Love and Rockets (band)
Encyclopedia
Love and Rockets were an English alternative rock
band formed in 1985 by former Bauhaus
members Daniel Ash
(guitar
s, saxophone
, and vocals), David J
(bass and vocals), and Kevin Haskins
(drums and synthesizers). Former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy
had embarked on a solo career after Bauhaus split in 1983. Ash and Haskins had recorded and performed in another band, Tones on Tail
, between 1982 and 1984.
by Jaime
and Gilbert Hernandez
. Gilbert later referred to the confusion caused by this in his book Love and Rockets X, as there were several different bands named "Love and Rockets" for a period.
Despite their previous band's status as gothic rock
icons, Love and Rockets moved away from that genre, as demonstrated by their first minor hit being a cover of the Motown classic "Ball of Confusion". Their first album release, Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven
(1985), leaned more towards psychedelic
post-punk
music with a primitive alternative rock
sound that at the time was relatively new and unheard of. Their second release, Express
(1986), continued in the same vein, adding even more pop
elements to the mix. It included the dance hit "Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)". The 1987 follow up, Earth, Sun, Moon
, had a folkier sound and spawned the minor hit "No New Tale to Tell".
In 1989, the band released a self-titled album
that presented a more AOR
sound. The second single from the album was the T.Rex-inspired song "So Alive". It became a surprise hit, reaching No. 3 on the American singles chart, a feat no Bauhaus-related band or artist has achieved before or since.
After a gruelling tour schedule in support of their big hit, Love and Rockets took a few years off before returning to the studio together. The result was a move to an electronic
sound that had more in common with The Orb
than their rock or goth roots. Their label, RCA Records
, dropped them. They signed with Rick Rubin
's American Recordings to release Hot Trip to Heaven
(1994), followed in 1996 by Sweet F.A.. In April 1995, during the recording of Sweet F.A., a fire broke out in the house owned by American Recordings, where the band were living and recording. All of the members were uninjured, but their visiting friend Genesis P. Orridge of Psychic TV
was injured, escaping the fire. The band lost their gear (a photo of a burnt guitar was used for the album cover of Sweet F.A.) and months of work on the album. There was a lengthy legal battle between the band, their label, and the label's insurance company. Love and Rockets was found not responsible for the fire, but was left with a large legal bill. Lift
came out in 1998 on Red Ant Records, and the band disbanded in 1999, though the three have reunited with Murphy and reformed Bauhaus since.
Love and Rockets announced in October 2007 on their MySpace page that they would reform to play one song at "Cast a Long Shadow", a tribute to Joe Strummer
and benefit for Strummerville, The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music, on 22 December 2007 at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California. They covered The Clash
's "Should I Stay or Should I Go
", playing the song twice, the second time inviting members of the audience to join them onstage to sing along.
They performed 27 April 2008 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
, and also at Lollapalooza
on 3 August 2008 in Chicago. In an interview in June 2009, Ash emphatically stated that he had no further plans to play with Love and Rockets. "We've worked together since 1980. I really want to work with new people, I'm sure everybody feels the same."
A tribute album titled New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love & Rockets was released on 18 August 2009. The Flaming Lips
, Frank Black
, Puscifer
, A Place to Bury Strangers
, Film School
, Better Than Ezra
, Johnny Dowd
, The Dandy Warhols
, Blaqk Audio
, The Stone Foxes
, and Monster Magnet
were among its contributors.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band formed in 1985 by former Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
members Daniel Ash
Daniel Ash
Daniel Gaston Ash is the guitarist for Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, and solo projects.-Life and work:After going to concerts in his teenage years, Ash made a decision to be on a stage in some way...
(guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, and vocals), David J
David J
David John Haskins , better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician. He was the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and Love and Rockets....
(bass and vocals), and Kevin Haskins
Kevin Haskins
Kevin Haskins also known as Kevin Michael Dompe is a drummer best known from the British rock group Bauhaus. He was also a member of Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets...
(drums and synthesizers). Former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy (musician)
Peter John Murphy is an English rock vocalist. He was the vocalist of the rock group Bauhaus, and later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Deep and Love Hysteria...
had embarked on a solo career after Bauhaus split in 1983. Ash and Haskins had recorded and performed in another band, Tones on Tail
Tones on Tail
Tones on Tail was an "eclectic" musical side project of Daniel Ash of Bauhaus, along with art school friend, flatmate, and "Bauhaus roadie" Glenn Campling in 1982. After the breakup of Bauhaus in 1983, they were joined by drummer Kevin Haskins. Their music was described by one critic as...
, between 1982 and 1984.
Background
The band's name was taken from the comic book series of the same nameLove and Rockets (comics)
Love and Rockets is a black and white comic book series by Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez, sometimes cited jointly as Los Bros Hernandez. Their brother Mario Hernandez is an occasional contributor...
by Jaime
Jaime Hernandez
Jaime Hernandez is the co-creator of the black & white independent comic book Love and Rockets .-Early life:...
and Gilbert Hernandez
Gilbert Hernandez
Gilberto Hernández, born February 1, 1957, in Oxnard, California, usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also known by the nickname Beto , is an American comics writer/artist...
. Gilbert later referred to the confusion caused by this in his book Love and Rockets X, as there were several different bands named "Love and Rockets" for a period.
Despite their previous band's status as gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
icons, Love and Rockets moved away from that genre, as demonstrated by their first minor hit being a cover of the Motown classic "Ball of Confusion". Their first album release, Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven
Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven
Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1985 on Beggar's Banquet.- Background :...
(1985), leaned more towards psychedelic
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
music with a primitive alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
sound that at the time was relatively new and unheard of. Their second release, Express
Express (album)
Express is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1986 on Beggar's Banquet.- Background :...
