Naked Lunch (UK band)
Naked Lunch are an English band formed in 1979, by Tony Mayo who advertised for like-minded people in the Melody Maker. Mick Clarke replied and they then moved into a flat to work on further material. In preparation to play live further members were advertised for and Tim Yorke, Paul Nicholas Davies and Cliff Chapman joined and then, in 1981, by Mark Irving who replaced Tim.
The band was one of the first synth based groups, and as such were featured on the Some Bizzare Album alongside Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Blancmange and The The. Tony Mayo, the lead singer with the band, had close connections with Stevo Pearce and aided with pulling the artists for this album together.Naked Lunch also recorded at Abbey Road recording studios for EMI and the track Horrow Shock Horror was released on the EMI compilation " Silly Not to Terpsichore ". Subsequently, the band's were featured on the London Weekend Television program 20th Century Box (see ref) and during the making of this program, Tony Mayo bought the attention of the program makers of Depeche Mode, who were then featured on the program and was part of their rise to fame. The Depeche Mode biography Stripped makes several references (see ref's below) to Naked Lunch and explained how they had been around since the early days of the UK electronic music movement and had paved the way for other bands such as Depeche Mode.
A brief history of the band that provides little evidence of their early influence on the UK electronic music scene includes the fact that as early as 1979 they performed in a show alongside the likes of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget, B-Movie and Clock DVA organised by the band and Stevo Pearce (who managed Some Bizzare Records), who Tony had DJed with previously. The band undertook the Naked Lunch's Electronic Indoctrination Tour in 1980 which included a show at Leeds Futurama, which was filmed and eventually broadcast on BBC2. Naked Lunch then set about helping Pearce find artists and recordings to make up the Some Bizzare Album to which the band itself contributed "La Femme" (a song originally called "Le Femme" but Phonogram who released the album was licensed to change it to grammatically correct French, missing the point of the androgyny of the electronic music scene and that the song was about that). After a parting with Pearce, Naked Lunch became managed by Ramkup with the single "Rabies" backed by "Slipping Again" being released, though it suffered from a ban on daytime radio play due to the title but did receive good play and support from the likes of John Peel and Nicky Horne on their nighttime shows. Line-up changes continued before the band split in 1981 with Mayo retaining the name Naked Lunch, which he registered with Companies House in May 1981. A second version of the band emerged as a live act until 1985 and though Mayo continued with Naked Lunch projects, the band as such was a quiet presence.[1] 2010 saw Tony Mayo link up again with early member Paul Davies and writing new material, with Mick Clark and Cliff Chapman joining in 2011, both in the original line-up. Their first gig for over 30 years came at BAS II with the addition of Mark Irving coming in early 2012 and Jet Noir linking up in June 2013. During 2013, Naked Lunch appeared at the Roundhouse in London, the Dark Waters Alternative Music festival (both of which had positive reviews) and also headlined at the Slimelight Club in London. The band has been recording new matierial and have released their first album "Beyond Planets" in 2014 after signing with Sub Culture Records for digital distribution, Dreadfall management and Dark Independent bookings.
