Red Monkey were an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

DIY

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

, post-

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

, active from 1996 to 2005. The band are notable for their political lyrics.

History

Red Monkey was formed by Rachel Holborow, Pete Dale and Marc Walker in 1996, following on from Rachel and Pete’s earlier bands, the riot grrrl four-piece Pussycat Trash, and lo-fi duo Avocado Baby. Both acts had released records on the duo’s own record label

Slampt Slampt (also Slampt Underground Organisation) was a record label set up in Newcastle, England in 1992. The label is perhaps best known for releasing Kenickie's debut EP. Slampt also released the debut single by The Yummy Fur, a band who later f ...

, based in their adopted home town of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. Marc had previously drummed for Newcastle-based Post Hardcore/Rock bands Spinach and Kodiak. Red Monkey’s first release was the "Do What You Feel" EP on Slampt, followed by "The Time Is Right" EP on US label

Troubleman Unlimited Troubleman Unlimited Records was a record label specializing in indie rock and similar genres. Founded in 1993, the label was based in Bayonne, New Jersey and owned by Mike Simonetti. History The label started as an offshoot of a fanzine called ...

and then their debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

''Make The Moment''.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised the album for its "melodic appeal" and the band’s "ability to make entirely political lyrics work in a personal, intelligent manner", while the group’s sound was compared to

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

. In 1998, the band toured the US to support the stateside release of the album, and a third single followed on

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...

records, including two tracks performed on the band’s

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 ...

earlier the same year. Tours of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

followed before the band recorded their second album ''Difficult Is Easy'', released in 1999. The record received more mixed reviews than the first; it was praised by the

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

but

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

criticised the album for failing to capture the live energy of the band, albeit while making favourable comparisons to both

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

and

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

, the latter of whom Red Monkey supported on their American tours. Third and final album ''Gunpowder, Treason and Plot'' was released in 2001 on Troubleman Unlimited, after Slampt records was wound down the previous year. Joe Mask (of Leeds group

Bilge Pump A bilge pump is a water pump used to remove bilge water. Since fuel can be present in the bilge, electric bilge pumps are designed to not cause sparks. Electric bilge pumps are often fitted with float switches which turn on the pump when the bilg ...

) joined the band on second guitar. The album was praised as a return to form and noted for the use of non-standard time signatures, as well as horns, which brought comparisons to The Ex. From 2001, the band was less active as members focused increasingly on their families and careers. A final split single with

Erase Errata Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. History Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California, in 1999, and quickly earned national attention after the release of their first eponymous 7-inch single, and via tours with electro- rio ...

was released in 2003 and the band played their last shows in 2005. Dale started work as a music teacher, and later as a lecturer at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

, while continuing to play in long term side project Milky Wimpshake and also, immediately following Red Monkey, in a band called Chronicity. Marc Walker and Rachel Holborow went on to play in The Guise and Do The Right Thing, respectively. Red Monkey reformed for a night to play a Slampt Records retrospective event in Newcastle in 2008, alongside a new generation of post riot-grrrl bands which they and their label helped influence. They continue to be invoked as a touchstone for bands up to the present day. In 2014,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

-based label Our Voltage released a Red Monkey singles and rarities compilation, calling it "posthumous post-punk.. by one of England’s finest Post-RiotGrrrl-Outfits".

Reception

The band have been notated for their overt

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

-leaning political lyrics.

acclaimed the political agenda of the group, describing it as "down with materialist culture, up with self-actualization". Chris Nelson, writing for

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in 1998, noted the group's lyrics and "jagged" sound. He added that the three members had "... distinct voices moving forward as one."

Discography

Singles and EPs

* ''Do What You Feel (Feel What You Do)'', EP, 1997 (Slampt, UK) * ''The Time Is Right'', EP, 1997 (Troubleman Unlimited, USA) * ''Mailorder Freak 7” Singles Club'', EP, 1998 (Kill Rock Stars, USA) * "Get Uncivilised", single, 2000 (Troubleman Unlimited) * ''(Split single with'' Submission Hold) 7”, 2000 (Radio One, Australia) * ''(Split single with''

) 7”, 2003 (

Gringo Records Gringo Records is a British independent record label based in Nottingham, England, which was founded in 1996. It is known for releasing experimental rock and its DIY ethic. History The label formed in Colchester in 1996 from involvements in ...

, UK)

Albums

* ''Make The Moment'', 1997 (Slampt/Troubleman Unlimited) * ''Difficult Is Easy'', 1999 (Slampt/Troubleman Unlimited) * ''Gunpowder, Treason and Plot'', 2001 (Troubleman Unlimited) * ''How We Learned To Live Like A Bomb'', 2014 (Our Voltage)

Compilation appearances

* ''Taking A Chance On Chances'' LP, 1998 (Slampt/Troubleman Unlimited)

References

External links

2002 interview

2014 retrospective interview
{{Authority control British post-hardcore musical groups Riot grrrl bands Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom