Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com. is an English pop and rock musician.Adamson, Barry (2021) ''Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars - Magazine, the Bad Seeds, into the Underworld and Beyond'', Omnibus Press, He came to prominence in the late 1970s as a member of the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and went on to work with Visage, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electro musicians Pan Sonic. In addition to prolific solo work, Adamson has also remixed Grinderman, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,

Recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

. He also worked on the soundtrack for

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's surrealistic crime film '' Lost Highway''.

Biography

Early life

Adamson was born in

Moss Side Moss Side is an Inner city, inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. It had a population of 20,745 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Cho ...

, Manchester, England to a white mother and a black father. He read comic books from an early age. At school he immersed himself in art, music and film and produced his first song – "Brain Pain" – at the age of 10. His diverse musical tastes range from

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Career

After leaving school, Adamson drifted into

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

whilst attending Stockport Art College but quit shortly after, preferring to venture into the exploding

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

scene of the late 1970s. He joined ex-

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

singer

Howard Devoto Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is an English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, an early post-punk band. After Magazine, he went ...

's band

to play the bass guitar, with whom he scored one

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

single, "Shot by Both Sides"; in late 1977, he joined the

, as a temporary replacement for Garth Smith. He played on all of Magazine's albums in their original incarnation and contributed to Devoto's solo album and his next band, Luxuria. He also contributed to the studio-based band Visage, playing on the ensemble's first two albums, '' Visage'' and '' The Anvil''. After Magazine broke up, Adamson worked with another ex-Buzzcock,

Pete Shelley Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early Punk rock, punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist ...

, before joining Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, featuring on four of their albums: '' From Her to Eternity'', '' The Firstborn Is Dead'', '' Kicking Against the Pricks'' and '' Your Funeral, My Trial''. After his stint with the band and a European tour with

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

in 1987, he went solo, releasing an EP, ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' in 1988, and his first solo album, '' Moss Side Story'', the following year, the "soundtrack" to a non-existent

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

.Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, The album incorporated newscasts and sampled sound effects and featured guest musicians Marcia Schofield (of The Fall), Diamanda Galas, and former colleagues from the Bad Seeds. Adamson's second solo album was the soundtrack to a real film this time – Carl Colpaert's ''

Delusion A delusion is a fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some other m ...

'', and he would go on to provide soundtracks for several other films. Adamson's third album, '' Soul Murder'', was shortlisted for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

in 1992. His solo work has mostly been influenced by John Barry,

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 orig ...

and

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

, whilst his later works include

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, and dub-styles. In 1996, Adamson contributed to the AIDS-Benefit Album, '' Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip'', produced by the Red Hot Organization. His own album that year, '' Oedipus Schmoedipus'', reached #51 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. It would later be included in the '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''list, along with '' Moss Side Story''. In 2002, Adamson left his long-term label,

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

, and started his own production home, Central Control International. In 2006, he released '' Stranger on the Sofa'', first for his Central Control International imprint, to critical acclaim. ''Back to the Cat'', his second album for the label, was released in March 2008.Unterberger, Richie " Barry Adamson Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Macrovision Corporation In 2007, it was announced that Magazine would re-form for concerts in 2008. Adamson took part in the same band line-up that recorded ''Secondhand Daylight'', with the exception of the late John McGeoch, who was replaced by Apollo 440 member

Noko Noko (born Norman Fisher-Jones; 1 February 1962) is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alv ...

. However, Adamson has since withdrawn from the reunion and new recordings. BarryAdamson

On 27 August 2010, Adamson released the track "Rag and Bone", as a digital download and as a 12-inch vinyl record. In 2011, Adamson premiered his directorial debut, ''Therapist'', for which he also provided the music. He then released a studio album, ''I Will Set You Free'', on 30 January 2012. Adamson collaborated with the Bad Seeds on their 2013 album, '' Push the Sky Away'', playing bass guitar on two songs. He also toured with the band on drums and keyboards, to fill in for an ailing Thomas Wydler. His 2016 album ''Know Where To Run'' was accompanied by a book with photos that Adamson shot in the US while on tour with Nick Cave. 2018 saw the release of ''Memento Mori'', an album celebrating his 40th anniversary as a professional musician, which was followed by a concert at the Union Chapel in London. A recording of this concert was released on vinyl and CD.

Soundtrack material

Adamson's "Refugee Song" was included in Derek Jarman's '' The Last of England'' soundtrack. He composed the soundtrack to ''

'', which has also been released. Adamson also contributed soundtrack material to '' Gas Food Lodging'' and David Lynch's '' Lost Highway''.

Instruments

In the earliest ''Real Life Magazine'' videos, Adamson played a

Rickenbacker 4001 The Rickenbacker 4001 is an bass guitar, electric bass that was manufactured by Rickenbacker as a two-Pickup (music technology), pickup "deluxe" version of their first production bass, the single-pickup model 4000. This design, created by Roger ...

, and on ''Secondhand Daylight'', a Gibson EB-3. His primary bass during Magazine's touring was an Ovation Magnum Mk1. The Ovation can be seen in Magazine's appearance in ''

Urgh! A Music War ''Urgh! A Music War'' is a 1982 British concert film featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk bands and artists. Filmed in August to September 1980 it was directed by Derek Burbidge and produced by Michael White and Lynda ...

'' as well as on the cover of the live album ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

''. For the 2008 Magazine concerts, he alternated between the Ovation, a Fender Artist and a Fender Jaguar Bass. He often used a Boss Chorus unit on his basses, giving a slightly processed sound that was much imitated in the UK 1980s rock scene.

Legacy

In his autobiography, ''It's So Easy (And Other Lies)'',

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

said he was influenced by bass-driven bands such as that of Barry Adamson in Magazine. In an interview with German music magazine Gitarre & Bass,

Billy Gould William David Gould (born April 24, 1963) is an American musician and producer. He is best known as the bassist of Faith No More. Biography Early years Gould was born on April 24, 1963, in Los Angeles, and he is of Scottish and Hungarian desce ...

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

said that Adamson was one of his influences, because he combined

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

with post-punk when he played with Magazine.Anders, Marcel (2015)
Faith No More Bassist Billy Gould im Interview
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Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Other appearances

Soundtracks

Albums

Contributions

Compilations and samplers

Compositions

* ''To Have and to Hold'' (1996) film score with Nick Cave & Mick Harvey * ''The World of Interiors'' (2001) film score

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Barry 1958 births Living people People from Moss Side 20th-century Black British male singers 20th-century British male singers English people of Scottish descent Buzzcocks members English rock bass guitarists British male bass guitarists English film score composers English male film score composers English rock singers British post-punk musicians Magazine (band) members Musicians from Manchester Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds members Mute Records artists 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers Visage (band) members Black British rock musicians