Gleaming Spires was an American new wave pop group in the 1980s.

Background

Performing as Bates Motel, they were enlisted by brothers

Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

and

Russell Mael Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching fa ...

to be a part of the 1981–85 incarnation of their band,

Sparks Sparks may refer to: Places *Sparks, Georgia * Sparks, Kansas *Sparks, Kentucky *Sparks, Maryland * Sparks, Nebraska *Sparks, Nevada *Sparks, Oklahoma *Sparks, Texas * Sparks, Bell County, Texas * Sparks, West Virginia Books * ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...

. After completing demos with neophyte producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session k ...

, principal members

Leslie Bohem Leslie "Les" Bohem (born 1951) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and former bassist. He is the son of screenwriter Endre Bohem. Biography Bohem played bass in the 1980s with the pop groups Sparks and Gleaming Spires. Bohem's writi ...

and

David Kendrick David Kendrick (born March 23, 1955) is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band Xiu Xiu. A former member of Gleaming Spires and Devo, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy and Revolushn. He is ba ...

(later of

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

) recruited fellow Sparks members Jim Goodwin and Bob Haag to form Gleaming Spires with the blessing of the Mael brothers. Following promotional materials by graphic artist Kevin J. Walker (who designed

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 covers for

T.S.O.L. T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, a ...

and Channel 3, among others), they were signed to

Posh Boy Records Posh Boy Records is a Hollywood, California-based record label owned by the American-born, British-educated Robbie "Posh Boy" Fields, a sometime high school substitute teacher and former copy boy at the ''Los Angeles Times'' who took an interes ...

on the strength of what had been intended by the group as a non-LP B-side, "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?". "Sex Girls" became a hit on Los Angeles'

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

radio station and was later featured in the films ''

The Last American Virgin ''The Last American Virgin'' is a 1982 American sex comedy film written and directed by Boaz Davidson. It is a remake of Davidson's 1978 Israeli film '' Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle)''. After the success of the original film and its sequels in I ...

'' and ''

Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The film's plot chronicles a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College trying ...

'', the latter of which also featured the Gleaming Spires song "All Night Party". The cover art for Gleaming Spires' '' Walk on Well Lighted Streets'' album was designed by artist

Mark Kostabi Kalev Mark Kostabi (born November 27, 1960) is an American artist and composer. Early life Kostabi was born in Los Angeles on November 27, 1960, to Estonian immigrants Kaljo and Rita Kostabi. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied dra ...

, who later went on to design album covers for

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

(''

Use Your Illusion ''Use Your Illusion'' is a 1998 compilation album by American rock band Guns N' Roses, drawing from the ''Use Your Illusion I'' and '' II'' studio albums. It was only released in the United States, and was primarily sold at Walmart and Kmart, t ...

'') and the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

(''

¡Adios Amigos! ''¡Adios Amigos!'' (in Spanish, "Goodbye Friends") is the fourteenth and final studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on July 18, 1995, through Radioactive Records. The Ramones disbanded a year after its release and s ...

''). Though the band's three studio albums were not issued on CD until 2021, "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" has been featured on numerous various artists compilation albums, including

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

' '' Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's, Volume 3''. In 2014, the Gleaming Spires' debut album, '' Songs of the Spires'', was remastered and reissued on 180 gram LP by the Futurismo Inc. label, in two different color variations ("Lemon Meringue" and "Blue Movie"). The package was housed in a gloss laminate sleeve, featuring new artwork from original illustrations by artist Kevin J. Walker, and included an Artzine booklet, as well as one bonus track, "Walk Right." On September 17, 2021, the band's three studio albums, '' Songs of the Spires, Walk on Well Lighted Streets,'' and '' Welcoming a New Ice Age,'' were reissued on CD and streaming services, each containing a myriad of bonus tracks and memorabilia (including the ''Life Out on the Lawn'' and ''Party'' EPs) by Omnivore Recordings.

Members

*Leslie Bohem – lead vocals,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, synthesizers *David Kendrick –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Other members

*Bob Haag –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, background vocals *Jim "Jimbo" Goodwin –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

*Greg Penny –

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, guitars, background vocals

Additional musicians

* Paul Cutler – guitar *

– synthesizer, producer *"The Horns of Desire" – Bobby Moore (

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

), Dana Wylie (

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s) *"The Passionettes" (background vocalists) – Katia Empkowicz Penny, Patty Foley, Beau Wesley, The Happy Boy, The Party God, Fanny Penny * Rob Goraieb – background vocals on the ''Funk for Children'' EP *Alan D. Generes (formerly of the Bösendorfers) – percussion

Discography

Albums

*'' Songs of the Spires'' (1981) *'' Walk on Well Lighted Streets'' (1983) *'' Welcoming a New Ice Age'' (1985)

Extended Plays

*''Life Out on the Lawn'' (1982) *''Party EP'' (aka the ''Funk for Children EP)'' (1984)

References

American new wave musical groups {{US-pop-band-stub