The Wake are 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 ...
,
synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
and later
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band, formed in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1981 by Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (formerly of
Altered Images
Altered Images is a Scottish New wave music, new wave/post-punk band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer Clare Grogan, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums ...
), Steven Allen (drums) and Joe Donnelly (bass), the latter replaced by
Bobby Gillespie
Robert Gillespie ( ; born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead singer, founding member, primary lyricist, and sole continuous member of the alternative rock band Primal Scream. He wa ...
. Steven's sister Carolyn Allen also joined on keyboards, and remained in the band thereafter. Gillespie left the band in 1983, replaced by Martin Cunning and then by Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson.
History
The Wake released their first single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling together "On Our Honeymoon" and "Give Up". This single eventually caught the attention of
New Order manager
Rob Gretton
Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ra ...
, who helped the band sign to
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...
in 1982 and record an LP (''
Harmony
In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
'') at
Strawberry Studios
Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, historically in Cheshire, now within Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Strawberry Studios was used by a range of artists including the Ramones ...
in
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
. This was followed by a number of singles on Factory and its Belgian sister label
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...
. In 1983, The Wake toured with
New Order, and thus received critical attention but were often unfavourably compared to their more celebrated labelmates. Gillespie was asked to leave in 1983, subsequently playing drums with
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...
and achieving fame with his own band
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...
. After a short-lived stint with McInulty's ex-classmate Martin Cunning on bass, Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson permanently replaced Gillespie. That same year the band recorded a session on
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
's BBC Radio 1 programme and David 'Kid' Jensen's BBC radio 1 show. The band toured extensively and scored an indie hit with their 1984 single "Talk About The Past" which featured
Vini Reilly
Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group the Durutti Column. He was known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his punk-era contemporaries in its ...
of
Durutti Column
The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is the project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly, o ...
on piano. The recording and release of their seminal 1985 album ''Here Comes Everybody'' marked the apex of their career. Further releases were few and far between: one more single "Of The Matter" emerged in 1985 before their last release for Factory, a 4-track EP entitled "Something That No One Else Could Bring" finally appeared in 1987.
In 1988, disillusioned with the lack of proper promotion and indeed apathy from Factory Records, The Wake left the label and signed to Bristol's legendary
Sarah Records
Sarah Records was a British independent record label active in Bristol between 1987 and 1995, best known for its recordings of indie pop, which it released mostly on 7" singles. On reaching the catalogue number SARAH 100, the label celebrated i ...
, releasing two singles and two LPs, the last being 1994's ''Tidal Wave of Hype''. By this point, once again down to a three piece featuring McInulty, Allen and Allen, they also shared personnel with another Glasgow-based band on Sarah,
The Orchids, with whom they had also played a few live gigs. When Sarah shut down in 1995, The Wake effectively dissolved.
For a few years, McInulty concentrated on other activities outside of recording music – notably writing scripts for plays that featured Allen in an acting role. McInulty and Allen eventually took up writing music again, and after a few tentative demos for possible new material later hooked up with Bobby Wratten (
The Field Mice/
Northern Picture Library/
Trembling Blue Stars) under the name The Occasional Keepers. They released the albums "The Beauty of an Empty Vessel" and "True North" on
LTM Recordings
LTM Recordings (originally les temps modernes) is a British independent record label founded in 1983, and best known for reissues of artists and music from 1978 to the present day, as well as modern classical and avant-garde composition. The la ...
, which also incidentally reissued the entire Wake, Field Mice and Orchids back catalogues on remastered CDs containing all the original albums and single/EP cuts collected together.
Recent developments
In autumn 2009, The Wake (McInulty and Allen) came together once again to record a new album, "A Light Far Out", the recording of which took time to complete. On 12 December 2009 the group performed live with other Factory labelmates such as
Section 25 and
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in Greater Manchester in 1977 by Peter Terrell (guitar), Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), Jez Kerr (bass guitar, vocals), Martin Moscrop (trumpet, guitar) and Donald Johns ...
, at the Plan K venue in Brussels.
On 28 February 2010, the band performed a 45-minute set at the London Popfest at the Islington venue, the Lexington. They were a last-minute replacement for another band who had dropped out. The set included early tracks such as "Testament", "The Old Men" and "Favour", as well as "O Pamela" and "Here Comes Everybody", from their Factory Records period, plus later Sarah Records recordings. Since then the group have also performed in New York and Paris.
In December 2011, the band revealed in an interview with Jacob Graham of The Drums that the new album "A Light Far Out" was set for release in early 2012.
The album "A Light Far Out" was released on CD in April 2012 on
LTM Records
LTM Recordings (originally les temps modernes) is a British independent record label founded in 1983, and best known for reissues of artists and music from 1978 to the present day, as well as modern classical and avant-garde composition. The la ...