Band members
Members (1979-1981)
- Tony Mayo - vocals
- Mick Clarke - synthesizer
- Cliff Chapman - synthesizer
- Paul N. Davies - guitar
- Mark Irving - drums
Members (1982-1985)
- Tony Mayo - vocals
- Paul Loughnane - guitar and synthesizer
- Nick O'Brian - bass and synth
- Tim Yorke - drums
Members (1985-1997)
- Tony Mayo - vocals
- Sali-ann - backing vocals
- Paul Loughnane - guitar and synthesiser
Members (2010-2013)
- Tony Mayo - vocals
- Mick Clarke - synthesizer
- Cliff Chapman - synthesizer
- Paul N. Davies - guitar
- Mark Irving - drums
Members (2013–2014)
- Tony Mayo - vocals
- Cliff Chapman - synthesizer
- Paul N. Davies - guitar
- Mark Irving - drums
- Jet Noir - synthesizer, backing vocals
Members (2014)
- Tony Mayo - Vocals
- Cliff Chapman - Synthesizer
- Paul N. Davies - Guitar
- Jet Noir - Synthesizer and Backing Vocals
- Clint Henderson - Drums -
- Sam Morrison - Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals -
Members (2015)
- Tony Mayo - Vocals
- Jet Noir - Synthesizer and Backing Vocals
- Cliff Chapman - Synthesizer
- Clint Henderson - Drums
- Ade Pridham - Bass Guitar
- Adam Bradley - Guitar
Members (2016)
- Tony Mayo - Vocals
- Jet Noir - Vocals, Guitar and Synthesizer
- Dean Baker - Synthesizer and Backing Vocals
- Clint Henderson - Drums
- Jonathan Reeves - Bass Guitar
Discography
- 1981: "La Femme" - Some Bizzare Album (Some Bizzare Records)
- 1981: "Rabies"/"Slipping Again" (Ramkup Records)
- 1981: "Horror Shock Horror" (EMI)[2]
- 1983: "You Tie Me Down"/"Laugh Your Mind Away" (Plezure Records)
- 1984: "Make Believe"/"Breathe" (Plezure Records)
- 1984: "Weekend Behaviour" (Plezure Records)
- 2012: "Slipping Again" (Strut Records)[3][4]
- 2013: "Alone" (Sub Culture Records)
- 2013: "Slipping Again, Again" (Sub Culture Records)
- 2013: "Glow" (Sub Culture Records)
- 2014: Beyond Planets (first album) (Sub Culture Records)[5][6]
- 2015: "Evolve" (Sub Culture Records)
References
- ↑ "Naked Lunch |". Basproductions.co.uk. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Various – Terpsichore (Silly Not To) (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Trevor Jackson Presents Metal Dance – Industrial, Post Punk, EBM, Classics and Rarities 80–89". Strut-records.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Trevor Jackson Digs Dance Floor Industrial Gems on Metal Dance". Strut Records. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "NAKED LUNCH • Glow (EP) • CD REVIEW • peek-a-boo music magazine". Peek-a-boo-magazine.be. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Naked Lunch Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
External links
- Naked Lunch appearance on London Weekend Television's 20th Century Box alongside Depeche Mode
- Stipped: Depeche Mode. Pages 60, 99 and 688 (index) : Details of Naked Lunch playing with Blancmange (Page 8), Dave Gahan quotes that when the Some Bizaare Album came out, "I don't like to bitch but Naked Lunch had been going for years" Page 99 – Naked Lunch performed on same bill as Depeche Mode and Blancmange in the last gig Vince Clarke played as part of Depeche mode.
- Review of Naked Lunch playing at the BAS II Festival
- Review of single "Alone"
- Review of single "Alone"
- Review of single "Alone"
- Interview between Black Flag Promotions and Tony Mayo – with history of Naked Lunch and links to video and audio files
- review from Reproducktion 13 gig 2013
- Stevo Pearce: reference to Stevo playing Naked Lunch at his electo nights
- Review of Naked Lunch from Record Mirror 29 November 1980
- Review of Naked Lunch from Zigzag Magazine (early 1980s)
- Interview with Naked Lunch Sounds Magazine 14 March 1980
- Naked Lunch join Deadfall Artist / Band Management – November 2013
- "Surprising, since the roots of all Goth-loving dance music can be heard here": Review of Naked Lunch's performance at Dark Water's Festival 2013
- Interview with Jet Noir discussing Naked Lunch with Midlands Metalheads
- EMI Silly Not to Terpsichore Album
- Depeche Mode 1981 interview with Sounds talking about Some Bizzare Album and mentioning Naked Lunch
- Review of Some Bizzare Album from 1981 with reference to a quote from Naked Lunch
- Official website
- Naked Lunch Facebook Page
- Naked Lunch on Norwegian electronic label
- Naked Lunch on Reverbnation
- Naked Lunch on Sub Culture Records label