Basczax were a British

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 formed in

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

in August 1978.Ogg, Alex (2006) ''No More Heroes: a Complete History of UK Punk from 1976 to 1980'', Cherry Red Books, , pp. 79–80

History

The band was formed by Mick Todd, who recorded a demo of "Karleearn Photography", which convinced Jeff Fogarty (saxophone) and Alan Savage (guitar, vocals) to join.Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary'', Backbeat Books, , p. 252, 272 The line-up was completed for early performances by Nigel Trenchard (keyboards) and Cog (drums), but these were soon replaced by former Blitzkrieg Bop members John Hodgson (keyboards) and Alan Cornforth (drums). Starting out as an anti-

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, almost anti-music noise

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

, they supported

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

, amongst others in the early days. Basczax's first released material appeared on

Fast Product Fast Product was an independent record label established in Edinburgh by Bob Last, his partner, Hilary Morrison and Tim Pearce in December 1977. Its first release was the first single by the Mekons, on 20 January 1978. The label issued the fi ...

's '' Earcom 2''

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

in 1979, alongside

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

. The band also released a

7" single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...

on the Pipeline

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

: "Madison Fallout"/"Auto Mekanik Destruktor" (1979), which reached #48 on the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 17 Basczax toured with

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...

(OMD), and appeared on the ''Check It Out'' TV show in 1980, performing "Ego Therapy". This lineup split in September 1980, with Hodgson and Cornforth going on to form "Makaton Chat" with ex-Deja Vu members Anthony Lindo, Graham Lipthorpe and Martin Alderdyce. John Hodgson now records under the name Fast Cakes, who released an album in August 2007 entitled ''LIVEYOUNGDIEFAST'', a second album in September 2012 entitled ''CALL OFF THE DOGS'' and a third in 2014 entitled ''LIFESTORY''. The three remaining members regrouped and continued. Eventually, after many lineup changes, the band mutated into Jank Mamba, and then The Flaming Mussolinis, who released two

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s in the mid-1980s for

Portrait Records Portrait Records was a sister record label, label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Notable artists Cyndi Lauper and Sade (band), Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the lab ...

(

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

). Savage went on to form a band called Zoom, then another called Disraeli Gears, and released a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

CD in the 1990s on

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

-based "Northern Sky". A compilation of tracks recorded by Basczax between 1979 and 1980 entitled ''The Best Of'' was released (initially download only) in 2009 on Spectra Records. In February 2010, four members from the 1979-80 line-up (Alan Savage, Jeff Fogarty, John Hodgson & Mick Todd) started recording together once again, with the view to releasing the first new Basczax material for almost 30 years. An album, entitled ''This Machine Rocks'' was released (download only) on 1 September 2010.

Discography

Albums

*''Terminal Madness'' (1979), Animated Tapes *'' Earcom 2: Contradiction'' (1979),

– with Thursdays and

*''This Machine Rocks'' (2010), Morbius ;Compilations: *''The Best of Basczax'' (2009), Spectra

Singles

*"Madison Fallout" (1979), Pipeline

References

External links

This Machine Rocks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basczax English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 1978 establishments in England