Gallon Drunk were an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1988. Their sound contains a variety of influences, from

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and is noted for its dark subject matter.

Biography

The band formed in 1988 with an initial lineup of James Johnston (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Mike Delanian (bass), who by 1990 had recruited Nick Combe (drums).Bottomley, Charles "Gallon Drunk" in Buckley, Peter (ed.) (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, , p. 410 After debut single "Snakepit" the band signed to the Clawfist label, releasing the "Ruby" single in late 1990 (a cover of the song by New York band The Silver Apples).with Nick Combe on drums and Joe Byfield on maracas. The band released three singles in 1991, one of which ("Some Fool's Mess") was named 'Single of the Week' 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 ...

'',Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , pp. 755–6 by which point Combe had been replaced by Max Décharné. The band's debut album, ''You, the Night...and the Music'', was released in 1992, with a US release on

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first Compact Disc, CD-only independ ...

.Anderson, Lydia
Gallon Drunk
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

''. Retrieved 14 January 2014 The following year they enjoyed popularity in the wake of their second album, the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

-nominated ''From The Heart of Town'', which saw the band sign to

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

and play venues in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, such as the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

and

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, as a guest of

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

.Bret, David (2006) ''Morrissey: Scandal and Passion'', Robson Books Ltd, , p. 191 During UK dates for ''From The Heart of Town'' saxophonist/keyboard player

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding me ...

joined the band, having played previously as a session player on the album.Prato, Greg
Gallon Drunk 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 14 January 2014 Following the subsequent European and U.S. tours, both as headline, and also supporting

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

, drummer Max Décharné left the band (later fronting

The Flaming Stars The Flaming Stars are an English underground Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band. History The band was formed in November 1994 in London Borough of Camden, Camden, London, England, by lead singer and Ex-Gallon Drunk drummer Max Décha ...

), to be replaced by Ian White in 1993, who remains a member of the band to the present.Unsworth, Cathi (ed.) (2006) ''London Noir'', Serpent's Tail, Hardeman, Simon (2007)
Gallon Drunk, The Spitz, London
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 10 April 2007.Jacques, Adam (2009)
How We Met: Spider Stacey & Max Decharne
, ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 29 November 2009. The new line-up of the band followed with ''The Traitor's Gate E.P.'' (1995) and in 1996 the acclaimed ''In The Long Still Night'' (now signed to

City Slang City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The label was founded in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus, exclusively to release The Flaming Lips' '' In A Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine S ...

). The "To Love Somebody" single, released in March 1997 was the band's last release before dissolving for almost three years. The band returned in 2000 with the ''Blood Is Red'' EP, with Jeremy Cottingham having replaced Mike Delanian on bass. The band's soundtrack to Nicholas Triandafyllidis's 1999 film ''Black Milk'' followed in March.Nicholls, Steve (2000)
Gallon Drunk Delights
, ''

Birmingham Evening Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire ...

'', 21 March 2000. Longley, Martin (2000)
Arts & Entertainment: Lining Up Drunk for Some Firkin Aural Devastation; Gallon Drunk's 'Governing Force' James Johnston Tells All to Martin Longley
, ''

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

'', 15 March 2000. In 2002 they released the album ''Fire Music''. Following a hiatus during which Johnston toured and recorded as a full-time member of

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock music, rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its care ...

,Martin, Gavin (2007)
Gallon Drunk – The Rotten Mile
, ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'', 19 October 2007. Gallon Drunk returned in 2007 with ''The Rotten Mile'', with Simon Wring taking over on bass, and the remaining core members of Johnston, White and Edwards. A live album, ''Live at Klub 007'', was released in 2008. After Simon Wring's death in 2011, the band recorded ''The Road Gets Darker From Here'' (released in 2012) in Hamburg's leading analogue studio Clouds Hill. The subsequent tours for the album saw Leo Kurunis join the band on bass guitar, with this line-up then returning to Clouds Hill to record ''The Soul of the Hour'', which was released in March 2014 on Clouds Hill Recordings. Original founding member Nick Combe died in 2015. Combe had played and recorded with The Scientists prior to joining Gallon Drunk, also making the video for Human Jukebox, from the Scientists E.P. of the same name.

