Endgames were a Scottish pop band active during the 1980s. They released two albums on
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
, but failed to achieve significant commercial success.
History
Origins and early years
Endgames was formed in Glasgow, Scotland by David Rudden (bass, vocals) and David Murdoch (keyboards).
The band began through gigging at clubs and colleges in Glasgow, Scotland, and eventually appeared as a support act for the band Simple Minds in late December 1979, for which they received a rather lukewarm mention at the "New Musical Express" ("Pleasant rather disturbing, End Game
ichave some good, if half-formed ideas...but at least they don't sound like the Berlin Blondes").
During the second half of 1980, Endgames played in the London area (joined with drummer David Wilde). Their early style is represented on various artists compilations recordings released during 1980–1981: ''Beyond the Groove'' and ''Live Letters'' (both on
Polydor Records
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
), which documented bands that played in the well-known South London club 101; and ''Heat from the Street'' (on
Charisma
() is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal.
In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership.
In Christian theology, the term ''chari ...
).
Endgames attracted interest from
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
DJ
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 ...
, and recorded their first
session for his show (broadcast in March 1981). Recordings were done not only in London, but in Glasgow, too - for example, Endgames were the last band to do a recording session at the second home of Ca Va Studios in May 1981. During this time they played
synth-rock
Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
characterized by cold-sounding synths, stiff rhythms and dark, brooding vocals reminiscent of
Philip Oakey
Philip Oakey (born 2 October 1955) is an English singer-songwriter who is the frontman and co-founder of the synth-pop band the Human League. Aside from the Human League, he has enjoyed an extensive solo music career and has collaborated with n ...
. This didn't sit well with the labels searching for the "next big thing" or the press, generally not very supportive of the "futurist"/electronic movement.
Soon, however, their music started to show a much more commercial approach, with David Murdoch and David Rudden rediscovering youth influences in disco music of the 1970s (
Boney M.
Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...
,
Barry White
Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...
,
Marshall Hain
Marshall Hain were a British pop-rock duo known for their 1978 hit " Dancing in the City", a UK No. 3 hit single on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1978 and number 3 in Australia.
Overview
The duo comprised keyboard player Julian Marshall and v ...
). The record companies, indifferent to their earlier style, quickly showed an interest in the wake of success of such bands as
Haircut 100 and
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
. First Endgames signed with
Warner
Warner can refer to:
People
* Warner (writer)
* Warner (given name)
* Warner (surname)
Fictional characters
* Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs''
* Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...
- "for a week then they decided they didn't want us". But they were quickly taken on board by
Mercury (a subdivision of
Phonogram
Phonogram may refer to:
* A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention
* ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
* Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phon ...
), with which the band signed a basic two singles deal in Spring 1982. "Our aims are to make aggressively commercial music - that means aggressive and commercial in equal measures", - commented David Rudden. By that time the line-up changed and expanded, with Wilde joining Altered Images he was replaced by
Brian McGee (who left Simple Minds in mid 1981), and Douglas Muirden (saxophone, keyboards) being added.
In April, their debut single "We Feel Good (Future's Looking Fine)" was released. With its writing credited to The Enjoyment Club (their short-lived moniker), it was produced by
John Leckie
John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978); XTC's '' White Music'' (1978); Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' and the F ...
(famed for his work with Simple Minds,
Magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
,
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...
,
XTC
XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...
etc.). The single received support from ABC's Martin Fry who commented on its "tremendous potential that might borrow from Chic's "I Want Your Love" but maintains interest from start to finish...when Endgames get a mix that gives them more clarity they'll enjoy chart success". The band also recorded the second "Peel Session", showcasing their new direction.
October saw the release of their second single, catchy synthpop "First-Last-For Everything" (featured in the recent "Peel Session"), produced by
Steve Levine
Steve Levine is a British record producer, best known for his work on Culture Club's studio albums. He won a Brit Award for Producer of the Year in 1984. He has also composed film and TV scores.
