Ian Lowery (27 March 1956 – 14 July 2001) was an English vocalist and poet who fronted several bands, including

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/ EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera which explores Pink, a jaded rock star, as he constructs a psychologic ...

Ski Patrol Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emerge ...

, Folk Devils, and King Blank, as well as recording as a solo artist.

Career

The punk rock years: the Prefabs and the Wall

Ian Lowery was born in

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

in 1956. He studied art at Sunderland Polytechnic where in early 1978 he formed his first band, The Prefabs, along with Gordon Craig (guitar), Peter Balmer (bass, vocals), and Alan Henderson (drums), Lowery at the time going by the stage name 'Johnny Yen'.Parry, Brian (1976) "Pub Rock is the Road to Big Time", ''Sunderland Echo'', 6 March 1978, p. 9 The band played regularly at local venues, but didn't release any records before splitting up later that year. Lowery then formed The Wall with art college friends John "Joe" Hammond (lead guitar), Andy Gr/iffiths (bass), and Bruce Archibald (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 404, 564Glasper, Ian (2004) ''Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984'', Cherry Red Books, , pp. 255–257 A

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

led to their signing by London independent label Small Wonder, who released the band's first two singles. After relocating to London, Lowery was sacked from the band after a disagreement over who should be the band's guitarist.

Ski Patrol, F for Fake, and Phantom White Limb

Having relocated to London, Lowery teamed up with another art college friend, Nick Clift, to form Ski Patrol, recruiting Balmer and Archibald to complete the lineup. The band released three singles and recorded a

Peel session 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 ...

before splitting up in 1981.Garner, Ken (1993) ''In Session Tonight'', BBC Books, , p. 245, 294 Lowery then formed the short-lived

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-influenced F for Fake, which included former members of Ski Patrol. The band folded after recording a demo and playing live once. Lowery and Clift recorded a further single that was released under the Ski Patrol name in 1982. Lowery and Clift then teamed up again in Phantom White Limb, which also included Hammond, Louie Sasportas, and Dave Cringle. They recorded four tracks which were set for release before the Malicious Damage label folded. The band split up shortly after.

Folk Devils

In 1983, Lowery and Kris Jozajtis formed Folk Devils, with the aim of producing music that was "a cross between Country Blues and Einstürzende Neubauten".Peacock, Tim (2016)
Beautiful Monsters (Singles & Demo Recordings 1984-86) , Folk Devils
, ''Record Collector'', Issue 457, 10 August 2016 Former Ski Patrol drummer Alan Cole and bassist Mark Whiteley completed the lineup. They had independent chart success with their first single, "Hank Turns Blue" in 1984,Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, and recorded a

in March 1984. After two EP releases (both indie hits), and two more Peel sessions, the band split up in 1986. Lowery formed a new lineup of the group, retaining Whiteley and teaming up again with Clift, with John Hamilton joining on drums. This second lineup was short-lived, with Robert Mune taking over on bass guitar, and saxophonist Saul Taylor added. Lowery was signed by

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album pro ...

subsidiary

Situation Two Situation Two (a.k.a. Situation 2) was a British independent record label founded in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the Beggars Banquet Records, Beggars Banquet label. The name is a reference to Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus's old management ...

, but the only release on the label had little impact, and the band split up in late 1987. The label subsequently released a compilation of the band's work.Young, John
Folk Devils
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

''. Retrieved 31 January 2021

King Blank, the Ian Lowery Group, solo work, and subsequent bands

Still contracted to Situation Two, Lowery recorded with a fluid lineup of musicians under the King Blank name. Collaborators included Bill Carter of the Screaming Blue Messiahs (on first single "Mouth Off"),

Nigel Pulsford Bush are an English rock band formed in London in 1992. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Gavin Rossdale, lead guitarist Chris Traynor, bassist Corey Britz, and drummer Nik Hughes. In 1994, Bush found immedia ...

