Ski Patrol were a British

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 formed in London in 1979 by former The Wall and future

Folk Devils Folk Devils were an English 1980s post-punk ensemble born of the Notting Hill, West London music scene. History Founding member Ian Lowery had previously been the original singer in late 1970s punk rock band The Wall and then signed to Killi ...

singer Ian Lowery and Nick Clift of The Debutantes.

History

Ski Patrol was formed in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, London in the autumn of 1979 by members of two Sunderland, UK college bands, The Wall and The Debutantes. Founding members were singer

Ian Lowery Ian Lowery (27 March 1956 – 14 July 2001) was an English vocalist and poet who fronted several bands, including The Wall, Ski Patrol, Folk Devils, and King Blank, as well as recording as a solo artist. Career The punk rock years: the Prefabs ...

and guitarist Nick Clift. They took their band name from a song on

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

's '' Slow Dazzle'' album.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 207Thompson, Dave (2014)
Here Comes the Ski Patrol!
, '' Goldmine'', 2 April 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2021 Inspired by the

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

and punk-funk sounds and emotions of British

bands like Joy Division,

Gang Of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

, and

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 ...

, they were also influenced by the Jamaican rhythms and politically charged environment that was their new home. The band set about writing angular, moody songs that fused Lowery's dark lyrical pre-occupations with Clift's ringing, textured guitar chord phrasing. Joined by fellow North-Eastern transplants Peter Balmer (formerly of Stranded) on bass and drummer Bruce Archibald (the original drummer in The Wall),Glasper, Ian (2004) ''Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984, Cherry Red Books, , pp. 255-257 the band began playing shows on the London live circuit opening for

The Carpettes The Carpettes are an English punk rock band from Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, England, formed in 1977, who released two albums on Beggars Banquet Records and recorded two Peel sessions. They split up in 1981, but reformed in 1996. Hist ...

. By December, they had recorded four songs at Alaska Studios in Waterloo, two of which became their first singles. "Everything Is Temporary" b/w "Silent Scream" was released in February 1980 on their own Clever Metal label with help from

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, and reached no. 44 on the

UK Independent Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. Features in fanzines including ''Allied Propaganda'', Mick Mercer's ''Panache'', ''ZigZag'' and ''No Class'' followed. They quickly gained a regular audience at venues like The Rock Garden in the West End and The Moonlight Club in West Hampstead. In early 1980, Archibald quit the band and was replaced by Alan Cole.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 404 More shows followed, and the band came to the attention of Malicious Damage, a label and management operation in West London that had already released music by

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 ...

and Red Beat. In June 1980, this new partnership produced the second single "Agent Orange" b/w "Driving". Largely inspired by the film '' Apocalypse Now'', Lowery's lyrics referenced the defoliant used in the Vietnam War and the song itself was built around a pulsing three-note bassline, guitar harmonics and a metronomic beat.Peacock, Tim (2014)
Versions Of A Life (Recordings 1979-81) , Ski Patrol
, ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', Issue 431, 2 August 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2021 Synthesizer atmospherics on the track were provided by Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman. The single was released later in 1980 and became their best known song. In early 1981, Peter Balmer had left to join

Fad Gadget Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing pop-structured ...

, and was replaced by bassist Francis Cook.Garner, Ken (1993) ''In Session Tonight'', BBC Books, , p. 294 The new line-up of the band recorded a session for the BBC's

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 ...

show in January 1981. Three tracks "Cut", "Extinguish" and "Where The Buffalo Roam" were broadcast on 19 January and repeated again later that year. A third single "Cut" b/w "Faith in Transition" was released on Malicious Damage in early Summer. The band's final recording session, in April 1981, with engineer Mark Lusardi yielded three new songs: "Version Of A Life", "Extinguish" and "Concrete Eternal", none of which were released at the time, as the band finally fell apart in August. Ian Lowery and Francis Cook went on to form F for Fake, with Lowery and Alan Cole later reuniting in

, while Nick Clift went to work for Rough Trade. A fourth single, "Bright Shiny Things", was released by Clever Metal in September 1982. Clift and Lowery re-united briefly in the second incarnation of Folk Devils in 1986, recording the EP ''The Best Protection'' for

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Ro ...

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 ...

label. A collection of the band's work, ''Versions Of A Life (Recordings 1979-1981)'', which includes the three tracks from the final recordings session was released in 2014.

Discography

Singles

*"Everything Is Temporary" (1980), Clever Metal – UK Independent no. 44 *"Agent Orange" (1980), Malicious Damage *"Cut" (1981), Malicious Damage *"Bright Shiny Things" (1981), Clever Metal

Compilation album

*''Versions Of A Life (Recordings 1979-1981)'' (2014), Dark Entries/Definitive Gaze

References

{{Reflist 1979 establishments in England 1981 disestablishments in England English post-punk music groups Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups from London