Chris Joyce (born 11 October 1957,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England) is known for being drummer with various groups, and with
Simply Red
Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...
in the 1980s.
Coming from
Chorlton Chorlton may refer to:
Places
* Chorlton, Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England
*Chorlton, Cheshire West and Chester, in Cheshire, England
*Chorlton-cum-Hardy, in Manchester, England
**Chorlton (ward), an electoral ward of Manchester, England
**Chorl ...
, Manchester, he adopted the
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
lifestyle. His most remote band was Fast Breeder, a short-lived late 1970s punk group from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
formed by him on drums and
Dave Rowbotham on guitar, and managed by
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4.
As a co-founder o ...
. Wilson called Joyce and Rowbotham to form a band alongside guitarist
Vini Reilly
Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group the Durutti Column. He is known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his punk-era contemporaries in its ...
and bass guitarist
Tony Bowers
Tony Bowers (born 31 October 1952, England) is a musician based in Italy and Ireland who has worked with many bands, including Simply Red in the 1980s.
Career
Bowers debuted in the blues band, Blind Eye (1971–1972), as second guitarist, altho ...
,
The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly who ...
. That line-up released only two songs from Factory's first EP, ''
A Factory Sample'', before Joyce. Rowbotham and Bowers quit the band to form another
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 around 1979,
The Mothmen
The Mothmen were a short-lived post-punk band from England, formed around 1979 by Dave Rowbotham, Chris Joyce and Tony Bowers, shortly after they left The Durutti Column, including ex-Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias singer Bob Harding.
History
...
.
The Mothmen released only two studio albums and a number of singles, before disbanding in the 1980s. During his time with The Mothmen, Joyce worked with
Pink Military
Pink Military (originally Pink Military Stand Alone) were a post-punk band from Liverpool. Led by former Big in Japan singer Jayne Casey, other band members included former Deaf School drummer Tim Whitaker, guitarist Martin Dempsey who also pla ...
, London Underground and
Judy Nylon
Judy Nylon is a widely influential multidisciplinary American artist who moved to London in 1970. She was half of the punk rock music group Snatch, which also featured fellow American expat Patti Palladin (who was later in The Flying Lizards). R ...
. By the mid-1980s, he was working with
Suns of Arqa
Suns of Arqa are a world music collective founded in 1979 by Michael Wadada. Since the group's formation, over 200 people from around the world have played and recorded with them, and in many cases these were like-minded musicians Wadada met ...
, playing drums on their second LP ''
Wadada Magic
''Wadada Magic'' is the second studio album by the band Suns of Arqa, recorded and released in 1983 by Antler Records. The album was produced by Suns of Arqa founder Michael Wadada.
The spine of the LP reads "Suns of Arqa Vol III Wadada Magic ...
''. He later formed Simply Red, alongside his bandmate Tony Bowers and singer
Mick Hucknall
Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year career ...
.
Joyce shares further details of his life and career, up to and beyond his work with Simply Red, in his biography on ''Chris Joyce School of Drums''.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Chris
1957 births
English drummers
British male drummers
Living people
Musicians from Manchester
People from Didsbury
Simply Red members
The Durutti Column members
Suns of Arqa members