The March Violets
Encyclopedia
The March Violets are an English goth rock band of the 1980s, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine
rhythms and echo laden electric guitar
, much in the way of scene mates The Sisters of Mercy
, who also originated from the city of Leeds
. Seven March Violets' singles have made it into the UK Indie Chart
; Natural History LP also was an indie hit (#3, 1984).
, lead singer of The Sisters of Mercy
, released the bands first single on his Merciful Release
label in 1982. The "Religious As Hell" single consisted of four tracks that reflected strong punk and garage rock influences in the guitar work, along with contrasting vocals from the two singers. Denbigh's male vocals varied from being essentially spoken to a harsh yelling, whereas Garland's were high pitched and almost operatic. The band garnered positive reviews for this first release, which was soon followed in 1983 by a second single for Merciful Release
. "Grooving In Green" featured a more confident sounding production, aided by a more powerful sounding drum machine, and received more positive reaction from the UK national music press.
At this point, the band appeared to fall out of favour with Andrew Eldritch, and they established their own Rebirth record label to handle future releases. The "Crow Baby" single shortly followed, and repeated the pattern of good reviews and a good showing in the UK independent record chart. The title track of the next single, "Snake Dance", was arguably the band's creative high point. Additional female vocals were provided by Cleo Murray, and for the two final independent releases, "Walk Into The Sun" and "Deep", Rosie was no longer a part of the band. The bands sound was also changing towards a more pop-oriented sound, and Simon Denbigh was pushed out of the band before going on to form The Batfish Boys
.
An increasingly commercial sounding March Violets began to receive negative reviews from the music press. The accusations of selling out worsened as the band signed to major label London Records, which also saw them add drummer Andy Tolson to the line up. The subsequent "Turn To The Sky" single was released through London Records, although still bearing the Rebirth imprint. Reviews were disparaging, and despite featuring on the soundtrack to the film Some Kind of Wonderful, the band failed to find a new audience and broke up in 1987.
Following the split, Tom Ashton went on to perform with Hard Rain and long running goth band Clan of Xymox
, while Cleo Murray briefly fronted the Lovecraft in the early 1990s.
Rosie Garland went on to become an acclaimed poet and cabaret performer, performing under the name Rosie Lugosi. She then became the victim of a stalker, with the court case being lead article in the Manchester Evening News
.
Once Rosie Garland was fully recovered, The March Violets restarted their live reformation with a secret warm-up show at Whitby in October 2010.
On the 13th November 2010 The March Violets played their first London show in 25 years, at the O2 Islington Academy with their new bassist, Joanna Moy (previously of the Screaming Banshee Aircrew
).
The March Violets will be performing several dates and releasing a new album in 2011.
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
rhythms and echo laden electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, much in the way of scene mates The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, who also originated from the city of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. Seven March Violets' singles have made it into the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
; Natural History LP also was an indie hit (#3, 1984).
History
The original band members met while at Leeds University in 1981. Tom Ashton and Laurence "Loz" Elliot played lead and bass guitar, while vocals were handled by both Simon "Detroit" Denbigh and Rosie Garland. Percussion was provided by a drum machine, a feature that a number of bands in the burgeoning Leeds scene had in common. Fellow student Andrew EldritchAndrew Eldritch
Andrew Eldritch is the English frontman, singer, songwriter and only remaining original member of The Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post-punk scene, transformed into a gothic rock band and, in later years, flirted with pop and hard rock.Eldritch also programs the tracks...
, lead singer of The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, released the bands first single on his Merciful Release
Merciful Release
Merciful Release is a record label started by Andrew Eldritch, frontman with Leeds outfit The Sisters of Mercy. As Eldritch states in an early interview, he wanted to hear himself on the radio. He and Gary Marx played and recorded on the Sisters Of Mercy's initial single "Damage Done" and pressed...
label in 1982. The "Religious As Hell" single consisted of four tracks that reflected strong punk and garage rock influences in the guitar work, along with contrasting vocals from the two singers. Denbigh's male vocals varied from being essentially spoken to a harsh yelling, whereas Garland's were high pitched and almost operatic. The band garnered positive reviews for this first release, which was soon followed in 1983 by a second single for Merciful Release
Merciful Release
Merciful Release is a record label started by Andrew Eldritch, frontman with Leeds outfit The Sisters of Mercy. As Eldritch states in an early interview, he wanted to hear himself on the radio. He and Gary Marx played and recorded on the Sisters Of Mercy's initial single "Damage Done" and pressed...
