Jerry Harrison (born Jeremiah Griffin Harrison, 21 February 1949, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American songwriter, musician and producer. He was the keyboardist and guitarist for the influential New Wave group, Talking Heads. He was also an original member of The Modern Lovers.

Harrison played with Jonathan Richman in The Modern Lovers when he was an architectural student at Harvard University. Harrison was introduced to Richman by mutual friend and journalist Danny Fields, and the pair bonded over their shared love of the Velvet Underground. He joined the Modern Lovers in early 1971, playing on their debut album in 1972 (not released until 1976), and leaving in February 1974 when Richman wished to perform his songs more quietly.

Subsequent to his work with The Modern Lovers, Harrison joined Talking Heads; the latter band already had a single out when Harrison left the Modern Lovers to join them. While at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Harrison dated Elisabeth Post (now Elisabeth Post-Marner). Harrison confided in Post as to whether or not stay with the Talking Heads or become an architect at Harvard. Post advised that he stay with the Talking Heads and that he could always get involved with architecture later on in life. Harrison took Post's advice, and became part of a legend.

Harrison's solo albums include The Red and the Black, Casual Gods, and Walk on Water. The last of these albums actually is credited to "Jerry Harrison: Casual Gods," apparently in an attempt to create a new "band" identity by linking it to the previous record.

After the break-up of Talking Heads, Harrison turned to producing and has helmed numerous successful albums by such bands as Violent Femmes, Foo Fighters, The Von Bondies, General Public, Live, Crash Test Dummies, The Verve Pipe, Rusted Root, The Bogmen, Black 47, Of A Revolution, No Doubt and most recently The Black and White Years, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Bamboo Shoots.

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Agnostic Front are a New York hardcore and crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1982.

Formed by guitarist Vinnie Stigma (formerly of the Eliminators) in November/December 1980 with Diego on bass and Rob Krekus on drums. Agnostic Front went through a few singers, two of them being John Watson and Jimmy the Russian before settling with Roger Miret (formerly of the Psychos). They soon added Ray Barbieri (aka Raybeez) on drums and Adam Moochie on bass. Their debut EP United Blood, released in 1983 on an indie label, has since become a collector's item.

The follow-up was Victim in Pain (1984) and is regarded as a seminal New York hardcore release. Dave Jones replaced Ray Barbieri on drums and Rob Kabula on bass. In 1984 Jim "the Kid" Colleti joined on drums. The album pushed the band to the forefront of New York's fledgling hardcore scene, which was centered around CBGB's, where they played with bands like The Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law.

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Fad Gadget is the stage name of Francis John (Frank) Tovey (September 8, 1956 – April 3, 2002). An influential British avant-garde electronic musician, he was an exponent of both New Wave and early industrial music.

Tovey studied performance art at Leeds Metropolitan University. He signed as Fad Gadget to Daniel Miller's Mute Records, which was soon home to similar but more commercial synthpop act Depeche Mode. He was the first artist to sign to Mute.

As Fad Gadget, his music was characterized by a distinctive use of synthesizers in conjunction with sounds of found objects, including drills and electric razors. His bleak, sarcastic, and darkly humorous lyrics, often layered in meaning and discussing subjects such as machinery, building construction, human sexuality, and physical violence, were sung in a droning monotone voice.

Fad Gadget was known for his confrontational live performances, which included Tovey covering himself in tar and feathers, leaping into the audience, and playing instruments with his head. Tovey was particularly infamous for spreading his naked body in shaving cream onstage, an image of which is depicted on the cover of The Best of Fad Gadget. Sounds magazine described him as "...the bumbling but talented Dr Who of electro-pop".^[1]

He recorded several LPs of more experimental work under the name Frank Tovey, beginning with Easy Listening for the Hard of Hearing, a collaboration with Boyd Rice in 1984. His child can be heard on some songs, and "Love Parasite" is about a baby.^{[citation needed]}

After touring in 1993, Tovey withdrew from the music business^{[citation needed]} until 2001, when he resurrected his old pseudonym to support his former colleagues, Depeche Mode, on their Exciter tour. He continued to perform until his death.

