The March Violets are 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 ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band formed in 1981 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, much in the style of fellow Leeds band

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

. Seven March Violets singles reached the

UK Indie 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 ...

; the ''Natural History'' collection also was an indie hit (hitting No. 3 in 1984).

History

The March Violets formed in December 1981, meeting at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. The original band members were Tom Ashton (guitar), Laurence "Loz" Elliot (bass), Simon "Detroit" Denbigh (vocals) and

Rosie Garland Rosie Garland (born 1960) is a British novelist, poet and singer with post-punk band The March Violets. Life Born in London on 8 May 1960, as a baby she was adopted by her mother Mary Garland (née Metcalfe) and father William Garland, spendi ...

(vocals). Percussion was provided by a drum machine, nicknamed "Dr. Rhythm", a feature they had in common with many of the bands in the Leeds scene at the time. Fellow student

Andrew Eldritch Andrew Eldritch (born Andrew William Harvey Taylor, 15 May 1959) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the frontman and only remaining original member of the Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post-punk scene, ...

, lead singer of

, released the band's debut 7", the four-track "Religious as Hell" EP, on his

Merciful Release Merciful Release is a record label started by Andrew Eldritch, frontman with Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. As Eldritch stated in an early interview, he wanted to hear himself on the radio. He and Gary Marx (Mark Pairman) played and recorded o ...

label on 28 August 1982. A second single on Merciful Release, "Grooving in Green", followed on 27 November 1982. The band then established their own Rebirth record label, releasing the "Crow Baby" single on 30 April 1983. Cleo Murray joined as second female vocalist for the next single, "Snake Dance", issued in December 1983. The song was a club hit, and is considered a classic of the gothic rock genre. Garland left after "Snake Dance", and Murray took over as sole female singer for "Walk Into the Sun", issued 4 August 1984. That October, the band released their first compilation album, ''Natural History'', which collected the first four singles plus two tracks from a 1983

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...

Other projects

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

the Danse Society The Danse Society are an English gothic rock band, formed in Barnsley in 1980. They were originally active until 1987, reforming in 2011. They achieved moderate success during their career. Their lineup included Steve Rawlings (vocals), Paul ...

Clan of Xymox Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band from Nijmegen formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of darkwave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singers and songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Noot ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

He later composed indie film soundtracks. Ashton now produces various bands in the South East USA, including Vision Video and Tears for the Dying. Murray briefly fronted the band Lovecraft in the early 1990s, releasing two 1993 singles, "Hungry" and "Medicine". Denbigh formed the Batfish Boys and D-Rok. Garland became a poet and cabaret performer, performing under the name Rosie Lugosi. Later, she was the victim of a stalker, with the 2007 court case featured as a lead article in the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

''. Following several poetry collections, Garland's debut novel, ''The Palace of Curiosities'', was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

in 2013, earning several awards and a longlisting for the

Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...

Reformation and subsequent activity

On 8 October 2007, the March Violets played a one-off reunion gig in Leeds with original members Denbigh, Garland and Ashton, plus Mat Thorpe (Isolation Division) standing in on bass. Although the show was a success, plans for further shows were put on hold whilst Garland was ill with throat cancer in 2009. Once Garland was fully recovered, the March Violets restarted their live reformation with a secret warm-up show at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

in October 2010. On 13 November 2010, the March Violets played their first London show in 25 years, at

O2 Academy Islington The O2 Academy Islington, formerly known as the Carling Academy Islington, is an indoor music venue situated in the N1 Shopping Centre accessible via Upper Street and Liverpool Road, in the London Borough of Islington. It is run by the Academy ...

with new bassist Joanna Moy (previously of Screaming Banshee Aircrew). In November 2010, the band embarked on a project to make their first proper album using

Pledge Music PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

(as opposed to the previous compilation albums of their singles and EPs). Over 600 fans pledged support and they raised 196% of the money required. In addition to raising money for the recording of the album, the band provided funds to charities (

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

, Cloth Cat and

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, a ...

