Play Dead were an English

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

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

that grew out of the English

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 ...

scene of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band made three

studio 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 ...

s and one-off singles for four different small

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

s — Fresh Records,

Jungle Records Jungle Records is a British independent record label formed in 1982, specialising in punk rock, post punk, gothic and alternative releases. From 1982 to 1986 they were also active as a record distributor and were associate members of the Car ...

Situation 2 Situation Two (a.k.a. Situation 2) was a British independent record label founded in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the Beggars Banquet label. At the time, Beggars Banquet releases were often distributed by WEA; to appeal to the indie a ...

and

Clay Records Clay Records was an independent record label founded by Mike Stone in 1980 and based in a record shop in Stoke-on-Trent, England. History Clay's first signing was local Stoke punk band Discharge who released the ''Realities of War'' single in ...

— before forming their own label, Tanz, for their final album, ''Company of Justice'', produced by

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was invo ...

, which they released in 1985. The original line-up of Play Dead consisted of Rob Hickson (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

), Pete Waddleton (

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 ...

), Mark "Wiff" Smith (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

) and Re-Vox (

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 ...

). In July 1981, Re-Vox was replaced by Steve Green. During their active years, Play Dead supported a number of acts, including the likes of

Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

and

The Sisters Of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

in the UK. They also appeared on Channel 4's music TV show, '' The Tube'' in late 1984. A string of singles were released (many through Stoke-based

) from late 1983, throughout 1984 and early 1985. Play Dead toured frequently around the UK and Europe and by 1985, felt they had enough material to be able to put out their first ever live album, ''Into The Fire'', which was released in May of that year. However, against the backdrop of similar artists such as

Spear Of Destiny A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

and

Fields Of The Nephilim Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 1984. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. Career Early years (1984–1991) Fields of the Nep ...

, whose success was evident through having higher profiles in the music press, Play Dead struggled to compete. In 1984, Rob and Pete created the project

Mankind's Audio Development {{Infobox album , name = Sunfeast/Craving Single , type = Album , artist = Mankind's Audio Development , cover = Mankind's_Audio_Development_Cover_1.jpg , alt = , released = 1984 , recorded = July 1984 , venu ...

(nicknamed M.A.D.). Only one

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

was recorded, with the two songs "Craving" and "Sunfeast." Waddleton left the group in 1986 and, after a brief period as The Beastmaster Generals, the band dissolved.

Discography

Albums

*1983 - ''

The First Flower ''The First Flower'' is Play Dead's debut album, recorded at the Jungle Records studio in March 1983. Originally titled ''The First Flower: A Six Track Album'', this album came totally unexpected as the group had disappeared since their last r ...

reud 3' *1984 - ''

From the Promised Land ''From the Promised Land'' is a 1984 album by Play Dead, and the original version of the band's ''Resurrection'' (1992). Only 1000 copies of this LP were pressed because the band members decided they were dissatisfied with the album. When this ...

LAY LP 11' *1985 - ''Into the Fire LAY LP 16' *1985 - ''

Company of Justice ''Company of Justice'' was the final studio album of Play Dead. After an early series of signing with independent record labels (Fresh, Jungle, Situation 2 and Clay), Play Dead created their own record label called Tanz in early 1985 (under th ...

ANZLP1' *1992 - ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

12" singles

*September 1983 - "Shine/Promise/Gaze" IT 28T*March 1984 - "Break/Blood Stains/Blood Stains Pleasure" 2 CLAY 31*July 1984 - "Isabel/Solace (Extended Version)" 2 CLAY 35*1984 - "Propaganda (1984 Mix)/Sin of Sins (1984 Mix)" UNG 17*1984 - "Conspiracy/Silent Conspiracy/Conspiracy (Saigon Mix)" 2 CLAY 40*1985 - "Sacrosanct/Pale Fire/Holy Holy (Catholic Mix)/Sacrosanct (Heretic Mix)" 2 CLAY 42*1985 - "This Kind of Heaven/This Kind of Heaven (Serious Mix)/Last Degree" ANZ 1*1985 - "Burning Down (MezCal Mix)/Still in Chains/Burning Down" ANZ 2

7" singles

*1981 - "Poison Takes a Hold/Introduction" RESH 29*1981 - "T.V. Eye/Final Epitaph" RESH 38*1982 - "Propaganda/Propaganda (Mix)" UNG 2*1983 - "Shine/Promise" IT 28*1984 - "Break/Blood Stains" LAY 31*1984 - "Isabel/Solace" LAY 35*1984 - "Conspiracy/Silent Conspiracy" LAY 40*1984 - "Propaganda (1984 mix)" UNG 17*1985 - "Sacrosanct/Pale Fire" LAY 42*1985 - "This Side of Heaven"

BBC Radio 1 - John Peel Sessions

*1982 - ''Metallic Smile/Pray to Mecca/Propaganda/Effigy'' *1983 - ''Total Decline/The Tenant/Gaze'' *1984 - ''Break/Return to the East/No Motive''

Bootlegs

*1983 - ''May 12, 1983 Leeds Warehouse'' *1983 - ''Live in Norwich, Ska Ballroom - May 13, 1983'' *1983 - ''Live - July 28, 1983 Hull,

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

/ Live October 13, 1983 Hammersmith, Klub Foot'' *1984 - ''Live in France at Forum Des Halles - July 1, 1984'' *1984 - ''Oct 7th, Kolingsborg, Stockholm, Sweden'' *1984 - ''Live in Norrkoping Sweden - October 10, 1984'' *1985 - ''Dec 18th 1985, Tufnel Park, Penthouse, London''(previously listed as 1984 ) *2003 - ''The Final Pieces (Bootleg)''

Album appearances

*1985 - ''The Final Epitaph Live'' *1985 - ''The Singles 1982 ~ 85'' *1986 - ''In the Beginning - The 1981 Singles'' *1986 - ''Caught from Behind: Live in England, France, Germany, and Switzerland'' *1992 - ''Gothic Rock Volume 1'' *1995 - ''Gothic Rock Volume 2: 80's Into 90's'' *1998 - ''Gothic Rock Volume 3: Black on Black''

Side projects

- 1984 by Rob Hickson and Pete Waddleton

References

External links

Official Play Dead websitePlay Dead Biography on Yahoo Music Launch
{{Authority control English post-punk music groups English gothic rock groups Musical groups from Oxford Situation Two artists Fresh Records (UK) artists