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The Alarm is an alternative rock band that emerged from Wales in the early 1980s. It started as a local punk band with a spirited, energetic acoustic/folk influence, stayed together for ten years, and landed 7 top 10 singles. The Alarm incorporated elements of punk, folk, new wave, roots rock, and classic rock, and, unusually for a rock band, displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular alternative rock band of the 1980's, retaining a loyal following to the present day.

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Canadian guitarist Ann Prim led three avant-garde-punk bands in Boston, Mass. from the late 70's into the 80's: The Ann Prim Group, Wunderkind, and November Group, releasing several singles and EPs.
"November Group was one of the most interesting of the synth-based, dance-oriented bands. Unlike most of their peers in the early '80s, November Group was austere and harsh, bereft of joy, more influenced by some of the early "dark dance" groups like A Certain Ratio or New Order. They maintained a militant sound, and the vocals (provided by two women, who headed the band) moved from harsh monotone to emotive cries. I only know of two EPs by the band although I think they put an album out; the EPs are worth getting even if you have to get them on vinyl (assuming you have a player somewhere). I was deeply affected by their accessible but truly powerful music as I started playing more, and, to be honest, also by their visuals, which exploited '30s and '40s imagery; they made a video for "Put Your Back to It" which was as good as anything done by major artists back in 1983."
review from:http://asterick.com/great%5Fones%5Farchive%5Fpage.htm
and more info here:
http://80music.about.com/library/artist/bl_artist082099.htm

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Human Sexual Response were a Boston, Massachusetts New Wave band that emerged in the late 1970s and continued through the early 1980s. They named the band after the groundbreaking, and now classic, Masters and Johnson best-seller.

Casey Cameron formed an all-kazoo band ("Kazoondheit") with her neighbors, among whom were Larry Bangor, Dini Lamot (brother of Larry and cousin to "Pecky" Lamot), and Windle Davis. The four became fast friends and soon formed an a cappella country-and-western band called Honey Bea and the Meadow Muffins, who played at parties and in the subway. Encouraged, the four decided to start a rock band.

Posting ads, the quartet met three musician/composers, drummer Malcolm Travis, guitarist Rich Gilbert, and bass player Rolfe Anderson. These seven became the original lineup of HSR, with Anderson being replaced on bass by Chris MacLachlan in 1980. Bangor was the main lead singer, though Lamot, Davis, and Cameron each sometimes sang lead.

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Crass were an English anarchist punk rock band, formed in 1977 and based around Dial House, an open house community near Epping, Essex.

Whereas the Sex Pistols might have mentioned 'anarchy' for shock value (thereby furthering the common misconception that it is simply a synonym for chaos), Crass actually promoted genuine anarchism as a legitimate political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement, popularizing the seminal peace punk movement and touching on such overtly political issues as anti-consumerism, direct action, animal rights, feminism, anti-war, anti-corporatism, environmentalism, anti-globalization, anti-racism, squatting, and the separation of church and state.

Taking literally the punk manifesto of "Do It Yourself", Crass combined the use of sound collage, graphics, song, film, and subversion to launch a sustained and innovative critical broadside against all that they saw as a culture built on foundations of war, violence, sexism, prejudice, capitalism, religious hypocrisy and unthinking consumerism. They were also critical of what they perceived as the flaws of the punk movement itself, as well as wider youth culture in general. Crass were amongst the progenitors of the anarcho-pacifism that became common in the punk music scene (see also anarcho-punk).

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Haysi Fantayzee were a British new wave band of the early 1980s. Formed and fronted by white dreadlocked singers Jeremy Healy (also known as Jeremiah) and Kate Garner, and with Garner's boyfriend songwriter/producer/manager Paul Caplin in the background, the band had several UK hits in 1983 such as the singles "John Wayne is Big Leggy", "Shiny Shiny", and "Sister Friction". The band never broke through to the same kind of success in the U.S., although they did have some popularity there. Originally Caplin and Garner had intended to make music with just Garner performing, but then they met Healy (who at nineteen, was a few years younger than Garner) and decided to pair them up. The band used their artsy look as a selling point, making a crude video performance and using that instead of a demo tape to sell the band to record companies. Their attention getting outfits were often designed by Garner. The two singers looked like distorted mirror images of each other, with similar hair and make-up. Their glamorous ragamuffin style was frequently compared to Boy George.