History
Levine's career began as a trainee tap ...
(soon famed for the production work with
Culture Club
Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...
). It found success in clubs in Europe and North America, receiving significant airplay in Canada, especially on the "alternative" radio station
CFNY-FM
CFNY-FM (102.1 Hertz, MHz, "102.1 The Edge") is a radio station city of license, licensed to Brampton, Ontario. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station broadcasts a modern rock format serving the Greater Toronto Area. Its studios are in Downtow ...
(Toronto), while in the US it was a club success, with the DJ-oriented remix service Disconet choosing it for a dance edit treatment. Eventually it charted in the ''Billboard'' magazine Disco/Dance Chart, peaking at No. 31.
Still, the hoped mass commercial success wasn't forthcoming and Mercury chose not to continue with the band. Soon offers came flooding in from other major record companies, creating a "bidding war". It was won by
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
, with which Endgames signed for the UK and Europe. The US labels also sought to contract the band - among the "power players" that showed enough interest to travel to Glasgow to meet the band were
Tommy Mottola
Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American businessman, record executive, television producer, theater producer, film producer, investor, and serial entrepreneur. Mottola is the chairman of Mottola Media Group, co-founder of Nter ...
(then of The Champion Entertainment Organization, later president of
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
), Ed Leffler and
Bill Aucoin
William Martin Aucoin (December 29, 1943 – June 28, 2010) was an American band manager, well known for his work with the rock band Kiss and Billy Idol.
Early life, family and education
Aucoin was born in 1943 in Ayer, Massachusetts. He had tw ...
(manager of
Kiss
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
and
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...
). Eventually
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
succeeded in signing them for the North-American market with Aucoin becoming their manager. By that time the line-up officially expanded to sextet with the addition of Willie Gardner (guitar, backing vocals, bass) - former leader of the promising Scottish
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
/new wave band
Zones
Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to:
Places Military zones
* Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation
* Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation
* Korean Demilit ...
, who also released a couple of solo singles.
Commercial semi-success and break-up
The first single in this third phase of the band's career was "Waiting for Another Chance", released in July 1983. It became a substantial hit in Scotland, but didn't appear on the UK charts (Scotland is treated as a regional market so anything that sells strongly there but has little success elsewhere isn't allowed to appear on the national chart). However, the song was well received in West Germany where, after the appearance on the TV music show ' and aided by a colourful videoclip (modelled after the UK 12" cover with the Japanese fan motif), it became a sizeable hit (No. 21 in September). The song also briefly charted in Switzerland.
In October 1983, Virgin released their first album ''Building Beauty'', produced by Colin Campsie and George McFarlane of the dance-pop duo
The Quick. It was a polished album with the sentimental but upbeat sound in vein of the "technologically enhanced
blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly black Motown and St ...
and funk" of ABC and
Heaven 17
Heaven 17 are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of founding Human League members Martyn Ware (keyboards, drum machine, vocals) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) with voc ...
(who themselves sought to update the classic
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
sound for the 80s), with vocal stylings recalling
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
at times. The album's liner notes reveal heavy use of the latest advancements in music technology to augment and enhance the "standard" instrumentation (like piano, drums, guitars and saxophone): electronic drums and drum machines (
Simmons,
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Development
The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. It was ...
), synthesizers (
Korg Polysix
The Korg Polysix (PS-6) is a six-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1981. It was one of the first affordable polyphonic synthesizers on the market, and was released as a cheaper alternative to the Prophet-5, Sequential Prophe ...
,
PPG Wave
The PPG Wave is a series of synthesizers built by the German company Palm Products GmbH from 1981 to 1987.
Background
Until the early 1980s, the tonal palette of commercial synthesizers was limited to that which could be obtained by combining ...
,
Roland Jupiter-4
The Roland Jupiter-4 (JP-4) was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphony (instrument), polyphonic synthesizer, and for employing digita ...
