Wire (band)
Encyclopedia
Wire are an English
rock
band
, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman
(vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis
(bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert
(guitar), and Robert Gotobed (drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock
scene, appearing on the Live at the Roxy WC2
album—a key early document of the scene—and were later central to the development of post-punk
.
Inspired by the burgeoning UK punk scene, Wire are often cited as one of the more important rock groups of the 1970s and 1980s. Critic Stewart Mason writes, "Over their brilliant first three albums, Wire expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general."
Wire are arguably a definitive art punk
or post-punk ensemble, mostly due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound, often obscure lyrical themes and, to a lesser extent, their Situationist political stance. The group exhibited a steady development from an early raucous punk style (1977's Pink Flag
) to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers (1978's Chairs Missing
and 1979's 154
). The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout its career.
Chairs Missing followed in 1978, and found Wire stepping back from the stark minimalism of Pink Flag, with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne. The experimentation was even more prominent on 154 (1979). Many of the songs had bassist Graham Lewis on lead vocals.
In 1979, creative differences pulled the band in different directions, leading to the Document and Eyewitness
LP (1981), a recording of a live performance that featured, almost exclusively, new material, which was described as 'disjointed', 'unrecognizable as rock music' and 'almost unlistenable'. The LP came packaged with an EP
of a different performance of more new material. Some of these songs, along with others performed but not included on the album, were included on Colin Newman's post-Wire solo albums ("5/10", "We Meet Under Tables"), while others were released by Gilbert and Lewis' primary post-Wire outlet Dome
("And Then...", "Ritual View").
Between 1981-85 Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and non-Wire collaborative projects such as Dome, Cupol, Duet Emmo, and several Colin Newman
solo efforts. In 1985, the group reformed as a "beat combo" (a joking reference to early 1960s beat music or even possibly beatnik
s), with greater use of electronic musical instrument
s. Wire announced that they would perform none of their older material, hiring The Ex-Lion Tamers, (a Wire cover band
named after a song title from Pink Flag), as their opening act. The Ex-Lion Tamers played Wire's older material; Wire played their new material. It released It's Beginning To And Back Again
(IBTABA) in 1989, a "live" album of mostly re-worked versions of songs from The Ideal Copy
and A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck
, heavily re-arranged, edited, and remixed. A new song from the album, "Eardrum Buzz", became the band's biggest charting single.
Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album Manscape
. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming "Wir" (still pronounced "wire"), and released The First Letter
in 1991. There followed a further period of solo recordings, during which Newman founded the Swim ~
label, and later Githead
with his wife (ex-Minimal Compact
bassist Malka Spigel
), while Wire remained an occasional collaboration. It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.
With Gotobed back in the line-up (now using his birth name, Robert Grey), the group initially reworked much of their back catalogue for a performance at Royal Festival Hall
on 26 February 2000. Wire's reception during a short tour in early May of the US
, and a number of UK
gigs, convinced the band to continue. Two EPs
and an album Send
(2003) followed, as well as collaborations with stage designer Es Devlin and artists Jake and Dinos Chapman
.
In 2006, Wire's 1970s albums were re-released with original vinyl tracklistings. Rumours abounded of a renewal of activity to mark the 30th anniversary of the band's debut as a 4 piece and the re-release of Pink Flag
in 2007. A third Read & Burn EP was released in November, 2007.
A full-length album of new material entitled Object 47
was released in July 2008. Bruce Gilbert was not involved in this recording, although according to Colin Newman, he did feature in a minimal capacity on the third Read and Burn EP.
On January 10, 2011 the band's twelfth studio album, Red Barked Tree
was released which (according to press release and BBC) "...rekindles a lyricism sometimes absent from Wire's previous work and reconnects with the live energy of performance, harnessed and channelled from extensive touring over the past few years". The album was written and recorded by Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Grey (no guests involved), but speaking to Marc Riley
on the day of the release, Newman introduced as 'a new boy' guitarist Matt Simms (from It Hugs Back) who's been with the band since April 2010 as a touring member.
, The Minutemen, R.E.M.
, and The Cure
expressed a fondness for the group. R.E.M.
covered "Strange" on their Document
album, and "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
" emulates Wire's song "Feeling Called Love". Since their 2008 reunion, The Feelies
have regularly covered "Outdoor Miner" during its live sets.
