Compulsion were an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band. They were formed in 1990 by Josephmary (singer) and
Sid Rainey (bassist) as Thee Amazing Colossal Men. They signed a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
, but after winning a lawsuit against their
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, they became 'Compulsion' in 1992. Joined by guitarist
Garret Lee and drummer Jan-Willem Alkema, they moved to
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
and signed to
One Little Indian
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...
. They released several
EPs and two
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s. The first, ''Comforter'', was labeled by the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' as part of the "
New Wave of New Wave
The new wave of new wave (NWONW) was a term coined by music journalists to describe a subgenre of the British alternative rock scene in the early 1990s, in which bands displayed post-punk and new wave influences, particularly from bands such as ...
", while the second, ''The Future is Medium'', saw them sport identical black outfits and orange hairdos.
The group split in 1997 after the label
One Little Indian
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...
dropped them. After Compulsion, Lee formed
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Dir ...
, and later produced
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...
and
U2. Alkema joined
China Drum
China Drum are an English punk rock band from Ovingham in Northumberland, England, active initially from 1989 to 2000, playing under the name The Drum beginning in 1999. The group released three moderately successful full-length albums and t ...
and later Driven to Collision. Rainey is now a writer and has created and produced an animated children's TV series called ''
Underground Ernie
''Underground Ernie'' is a 2006 British educational computer animated children's television series produced by Joella Productions for the BBC on both CBeebies and BBC Two, and sold internationally by BBC Worldwide. It is set in ''Internationa ...
'' for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Josephmary now lives in Ireland.
*"Mall Monarchy" (1994)
*"Basketcase" (1994) (called "Delivery" in the US release)
*"Eating" (fan club only release, 1994)
*"Question Time for the Proles" (1996)
*"Juvenile Scene Detective" (1996)
*''Compulsion'' (1992)
*''Casserole'' (1993)
*''Safety'' (1993)
*''Boogie Woogie'' (1994)