The Sound

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Biography

The Sound were an English post-punk band, formed in 1979 and dissolved in 1988. The band was fronted by Adrian Borland and evolved from his previous band, The Outsiders (British band)|The Outsiders . They shared record labels with groups such as Echo & the Bunnymen Korova (record label)|Korova Records Wikipedia article and The Chameleons , Script of the Bridge|Script of the Bridge Wikipedia article and shared stages with Echo & the Bunnymen, The Comsat Angels , the Au Pairs (band)|Au Pairs , Modern Eon , Felt (band)|Felt , Medium Medium , U2 , Public Image Ltd , Eyeless in Gaza (band)|Eyeless in Gaza , The Stranglers , China Crisis , Thompson Twins , and Aztec Camera .

History

Beginnings

Founded from the remnants of The Outsiders, the original lineup of The Sound consisted of Adrian Borland (vocals, lead guitar|guitar ), Graham Bailey ( Bass (instrument)|bass ), Mike Dudley ( drum s) and Benita "Bi" Marshall ( Keyboard instrument|keyboards , saxophone , clarinet ). In 1979, the band signed a contract with Korova Records , a small label under Warner Brothers , to produce three albums. They debuted with Jeopardy , which received favourable reviews.

The second album, From the Lions Mouth , saw the replacement of keyboard player Marshall with Colvin "Max" Mayers, and more accolades from the critics, but neither record caused the band to break beyond a cult status. Korova pressured Borland and his mates to come up with a more commercially successful third album. In an act of rebellion, the band responded with All Fall Down , an album that took them even further away from that direction. Drummer Mike Dudley told it this way: "We thought giving us the support that we were due and that if they really wanted a commercial album, they had got to put plenty of money behind it, which with both Jeopardy and From the Lions Mouth they hadn't really done....So when they turned around and said 'The solution is for you to write more commercial songs,' we thought, 'Fuck you,' and went ahead and produced All Fall Down ."

During the early 1980s, The Sound toured throughout Europe, covering the UK and much of the continent. Like their contemporaries, the Comsat Angels (whom they toured with in 1981), they enjoyed perhaps their greatest success in the Netherlands , developing a substantial following there. The Sound recorded several Peel session s and performed the single "Sense Of Purpose" on the TV show Old Grey Whistle Test (circa 1981). In 1983 and 1984, they made two short tours of the US.

Change of record labels

After All Fall Down , The Sound parted company with Korova and sought out another record company. In 1984, they signed with Statik, an independent label. The following year, they released an EP, Shock of Daylight , and an album Heads and Hearts . The touring continued, in spite of the fact the band still struggled to gain a wider audience. By 1985, Borland began to exhibit symptoms of mental illness, perhaps made worse by the frustrations of his career.

Not long after the release of a live album in 1986, In the Hothouse , Statik went into bankruptcy. The band produced one more album, Thunder Up , on the small Belgian label Play It Again Sam. While touring in Spain in 1987, they had to cancel several appearances when Borland had a complete breakdown. Dudley recalled bringing an incoherent Borland home on a plane. The band decided to split up in early 1988.

Post-breakup activity

Graham Bailey moved to New Orleans, where he lived for 16 years, returning to the UK in 2007. Max Mayers died in 1993, from an AIDS-related condition. Mike Dudley retired from the music industry, living and working in South London.

Following the collapse of The Sound, Borland maintained a solo career for approximately a decade, and helmed the bands White Rose Transmission and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils (in which he gave himself the alias Joachim Pimento). Never able to conquer depression, Borland committed suicide on April 26, 1999, throwing himself in the path of an express train at Wimbledon station.

Legacy

Many have said that The Sound were not given the recognition they deserved. From the Sun Records Music Store: "The Sound were tragically overlooked in their time and have remained unjustly neglected since." From Trouser Press: "It's hard to understand why this London quartet never found commercial success. At their best, the Sound's excellent neo-pop bears favorable comparison to the Psychedelic Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen ." And from Jack Rabid of Big Takeover magazine: "The Sound? Just one of the finest bands of the 1980s."

Shortly before Adrian Borland's death, The Sound's back catalog was remaster ed and reissued by Renascent Records , a label which was originally founded to perform solely that task. ( Thunder Up is the band's only studio album to not see reissue by Renascent.) In June 2006, members of notable British bands held a concert called "The Sound of Adrian Borland;" various guest singers who had been close friends with Borland (such as Mark Burgess (musician)|Mark Burgess of The Chameleons) filled in on vocals.

There is a biography of Adrian Borland, entitled (The Book of) Happy Memories . In 2001, a tribute album titled In Passing – A Tribute to Adrian Borland and The Sound was released. Another tribute album is forthcoming, titled There Must Be a Hole In Your Memory .

Discography

Studio albums

Jeopardy (album)|Jeopardy (Korova, 1980) #23 NZ

From the Lions Mouth (Korova, 1981)

All Fall Down (The Sound album)|All Fall Down (Warner Bros. , 1982) #50 NZ

Heads and Hearts (Statik, 1985)

Thunder Up (PIAS, 1987)

EPs, Singles

Physical World (Torch, 1979)

"Heyday" (b/w "Brute Force") 7" (Korova, 1980)

Live Instinct EP 7"/12" (Korova , 1981)

"Sense Of Purpose" 7"/12" (b/w "Point Of No Return," "Coldbeat") (Korova, 1981)

"Hothouse" (b/w "New Dark Age" ) 7" (Korova, 1982)

"Counting the Days" (b/w "Dreams Then Plans") 7" (Statik, 1984)

"One Thousand Reasons" 7"/12" (b/w "Blood And Poison," "Steel Your Air") (Statik, 1984)

Shock of Daylight EP (A& M / Statik, 1984) #31 NZ (contained on the CD reissue of Heads and Hearts )

"Temperature Drop" (b/w "Oiled") 7" (Statik, 1985)

"Under You" (b/w "Total Recall") 7" (Statik, 1986)

"Hand of Love" 7/12" (b/w "Fall Of Europe," "Such A Difference") (Play It Again Sam, 1987)

"Iron Years" 7"/12" (b/w "Fall Of Europe," "I Give You Pain (live)") (Play It Again Sam, 1987)

Compilation albums, Live albums

Counting The Days CD (Statik, 1986; best-of compilation)

# Counting the days 03:36
# Winning 03:53
# Dreams then plans 04:03
# Total recall 04:51
# Burning part of me 03:26
# Longest days 05:07
# Under you 05:01
# Golden soldiers 03:15
# Silent air 06:29
# Sense of purpose 05:18
# "new way of life" 04:38
# Wildest dreams 05:13
# Heartland 04:07
# Temperature drop 04:20
# Missiles 07:05

In The Hothouse 2xLP (Statik, 1986; live at The Marquee in London, Aug. 27& 28, 1985) (reissued twice, each time on 1 CD)

Propaganda (Sound album)|Propaganda CD (Renascent, 1999; 1979 studio session)

The BBC Recordings 2xCD (Renascent, 2004; live 1980-85)

Dutch Radio Recordings ( Vols. 1 - 5 ) (live 1980-85) (2006, Renascent)

Copyright Citations

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