The Swimming Pool Q's are an American new wave/

jangle pop Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock or college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The term originated from Bob Dylan's song " Mr. Tambourine Man", whose 1965 rendition by the Byrds became considered one of the g ...

band formed in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

in 1978. They released five albums: ''The Deep End'', ''The Swimming Pool Q's'', ''Blue Tomorrow'', ''World War Two Point Five'', and ''Royal Academy of Reality''.

History

The band was formed in 1978 by Jeff Calder (vocals, guitar,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

) and Bob Elsey (guitar), who recruited Billy Jones (bass guitar), and Robert Schmid (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 531DeCurtis, Anthony (1992) ''Present Tense: Rock & Roll and Culture'', Duke University Press, , pp. 275 et seq Vocalist/keyboard player Anne Richmond Boston joined prior to the first single, "Rat Bait", released in 1979 on their own Clorinated label.Deming, Mark
Swimming Pool Q's 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 dat ...

. Retrieved March 22, 2013 The single brought them critical praise and they secured support slots with

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...

and

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...

. Jones left, and was replaced by Peter Jarkunas. They signed to Danny Beard's

DB Records DB Records (stylized as DB RECS) was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, th ...

and released debut album ''The Deep End'' in June 1981, which went on to sell around 20,000 copies. A single for DB, "Little Misfit", was released in 1982. After two years without a further release, and with Jarkunas and Schmid replaced by J.E. Garnett and Billy Burton, the band returned in 1984 with the single "The Bells Ring" and album ''The Swimming Pool Q's'', now signed to

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. They toured with

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

as support act on his ''New Sensations'' tour. A second album for A&M, ''Blue Tomorrow'' (1986), failed to meet the label's expectations and the band was dropped. The Q's then signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, and released the album ''World War Two Point Five'' in 1989, Boston having left by this point, although she designed the album sleeve. The band split up in 1992. Anne Richmond Boston released the album ''The Big House of Time'' in 1990, with her then-husband Rob Gal (of The Coolies).Fricke, David; Robbins, Ira; Schinder, Scott
Swimming Pool Q's/Anne Richmond Boston/Supreme Court
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

''. Retrieved March 22, 2013 Calder and Elsey continued to play and write together, and Calder also played in the band Supreme Court, including on the 1993 album ''Goes Electric''. The band reformed in 1998. That year, Calder contributed to the children's musical audiobook ''Not Dogs...Too Simple (A Tale of Two Kitties)''.McCormick, Moira (1998)
Indie Rock Vets Turn Out En Masse For 'Not Dogs' Audio
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', June 20, 1998, p. 76. Retrieved March 22, 2013 An expanded version of ''The Deep End'' was released in 2001 with thirteen bonus tracks.Deming, Mark
''The Deep End'' Review
,

. Retrieved March 22, 2013Morris, Chris (2001)
Declarations of Independents
, ''

'', July 28, 2001, p. 80. Retrieved March 22, 2013 A new album, ''Royal Academy of Reality'', was released in 2003.Deming, Mark
''Royal Academy of Reality'' Review
,

. Retrieved March 22, 2013 A

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

project was set up to fund the reissue of the band's two A&M albums, which reached its $15,000 target in September 2012.Eldredge, Richard L. (2012)
Swimming Pool Q's score record finish with successful Kickstarter campaign
, ''Atlanta'', September 19, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2013 In June 2013, their two A&M albums were re-released on compact disc in a two-disc edition and three-disc, one DVD deluxe edition under the

Bar None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his n ...

label.

Musical style

While often categorized as " new wave" or "

", the band was described as "folk pop gone country" in 1984.''The Swimming Pool Q's''
, ''

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

'', December 1984, p. 287. Retrieved March 22, 2013 An early inspiration was the

Hampton Grease Band The Hampton Grease Band was an American rock band, beginning as a blues rock group in the late 1960s in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. They performed with several major bands in this period, including Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. The ...

, and the band were described in 1981 as "

Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

-influenced".Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary'', Backbeat Books, , p. 466 A 1986 review of ''Blue Tomorrow'' described the band's sound as "a masterful synthesis of styles".Zebora, Jim (1986)
Quintet Cruises Through Styles
, ''

Record-Journal The ''Record-Journal'' is an American daily newspaper based in Meriden, Connecticut, that dates back to the years immediately following the American Civil War. It is owned by the Record-Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business entit ...

'', June 29, 1986, p. E2. Retrieved March 22, 2013

Discography

Albums

*''The Deep End'' (1981), DB *''The Swimming Pool Q's'' (1984), A&M *''Blue Tomorrow'' (1986), A&M *''World War Two Point Five'' (1989),

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

*''Royal Academy of Reality'' (2003), Bar/None

Singles, EPs

*"Rat Bait" (1979), Clorinated *"Little Misfit" (1982), DB *"The Bells Ring" (1984), A&M *"Pretty on the Inside" (1986), A&M *"Now I'm Talking About Now" (1986), A&M *''The Firing Squad for God'' EP (1987), DB *"The Common Years" (1989), Capitol - promo only

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming Pool Q's American new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1978 Jangle pop groups Musical groups from Atlanta Alternative rock groups from Georgia (U.S. state)