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Kid Creole and the Coconuts are an American singing group created and led by August Darnell. Their music incorporates styles like big band jazz, disco, and in particular Caribbean/Latin American salsa. The Coconuts are a glamorous trio of female backing vocalists whose lineup has changed throughout the years.

Thomas August Darnell Browder (aka August Darnell, aka Kid Creole) was born in Montreal, Canada, on 12 August 1950, and was raised in the Bronx.

Darnell began his career in a band named The In-Laws with his half-brother in 1965, which disbanded so August could pursue a career as an English teacher. He obtained a masters degree, but in 1974 again formed a band with his half-brother under the name Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. They played to some initial success, reaching a gold and Top 40-charting album with their debut release, but could not match this on subsequent releases.

Darnell began producing for other artists before adopting the name Kid Creole (from the Elvis Presley film King Creole) in 1980, and forming The Coconuts, a trio of female backing vocalist/dancers, including his wife Adriana Kaegi, and a band including vibraphone player Andy Hernandez aka Coati Mundi and legendary Jamaican drummer Winston Grennan. Cheryl Poirier joined that year as lead vocalist of the Coconuts, followed by Taryn Hagey as "Coconut #3" on background vocals in 1981. This line-up remained in place throughout the band's heyday. Hagey left the group in 1985 and was replaced by Janique Svedberg. Among the recurring Coconuts is Danish actress and musical star Gry Bay, who made headlines with her starring role in the feature film All About Anna (2005).

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Shriekback is a rock band formed in the early 1980s by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals), Carl Marsh (guitars/vocals), and Dave Allen, formerly of the Gang of Four (bass). They were joined by Martyn Barker on drums in 1983. Shriekback are popular for their exploration of the darker, funkier side of rock music, usually featuring Dave Allen's driving basslines. Self-described as an "avant-garde musical outfit", they are popular among a limited audience, both for their poetic, often intellectual lyrics, and for their dance-worthy music which range from disco and new wave (New Romantic) to an edgy, pre-grunge hard rock.

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Sandie Shaw (born Sandra Ann Goodrich on 26 February 1947) was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. With her hair, slender frame, model cheekbones and outfits, she has been described as the ultimate working-class 'it' girl. She was also notable for her quirk of usually appearing barefoot.

Born and brought up in Dagenham, United Kingdom, the Ford plant IBM operator dreamed of becoming a singer. At that time, many of the working-class population of Dagenham worked at Ford, and although Shaw had gained a place at art college, she turned it down and decided to work at the plant until her singing career took off. She soon began her recording career at the age of 17, after being discovered by popular singer Adam Faith.


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The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Canberra in 1980. Initially associated with New Wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of "prog rock," featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay.

The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981), earned them their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment". They were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the U.S. However, the U.S. label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing the album. This put a dent in their commercial success, but they made a comeback in 1988, with the album Starfish and the American Top 40 hit "Under the Milky Way." Subsequently commercial success proved elusive, however, and the band weathered several line-up changes in the 1990s. The last decade has seen them settle on their current lineup, which features the original three founding members plus drummer Tim Powles.

A survey among readers of Melbourne newspaper The Age garnered 37,000 votes and the majority chose "Under the Milky Way" as the best Australian song of the last 21 years.

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The Creatures were formed in 1981 as a side-project for Siouxsie & the Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie.

With the dissolution of Siouxsie & the Banshees in 1996, The Creatures (who had released only 2 albums in 15 years) graduated from an occasional side project to a full-time concern.

