Zones were a Scottish

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

and new wave band founded in late 1977, following the demise of PVC2 (formerly the bubbleglam and

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

band

Slik Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid-1970s, most notable for their UK number 1 hit " Forever and Ever" in 1976. Initially glam rock, the band later changed their style to soft rock/ bubblegum. It was the first band with whom singer and g ...

Career

PVC2 consisted of

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

(future

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 ...

frontman) on guitar and vocals, Russell Webb on bass,

Billy McIsaac Billy McIsaac (born William McIsaac, 12 July 1949 in Rothesay, Scotland) is a musician, who played mainly keyboards since his early days with different pop bands. Biography Previously, he worked as a telephone engineer and played with a band ca ...

on keyboards and

Kenny Hyslop Kenneth John Hyslop (14 February 1951 – 15 September 2024) was a Scottish drummer. Life and career Hyslop was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, on 14 February 1951. He joined the band Salvation with Midge Ure, which later became Slik and, afte ...

on drums. In late 1977, Ure left PVC2 to join

Rich Kids Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from the Sex Pistols. The band also included teenage guitarist Steve New, former Slik and future Ultravox member Midge Ure and R ...

with

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

. Then, Webb, Hyslop and McIsaac called in Alex Harvey's cousin

Willie Gardner Willie Gardner is a Scottish musician, who formed part of various pop and rock bands in the 1970s and 1980s, playing guitar. He was a cousin of Alex Harvey. His earliest known band was The Hot Valves, formed in 1976. The band was influenced b ...

to replace Ure on guitar and vocals, and Zones was formed. In February 1978, Zones released a

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 ...

Stuck with You "Stuck with You" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, written by guitarist Chris Hayes and lead singer Huey Lewis. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the band's fourth album, ''Fore!''. The song spent three weeks ...

", which attracted the attention of

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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

John Peel 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 ...

, leading to the band recording a session for his show. It also drew the attention of

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

, who signed them and would release the rest of their discography. Their next single, "Sign of the Times", released in July. Zones also toured with

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and recorded a further session for John Peel. On 1 June 1979, Zones released ''

Under Influence ''Under Influence'', released by Arista Records on June 1, 1979, is the only album of new wave band Zones, an offshoot of Midge Ure’s pre-Rich Kids Scottish pop outfit, Slik. The album is described in ''Trouser Press'' as the band "try a l ...

'', an album of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

power pop. Shortly afterwards, they released a 7" single called "Mourning Star", whose eponymous song (a shorter version of the album song) was backed with "Under Influence" (which did not appear on the album, despite the name being the same). They also had a song that was featured in the movie ''That Summer!'' entitled "New Life." Shortly afterwards, the band decided to split up, as the album did not reach expectations. Gardner joined Endgames, with

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

' original drummer Brian McGee. McIsaac and Hyslop continued with a project called Science, a band considered as a continuation of Zones, but only McIsaac was the supposedly remaining member. Webb and Hyslop joined Skids. In 1990, McIsaac moved to study piano performance college at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in Glasgow, and later formed a self-titled wedding band, which he played in until retiring in 2012. Webb collaborated with Richard Jobson (Skids singer) until 1988, and Hyslop, after collaborating with Skids album, ''

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

'', moved to Simple Minds (1981–1982) and later Set the Tone (1982–1983).

Discography

Albums

*1979 – ''

'' ( Arista, 1 June 1979) (released in four various album covers)

Singles

*1978 – "

" b/w "No Angel" (

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...

, 17 February 1978) *1978 – "Sign of the Times" b/w "Away from It All" (Arista, July 1978) *1979 – "Looking to the Future" b/w "Do It All Again" (Arista, 24 May 1979) *1979 – "Mourning Star" b/w "Under Influence" (Arista, 20 July 1979) *1980 – "Look Don't Touch" b/w "Scalectrik" (Rialto, June 1980) (as "Science") *1981 – "Tokyo" b/w "Tokyo (instrumental)" (Rialto, January 1981) (as "Science")

Compilation appearances

*1979 – ''

That Summer! ''That Summer!'' is a 1979 British drama film directed by Harley Cokeliss and starring Ray Winstone, Tony London, Emily Moore and Julie Shipley. It was Ray Winstone's theatrical film debut, playing the character Steve Brodie. Both Ray Winstone ...

'' soundtrack (various artists) – "New Life" (Arista)

References