Guided By Voices
' Robert Pollard claimed that Wire was his favourite band, and that the fact that GBV's albums had so many songs was directly influenced by Wire's albums. One of My Bloody Valentine's last releases was a cover of "Map Ref 41°N 93°W" for a Wire tribute entitled Whore. The song was selected as a favourite cover by Flak Magazine
.
More recently, Fischerspooner
(who covered "The 15th
" on their #1 album), britpop
bands like Elastica
and Menswe@r and post-punk revival bands
like Bloc Party
, Futureheads, Blacklist
, and Franz Ferdinand
owe a debt to Wire. Blur
's work, along with many more minor Britpop bands, have been particularly reminiscent of 1970s Wire at various points.
Wire were influential on hardcore punk
. Fans included Ian MacKaye
of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat
and Henry Rollins
, formerly of Black Flag
. Minor Threat
covered "1 2 X U" for the Dischord Records compilation Flex Your Head, as well as Boss Hog
on the "I Dig You" EP and CD. Henry Rollins
, as Henrietta Collins & The Wife-Beating Childhaters, covered "Ex-Lion Tamer" on the EP "Drive by Shooting
". Michael Azerrad reported, in Our Band Could Be Your Life
, that at Minor Threat's second gig, each of the seven bands on the roster performed its version of a Wire song. Big Black
covered Wire's "Heartbeat" twice, once as a studio version which was released as a single (also included on The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
compilation), and also as a live version, featuring Bruce Gilbert
and Graham Lewis
, that was included on the VHS
version of its live album Pigpile
. The slowcore Mormon band Low included an early, previously unreleased cover of Heartbeat on their career-spanning boxset in 2007. The live-only, all-girl ukulele band Colossus performed endurance-test versions of I Am the Fly during their 2007 tour of eastern Europe. Ampere
recorded a cover of "Mr. Suit" for its 2006 split with Das Oath
. New Bomb Turks
also recorded a cover of "Mr. Suit" on its 1993 album Destroy Oh Boy.
A plagiarism
case between Wire's music publisher and Elastica
, over the similarity between Wire's 1977 song "Three Girl Rhumba" and Elastica's 1995 hit "Connection", resulted in an out-of-court settlement.
Olivier Assayas
's 2010 film Carlos
uses 4 of the band's fast-paced songs on the soundtrack to increase tension: "Drill", "Dot Dash", "The 15th" and "Ahead".
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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
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 in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman
Colin Newman
Colin Newman is an English musician, record producer and record label owner.-Biography:Newman is a member of the rock band Wire. When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo LP, A-Z, was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet label...
(vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis
Graham Lewis
Graham Lewis is an English musician.Lewis is the bassist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, a band formed in 1976...
(bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert
Bruce Gilbert
Bruce Gilbert is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art-punk band Wire, Gilbert branched out into electronic music, performance art, music production, and DJing during the band's extended periods of inactivity...
(guitar), and Robert Gotobed (drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock
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, appearing on the Live at the Roxy WC2
Live at the Roxy WC2
The Roxy London WC2 is a live album of recordings taken from various punk bands that played the Roxy club in Covent Garden, London between January and April 1977.-Overview:...
album—a key early document of the scene—and were later central to the development of post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
.
Inspired by the burgeoning UK punk scene, Wire are often cited as one of the more important rock groups of the 1970s and 1980s. Critic Stewart Mason writes, "Over their brilliant first three albums, Wire expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general."
Wire are arguably a definitive art punk
Art punk
Art punk or avant punk refers to punk rock of an experimental bent, or with connections to art school, the art world, or the avant garde....
or post-punk ensemble, mostly due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound, often obscure lyrical themes and, to a lesser extent, their Situationist political stance. The group exhibited a steady development from an early raucous punk style (1977's Pink Flag
Pink Flag
Pink Flag is the first album by the band Wire, released in 1977. Upon its release, Robert Christgau called it a "punk suite" and praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment" and detected a rock-and-roll irony similar to but "much grimmer and more frightening" than the Ramones...