Siouxsie & the Banshees' Siouxsie Sioux (vocals) and Budgie (drums and percussion) released their first EP as The Creatures (Wild Things) in 1981, introducing a much more primitive and drum-driven Banshees sound. The erotic sleeve art featuring Siouxsie and Budgie half naked under a shower (which was inspired by scenes from the film Psycho) caused some controversy. Another shoot, inspired by the John Millais painting Ophelia, featured Siouxsie naked under many flowers and shallow water. The title track was a reworking of a hit by The Troggs, the song "So Unreal" drew inspiration from the novel The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin and "Mad Eyed Screamer" from local characters met in Hyde Park, London. The EP reached a decent #24 on the UK singles chart.

In 1983, between the release of the Banshees album A Kiss In The Dreamhouse and their live album Nocturne, The Creatures recorded and released their first full length album Feast (#17 UK Albums Chart). The band decided to determine where to record the album by randomly placing a pin on a map of the world. The result was Hawaii, which led to the featuring of The Lamalani Hula Academy Hawaiian Chanters on some tracks. The song title "Inoa 'Ole" is Hawaiian for "No Name". "Ice House" was inspired by an obscure television play. "Dancing on Glass" is based on an Indian musical (sounds of broken glass created by Siouxsie and Budgie dancing on broken mirrors with tough shoes on). The singles "Miss the Girl" (which took its inspiration from the book Crash by J. G. Ballard and had an unofficially banned promo video with a set designed by The Creatures themselves) and "Right Now" (originally by Mel Tormé) were also released around this time and reached #21 and #14 (the highest chart position for a Creatures single) respectively on the UK singles chart.

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Southern Death Cult was a gothic rock band in the early 1980s. It is now primarily known for having given its lead singer and parts of its name to the multi-platinum hard rock band The Cult. Despite the similarities in the names, "Southern Death Cult" was distinct from "Death Cult"/"The Cult".

Southern Death Cult emerged from the ashes of Bradford punk band Violation. In place at that time were Aki Nawaz-drums, Barry Jepson-bass, Mick-guitar & Mick Brady-vocals. Songs in their set included "Boys in Blue" & "Assault & Battery". This line-up supported the Clash at Bradford's St. Georges Hall in 1980.

In 1981, Ian Astbury had moved into a new house in Bradford and reportedly discovered a band rehearsing in the cellar. Ian Astbury (performing under the name "Ian Lindsay") sang alongside guitarist David Burrows, bassist Barry Jepson and drummer Haq Qureshi (a.k.a. Aki Nawaz). Astbury renamed the band Southern Death Cult, after an obscure Indian tribe around the Mississippi delta area in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Southern Death Cult's first ever performance was at the Queen's Hall in Bradford, England, on 29 October 1981. The setlist the band played was: "Crow", "The Girl Apache", "Vivisection", (unknown song), "Moya", "The Crypt", and there is a bootleg recording of that show in circulation. The fifth song is sometimes referred to as "War Song", but its real title is unknown, but it used lyrics which would later become The Cult's 'Spiritwalker'. The band never played it after 1981.
The band toured heavily in the UK promoting its double A side single "Moya/ Fatman/ The Girl", which had gone to #1 on the independent charts, and peaked at number 88 in Top 100. The band toured with Theatre of Hate, and then succeeding in getting a slot opening for Bauhaus, at the end of 1982, but Astbury disbanded the group after a show on 26 February 1983.

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Captain Sensible (born Raymond Burns, 24 April 1954) is a singer and guitarist (and sometimes bassist) who grew up in Croydon, England, and founded the punk rock band The Damned in 1976. After leaving the band, he reinvented himself as an alternative pop singer with a rebellious, self-conscious image. His signature headwear is a red beret.

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If you’re reading this, there’s a lovely copy of music from this band available HERE!

Bad Manners are a long-established English 2 Tone ska band. Fronted by Buster Bloodvessel (born Douglas Trendle), the band was formed in 1976 while the members were together at Woodberry Down Comprehensive School near Manor House, North London, and among their early incarnations were known as Standback or Stoop Solo & The Sheet Starchers.

