Pink Military (originally Pink Military Stand Alone) were a
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Led by former
Big in Japan singer
Jayne Casey
Jayne Casey (born 1956, in Wallasey, Cheshire) is an English artistic director who was known for being involved in the Liverpool punk and new wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s, with Big in Japan, Pink Military and Pink Industry. A Keychang ...
, other band members included former
Deaf School
Deaf School is an English art rock/ new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974.
Overview
Between 1976 and 1978, the year in which they split up, Deaf School recorded three albums for the Warner Brothers label. The first a ...
drummer Tim Whitaker, guitarist Martin Dempsey who also played in
Yachts
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
and
It's Immaterial
It's Immaterial are an English indie pop band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1980. They are best known for their 1986 single " Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)", which reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.
Career
It's Immaterial ...
and drummers
Chris Joyce (who also played in
The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly who ...
and
Simply Red
Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...
) and
Budgie (who went on to
The Slits
The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...
and
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...
).
History
After Big In Japan split up in summer 1978, singer Jayne Casey formed Pink Military along with John Highway (guitar), Wayne Wadden (bass guitar), Paul Hornby (drums), and Nicky Cool (born Nicky Hillon, keyboards).
[Larkin, Colin (2002) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music'', MUZE UK Ltd, , p. 337][Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 454] The band mixed punk-influenced rock with elements of
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
and
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
.
[Kellman, Andy]
Pink Military 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 2011-05-12 Their first release was the "Buddha Waking / Disney Sleeping" single in February 1979.
This was the only release from the original line-up, as in the months that followed Wadden, Hornby and Highway all left, with Peter Lloyd, Steve Torch, Tim Whitaker (ex-Deaf School), and Martin Dempsey (formerly of Yachts) making up the next settled line-up.
The band were then picked up by the 'Eric's' label (associated with the club of the same name), with the ''Blood and Lipstick''
EP released in September that year.
Further line-up changes followed, with Whitaker and Torch replaced by Mothmen drummer Chris Joyce, Charlie Gruff (Charlie Griffiths), and Neil Innes.
John Peel
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 ...
gave the band his support and they recorded two sessions for his
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show, the first in November 1979, featuring Budgie on drums, the second in May 1980.
[Pink Military]
, ''Keeping It Peel'', BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
who acted as distributors.
A further single was released the next month, and proved to be the final release before the band split up in 1981.
, while Dempsey joined It's Immaterial and later the Mel-o-Tones.
Joyce joined The Durutti Column and later played in Simply Red.
*"Buddha Waking / Disney Sleeping" (1979), Last Trumpet
*''Blood and Lipstick'' EP (1979), Eric's
*"Did You See Her/Everyday" (1980), Eric's