Fools Dance were an English rock band active from 1983 to 1987, primarily known for their connections to

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

History

In 1982,

Simon Gallup Simon Johnathon Gallup (born 1 June 1960) is an English musician who is best known as bassist for The Cure, which he first joined in 1979 and for which he has played through most of the band's history. Gallup is the second-longest-serving member ...

was bassist for

, and Gary Biddles was a member of the band's road crew who was occasionally invited to sing onstage. During the tour for the album ''

Pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

'', band relations had become contentious, and during a performance in Belgium, Biddles criticized other Cure members Robert Smith and

Lol Tolhurst Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until ...

from the stage. Gallup then left the Cure acrimoniously and took Biddles with him.Price, p. 29. Gallup formed a new band in 1983, originally known as The Cry, with singer Ian Fuller, guitarist Stuart Curran (formerly of

The Magazine Spies The Magazine Spies were an English post-punk band from Horley, formed in 1979. The band is best known for featuring future members of The Cure and Fools Dance. They were also known as The Magspies and Mag/Spys, as references to magpies. History ...

), drummer

Paul Thompson Paul Thompson may refer to: Education *Paul Thompson (professor) (born 1951), British management professor at the University of Strathclyde *Paul B. Thompson (philosopher) (born 1951), American philosopher at Michigan State University *Paul H. Tho ...

(formerly of

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

), and keyboardist

Matthieu Hartley Matthieu Hartley (born 4 February 1960) is an English musician, best known as the keyboardist for The Cure from 1979-1980. Biography Hartley was born in Smallfield, England, near Crawley, and was a childhood friend of future bandmate Simon Gal ...

(another former member of The Cure). This band only performed one gig in April 1983, after which all members other than Gallup and Curran quit. The band was reformed under the name Fools Dance with Biddles on vocals, plus saxophonist Ron Howe, and (after using drum machines for a short period) drummer Pete Gardner. This lineup found little success in their native England, but developed a strong following in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

. At one show they were supported by

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

. Frequent travel to Europe left the band little time for recording. An EP was recorded in 1983 but was not released until 1985, and was re-released several times in following years with minor alterations to the track list. In late 1984, Biddles brokered a reconciliation between Gallup and Robert Smith. This resulted in Gallup leaving Fools Dance and rejoining the Cure, where he has remained ever since. Subsequently, Fools Dance broke up, with Biddles retaining the band name. Ron Howe later made a guest appearance on the Cure album ''

The Head on the Door ''The Head on the Door'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band the Cure. It was released on 30 August 1985 by Fiction Records. Preceded by the single " In Between Days" which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, ''The Head on t ...

'' in 1985. In 1987, Biddles reformed Fools Dance with bassist

Jean-Jacques Burnel Jean-Jacques Burnel (born 21 February 1952) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the punk rock band the Stranglers. He is the only original member to remain in the band. Life and career Burnel perf ...

from

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

, a returning

on drums, and guitarist Campbell McKellar. This lineup released the single "They'll Never Know" before the band dissolved once again. Biddles later joined the band Presence which had been formed by another former member of the Cure,

.Price, pp. 300-301. Biddles died in 2013.

Members

;The Cry *Stuart Curran – guitar *

– bass *

– drums *

– keyboards *Ian Fuller – vocals ;Fools Dance *Gary Biddles – vocals *Stuart Curran – guitar *Simon Gallup – bass *Pete Gardner – drums *Ron Howe – saxophone *

– bass *Campbell MacKellar – guitar *

– drums

Discography

* ''Fools Dance'' (EP, 1985) – first released by Universal Productions, re-released with minor alterations by Top Hole Records in 1986, Contorsion in 1986, and Lambs to the Slaughter Records in 1987 * "They'll Never Know" (single, 1987) – released by Lambs to the Slaughter Records

References

{{Authority control English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1983 1983 establishments in England