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Biography
Refimprove|date=September 2010Infobox musical artist | name = The Adventures| image =| caption =| background = group_or_band| origin = Belfast , Northern Ireland | Instruments = Vocals , Guitars , Keyboards , Drums | genre = New Wave Music|New Wave , Synthpop AOR (early), Rock music|Rock , Folk music of Ireland|Irish Folk (later)| years_active = 1984–1993, 2007, 2009| label = Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis , Elektra Records|Elektra , Polydor | website =| associated_acts = The Starjets| current_members = Terry Sharpe - lead vocals, rhythm guitar Pat Gribben - guitar Eileen Gribben - female vocals Gerard 'Spud' Murphy - vocals, percussions Tony Ayre - bass Paul Crowder - drums Jonathan Whitehead - keyboards The Adventures are a Northern Ireland|Northern Irish Rock music|Rock musical ensemble|group , formed in Belfast in 1984.
The band later moved to London where they signed to Chrysalis Records and released their first single in 1984. Following their debut album release a year later the group moved to Elektra Records and scored their biggest hit, "Broken Land". The song was songwriter|written by guitarist Pat Gribben and reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart ,cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 15 and was also the most played song on BBC Radio 1 in 1988.Citation needed|date=June 2011 The band were actively recording and touring from 1984 up until 1993, and despite the backing of Simon Fuller , The Adventures never achieved a significant commercial breakthrough. In recent years, the band have reformed to play low key live gigs and festivals in Belfast, although no further studio recordings have been made.
Background
Lead vocalist Terry Sharpe and guitarist Pat Gribben first worked together when in 1978 they joined punk band The Starjets . The band experienced limited success and disbanded in the early 1980s. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php? id=3183 Chartstats.com | The Starjets Sharpe and Gribben then formed The Adventures in early 1984 with Gribben's wife, Eileen, Gerard Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder. They signed to Chrysalis Records and were taken on by upcoming manager, Simon Fuller, who saw them achieve much publicity and promotion in the music press. Despite this promising start, their debut single, "Another Silent Day", released in the summer of 1984, failed to chart highly. Further singles were released, all of which were minor hits in the UK Charts, but no major breakthrough was achieved. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php? id=4174 Chartstats.com | The Adventures Chart discography Their debut album, Theodore and Friends , was released in 1985 while the group were on a world tour supporting Tears for Fears . It received much critical acclaim, but again no significant sales.
The band laid low for the next two years. During this time, main songwriter Pat Gribben composed some new songs for a second album and the band left Chrysalis Records and were picked up by Elektra Records . With another burst of promotion and heavy airplay, their new single "Broken Land" became their first significant hit, reaching #20 in the UK Singles Chart and spent 10 weeks on the chart. The single was quickly followed up by the album, The Sea of Love , which reached #30 and also remained on the charts for 10 weeks. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php? id=10176 Chartstats.com | The Sea of Love Chart info The follow-up singles, "Drowning in the Sea of Love" and "One Step From Heaven", failed to reach as highly and stalled at #44 and #82 respectively, though the album was certified Silver (for 60,000 copies sold) by the British Phonographic Industry|BPI in 1989, a year after its release.
The band combined pop/rock with a folk music sound for their third album, Trading Secrets with the Moon . Released in early 1990 along with a couple of singles, the album failed to capitalise on their earlier success and only appeared briefly on the UK album Charts, stalling at #64. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php? id=10177 Chartstats.com | Trading Secrets with the Moon Chart info This ended their contract with Elektra.
With another rethink and now down to a quartet, The Adventures returned in 1992 with the single "Raining All Over the World". Now signed to Polydor Records , the song reached #68 and was to be the group's final chart appearance. A fourth album, Lions and Tigers and Bears , was released in 1993, produced by ex-Vibrators bassist Pat Collier at London's Greenhouse Recording Studios. Despite featuring a new single, a contemporary reworking of the 1960s hit " Monday Monday ", the album met with tepid response and failed to chart. The group were then dropped by Polydor, and essentially broke up soon after.
Pat Gribben continues to write songs and is currently working with singer Ryan Molloy , while Terry Sharpe spent some years performing in a Cover version|cover band, The Dead Handsomes. The Adventures regrouped briefly in 2007 for some gigs in Belfast, but no major reunion was ever organised. They regrouped again in 2009 to perform further small scale gigs in Belfast, as well as appearances at the Time To Be Proud and Féile an Phobail Festivals during the summer.
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p12146|pure_url=yes Allmusic Guide overview of The Adventures
DEFAULTSORT:Adventures, The Category:Rock music groups from Northern Ireland Category:Musical groups established in 1984 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Category:British New Wave musical groups