,
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
,
Oberheim OB-Xa
The Oberheim OB-Xa was the second of Oberheim's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers, replacing the OB-X with updated features.
History
The OB-Xa was released in December 1980, replacing the OB-X after only a year on the marke ...
), computers (
J.J. Jeczalik
Jonathan Edward Stephen "J. J." Jeczalik () is a British electronic musician/record producer, co-founder of the electronic music group the Art of Noise. He taught IT at Oxford High School until his retirement in 2013.
Before Art of Noise
He ...
of
The Art of Noise
Art of Noise (also the Art of Noise) were a British avant-garde synth-rock group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and mus ...
is credited with
Fairlight Fairlight may refer to:
In places:
* Fairlight, East Sussex, a village east of Hastings in southern England, UK
* Fairlight, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia
* Fairlight, Saskatchewan, Canada
In other uses:
* Fairlight (company), ...
programming). ''Building Beauty'' was greeted enthusiastically in some publications with Betty Page proclaiming in
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
: "Endgames has come up trumps with a debut elpee every bit as spirited and accomplished as ''
True
True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality.
True may also refer to:
Places
* True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States
* True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States
* ...
''".
''Building Beauty'' was released in the USA in February 1984 with a slightly different running order. "Waiting for Another Chance" and "Love Cares" were serviced to radio stations and clubs as promos, with their accompanying clips distributed through music video services like Telegenics and
RockAmerica. Additionally, their songs "Desire" and "Ecstasy" received attention from the
R&B radio (especially the latter - in the form of a "Centurion Mix", released on the B-side of "Miracle in My Heart" 12", which became popular as an import). "Love Cares" charted in ''Billboard'', reaching No. 47 on the Disco/Dance Chart,
but MCA didn't promote the band enough so the actual sales weren't strong with the album failing to chart. Meanwhile, Endgames toured as a support to
Howard Jones during his sold-out first tour of the UK in March–April 1984. But the single "Desire" (fourth off the album), failed to catch on.
so it sold poorly. Virgin then ended their contract and not long afterwards Endgames disbanded.
Legacy
The band's most enduring song proved to be First-Last-For Everything, which regularly appears on various European compilations of '80s pop and new wave is now considered a cult underground dance hit, meanwhile occasionally getting played by radio stations like CFNY during "retro" shows. "Ecstasy" endured popularity on R&B radio and turned into a source of samples in the field of hip-hop. In 1994, the song was sampled by rap group
Heavy D & The Boyz
Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. ''Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Heav ...
on the title track of their album ''Nuttin' but Love'', which became a noticeable hit (No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Top 20 on R&B and Hot Rap Tracks charts), while the album reached No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Top 200, topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified Double Platinum. In 2007, "Ecstasy" was sampled by rapper
Lil' Flip
Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born 3 March 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. Raised in Houston, Texas, he began his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before signing with the local record label Sucka ...
on his track "Flippin'" from the album ''I Need Mine'' (No. 15 on the ''Billboard'' Top 200 and Top 5 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop and Top Rap Albums charts).
Discography
Albums
* ''Building Beauty'' (1983)
P: V 2287 / Cassette: TCV 2287* ''Natural'' (1985)
irgin – 206 975-620, Virgin – 206 975
Singles
Mercury/Phonogram
*"We Feel Good (Future's Looking Fine)" (April 1982)
": GAME 1 / 12": GAME 12*"First-Last-For Everything" (October 1982)
": GAME 2 / 12": GAME 12
Virgin Records
*"Waiting for Another Chance" (June 1983)
": VS 605 / 12": VS 605-12*"Love Cares" (September 1983)
": VS 617 / Shaped Picture Disc: VSS 617 / 12": VS 617-12*"Miracle in My Heart" (31 October 1983)
": VS 640 / 12": VS 640-12*"Desire" (March 1984)
": VS 651 / 12": VS 651-12
References
{{Authority control
Scottish pop music groups
Scottish new wave musical groups
Scottish synth-pop new wave groups