Mega City Four were an English
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band formed in
Farnborough, Hampshire
Farnborough is a town in northeast Hampshire, England, part of the borough of Rushmoor and the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area. Farnborough was founded in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is ...
, who obtained popularity throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
Mega City Four consisted of guitarist and vocalist
Wiz
Wiz may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Wizard (MUD), or wiz, a developer or administrator of Multi-User Dungeon game
*"Wiz" Zumwalt, the hero of a series of novels by Rick Cook
* Wiz (''KonoSuba''), a character in the light novel series ''Kon ...
, his brother and rhythm guitarist Danny Brown, bassist Gerry Bryant and drummer Chris Jones. According to ''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' magazine, the group "earned a reputation across the globe as an exciting live band".
History
Early Formation
Wiz and Bryant were in a band together at school called 'Stallion', who performed two shows together. One of the shows took place at Cove Secondary School (where "Stallion will come for you" stickers were handed out in an attempt to bolster the bands following) and the show was concluded when the school cut the power. Wiz, seeking more independence to write his own music, decided he wanted to form a new band with Bryant and Danny Brown, named 'Capricorn', after the brothers' shared the
star sign.
Capricorn formed in June 1982. They consisted of drummer Martin Steib, vocalist and guitarist Wiz, rhythm guitarist Danny and bassist Gerry. The band had a personal fallout in regards to musical direction and dissolved in 1986. A four-track demo was recorded in 1982, and they released one demo, titled The Good News Tape''
' in 1985.
From Capricorn to Mega City Four
The trio of Gerry, Danny and Wiz maintained closeness and enlisted Chris Jones (who drummed in local band ''Exit East'') to join their new group. The new name, initially suggested by Steib in the Capricorn era, was decided as Mega City Four.
The group were officially formed in 1987 and the band's career started with performing gigs around their local town of
Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
before making their
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
debut in September 1987 with "Miles Apart"/"Running in Darkness". The single led to a round of
gigs with fellow
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 ...
-influenced bands like
Senseless Things
Senseless Things were an English pop punk band, formed in 1986 in London. The band released four studio albums and achieved two UK Top 20 hit singles before splitting up in 1995. Senseless Things reformed in 2017 to play several gigs including S ...
and
Snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
.
"Miles Apart" and "Running" were reissued (separately) in 1988 on the independent label Decoy, along with the more melodic "Distant Relatives" and "Less Than Senseless".
A healthy following latched on to them quickly, and by 1988 the group were performing to packed audiences on a regular basis. Continuing on their local success, the band would eventually release their 1989 debut album, ''Tranzophobia''.
The band continued to
tour
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
extensively in the UK, Europe and North America,
working with bands including
Les Thugs Les Thugs were a punk band from France. Their records are distributed in North-America by Sub Pop Records.
Biography
Early Days and first issue
The founding members of Les Thugs were two brothers, Eric and Christophe Sourice, from Angers, Fran ...
,
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in November 1987. The band took their name from an episode of radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show''. The band is unusual for using two bass-players in their ...
,
Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (also known as Carter USM or simply Carter) were an English indie rock band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les "Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style o ...
and
Doughboys
Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...
, amongst many others. The band's second studio album, ''Who Cares Wins'', was released in 1990.
Extensive touring across Europe began again, with the band performing in the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
that year. ''Who Cares Wins'' was followed by a
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
of their early 7" singles, called ''Terribly Sorry Bob'' (1991). The band subsequently moved to a major record label to
record two further studio albums, ''
Sebastopol Rd.
''Sebastopol Rd.'' is an album by the English band Mega City Four, released in 1992. It was the band's only album to be released in the United States; they supported it with a North American tour. The album was reissued in 2013 with a Peel session, ...
'' (1992) (recorded by Jessica Corcoran at London's Greenhouse Recording Studios) and ''Magic Bullets'' (1993).
This album produced the singles "Wallflower" and "Iron Sky", which both placed 69 and 48 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
respectively. After falling out with their record label, they moved to Fire Records to record their final studio album, ''Soulscraper'' (1996).
In addition to their studio albums, the band also released a live album, a
Peel Sessions
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 ...
disc, and a number of singles. The British
music journalist
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, Martin Roach, wrote a biography of the band, ''Mega City Four: Tall Stories and Creepy Crawlies'', published in 1993.
Demise
The band had been together for over a decade when they broke up in early 1996. Wiz moved to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, Canada and joined Canadian
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,
Doughboys
Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...
. Wiz and Bryant continued playing together in a group Wiz formed called Serpico after the demise of Mega City Four. After Serpico, Wiz went on to form Ipanema, who were still playing and recording until late 2006.
After Mega City Four
Having just returned from a tour of the United States, Wiz collapsed at a band rehearsal. It was announced on 7 December 2006 that Wiz had died at
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...
,
Tooting
Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross.
History
Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...
,
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
from a
blood clot
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...
on the brain on 6 December.
Bassist Gerry Bryant currently owns and runs The Rooms Rehearsal Studios in Farnborough, Hampshire.
British band
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
released a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of the Mega City Four song "Prague", as a
b-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to their single "Resistance" on 22 February 2010. This was dedicated to Wiz, as Muse had been inspired by Mega City Four's music.
''Sebastopol Rd.'' was reissued through 3 Loop Music in September 2013. The re-issue has previously unreleased demos and also John Peel session tracks. The album was issued for the 21st anniversary of its original release.
Members
*
Darren 'Wiz' Brown – lead vocals, lead guitar
(1987–1996; died 2006)
* Danny Brown – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
(1987–1996)
* Gerry Bryant – bass, backing vocals
(1987–1996)
* Chris Jones – drums
(1987–1996)
Reunion
* Steve Croom – lead vocals
(2006)
Discography
Albums
*''Tranzophobia'' (June 1989) (
UK No. 67)
*''Who Cares Wins'' (October 1990)
*''Terribly Sorry Bob'' (April 1991)
*''
Sebastopol Rd.
''Sebastopol Rd.'' is an album by the English band Mega City Four, released in 1992. It was the band's only album to be released in the United States; they supported it with a North American tour. The album was reissued in 2013 with a Peel session, ...
'' (February 1992) (UK No. 41)
*''Inspiringly Titled'' (Spring 1992, Live album)
*''Magic Bullets'' (1993) (UK No. 57)
*''Peel Sessions'' (1993)
*''Soulscraper'' (1996)
Singles and EPs
*"Miles Apart" / "Running in Darkness" (March 1988)
*"Clear Blue Sky" (November 1988)
*"Less Than Senseless" (March 1989)
*"Awkward Kid" (October 1989)
*"There Goes My Happy Marriage / Finish EP" (1990)
*"Words That Say" (September 1991) (
UK No. 66)
*"Stop" / "Stop (Live)" (January 1992) (UK No. 36)
*"Shivering Sand" / "Shivering Sand (Live)" (May 1992) (UK No. 35)
*"Iron Sky" (May 1993) (UK No. 48)
*"Wallflower" / "Wallflower Live EP" (July 1993) (UK No. 69)
*"Skidding" (September 1995)
*"Superstar" / "Chrysanth" (1995)
*"Android Dreams" (February 1996)
References
External links
Unofficial Mega City Four websitemyspace page for Mega City Fourmyspace page for Wizmyspace page for IpanemaThe Forward 4 Wiz Trust
{{Authority control
English indie rock groups
English pop punk groups
English punk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1987
Musical groups disestablished in 1996