The Rose of Avalanche is an English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from

Leeds, West Yorkshire 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 populatio ...

, formed in 1984. They have released ten albums.

History

The band was formed by Phil Morris, Paul James Berry and Alan Davis. The name came from the "rose" for the beauty and the "avalanche" for the power, as a way of describing their music. Before they had played a gig they signed to local independent label LiL, and released two singles: "LA Rain" and "Goddess". Both made the Top 20 of the UK Independent Chart, with "LA Rain" also featuring in

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 ...

Festive Fifty The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's 50 (though the exact figure varied above and below this number) best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. It was usually do ...

in 1985. After this initial success,

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the las ...

signed the band and the personnel changed. The lineup became Phil Morris, Paul James Berry, Glenn Schultz, Nicol McKay, and Mark Thompson. Mass market exposure came with the support slot on The Mission's 1986–87 World Crusade Tour. This lineup released a further five singles and the first official studio album – ''Never Another Sunset'' in 1989. Shultz and McKay left the band in 1989, and new bass player Darren Horner was recruited to replace McKay. This lineup released one EP "A Peace Inside". Further personnel changes occurred in 1990 with Thompson leaving to be replaced by Andy Porter. The final lineup then delivered one EP and two albums, ''String A Beads'' in 1990, and ''ICE'' in 1991. Before permanently breaking up, the band played live once more in 1993. The lineup consisted of Morris, Horner, and Schultz, and a drum machine. In 2019, they announced that the band would reform.

Discography

Albums

*''Rose of Avalanche'' (1985), Contempo *''First Avalanche'' (1986), Leeds Independent Label - UK Indie No. 3Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 192 *''Always There'' (1987),

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

*''In Rock'' (1988), Fire - UK Indie No. 10 *''Anthology'' (1988),

*''Live at Town and Country'' (1988), Contempo *''Never Another Sunset'' (1989), Avalantic - UK Indie No. 10 *''String 'a' Beads'' (1990), Avalantic *''I.C.E.'' (1991), Avalantic *''LA Rain - The Singles Album'' (1997), Nectar Records

Singles, EPs

*"L.A. Rain" (1985), Leeds Independent Label - UK Indie No. 10 *"Goddess" (1985), Leeds Independent Label - UK Indie No. 16 *"Too Many Castles In the Sky" (1986), Fire - UK Indie No. 8 *"Velveteen" (1986), Fire - UK Indie No. 9 *"Always There" (1987), Fire - UK Indie No. 3 *''Too Many Castles in the Sky/Velveteen'' double 7-inch EP Re-issue(1987), Fire *"The World Is Ours" (1988), Avalantic - UK Indie No. 8 *"Never Another Sunset" (1989), Avalantic - UK Indie No. 19 *''A Peace Inside'' EP (1989), Avalantic *''I Believe'' (1990), Rebel Rec

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose of Avalanche English alternative rock groups