The Wendys are a Scottish

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band, that were part of the

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music scene, and were signed to the

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Duru ...

music label by

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...

. They were formed in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

by Jonathan Renton (vocals), Ian White (guitar), Johnny MacArthur (drums), and Arthur Renton (bass).

History

Formed in 1987, the Wendys were the second Scottish band to be signed to Factory Records, after the Wake. Their name came about after a nights drinking the evening before they were due to sign for Factory. They decided upon The Marys, but when the time came to sign for Factory, none of them could remember what they had decided upon. Believing they had chosen the Wendys, that's the name they registered. After the group opened for the

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Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...

's father suggested that they send in a demo tape. After they were signed to the label, Phil Saxe acted as their manager. Having felt at odds with the contemporary Scottish music scene, the Wendys found a common spirit among the Factory Records roster, saying they shared similar influences as their labelmates but still wanted to be known as their own distinct band. Although they enjoyed critical acclaim with the release of their debut album ''Gobbledygook'' in 1991 (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 ...

), they did not achieve the widespread popularity of labelmates such as New Order or the

. The timing of their album's release directly preceded the demise of the label, also hurting their chances at success. Following a long hiatus, the group released their second album ''Sixfootwingspan'' (originally intended to be called Sixfootwingspan Yoga Birds) in 1999. On 4 February 2012, the band reformed for a one-off gig at the Berkeley Suite, Glasgow to promote the re-release of their Factory album ''Gobbledygook'' and other singles. In 2017, they signed up to play the Shiiine ON Weekender festival in Minehead, UK on Friday 10 November 2017 – Monday 13 November 2017. Rehearsals started in April 2017. This was their first show outside Scotland in 23 years. On 11 May 2017, via their Twitter feed, they announced that they would be playing a rare live show in Glasgow on 30 September 2017 at Audio on Midland Street.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

*
The Wendys
on Myspace
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wendys, The Scottish rock music groups Madchester groups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups from Edinburgh Factory Records artists East West Records artists