It's Immaterial are an English

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

band from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England, formed in 1980. They are best known for their 1986

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune) "Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" is a song by British band It's Immaterial. Released as a single in March 1986, it spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 18 in April 1986. The song has been described by the band as a "B ...

", which reached number 18 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Career

It's Immaterial were formed by three former members of

Yachts A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

- Mancunian John Campbell (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

), Martin Dempsey (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

), and

Henry Priestman Henry Christian Priestman (born 21 June 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English rock singer, keyboardist, record producer and songwriter. Biography Priestman was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshir ...

(

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

) - in addition to Paul Barlow (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

). By 1984, the band had been reduced to a duo - Campbell and Jarvis Whitehead, on guitar and keyboards, who joined in 1982.Strong, Martin C.:''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', 1999, Canongate, On 11 November 1981, around the time of the release of the band’s third single, It's Immaterial recorded the first of four sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

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 current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

. The track listing was "A Gigantic Raft (In the Philippines)", "Imitate the Worm", "White Man's Hut", and "Rake". "A Gigantic Raft" was featured on the soundtrack of

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

's 2004 ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. The ...

''. In April 1985, the band recorded their fourth and final John Peel session, with the tracks: "Rope", "Hang On Sleepy Town", "Space" and "Festival Time". In the same month, the band's ''Fish Waltz'' EP reached number 30 on 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 re ...

. Less than a year later the band had a hit single with "

". This song was their biggest hit and has since featured widely on

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s and on 1980s based compilation albums. Another minor hit followed, "Ed's Funky Diner (Friday Night, Saturday Morning)", with accompanying video, before the release of the band's debut album, ''

Life's Hard and Then You Die ''Life's Hard and Then You Die'' is the debut album by the British band It's Immaterial, released in September 1986. The album was released several months after the single "Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" reached the top twenty on the UK Si ...

'', in September 1986. In 1990, they released their second album ''

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

''. As before, the music was of a subdued, understated nature, with wry wit in the manner of an indie

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

. The album was a commercial flop, despite receiving positive reviews in the music press. The album was produced by

Calum Malcolm Calum Malcolm is a Scottish record producer, sound engineer and keyboardist, who is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He started his career in rock music with the band The Headboys in 1977. From 1974, he has worked with bands and musicians such as ...

, best known for his work with Glasgow band

the Blue Nile The Blue Nile was a Scottish band which originated in Glasgow. The group's early music was built heavily on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation and percussion, although later works featured guitar more prominently. Following early champ ...

. In the same year as ''Song'', former It's Immaterial keyboard player Henry Priestman, had a UK number one album '' The Christians'' with the band of the same name. In 1993, the band started to work on a new album which remained uncompleted for many years. Since 2010 some unreleased songs from the album have appeared on different internet music channels: "Just North of Here", "New Moon", "Is It Alright (Between Us)", "House for Sale" and "How Can I Tell You". A deluxe edition of their album ''Life's Hard and Then You Die'' was released on 1 July 2016. The double CD issue contains the original album remastered plus bonus tracks of single versions, B-sides, remixes and one of the group's John Peel sessions. On 23 September 2016, the group launched the campaign to produce and release their "lost and found" album ''House for Sale'' via Pledge Music. The pledge target was reached, although an initial tentative release date of spring 2017 was later postponed to early 2018. The album was finally released on 18 September 2020, through Burning Shed Distribution.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Its Immaterial British indie pop groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1980 Situation Two artists Virgin Records artists