Doctor and the Medics is a British

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band formed in London in 1981. The group was most successful during the 1980s and is best known for their cover of

Norman Greenbaum Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is primarily known for his 1969 song "Spirit in the Sky". Early life Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish househol ...

's "

Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...

" which reached No. 1 in the

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 ...

. The band currently performs with a newer and established line-up. As well as previously being classed a

tribute act A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...

to various artists, they include many of their original songs in their live set. The group's musical style includes

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop suc ...

, new wave and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

Career

The Doctor and the Medics lead singer – Clive Jackson, born 7 July 1961 in

Knotty Ash Knotty Ash is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Historically in Lancashire, the population at the 2001 Census was 13,200, increasing to 13,312 at the 2011 Census. Knotty Ash is well known as the home o ...

, Liverpool– a former London-based DJ, formed the group in 1981 with guitarist Steve McGuire, drummer Vom, also known as Steve Ritchie, bassist

Richard Searle Richard Searle (born 10 July 1963 in London) is a 1960s-influenced bass guitarist, who was a member of Doctor and the Medics in 1986, when they were reaching number one in the pop charts. Career Doctor and the Medics After Doctor and the M ...

and female dancers and singers The Anadin Brothers. The group adopted a look inspired by both 1960s

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

and

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

make-up similar to that of

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

. Their first single was "The Druids Are Here" which was released on Whaam Records in 1982. They released no further records until 1985, but a four-track EP recorded live at Alice in Wonderland, a

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gen ...

where The Doctor was house DJ, was available direct from the band. The band's female backing singers, known as The Anadin Brothers, were originally three in number, but reduced to two members - Wendi West and Colette Appleby. Dr and The Medics

In 1985, they signed to

IRS Records I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wav ...

and released "Happy but Twisted", a five track 12" EP including a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of Hawkwind's "

Silver Machine "Silver Machine" is a 1972 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single on 9 June 1972, reaching number three on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, again in 1978 reaching number 34 on the UK s ...

". This reached number 2 on the indie charts. It was followed by "The Miracle of the Age", produced by

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing i ...

. Around this time the band performed a concert in a television studio in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

, London was recorded for television broadcast, although it was not shown at the time. At this concert the line-up was augmented by

Roman Jugg Roman Jugg (born 25 July 1957 in Caerphilly, South Wales) is a keyboard player and guitarist. He began his career in the Welsh punk band Victimize in the late 1970s. An acquaintance of Paul Gray, Jugg was originally hired in late 1981, recordi ...

of The Damned on keyboards and second guitar. In 1986 the band had an international

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with their next single, a cover of

's "

". The single reached

number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

in the UK. Their subsequent singles were less successful; "Burn" and " Waterloo" (the latter of which was a cover of the

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

hit, with

Roy Wood Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a ...

on saxophone, backing vocals and in the

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

). "Burn" reached number 29 in the

and "Waterloo" reached number 45. The band released their final studio album ''Instant Heaven'', in 1996 on their own 'Madman' record label. In the early 2000s, the band's current line-up appeared on retro-themed British TV shows such as

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

's '' Hit Me Baby One More Time'', and a ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' Christmas special celebrating 50 years of the UK Singles Chart. In June 2006, the band appeared, with a new line-up, on Channel 4's ''Bring Back One Hit Wonders''. Around this time they released an EP called ''Timewarped''. They continue to perform live.

Personnel

1981 line-up * The Doctor (Clive Jackson) (vocals) * Steve McGuire (guitar) *

(bass) * Andrew McLachlan (drums) 1986 line-up * The Doctor (vocals) * Steve McGuire (guitar) * Richard Searle (bass) * Steve "Vom" Ritchie (drums) * Wendi Anadin (vocals) * Colette Anadin (vocals) Richard Searle left in 1990 shortly after Vom Ritchie departed. Gareth Thomas replaced Searle in 1990. Searle went on to form the acid jazz band

Corduroy Corduroy is a textile with a distinctively raised "cord" or wale texture. Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel (bare to the base fabric) between them. Both velvet and corduroy derive from fu ...

, with former members of

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

act Boys Wonder. Since leaving the Medics, drummer Ritchie has played with Last of the Teenage Idols, Stiv Bators, B-Bang Cider, The Boys, Wet Dog and now plays with Die Toten Hosen. 2003 reunion line-up * The Doctor (vocals) * Adrian Hill (drums) * Carl Axon (The Big Bopper) (lead guitar, backing vocals) * James Hartley (guitar) * Jon Randle (bass) * Melissa Weekes (backing vocals) * Colette Anadin (backing vocals) * Paul Nevin (performance artist) Carl Axon left to pursue business interests. Current line-up * The Doctor (vocals) * Adrian Hill (drums) * Dan Angelow (guitar) * Jon Randle (bass) * Melissa Weekes (vocals) * Matthew Angelow (guitar/performance artist) * Maria Verhelst-Hopkins (vocals/performance artist)

Discography

Albums

Singles

EPs

* ''Happy But Twisted EP'' (1985), Illegal - UK Indie No. 2 ** (Happy Side: "Happy But Twisted"/"Round and Round"/"Auntie Evil's Dormitory") ** (Twisted Side: "Mole Catcher" / "Silver Machine") * ''Two Pieces of Cloth Carefully Stitched Together'' (1987), Illegal - UK Indie No. 34 ** (Before Side: "Sound of Chains" / "Perfect World") ** (After Side: "Silver King" / "Age of Gold") * ''Timewarped'' (2006) – 6-track covers EP

Music videos

* "Spirit in the Sky" (1986) * "Burn" (1986) * "Waterloo" (1986) * "More" (1987) * "Burning Love" (1987)

Other appearances

* ''

Phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or sem ...

'' (album) - The Damned (1985), MCA Records ** (features the song " Grimly Fiendish", co-written with The Doctor) * ''Live at the Alice & Wonderland: A Pretty Smart Way to Catch a Lobster'' (1986), Flicknife Records (re-issued by Madman for CD) ** (features the band as 'Gwyllym & the Raspberry Flavoured Cat' performing "

These Boots Are Made for Walking "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

" (Live) and "Gloria" (Live) and some DJ links by The Doctor) * " Let It Be" / "Let It Be (The Gospel Jam Mix)" -

Ferry Aid Ferry Aid was a British-American charity supergroup, brought together to record the song " Let It Be" in 1987. The single was released following the Zeebrugge Disaster; on 6 March 1987 the ferry had capsized, killing 193 passengers and crew. ...

(1987), The Sun ** (12" version: "Let It Be" / "Let It Be (Mega Message Mix)", contains a message from The Doctor and the Anadin Brothers)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor and the Medics English psychedelic rock music groups English glam rock groups English new wave musical groups I.R.S. Records artists Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from London