, containing 7 vocal tracks and 1 instrumental, "Faintness". The group marked Record Store Day in 2013 with a vinyl release of the album on the revived
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...
imprint, and in July 2013 performed at the
Indietracks
Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway – Butterley, Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, England. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction railway station, Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variet ...
Festival.
Further reissues of their first two Factory albums came in 2013 - with a double vinyl edition of "Harmony" which coupled the original album with the 12" single "Something Outside" plus three radio session tracks. This was released by
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...
. Their second album "Here Comes Everybody" was then reissued in a special commemorative Record Store Day-only format, by US label
Captured Tracks
Captured Tracks is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The label was founded in 2008 by Mike Sniper.
About
Current flagship artists include: Craft Spells, DIIV and Wild Nothing.
Captured Tracks has reissued reco ...
, comprising a hardback slipcase containing the original album plus a bonus album of singles and EP tracks that were issued between 1983 and 1987, together with an exclusive pamphlet/lithograph containing a band interview.
Autumn 2014 saw the first ever definitive compilation of The Wake's previously released material, titled "Testament - Best Of" and released by
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...
in vinyl and CD formats. The vinyl format featured a slightly abbreviated track listing to the CD, but also came with a special bonus CD composed wholly of previously unreleased demos and live cuts. The regular CD itself featured 14 tracks culled from various singles and albums, plus one bonus, exclusive new track (an outtake from their 2012 album "A Light Far Out") entitled "Clouds Disco".
This exclusive CD track was then later issued as a 7" vinyl single to mark 2015's Record Store Day.
In late 2015 both
Sarah Records
Sarah Records was a British independent record label active in Bristol between 1987 and 1995, best known for its recordings of indie pop, which it released mostly on 7" singles. On reaching the catalogue number SARAH 100, the label celebrated i ...
albums by The Wake were reissued as remastered CDs, now expanded to include all tracks from the singles Crush the Flowers and Major John.
Discography
Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie 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 ...
.
Albums
* ''
Harmony
In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
'' (Factory, 1982)
* ''Here Comes Everybody'' (Factory, 1985) (No.20)
* ''Make It Loud'' (Sarah, 1990)
* ''Tidal Wave of Hype'' (Sarah, 1994)
* ''Assembly'' (compilation of a 1984 radio session, a 1983 live set and non-album tracks from the Sarah era, LTM, 2002)
* ''Holy Heads'' (compilation of the two Sarah albums, LTM, 2002)
* ''A Light Far Out'' (LTM, 2012)
** limited vinyl edition on
Factory Benelux
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...
(FBN-64), April 2013
* ''Harmony'' (double vinyl reissue - second disc includes 'Something Outside' 12" A+B sides plus session tracks) (Factory Benelux) 2013
* ''Here Comes Everybody'' (very limited Record Store Day double vinyl edition - compilation of the album plus 1983-1987 singles/EP tracks in special hardback slipcase packaging with pamphlet and extras) (Captured Tracks) 2013
* ''Testament - Best Of'' (compilation of singles and album tracks 1982-2012) (Factory Benelux) 2014
;As the Occasional Keepers (in collaboration with
Bobby Wratten)
* ''The Beauty of an Empty Vessel'' (LTM, 2005)
* ''True North'' (LTM, 2008)
Singles and EPs
* "On Our Honeymoon" (7" SCAN, 1982)
* "Something Outside" / "Host" (12" Factory Benelux, 1983) (No.23)
* "Talk About the Past" (7"/12" Factory, 1984) (No.11)
* "Of the Matter" (7" Factory, 1985) (No.22)
* ''Something That No One Else Could Bring'' EP (12" Factory, 1987)
* "Crush the Flowers" / "Carbrain" (7" Sarah, 1989)
* "Major John" / "Lousy Pop Group" (7" Sarah, 1991)
* "Clouds Disco" / "The Sun is a Star"
imited edition Record Store Day release(7" Factory Benelux, 2015)
Covers
* The covers for the single "Something Outside" and the album "Here Comes Everybody" were adapted respectively from "Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge" and "Schaumachinerie" (a poster for the opera
Victory over the Sun) works by
El Lissitzky
El Lissitzky (, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky , ; – 30 December 1941), was a Soviet Jewish artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant-garde, h ...
.
* A cover version of The Wake song "O Pamela" appears on the
Nouvelle Vague
The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...
album, ''
Bande à Part.''
* A cover version of The Wake song "Talk About the Past" appears on Blouse & Craft Spells "Gruesome Flowers 2: A Tribute to The Wake" 7" vinyl
References
External links
The Wake biography at LTM(unavailable)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wake, The
Musical groups established in 1981
Rock music groups from Glasgow
Sarah Records artists
Scottish post-punk music groups
Factory Records artists
Scottish new wave musical groups
Factory Benelux artists