Landscape is an English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

band, best known for the 1981 hits "Einstein a Go-Go" and "Norman Bates". 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 major s ...

in 1975, the band toured constantly during the mid-to-late-1970s, playing rock,

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 ...

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 f ...

venues and releasing two

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instrum ...

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, ...

on its own Event Horizon label. The group began experimenting with computer-programmed music and

electronic drum Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sounds ...

s in the late 1970s and early 1980s, making records in the emerging genre of synth-pop.

Formation

Landscape comprises

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

(drums, computer programming, synths, vocals), Christopher Heaton (keyboard synthesizers, piano, vocals),

Andy Pask Andrew Howard Pask (born 30 August 1955) is an English musician who was a member of the band Landscape. He wrote the theme to the TV show ''The Bill''. Early years Andy Pask was a pupil at Haileybury College where he played cello in school orc ...

(fretted and fretless basses, bass synth, vocals),

Peter Thoms Peter Thoms is an English musician and composer best known for playing keyboards and trombone for the synthpop band Landscape. Biography Landscape was formed in 1974 with Richard James Burgess (vocals, drums), Christopher Heaton (keyboards), A ...

(trombone, electric trombone, vocals), and John L. Walters (lyricon, soprano sax, alto flute, computer programming, synths, vocals). The band built a following through live performances, touring and founding the

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

label Event Horizon, through which they released two EPs. After signing to RCA they released their debut album ''Landscape'' in 1979. Their next album in 1981, ''From the Tea-Rooms of Mars...to the Hell-Holes of Uranus'', included the Top 5 UK hit "Einstein a Go-Go" and "Norman Bates". Their third album was 1982's ''Manhattan Boogie-Woogie''. After release of this album, Heaton and Thoms left the band.

Landscape III

Following the release of Landscape's third and final album, '' Manhattan Boogie-Woogie'', the band became a trio, composed of Burgess, Pask, and Walters. Renaming the band Landscape III, the members went on to release the singles "So Good, So Pure, So Kind" and "You Know How to Hurt Me". The trio broke up in 1984 and band members went on to separate careers.

Subsequent careers

Burgess, Heaton and Walters went on to careers in music production. Walters co-founded CD journal ''Unknown Public'', in 1992 with Laurence Aston and worked widely as a writer and editor. He has been the editor of ''

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

'' since 1999, and its co-owner since 2008. Pask worked as a session musician and co-wrote the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at som ...

for the long-running British ITV series ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. Thoms later appeared on

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

’s 1984 album ''The Flat Earth'' and toured with Dolby that year playing trombone. He also served as a member of staff at the Musicians’ Union's head office in Britain.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

EPs

* "U2XME1X2MUCH" / "Don't Gimme No Rebop" / "Sixteen" (1977) 33⅓ rpm 7" ^* * "Workers Playtime" / "Nearly Normal" / "Too Many Questions (Don't Ask Me Why)" (1978) 33⅓ rpm 7" ^* "U2XME1X2MUCH" is short for "You two-timed me one time too much" Both EPs were issued on Landscape's own Event Horizon label.

Cassette album

* 1975: '' Thursday the 12th'', Jaguar JS5 This album (under the name John Walters’ Landscape) was released on

Gordon Beck Gordon James Beck (16 September 1935 – 6 November 2011) was an English jazz pianist and composer. At the time of his death, 26 albums had been released under his name. Early life Beck was born in Brixton, London, and attended Pinner Count ...

’s cassette-only label Jaguar.

Radio session tracks

* "Kaptin Whorlix" * "Gotham City" * "Lost in the Small Ads" * "Workers’ Playtime" Recorded for an April 1978

Peel Session 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 ...

.BBC John Peel Sessions – Landscape
Retrieved 19 August 2006.

References

External links

Landscape_band links

How Landscape’s Subversive Synth-Pop Helped Shape the ’80s. Follow the journey from jazz to New Romantic as “Einstein a-Go-Go” turns 40. Rock and Roll Globe, 9 March 2021

John L. Walters discography at Discogs.com

‘Rise Of The Machines’ in Classic Pop: synths & prank-calling The White House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landscape English new wave musical groups English post-punk music groups British synth-pop new wave groups English jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 RCA Records artists