All Living Fear are an English

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

band from the South West of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The band was formed in 1992 by Matthew North and the core of the band was sealed in 1994 with the arrival of vocalist Andrew Racher. The band were prolific in the mid-1990s British

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

scene and gained a large underground following: their debut single, "Jessica", sold out of its first pressing in just a few weeks ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' magazine's review comparing Racher's vocals to

Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have ...

of The Damned. "Jessica" was the only release to have a drummer (John Macklin, from the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

) and to be produced by Steve Paine (also from Legend). All Living Fear were described by

Mick Mercer Mick Mercer (born Michael Mercer, 19 July 1957) is a journalist and author best known for his books, photos and reviews of the goth and punk scenes. Life and work Mercer is primarily a writer focused on the Gothic rock scene that emerged fro ...

in his Hex files book as "The hardest working band in this section" (ref UK Bands) All Living Fear toured extensively in the UK, picking up support slots with major UK goth bands including

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

Inkubus Sukkubus Inkubus Sukkubus are an English goth and pagan rock band, formed in 1989 by Candia Ridley, Tony McKormack and Adam Henderson, who have been described as one of the most enduringly popular underground Goth bands in the UK. They also have been d ...

, James Ray's Gangwar,

Spear of Destiny A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to t ...

and

Flipper Flipper may refer to: Common meanings *Flipper (anatomy), a forelimb of an aquatic animal, useful for steering and/or propulsion in water *Swimfins, footwear that boosts human swimming efficiency, also known as flippers * Flipper (cricket), a typ ...

. All Living Fear played the first ever

Whitby Gothic Weekend Whitby Goth Weekend, abbreviated to WGW or nicknamed Whitby, is a twice-yearly music festival for the goth subculture, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, organised by Jo Hampshire. The event is an alternative music festival, consisting of two ...

and have played it several times since. The band's first album, ''The Widow's Blame'', had a two-page review in ''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is a monthly music technology magazine. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals. Due to its technical focus, it is predominantly ...

'' magazine. This album and its follow-up, ''Minimum Resistance'', both sold out of their initial pressings and subsequent pressings were released through Resurrection Records. Racher left in 1998 and was replaced by Paul Roe, under whose influence the band took a more rock-orientated direction. A third album, ''Into the Light'', was released before the band split, with North and Roe going on to form Corrosion. In 2001 Racher and North reformed All Living Fear and released a fourth album, ''Home Too Soon'', which they promoted with support slots for

Wayne Hussey 250px, Hussey performing at the Hildesheim.html" ;"title="M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim">M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim, Germany, 2004 Jerry Wayne Hussey (born 26 May 1958) is an English musician who was born in Bristol, England. He is ...

, The Damned and

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

. In November 2007 the Dangernoise label released ''15 Years After'', a double CD comprising new recordings of some of the band's tracks, some unreleased songs, new material and remixes. It featured guest performances from

Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist * H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor * Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer * Arthur Brown, ...

(with whom North had worked extensively),

Julianne Regan Julianne Regan (born 30 June 1962) is an English/Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. She achieved success in the late 1980s and early 1990s having formed the band All About Eve. Her major role in the band was as lead singer and songwriter ...

Nick Pynn Nick Pynn (born 17 November 1962) is a British people, British musician and composer noted for his use of bass pedals and live looping with electroacoustic stringed instruments. He has been described as an ‘avant folk’ artist, whose early inter ...

, Christian Riou ( Claytown Troupe) and Steve Bronski (

Bronski Beat Bronski Beat were a British synth-pop band formed in 1983 in London, England. The initial lineup, which recorded the majority of their hits, consisted of Scottish musicians Jimmy Somerville (vocals) and Steve Bronski (keyboards, percussion) and ...

). In August 2009, Racher announced he was leaving the band after almost 15 years' involvement, in order to spend more time with his family. The band continue with North as vocalist and guitar, Niall Parker on bass, Steve Williams (Complicity, Christian Death, Altered States) on guitar and Nevla (Rome Burns) on guitar. In 2010 Matthew announced he was forming a new band Secrets For September and in 2012 via Facebook that the band would re-form for its 20th anniversary for some shows in the autumn, including the

; this ended up being a new version of the band fronted by North, and they also released a new album ''Coming Home'' with a cameo performance from

Roger O'Donnell Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known as a longtime member of The Cure, which he first joined in 1987 and for which he has served three different tenures. O'Donnell has also performed as a touring and sessio ...

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

on the last track. North joined the

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

Uncommon Orchestra in 2014 they released the album ''A Bigger Show'' produced by

Jon Hiseman Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, audio engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, wi ...

in 2016. North Released his debut solo album ''Stimm THINKING? still DREAMING'' in 2017 on Dangernoise records. In a post to Facebook on 10 December 2016 the band announced a reunion of the mid-1990s duo format of Matthew North and Andrew Racher to play live for the band's 25th anniversary. On 11 November 2017, All Living Fear performed with Paul Roe (bass guitar) and Michael Webb (guitar). This is now regarded as the current lineup.

Discography

Singles

* "Jessica" (1994) (Pagan Media / Second Pressing- Ossia Germany) * "The Widow's Blame" (2007) (With Arthur Brown iTunes only) * "Twenty Nine Point Nine" (2010) (Download 3 track EP) * "Broken Dream" (2010) (Download 4 track EP) * "Breaking The Fire" (2011) (Download 3 track EP) * "Crimson" (2014) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

Albums

* ''The Widow’s Blame'' (1995) (Resurrection) * ''Minimum Resistance'' (1996) (Resurrection) * ''Vintage Fear'' (1997) (Self Release) * ''Into The Light'' (1998) (Resurrection) * ''Home Too Soon'' (2003) (Resurrection) * ''Fifteen Years After'' (2007) (Dangernoise) * ''Coming Home'' (2012) (Dangernoise)

DVDs and videos

* 'Fear On The Road' (VHS 1996) * 'Official Bootleg Video' (VHS 1999) * 'Video Anthology 1994–2004' (VHS and DVD 2005) * 'Live In Concert' (DVD 2009)

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control English gothic rock groups