Archive for the colin newman Category

Parade Ground- Strange World 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1987, 2000s, colin newman, ebm, front 242, parade ground, reunited, synthpop on July 24, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a 12” by one of my favorite artists. Walking a fine line between glossy synthpop and early EBM (this 12” is on Play it Again Sam), Parade Ground issued six killer singles and one full length record, all pretty much essential for fans of the genre. The main lineup consists of brothers Jean-Marc and Pierre Pauly, who originally collaborated with Front 242. The brothers occasionally lent a hand to some of Front 242’s middle period recordings, maintaining a close personal relationship with Daniel B. The band has also collaborated with Colin Newman of Wire, who produced several of the band’s releases.

While the band split soon after releasing their full length in 1988, Parade Ground would issue two CDs in 2007. One consists of live tracks, while the other features brand new material.

Released in 1987, this 12” contains two high energy tracks, while the final track is a more atmospheric affair. Here’s the info.

Parade Ground- Strange World 12”
1. Strange World
2. Off Balance
3. The Chosen One

*download it here*

Though this one comes a close second, my favorite Parade Ground 12” can be found over at Crispy Nuggets. “Gold Rush” is a beast.

3 Comments »

Colin Newman

Posted in 1980s, art-punk, british, colin newman, synth, wave, wire on August 7, 2007 by Frankie Teardrop


Having gone though rather huge phases listening to nothing but post-punk greats Wire for a few days in a row, it’s no shock that I’ve also inspected and been overjoyed with the various side projects and solo outings during the band’s off-time. Today’s artist is one of the double frontmen of Wire and the primary tunesmith, Mr. Colin Newman.

When the British band temporarily split in 1980 after three records, Colin quickly pursued a solo career, taking the art-damaged direction that Wire had experimented with on both Chairs Missing and 154. The result didn’t fall far from the tree, for Colin recorded a series of three records in a similar art-pop style. The first, 1980’s A-Z, was released on Beggar’s Banquet and featured ‘Alone,’ a haunting track tapped near-ten years later for the soundtrack to Silence of the Lambs and covered by friends in 4AD project This Mortal Coil. Both 1981’s Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish and 1982’s Not To were released on 4AD, once they were able to properly finance Newman’s recordings. The first featured instrumental tracks as a series of numbered fish while the second consisted of new recordings and reworked Wire outtakes.

Though Wire reformed in 1984 and has remained intermittently active since, Colin released three more solo records and an EP for various labels. The last, 1997’s Bastard was a largely collective and collaborative electronic outing. Over the years, Colin has also produced records for the Virgin Prunes and Minimal Compact, produced recorded full-lengths with Wire as well as longtime collaborator and wife Malka Spigel, managed Wire’s Pinkflag label, and also done double-duty as a member of Githead, an experimental rock outfit.

I’ve uploaded two solo Newman tracks for the downloading; ‘Alone’ from A-Z and ‘Don’t Bring Reminders’ from Not To.

download Colin Newman- ‘Alone’
download Colin Newman- ‘Don’t Bring Reminders’

Most of his solo and collaborative band material is easily available through Amazon and your local record shoppes, so pick some up if you’re into it! For a more thorough biography and discography on Colin, click this link:

Colin Newman web-hub
Colin Newman via 4AD

Leave A Comment »