Childhood friends John Taylor and Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran in 1978 in Birmingham , England, together with Taylor’s art school friend Stephen Duffy , naming their band after “Dr. Durand Durand”, Milo O’Shea ‘s character from the science fiction film Barbarella (1968), the day after the film was broadcast…
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Their second album, Chairs Missing (1978), showed a substantial elaboration of the stark minimalism of Pink Flag , with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne . ” Outdoor Miner ” was a minor hit, peaking at number 51 in the UK singles chart. The…
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Bobby Gillespie moved to Mount Florida in southeastern Glasgow, where he attended King’s Park Secondary School , where he first met Robert Young. Another schoolfriend was Alan McGee , who took Gillespie to see his first concert, Thin Lizzy . McGee and Gillespie were heavily influenced by punk rock ,…
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Irish magazine Hot Press was influential in shaping U2’s future; in addition to being one of their earliest allies, the publication’s journalist Bill Graham introduced the band to Paul McGuinness , who agreed to be their manager in mid-1978. With the connections he was making within the music industry, McGuinness…
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In April 1977, Feedback played their first gig for a paying audience at St. Fintan’s High School . Shortly thereafter, the band changed their name to “The Hype”. Dik Evans, who was older and by that time attending college, was becoming the odd man out of the group. The other…
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In March 2013 the band released Change Becomes Us , their 13th studio album, which was very well received. Their fourteenth album, eponymously titled Wire , was released in April 2015. The following year, in April 2016, the band’s 15th studio album, entitled Nocturnal Koreans , was released on their…
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Depeche Mode’s origins date to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass.
In 1977, Idol sang “Your Generation” on the TV series Marc . Generation X signed a recording contract with Chrysalis Records , released three studio albums, performed in the 1980 film D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage , and then disbanded.
Wire began as a five-piece band in October 1976. In its early period, guitarist George Gill served as the group’s principal songwriter. Following a leg injury that left him unable to perform, Gill departed the band in February 1977. After his departure, the remaining members discontinued most of the material…
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In late 1976, Idol joined the newly formed West London 1960s retro-rock band Chelsea as a guitarist. The act’s singer/frontman Gene October styled Idol’s image, advising him to use contact lenses instead of eyeglasses for his short sight, and dye his hair blonde with a crew cut for a retro-1950s…
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