Fudge Tunnel were an English rock band formed in
Nottingham by Alex Newport, David Ryley and Adrian Parkin. They were known for straddling
noise rock and
metal.
History
After two
singles on Pigboy/
Vinyl Solution Records ("Fudge Tunnel" in 1989, "The Sweet Sound of Excess" in 1990), they signed to Nottingham's
Earache Records.
Their debut album was ''
Hate Songs in E Minor'', which attracted a large amount of press interest,
after the original album artwork was confiscated by the Nottingham Vice Squad.
Fudge Tunnel's reputation was built around their massive guitar sound and ironic sense of humour, and were popular with the British music press - at least at first. The band's first release was "Single of the Week" in ''
NME'' magazine in January 1990,
with ''NME'' declaring "Absolutely and totally the best single ever to be released in 1990. Total nine guitar attack-rock".
The band undertook several European tours in 1991 and 1992 including support slots with
Fugazi
Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...
,
Silverfish
The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance ...
and
The Jesus Lizard, as well as support slots with
Swervedriver,
Godflesh,
and regular performances at popular London venues The Camden Falcon and
Camden Underworld.
Two more albums were to follow in 1993 (''Creep Diets'') and 1994 (''The Complicated Futility of Ignorance'').
Newport also was active with
Nailbomb, a collaboration with
Max Cavalera (
Sepultura),
who released one studio album and one live album of their
Dynamo Open Air Festival performance.
After the release of their third studio album, the band split up. David Ryley ran his label BGR Records for a while. Adrian Parkin played with Tubesurfer until 1996 when they too split up, and then returned to being a
quantity surveyor in
Bolton. Alex Newport went on to pursue a successful career as a producer/mixer and now lives and runs his own studio in New York. He has produced albums by
At the Drive-In,
The Mars Volta,
Bloc Party,
City and Colour, and many others.
He also formed the band Theory of Ruin, who released one album, ''Counter Culture Nosebleed'' and the ''Frontline Poster Child'' EP, both on
Escape Artist Records
Escape Artist Records was an American independent record label formed in 1997 and based in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The label, which helped to launch the careers of bands such as Isis, Keelhaul and Time in Malta, ceased operations in ...
and currently is playing in Red Love with Matt Tong.
Discography
Singles and EPs
* "Fudge Tunnel" (Pigboy/Vinyl Solution, 1989)
* "The Sweet Sound of Excess" (Pigboy/Vinyl Solution, 1990)
* "Teeth" (Earache/Relativity, 1992)
* "The Joy of Irony" (Earache, 1994)
Albums
* ''
Hate Songs in E Minor'' (Earache/Relativity, 1991)
* ''Creep Diets'' (Earache/Columbia, 1993, MOSH64)
* ''
The Complicated Futility of Ignorance'' (Earache, 1994)
Compilation albums
* "Fudgecake" (Pigboy/Vinyl solution/Cargo, 1992)
* ''Grey - Dining Hall Classics'' (Sony, 1993)
* ''In a Word'' (Earache, 1994)
* ''Whore - Various Artists Play Wire'' (WMO, 1996)
References
External links
*
Fudge Tunnel biography on AMGbr>
Alex Newport's websiteAlex Newport's recording studio
{{Authority control
English rock music groups
English grunge groups
Sludge metal musical groups
British musical trios
Earache Records artists
Political music groups
British alternative metal musical groups
English noise rock groups
Musical groups from Nottingham