(later of Bush, former Folk Devil Jozajtis, Hugh Garrety, and Kevin Rooney. After 1988's ''The Real Dirt'' album and an appearance on ''

Snub TV ''Snub TV'' (also known as simply ''Snub'') was an alternative culture television program that aired from 1987 to 1989 as a segment on the '' Night Flight'' overnight programming on the USA Network, and subsequently for three seasons on the BBC ...

'', Lowery adopted the name 'The Ian Lowery Group' for future work, releasing the album ''King Blank to * the Ian Lowery Group'' in 1989, preceded by the single "Need", which was described by Penny Kiley of the ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...

'' as "Demanding and dirty, loud, simple and repetitive. Four minutes long and not a superfluous second." With his Situation Two contract ending in 1990, Lowery subsequently recorded as a solo artist, releasing the single "Time is Gone" in 1992. In 1992, Lowery relocated to Edinburgh and teamed up with local musicians to form Drug of Choice, the band releasing the album ''Cooler'' in 1993.Ranson, Gerry (2018)
Going Blank Again!
, ''Vive Le Rock!'', 12 June 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2021Dan, Jen (2017)
Ian Lowery (1956 – 2001) – Singer, Songwriter, Musician, and Producer
, Rebel Noise, 23 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021 While in Edinburgh he also produced recordings by other bands and continued to write poetry. Relocating to London in 1994, Lowery formed Blacklist, later to become Memory Zero. He went on to form SquareJohn in 1998 with two female violinists and in 2001 formed SlumRich along with Jim Ledbetter (drums), Nicky Green (guitar), and Joe Griephan (bass).

Death and legacy

On 14 July 2001, Lowery was found dead in his London flat. Several compilation albums including much previously unreleased material by Lowery and his various bands have been released since his death.Canty, Ian (2021)
The Wall: A New Way To Peroxide – album review
, ''Louder Than War'', 31 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021

Discography

with The Wall

*"New Way" (1979), Small Wonder *"Kiss the Mirror"/"Exchange" (1979), Small Wonder - UK Independent no. 26 *''A New Way to Peroxide'' (2021) (compilation)

with Ski Patrol

*"Everything is Temporary" (1980), Clever Metal - UK Independent no. 44 *"Agent Orange" (1980), Malicious Damage *"Cut"/"Faith in Transition" (1981), Malicious Damage *"Bright Shiny Things" (1982), Clever Metal *''Versions Of A Life (Recordings 1979-1981)'' (2014), Definitive Gaze (compilation)

with Folk Devils

*"Hank Turns Blue" (1984), Ganges – UK Independent no. 9 *"Beautiful Monster" (1984), Ganges – UK Independent no. 4 *''Fire and Chrome'' EP (1985), Karbon - UK Independent no. 10 *"The Best Protection" (1987),

- UK Independent no. 22 *''Goodnight Irony'' LP (1987), Situation Two *''The Best Protection & the BBC Sessions'' (2015),

(compilation) *''Beautiful Monsters - Singles And Demo Recordings 1984-1986'' (2016), Optic Nerve (compilation)

King Blank

*"Mouth Off" (1988), Situation Two *"Uptight" (1988), Situation Two *"Blind Box" (1988), Situation Two *''The Real Dirt'' (1988), Situation Two

The Ian Lowery Group

*"Need" (1989), Situation Two *''King Blank to * the Ian Lowery Group'' (1989), Situation Two

with Drug of Choice

*''Cooler'' (1993), Three Lines

Solo

*"Ian Lowery Speaks" (1990), Eva-Tone Soundheets (flexi-disc) *"Time Is Gone"/"Sucker Punch" (1992), Resivu *''Get Out the Sun'' (2014), Spectacle Music Ltd. (compilation) *''Ironic'' (2015), Spectacle Music Ltd. (compilation) *''Agent Orange'92 plus Drug of Choice Sessions'' (2017), Spectacle Music Ltd. (compilation) *''The Eye of the Beholder'' (2019), Spectacle Music Ltd. (compilation) *''But Even Stars Must Die'' (compilation)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Ian 1956 births 2001 deaths People from Hartlepool English punk rock musicians English male singers 20th-century English male singers