Silent Running are an Northern Irish

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 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, who emerged from the Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 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...

 scene and were originally called The Setz before changing musical direction in 1982.

The original band members were Richard Collett (bass), Peter Gamble (vocals), Tony Scott (guitars) and Ian Gault (drums).

Prior to signing to EMI the band recruited George Beavis on keyboards..

Career

The band recorded tracks such as 'Speed of Life' for the proposed first album although Beavis was subsequently dismissed and replaced with Alex White.

The resulting album was 'Shades of Liberty' which received a five star review in Melody Maker headlined 'Silent Classic'.

Despite 'near' top forty hits such as 'Young Hearts' and 'Sticks and Stones' the band never achieved the desired breakthrough.

The second album on EMI was prefaced with the release of the double A side single 'No Faith Is Blind'/'Business as Usual'. Despite massive airplay and appearances on television shows across the musical spectrum (including 'Cheggar's Plays Pop') the single failed to chart resulting in the band being dropped by EMI.

In a major coup the band were picked up by Atlantic Records, becoming the first British or Irish act to join the roster of this legendary American record label.

White left in 1985 to work with Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading

Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...

, resulting in the band relying on session musician

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

s such as Adrian Lee

Adrian Lee

Adrian Lee is an English musician, known especially for his brass instrumentation work with several well-known acts of the 1980s.-Career:...

 (Mike + The Mechanics), Clive Gates

Clive Gates

Clive Gates was the keyboardist and synthesizer player of the synthpop band, New Musik, from 1979 until 1982, replacing original member Nick Straker, who left to form the Nick Straker Band. Gates remained as a member of the New Musik until they split up.Gates is a classically trained pianist. He...

 (New Musik) and Ian Curnow (Talk Talk

Talk Talk

Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....

) to record the next two albums (Walk on Fire and Deep).

The first album on Atlantic (Walk on Fire) spawned a minor US hit 'Sanctuary' but again the band could not make the elusive breakthrough.

Gault departed the band after the initial recording of the third and so far final album Deep in 1988 (demos for the unreleased fourth album are widely available) and was replaced by Gary Kirby. Paul Rock

Paul Rock

Paul Rock is British sociologist and criminologist, and is Professor of Social Institutions at the London School of Economics.He was a founder member of the National Deviancy Conference.-Publications:...

s joined the band at this time on keyboards, and the band finished recording the album with the legendary Frankie LaRocka in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. They toured extensively after the album's release but split up shortly thereafter citing a lack of record company support.

The band reunited for one final performance at Belfast's Empire Music Hall to a capacity crowd in 1998.

Recently many of the band's videos, audio tracks and live performances have appeared on many social networking sites raising expectations of a final swan song. Despite this and the re-emergence of many Belfast contemporaries, Gamble seems reluctant to return to the stage

On tour

Silent Running supported John Foxx

John Foxx

John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...

 in 1983, Simple Minds

Simple Minds

Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...

 on their UK tour in early 1984, and also toured with Robert Palmer and Talk Talk

Talk Talk

Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....

. During September 1984 they performed live on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 music show The Tube

The Tube (TV series)

The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...

. The band toured the UK during the Autumn of 1985 and played live on BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

for the Radiothon appeal at the Birmingham Powerhouse.

.

Albums

• Shades of Liberty (1984 EMI)
  • "Home Is Where the Heart Is"
  • "Emotional Warfare"
  • "One in a Million Day"
  • "Sticks and Stones"
  • "That's Life (In the Real World)"
  • "Young Hearts"
  • "Crimson Days"
  • "Shades of Liberty"
  • "Go for the Heart"

• Walk on Fire (1987 Atlantic)
  • "Sanctuary"
  • "Heartland"
  • "Hunger"
  • "Heartbreak City"
  • "Walk on Fire"
  • "Winds of War"
  • "Under Your Skin"
  • "Till Tomorrow Comes"

• Deep (1989 Atlantic)
  • "Deep in the Heart of Nowhere"
  • "Eveything Your Heart Desires"
  • "Angel of Mercy"
  • "Strength of Our Love"
  • "When Will I Learn?"
  • "Flame of Love"
  • "Sunshine in the Rain"
  • "Local Hero"
  • "Deliverance"
  • "Something So Wrong"

Singles

• 1983 "When the 12th of Never Comes"
• 1984 "Emotional Warfare"
• 1984 "Young Hearts"
• 1984 "Sticks and Stones"
• 1985 "No Faith is Blind"
• 1987 "Sanctuary"
• 1988 "Heartland"