Me", "That Kind Of Boy" and "Shipyards", and these were subsequently released as archive material.
For their next album, Snakes and Lovers, which was produced by Mick Glossop, they brought in bassist Alfie Aguis, who was associated with The Teardrop Explodes
. This album has over subsequent years received critical acclaim, however at the time, it was poorly promoted by Virgin and was ignored by radio and the music press. According to an interview with Jeff Starrs in 1997, “soon after its release we did support dates in the UK with the Pretenders and Peter Gabriel whilst Virgin closely watched the sales graphs in the US climb. At one point, it seemed inevitable that we should go over and promote but Virgin would always say 'wait and see if the graph keeps going up'! Of course, after a while, it went down and a tour was decided against...".
The band split up in 1981.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Bath, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They were signed to Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, and between 1978 and 1981 released two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s and four singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
.
Career
Originally formed in 1977 by Pete Allerhand, Alan Brain and Jeff Starrs in Bath, they added Manny EliasManny Elias
Manny Elias is an English drummer, notable for being the original drummer with Tears for Fears during the 1980s.Originally a member of the rock band Interview from Bath, Somerset. Elias began working with Tears For Fears in 1982 and drummed on the albums The Hurting and Songs From The Big Chair,...
(later of Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
) on drums and Phil Crowther on bass. In 1978, they signed up to a five album recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Virgin.
Their debut album, big oceans, produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Colin Thurston, was released in 1978 and “was a lackluster effort”. Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
also did a session with the band, producing demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
versions of "You Didn't Have to Lie To Me", "That Kind Of Boy" and "Shipyards", and these were subsequently released as archive material.
For their next album, Snakes and Lovers, which was produced by Mick Glossop, they brought in bassist Alfie Aguis, who was associated with The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
. This album has over subsequent years received critical acclaim, however at the time, it was poorly promoted by Virgin and was ignored by radio and the music press. According to an interview with Jeff Starrs in 1997, “soon after its release we did support dates in the UK with the Pretenders and Peter Gabriel whilst Virgin closely watched the sales graphs in the US climb. At one point, it seemed inevitable that we should go over and promote but Virgin would always say 'wait and see if the graph keeps going up'! Of course, after a while, it went down and a tour was decided against...".
The band split up in 1981.
Singles
- "Birmingham" / "New Hearts in Action" (1978, Virgin, UK, 7", VS 218)
- "You Didn't Have to Lie to Me" / "That Kind of Boy" (1979, Virgin, UK, 7", VS 249)
- "To The People" / "Hart Crane in Mexico" (1979, Virgin, UK, 7", VS 310)
- "Hide and Seek" / "Yes Man" (1980, Virgin, UK, 7", VS 331)
Albums
- big oceans (1979, Virgin, UK, LP, V 2123)
- Snakes and Lovers (1980, Virgin, UK, LP, V 2157)
Reissues and archive releases
- big oceans (CD)
- Snakes and Lovers (CD)
- Singles (CD)
- The First Demos (CD)
- The Last Demos (CD)
- Live in Edinburgh (CD)
External links
- [ Interview at Allmusic]
- Listen to Interview tracks
- Discography at Discogs.com
- Interviewtheband.com
- Daniel Silverman review