) to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers (1978's Chairs Missing
Chairs Missing
Chairs Missing is the second album by the British rock band Wire. It was released in 1978.Although it shares a punk-derived "outsider" voice with the band's debut, Pink Flag, it features more developed song structure and a broader palette of emotional and intellectual subject matter...
and 1979's 154
154 (album)
154 is the third album from the band Wire, released in 1979 on EMI imprint Harvest Records in the UK and Europe and Warner Bros. Records in America. It was first issued on CD in 1987 by EMI Japan and later reissued by Restless Records in 1989...
). The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout its career.
History
Wire's debut album, Pink Flag (1977), 'perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk', according to Allmusic, contains songs which are diverse in mood and style, but most use a minimalist punk approach, unorthodox structures, "Field Day For The Sundays", for example, is only 28 seconds long.Chairs Missing followed in 1978, and found Wire stepping back from the stark minimalism of Pink Flag, with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne. The experimentation was even more prominent on 154 (1979). Many of the songs had bassist Graham Lewis on lead vocals.
In 1979, creative differences pulled the band in different directions, leading to the Document and Eyewitness
Document and Eyewitness
Document and Eyewitness is a live album by the post-punk band Wire. It marked the end of the first period of Wire's activity and the end of their association with EMI. The Notre Dame Hall show records Wire after the tour to support 154, tired of playing the same old songs and continually moving...
LP (1981), a recording of a live performance that featured, almost exclusively, new material, which was described as 'disjointed', 'unrecognizable as rock music' and 'almost unlistenable'. The LP came packaged with an EP
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...
of a different performance of more new material. Some of these songs, along with others performed but not included on the album, were included on Colin Newman's post-Wire solo albums ("5/10", "We Meet Under Tables"), while others were released by Gilbert and Lewis' primary post-Wire outlet Dome
Dome (band)
Dome was a musical group consisting of Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis .-Background:...
("And Then...", "Ritual View").
Between 1981-85 Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and non-Wire collaborative projects such as Dome, Cupol, Duet Emmo, and several Colin Newman
Colin Newman
Colin Newman is an English musician, record producer and record label owner.-Biography:Newman is a member of the rock band Wire. When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo LP, A-Z, was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet label...
solo efforts. In 1985, the group reformed as a "beat combo" (a joking reference to early 1960s beat music or even possibly beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
s), with greater use of electronic musical instrument
Electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
s. Wire announced that they would perform none of their older material, hiring The Ex-Lion Tamers, (a Wire cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
named after a song title from Pink Flag), as their opening act. The Ex-Lion Tamers played Wire's older material; Wire played their new material. It released It's Beginning To And Back Again
It's Beginning to and Back Again
It's Beginning To And Back Again, also known as IBTABA, is the sixth album by the British post-punk group Wire, released in 1989.The record mostly consists of reinterpretations of live performances of material from the band's previous record, A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck...
(IBTABA) in 1989, a "live" album of mostly re-worked versions of songs from The Ideal Copy
The Ideal Copy
The Ideal Copy is the fourth studio album album by the English rock group Wire. It was the first full-length recording following the band's hiatus of 1980–1985....
and A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck
A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck
A Bell Is a Cup ... Until It Is Struck is the fifth studio album album by the British post-punk group Wire.-Critical response:In 1989, the Trouser Press Record Guide described the album as: However, in a later edition, Trouser Press held a more critical view, writing:At the time of the album's...
, heavily re-arranged, edited, and remixed. A new song from the album, "Eardrum Buzz", became the band's biggest charting single.
Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album Manscape
Manscape
Manscape is the seventh studio album by the British post-punk group Wire. It was produced by David M. Allen, recorded and mixed at RAK Studios, engineered by Roy Spong, and published by Dying Art Ltd....
. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming "Wir" (still pronounced "wire"), and released The First Letter
The First Letter
The First Letter is the ninth studio album and the last album released by Wire before their second extended hiatus. It was one of only three releases credited to "Wir", the others being the "So And Slow It Grows" single, and a limited edition two song EP entitledVien...
in 1991. There followed a further period of solo recordings, during which Newman founded the Swim ~
Swim ~
swim~ is a record label founded in 1993, and jointly run, by Wire guitarist and singer Colin Newman, and Minimal Compact bass player and singer Malka Spigel...
label, and later Githead
Githead
Githead is a musical collaboration that includes Wire's Colin Newman as well as electronic musician Robin Rimbaud alongside ex-Minimal Compact members Malka Spigel and Max Franken.- Biography :...
with his wife (ex-Minimal Compact
Minimal Compact
Minimal Compact were an Israeli rock band associated with the post punk and indie rock movement of the 1980s.-Biography:Between its foundation in 1981 and its dissolution seven years later, Minimal Compact played a small role in the European rock scene...
bassist Malka Spigel
Malka Spigel
Malka Spigel is a founding member of the Israeli rock band Minimal Compact. She has also worked as a solo artist, and as a visual artist, exhibiting in prominent venues such as The Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Royal Festival Hall...
), while Wire remained an occasional collaboration. It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.
With Gotobed back in the line-up (now using his birth name, Robert Grey), the group initially reworked much of their back catalogue for a performance at Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
on 26 February 2000. Wire's reception during a short tour in early May of the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and a number of 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...
gigs, convinced the band to continue. 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...
and an album Send
Send (album)
Send is the tenth album by the English rock group Wire. It was their first recording as a 4 piece since 1990's Manscape and the first full length release by any incarnation of the group since 1991.-Track listing:# "In the Art of Stopping"# "Mr...
(2003) followed, as well as collaborations with stage designer Es Devlin and artists Jake and Dinos Chapman
Jake and Dinos Chapman
Iakovos "Jake" Chapman and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman are English visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers, who work together as a collaborative sibling duo...
.
In 2006, Wire's 1970s albums were re-released with original vinyl tracklistings. Rumours abounded of a renewal of activity to mark the 30th anniversary of the band's debut as a 4 piece and the re-release of Pink Flag
Pink Flag
Pink Flag is the first album by the band Wire, released in 1977. Upon its release, Robert Christgau called it a "punk suite" and praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment" and detected a rock-and-roll irony similar to but "much grimmer and more frightening" than the Ramones...
in 2007. A third Read & Burn EP was released in November, 2007.
A full-length album of new material entitled Object 47
Object 47
Object 47 is the eleventh studio album by the English post punk band Wire, named so because it is the 47th item in the Wire discography - a methodology harking back to the name of their 1979 album, 154, which was named after the number of concerts they had played to that point. It is the first Wire...
was released in July 2008. Bruce Gilbert was not involved in this recording, although according to Colin Newman, he did feature in a minimal capacity on the third Read and Burn EP.
On January 10, 2011 the band's twelfth studio album, Red Barked Tree
Red Barked Tree
A guitar-dominated album, its musical styles range from thrash, art pop and power pop to psychedelic folk featuring acoustic guitar. Pitchfork described Red Barked Tree as a "shrewdly sequenced album", a necessity arising from the variety of different styles represented on it: "its 11 songs are...
was released which (according to press release and BBC) "...rekindles a lyricism sometimes absent from Wire's previous work and reconnects with the live energy of performance, harnessed and channelled from extensive touring over the past few years". The album was written and recorded by Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Grey (no guests involved), but speaking to Marc Riley
Marc Riley
Marc Riley is a British musician, alternative rock critic and radio DJ on BBC 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he had his own record label, In-Tape, and also worked as a record plugger...
on the day of the release, Newman introduced as 'a new boy' guitarist Matt Simms (from It Hugs Back) who's been with the band since April 2010 as a touring member.
Influence
Wire are a band whose influence has outshone their comparatively modest record sales. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Urinals, Manic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
, The Minutemen, R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, and The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
expressed a fondness for the group. R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
covered "Strange" on their Document
Document (album)
Robert Christgau praised the album, and called "It's the End of the World as We Know It " an "inspirational title." Stephan Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that "Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made...
album, and "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" is a song by the American alternative rock group R.E.M. from their 1994 album Monster. It was the first single taken from the album, released three weeks later. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. Due to its...
" emulates Wire's song "Feeling Called Love". Since their 2008 reunion, The Feelies
The Feelies
The Feelies are a rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008 and most recently released an album in 2011....
have regularly covered "Outdoor Miner" during its live sets.
