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Units were an American
synthpunk Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
band that was founded in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in 1978. It was active until 1984. They were one of America's earliest electronic new wave bands, and have been cited (along with
The Screamers The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary '' Punk: Attitude'' ( ...
and
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 ...
) as pioneers of synthpunk, also retrospectively known as "electropunk". The Units were notable for their use of
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s in place of guitars, and multimedia performances featuring multiple projections of satirical, instructional films critical of conformity and
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
.


History

The Units was one of the most popular bands of the San Francisco punk and performance art scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s, headlining at the
Mabuhay Gardens The Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab or The Mab, was a former San Francisco nightclub, located at 443 Broadway Street, in North Beach on the Broadway strip area best known for its striptease clubs. It closed in 1987. History The Ma ...
(aka The Fab Mab), The Savoy Tivoli, The
Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...
, The
Deaf Club The Deaf Club was a notable music venue located on Valencia Street in San Francisco which remained open for an 18-month period. Its main attraction was punk music. The name comes from the fact the building it was in originally began as a deaf pe ...
, Valencia Tool & Die,
Geary Theater Geary, an Anglicized rendering of the Irish name ''O'Gadhra'', has a number of meanings: Places United States * Geary, Kansas, a ghost town in Doniphan County * Geary County, Kansas, a county * Geary, Oklahoma, a city Other countries * Geary ...
and other punk clubs. The Units also opened for such bands as
Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...
,
Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...
,
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...
,
XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...
,
Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...
,
the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
,
the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
,
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
,
Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...
, Sparks and toured the United States with
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
. Notable
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
appearances included "Punk Under Glass", where the Units performed in the windows of the JC Penney building in downtown San Francisco, as part of a two-day art installation, and the Labat / Chapman Fight at
Kezar Pavilion Kezar Pavilion, located adjacent to Kezar Stadium, is an indoor arena in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, United States (US). Built in 1924, the Pavilion seats 4,000 people and is owned and operated by the Ci ...
, a
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
boxing match Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a p ...
between two artists where the Units played the national anthem. The Units' DIY, self stamped, 7” EP entitled “Units” was released in 1979. It was followed by another record in early 1980, "Warm Moving Bodies"/"iNight". The Units' first album, ''
Digital Stimulation ''Digital Stimulation'' is the debut studio album by American new wave and synth punk band Units, released in 1980, by 415 Records. Reception AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online databa ...
'', was released in 1980, and was the first album released by
415 Records 415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, The Units, Romeo Void, and Wire Tra ...
. In 1982, the Units released a single on UpRoar Records entitled "The Right Man". The song was recorded at the
Different Fur Different Fur Studios (formerly Different Fur Trading Company) is a recording studio located in the Mission District, San Francisco, California, Mission District area of San Francisco, California, at 3470 19th Street. Since 1968, Different Fur has ...
recording studio, founded by the
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
Patrick Gleeson Patrick Gleeson (born November 9, 1934) is an American musician, synthesizer pioneer, composer, and producer. Career Gleeson moved to San Francisco in the 1960s to teach in the English Department at San Francisco State. Gleeson began experimentin ...
. The recording was produced by Michael Cotten, the synthesizer player of
The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...
. The song went to number 18 on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s Dance Chart and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. After the success of "The Right Man", the Units signed with
Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...
/
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...
and produced a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "A Girl Like You" that went into medium rotation on early
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 ...
. They released an EP titled ''New Way to Move'' on Epic Records, but typical of a hard-luck recording career, the Units' second album — produced by
Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...
for Epic/CBS - remained unissued, until a posthumous release in 2016. In 1984, after recording the sound and music for the artist
Tony Oursler Tony Oursler (born 1957) is an American multimedia and installation artist married to Jacqueline Humphries. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, in 1979. His art covers a range of med ...
’s film ''EVOL'', Ryser and Webber moved to New York, putting an effective end to the Units.


Visual and multimedia components

The film ''Unit Training Film#1'', produced by Scott Ryser and Rachel Webber, compiled from films the band projected during performances, was shown sans band in movie theaters around the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, including the Roxie Cinema,
San Francisco Cinematheque San Francisco Cinematheque is a San Francisco-based film society for artist-made cinema. It was created in 1961 by a group of filmmakers, including Bruce Baillie and Chick Strand. This screening program grew into Canyon Cinema before being split ...
, The Intersection, and the
Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) is an annual film festival organized by the California Film Institute. It takes place each October in Mill Valley, California, and welcomes more than 200 filmmakers, representing more than 50 countries, each ...
.