Side projects

In 1993, Johnston and Edwards collaborated with writer

Derek Raymond Robert William Arthur Cook (12 June 1931 – 30 July 1994), better known since the 1980s by his pen name Derek Raymond, was an English crime writer, credited with being a founder of British '' noir''. Biography Early life The eldest son of a t ...

on the ''Dora Suarez'' album and associated multimedia performance at the

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. Hist ...

the following year, based on Raymond's novel '' I Was Dora Suarez''.Sinker, Mark (1994)
Rock
, ''

'', 6 February 1994.Hanks, Robert (1994)
Pop
, ''

'', 10 February 1994. Founder, frontman and sole consistent member James Johnston has also played in

, with whom he joined for a

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

tour in 1994 before serving as a full-time member from 2003—2008, and a member of psychedelic rock band

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

from 2006–2012. Johnston and White are also currently members of Big Sexy Noise with

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

. Johnston, White and Edwards had previously worked with Lunch in live shows.Chernov, Sergey (2004)
Lydia Lunch is not for Musical Wimps
, ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', 12 March 2004.Longley, Martin (2003)
Culture: Review: Festival climax out to Lunch; Lydia Lunch/Blacktronica The Door, Birmingham Repertory Theatre The Custard Factory, Digbeth.
, ''

'', 9 June 2003. In early 2015 Johnston and Edwards recorded with PJ Harvey at Somerset House for her album

The Hope Six Demolition Project ''The Hope Six Demolition Project'' is the ninth studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey, released on 15 April 2016 on Island Records. The album is Harvey's first since her acclaimed Mercury Prize-winning album '' Let En ...

which was released in 2016. They went on to join the touring 10-piece band in support of the record throughout 2017. James Johnston's solo album The Starless Room was released through Clouds Hill Recordings in November 2016. The album features contributions from Gallon Drunk drummer Ian White.

Musical style

The band's sound was described by Robert Hanks in ''

'' as "dark, bluesy, grinding noise characterised by dense textures, low, mumbling bass guitar and keyboards, and liberal applications of whammy bar to the electric guitar, the whole thing oddly underpinned by maracas".

Members

Current

* James Johnston – vocals, guitar, keyboards *

– saxophone, keyboards, guitar * Ian White – drums * Leo Kurunis – bass guitar

Past

* Max Décharné – drums * Joe Byfield – maracas * Mike Delanian – bass guitar * Jeremy Cottingham – bass guitar * Simon Wring – bass guitar * Nick Combe – drums * Gary Bonneyface –

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

* Ray Dickaty – saxophone

Discography

Studio albums

* '' You, the Night ... and the Music'' (1992), Clawfist/

* '' From the Heart of Town'' (1993), Clawfist/

Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

(UK No. 67) * '' In the Long Still Night'' (1996),

* '' Black Milk'' (1999), FM * '' Fire Music'' (2002), Sweet Nothing * '' The Rotten Mile'' (2007), Fred Ltd. * '' The Road Gets Darker from Here'' (2012), Clouds Hill * '' The Soul Of The Hour'' (2014), Clouds Hill

Compilations etc.

* '' Tonite... the Singles Bar'' (1991), Clawfist/

* '' Clawfist - The Peel Sessions'' (1992), Strange Fruit/Dutch East India (split with

Breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

) * '' Dora Suarez'' (1993), Clawfist * '' Bear Me Away: An Anthology of Rare Recordings 1992-2002'' (2003), Sweet Nothing * ''Live At Klub 007'' (2008), Sartorial – live album recorded on 12 March 2008 in Prague at klub 007 by the crew of the Prague independent radio station Radio 1

Singles/EPs

* "Snakepit" (1988), Gallon Drunk * "Ruby" (1990), Clawfist * "Draggin' Along" (1991), Clawfist * "The Last Gasp" (1991), Clawfist * "Some Fool's Mess" (1991), Clawfist * "Bedlam" (1992), Clawfist * ''Live at the Madison Square Gardens, 18 September 1992'' (1992), Clawfist (Limited Promo) * "You Should Be Ashamed" (1993), Clawfist * ''Savage Soundtracks for Swinging Lovers'' EP (1993), Blue Eyed Dog (with

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958) Discography Studio Albums Compilation Albums EPs Singles Soundtracks References External links * Adamson's art-house
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Barry 1958 births Living people People from ...

) * ''Traitor's Gate'' EP (1995), Gallon Drunk * "Two Clear Eyes" (1996), City Slang * "To Love Somebody" (1997), City Slang * "Hurricane" (1998), Itchy Teeth (12"/CDS released under the name J.J. Stone, featuring Johnson, White, and Edwards) * "Blood Is Red" (2000), FM * "Things Will Change" (2001), Sweet Nothing * "Grand Union Canal" (2007), Fred Label * "Bad Servant" (2008), Fred Label * "You Made Me" (2012), Clouds Hill * "A Thousand Years" (2012), Clouds Hill * ''Live at Clouds Hill'' EP (2013), Clouds Hill * "The Dumb Room" (2014), Clouds Hill