Quando Quango were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

electronic music group, formed by

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Manchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually ...

DJ and

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...

A&R man

Mike Pickering Mike Pickering (born 21 February 1954) is an English musician and DJ. Career Pickering was a DJ at The Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights, and later Shine. He worked for Factory Records, where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell with Burgundy and ...

, Hillegonda Rietveld and Reinier Rietveld. Their unique sound influenced the underground dance music scenes in New York and Chicago in the 1980s. Their first release was the "Go Exciting" twelve-inch single on

in 1982, and their last release of new music was the 1985 full-length album ''

Pigs + Battleships ''Pigs + Battleships'' (or ''Pigs and Battleships'' on the cassette versionhttps://www.discogs.com/release/808640-Quando-Quango-Pigs-And-Battleships) is the only studio album released by the British, Manchester-based new wave and dance project Q ...

'' (reissued on CD by

LTM Recordings LTM Recordings (originally les temps modernes) is a British independent record label founded in 1983, and best known for reissues of artists and music from 1978 to the present day, as well as modern classical and avant-garde composition. The la ...

in 2003 and 2013).

Music

Quando Quango remain best known for the dance singles "Love Tempo," which reached number four on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Dance

Chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

, and "Atom Rock." Their sound was the result of an eclectic mix of Latin, jazz, reggae and disco, all in a pioneering new wave context. Hillegonda Rietveld said, describing the group's music, "...

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

meets

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

somewhere between Manchester and Rotterdam, part of a new wave of post-punk electronica, with a whole lot of Mike Pickering's admirably broad knowledge of soul, disco, reggae and pop to stuff the gaps".

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post ...

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

and New Order, who with Donald Johnson of

A Certain Ratio A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 in Flixton, Greater Manchester by Peter Terrell (guitar, electronics) and Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), with additional members Jez Kerr (bass, vocals), Martin ...

produced early Quando Quango recordings, was a major influence on the group.

History

The group was formed in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1980, by the Mancunian Mike Pickering and Rotterdam-based Gonnie Rietveld, supported on drums by her brother Reinier Rietveld. In 1982 they moved to Manchester, England, where Pickering's friend

Rob Gretton Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ra ...

was setting up

nightclub. In 1983, Reinier Rietveld left the group to concentrate on his band

Spasmodique Spasmodique was an underground rock band from Rotterdam, The Netherlands from 1981 to 2005. Sound Spasmodique formed at the height of new wave's popularity and existed somewhere near that genre's post-punk fringes. They sang almost exclusively in ...

. Soon after, former

singer/trumpeter/percussionist Simon Topping joined as percussionist. Gonnie Rietveld settled into her role programming their electronic music, and Pickering continued to write lyrics and melodies. The same year, Derek Johnson of fellow Factory act

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

joined on bass, soon to be replaced by his brother Barry Johnson, formerly of Sweet Sensation, and later of

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Tur ...

. After releasing a few singles that were minor dance club hits, the group collaborated with

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

and

Vini Reilly Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group the Durutti Column. He is known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his punk-era contemporaries in its i ...

to create the full-length album ''

''.

Andy Connell Andrew John Connell (born 26 July 1961) is an English musician and composer. Along with Corinne Drewery, he is part of the duo that makes up Swing Out Sister. Born in Manchester, England, Connell played in the Manchester post-punk band The Im ...

of A Certain Ratio and Beverley McDonald of

also contributed. The group did not last long after the album's release, but before their collapse they recorded more material with prominent guests.

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

sang on demos of "Bad Blood" and "Vision of America" in 1986. Stephen Morris contributed percussion to "What Price Beauty," which later became the

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) is an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is taken from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who form ...

track "Kiss It Better." After the group's demise, Pickering went on to form dance duo T-Coy with Topping and, later,

. Rietveld's connection with The Haçienda continued when she researched and co-edited the book ''The Haçienda Must Be Built!'', edited by

Jon Savage Jon Savage (born Jonathan Malcolm Sage; 2 September 1953 in Paddington, London) is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, ''England's Dreaming'', published in 1991. ...

. After gaining her doctorate (supervised by

Steve Redhead Steve Redhead (January 1952 in Shropshire – 8 March 2018) was the Professor of Jurisprudence and Head of Law in the Faculty of Arts at Charles Sturt University. He was also an adjunct professor at York University (Toronto) and was visiting Profess ...

, Dr Rietveld wrote a monograph on house music cultures ''This Is Our House: House Music, Cultural Spaces and Technologies'', and is currently Professor of Sonic Culture at

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

, where she initiated the study of music and sound design back in 2004, and supervises postgraduate research projects in related topics.

Discography

The discography of Quando Quango consists of one studio album and six singles.

Albums

*''

'' (1985)

FAC 110 ( UK Indie No. 17)Lazell, Barry (1997) "Indie Hits 1980-1989", Cherry Red Books,

Singles

*"Go Exciting" (1982)

FAC 67 :Tracks: "Go Exciting" / "Tingle" *"Love Tempo" (1983)

FAC 79T (UK Indie No. 32) :Tracks: "Love Tempo" / "Love Tempo" (remix) *"Atom Rock" (1984)

FAC 102T (UK Indie No. 42) :Tracks: "Atom Rock" / "Triangle" *"Genius" (1985)

FAC 137 (UK Indie No. 38) :Tracks: "Genius" / "Rock" *"Bad Blood"

FAC 156 (Not released due to breakup) *"Love Tempo" (2004)

LTMS 12-2370 :Tracks: "Love Tempo (

Mark Kamins Mark Kamins (April 13, 1955 – February 14, 2013) was an American record producer, remixer, and disc jockey famous for his role in the New York club scene. He is best known for helping launch the career of singer Madonna by bringing her to Sire ...

Mix)" / "Genius" / "Atom Rock (Dub)"

References

External links

Discography at DiscogsExtended discography at Discogs

Quando Quango biography and discography at Cerysmatic FactoryBrief review
in Dutch at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quando Quango English dance music groups Musical groups from Manchester English new wave musical groups Factory Records artists Factory Benelux artists