). During the recording of the album, they released several promotional items, including a digital-only promo release of "Tokyo Flow" and a remix of "Dandelion King", as well as a "gigeo" (a combination of a gig in Leeds where they shot the promo video with members of the audience) of "Dandelion King". In 2012, they did a small live tour that showcased some of the new tracks. The album ''Made Glorious'' was released in April 2013 as a digital download to all fans who had pledged support. The album primarily consisted of original tracks, with some material being remixes of tracks from the ''Trinity'' and ''Love Will Kill You'' EPs. Physical hard copies, T-shirts, an A4 booklet (featuring lyrics, artwork and photos) and posters were distributed to those who had pledged support in June 2013. Pledgers received a special 2-CD pack featuring 12 additional remixes including two tracks not included on the original album ("Liam Hits Seven" and "Black Heart"). To support the new album, the band performed gigs in October and November 2013, and a short tour in April 2014, including a headlining slot at the Convergence 20 festival in Chicago, the first US appearance of the reformed lineup. This was followed by a return tour of the West Coast in June 2014. In August 2015, the band confirmed that Moy had officially left the band. The following month, they announced an American tour with

William Faith William Faith (born August 28, 1967) is an American goth/punk musician. He is a former member of the gothic bands Rozz Williams' Christian Death, Shadow Project, Mephisto Walz and briefly as support for Sex Gang Children during a one-off ...

on bass, scheduled for October. In early October, the band announced that after completing the ''Mortality'' tour, they would record a new album of the same name. It was funded via PledgeMusic and achieved 167% funding, with 10% of the funding going to Macmillan Cancer Support. The initial version of the ''Mortality'' album was released for download by Denbigh on Christmas Day to those who had supported its development. This version consisted of 10 tracks; all except the title track were "re-forged" versions of older songs.

Mars Williams Mars Williams (born May 29, 1955) is an American jazz and rock saxophonist. Exposed to big band and dixieland jazz by his trumpet-playing father, Williams played classical clarinet for ten years, then migrated to saxophone in his last year of hig ...

of the

Psychedelic Furs Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science ...

provided additional saxophone on several tracks. The physical release of the album was planned to include additional remixes and extended versions but never made it to fruition. After releasing the first remix to pledgers in early 2016, Denbigh suffered a stroke and was hospitalised for a long period. On the 16th of July 2021, the band released a limited edition double vinyl album, ''Big Soul Kiss: The BBC Recordings'' via

Jungle Records Jungle Records is a British independent record label formed in 1982, specialising in punk rock, post punk, gothic and alternative releases. From 1982 to 1986 they were also active as a record distributor and were associate members of the Car ...

. This was a special for Record Store Day in the UK and also available as a standard release in other territories. It sold out within three weeks of release. A repressing was made in 2022, alongside a new compilation ''Play Loud Play Purple'' and a five-CD box set that included two CDs of unreleased material, ''The Palace of Infinite Darkness'' On October 7 2022, the band announced on a new website that they were having a reunion for tours and new recordings in 2023/24. The reunion lineup is

Tom Ashton Tom Ashton is a musician, producer and film composer. He is also an original founder member and guitarist of early 1980s British gothic rock/post-punk band The March Violets. Based in Leeds, England, the band released many tracks which went on ...

and

, all survivors from their previous live activity in 2015.https://marchvioletsband.com/

Discography

Studio albums

*''Made Glorious'' (2013, self-released) *''Mortality'' (2015, self-released)

Singles and EPs

*"Religious as Hell" 7" (1982, Merciful Release) *"Grooving in Green" 7" (1982, Merciful Release) *"Crow Baby" 7"/12" (1983, Rebirth) *"Snake Dance" 7"/12" (1984, Rebirth) *"Walk into the Sun" 7"/12" (1984, Rebirth) *"Deep" 7"/12" (1985, Rebirth) *"Turn to the Sky" 7"/12" (1986, Rebirth) *''Trinity EP'' CD EP (2007, self-released) *''Love Will Kill You'' CD EP (2011, self-released)

Compilation albums

*''Natural History'' (1984, Rebirth) *''Electric Shades'' (1985,

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

) *''The Botanic Verses'' (1993,

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, Dea ...

) *''Big Soul Kiss: The BBC Recordings'' (2021,

) *''Play Loud Play Purple'' (2022,

) *''The Palace of Infinite Darkness'' (2022,

)

References

External links

Official 2022 reunion website2013 website
{{DEFAULTSORT:March Violets, The English gothic rock groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Post-punk groups from Leeds