Colin Ainsley Sharp (5 September 1953 – 7 September 2009) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actor, biographer, percussionist and singer-songwriter, who was part of the Manchester music scene of the late 1970s and dedicated to arts in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Career

In the late 1970s, he joined

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

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 ...

as singer during the last months of 1978, replacing original vocalist

Phil Rainford Phil Rainford is a British former singer and music producer, who formed part of the Manchester music scene, in late 1970s and early 1980s. He was the original singer of post-punk band The Durutti Column who were signed to Factory Records, havin ...

. The band featured

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 i ...

and

Dave Rowbotham Dave Rowbotham (1958 – 8 November 1991) was an English rock musician who played guitar and bass with various Manchester bands in the 1970s and the 1980s, and as a studio musician. Biography Born in Didsbury, Manchester, he went to school ...

as guitarists and future

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 ...

members

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 ...

on bass and

Chris Joyce Chris Joyce (born 11 October 1957, Manchester, England) is known for being drummer with various groups, and with Simply Red in the 1980s. Coming from Chorlton, Manchester, he adopted the hippie lifestyle. His most remote band was Fast Breeder, ...

on drums. With him, the band continued to play live performances and recorded two songs, "No Communication" and "Thin Ice (Detail)", for the ''

A Factory Sample ''A Factory Sample'' is a 7-inch double sampler EP released in January 1979 by Factory Records of Manchester, England. Funded by a small inheritance which had recently been bequeathed to Tony Wilson, it was the first vinyl recording to be releas ...

'' EP (a various artist compilation which featured also other artists from

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...

(label who signed the band):

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

, Cabaret Voltaire and John Dowie). Shortly afterwards, only Reilly remained in the band. In 1978, by the time he joined and left The Durutti Column, he formed a glam-punk band, The Roaring 80s, who were active until their split in 1981, opening shows for

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and others. In 1983, he founded, in Newcastle, the rock band SF Jive, which lasted until 1990; he was the band's vocalist and percussionist. In 1988, he formed an experimental music trio called Glow, but they were active only one year. In 2006, he reappeared in the post-punk scene, when his collaboration with American band

Vernian Process Vernian Process is an American band formed in San Francisco in 2003. Taking its name from the works of 19th century author Jules Verne, Vernian Process is a band that creates music themed around Victorian scientific romance and its modern counte ...

was released within the band's second album ''The Forgotten Age''. It included the song "Where Are The Young Men?", which Sharp composed in memory of his late friends who were part of the

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...

scene, including

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

Billy Mackenzie William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...

Adrian Borland Adrian Kelvin Borland (6 December 1957 – 26 April 1999) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, best known as the frontman of post-punk band the Sound. Following a substantial musical career spanning numerous group ...

. In 2007, he published his book ''Who Killed Martin Hannett? The History of Factory Records' Musical Magician'', a biography of his close friend, the producer

. He taught drama at

Tyne Metropolitan College Tyne Metropolitan College is a college of further education in North Tyneside, England. About Tyne Metropolitan College Tyne Metropolitan College is a General Further Education College located in the borough of North Tyneside (one of five metro ...

until July 2008.

Acting

Between 1979 and 2005, Sharp appeared in several television and film productions.

Death

Sharp died, age 56, after suffering a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

Bibliography

References

External links