Critical response

Alternative press publisher V. Vale called the Units "the first San Francisco band to perform using no guitars", The Units were referred to as "Punks playing keyboards" in an article in "
The San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the H ...
" in 1979, and the Los Angeles music critic Kickboy Face of the fanzine ''
Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...
'' wrote of a Units performance, "That night, watching the Units pound their machines into submission, I knew that another clichéd concept of mine was biting the dust once and for all. I also knew that there probably was a future to rock n roll after all, and that future did not necessarily include anything resembling guitars."


Later releases

In 2005, Ryser signed a licensing contract with
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. Once again, the recordings were not released. In 2007, the record label Golden Goose released a 12" remix of "High Pressure Days" by DJ Garth. In the same year, the Italian record label, Mediane, released '' Daniele Baldelli – Cosmic - The Original'', a double album that included the original and remixed versions of The Units "The Right Man". In 2009, the Community Library label released a 21-song
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
by the Units entitled ''The History of The Units'' that included a booklet "The Unit Training Manual". In June that year, a 12" single of "High Pressure Days" was released on the German label Relish with remixes alongside the original version. In February 2010, a 12" EP was released on the UK label Hungry Beat Recordings including Rory Phillips remix of "High Pressure Days". The same month, Phillips's remix of "High Pressure Days" was included on a compilation, ''
Mylo Myles MacInnes (born 10 May 1978), better known by his stage name Mylo, is a Scottish electronic musician and record producer. His 2004 album '' Destroy Rock & Roll'' peaked at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart. He is best known for his 2005 si ...
– The Return Of Mylo'' on the
Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...
label. The CD was also on the cover of ''
Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...
'' magazine. Similarly,
Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...
included "High Pressure Days" on their ''Counter Culture 09'' double album. In April 2011, The Dark Entries music label from San Francisco released ''Bart - Bay Area Retrograde (Vol. 1)'', a 12" compilation that included "Mission". An EP was released on the French label Robsoul Recordings, which included two remixes of "High Pressure Days" by Phil Weeks. In 2011 The Opilec Music label from Italy released ''The Units - Connections'', a triple
boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
of 25 songs written by The Units, that were remixed by over 40 international DJs, producers and bands from 13 different countries, including Electro Italo Disco pioneers Daniele Baldelli,
Klein + M.B.O. Klein may refer to: People *Klein (surname) *Klein (musician) Places * Klein (crater), a lunar feature *Klein, Montana, United States * Klein, Texas, United States * Klein (Ohm), a river of Hesse, Germany, tributary of the Ohm * Klein River, a r ...
, N.O.I.A. and
Alexander Robotnick Maurizio Dami, known professionally as Alexander Robotnick, is an Italian electronic musician. He made his debut on the Italian music scene as the founding member of Avida, a dance-cabaret band featuring Daniele Trambusti and Stefano Fuochi. Bio ...
. It included a download card of extra tracks for a total of 52 remixed songs of The Units. In 2012, The Opilec Music label from Italy released an EP. with three songs written by The Units and remixed by
Todd Terje Terje Olsen (born 1981), known professionally as Todd Terje, is a Norwegian DJ, songwriter, and record producer. His stage name is a homage to house music producer Todd Terry. Called "King of the summer jams" by ''Mixmag'', "one third of the ...
