Tom Ashton is a musician, producer and film composer. He is also an original founder member and guitarist of early 1980s British

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

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 ...

band

The March Violets The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, incorporating male & female singers, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven Ma ...

. Based in Leeds, England, the band released many tracks which went on to be rated as classics of their genre. He also guested in bands

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...

The Danse Society The Danse Society (formerly known as Y? or Danse Crazy) are an English gothic rock band, formed in Barnsley in 1980. They were originally active until 1986, reforming in 2011. They achieved moderate success during their career. Their lineup inc ...

and toured and recorded with

Clan of Xymox Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of dark wave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singer-songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Nooten – and gained ...

. As a side project to The Violets, he also co-wrote and recorded the first album from The Batfish Boys, ''The Gods Hate Kansas''. In 1987 his music was featured in director

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

' coming of age drama, ''Some Kind of Wonderful''. A year later he co-wrote the score for

Zelda Barron Zelda Barron (nee Zelda Ruth Solomons, 31 March 1929 – 14 August 2006) was a British director, screenwriter, and producer known for films like ''Shag'', '' Secret Places'', and '' The Bulldance''. Barron was born in Manchester, the fifth of ...

's teen thriller, '' The Bulldance'', during his stint in

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

band Hard Rain. Throughout the 1990s he was based in London and played in various bands, including Amania, with ex-Violets singer Cleo Murray and Craig Adams and also Bully, with Australian singer/songwriter/actress

Abi Tucker Abigail Anne "Abi" Tucker (born 22 January 1973) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress. She has had roles in television series-telemovies in ''Heartbreak High'' (1994-1995), '' Water Rats'' (1999), '' Wildside'' (1999), ''The Secret L ...

. After reforming in 2007, The March Violets released their first proper studio album in 2013, ''Made Glorious''. The band also toured extensively in the US and Europe. In 2012 he returned to film scoring and completed 8 features with director Daniel E. Falicki and two shorts for director Ryan Lieske. In 2016 he embarked on an audio re-imagining of E. Elias Merhige's ''Begotten'' in tandem with its director. This is still a work in progress. In 2016 he founded SubVon Studio based in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

and since then has recorded, mixed, and mastered many Georgia based darkwave bands including Vision Video, Tears for the Dying, Hip To Death and Entertainment!

Discography

Studio albums

*''Made Glorious'' (2013, self-released) *''Mortality'' (2015, self-released) *''The Gods Hate Kansas'' (1985, Batfish Incorporated)

Singles and EPs

*"Religious as Hell" 7" (1982, Merciful Release) *"Grooving in Green" 7" (1982, Merciful Release) *"Crow Baby" 7"/12" (1983, Rebirth) *"Snake Dance" 7"/12" (1984, Rebirth) *"Walk into the Sun" 7"/12" (1984, Rebirth) *"Swamp Liquor" (1985, Batfish Incorporated) *"Deep" 7"/12" (1985, Rebirth) *"Turn to the Sky" 7"/12" (1986, Rebirth) *"Spiritual High / Wild Is The Wind" CD (1993, Zok Records) *''Trinity EP'' CD EP (2007, self-released) *''Love Will Kill You'' CD EP (2011, self-released)

Compilation albums

*''Natural History'' (1984, Rebirth) *''Electric Shades'' (1985,

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his vinyl record shop, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metropolitan New York City. The IRD distribution name was later known as RED Distribution and ag ...

) *''The Botanic Verses'' (1993,

Jungle Records Jungle Records is a British independent record label established in 1982, specializing in punk rock, post punk, gothic, and alternative releases. From 1982 to 1986, they also operated as a record distributor and were associate members of t ...

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label that has the sub-labels Hypnotic Records, Goldenlane, Stardust, Purple Pyramid, Deadline and X-Ray Records. History Founded in January 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in go ...

)

Filmography

*"Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987) dir John Hughes. *"Forbidden Sun (aka The Bulldance) (1989) dir Zelda Barron. *"Abed (2012) dir Ryan Lieske. *"The Last Vampyre On Earth (2013) dir Daniel E. Falicki. *"Devils In The Darkness (2013) dir Daniel E. Falicki. *"An Anti American (2013) dir Daniel E. Falicki. *"The Joe Show (2014) dir Daniel E. Falicki. *"Remotion (Prologue) (2014) dir Ryan Lieske. *"Shadow World (The Haunting Of Mysti Delane) (2014) dir Daniel E. Falicki. *"3:33 AM (2014) dir Daniel E. Falicki. *"Accidental Exorcist (2016) dir Daniel E. Falicki *"13 Demons (2016) dir Daniel E. Falicki

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Tom Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English record producers English composers