. "Grooving In Green" featured a more confident sounding production, aided by a more powerful sounding drum machine, and received more positive reaction from the UK national music press.
At this point, the band appeared to fall out of favour with Andrew Eldritch, and they established their own Rebirth record label to handle future releases. The "Crow Baby" single shortly followed, and repeated the pattern of good reviews and a good showing in the UK independent record chart. The title track of the next single, "Snake Dance", was arguably the band's creative high point. Additional female vocals were provided by Cleo Murray, and for the two final independent releases, "Walk Into The Sun" and "Deep", Rosie was no longer a part of the band. The bands sound was also changing towards a more pop-oriented sound, and Simon Denbigh was pushed out of the band before going on to form The Batfish Boys
The Batfish Boys
The Batfish Boys were a gothic rock/garage rock/rockabilly band from York and Leeds, England, active between 1984 and 1990, releasing three albums....
.
An increasingly commercial sounding March Violets began to receive negative reviews from the music press. The accusations of selling out worsened as the band signed to major label London Records, which also saw them add drummer Andy Tolson to the line up. The subsequent "Turn To The Sky" single was released through London Records, although still bearing the Rebirth imprint. Reviews were disparaging, and despite featuring on the soundtrack to the film Some Kind of Wonderful, the band failed to find a new audience and broke up in 1987.
Following the split, Tom Ashton went on to perform with Hard Rain and long running goth band Clan of Xymox
Clan of Xymox
The band Clan of Xymox, also known as Xymox, formed in the Netherlands in 1981. Clan Of Xymox featured a trio of songwriters - Pieter Nooten, Ronny Moorings and Anke [also Anka] Wolbert - and gained success in the 1980s, releasing their first two albums on a prestigious independent UK label, a...
, while Cleo Murray briefly fronted the Lovecraft in the early 1990s.
Rosie Garland went on to become an acclaimed poet and cabaret performer, performing under the name Rosie Lugosi. She then became the victim of a stalker, with the court case being lead article in the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
.
2007 Reformation and subsequent activity
In October 2007, it was announced that the March Violets would play a one-off reunion gig with original members Simon Denbigh, Rosie Garland, Tom Ashton and Mat Thorpe standing in on bass on 8th December in Leeds. Although the show was a resounding success, plans for further shows were put on hold during Rosie Garland's successful fight against throat cancer.Once Rosie Garland was fully recovered, The March Violets restarted their live reformation with a secret warm-up show at Whitby in October 2010.
On the 13th November 2010 The March Violets played their first London show in 25 years, at the O2 Islington Academy with their new bassist, Joanna Moy (previously of the Screaming Banshee Aircrew
Screaming Banshee Aircrew
Screaming Banshee Aircrew were a minimal post-punk/trashvogue alternative band originating from York, England.Formed in April 2001, they began as a four-piece alternative/deathrock/post-punk band and made their debut performance featuring a mixture of their own material and Rocky Horror covers on...
).
The March Violets will be performing several dates and releasing a new album in 2011.
Singles
- "Religious as Hell" (1982, Merciful Release)
- "Grooving In Green" (1982, Merciful Release)
- "Crow Baby" (1983, Rebirth)
- "Snake Dance" (1984, Rebirth)
- "Walk Into The Sun" (1984, Rebirth)
- "Deep" (1985, Rebirth)
- "Turn To The Sky" (1986, Rebirth)
- "Trinity E.P." (2007)
- "Love Will Kill You E.P." (2011)
Albums
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Natural History |
| 1985 | Electric Shades |
| 1993 | Botanic Verses |
External links
- http://www.myspace.com/officialmarchviolets
- http://www.marchviolets.co.uk