The Peace & Freedom Band
Encyclopedia
The Peace & Freedom Band were a British group, formed in 1986, by two underground
poets - Luton
-born Paul Rance, and Hartlepool
's Andy Bruce.
Basically coming out of Peace & Freedom magazine
- which was then a music/poetry fanzine
edited by Rance, and later photocopied by Bruce - The Peace & Freedom Band, often called the P&F Band, were to produce seven albums of varying quality. Their last album being the mp3.com
CD, Earth, in 2000. In 2008, the band's first new song for 8 years, 'Earth R.I.P. - Or?...' was released as a free download on MySpace
. The Peace & Freedom Band began to take shape around 1984 and 1985, when Bruce and Rance planned putting music
to their own poetry
, and that of Croydon
poet
and artist
Peter Gibbs and Norwich
poetess and fanzine
editor Hayley Tagg. Nothing really came to fruition, until Bruce and Rance put out a rough demo
in 1986 of their own work and acoustic recordings of traditional folk songs.
ethos.
Their first proper album, Life, came out in 1988, and was helped by ex-APF Brigade member Andi Xport joining as an auxiliary member, contributing to Rance's poems, Nature and 30th Century, and doing a lot of the production.
Burnley
poet Andrew Savage joined later in 1988, and had gained some national fame by posing nude in a jacuzzi, reciting poetry (with some other poets), which The Daily Mirror
published a picture of. Savage inspired the band's next album, Carry On Taping, which was partially produced by Xport later in 1988.
Secret Joinery, released in 1989, was an album, which was a collection of old and new P&F Band songs, including "Hayley's Tum", "Chicken Liberation Song", "Find Myself A Girl", and "Psycho Somatic Song". Is God A Dropout? followed the next year.
about the poll tax, and so Cedric was born.
Savage became busy with publishing his tape magazine, Super Trouper, which featured music and poetry, and Rance and Bruce continued to work on the Peace & Freedom magazine, including launching another title, 'Eastern Rainbow
', and publishing paperback anthologies of poetry. In the mid-1990s Rance dabbled briefly with comedy writing, when dating a writer for The News Huddlines
and Week Ending
, Fay Dickinson, and later he had some jokey material aired on the Danny Baker
-hosted soccer show on Talk Radio
, claiming to be an anti-Radiohead
, pro-Jefferson Airplane
fan.
1997's Universal Love followed.
Around this time Savage married Tracey, and became a father twice over in 1998 and 1999. He alsao appeared on the Channel 4
sports show Under The Moon
, with a comedy song about the World Cup
.
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
poets - Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
-born Paul Rance, and Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
's Andy Bruce.
Basically coming out of Peace & Freedom magazine
Peace & Freedom magazine
Peace & Freedom is a poetry, prose, and art magazine, first published by Paul Rance in 1985. It is one of a number of publications produced by Peace & Freedom Press, which Rance co-founded with Hartlepool poet Andrew Bruce....
- which was then a music/poetry fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
edited by Rance, and later photocopied by Bruce - The Peace & Freedom Band, often called the P&F Band, were to produce seven albums of varying quality. Their last album being the mp3.com
MP3.com
MP3.com is a web site operated by CNET Networks providing information about digital music and artists, songs, services, community, and technologies. It is probably better known for its original incarnation, as a legal, free music-sharing service, popular with independent musicians for promoting...
CD, Earth, in 2000. In 2008, the band's first new song for 8 years, 'Earth R.I.P. - Or?...' was released as a free download on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. The Peace & Freedom Band began to take shape around 1984 and 1985, when Bruce and Rance planned putting music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
to their own poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and that of Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Peter Gibbs and Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
poetess and fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
editor Hayley Tagg. Nothing really came to fruition, until Bruce and Rance put out a rough demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
in 1986 of their own work and acoustic recordings of traditional folk songs.
Early underground days
The Peace & Freedom Band were a group who were steeped in the punkPunk ideology
Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture. In its original incarnation, the punk subculture was primarily concerned with concepts such as rebellion, anti-authoritarianism, individualism, free thought and discontent...
ethos.
Their first proper album, Life, came out in 1988, and was helped by ex-APF Brigade member Andi Xport joining as an auxiliary member, contributing to Rance's poems, Nature and 30th Century, and doing a lot of the production.
Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
poet Andrew Savage joined later in 1988, and had gained some national fame by posing nude in a jacuzzi, reciting poetry (with some other poets), which The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
published a picture of. Savage inspired the band's next album, Carry On Taping, which was partially produced by Xport later in 1988.
Secret Joinery, released in 1989, was an album, which was a collection of old and new P&F Band songs, including "Hayley's Tum", "Chicken Liberation Song", "Find Myself A Girl", and "Psycho Somatic Song". Is God A Dropout? followed the next year.
Cedric
The Poll Tax was to inspire the band's next album in 1991. Rance, Bruce, and Savage were fierce critics of this, with Rance being given a summons, and threatened with arrest. Savage suggested a concept albumConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
about the poll tax, and so Cedric was born.
Savage became busy with publishing his tape magazine, Super Trouper, which featured music and poetry, and Rance and Bruce continued to work on the Peace & Freedom magazine, including launching another title, 'Eastern Rainbow
Eastern Rainbow
Eastern Rainbow is a magazine, published by Peace & Freedom Press, and features material relating to 20th century arts and culture.First published in 1992, Eastern Rainbow consists of poetry, short stories, articles, artwork, and photography relating to the 20th century...
', and publishing paperback anthologies of poetry. In the mid-1990s Rance dabbled briefly with comedy writing, when dating a writer for The News Huddlines
The News Huddlines
The News Huddlines was a long-running BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.-Performers:...
and Week Ending
Week Ending
Week Ending... was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, usually on Friday evenings. It was devised by writer/producers Simon Brett and David Hatch, and was originally hosted by Nationwide presenter Michael Barratt.The show's title was always announced as...
, Fay Dickinson, and later he had some jokey material aired on the Danny Baker
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
-hosted soccer show on Talk Radio
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
, claiming to be an anti-Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, pro-Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
fan.
1997's Universal Love followed.
Around this time Savage married Tracey, and became a father twice over in 1998 and 1999. He alsao appeared on the 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...
sports show Under The Moon
Under the Moon
Under the Moon was an offbeat, late-night 1990s sports show on the UK's Channel 4. The show was originally hosted by Danny Kelly and comedian Tim Clark...
, with a comedy song about the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
.
Earth
They released an album through mp3.com, entitled Earth, in 2000. Rance with his The Warden Hills Walkers, and Savage with his Space Dentists, also produced solo CDs through mp3.com.Earth R.I.P. - Or?...
The band had been quiet for a few years, until the release in 2008 of Earth R.I.P. - Or?..., with Paul Rance (now sometimes known as Sticky Banana) coming to terms with the sudden death of his father, the photographer Peter Rance, and Andrew Savage becoming a teacher, and changing his name to Angelo Gravity. Andy Xport has released a number of new songs in recent years, including the 2008 CD, Still Shakin' The Bush Boss!Discography
- Life (1988)
- Carry On Taping (1988)
- Secret Joinery (1989)
- Is God A Dropout? (1990)
- Cedric (1991)
- Universal Love (1997)
- Earth (2000)
- Earth R.I.P. - Or?...