The Pale Fountains were an English band formed in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in 1980, and composed of Mick Head (vocalist/guitarist), Chris McCaffery (bassist), Thomas Whelan (drummer), trumpet player Andy Diagram (

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

) and Ken Moss (Guitar/Bass). Diagram was simultaneously a member of Dislocation Dance for most of the Pale Fountains' existence.

Career

Inspired by 1960s music such as

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

, Burt Bacharach and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, the group released their debut single "(There's Always) Something on My Mind" on

Les Disques du Crépuscule Les Disques du Crépuscule is an independent record label founded in Belgium. The label was founded in 1980 by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré. It also had a prominent associated sublabel, Factory Benelux. Both are now run by former employee Ja ...

before signing a major label deal in October 1982. Although the Pale Fountains failed to make much commercial headway, the band would earn critical praise for the two albums released on

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, ''Pacific Street'' (1984) and ''...From Across the Kitchen Table'' (1985), produced by

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

, who later found fame with

The Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based s ...

. Their sole

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Top 50 single was "Thank You", which reached No. 48 in 1982. The band split up in 1987, with Mick Head going on to form Shack with his brother John. Andy Diagram had already left in 1984 and would later join

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

. Bassist and founder member Chris "Biffa" McCaffery died in 1989 of a brain tumour. In November 2007, Head announced that he was reforming The Pale Fountains for two gigs. One at the Carling Academy in Liverpool on 2 February 2008, and another at the

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

in London on 3 February 2008. The group remains particularly popular in France and Japan. Two compilations have been issued: ''Longshot For Your Love'' (Marina, 1998) and ''Something On My Mind'' (Crépuscule, 2013), the latter with a bonus live CD recorded in 1982.

Members

* Mick Head – vocals, guitar (1981–1987) * Chris McCaffery – bass guitar (1981–1987; died 1989) * Thomas Whelan – drums (1981–1987) * Andy Diagram – trumpet (1982–1984) * John Head – guitar (1984–1987)

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Michael Head's Official Website
Shacknet – The Magical World of Shack & Pale FountainsFountains, The English new wave musical groups
English pop music groups Jangle pop groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1987