Shriekback are an English Rock music band formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals), and Dave Allen, formerly of Gang of Four (bass guitar), with Carl Marsh, formerly of Out on Blue Six (guitars/vocals) soon added to the line-up. The band's early music was a funk-influenced version of new wave and post-punk, later moving towards art rock and always featuring "insidiously weird vocals".
History
The band enjoyed some success on the dance chart on its original
Y Records label and had a string of hits on the UK Indie Chart, while its first album,
Care (1983), was picked up by Warner in the United States.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ] The band left Y for
Arista Records for
Jam Science (1984), also recruiting the drummer
Martyn Barker. The album reached number 85 on the UK Albums Chart and "Hand on my Heart" was a number 52 UK single.
The 1985 album
Oil and Gold was recorded on Arista (released by
Island Records in the US).
Marsh left Shriekback during the recording of
Oil and Gold and was replaced on guitar by Mike Cozzi,
with Andrews taking over lead vocals. Shriekback also left Arista and signed to Island Records for whom they recorded
Big Night Music (1986),
after which Allen left to rejoin Gang of Four, and Shriekback remained a collaborative centred on Andrews. Allen also went on to play in
King Swamp and The Elastic Purejoy. Marsh was also in the band Happyhead.
After another album in 1988, Go Bang!, the band split up.
Shriekback are still actively producing music and released the studio album, Why Anything? Why This?, in May 2018. The same line-up of Andrews, Barker and Marsh self-released a 15th studio album, Some Kinds of Light, on 6 December 2019. 1000 Books, Bowlahoola, and MONUMENT followed in 2021, 2022, and 2025 respectively.
Members
Other than those listed above, Shriekback members or contributors have included Luc van Acker, Linda Nevill, Emma Burnham, Brian Nevill, Pedro Ortiz, Clare Hirst,
Lu Edmonds, Wendy and Sarah Partridge (from
Electric Guitars), Steve Halliwell, Eve Moon,
Ivan Julian, Mike Cozzi and Jessica Palin/Jose Fina Cupido.
[ ]
In other media
The film director Michael Mann is a fan of the band and used several Shriekback songs in his films
Manhunter and
Band of the Hand and in his television series
Miami Vice. Music composed by Shriekback is used as the theme song for the
Squaring the Strange podcast hosted by
Benjamin Radford and
Pascual Romero. They selected it because of their fondness for music from the 1980s.
Discography
Studio albums
-
Tench (1982)
-
Care (1983), Y (UK Indie No. 7)
-
Jam Science (1984), Arista (UK No. 85
-
Oil and Gold (1985), Arista
-
Big Night Music (1986), Island
-
Go Bang! (1988), Island
-
Sacred City (1992), World Domination/Capitol
-
Naked Apes and Pond Life (2000), Mauve/Mushroom
-
Having a Moment (2003)
-
Cormorant (2005)
-
Glory Bumps (2007)
-
Life in the Loading Bay (December 2010)
-
Without Real String or Fish (March 2015)
-
Why Anything? Why This? (May 2018)
-
Some Kinds of Light (December 2019)
-
1000 Books (December 2021)
-
Bowlahoola (November 2022)
-
MONUMENT (March 2025)
Compilations and live albums
-
The Infinite (The Best of Shriekback) (1984), Kaz
-
Evolution – Best of Shriekback Vol. 2 (1988), Kaz
-
The Dancing Years (1990), Island
-
Natural History – The Very Best of Shriekback (1994), Essential
-
Priests and Kannibals: The Best of Shriekback (1994), Arista
-
The Y Records Years (2000), Sanctuary
-
Aberrations 81–84 (2001), Weatherbox
-
Vicissitudes (2002) (Shriekback.com Internet-only release)
-
2 Live Shows (2002)
-
Live at Hatfield (2002)
-
Secrets of the City (2002) (Shriekback.com Internet-only release)
-
Island of the Hopeful Monsters (2015)
-
Live at Park West, Chicago '87 (2016)
-
Peel Sessions and Singularities (2016)
-
Big Live Band 2017 (2017)
-
The Elated World (2017) (album of commissioned songs)
Singles and EPs
|
|
| 1982 | Tench | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Sexthinkone" | - | - | - | - | - | - | Tench (EP) |
| "My Spine Is the Bassline" | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1983 | "Lined Up" | 3 | 89 | 35 | - | 42 | - | Care |
| "Lined Up (Remix)" | 7 | 113 | - | - | - | - |
| "Working on the Ground" | 5 | 107 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | "Hand on My Heart" | - | 52 | 22 | - | - | - | Jam Science |
| "Mercy Dash" | - | 107 | - | - | - | - |
| Knowledge, Power, Truth and Sex EP | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1985 | "Nemesis" | - | 94 | - | - | - | 18 | Oil and Gold |
| "Fish Below the Ice" | - | 88 | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | "Gunning for the Buddha" | - | - | - | - | - | - | Big Night Music |
| Running on the Rocks | - | - | - | - | - | 30 |
| 1988 | "Intoxication" | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | Go Bang! |
| "Shark Walk" | - | - | - | 19 | - | - |
| "Get Down Tonight" | - | 132 | 20 | - | - | 19 |
| The Peel Sessions EP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1992 | "The Bastard Sons of Enoch" | - | - | - | - | - | - | Sacred City |
Video albums
-
Jungle of the Senses (1987) Island Visual Arts
External links