from Norway and I-Robots from Italy. The same year, The Opilec Music label from Italy released two songs by The Units on the ''We Are Opilec'' compilation. Also the Tsugi Sampler label from France released the ''
Ivan Smagghe Ivan Smagghe is a French DJ and producer. He was originally known as Ivan Rough Trade, after his job in the Rough Trade record store in Paris. His musical style has been described as electro house and "minimal electro." Smagghe's ''Death Disco'' ...
– A Walk In The Woods With Ivan Smagghe'' that included a remix of "High Pressure Days" by
Todd Terje Terje Olsen (born 1981), known professionally as Todd Terje, is a Norwegian DJ, songwriter, and record producer. His stage name is a homage to house music producer Todd Terry. Called "King of the summer jams" by ''Mixmag'', "one third of the ...
. In 2013, The Units are included (two songs performed live) in a film ''The Seven Deadly Synths'', along with six other synthesizer bands including
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 ...
,
Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...
, and
Our Daughter's Wedding Our Daughter's Wedding was an American synthpop trio (music), trio, consisting of Layne Rico on Synare synthesizer, Keith Silva on human voice, vocals and keyboard instrument, keyboards, and Scott Simon on bass-synth and saxophone. Though the gr ...
. In 2015, Futurismo Records from London, re-released the UNITS original album from 1980, "
Digital Stimulation ''Digital Stimulation'' is the debut studio album by American new wave and synth punk band Units, released in 1980, by 415 Records. Reception AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online databa ...
" on vinyl and CD, including a live set at
Mabuhay Gardens The Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab or The Mab, was a former San Francisco nightclub, located at 443 Broadway Street, in North Beach on the Broadway strip area best known for its striptease clubs. It closed in 1987. History The Ma ...
. In 2016, Futurismo released ''Animals They Dream About'', the band's previously unreleased second album originally recorded in 1982, including a live set from the Kabuki theater in San Francisco in which The Units opened for
Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...
. In 2016, FDH records from Philadelphia, PA re-released The Units original debut EP from 1979, the hand stamped 7" four song e.p. entitled "UNITS", including a download of a 1979 live set at the
Deaf Club The Deaf Club was a notable music venue located on Valencia Street in San Francisco which remained open for an 18-month period. Its main attraction was punk music. The name comes from the fact the building it was in originally began as a deaf pe ...
. In 2019, founding band member Scott Ryser self-released a 12-track album of new and re-worked original material entitled ''Flying Away'', which included a new version of "Cannibals", a song from the band's 1980 debut LP, as well as new recordings of songs the band performed live in the 1980s, but had never made studio recordings of. In 2020, on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the release of the ''Digital Stimulation'' album, Scott Ryser worked with California-based recording artist Kit Watson to remix all of the album tracks from the original multi-track recordings. It included previously unreleased instrumental mixes of those songs which originally had vocals, live recordings of two songs performed at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco in 1980, and a new extended remix of the title track by Kit Watson. In 2022, Futurismo once again re-released ''Digital Stimulation'' in a newly-designed package which included all of the remastered original album tracks along with a 12-page art booklet containing rare imagery and new liner notes, and a CD of the 2020 remix. It was made available in two vinyl colors as well as a limited edition audio cassette.


