The Armoury Show
Encyclopedia
The Armoury Show was a New Wave
band
formed in 1983 by Richard Jobson
on vocals, Russell Webb
on bass guitar, John McGeoch
on guitar and John Doyle
on drums. Each member was known for being in a previously acclaimed band, as Jobson and Webb were in The Skids
and McGeoch and Doyle in Magazine
. The band was named after the Armory Show
, a famous 1913 modern art
exhibition
in New York. They released only one album
, Waiting for the Floods
, in their brief existence.
and Russell Webb
were both members of the band The Skids
, while John McGeoch
and John Doyle
had both been in Magazine
. The latter band dissolved in 1981 and the first in 1982, both after their last and unsuccessful albums (Joy and Magic, Murder And The Weather
, respectively). But McGeoch departed from Magazine in 1980, before the recording of the last album, joining Siouxsie and the Banshees. By the time, he replaced Stuart Adamson
in The Skids for a Peel Session in 1981, being that probably their first contact with Richard Jobson and Russell Webb.
In 1986, after the releasing of the album and the next tour, McGeoch and Doyle left, with the first joining Public Image Ltd.
and the latter beginning to work with the Buzzcocks
singer/guitarist Pete Shelley
. Jobson returned from China, where he was working as model, and reunited with Webb, calling Dave Lockwood on guitar and Ray Weston on drums for the next projects.
In 1988, after some releases in 1987, they announced the band had split up. Webb pursued a solo career (according to the band's fansite) and in 1992 followed McGeoch to Public Image Ltd. Jobson returned to a solo career and became a television presenter.
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
formed in 1983 by Richard Jobson
Richard Jobson
Richard Jobson is the name of:*Richard Jobson , 17th-century English explorer*Richard Jobson , English former footballer...
on vocals, Russell Webb
Russell Webb (musician)
Russell Webb is a New Wave bass guitarist who was member of bands like Slik, PVC2 , The Zones, The Skids, The Armoury Show and Public Image Ltd., and collaborated with Richard Jobson and Virginia Astley, and The Who.-Slik and PVC2:In 1977, future Ultravox and Live Aid face, guitarist and singer...
on bass guitar, John McGeoch
John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch, , was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd....
on guitar and John Doyle
John Doyle (drummer)
John Doyle is a drummer who was member of New Wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with the first band for a tour which will be played in February 2009.-Biography:...
on drums. Each member was known for being in a previously acclaimed band, as Jobson and Webb were in The Skids
The Skids
Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
and McGeoch and Doyle in Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
. The band was named after the Armory Show
Armory Show
Many exhibitions have been held in the vast spaces of U.S. National Guard armories, but the Armory Show refers to the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art that was organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors...
, a famous 1913 modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
in New York. They released only one 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...
, Waiting for the Floods
Waiting for the Floods
Waiting for the Floods is the first and only full-length album released by British rock band The Armoury Show, and frontman Richard Jobson's last known venture in music, other than his brief reunion with The Skids in the early 2000s...
, in their brief existence.
History
Previously, Richard JobsonRichard Jobson (television presenter)
Richard Jobson is a Scottish singer-songwriter and film-maker, best known as a television presenter, film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
and Russell Webb
Russell Webb (musician)
Russell Webb is a New Wave bass guitarist who was member of bands like Slik, PVC2 , The Zones, The Skids, The Armoury Show and Public Image Ltd., and collaborated with Richard Jobson and Virginia Astley, and The Who.-Slik and PVC2:In 1977, future Ultravox and Live Aid face, guitarist and singer...
were both members of the band The Skids
The Skids
Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
, while John McGeoch
John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch, , was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd....
and John Doyle
John Doyle (drummer)
John Doyle is a drummer who was member of New Wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with the first band for a tour which will be played in February 2009.-Biography:...
had both been in Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
. The latter band dissolved in 1981 and the first in 1982, both after their last and unsuccessful albums (Joy and Magic, Murder And The Weather
Magic, Murder and the Weather
Magic, Murder and the Weather is the fourth album by British post-punk band Magazine, released by Virgin Records in 1981. This was also their only studio album without original guitarist John McGeoch, who had moved to Siouxsie and the Banshees...
