Music for Pleasure were a new wave band from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England, active in the first half of the 1980s. Music for Pleasure were founded in 1979 by Martin King (bass guitar), Alan Peace (lead vocal), Sean Wheatley (drums) and David Whitaker (keyboards). The band were originally signed to Rockburgh Records and contributed the song " The Human Factor" to Rockburgh's seminal

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

bands compilation '' Hicks from the Sticks'' (1980). In 1980, Peace and Wheatley were replaced by Mark Copson (lead vocal) and Christopher Oldroyd (drums – formerly a member of fellow Leeds band

Girls at Our Best! Girls at Our Best! were an English post-punk band, founded in Leeds, England in 1979 under the name The Butterflies. They had several UK Independent Singles Chart hits during their three-year existence. History The group initially consisted of ...

). This line-up released a couple of

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on the indie label Rage Records – a re-recorded version of "The Human Factor" (1980) and the

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...

produced " Fuel to the Fire" (1981). King was replaced by Ivor Roberts (bass guitar) in 1982, and Music for Pleasure then signed to

Polydor Records 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. ...

. The first Polydor release was the single " Switchback" (1982) produced by

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...

, followed by the band's first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Into the Rain'' (1982) which was co-produced by Hedges and the band. The band released two more singles from the album, "

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

" (1982) and a re-recorded version of "

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

" (1983), followed by the Hedges produced single "Dark Crash" (1983), before being dropped by Polydor. Without having a record deal, Music for Pleasure continued to release records on their own Whirlpool label, the

Colin Richardson Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres. Career Some of the bands he has worked for include: * 3 In ...

co-produced single "Disconnection" (1984), the

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

produced EP '' Chrome Hit Corrosion'' (1984) and the album '' Blacklands'' (1985). However, following the release of ''Blacklands'' the band disbanded. Keyboard player Whitaker went on to join

the Danse Society The Danse Society are an English gothic rock band, formed in Barnsley in 1980. They were originally active until 1987, reforming in 2011. They achieved moderate success during their career. Their lineup included Steve Rawlings (vocals), Paul ...

(1985–1986), while drummer Oldroyd appeared on

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, also known very briefly as the Lorries, are an English rock band formed in Leeds in early 1981 by guitarist and songwriter Chris Reed, vocalist Mark Sweeney, bassist Steve Smith and drummer Mick Brown. After breaking up i ...

's second album '' Paint Your Wagon'' (1987).

Discography

Albums

* '' Into the Rain'' (1982) * '' Blacklands'' (1985)

Singles

* " The Human Factor" (1980) * " Fuel to the Fire" (1981) * " Switchback" (1982) * "

" (1982) * "

" (1983) * "Dark Crash" (1983) * "Disconnection" (1984)

EPs

* ''Chrome Hit Corrosion'' (1984)

Compilation appearances

* '' Hicks from the Sticks'' (1980) * ''Off the Street'' (1993) All discography information from

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1979 English new wave musical groups British synth-pop new wave groups Polydor Records artists Post-punk groups from Leeds English synth-pop groups