The Janitors were an
alternative rock/
noise rock band from
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
&
Newcastle, formed in 1984.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Janitors", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 379]
History
The Janitors were Andrew Denton (vocals), Craig Hope (lead guitarist, keyboards), Pete Crowe (bass guitar), and Tim Stirland (drums).
[Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 122] Denton, Hope and friend Phil Storey recorded demos in Leicester's Highfields which Yeah Yeah Noh's John Grayland brought to the attention of some indie labels. Described as "a mixture of
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 ...
meeting
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
", they signed to
Marc Riley's In-Tape label, releasing their debut single, "Chicken Stew" in July 1985 (on which Hope played all of the instruments).
It went on to reach the top 10 of the
UK Independent 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 ...
.
In anticipation of the single's release, Denton and Hope moved to Newcastle to recruit bassist Simon Warnes, however Crowe took his place bringing along fellow art student Tim Stirland as drummer (replacing the drum machine of the first single).
Second single "Good to be King" was also an indie hit, reaching number 14, and debut album ''Thunderhead'', produced by
Jon Langford of
The Mekons, peaked at number 6 on the indie albums chart.
The band recorded three sessions for
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 ...
's
BBC Radio 1 show, one each year between 1985 and 1987.
[The Janitors]
, ''Keeping It Peel'', BBC, retrieved 2010-10-09 Pete Crowe was ejected over a dispute with Denton and replaced by Jeff Murray. The band then moved to the Abstract label. In 1988 Phil Storey joined on rhythm guitar. After two further singles, their second album, ''Deafhead'', was released in June 1988.
The band released one more single and in late 1988, Dentover left the band. American Bobo Nando picked up the mike, contributing to one new song "Billy Psycho". The band dissolved in August 1989.
Stirland went on to perform with
My Bloody Valentine and
The Mekons. Hope (Hoppy) is currently guitar technician for Chris Martin of
Coldplay.
[McGinn, Matt (2010) ''Roadie: My Life on the Road with Coldplay'', Anova Books, ] Denton is now an history teacher. Jeff Murray formed G.R.O.W.T.H. with Kev of
Gaye Bykers on Acid
Gaye Bykers on Acid (GBOA) are an English psychedelic rock band from Leicester, and one of the founder members of the grebo music scene. They later released both thrash punk and dance music albums under various aliases.
Personnel
* Mary By ...
and Tommo of The Bomb Party, but they split after one album. Crowe moved to New Zealand. Nando (Paul Touche) sang briefly with Birthmark. Phil Storey died in July 2014.
Discography
Albums
*''Thunderhead'' mini-LP (1986), In-Tape - UK Indie No. 6
*''Deafhead'' (1988), Abstract
Singles, EPs
*"Chicken Stew" (1985), In-Tape - UK Indie No. 9
*"Good to be King" (1986), In-Tape - UK Indie No. 14
*"Family Fantastic" (1987), Abstract
*"Moonshine" (1988), Abstract
*"Halfway to Happening" (1988), Abstract
Compilation appearances
*''Imminent 4'' (1986),
Food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
: "Really Shrinking"
*''Six Disques Bleu'' (1987), Abstract: "No Where"
*''British Airwaves'' (1988), JCI: "Going To Be"
*''Good Morning Mister Presley'' (198?), Grunt Grunt A Go Go: "The Devil Goes To Whitley Bay"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janitors, The
English alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 1984