The Fire Engines were a
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 from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland.
The Fire Engines were an influence on many bands that followed, including Franz Ferdinand and
The Rapture, with
Meat Whiplash
Meat Whiplash was an alternative rock band from East Kilbride, Scotland, that were amongst the first to be signed to Creation Records.
The line-up was Paul McDermott (vox), Stephen McLean (guitar), Edward Connelly (bass guitar) and Michael Kerr ( ...
and
The Candyskins
The Candyskins were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Oxford, England. Though early members of the 'Oxford Scene', they enjoyed limited commercial success compared to their contemporaries Radiohead and Supergrass. They were considered by ...
both taking their names from Fire Engines songs.
[Kellman, Andy]
''Codex Teenage Premonition'' Review
, Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, retrieved 22 June 2012 In August 2017 the band reformed to play a benefit for Leith Theatre along with
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...
and
Ewen Bremner
Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''.
Early life
Bremner was born i ...
.
History
The Fire Engines comprise
David (Davy) Henderson (vocals/guitar), Murray Slade (guitar), Graham Main (bass), and Russell Burn (drums), the band name inspired by a
13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, a ...
song.
[Ankeny, Jason]
Fire Engines Biography
, Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, retrieved 22 June 2012[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 332-3] Henderson, Main, and Burn had previously been members of The Dirty Reds, along with Russell Burn's brother
Tam Dean Burn
Tam Dean Burn (born 1958 in Leith, Scotland) is a Scottish actor who has played a wide range of roles on stage and screen. On television this includes multiple roles on long-running detective series ''Taggart'', youth sci-fi thriller '' Life For ...
,
[Buckley, Peter (2003) "The Fire Engines", in ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, , p. 373-4] while Slade had played in Station Six.
The Fire Engines' debut release was the "Get Up And Use Me"/"Everything's Roses" single, released on manager Angus Groovy's Codex Communications label in 1980; The band had recorded their entire set twice in a Fife bungalow with producer Wilf Smarties, at a cost of £46, with these two tracks selected for release.
[Reekie, Innes (2012)]
Post Punk heroes the Fire Engines
, Louder Than War, 6 January 2012, retrieved 22 June 2012
"Get Up and Use Me" was given 'Single of the Week' in both ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
''.
The band's live shows rarely lasted longer than twenty minutes – Henderson said of the early live shows: "We played to our strengths which were minimal, but somehow, as a band, it worked. We never played chords and Russell didn’t use cymbals or hi-hats. It was very violent although no-one got hurt. Pure aggression, attitude and hate was what it was."
The band were offered a deal by
Postcard Records
Postcard Records is a British, Glasgow-based, independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for releases by Orange Juice and Josef K. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown mot ...
, but opted for Bob Last's
Fast Product
Fast Product was an independent record label, established in Edinburgh by Bob Last, his partner, Hilary Morrison and Tim Pearce in December 1977. Its first release was also the first single by the Mekons, released on 20 January 1978.
The label ...
label.
[McLaughlin, Milo (2006)]
Fire Engines
, '' The Skinny'', 16 April 2006, retrieved 22 June 2012 Further singles followed and a largely instrumental album, ''Lubricate Your Living Room'' (subtitled 'Background Music for Action People!'), in 1981, released on Fast subsidiary Pop:Aural.
The band recorded two sessions for
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
's
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show, the first in February 1981 featuring a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Heaven 17
Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), an ...
's "
(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang", and a second in November that year.
[Fire Engines]
, ''Keeping It Peel'', 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. ...
...
, retrieved 22 June 2012 Their most successful single was "Candy Skin", released in 1981, but after the follow-up, "Big Gold Dream" failed to repeat its success, the band split up on 31 December 1981.
Henderson formed the short-lived Heartbeat with Bob Last's partner Hillary Morrison, the band's only release a track on an ''NME'' compilation cassette.
Burn formed Everest the Hard Way with bassist Ian Stoddart and guitarist Stephen Lironi (who later joined
), the band releasing a single in April 1982, before Burn rejoined The Dirty Reds.
with Stoddart in the mid 1980s, the band continuing until 1989.
Henderson and Burn then worked together on Burn's Pie Finger project, releasing an album on
in 1992.
, which continued from the early 1990s until 2004.
; The seven-inch single contained a Franz Ferdinand cover of the Fire Engines song "Get Up and Use Me" with Fire Engines covering Franz Ferdinand's "Jacqueline".
The band continued to play occasional concerts until 2006. On 2 October 2007, the Acute label issued ''Hungry Beat'', a collection of the band's original studio recordings, making them available for the first time on CD in the US.
Henderson is now leading The Sexual Objects, featuring Ian Holford (drums), Simon Smeeton (guitar) and Douglas McIntyre (bass).
Graham Wann later joined as guitarist.