|
A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP ''Loudhailer Songs'' and début album ''I am John's Pancreas'' brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel, for whom they recorded four sessions. Their career was brought to a halt with the death of guitarist Rick Aitken in 1989. Founder member and songwriter Vince Hunt revived the band with a new line-up for a series of UK-wide dates in 2014 marking the 25th anniversary of Aitken's death,〔()〕 and the band continues to play live.〔(Band website )〕 ==Career== A Witness were formed in 1982 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, by Rick Aitken (guitar), Vince Hunt (bass) and a drum machine, in 1986 replaced by Alan Brown (of Big Flame fame). Keith Curtis (vocals) and Noel Kilbride (guitar) joined the group in 1983.〔(Biography )〕 Initially signing to the Ron Johnson label, debut EP ''Loudhailer Songs'' put them at the forefront of a wave of Beefheart-influenced bands that emerged in the mid-1980s, and won praise from the ''NME''.〔 A review of the EP in ''Sounds'' described it as "pop music perfectly perverted".〔Mr. Spencer (1985) "Singles", ''Sounds'', 14 December 1985, p. 22〕 They gained further attention due to the inclusion of the track "Sharpened Sticks" on the NME's C86 cassette in the following year. Debut album ''I Am John's Pancreas'' followed in October 1986, entering the NME charts and reaching a position of number 18. After a tour of Germany and Holland with Ron Johnson labelmates Big Flame, A Witness recruited multi-instrumentalist Alan Brown on drums to replace the drum machine. He also contributed arrangement and songwriting ideas, including co-writing final single '(I Love You) Mr Disposable Razors'. With Brown on drums A Witness released a further two 12" singles on Ron Johnson (one each in 1987 and 1988) before its collapse. Communion issued the US-only ''Sacred Cow Heart'' compilation in 1988. When Brown moved on to launch his solo project The Great Leap Forward, he was replaced on the drum stool by Triss King, a gifted drummer who had worked with quirky Hebden Bridge-based outfit Bogshed. King recorded the studio versions of the band's final single '(I Love You) Mr Disposable Razors' and played on the final A Witness gigs when the band were rehearsing mostly in Liverpool, where he lived. However the group was shattered by the death of guitarist Rick Aitken aged 33 in a climbing accident in Scotland in October 1989, just before a UK tour supporting The Wedding Present that would have re-established their profile. Stunned by Aitken's death, the band retired rather than continue. The third and fourth A Witness BBC radio sessions for John Peel were collected on an album (''The Peel Sessions''), and a single "I Love You Mr. Disposable Razors" which had been due for release at the time of Aitken's death was delayed so it could be dedicated to him. The single was issued in November 1989 on the Vinyl Drip label. The Imaginary compilation series ''Through the Looking Glass 1966'' included their cover version of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and ''Through The Looking Glass 1967'' compilation (1990) included their cover of The Doors' track "Break on Through (To the Other Side)".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A Witness」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|