Guided By Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
' Robert Pollard claimed that Wire was his favourite band, and that the fact that GBV's albums had so many songs was directly influenced by Wire's albums. One of My Bloody Valentine's last releases was a cover of "Map Ref 41°N 93°W" for a Wire tribute entitled Whore. The song was selected as a favourite cover by Flak Magazine
Flak Magazine
Flak Magazine was a pioneering American online magazine, founded in 1998. The chief editor is James Norton, the managing editor is Joey Rubin. , it reported over 250,000 unique visitors monthly. In 2008, Flak suspended publication....
.
More recently, Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name is a portmanteau of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner...
(who covered "The 15th
The 15th
The 15th is a song from the 1979 album 154 by the English rock band Wire. It was written by Colin Newman.-Fischerspooner cover:Electroclash band Fischerspooner covered The 15th as the second single from their debut album #1.-Charts:...
" on their #1 album), britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
bands like Elastica
Elastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
and Menswe@r and post-punk revival bands
Post-punk revival
The post-punk revival was a development in alternative rock of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in which bands took inspiration from the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and post-punk and New Wave of the late 1970s...
like Bloc Party
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
, Futureheads, Blacklist
Blacklist (band)
Blacklist is a band from Brooklyn, New York composed of Josh Strawn , Ryan Rayhill , Glenn Maryansky , and James Minor . They are one of the flagship bands of painter Pieter Schoolwerth's Wierd Records imprint...
, and Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...
owe a debt to Wire. Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
's work, along with many more minor Britpop bands, have been particularly reminiscent of 1970s Wire at various points.
Wire were influential on hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
. Fans included Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
and Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
, formerly of Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
. Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
covered "1 2 X U" for the Dischord Records compilation Flex Your Head, as well as Boss Hog
Boss Hog
Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez along with Jens Jurgensen , Hollis Queens and Mark Boyce...
on the "I Dig You" EP and CD. Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
, as Henrietta Collins & The Wife-Beating Childhaters, covered "Ex-Lion Tamer" on the EP "Drive by Shooting
Drive by Shooting
Drive by Shooting is a hardcore punk solo E.P. by Henry Rollins, credited to "Henrietta Collins & The Wife-Beating Child-Haters", which served as a pre-cursor to the Rollins Band. This recording features a Wire cover, a re-vision of a Queen song and a parody of a Beach Boys style song...
". Michael Azerrad reported, in Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely influential in establishing American alternative and indie...
, that at Minor Threat's second gig, each of the seven bands on the roster performed its version of a Wire song. Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
covered Wire's "Heartbeat" twice, once as a studio version which was released as a single (also included on The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
- Track listing :#"Jordan, Minnesota" - 3:20#"Passing Complexion" - 3:04#"Big Money" - 2:29#"Kerosene" - 6:05#"Bad Houses" - 3:09#"Fists of Love" - 4:21#"Stinking Drunk" - 3:27...
compilation), and also as a live version, featuring Bruce Gilbert
Bruce Gilbert
Bruce Gilbert is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art-punk band Wire, Gilbert branched out into electronic music, performance art, music production, and DJing during the band's extended periods of inactivity...
and Graham Lewis
Graham Lewis
Graham Lewis is an English musician.Lewis is the bassist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, a band formed in 1976...
, that was included on the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
version of its live album Pigpile
Pigpile
-Track listing:# "Fists of Love" – 4:14# "L Dopa" – 1:49# "Passing Complexion" – 3:06# "Dead Billy" – 5:12# "Cables" – 3:18# "Bad Penny" – 3:03# "Pavement Saw" – 2:56# "Kerosene" – 6:38# "Steelworker" – 4:52# "Pigeon Kill" – 2:24...
. The slowcore Mormon band Low included an early, previously unreleased cover of Heartbeat on their career-spanning boxset in 2007. The live-only, all-girl ukulele band Colossus performed endurance-test versions of I Am the Fly during their 2007 tour of eastern Europe. Ampere
Ampere (band)
Ampere is a DIY punk band based in Amherst, Massachusetts known for their short but extremely loud and intense live shows. The band has put the importance of DIY punk ethics at the forefront of their lyrics and are known for the particular attention they bring to their vegan...
recorded a cover of "Mr. Suit" for its 2006 split with Das Oath
Das Oath
Das Oath was a thrashcore band from New York, originating from The Netherlands. They formed in 1999. After two rehearsals the band recorded their 7" eight song debut in Rotterdam. It was not until a year later when Das Oath started to play shows. With only one 7" released the band hit the road and...
