The Creepers were an
English rock music group, formed in
Manchester in 1982, originally as Marc Riley and the Creepers.
[Strong, Martin C.:"The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, ] After being dismissed from
The Fall by
Mark E. Smith,
Marc Riley formed his own record label (In-Tape) with Jim Khambatta,
[Larkin, Colin: "The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music", 1992, Guinness Publishing, p. 2238, ] and his own band.
The first single "Favourite Sister" (which featured his former bandmates
Steve Hanley,
Craig Scanlon and
Paul Hanley) was followed up with "Jumper Clown", which poked fun at his previous band's singer. A
Peel Session
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 ...
was the source of the next release in 1984, with a compilation of these early releases, ''Cull'', following the same year. First album proper, ''Gross Out'', appeared in June 1984. 1985 saw the release of the second album ''Fancy Meeting God'' as well as a swansong live album ''Warts 'n' All'' towards the end of the year.
Riley then recruited ex-
Membranes
A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...
Mark Tilton and
Phil Roberts
Phillip Stanley Roberts (born 24 February 1950) is a Welsh former professional footballer whose four-club career spanned three decades. Born in Cardiff, Roberts won six Wales Under 23 caps whilst with his first club Bristol Rovers (where he i ...
of
Shrubs, and carried on as simply "The Creepers".
With a more sophisticated sound, the first release under this name was a cover of
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
's "
Baby's on Fire", with the album ''Miserable Sinners'' following later the same year. After signing to
Red Rhino, a further single, "Brute" and album ''Rock 'n' Roll Liquorice Flavour'' appeared in 1987 and 1988 respectively. ''Sleeper: A Retrospective'' followed in 1989.
The band briefly became 'The Lost Soul Crusaders' before splitting up.
Discography
Chart placings shown are from the UK Independent Chart.
[Lazell, Barry:"Indie Hits 1980-1989", 1997, Cherry Red Books, ]
Albums
Marc Riley and the Creepers
* ''Cull'' (Apr 1984, In-Tape
P No. 9
* ''Gross Out'' (Jun 1984, In-Tape
P No. 11
* ''Fancy Meeting God'' (Mar 1985, In-Tape
P No. 23
* ''Live - Warts 'n' All'' (Nov 1985, In-Tape
P No. 5
The Creepers
* ''Miserable Sinners'' (Nov 1986, In-Tape
P/C No. 14
* ''Rock 'n' Roll Liquorice Flavour'' (Jan 1988, Red Rhino
P/C/CD
* ''Sleeper: A Retrospective'' (1989, Bleed Records
ouble LP
Singles
Marc Riley and the Creepers
* "Favourite Sister" (Jul 1983, In-Tape
"
* "Jumper Clown" (Oct 1983, In-Tape
"
* "Creeping at Maida Vale" (Feb 1984, In-Tape
"/12" No. 5
* "Pollystiffs" (May 1984, IT006, In-Tape
" No. 11
* "Shadow Figure" (Sep 1984, In-Tape
2" No. 5
* "4 A's from Maida Vale" (Oct 1985, In-Tape
x 7"/12" No. 7
The Creepers
* "
Baby's on Fire" (May 1986, In-Tape
"/12" No. 8
* "Brute" (Jun 1987, Red Rhino
"/12" No. 29
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creepers, The
English rock music groups
Musical groups from Manchester
English post-punk music groups