The Colourfield
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| The Colourfield | |
|---|---|
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| Country | Manchester, England, UK |
| Years active | 1984–1987 |
| Genres | Alternative, New Wave, Rock |
| Labels | Chrysalis |
| Members | Terry Hall Toby Lyons Karl Shale |
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] 1984 - The Beginning
The Colourfield is a British band that was formed in 1984 in Manchester (see 1984 in music) when former The Specials and Fun Boy Three front man Terry Hall joined up with ex-Swinging Cats members Toby Lyons and Karl Shale. With all three of them originating from Coventry, they all now made their home in the music-rich area of Manchester. In January 1984 released their first single “The Colourfield” which just missed making the top 40. In the summer they released “Take” as their second single, which did not come close to their debut six months earlier. The next single would be the one that would land them on the charts, “Thinking of You” released in January of 1985, and would make it all the way to number 12 and featured Katrina Phillips on vocals. This would be their only charting single. The final single released days before their debut album came out was “Castles in the Air” which reached the lower reaches of the UK charts.
[edit] 1985 - Virgins & Philistines
When Virgins & Philistines was initially released in April 1985 it contained 12 tracks in the US and 10 in the UK, but can now be found with 20 tracks as a Japanese re-release containing many B-sides and live tracks, though at some expense. It failed to gain a large audience due to difficulty in marketing an album with such a diverse sound -- it mixes 60’s and early-70’s pop music with more acoustic-based melodies and string arrangements. Since Virgins & Philistines doesn't fit into a specific era, it continues to sound fresh and undated decades later, and still remains a critical success in the eyes of the music press today. It is often regarded as the direct musical predecessor to the later work of The Lightning Seeds in the 1990s, whom Hall would later collaborate with in a songwriting role whilst providing occasional vocals.
The Virgins & Philistines album contained all original material except "The Hammond Song" (a cover of The Roches), and “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby” (written by Linder/Randell), which was the only track that received much airplay. The album was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport (near Manchester) and was produced by Hugh Jones and Jeremy Green, and engineered by Chris Jones.
Additional personnel featured: the late Pete de Freitas (Echo and the Bunnymen) on drums, Paul Burgess (ex-The Chameleons, also drums), Preston Heyman (percussion), Ian Nelson (clarinet), Katrina Phillips (background vocals).
[edit] 1986 - The Colour Field (EP)
January 1986 saw The Colourfield become a four-man group, adding Gary Dwyer (ex-The Teardrop Explodes) on drums. They released a 6 track EP entitled The Colour Field (yes, there is a space between "Colour" and "Field") containing the single and B-side “Things Could Be Beautiful/Frosty Mornings” produced by Ian Brodie (The Lightning Seeds), two live cuts recorded at the Hammersmith Palais, "Pushing Up The Daises" and "Yours Sincerely," and two older tunes produced by Hugh Jones, "Armchair Theatre" and "Faint Hearts." "Things Could Be Beautiful" did not make the charts and it was another year before the public would see anything new.
[edit] 1987 - Deception
The Colourfield returned in the spring of 1987. They were now just a duo augmented by Raquel Welch's band and session players. Hall had to hire Welch's band after Toby Lyons left during the sessions. The content of Deception is very different from Virgins & Philistines. It is almost as if Hall formed a new band but kept the same name. Since then Hall has voiced his displeasure with the recording of the album because he did not feel he had control of the session musicians and producers the way he needed to preserve The Colourfield’s sound. Deception was produced by Richard Gottehrer (Blondie) and Jeffrey Lesser at Wool Hall Studio, New York City.
The first two singles released from Deception were both covers. The first "Running Away" by Sly & The Family Stone and the second of the Monkees "She." "She" was released as a 12” and contained the additional track "Monkey in Winter" with lead vocals by Sinéad O'Connor. The track "Miss Texas 1967" is considered Terry’s best vocal performance on the album. This would mark the end of The Colourfield.
Additional personnel featured: Gregg Mangiafico (keyboards), Sammy Merendino (drum programming), Roland Orzabal (Tears for Fears) (guitar on "Running Away" and "Confession"), Dollette McDonald, Deborah Malone and Janice Pendarvis (background vocals on "Digging It Deep").
[edit] After The Colourfield
Terry Hall has gone on to do many other projects since The Colourfield. In 1990, with a few ladies under the name of Terry, Blair and Anouchka, he released the album Ultra Modern Nursery Rhymes which contained a cover of the Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together." In 1992 he collaborated with Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) under the name Vegas. In 1995 he released his first solo album, Home. He has worked with The Lightning Seeds, Stephen Duffy, Gorillaz, and Tricky. He has also appeared live with The Ordinary Boys.
Most recently, on the 21st of July 2003, Terry released his latest album The Hour of Two Lights which is a collaboration with Mushtaq (Fun-Da-Mental), a 12-year-old Lebanese girl singer, a blind Algerian rapper, a Syrian flautist, Hebrew vocalists, a group of Polish Gypsies and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz).
[edit] Discography
Albums
- Virgins & Philistines
- The Colour Field EP
- Deception
- Fun Boy Three/The Colourfield - The Singles
Singles
- The Colour Field (1984) - 7" & 12' #43 UK
- Can't Get Enough of You Baby (1984) - 12"
- Take (1984) - 7" & 12" #70 UK
- Thinking Of You (1985) - 7", double 7" & 12" #12 UK
- Castles In The Air (1985) - 7", double 7" #51 UK
- Things Could Be Beautiful (1986) - 7" & 12" #83 UK
- Running Away Pt 1 (1987) - 12" #84 UK
- Running Away Pt 2 (1987)- 12"
- She (1987) - 12"
[edit] References and external links
All Music
Review by Levon Kazarian on Amazon.com
The Laughing Devil
