The League of Gentlemen were a band active during March–December 1980 that featured

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

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 ...

ist

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

Background

Other members included

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 ...

ist

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * Sara (2010 ...

(who later joined

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

, and

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keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

Barry Andrews (formerly of

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

; later of

Shriekback Shriekback are an English rock band formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals), and Dave Allen, formerly of Gang of Four (bass), with Carl Marsh, formerly of ...

) and

percussionist 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. Ex ...

Johnny Elichaoff ''The League of Gentlemen'' is an album by Robert Fripp. The music on the album was performed by members of a band which toured Europe and North America throughout 1980 under the name of the League of Gentlemen. The album was released in the ...

(who is referred to on the album as "Johnny Toobad"). Elichaoff was replaced late in the band's tenure by

Kevin Wilkinson Kevin Michael Wilkinson (11 June 1958 – 17 July 1999) was an English drummer, who was based in Baydon, Wiltshire, England. Career Born Kevin Michael Wilkinson in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, he is credited as a former official member of se ...

(later of

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and Squeeze). The 1980 group should not be confused with Robert Fripp's first semi-professional band in the 1960s, which had the same name. Fripp referred to the 1980 band as "a second-division touring new wave instrumental dance band". ''The Trouser Press Record Guide'' described the League of Gentlemen's music as typically taking "a simple medium-to-fast backbeat over which Fripp and Andrews locked horns, with melodic development emerging slowly, surely, subtly." ''Trouser Press'' also suggests that the League's foray into dance oriented rock was a precursor to Fripp's reformed

in the early 1980s. The band toured extensively in Europe and North America throughout 1980. There are 77 specific tour dates detailed in the sleevenotes on the album ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives o ...

''. Missing from this list are four (possibly warm-up) gigs at the 14th Century Hunting Lodge (now Lodge Farm House), outside the grounds of

Kingston Lacy Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent ow ...

near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. These gigs are dated 24 to 27 February and pre-dated the first 'official' gig on 10 April at Moles, Bath.

Discography

Studio album

* ''

'' ( EG/

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, 1981)

Live album

* ''Thrang Thrang Gozinbulx'' (constructed from bootleg recordings) (Discipline Records, 1996)

Compilation

* ''God Save the King'' ( Editions EG, 1985)

Album Personnel

* Robert Fripp - guitar *

Sara Lee (musician) Sara Lee is an English-American bassist and singer-songwriter, who came to prominence replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in post-punk band Gang of Four, which she was a member of from 1982 to 1984. She was also a member of Robert Fripp's shor ...

- bass * Barry Andrews - organ * Kevin Wilkinson - drums (except A4 ''Heptaparaparshinokh'' and A5 ''Dislocated'') * Johnny Toobad - drums on ''Heptaparaparshinokh'' and ''Dislocated'' *

Danielle Dax Danielle Dax (born 23 September 1958) is an English experimental musician and producer most active from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s. Early life She was born Danielle Gardner, in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. Dax's first performance on ...

- vocals and lyrics ("Hamsprachtmuzic") on ''Minor Man''; she also provided the cover artwork for the album

Notes

References

External links

discogs.com/artist: The League of Gentlemen
Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups English rock music groups British supergroups Rock music supergroups New wave supergroups Robert Fripp Discipline Global Mobile artists {{UK-rock-band-stub