Loop are an English rock band, formed in 1986 by

Robert Hampson Joshua Robert Hampson (born 10 June 1965 in Bromley, London, England) is an English musician and composer, known primarily as a guitarist in the band Loop, which he co-founded in London in 1985 with his then-girlfriend Becky "Bex" Stewart. Lo ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

. The group topped the UK independent charts with their albums '' Fade Out'' (1989) and '' A Gilded Eternity'' (1990). Their dissonant "trance-rock" sound drew on the work of artists like the Stooges,

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

and Can, and helped to resurrect the concept of space rock in the late 1980s. The group split in 1991, with Hampson going on to form the experimental project Main with guitarist Scott Dawson, and Mackay and Wills forming The Hair and Skin Trading Company. In 2013, the 1989–90 line-up of Hampson, Dawson, John Wills, and Neil Mackay briefly reformed for a series of gigs, and the following year Hampson unveiled a new line-up of the band with himself as the sole original member.

Career

Loop were formed in 1986 by

(vocals, guitar), with his then-girlfriend Becky Stewart on drums. Stewart was later replaced by John Wills ( The Servants) and Glen Ray, with James Endeacott on guitar.Strong, Martin C.: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, Their sound was influenced by

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, a ...

and No Wave influences and relied heavily on three chord riffs. Initially releasing records on Jeff Barrett's Head label, their first release was 1987's "16 Dreams", with debut album '' Heaven's End'' following later that year. The band was then signed up by Chapter 22 Records. Loop returned with a more polished sound with the "Collision" single in 1988. A second album '' Fade Out'' followed in 1989, reaching No. 51 on the UK album chart. Endeacott left the band in 1988, Scott Dowson joined the following year. They changed labels again to Beggars Banquet subsidiary Situation Two, releasing the "Arc-Lite" single in 1989 and the third and final studio album '' A Gilded Eternity'' in 1990. The band played at the Reading Festival in 1989. The band split in 1991, with Hampson briefly joining Godflesh before forming Main with Dowson. Hampson's Main project was discontinued in 2006 and while he now releases under his own name in 2010 he announced the return of Main, albeit as a collaborative project with other sound artists. Wills and Mackay went on to form The Hair and Skin Trading Company, which last released in 1995. Wills now performs and records as Pumajaw. Loop recorded three Peel 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 ...

(11 August 1987, 14 June 1988 and 21 January 1990). A collection of these sessions entitled ''Wolf Flow'' was released in 1992. Following the split Loop's official studio albums were re-released on their Reactor label. Some of the records featured

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of

, The Pop Group and Can tracks. Hampson's MySpace pages referred to friendly pressure to again re-release the Loop albums and these were eventually released in November 2008 on the Reactor label.

Reformation

Loop reformed for 2013 and 2014 activities, as presented by a statement from Robert Hampson. The line-up included the original ''Gilded Eternity'' era members

, John Wills, Neil Mackay and Scott Dowson. In November 2013, the band played their first comeback show and also co-curated the final holiday camp edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England. Wills, wishing to focus on his own musical projects, left the band and was replaced by Wayne Maskell. Loop then played in April 2014 as headliners of the Roadburn Festival, followed by more than 20 dates in the USA, headlining the opening night of Milwaukee Psych Fest 2014 at Cactus Club on 24 April. They concluded this comeback tour with the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona in May 2014. In November 2014, a new line-up emerged; still led by Hampson (vocal, guitar), the band performed with Hugo Morgan (bass) and Maskell (drums) from The Heads as well as Dan Boyd (guitar). They played at the Garage (London) and in the Netherlands. Their set featured a new song, "Precession". They also announced they would be playing ATP Iceland 2015. In June 2018, the band played as part of

Robert Smith Robert Smith or Bob Smith, or similar, may refer to: Business * Robert MacKay Smith (1802–1888), Scottish businessman, meteorologist and philanthropist who founded Glasgow University's Mackay Smith Prizes * Robert Barr Smith (1824–1915), ...

's curation of the

Meltdown Festival Meltdown is an annual festival held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The ...

. The first studio album in 31 years, ''Sonancy'', was released on 25 March 2022.

Musical style

Their musical style has been described as space rock,

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, drone rock, and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extrem ...

Members

Current line-up: *

(

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 ...

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 ...

s) * Hugo Morgan (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) * Dan Boyd (guitar) * Wayne Maskel (drums) Previous members: * Becky Stewart (Bex) ( drums) 1986–87 * Glen Ray (bass) 1986–7 * James Endeacott (guitars) 1987–88 * John Wills (drums) 1987–90, 2013–14 * Neil Mackay (bass) 1987–90, 2013–14 * Scott Dowson (guitars) 1989–90, 2013–14

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Official 'Soundheads' websiteRobert Hampson's official website2008 interview with Robert Hampson
*http://thequietus.com/articles/00731-loop *http://thequietus.com/articles/01801-loop-a-guilded-eternity-the-world-in-your-eyes-reissue-album-reviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Loop English space rock musical groups English noise rock groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 1986 establishments in England Situation Two artists