(1986), continued in the same vein, adding even more pop
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...
elements to the mix. It included the dance hit "Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)". The 1987 follow up, Earth, Sun, Moon
Earth, Sun, Moon
Earth, Sun, Moon is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1987 on Beggar's Banquet.The album was remastered, but not expanded , in 2001.- Background :...
, had a folkier sound and spawned the minor hit "No New Tale to Tell".
In 1989, the band released a self-titled album
Love and Rockets (album)
Love and Rockets is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1989 on Beggar's Banquet.- Background :...
that presented a more AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
sound. The second single from the album was the T.Rex-inspired song "So Alive". It became a surprise hit, reaching No. 3 on the American singles chart, a feat no Bauhaus-related band or artist has achieved before or since.
After a gruelling tour schedule in support of their big hit, Love and Rockets took a few years off before returning to the studio together. The result was a move to an electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
sound that had more in common with The Orb
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
than their rock or goth roots. Their label, RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, dropped them. They signed with Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
's American Recordings to release Hot Trip to Heaven
Hot Trip to Heaven
Hot Trip to Heaven is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1994 on American, after Beggar's Banquet dropped the band for not creating a successful follow-up single to So Alive.- Background :...
(1994), followed in 1996 by Sweet F.A.. In April 1995, during the recording of Sweet F.A., a fire broke out in the house owned by American Recordings, where the band were living and recording. All of the members were uninjured, but their visiting friend Genesis P. Orridge of Psychic TV
Psychic TV
Psychic TV or PTV, is a video art and music group that primarily performs psychedelic, punk, electronic and experimental music...
was injured, escaping the fire. The band lost their gear (a photo of a burnt guitar was used for the album cover of Sweet F.A.) and months of work on the album. There was a lengthy legal battle between the band, their label, and the label's insurance company. Love and Rockets was found not responsible for the fire, but was left with a large legal bill. Lift
Lift (Love and Rockets album)
Lift is the seventh and final studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1998 on Red Ant Records.- Background :Lift overlooked the harder rock of Sweet F.A. in favor of Hot Trip to Heavens electronic sound...
came out in 1998 on Red Ant Records, and the band disbanded in 1999, though the three have reunited with Murphy and reformed Bauhaus since.
Love and Rockets announced in October 2007 on their MySpace page that they would reform to play one song at "Cast a Long Shadow", a tribute to Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and benefit for Strummerville, The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music, on 22 December 2007 at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California. They covered The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's "Should I Stay or Should I Go
Should I Stay or Should I Go
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, a decade after it was originally released. In November...
", playing the song twice, the second time inviting members of the audience to join them onstage to sing along.
They performed 27 April 2008 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
, and also at Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
on 3 August 2008 in Chicago. In an interview in June 2009, Ash emphatically stated that he had no further plans to play with Love and Rockets. "We've worked together since 1980. I really want to work with new people, I'm sure everybody feels the same."
A tribute album titled New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love & Rockets was released on 18 August 2009. The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
, Frank Black
Frank Black
Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
, Puscifer
Puscifer
Puscifer is a side project of Maynard James Keenan from the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. As Keenan is the only permanent member and he considers the project to be his "creative subconscious", Puscifer could also be considered a pseudonym for his solo work....
, A Place to Bury Strangers
A Place to Bury Strangers
A Place to Bury Strangers are a New York–based noise rock band composed of Oliver Ackermann , Dion Lunadon and Jay Space . The band plays a heavy, atmospheric wall of sound-influenced blend of psychedelic rock, shoegaze and space rock...
, Film School
Film school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
, Better Than Ezra
Better Than Ezra
Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Formation and early success:Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by its four original members - vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin; Joel Rundell, the lead guitarist; bassist Tom Drummond; and drummer, Cary...
, Johnny Dowd
Johnny Dowd
Johnny Dowd is an American alternative country musician from Ithaca, New York. Typical of his style are experimental, noisy breaks in his songs and strong gothic elements in the lyrics as well as in the music...
, The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
, Blaqk Audio
Blaqk Audio
Blaqk Audio is an American electronic music duo formed by current AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget under Interscope Records. Their debut album CexCells was released on August 14, 2007 and reached number eighteen on the Billboard 200.-Origins:...
, The Stone Foxes
The Stone Foxes
-History:The Stone Foxes originated in the sleepy foothills of California’s Central Valley where members Aaron Mort, and brothers Spence Koehler and Shannon Koehler grew up...
, and Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet is an American stoner rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf , John McBain and Tim Cronin...
were among its contributors.
Discography
Studio albums- Seventh Dream of Teenage HeavenSeventh Dream of Teenage HeavenSeventh Dream of Teenage Heaven is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1985 on Beggar's Banquet.- Background :...
(1985) - ExpressExpress (album)Express is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1986 on Beggar's Banquet.- Background :...
(1986) - Earth, Sun, MoonEarth, Sun, MoonEarth, Sun, Moon is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1987 on Beggar's Banquet.The album was remastered, but not expanded , in 2001.- Background :...
(1987) - Love and RocketsLove and Rockets (album)Love and Rockets is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1989 on Beggar's Banquet.- Background :...
(1989) - Hot Trip to HeavenHot Trip to HeavenHot Trip to Heaven is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1994 on American, after Beggar's Banquet dropped the band for not creating a successful follow-up single to So Alive.- Background :...
(1994) - Sweet F.A. (1996)
- LiftLift (Love and Rockets album)Lift is the seventh and final studio album by English alternative rock band Love and Rockets, released in 1998 on Red Ant Records.- Background :Lift overlooked the harder rock of Sweet F.A. in favor of Hot Trip to Heavens electronic sound...
(1998)