Easterhouse was a British indie rock group from the mid to late 1980s, known for jangly guitars and leftist political leaning.[1]

History

Named after the Easterhouse area of Glasgow, the band was formed in Stretford, near Manchester by Ivor Perry and Andy Perry, intrigued by communism and inspired by Bob Marley's direct delivery of political content, was invited to join the band in order to improve its lyrical content. Perry's political stance reflected the perspectives of the then active Revolutionary Communist Party, with particular regard to Irish politics.[2] Easterhouse played one of their first gigs on 30 August 1983 at Dingwalls in London as the support band for The Smiths after Ivor Perry convinced Morrissey to let them have the opening spot.[2] Their Rough Trade singles "Whistling in the Dark" and "Inspiration" were both Top 5 independent chart hits. Their energetic first album, Contenders, featuring their signature song, "1969", has been compared to The Chameleons, New Model Army, and The Smiths.[3][4] In July 1986, Easterhouse participated in the Festival of the Tenth Summer.[5]

After Contenders, Ivor left the band; by the time second album Waiting for the Redbird was released in 1989, Andy Perry was the sole remaining member of the original line-up. It produced a minor hit, "Come Out Fighting", which had significant airplay in the US, and spawned a Justin Strauss remix version of the same song.

In 2005 the band reunited for a one-off gig, featuring Andy Rourke (ex-bassist, The Smiths)

Post-band activities

Ivor Perry formed The Cradle with Rostock and Craig Gannon a musical contributor to The Smiths.[2][6][7] The band had a number 12 indie chart hit with "It's Too High" in 1987, but the band was put on hold when Johnny Marr left The Smiths. Perry was considered to replace Marr,[8][9] [10] and recorded some new material with the band, including an early version of "Bengali in Platforms" that was originally intended as the B-side of which is "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before", and later appeared on Morrissey's first album, Viva Hate.[11][12] Perry was uncomfortable with the situation, stating "it was like they wanted another Johnny Marr", and the sessions ended with (according to Perry) "Morrissey running out of the studio".[12] Perry instead resurrected Cradle with new singer Craig Davies, but when Davies signed a solo deal with Rough Trade Records, the rest of the band were dropped by the label.[12] The band continued with another singer.[12]

Ivor Perry subsequently recorded further records including the Third Wave with Arabian Sugar on the Freak Beats Compilation & Parchman which signed to XL / Citybeat and appeared on SNUB TV in 1991 and whose albums were re-released digitally by Beggars Banquet in 2013.[13] Now Ivor Perry has a new band playing modern instrumental rock under the name bigflower :https://bigflower.bandcamp.com/

Gary Rostock played drums on Buzzcocks' Steve Diggle's 2000 album Some Reality.[14] He relocated to the Czech Republic and releases electronic ambient and electronica online.[http://www.garyrostock.bandcamp.com on self release and through Xion Music of Prague. He has been played several times on Stuart Maconie's BBC Radio 6 Freakzone and is often heard on R1 Prague. Most recently his ambient album `Dreams of an English Coastline` was released on Xion (2020). He also works with the Czech poet Radek Glabazna on poetry/ambient soundscapes plus dark synth vocal led electronica such as the EP `Come Be With Me` (2020), featuring his daughter, Karolina Minnie Rostock, on vocals on the track I'd Die For You`.

Personnel

Original line-up

Other members

  • Dave Verner - drums
  • Steve Lovell - guitar
  • Lance Sabin - guitar
  • Neil Taylor - guitar

Third incarnation

  • Sean Keaney - drums
  • Richard Duddle - guitar
  • Mike Murray - guitar
  • Drew Smith - bass guitar

Discography

Singles

  • In Our Own Hands EP (1985) London – UK Ind. #13[15]
  • "Whistling in the Dark" (1986) Rough Trade/Columbia – UK Ind. #2[15]
  • "Inspiration" (1986) Rough Trade – UK Ind. #5[15]
  • "Come Out Fighting" (1989) Rough Trade/Columbia – UK Ind. #18,[15] AUS #66,[16] US #82 Hot 100,[17] #5 Modern Rock
  • "You're Gonna Miss It (When It's Gone)" (1989) Rough Trade

Albums

  • Contenders (1986) Rough Trade – UK #91,[18] UK Ind. #3[15]
  • Waiting for the Redbird (1989) Rough Trade/Columbia – UK Ind. #18[15]

References

  1. ↑ Mike Semyan. "Underground Resistance: McCarthy, Easterhouse and The Enemy Within". iCrates. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Tomorrow/Yesterday Archived 12 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Easterhouse : Contenders - Listen, Review and Buy at ARTISTdirect Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Easterhouse - Contenders Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Fac 151 The Festival of the Tenth Summer > The Ten Events Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Indie Hits "C" Archived 8 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Easterhouse MP3 Downloads - Easterhouse Music Downloads - Easterhouse Music Videos - Easterhouse Pictures - MP3.com
  8. ↑ Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority Archived 28 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Interview - Johnny Rogan, Mojo, August 1997 Archived 15 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Interview Archive - Nothing To Declare But Their Genius Archived 25 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Morrissey-solo | "The Smiths - Songs That Saved Your Life" by Simon Goddard out now; BBC6 interview on Dec. 5 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  12. 1 2 3 4 Henderson, Dave (1988) "I Was Nearly a Suedehead! Ivor Perry and Cradle Tales", Underground, April 1988 - Issue 13, p. 5
  13. ↑ "Parchman on Apple Music". iTunes. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Show Me How To Play - Some Reality by Steve Diggle
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 978-0-9517206-9-1.
  16. ↑ Scott, Gavin. "This Week In 1989: August 20, 1989". chartbeats.com.au. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Easterhouse Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Official Charts > Easterhouse". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
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