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UK Decay are an English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, based in
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
, England.
History
UK Decay was born out of the ashes of another Luton band called the Resiztors, who had formed in 1978.
The Resiztors' line-up consisted of guitarist
Steve "Abbo" Abbott, drummer Steven David Harle, bassist Martin "Segovia" Smith and vocalists Ricky Smith and Paul Wilson.
After the vocalists' departure in the spring of 1979, the remaining band members changed their name to UK Decay, with Abbott as singer (and guitarist). They soon released the ''Split Single'' 7" EP in partnership with fellow local band Pneumania, on their own Plastic Records label.
The EP featured two tracks from each band, with UK Decay contributing "UK Decay" and "Car Crash".
''Split Single'' sold extremely well, mainly thanks to a damning review in the ''
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 ...
'' by
Danny Baker and
Charles Shaar Murray.
At the same time, some UK Decay members produced their own monthly fanzine ''The Suss''
and ran their own punk record and clothes shop called Matrix. Guitarist Steve Spon was soon recruited from Pneumania, allowing Abbo to concentrate on frontman duties.
The next release for Plastic Records was UK Decay's ''The Black 45'' four-song EP, issued in early 1980.
It hovered in 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 ...
for 15 months. Alex Howe from
Fresh Records offered to license the first two singles, and signed UK Decay to the label. The first official release for Fresh was the single "For My Country", issued in September 1980.
"For My Country" received airplay from
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 ...
(for whom they would record two sessions) and spent eight months in the indie chart, reaching No. 13. The single was promoted by a major UK tour with
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
band
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...
. By 1981, two further singles had also been released, "Unexpected Guest" and "Sexual".
The former achieved the band's highest indie chart placing of No. 4, and paved the way for UK Decay's debut album, ''For Madmen Only'', released by Fresh in December 1981.
The album had taken a year to gestate, due to delays caused by a time-consuming US tour and a frustrating search for a new permanent bass player. When original bassist Smith left, Lorraine "Lol" Turvey from the Statics stood in for some UK dates and an early 1981 European tour. For the US jaunt and subsequent UK tours in spring 1981, Creetin K-OS (of US punks Social Unrest) stood in. Following that stint, K-OS returned home and Eddie "Twiggy" Branch from Northampton joined on bass, just in time to finish the album.
During this period, Abbo jokingly referred to the band's sound as "goth" in a ''
Sounds'' interview, helping to immortalize the beginning of the
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 ...
movement, although UK Decay considered themselves a punk band first and foremost.
In early 1982, Fresh Records collapsed, and UK Decay were caught up in the ensuing management buyout by what would become Jungle Records. With the help of John Loder and Southern Studios, they managed to buy up the rights to their back catalogue and set up their own label, UK Decay Records. Loder also introduced them to
Penny Rimbaud
Penny Lapsang Rimbaud (born Jeremy John Ratter, 1943) is a writer, poet, philosopher, painter, musician and activist. He was a member of the performance art groups EXIT and Ceres Confusion, and in 1972 was co-founder of the Stonehenge Free Fes ...
from
Crass
Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...
, which resulted in the ''Rising from the Dread'' 12" EP (featuring the 10-minute epic "Werewolf") being issued on Crass' Corpus Christi label in August 1982.
However, despite a strong showing in the independent charts and an ever-expanding fanbase, the five years of continuous touring took their toll and UK Decay split up in December 1982.
Posthumous cassette-only live album ''A Night for Celebration'' was released in mid 1983.
Abbo, Harle and Branch would regroup with new guitarist Albie de Luca (formerly of
Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel are a British rock band formed in the early 1980s by identical twin brothers Jay (born John) and Michael Aston. Gene Loves Jezebel's best-known songs include "Heartache", "Desire (Come and Get It)" (1986), "The Motion of L ...
) as
Furyo
Furyo were an English gothic rock band who formed in Luton in mid-1983 after UK Decay split. They split early in 1985.
History
UK Decay members Steve "Abbo" Abbot, Steve Harle and Eddie Branch stayed together after that band split. The three ...
in mid-1983, releasing two mini-albums through the following year and recording an unreleased album before splitting again in early 1985.
Spon went on to form In Excelsis with former members of
Ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
; the group released several singles and an album on Jungle Records. He later formed the trio the Big Eye, released two EPS and a CD during 1994–95 on the Hydrogen Dukebox label. He also released several solo singles and two techno albums (from 1997 through 2011) under the name "Nostramus".
