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The Fire Engines were a
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, 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 s ...
band from
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 ...
, Scotland. The Fire Engines were an influence on many bands that followed, including Franz Ferdinand and The Rapture, with
Meat Whiplash Meat Whiplash was an alternative rock band from East Kilbride, Scotland, that were amongst the first to be signed to Creation Records. The line-up was Paul McDermott (vox), Stephen McLean (guitar), Edward Connelly (bass guitar) and Michael Kerr ( ...
and
The Candyskins The Candyskins were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Oxford, England. Though early members of the 'Oxford Scene', they enjoyed limited commercial success compared to their contemporaries Radiohead and Supergrass. They were considered by ...
both taking their names from Fire Engines songs.Kellman, Andy
''Codex Teenage Premonition'' Review
,
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, retrieved 22 June 2012 In August 2017 the band reformed to play a benefit for Leith Theatre along with
Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...
and
Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...
.


History

The Fire Engines comprise David (Davy) Henderson (vocals/guitar), Murray Slade (guitar), Graham Main (bass), and Russell Burn (drums), the band name inspired by a
13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, ...
song.Ankeny, Jason
Fire Engines Biography
,
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, retrieved 22 June 2012Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 332-3 Henderson, Main, and Burn had previously been members of The Dirty Reds, along with Russell Burn's brother
Tam Dean Burn Tam Dean Burn (born 1958 in Leith, Scotland) is a Scottish actor who has played a wide range of roles on stage and screen. On television this includes multiple roles on long-running detective series ''Taggart'', youth sci-fi thriller '' Life For ...
,Buckley, Peter (2003) "The Fire Engines", in ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, , p. 373-4 while Slade had played in Station Six. The Fire Engines' debut release was the "Get Up And Use Me"/"Everything's Roses" single, released on manager Angus Groovy's Codex Communications label in 1980; The band had recorded their entire set twice in a Fife bungalow with producer Wilf Smarties, at a cost of £46, with these two tracks selected for release.Reekie, Innes (2012)
Post Punk heroes the Fire Engines
, Louder Than War, 6 January 2012, retrieved 22 June 2012 "Get Up and Use Me" was given 'Single of the Week' in both ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' and ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
''. The band's live shows rarely lasted longer than twenty minutes – Henderson said of the early live shows: "We played to our strengths which were minimal, but somehow, as a band, it worked. We never played chords and Russell didn’t use cymbals or hi-hats. It was very violent although no-one got hurt. Pure aggression, attitude and hate was what it was." The band were offered a deal by
Postcard Records Postcard Records is a British, Glasgow-based, independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for releases by Orange Juice and Josef K. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown mot ...
, but opted for Bob Last's
Fast Product Fast Product was an independent record label, established in Edinburgh by Bob Last, his partner, Hilary Morrison and Tim Pearce in December 1977. Its first release was also the first single by the Mekons, released on 20 January 1978. The labe ...
label.McLaughlin, Milo (2006)
Fire Engines
, '' The Skinny'', 16 April 2006, retrieved 22 June 2012 Further singles followed and a largely instrumental album, ''Lubricate Your Living Room'' (subtitled 'Background Music for Action People!'), in 1981, released on Fast subsidiary Pop:Aural. The band recorded two sessions for John Peel's
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show, the first in February 1981 featuring a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and ...
's "
(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" is a song by British synth-pop band Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn ...
", and a second in November that year.Fire Engines
, ''Keeping It Peel'',
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, retrieved 22 June 2012 Their most successful single was "Candy Skin", released in 1981, but after the follow-up, "Big Gold Dream" failed to repeat its success, the band split up on 31 December 1981. Henderson formed the short-lived Heartbeat with Bob Last's partner Hillary Morrison, the band's only release a track on an ''NME'' compilation cassette. Burn formed Everest the Hard Way with bassist Ian Stoddart and guitarist Stephen Lironi (who later joined
Altered Images Altered Images are a Scottish new wave/post-punk band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer Clare Grogan, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums from 1981 to 1 ...
), the band releasing a single in April 1982, before Burn rejoined The Dirty Reds. Henderson and Burn went on to form Win with Stoddart in the mid 1980s, the band continuing until 1989. Henderson and Burn then worked together on Burn's Pie Finger project, releasing an album on
Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...
in 1992. Henderson then formed The Nectarine No. 9, which continued from the early 1990s until 2004.


Reformation

In 2004, the Fire Engines reformed to support
The Magic Band The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The rotating lineup featured dozens of performers, many of whom became known by nicknames given to them by Beefhe ...
at The Liquid Room in Edinburgh,Legendary Beefheart band cast their spell
, ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...
'', 26 January 2004, retrieved 22 June 2012 and released a limited edition collaboration single with
Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...
; The seven-inch single contained a Franz Ferdinand cover of the Fire Engines song "Get Up and Use Me" with Fire Engines covering Franz Ferdinand's "Jacqueline". The band continued to play occasional concerts until 2006. On 2 October 2007, the Acute label issued ''Hungry Beat'', a collection of the band's original studio recordings, making them available for the first time on CD in the US. Henderson is now leading The Sexual Objects, featuring Ian Holford (drums), Simon Smeeton (guitar) and Douglas McIntyre (bass).Lister, Paul (2009)
New Band of the Day: The Sexual Objects (No 669)
,
guardian.co.uk TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...
, 13 November 2009, retrieved 22 June 2012 Graham Wann later joined as guitarist.The Sexual Objects – Live Session
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, retrieved 22 June 2012 The band released a single on the Creeping Bent label in 2007, two singles through a German label in 2008 and one more in 2009. Their debut album, ''Cucumber'', was released in 2010, partially produced by Boards of Canada (who produced the third single).Rogers, Jon (2012)
Fire Engines : Interview with Davy Henderson
, pennyblackmusic.co.uk, 13 March 2012, retrieved 22 June 2012 It was released on vinyl in 2011.


Discography


Albums

'' Lubricate Your Living Room'' (1981) - UK Indie #4


Compilations

*''Aufgeladen und Bereit fur Action und Spass'' (1981) *''Fond'' (1992) *''Codex Teenage Premonition'' (2005) *''Hungry Beat'' (2007)


Singles

*"Get Up and Use Me" / "Everythings Roses" (1980), Codex Communications - UK Indie #9 *"Candyskin" / "Meat Whiplash" (1981), Pop:Aural - UK Indie #7 *"Big Gold Dream" / "New Thing in Cartons" / "Sympathetic Anaesthetic" (1981), Pop:Aural - UK Indie #15 *"Discord" (2006), Domino ¹ ¹ from John Peel session tracks "Discord" and "Candyskin"


Legacy and influence

The history of The Fire Engines from 1979 to 1981 is covered in 2015 documentary film '' Big Gold Dream'', which takes its name from the band's final release on the Pop:Aural label.


References


External links


The Fire Engines at Acute Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Engines Scottish post-punk music groups Scottish indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups from Edinburgh