Minny Pops is a Dutch, Amsterdam-based new wave/electronic/art punk band, associated with the

Ultra Ultra may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II * Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application * Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer work ...

post-punk movement in the Netherlands and the

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 ...

label in the UK.

History

The vocalist/songwriter/programmer Wally van Middendorp formed the band in 1978, taking the name from a primitive

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electr ...

drum machine, the Mini Pops. Minny Pops, which van Middendorp originally intended to be a project for just three performances, had an initial lineup of van Middendorp, bass guitarist Frans Hagenaars, guitarist Peter Mertens, and two dancers, including van Middendorp's older brother, Rob. The band's first commercially released recording was the "Kojak" singleKellman, Andy
"The Minny Pops Biography"
AllMusic, retrieved 17 July 2011 (b/w "Footsteps" and "Nervous") (Plurex 005), issued in 1979 on Plurex, the independent label founded by van Middendorp in 1978. Minny Pops' first full-length album, ''Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement'' (Plurex 900) was released in 1979. After opening for

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

in Eindhoven and Den Haag in January 1980, the band was brought to the attention of Factory Records by

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 ...

, Joy Division's manager. Minny Pops' first single for Factory, "Dolphin's Spurt"/"Goddess" (FAC 31) was produced by

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...

and recorded 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. It reached number 23 in the

UK Independent 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 ...

.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 149 Further releases for the label included the single "Secret Story"/"Island" (FAC 57), the flexi single "Een Kus" (FACBN 13 - later reissued as 7" vinyl 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 ...

with "Son" on the B-side), the single "Time"/"Lights" (FBN 11) and the full-length album (FACBN 15), which 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 ...

in 1982. '' Sparks in a Dark Room'' The band's first live appearance in England was at the Beach Club, a Manchester venue associated with Factory. They went on to share further bills with Joy Division and, after

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

' death, New Order, as well as appearing with

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 ...

Scritti Politti Scritti Politti are a British band formed in 1977 in Leeds by singer-songwriter Green Gartside, who is the sole remaining member of the original band. Initially formed as a punk culture, punk-aligned underground act influenced by leftist poli ...

, the

Au Pairs The Au Pairs were a British post-punk band that formed in Birmingham in 1978 and continued until 1983. They produced two studio albums and three singles. Their songs were said to have "contempt for the cliches of contemporary sexual politic ...

and

Comsat Angels The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form ...

. In 1980, Minny Pops undertook a seven-date North American tour during which they played with

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in New York. Curiously, the original line-up of Minny Pops never performed live in Brussels, despite their close association with the Factory Benelux label, based in that city. In 1980, they 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 ...

for

BBC Radio One 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, hi ...

. A line-up of van Middendorp, Dekker, van Zoeren and Walhof recorded "Dolphin's Spurt", "Mono", "Jets" and "Ice Cube Wall"; the session was broadcast on 12 November 1980. Minny Pops' final live performances were in December 1981. Under the alias "White Birds", Minny Pops contributed the song "Possessed By The Stars" to the holiday compilation album ''Chantons Noël - Ghosts Of Christmas Past'', which was released in 1981 by

Les Disques Du Crépuscule Les Disques du Crépuscule is an independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized ente ...

. Minny Pops composed music for the play "Poste Restante", which was performed by the theatre collective Exota and premiered in Haarlem, The Netherlands in December 1982. This music was released in 1983 as Minny Pops' third album, ''Poste Restante''. A fourth Minny Pops album titled ''4th Floor'' followed in 1985. Van Middendorp and Dekker recorded two dance singles for Factory under the name Streetlife. Between 2003 and 2004, the bulk of the Minny Pops studio back catalogue was issued on remastered CD by LTM.In November 2011, van Middendorp told an interviewer with the Dutch national public broadcaster

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

's ''3Voor12'' programme that Minny Pops would perform their first gigs in 30 years in early 2012, and that a live CD/DVD package, ''Standstill to Motion'',Raggett, Ned
"
AllMusic, retrieved 28 February 2012 would appear via LTM in January 2012.
/ref> In 2012, the band (original members van Middendorp, Dekker and Mulder, with guitarist Mark Ritsema) performed to some acclaim in Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and London.Robinson, John
Guardian Guide Live Picks
''The Guardian'', retrieved 28 February 2012 This lineup, augmented by programmer/keyboard player Thomas Myrmel, also recorded a double A-sided 7" single, "Waiting for This To Happen" / "Glistering", for Tim Burgess (artist), Tim Burgess' label O-Genesis, which was released in November 2012. During the course of 2012, Minny Pops also performed in Brussels and participated in live multimedia events in the Netherlands organised by the revived Ultra group. A recording of a complete live performance at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on 7 April 2012 was included as a bonus disc with the 2014 reissue of ''Sparks in a Dark Room'' via

. As of 2014, they are back performing and have played in the UK. Minny Pops' website states: "Based out of the UK since 2014, Minny Pops are now operating as a collective with a cast of collaborators from various places that man might visit from time to time: Austin, Bristol, London, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles." Several new songs and remixes were released in 2019 and 2020 on the Blowpipe label. An album titled ''Stockholm 1974'' followed in 2021. The album title refers to

Stockholm Syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a proposed condition or theory that tries to explain why hostages sometimes develop a psychological bond with their captors. Emotional bonds can possibly form between captors and captives, during intimate time together, ...

and the 1974 kidnapping of

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is an American actress and member of the Hearst family. She is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 197 ...

. The album includes contributions from Graham Dowdall (aka Gagarin), Natalia Zamilska, Louise Woodcock, Iona Tanguay and

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding mem ...

. Minny Pops members Wally Van Middendorp and Pieter Mulder worked with guitarists Mark Ritsema and Lee McFadden, bassist Thomas David Ford, and drummer John Barrett. According to Minny Pops' website, the group plans "a series of four albums to be released in 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027."

Discography

Studio albums *''Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement'' (1979), Plurex; (re-released 2004, LTMCD 2384, LTM) *'' Sparks in a Dark Room'' (1982), Factory Benelux; (re-released 2003, LTMCD 2351, LTM and 2014, FBN 15 CD,

) *''Poste Restante'' (1983), Plurex; (re-released 2012, Blowpipe BP047) *''4th Floor'' (1985), Plurex; (re-released 2012, Blowpipe BP048) *''Stockholm 1974'' (2021), Psychofon; (re-released 2024, Blowpipe BP194) Compilation album *''Secret Stories'' (2003), LTMCD 2353, LTM Live album *''Standstill to Motion'' (2012), LTMCD 2566, LTM - CD/DVD package of live album from Melkweg show on 19 March 1981 (DVD features original source footage from various shows in USA and Europe).

References

External links

Official Minny Pops websiteMinny Pops on MySpace
{{Authority control Dutch new wave musical groups Dutch art rock groups Art punk groups Dutch post-punk music groups Dutch experimental rock groups Dutch cold wave groups Factory Records artists Factory Benelux artists Musical groups established in 1978

History

Discography

References

Further reading

In English

In Dutch

External links