Branch played bass in
Peter Murphy's band from 1986 to 1992, appearing on several albums.
Steve Harle, who like Abbo, later worked in tour management, died in May 1995 in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, India.
Reunion and reformation
Following a brief 1993 reunion (in which three of their older tracks were rerecorded), UK Decay resumed activity in the early 2000s, launching a website and reissuing ''A Night for Celebration'' in 2005 in an expanded deluxe edition titled ''Nights for Celebration''. 2007 saw the release of compilation ''Death, So Fatal'', containing a mix of demos, single tracks, Peel sessions and the 1993 remakes.
In 2008, UK Decay reformed for a UK reunion gig and to headline the
Drop Dead Festival
The Drop Dead Festival is the largest DIY festival for "art-damaged" music. It has as many as 65 bands per event, and has been known to attract attendees from over 30 countries. Drop Dead is an electro, post-punk, electropunk, and experimental mul ...
in Lisbon, Portugal, joined by new drummer Ray "Raymondo" Philpott. Footage from the concert appeared instantly on social media and reignited the band's dormant fanbase as well as the attention of listeners too young to have witnessed the band before. This renewed surge of interest led to further bookings, including a tour of Italy in April 2009, an August 2009 appearance at the Rebellion Festival in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, and other headlining festival appearances across Europe.
''For Madmen Only'' was reissued on both CD and digital media in 2009, with the ''Rising from the Dread'' EP and several single-only tracks appended. Beginning with their November 2012 headlining appearance at the
Drop Dead Festival
The Drop Dead Festival is the largest DIY festival for "art-damaged" music. It has as many as 65 bands per event, and has been known to attract attendees from over 30 countries. Drop Dead is an electro, post-punk, electropunk, and experimental mul ...
in Berlin, the band were augmented by second guitarist Jon "Guitar" Rickards (like Philpott, a former member of the Hangman's Beautiful Daughters).
The current quartet released the single "Killer"/"Heavy Metal Jews" in February 2013 on the Rainbow City Records label, earning strong reviews. A London concert coinciding with the single affirmed the band's popular resurgence, with journalist Dave Jennings declaring, "Their reunion has proved they are more capable of creating a sound that is current and essential than many of the new young bands that hog the spotlight but actually say very little".
UK Decay's second studio album, ''
New Hope for the Dead
''New Hope for the Dead'' is the second studio album by English rock band UK Decay. It was released 22 April 2013 by record label Rainbow City.
The album was funded via the website PledgeMusic and recorded in Dover with producer Chris Tsangaride ...
'', was produced by
Chris Tsangarides and released on 22 May 2013, followed by the ''Wonderful Town'' EP in April 2014.
Jon “Guitar” Rickards then departed the band, replaced that summer by Justin Saban, who left in 2020.
In popular culture
In early episodes of the
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Only Fools and Horses'', the character
Rodney Trotter (played by
Nicholas Lyndhurst
Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and became best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' (1981–2003). He also had major roles in other ...
) is occasionally seen wearing a UK Decay T-shirt.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
For Madmen Only'' (Fresh Records, October 1981) (reissue UK Decay Records, 2009)
* ''
New Hope for the Dead
''New Hope for the Dead'' is the second studio album by English rock band UK Decay. It was released 22 April 2013 by record label Rainbow City.
The album was funded via the website PledgeMusic and recorded in Dover with producer Chris Tsangaride ...
'' (Rainbow City Records, May 2013)
Live albums
* ''A Night for Celebration'' cassette (UK Decay Records, 1983)
Compilation albums
* ''Death, So Fatal'' CD (Yak Records, 2007)
Singles and EPs
* ''Split Single'' 7" EP (Plastic Records, 1979; split single with Pneumania)
* ''The Black 45'' 7" EP (Plastic Records, January 1980)
* "For My Country" 7" single (Fresh Records, August 1980)
* "Unexpected Guest" 7" single (Fresh Records, February 1981)
* "Sexual" 7" single (Fresh Records, October 1981)
* ''Rising from the Dread'' 12" EP (Corpus Christi Records, August 1982)
* "Killer" 7" single (Rainbow City Records, February 2013)
* ''Wonderful Town'' 7" EP (UK Decay Records, April 2014)
References
External links
Official website*
UK Decay at Discogs
{{Authority control
English gothic rock groups
English post-punk music groups
Musical groups established in 1979
Fresh Records (UK) artists