Chris Layhe is an
English musician, and founding member of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band,
The Icicle Works
The Icicle Works (also known as Icicle Works in the United States) are an English alternative rock band and were named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. They had a top 20 UK hi ...
.
Signed to
Beggar's Banquet, The Icicle Works had a handful of
chart hits (notably "
Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)") and toured the
US and mainland Europe before the departure of original members Layhe and drummer
Chris Sharrock in 1989.
In the 1990s, Layhe worked as events organiser at Blue Coat Arts Centre in Liverpool, co-ordinating appearances by
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
and
Doris Lessing, among others.
Though originally a bassist, Layhe currently teaches guitar at the Manchester Adult Education Service. Co-writer (with
Ian McNabb) of several early Icicle Works songs, he has also performed his own work solo, and with blues rock band Oyster, in venues throughout the north of England.
In 2009, Layhe formed the
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band Shadow History, with the Australian singer/guitarist
Ben Winch, and returned to bass playing after a lengthy hiatus.
References
External links
The Icicle Works on Last.FMShadow History on MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Layhe, Chris
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
English bass guitarists
English male guitarists
Male bass guitarists
English male songwriters
Musicians from Liverpool
Place of birth missing (living people)
The Icicle Works members