Crash were an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band formed in 1984 in New York City, centered on frontman-songwriter Mark Dumais, who took their name from the

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

. The band moved to London in 1987.Evans, Liz (1987) "Crash", ''Underground'', December 1987 (Issue 9), p. 33 Crash released three singles and an album; several former members went on to form the bands

Ultra Vivid Scene Ultra Vivid Scene was an American alternative rock band, started by Kurt Ralske. Background Former Nothing But Happiness and Crash guitarist Ralske started Ultra Vivid Scene in 1986,https://www.discogs.com/release/6488943-Ultra-Vivid-Scene-S ...

, John Moore's Expressway, and Something Pretty Beautiful. The band's line-up was Mark Dumais (vocals, guitar), Kurt Ralske (guitar, also of Nothing But Happiness), Bill Carey (guitar, formerly of Centrics), Adam Wright (bass), and Byron Guthrie (drums). They debuted with a 12" single, "Don't Look Now" in November 1986 on the ''Remorse'' label, followed the same month by another 12", "Almost". Their only album, ''I Feel Fine'', was released in February 1987. A final single, "Bright Coloured Lights" was released in August 1987. When the group split up, Ralske formed Ultra Vivid Scene, Guthrie joined John Moore's Expressway and later joined Ralske in Ultra Vivid Scene, and Carey formed Something Pretty Beautiful. Joss Cope, brother of

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

, played bass in the last lineup of the band. Mark Dumais signed to the

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

label under the name

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

, releasing an album in 1990.Beghtol, L.D. (2006)
Sugar on My Tongue
, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'', 3 October 2006, retrieved 2010-05-20 Dumais died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in the US in April 1992.

Discography

Singles

*"Don't Look Now" (1986) Remorse (UK)/Justine (US) *"Almost" (1986) Remorse *"Bright Coloured Lights" (1987) Remorse

Albums

*''I Feel Fine'' (1987) Remorse

Covers

* Ultra Vivid Scene, "Don't Look Now (Now!)," ''Blood and Thunder'' (1993) 4AD *

Moth Wranglers Moth Wranglers was a musical collaboration formed in 1998 by Chris Xefos (Drop Quarters, ex- King Missile), and LD Beghtol (Flare, The Magnetic Fields). The duo took their name from the credits for Jonathan Demme's 1991 thriller '' Silence of the ...

, "Don't Look Now," ''Never Mind the Context'' (2001) Magnetic * Bobine, (13 song album) ''I Had Fun Tonight - Songs by Mark Dumais and Crash,'' (2008) Beauty Bark Records *

LD Beghtol LD Beghtol (13 December 1964 – 2020), also known as "Uncle LD", was an American musician, art director and writer. He was best known for participating in The Magnetic Fields' ''69 Love Songs'' and writing the illustrated companion book ''69 Lov ...

has performed multiple Crash songs live, including: "International Velvet" with

The Three Terrors ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

(

Stephin Merritt Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for ...

, Beghtol, and

Dudley Klute Dudley Klute (born December 10) is an American vocalist and songwriter noted for his work with the Belgian New wave music, New Wave band Kid Montana in the 1980s, and his subsequent collaborations with Stephin Merritt's The Magnetic Fields (he ...

); "I've Got It in My Head" with Shirley Simms at a ''

chickfactor Gail O'Hara is an American editor, writer, photographer, recording label owner and filmmaker. She has worked at the ''Washington City Paper'', ''SPIN'', ''Time Out New York'', ''ELLEgirl'', ''EW'', Modern Painters, Kinfolk and other publications ...

'' soiree at Fez (NYC), in 2000; and "Everything Under the Sun" and "Don't Look Now" at the ''

'' 20th-anniversary parties in Washington, DC and Brooklyn in 2011 with members of Black Tambourine, Chessie and others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crash (UK band) English indie rock groups