Easterhouse was a British

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

group from the mid to late 1980s, known for jangly guitars and leftist political leaning.

History

Named after the

Easterhouse Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the River Clyde and south ...

area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, the band was formed in Stretford, near Manchester by Ivor Perry and Andy Perry, intrigued by

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

and inspired by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's direct delivery of political content, was invited to join the band in order to improve its lyrical content. Perry's political stance reflected the perspectives of the then active Revolutionary Communist Party, with particular regard to Irish politics.Tomorrow/Yesterday
Easterhouse played one of their first gigs on 30 August 1983 at

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as the support band for

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

after Ivor Perry convinced Morrissey to let them have the opening spot. Their Rough Trade singles "Whistling in the Dark" and "Inspiration" were both Top 5 independent chart hits. Their energetic first album, '' Contenders'', featuring their signature song, "1969", has been compared to

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. Th ...

, New Model Army, and The Smiths. In July 1986, Easterhouse participated in the

Festival of the Tenth Summer The Festival of the Tenth Summer was a music and art festival that took place in Manchester in July 1986. The festival was organised by Factory Records to 'celebrate Manchester' specifically with reference to the first performance by the Sex Pisto ...

. After ''Contenders'', Ivor left the band; by the time second album ''Waiting for the Redbird'' was released in 1989, Andy Perry was the sole remaining member of the original line-up. It produced a minor hit, "Come Out Fighting", which had significant airplay in the US, and spawned a Justin Strauss remix version of the same song. In 2005 the band reunited for a one off gig, featuring

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Career Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...

(ex-bassist,

)

Post-band activities

Ivor Perry formed The Cradle with Rostock and Craig Gannon a musical contributor to The Smiths. The band had a number 12 indie chart hit with "It's Too High" in 1987, but the band was put on hold when Johnny Marr left The Smiths. Perry was considered to replace Marr, and recorded some new material with the band, including an early version of " Bengali in Platforms" that was originally intended as the B-side of which is "

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. The song was first released on the group's 1987 album '' Strangeways, Here We Come''. Ma ...

", and later appeared on Morrissey's first album, ''

Viva Hate ''Viva Hate'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1988 by HMV, six months after the final studio album by the Smiths, '' Strangeways, Here We Come'' (1987). Vini Reilly, the leader of the E ...

''.Henderson, Dave (1988) "I Was Nearly a Suedehead! Ivor Perry and Cradle Tales", ''Underground'', April 1988 - Issue 13, p. 5 Perry was uncomfortable with the situation, stating "it was like they wanted another Johnny Marr", and the sessions ended with (according to Perry) "Morrissey running out of the studio". Perry instead resurrected Cradle with new singer Craig Davies, but when Davies signed a solo deal with Rough Trade Records, the rest of the band were dropped by the label. The band continued with another singer. Ivor Perry subsequently recorded further records including the Third Wave with Arabian Sugar on the Freak Beats Compilation & Parchman which signed to XL / Citybeat and appeared on SNUB TV in 1991 and whose albums were re-released digitally by Beggars Banquet in 2013. Now Ivor Perry has a new band playing modern instrumental rock under the name bigflower :https://bigflower.bandcamp.com/ Gary Rostock played drums on Buzzcocks' Steve Diggle's 2000 album ''Some Reality''. He relocated to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and releases electronic ambient and electronica onlin
on self release and through Xion Music of Prague. He has been played several times on Stuart Maconie`s BBC Radio 6 Freakzone and is often heard on R1 Prague. Most recently his ambient album `Dreams of an English Coastline` was released on Xion (2020). He also works with the Czech poet Radek Glabazna on poetry/ambient soundscapes plus dark synth vocal led electronica such as the EP `Come Be With Me` (2020), featuring his daughter, Karolina Minnie Rostock, on vocals on the track I`d Die For You`.

Personnel

Original line-up

* Andy Perry - Singing, vocals
, harmonica * Ivor Perry - guitar * Peter Vanden - bass guitar * Gary Rostock - Drum kit, drums * Mike Murray - rhythm guitar

Other members

* Dave Verner - drums * Steve Lovell - guitar * Lance Sabin - guitar * Neil Taylor - guitar

Third incarnation

* Sean Keaney - drums * Richard Duddle - guitar * Mike Murray - guitar * Drew Smith - bass guitar

Discography

Singles

* ''In Our Own Hands'' EP (1985) London – UK Ind. #13 * "Whistling in the Dark" (1986) Rough Trade/Columbia – UK Ind. #2 * "Inspiration" (1986) Rough Trade – UK Ind. #5 * "Come Out Fighting" (1989) Rough Trade/Columbia – UK Ind. #18, AUS #66, US #82 Hot 100, #5 Modern Rock * "You're Gonna Miss It (When It's Gone)" (1989) Rough Trade

Albums

* '' Contenders'' (1986) Rough Trade – UK #91, UK Ind. #3 * ''Waiting for the Redbird'' (1989) Rough Trade/Columbia – UK Ind. #18

References

External links

TrouserPress.com
*
Biography

Retrospective
{{Authority control Musical groups from Greater Manchester Political music groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 English indie rock groups 1982 establishments in England