, respectively). But McGeoch departed from Magazine in 1980, before the recording of the last album, joining Siouxsie and the Banshees. By the time, he replaced Stuart Adamson
Stuart Adamson
Stuart Adamson , born William Stuart Adamson, was an English-born Scottish guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, described by legendary music journalist John Peel as “Britain’s answer to Jimi Hendrix”...
in The Skids for a Peel Session in 1981, being that probably their first contact with Richard Jobson and Russell Webb.
In 1986, after the releasing of the album and the next tour, McGeoch and Doyle left, with the first joining Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....
and the latter beginning to work with the Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
singer/guitarist Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of Buzzcocks.-Biography:...
. Jobson returned from China, where he was working as model, and reunited with Webb, calling Dave Lockwood on guitar and Ray Weston on drums for the next projects.
In 1988, after some releases in 1987, they announced the band had split up. Webb pursued a solo career (according to the band's fansite) and in 1992 followed McGeoch to Public Image Ltd. Jobson returned to a solo career and became a television presenter.
Personnel
- Richard JobsonRichard Jobson (television presenter)Richard Jobson is a Scottish singer-songwriter and film-maker, best known as a television presenter, film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
("The Captain" during the early days in 1983) - vocals / guitarGuitarThe 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... - John McGeochJohn McGeochJohn Alexander McGeoch, , was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd....
("The Legend" during 1983) - guitarGuitarThe 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...
/ vocals - Russell WebbRussell Webb (musician)Russell Webb is a New Wave bass guitarist who was member of bands like Slik, PVC2 , The Zones, The Skids, The Armoury Show and Public Image Ltd., and collaborated with Richard Jobson and Virginia Astley, and The Who.-Slik and PVC2:In 1977, future Ultravox and Live Aid face, guitarist and singer...
("Universe" during 1983) - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
/ vocals - John DoyleJohn Doyle (drummer)John Doyle is a drummer who was member of New Wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with the first band for a tour which will be played in February 2009.-Biography:...
("Doylie" during 1983) - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Ray McVeigh (ex-The ProfessionalsThe Professionals (band)The Professionals were an English punk rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s formed by ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and drummer and Paul Cook after that band's demise.-Career:...
) - guitar (replaced John McGeoch for a while in 1986) - Dave Lockwood - guitarGuitarThe 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...
(replaced McVeigh) - Ray WestonRay Weston-Early career:Weston performed in numerous Scottish bands before moving to London in the 1980s, where he met Martin Turner. He established himself as a session musician, performing in the studio with such artists as Bill Wyman, Del Shannon and Cliff Richard. In fact he never played with the band...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(replaced John Doyle)
Discography
| Year | Type | Format | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Single | Parlophone R6079 | "Castles In Spain" / "Innocents Abroad" |
| 1984 | 12" | Parlophone 12R6079 | "Castles In Spain" (wubb dubb mix) / "Innocents Abroad" / "Is It A Wonder" |
| 1985 | Single | Parlophone R6087 | "We Can Be Brave Again" (Extended Version) / "A Feeling" / "Catherine" |
| 1985 | Album | EMI 17163/EMI 2403591 | Waiting for the Floods Waiting for the Floods Waiting for the Floods is the first and only full-length album released by British rock band The Armoury Show, and frontman Richard Jobson's last known venture in music, other than his brief reunion with The Skids in the early 2000s... |
| 1985 | Single | Parlophone R6098 | "Glory of Love" (Universal Mix) / "Glory of Love" / "Higher Than The Instrumental" |
| 1987 | Single | Parlophone R6149 | "Love in Anger" / "Uptown Downtown" / "Tender Is The Night" |
| 1987 | 12" | Parlophone R6153 | "NY City" (John Robie remix) / "NY City (NY a Go Go)" / "Whirlwind" |