Screen 3 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 ...

/ new wave band from

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, active from 1980–1984 and again from 1990–1992.

History

Heavily influenced by

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

's first album, the original Screen 3 lineup formed in 1980, consisting of Neil Dyer (guitar and vocals), Richard Kett (bass) and Brett Cooper (drums). Trumpet players Peter Jay and Jason Votier were added in late 1981. Screen 3's first recorded appearance was on a Norwich compilation called ''Norwich - A Fine City'', which featured two of the band's tracks, "Live and Learn" and "Shades of Black". This was followed by an independently released 7" single, "New Blood", which garnered interest from

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

, who signed Screen 3. The "Hearts in Limbo" single was recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and produced by Roger Lomas, who produced Bad Manners and some of the

Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...

releases. The next single, "Come Into My Jungle", came closest to success, garnering significant radio play but meagre sales. It was produced by Steve Brown, who also produced the first

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

album and the second

Cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

album. Their last single on Epic was the less successful "City of Souls", also released as a 12" EP. Screen 3 recorded two

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 ...

sessions in 1983, and one in 1982 for fellow

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

Kid Jensen David Allan "Kid" Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 ...

. They supported various bigger acts during their original career, either on tours or one-off concerts, including

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

The Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. T ...

Aztec Camera Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/ new wave band founded by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter, and only consistent member. Formed in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six studio albums: ''High Land, Hard Rain'' (1983), ''Knife'' ...

and

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Coli ...

. After Epic dropped the band, Screen 3 used their remaining cash to self-release a compilation 12" EP in spring 1984, featuring Screen 3's "The Visitor" backed by tracks by two other local Norwich bands. The band split up soon after. Trumpet player Votier later played with the

Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...

for a couple of years, appearing on their live album ''

All Live and All of the Night ''All Live and All of the Night'' is the second live album by English rock band the Stranglers, released on 8 February 1988 by Epic Records. The release peaked at No. 12 in the UK Albums Chart in March 1988. Background By 1986, the band were ...

''. Guest musician

Steve Osborne Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...

, who played trombone on Screen 3's later live gigs, became an acclaimed record producer.

Reformation

Screen 3 reformed in 1990, originally including Dyer, Votier (on keyboards instead of trumpet), Kett and Cooper. Votier and Kett did not stay long, so the group later added bassist Keith Wyatt. No records were released by this lineup and they played exclusively new material. The band split again in 1992.

Discography

Singles and EPs

*1981: "New Blood"/"European Journey" 7" single (Romans in Britain Records) *1982: "Hearts in Limbo"/"A Small Part" 7" single (

) *1983: "Come Into My Jungle"/"The Dividing Line" 7" single (Epic) *1983: "City of Souls" 12" EP (Epic)

Compilation appearances

*1981: "Live and Learn" and "Shades of Black" on ''Norwich - A Fine City'' LP (Romans in Britain Records) *1984: "The Visitor (12" Pizza Mix)" on ''Music from the East Zone'' 12" EP (Gross Product)

References

External links

WebsiteMyspace Site
{{Authority control English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups