Sheep on Drugs
Encyclopedia
Sheep on Drugs are a British
techno
/ dance-punk
music group
, formed by Duncan X [aka King Duncan] (vocals
) and Lee Fraser [aka Dead Lee] (guitar
/keyboards
) and currently composed of Fraser and Johnny Borden (vocals/keyboards). Originally classified as off-the-wall rave
rs, the duo
emerged in the early 1990s with a string of singles
, including "Motorbike," "15 Minutes of Fame" and "Track X" (later covered
by Grace Jones
as "Sex Drive"). "15 Minutes of Fame" reached the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart
as did "From A To H And Back Again".
Their Gareth Jones
produced
debut album
, Greatest Hits, was released on Island Records
in 1993 to some acclaim from the UK
music press
. However, with their Grand Guignol
style stage shows, and a musical mixture of sleazy rock, hard techno and punk
nihilism
, SoD found themselves pigeonholed as an industrial
band. Their 1994 follow-up album, ...On Drugs was a commercial and critical disappointment.
After being dropped by Island, the band independently released two EPs
: Suck in 1994 and Strapped for Cash in 1995. The band was then signed to Martin Atkins
' Invisible Records
and headed to the United States
. With Invisible, they released the two EPs as Double Trouble in 1996, their third studio
album, One for the Money and a remix
collection, Never Mind the Methadone in 1997, and a live recording
, Two for the Show in 1998. By this time, they had tired of their situation in the States and were unsatisfied with Invisible. Frontman Duncan X departed Sheep on Drugs shortly afterwards to become a professional tattooist (though he does perform live with the band on rare occasions). Fraser continued his relationship with Invisible Records, releasing two more albums as 'Bagman' and was briefly a member of Atkins' bands Pigface
and The Damage Manual
, usually under the moniker "Lee 303". Fraser revived the group in 2002 with himself as the frontman and released a new album, F**K, on Invisible in 2005. A best of
compilation album
called Best of a Bad Bunch was released in 2006.
After the release of F**K, Lee Fraser met and began working with Johnny Borden, herself a singer and musician working within similar circles. Johnny was soon brought onboard as Lee's partner in Sheep On Drugs' new 21st century incarnation and they began gigging, developing new material which was released on their new album MEDICATION TIME (released digitally on December 6, 2010). The album will be released by a French record label on physical CDs in 2011 to accompany a tour in February.
As Bagman (Lee Fraser solo)
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
/ dance-punk
Dance-punk
Dance-punk is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the post-punk and No Wave movements.-Predecessors:...
music group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed by Duncan X [aka King Duncan] (vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
) and Lee Fraser [aka Dead Lee] (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...
/keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) and currently composed of Fraser and Johnny Borden (vocals/keyboards). Originally classified as off-the-wall rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
rs, the duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
emerged in the early 1990s with a string of 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...
, including "Motorbike," "15 Minutes of Fame" and "Track X" (later covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
as "Sex Drive"). "15 Minutes of Fame" reached the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
as did "From A To H And Back Again".
Their Gareth Jones
Gareth Jones (music producer)
Gareth Jones is an English music producer and engineer notable for working with Depeche Mode, Einstürzende Neubauten, Wire and Erasure.-Background:Gareth Jones is married and currently living in North London....
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...
debut 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...
, Greatest Hits, was released on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in 1993 to some acclaim from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music press
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
. However, with their Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
style stage shows, and a musical mixture of sleazy rock, hard techno and punk
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...
nihilism
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
, SoD found themselves pigeonholed as an industrial
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
band. Their 1994 follow-up album, ...On Drugs was a commercial and critical disappointment.
"For the 'On Drugs' album, it was basically me and Duncan locked in a room, with no guidance about what direction we were to take it in, no producer. Markus Dravs, who did the production for that album, he's a brilliant artist in his own right, but he wasn't the producer we needed. He was just brought into the studio to mix, it wasn't like he was an active part of the team, so they fucked that up. So, no wonder the second album wasn't as commercial as they were expecting, because they didn't give us any guidance," according to Lee.
After being dropped by Island, the band independently released two EPs
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
: Suck in 1994 and Strapped for Cash in 1995. The band was then signed to Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke...
' Invisible Records
Invisible Records
Invisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins to support and distribute the works of artists who preferred to work with a smaller, artist driven label.-Artist Roster:* Ashtrayhead* Attrition* Bagman* Bizarre Sex Trio...
and headed to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. With Invisible, they released the two EPs as Double Trouble in 1996, their third studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
album, One for the Money and a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
collection, Never Mind the Methadone in 1997, and a live recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, Two for the Show in 1998. By this time, they had tired of their situation in the States and were unsatisfied with Invisible. Frontman Duncan X departed Sheep on Drugs shortly afterwards to become a professional tattooist (though he does perform live with the band on rare occasions). Fraser continued his relationship with Invisible Records, releasing two more albums as 'Bagman' and was briefly a member of Atkins' bands Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
and The Damage Manual
The Damage Manual
The Damage Manual is an industrial supergroup that originally formed in 2000. It featured Martin Atkins on drums and loops, Chris Connelly on vocals, Geordie Walker on guitar and Jah Wobble on bass.-History:...
, usually under the moniker "Lee 303". Fraser revived the group in 2002 with himself as the frontman and released a new album, F**K, on Invisible in 2005. A best of
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
called Best of a Bad Bunch was released in 2006.
After the release of F**K, Lee Fraser met and began working with Johnny Borden, herself a singer and musician working within similar circles. Johnny was soon brought onboard as Lee's partner in Sheep On Drugs' new 21st century incarnation and they began gigging, developing new material which was released on their new album MEDICATION TIME (released digitally on December 6, 2010). The album will be released by a French record label on physical CDs in 2011 to accompany a tour in February.
Albums
- Greatest Hits (Island, 1993)
- ...On Drugs (Island, 1994)
- Double Trouble (Invisible, 1996) - compilation and re-release of Drug Squad EPs.
- One for the Money (Invisible, 1997)
- Never Mind the Methadone (Invisible, 1997) - remixes
- Two for the Show (Invisible, 1998) - live
- F**K (Invisible, 2005)
- MEDICATION TIME (digital, 2010)
EPs
- From A to H and Back Again (Invisible, 1994)
- Strapped for Cash (Drug Squad, 1995)
- Suck (Drug Squad, 1995)
Singles
- "Catch 22" / "Drug Music" (Transglobal, 1991)
- "Motorbike" / "Mary Jane" (Transglobal, 1992)
- "Track X" (Transglobal, 1992)
- "TV USA" (Transglobal, 1992)
- "15 Minutes of Fame" (Island, 1993)
- "Let the Good Times Roll" (Island, 1994)
As Bagman (Lee Fraser solo)
- "Wrap" (Invisible, 1998)
- "Trax" (Underground, Inc, 2004)
External links
- The official Sheep on Drugs site
- [ Sheep on Drugs] on Allmusic
- Band history
- Sheep on Drugs @ Invisible RecordsInvisible RecordsInvisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins to support and distribute the works of artists who preferred to work with a smaller, artist driven label.-Artist Roster:* Ashtrayhead* Attrition* Bagman* Bizarre Sex Trio...
- Sheep on Drugs myspace page