The band changed direction in 1980, with all four members (Deane, Jaymes, Austin and Gainsbrough) renaming the act Modern Romance . This “new” group had a much more electronic sound than the Buzzards, but their first two singles flopped, missing the charts completely. At that point, Modern Romance was retooled,…
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1980 also saw the release of PiL’s first live album, Paris au Printemps – also the group’s last album featuring Jah Wobble. On this release’s album sleeve, the band’s name and all of the track titles were translated into French. The album cover was a painting by John Lydon depicting…
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Priest continued their success through the mid-1980s. ” Freewheel Burning “, released in 1983, was a regular on rock radio. Its album Defenders of the Faith was released the following year. Some critics dubbed it “Screaming for Vengeance II”, due to its musical similarity to the previous album.
After a flexi-disc debut, the Flexible Membrane EP in 1980, they released the debut single proper “Muscles” in 1982, which was raved over by both the music press and John Peel . That record’s success saw the band sign a deal with Rondelet Records who issued a follow-up, the Pin…
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Taylor said in 1980:
The Slits’ sound and attitude became increasingly experimental and avant-garde during the early 1980s, when they formed an alliance with Bristol post-punk band the Pop Group , sharing drummer Bruce Smith and releasing a joint single, ” In the Beginning There Was Rhythm / Where There’s a Will… ” (…
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Later in 1980, Jah Wobble left the band and was not formally replaced. The resulting studio album was notable for its almost complete lack of bass parts. Martin Atkins, who had initially joined at the tail end of the Metal Box sessions, was re-recruited to drum on The Flowers of…
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Eventually, the band signed with Neat Records , a low-budget metal label based in Newcastle , England. They released their first single, “Don’t Need Your Money”, in 1980 and embarked on a number of UK shows opening for bands such as Ozzy Osbourne ‘s Blizzard of Ozz, Motörhead , Whitesnake…
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Subsequently, Duran Duran struggled to escape the teen idol image and gain respect among critics with more complex music. The new serious image was not accepted at first and their popularity began to wane. Rolling Stone said, “In their search for musical maturity, the surviving Durans have lost a good…
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it peaked at number 9 on the British album chart and at number 27 in the United States, where it was issued in January 1980.