None of the members had any formal musical training, however they were accomplished musicians. Bad Manners were at their most popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s, during a period when lots of similar ska bands filled the charts such as Madness and The Specials.

After becoming big names on their native London gig circuit, Bad Manners signed to Magnet Records in 1980 for a six figure sum, and became a household name thanks to their upbeat tunes and their crazed stage antics. The band were extremely popular with the British media, and they are famed for their exploits on TV shows like Top of The Pops and Tiswas.

Some of Bad Manners more notable hits include "My Girl Lollipop", "Lip Up Fatty", "Ne Ne Na Na Na Na Nu Nu", "Special Brew", "Lorraine", "Just A Feeling", "Walking In The Sunshine" and the "Can Can". Bad Manners are perhaps most renowned for their song, "Special Brew". The song is ambiguous in meaning, but the most common interpretation is that it is a love song to the famous alcoholic drink after which it appears to be named.

One of the main reasons for their notoriety was due to their outlandish, larger-than-life, huge tongued and shaven-headed frontman, Buster Bloodvessel. His manic exploits got them banned from the British BBC TV chart show Top of the Pops^{[citation needed]}(which included dressing as Henry VIII and singing to a blow-up doll for the song "Lorraine", pouring a large can of baked beans over his head, and dressing in a can-can dancer's dress to promote their single "Can-Can"). They were also banned from Italian TV when Buster had decided after a particularly successful concert that he should moon the crowd, having been told that the Pope was watching on TV.^[1]

Bad Manners spent 111 weeks in the British singles charts between 1980 and 1983.

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Ian McCulloch (born Ian Stephen McCulloch, 5 May 1959, Liverpool) is an English singer best known for his work with Echo & the Bunnymen.

McCulloch was a singer-songwriter with the Crucial Three, one of many local bands that sprung up amongst the regulars who patronized a Liverpool club called Eric's in the late seventies. The other two members were Julian Cope, later of The Teardrop Explodes and Pete Wylie who went on to form Wah!

In 1978 McCulloch formed Echo & the Bunnymen with Will Sergeant (guitar), Les Pattinson (bass) and a drum machine (allegedly named Echo), making their live debut at Eric's later that year. In 1979 the Bunnymen exchanged the drum machine for Pete de Freitas on drums. With their line up solidified, the Bunnymen enjoyed critical acclaim in the late seventies and early eighties culminating with the release of Ocean Rain in 1984. McCulloch left to pursue a solo career under the impression the Bunnymen would be laid to rest if only temporarily. When the remaining Bunnymen continued using the name with a new singer the split became permanent with McCulloch referring to the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen".

In 1990 McCulloch achieved modest chart success with the album Candleland which reflected a more mature outlook on the world, owing to the recent deaths of McCulloch's father and Pete de Freitas. It yielded two Modern Rock Tracks singles, "Proud To Fall" (#1 for four weeks) and "Faith and Healing". The album Mysterio was released in 1992 as the public's interest in the former Bunnyman was waning. Shortly after, McCulloch left the public eye to devote more time to his family.

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Philip Charles Lithman (June 17, 1949 - July 1, 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, was an English musician, singer and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, he was best known for his guitar and violin work and his collaborations with The Residents.

Lithman was born in Tooting, South London, and came from the British Blues scene. He moved to San Francisco in 1971 and became associated with the avant-garde group The Residents. It is said he was given the name 'Snakefinger' by The Residents themselves when they saw his proficiency with the guitar during their first live performance together. Another explanation for the name comes from a story concerning a party in San Francisco, at The Residents' collective, wherein all in attendance watched Lithman's fingers dart snake-like at the neck of his violin.

In 1972 Lithman returned to England and formed the pub rock band Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers with Martin Stone, ex-member of Mighty Baby and a fellow ex-member of Junior's Blues Band. As a duo, they released the album Kings of Robot Rhythm. In 1974, as a full band and popular live act in Britain, they released Bongos Over Balham.

Chilli Willi lasted until 1975, their last record not selling well, and by 1976 Lithman was back in the United States, this time in Los Angeles, California, seeking a recording contract, shopping his rock-style demos.

After a few years, Lithman moved back to San Francisco, reconnected with The Residents, and performed and recorded with them. Lithman's solo records, recorded under the name Snakefinger, were released by their record label Ralph Records.

His first album on Ralph was Chewing Hides the Sound in 1979, featuring original material co-written with The Residents as well as esoteric covers like Kraftwerk's "The Model". The songs showcased Lithman's distinctive slide guitar playing and often surreal imagery. This album was followed by Greener Postures in 1980, which included his first solo compositions as Snakefinger.

While on tour in Australia in 1980, Lithman had a heart attack that left him hospitalized for six months.

In 1982 Lithman formed his backing band The Vestal Virgins with former Captain Beefheart sideman Eric Drew Feldman. Snakefinger and The Vestal Virgins released Manual of Errors on Ralph in 1982. This was followed by the blues cover album Snakefinger's History of the Blues: Live in Europe in 1984 and a new collection of largely original material in 1986 called Night of Desirable Objects.

Lithman performed with The Residents on their 13th Anniversary Tour in 1986. On July 1, 1987, Snakefinger and his band, The Vestal Virgins, were in Linz, Austria, on the European Night tour. During a performance at the Posthof Club Lithman suffered a fatal heart attack. On that same day his single, "There's No Justice in Life", was released.

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Bow Wow Wow was a 1980s New Wave band organized by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980 whose music is described as having an "African-derived drum sound".^[1] McLaren persuaded guitarist Matthew Ashman, bassist Leigh Gorman and percussionist David Barbarossa (also known as Dave Barbe), of the then lineup of Adam & the Ants to leave Adam Ant and form a new group. After a six month long audition process, the band hired teen singer Annabella Lwin.^[1] Dave Fischel, an acquaintance of McLaren's, discovered fourteen year old Lwin while she was working at her parents' laundrette singing along to a Stevie Wonder song on the radio. The group's sound was a mix of her "girlish squeal", Balinese chants, surf instrumentals, New Romantic pop melodies, and Barbarossa's Burundi ritual music influenced tom tom drum beats. Among the regular faces at the band's early London gigs were Latin songwriter/producer Richard Daniel Roman and Boy George, then known as Lieutenant Lush. McLaren was also going to use the latter (later of Culture Club fame) as a second lead singer, but he was deemed to be "too wild" for the band^{[citation needed]}. In 1982 Bow Wow Wow had their first U.K. top 10 hit with “Go Wild in the Country.” The band's most popular hit was the New Wave staple, "I Want Candy" (originally a 1965 hit by The Strangeloves). "I Want Candy" was featured in an early music video on MTV. Bow Wow Wow's recording of "I Want Candy" continues to appear in film soundtracks and media and advertising events such as the 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Their most notorious recording was "Sexy Eiffel Towers", a bold ode to masturbation, including excitedly heavy breathing and orgasmic moans; this was a song that went far beyond the slightly later Cyndi Lauper hit "She Bop", about similar subject matter. ^[2] The group released three full-length albums. In 1983, tensions in the group were rising. Suffering from illness and exhaustion after intense US touring, they went their separate ways.

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Tracie Young (born 1965, Derby, United Kingdom) was a pop singer in the 1980s. She began her singing career at a mere 17 years of age, when she was discovered by Jam leader Paul Weller through a newspaper ad for his new Respond label. Signed to Respond Records, she had UK hit singles in 1983 with "The House That Jack Built" and "Give it Some Emotion" (both credited simply to "Tracie"), as well as singing back-up on the Style Council album, Introducing The Style Council. She sang on The Jam's final single "Beat Surrender" as well as The Style Council's "Speak Like A Child" and "Boy Who Cried Wolf" (which arguably was a brief but powerful demonstration of her skills).

