Into a Circle (also as In Two a Circle and In2a0) were an
English new wave duo
Duo may refer to:
Places
*Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia
*Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland
* DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore
Arts, enterta ...
, formed in April 1985 by Paul "Bee" Hampshire and Barry Jepson, two former members of the band Getting the Fear.
[Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 120] Jepson had also previously been the bassist for
Southern Death Cult from 1981-83.
Career
Into a Circle formed in 1985 after Getting the Fear ended.
The band played their first concert at the Croydon Underground in December 1985,
coinciding with the release of their first single, "
Rise...". The single, issued on the Arcadia label, reached No. 5 in the
UK Indie Singles Chart.
For a March 1986 tour of England and Scotland, the band were joined on several dates by
Rose McDowall
Rose McDowall (née Porter; born 21 October 1959) is a Scottish musician, forming Strawberry Switchblade with Jill Bryson in 1981.
History
McDowall was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959. Her first venture into music was in the Poems, an art-pun ...
of
Strawberry Switchblade
Strawberry Switchblade were a Scottish new wave/pop duo formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" from 1985, and their flamboyant clothing with bows and polka-dots.
History Before b ...
.
In July 1986, Into a Circle signed with Abstract Records and released the single "Inside Out", which reached No. 12 in the chart.
Their third single, "Forever" (1987), co-produced by Larry Steinbeck of
Bronski Beat
Bronski Beat were a British synthpop trio which achieved success in the mid-1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit " Smalltown Boy", from their debut album '' The Age of Consent''. "Smalltown Boy" was their only US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...
, featured McDowall on backing vocals.
and reached No. 8 in the chart. It was followed by their debut studio album, ''Assassins'', in summer 1988. The album reached No. 7 in the
UK Indie Albums Chart.
Fourth single "Evergreen" was released in March 1988, and reached No. 5 in the chart.
Into a Circle embarked on their final tour in September 1989, with
Annie Anxiety joining the line-up on backing vocals.
The band broke up in October 1989.
Into a Circle reformed in July 2021.
Later projects
Hampshire is a member of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
-based band Futon, alongside
Simon Gilbert (
Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...
).
Jepson later worked as a concert promoter and currently teaches live sound and tour management at the
Brighton Institute of Modern Music
The British and Irish Modern Music Institute, now styled as the BIMM Institute, is a group of eight independent colleges which specialise in the provision of creative education in Brighton, Bristol, London, Dublin, Manchester, Berlin, Birmingh ...
.
Discography
*''Assassins'' (1988, Abstract)
UK Indie Albums Chart No. 7
Singles
*"
Rise..." (1985, Arcadia)
UK Indie Singles Chart No. 5
*"Inside Out" (1986, Abstract)
UK Indie No. 12
*"Forever" (1987, Abstract)
UK Indie No. 8
*"Evergreen" (1988, Abstract)
UK Indie No. 5
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Into a Circle
English musical duos
English new wave musical groups
New wave duos
Musical groups established in 1985
Musical groups disestablished in 1989
1985 establishments in England
1989 disestablishments in England