Neon Hearts
Encyclopedia
Neon Hearts were a British punk rock
band that originated in Wolverhampton
, England.
The band was founded in the summer of 1977 by Steve Heart when he quit Birmingham-based Suburban Studs after being told a sax player was inappropriate in a punk band. The initial line up included Steve, his cousin, a bass player called Paul Raven, a drummer friend of Paul's, Keith Allen, and Martin Ratcliffe, a guitarist friend of Keith's.
After a few weeks rehearsing, the band went into Lee Sound Studios to arrange a demo recording session.
They soon came across a solo singer playing local pubs and clubs doing his own songs and a few Bowie covers. Tony Deary (later Tone Dial) joined the band after a couple of meetings and the band (now five members) was complete. After much debate the band decided to call themselves Neon Hearts.
After the first sessions at Ginger Studios two songs, 'Regulations' and 'Venus Eccentric' were chosen to become a double A-sided single released on 1 December 1977 on the band's own label, Neon Hearts Records. The first pressing of the single was released in an oversized 8" sleeve due to a printing error.
Throughout this period record company interest increased, but was narrowed down to two main candidatesThe band signed to Satril, a satellite company of WEA, in May 1978. From day one problems occurred Satril attempting to get the band to move into a more 'funky' direction and submit material to the Eurovision song contest. Being optimistic, Neon Hearts felt things would improve however, things worsened and they ended up trying to make the best of a bad job.
The first demos for Satril were recorded at PYE Studios in London on June 6, 1978 under the supervision of A&R manager Paul Jenkins. The band wanted to release 'Popular Music' as their Satril debut, but they were overruled by the label that chose 'Answers', which was released late July 1978. The single was given no promotion by Satril so the band self-promoted it by gigging. Satril agreed to release 'Popular Music' as the second single.
In preparation for promoting the album the band appeared on Look! Hear!, a TV music show that was screened on BBC Midlands, in January 1980. They performed the new single "Popular Music" and "Synchronisation", a song that was never recorded elsewhere.
The same year, Tony released an EP, You Keep Coming Round, with a new band, Silhouette Theatre. The material was strong but inadequate distribution and airplay meant it achieved little commercial success.
Dial subsequently joined Birmningham group Fashion for a period.
. He later played in the alternative rock/industrial rock bands Prong
& Ministry
.
Tony Dial later changed his name to Vael Deary and is now writing songs towards entertaining an audience. Vael wont do the retro thing with the Neon Hearts. He's busy playing to unsuspecting audiences across the UK.
Albums
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band that originated in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, England.
Career
Neon Hearts were Wolverhampton's first punk band that had a short lived existence from 1977 to 1981 at the height of the punk movement.The band was founded in the summer of 1977 by Steve Heart when he quit Birmingham-based Suburban Studs after being told a sax player was inappropriate in a punk band. The initial line up included Steve, his cousin, a bass player called Paul Raven, a drummer friend of Paul's, Keith Allen, and Martin Ratcliffe, a guitarist friend of Keith's.
After a few weeks rehearsing, the band went into Lee Sound Studios to arrange a demo recording session.
They soon came across a solo singer playing local pubs and clubs doing his own songs and a few Bowie covers. Tony Deary (later Tone Dial) joined the band after a couple of meetings and the band (now five members) was complete. After much debate the band decided to call themselves Neon Hearts.
After the first sessions at Ginger Studios two songs, 'Regulations' and 'Venus Eccentric' were chosen to become a double A-sided single released on 1 December 1977 on the band's own label, Neon Hearts Records. The first pressing of the single was released in an oversized 8" sleeve due to a printing error.
Throughout this period record company interest increased, but was narrowed down to two main candidatesThe band signed to Satril, a satellite company of WEA, in May 1978. From day one problems occurred Satril attempting to get the band to move into a more 'funky' direction and submit material to the Eurovision song contest. Being optimistic, Neon Hearts felt things would improve however, things worsened and they ended up trying to make the best of a bad job.
The first demos for Satril were recorded at PYE Studios in London on June 6, 1978 under the supervision of A&R manager Paul Jenkins. The band wanted to release 'Popular Music' as their Satril debut, but they were overruled by the label that chose 'Answers', which was released late July 1978. The single was given no promotion by Satril so the band self-promoted it by gigging. Satril agreed to release 'Popular Music' as the second single.
In preparation for promoting the album the band appeared on Look! Hear!, a TV music show that was screened on BBC Midlands, in January 1980. They performed the new single "Popular Music" and "Synchronisation", a song that was never recorded elsewhere.
Neon Hearts Mk II
The band recorded a John Peel Session on March 21 at the Maida Vale Studios in London. The tracks were "Roll-On Deodorant", "Rings of Confidence", a re-working of "Body Language" and "The Other Great Sex Pros (Airborne Hormones)".Neon Hearts Mk III and Silhouette Theatre
In late 1980 Steve and Tony decided to reform Neon Hearts.The same year, Tony released an EP, You Keep Coming Round, with a new band, Silhouette Theatre. The material was strong but inadequate distribution and airplay meant it achieved little commercial success.
Dial subsequently joined Birmningham group Fashion for a period.
Final Chapter
By chance the five band members met up in August 2002 and ended up recording two new songs written by Tony, "Retrograde" and "Heart of Darkness". This was the last time the band played together due to the tragic death of bass player Paul Raven in October 2007. Paul had become a highly influential musician best known for his work in the seminal punk/goth/metal/electronic group Killing JokeKilling Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
. He later played in the alternative rock/industrial rock bands Prong
Prong
Prong is an American heavy metal band formed in 1986. Prong had two independent releases, Primitive Origins and Force Fed. The albums attracted the attention of Epic Records, who signed the trio in 1989. The group disbanded in 1997 after the Rude Awakening tour, but re-formed in 2002...
& Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
.
Tony Dial later changed his name to Vael Deary and is now writing songs towards entertaining an audience. Vael wont do the retro thing with the Neon Hearts. He's busy playing to unsuspecting audiences across the UK.
Re-releases
A compilation CD called Ball & Chain was released by Overground records in 1997. This included alternate versions of songs on the Popular Music album, the John Peel session and a number of other previously unreleased recordings. Based on the success of this CD Overground re-released The Popular Music album in CD format in 2002.Discography
Singles- "Regulations"/"Venus Eccentric" (1977) Neon Hearts Records
- "Answers" (1978) Satril
- "Popular Music" (1978) Satril
Albums
- Popular MusicPopular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
(1979) Satril - Ball & ChainBall & ChainBall & Chain is a 2004 romantic comedy written by Thomas Mortimer. It was directed by Shiraz Jafri and produced by A. V. T. Shankardass. It stars Sunil Malhotra, Lisa Ray, Kal Penn, Purva Bedi and Asrani. It was filmed on location in Austin, Texas...
(1997) Overground Records - Popular MusicPopular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
(2002) Overground Records