Carcrash International was an English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band associated with the Batcave scene, formed by Dave Roberts (aka Dave Sex Gang), original bass player of

Sex Gang Children Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been pack ...

, who used the name for two projects.

History

The band made their initial appearance in 1983 on the compilation album ''The Whip'' with the title track "The Whip" (credited to Dave Sex Gang). The song was performed by Roberts on vocals and guitar, drummer Matthew Best (later of Psychic TV) and guitarist Lester Jones (formerly of Crisis). The record also featured a song by Best called "32nd Piano Concerto in A Minor". Later the same year, a new version of "The Whip" was released as a single (credited to Carcrash International), which included another track, "The White Hotel", along with two mixes of the title track. The band had then expanded to include violinist Pip Knapp and a second drummer, Roberts' Sex Gang bandmate Nigel Preston (formerly of Theatre of Hate, and later of

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, the Cult, the Baby Snakes and the Gun Club). A second 12" single, "All Passion Spent", was released in 1984, backed by "Dial First... (P.O.A.)". For this release, the band was a trio consisting of Roberts, Best and new guitarist Stephanie Paynes. Roberts assembled an all-new Carcrash International lineup for 1985 12" single "Crash", which was backed by "Mercenaries for War" (a

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cover) and "Seduction". In 1993, the recently established

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, Dea ...

label re-released an expanded version of ''The Whip'' compilation featuring both the title track and "The Whip II". A UK edition issued by Jungle Records also credited "32nd Piano Concerto in A Minor" to Carcrash International. Following the ''Whip'' reissue and 1992 Sex Gang Children reunion, Roberts also formed a new darker, more

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

-oriented version of the band, releasing Carcrash International's sole ful-length studio album, ''Fragments of a Journey in Hell'' in 1993 on Cleopatra. Among the session musicians appearing on the album were

Matt Green Matthew Green may refer to: * Matthew Green (British politician) (born 1970), British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Ludlow *Matthew Green (Canadian politician) (born 1980) NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre and former Hamilton ...

(ex- Spahn Ranch) on keyboards, and Nicky Garratt (ex-

U.K. Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

) and Colin Dminchin on guitar. Also playing on the album were two former Christian Death members, guitarist Barry Galvin and drummer David Glass, both then of

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). The release was followed by a promotional concert in San Francisco in 1994, by a lineup consisting of Roberts on bass, Ian Haas (original drummer of London After Midnight on drums and D.A. on guitar). Carcrash International disbanded the following year.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Fragments of a Journey in Hell'' (1994,

)

Singles

*"The Title Track From 'The Whip'" (1983, Crammed Discs) *"All Passion Spent" (1984, Crammed Discs) *"Crash" (1985, L'Invitation Au Suicide)

Compilation appearances

*"The Whip" (as Dave Sex Gang) on ''The Whip'' (1983, Kamera Records) *"The Whip" and "The Whip II" on ''The Whip'' (1993, Cleopatra Records) *"The Whip", "The Whip II" and "32nd Piano Concerto in A Minor" on ''The Whip'' (1993, Jungle Records) *"Last Remains" on ''In Goth Daze'' (1994, Cleopatra Records) *"Decades" on ''Art of Gothic'' (1994, Talitha Records)

References

External links

Carcrash International discography

Official myspace
{{Authority control English post-punk music groups Musical groups from London English gothic rock groups Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 1983 establishments in England 1995 disestablishments in England