She has since enjoyed a successful career in local radio, starting out as producer of 'The Best 80s Show In the World, Ever' at Essex FM in the late 1990s, and later moving on to presenting the travel bulletins during the breakfast show and freelancing as a presenter. In 2003 Tracie joined Soul City in Romford to present their breakfast show, but left a year later when Soul was bought by the London Media Group and rebranded as Time FM. In June 2004 Tracie joined Dream 107.7 as mid-morning presenter, but became breakfast presenter in September of that year. She continued in this slot until the Summer of 2006, moving briefly to Drivetime then leaving altogether a few weeks later. She returned in the Autumn to present the networked weekday evening show. As with her early days in radio as a producer, the music appeared to be the most important part of these well-researched evening shows. She included regular featured artists, with in-depth biographies and up to date news on artists from the 60s through to contemporary singers and groups. She also documented the history of labels such as Motown and Stiff.

Tracie presented the weekend sports show at Essex FM and has always included football updates in her weekend shows, most recently at Dream 100 (Tracie is a Tottenham Hotspur supporter). Since September 2007 she has freelanced at various stations in Essex but, according to her Myspace page, she will be returning to a regular slot on Southend Radio 105.1FM when it launches in Spring 2008.

Tracie took part in a charity bike ride in May 2007 from John O'Groats to Lands End in aid of Little Havens Children's Hospice in Essex. She has raised over £4500 for the hospice.

Tracie is divorced with 2 children and lives in Essex.

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Better than a short article, you can visit Red Beat on their My Space page!

These guys are pretty obscure..."

The Residents are an avant-garde music and visual arts group who have created nearly sixty albums, created numerous musical short films, designed three CD-ROM projects, and undertaken six major world tours. Throughout their career, spanning nearly four decades, they have maintained complete anonymity. All public relations, interviews and promotions are handled by their spokesgroup, The Cryptic Corporation. Because of the obscure nature of the band, it is difficult to compile a history that is completely accurate. What follows is information from unauthorized accounts which may or may not be entirely reliable.

The Residents supposedly hail from Shreveport, Louisiana, where they met in high school in the 1960s. In 1966, members headed west to San Francisco, California. After their truck broke down in San Mateo, they decided to remain there. Like all information pertaining to the early days of the band, this is provided by The Cryptic Corporation and is potentially false. Newer information indicates they are probably from Slidell, Louisiana, and picked Shreveport as the "place to be from" since it is the city in Louisiana that was furthest from Slidell.

Whilst attempting to make a living, they began to experiment with tape machines, photography, and anything remotely to do with "art" that they could get their hands on. Word of their experimentation spread and in 1969, a British guitarist and multi-instrumentalist named Philip Lithman and the mysterious N. Senada (who Lithman had picked up in Bavaria where the aged avant-gardist was recording birds singing) paid them a visit, and decided to remain.

The two Europeans would become great influences on the band. Lithman's guitar playing technique earned him the nickname Snakefinger (upon seeing a picture of Lithman playing the violin, a future Resident exclaimed that his little finger resembled a snake).

The group purchased crude recording equipment and instruments and began to make tapes, refusing to let an almost complete lack of musical proficiency stand in the way.

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David Alan Batt, 23 February 1958, in Beckenham, Kent, UK) is an English singer, musician and composer who first gained attention as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the band Japan. His subsequent solo career has been influenced by a variety of musical styles and genres, including jazz, ambient, electronic, and progressive rock. Sylvian's debut solo album, Brilliant Trees (1984), met with critical acclaim and functioned well as a bridge between the musical sounds he had created with Japan and the more challenging directions he was to pursue in his future work. Sylvian intentionally placed the more accessible tracks on side one of the record, while utilizing the second side for songs of a slightly more experimental nature. The album included contributions from Ryuichi Sakamoto, trumpeter Jon Hassell and former Can bassist Holger Czukay. These three musicians also figured prominently upon the writing and recording sessions which resulted in Sylvian's second release, the entirely instrumental Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities (1985). Imbued with a 'Fourth-World' influence, the album signalled Sylvian's decisive move away from the mainstream.

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If you’re reading this, there’s a lovely copy of music from this band available HERE!