. New Bomb Turks
New Bomb Turks
The New Bomb Turks are an American punk rock band formed at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1990. The founding members are Jim Weber, Eric Davidson, Bill Randt, and Matt Reber. Sam Brown replaced Bill Randt on drums in 1999. Early on their inspiration came from the Devil Dogs, Lazy...
also recorded a cover of "Mr. Suit" on its 1993 album Destroy Oh Boy.
A plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
case between Wire's music publisher and Elastica
Elastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
, over the similarity between Wire's 1977 song "Three Girl Rhumba" and Elastica's 1995 hit "Connection", resulted in an out-of-court settlement.
Olivier Assayas
Olivier Assayas
Olivier Assayas is a French film director and screenwriter.He made his debut in 1986, after directing some short films and writing for the influential film magazine Cahiers du cinéma.-Career:...
's 2010 film Carlos
Carlos (TV miniseries)
Carlos is a 3-part French television drama mini-series, first broadcast on Canal+ in 2010. Produced by Film En Stock's Daniel Leconte in coproduction with Jens Meuer in association with Canal +, Studio Canal, ARTE, the Sundance Channel, it was created by Daniel Leconte and written by Dan Franck and...
uses 4 of the band's fast-paced songs on the soundtrack to increase tension: "Drill", "Dot Dash", "The 15th" and "Ahead".
Samples
Studio albums
- Pink FlagPink FlagPink Flag is the first album by the band Wire, released in 1977. Upon its release, Robert Christgau called it a "punk suite" and praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment" and detected a rock-and-roll irony similar to but "much grimmer and more frightening" than the Ramones...
(December 1977) - Chairs MissingChairs MissingChairs Missing is the second album by the British rock band Wire. It was released in 1978.Although it shares a punk-derived "outsider" voice with the band's debut, Pink Flag, it features more developed song structure and a broader palette of emotional and intellectual subject matter...
(August 1978) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#48 - 154154 (album)154 is the third album from the band Wire, released in 1979 on EMI imprint Harvest Records in the UK and Europe and Warner Bros. Records in America. It was first issued on CD in 1987 by EMI Japan and later reissued by Restless Records in 1989...
(September 1979) UK #39 - The Ideal CopyThe Ideal CopyThe Ideal Copy is the fourth studio album album by the English rock group Wire. It was the first full-length recording following the band's hiatus of 1980–1985....
(April 1987) UK #87 - A Bell Is a Cup... Until It Is Struck (May 1988)
- It's Beginning To And Back AgainIt's Beginning to and Back AgainIt's Beginning To And Back Again, also known as IBTABA, is the sixth album by the British post-punk group Wire, released in 1989.The record mostly consists of reinterpretations of live performances of material from the band's previous record, A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck...
(May 1989) - ManscapeManscapeManscape is the seventh studio album by the British post-punk group Wire. It was produced by David M. Allen, recorded and mixed at RAK Studios, engineered by Roy Spong, and published by Dying Art Ltd....
(May 1990) - The DrillThe Drill (album)The Drill is the eighth studio album by the British post-punk group Wire. Allmusic states that the album effectively consists of remixes of the same song, "Drill", and is officially listed as an EP rather than an album despite its length of almost one hour....
(April 1991) - The First LetterThe First LetterThe First Letter is the ninth studio album and the last album released by Wire before their second extended hiatus. It was one of only three releases credited to "Wir", the others being the "So And Slow It Grows" single, and a limited edition two song EP entitledVien...
(October 1991) - SendSend (album)Send is the tenth album by the English rock group Wire. It was their first recording as a 4 piece since 1990's Manscape and the first full length release by any incarnation of the group since 1991.-Track listing:# "In the Art of Stopping"# "Mr...
(May 2003) - Object 47Object 47Object 47 is the eleventh studio album by the English post punk band Wire, named so because it is the 47th item in the Wire discography - a methodology harking back to the name of their 1979 album, 154, which was named after the number of concerts they had played to that point. It is the first Wire...