Influence and cultural significance

Outsider musician
Jandek Jandek is the musical project of Sterling Smith (born October 26, 1945), a Houston, Texas-based American Lo-fi music, lo-fi Folk music, folk singer. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 120 albums while granting an interview extreme ...
's first album, ''
Ready for the House ''Ready for the House'' is the debut studio album by Jandek, and was released in 1978 by his own Corwood Industries label, with the catalog number #0739. The artist has said in letters that the number was meaningless. Corwood Industries reissue ...
'', though a solo work, was originally credited to a 'The Units'. Jandek was forced to change the name by The Units, who possessed a trademark on the name, after Scott Ryser from The Units wrote Smith a letter with documentation. All reissues of the album and all subsequent releases have been credited to 'Jandek'. Songs written by the Units have been covered or remixed by over 50 international DJs, producers and bands from 13 different countries.


Members

Primary members were Scott Ryser and Rachel Webber. Other various members that played live shows and toured with The Units included Brad Saunders, Tim Ennis, Ron Lantz, Richard Driskell, Lx Rudis, Seth Miller, Jon Parker, David Allen Jr., Jabari Allen, Marc Henry, James Reynolds, Raymond Froehlich, D.C. Carter and their projectionist,
Rick Prelinger Rick Prelinger is an American archivist, writer, and filmmaker. He is also professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prelinger is best known as the founder of the Prelinger Archives, a collection of 60,000 advertising, edu ...
. Timeline ImageSize = width:700 height:auto barincrement:22 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:07/01/1978 till:04/01/1984 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1979 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Synth value:purple legend:Synthesizer id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Seq value:yellow legend:Sequencer id:Project value:black legend:Projections id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars BarData = bar:Ryser text:"Scott Ryser" bar:Ennis text:"Tim Ennis" bar:Lantz text:"Ron Lantz" bar:Dunagan text:"Randy Dunagan" bar:Darrah text:"Jay Darrah" bar:Lorenzo text:"Lori Lorenzo" bar:Weiss text:"Amy Weiss" bar:Webber text:"Rachel Webber" bar:Driskell text:"Richard Driskell" bar:Saunders text:"Brad Saunders" bar:Rudis text:"Alex Rudis" bar:Miller text:"Seth Miller" bar:Parker text:"Jon Parker" bar:AllenJr text:"David Allen Jr." bar:Allen text:"Jabari Allen" bar:Henry text:"Marc Henry" bar:Carter text:"D.C. Carter" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Ryser from:07/01/1978 till:end color:Synth bar:Ryser from:11/01/1978 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Webber from:06/21/1979 till:05/01/1980 color:Project bar:Webber from:04/01/1980 till:end color:Synth bar:Webber from:01/10/1980 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Dunagan from:07/01/1978 till:10/01/1978 color:Vocals bar:Ennis from:07/01/1978 till:11/01/1978 color:Bass bar:Ennis from:11/01/1978 till:06/21/1979 color:Synth bar:Ennis from:11/01/1978 till:06/21/1979 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Darrah from:07/01/1978 till:10/01/1978 color:Drums bar:Lorenzo from:07/01/1978 till:10/01/1978 color:Guitar bar:Lantz from:07/01/1978 till:10/01/1978 color:Guitar bar:Weiss from:07/01/1978 till:10/01/1978 color:Guitar bar:Driskell from:11/01/1978 till:04/01/1980 color:Drums bar:Driskell from:11/01/1978 till:04/01/1980 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Rudis from:06/21/1979 till:12/20/1979 color:Synth bar:Rudis from:02/01/1980 till:04/01/1980 color:Synth bar:Saunders from:05/01/1980 till:10/01/1981 color:Drums bar:Miller from:10/01/1981 till:03/01/1983 color:Drums bar:Parker from:10/01/1981 till:03/01/1983 color:Seq bar:AllenJr from:04/01/1983 till:end color:Synth bar:Allen from:04/01/1983 till:end color:Synth bar:Henry from:04/01/1983 till:10/01/1983 color:Drums bar:Carter from:10/01/1983 till:end color:Drums


Discography

* "High Pressure Days" (7")
979 Year 979 (Roman numerals, CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. It was the 979th year of the Common Era and the Anno Domini designation, the 979th year of the 1st millennium, the 79th year of the 10th century, ...
* "Units" (7")
979 Year 979 (Roman numerals, CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. It was the 979th year of the Common Era and the Anno Domini designation, the 979th year of the 1st millennium, the 79th year of the 10th century, ...
* "Warm Moving Bodies" (7")
980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...
* ''
Digital Stimulation ''Digital Stimulation'' is the debut studio album by American new wave and synth punk band Units, released in 1980, by 415 Records. Reception AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online databa ...
'' (LP) 980, 2015* "The Right Man" (12")
982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...
* "A Girl Like You" (12")
983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...
* ''New Way to Move'' (12" EP)
983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...
* ''Animals They Dream About'' (LP) 016 (recorded 1981)


Videography

* ''Unit Training Film 1: Warm Moving Bodies'' * ''Unit Training Film 2: Cannibals'' * ''Unit Training Film 3: Cowboy'' * ''High Pressure Days 1979'' - with intro by Dirk Dirksen * ''The Units & Larry Cuba - Warm Moving Bodies with Calculated Movements''


Filmography

* ''Unit Training Film 1, Warm Moving Bodies'' (1980), by Scott Ryser * In 2011, the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
,
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and film archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director ...
purchased and restored the original ''Unit Training Film'' and included it in a program called "Punk, Attitudinal: Film and Video, 1977 to 1987" as part of their series "Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area". The program continues to be shown in major cities throughout the United States.


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Units, The Musical groups from San Francisco Punk rock groups from California Electropunk musical groups Minimal wave groups 1978 establishments in California