Compulsion were an Irish

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 ...

band. They were formed in 1990 by Josephmary (singer) and Sid Rainey (bassist) as Thee Amazing Colossal Men. They signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

, but after winning a lawsuit against their

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

, they became 'Compulsion' in 1992. Joined by guitarist Garret Lee and drummer Jan-Willem Alkema, they moved to

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

and signed to

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

. They released several EPs and two

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s. The first, ''Comforter'', was labeled by the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' as part of the " New Wave of New Wave", while the second, ''The Future is Medium'', saw them sport identical black outfits and orange hairdos. The group split in 1997 after the label

dropped them. After Compulsion, Lee formed

Jacknife Lee Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Dire ...

, and later produced

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jonny Quinn (d ...

and U2. Alkema joined

China Drum China Drum are an English punk rock band from Ovingham in Northumberland, England, active initially from 1989 to 2000, playing under the name The Drum beginning in 1999. The group released three moderately successful full-length albums and ...

and later Driven to Collision. Rainey is now a writer and has created and produced an animated children's TV series called '' Underground Ernie'' for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. Josephmary now lives in Ireland.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Comforter A comforter (in American English), also known as a doona in Australian English, or a continental quilt (or simply quilt) or duvet in British English, is a type of bedding made of two lengths of fabric or covering sewn together and filled with in ...

'' (1994) - UK No. 59 *'' The Future Is Medium'' (1996)

Singles

*"Mall Monarchy" (1994) *"Basketcase" (1994) (called "Delivery" in the US release) *"Eating" (fan club only release, 1994) *"Question Time for the Proles" (1996) *"Juvenile Scene Detective" (1996)

EPs

*''Compulsion'' (1992) *''Casserole'' (1993) *''Safety'' (1993) *''Boogie Woogie'' (1994)

Compilations

*'' Hi-Fi Compilation'' (Compilation, 1995) *'' I Like Compulsion and Compulsion Likes Me'' (Compilation, 2002)

References

External links

Allmusic: CompulsionEverything2: CompulsionTrouser Press: CompulsionWhispern & Hollerin: Compulsion
Irish alternative rock groups Irish punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 {{Ireland-band-stub