(July 2008) - Red Barked TreeRed Barked TreeA guitar-dominated album, its musical styles range from thrash, art pop and power pop to psychedelic folk featuring acoustic guitar. Pitchfork described Red Barked Tree as a "shrewdly sequenced album", a necessity arising from the variety of different styles represented on it: "its 11 songs are...
(January 2011)
Compilation and live albums
- Document and EyewitnessDocument and EyewitnessDocument and Eyewitness is a live album by the post-punk band Wire. It marked the end of the first period of Wire's activity and the end of their association with EMI. The Notre Dame Hall show records Wire after the tour to support 154, tired of playing the same old songs and continually moving...
(live, June 1981) - And Here It Is...Again... (1984)
- Play Pop (March 1986)
- In the Pink (live, August 1986)
- The Peel Sessions (EP, November 1987)
- On Returning (1977–1979) (July 1989)
- Double Peel Sessions (February 1990)
- 1985-1990 The A List (May 1993)
- Exploding Views (September 1994, with book)
- Behind the Curtain (May 1995)
- Turns and Strokes (May 1996)
- Coatings (October 1997)
- The Third Day (Feb 2000)
- It's All In The Brochure (May 2000)
- Wire on the Box: 1979] (October 2004)
- Wire: The Scottish Play: 2004 (March 2005)
- Live at the Roxy, London (1977) / Live at CBGB Theatre, New York (1978)] (November 2006)
Singles and EPs
- "Mannequin" / "12XU" / "Feeling Called Love" (November 1977)
- "I am the Fly" / Ex-Lion Tamer" (February 1978)
- "Dot Dash" / "Options R" (June 1978)
- "Outdoor Miner" / "Practice Makes Perfect" (January 1979)
- "A Question of Degree" / "Former Airline" (June 1979)
- "Map Reference 41°N 93°W" / "Go Ahead" (October 1979)
- "Our Swimmer" / "Midnight Bahnhof Cafe" (May 1981)
- "Crazy About Love" / "Second Length (Our Swimmer)" / "Catapult 30" (March 1983)
- "SnakedrillSnakedrillSnakedrill was an EP released by Wire in 1986. The album features the return of the band after their five-year hiatus, and foreshadows their extensive use of electronic instrumentation on following albums, particularly on "'A Serious of Snakes...'", which contains multiple layered synth and...
" (EP, November 1986) - "Ahead" / "Feed Me" (live) (March 1987)
- "Kidney Bingos" / "Pieta" (March 1988)
- "Silk Skin Paws" / "German Shepherds" (June 1988)
- "Life in the Manscape" / "Gravity Worship" (May 1990)
- "So and Slow It Goes" / "Nice from Here" (April 1991, as Wir)
- "First Letter" / "The Last Number" (December 1995, with Hafler TrioHafler TrioThe Hafler Trio is a conceptual and sound art collaborative between Andrew M. McKenzie, the only permanent member, and guest musicians. The project has seen the release of numerous albums and CDs in experimental musical styles ranging from electronica, cut-up, ambient, environmental soundscape,...
) - "Vien" (1997, as Wir)
- "Twelve Times You" (January 2001)
- "Read & Burn – 01" (June 2002)
- "Read & Burn – 02" (October 2002)
- "Read & Burn – 03" (November 2007)
Singles chart placings
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | 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 ... |
|||
| 1979 | "Outdoor Miner" | – | – | – | 51 | Chairs Missing |
| 1989 | "Eardrum Buzz" | – | 2 | – | 68 | It's Beginning to and Back Again |
| "In Vivo" | – | 24 | – | – | ||
Sources
- Reynolds, Nick. "Wire". bbc.co.uk, June 2006.
- Reynolds, Simon. Rip it up and Start Again: postpunk 1978-1984. Faber & Faber, 2006. ISBN 0-14-303672-6
- Eden, Kevin. Everybody Loves A History – SAF Publishing – ISBN 0946719 071 (1991)
External links
- Crawdaddy Magazine interview with Graham Lewis – retrieved 13 August 2010
- Pinkflag.com – official site
- Wireviews – news, reviews and lyrics
- Wire Sound Archive