Tones on Tail were a British

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 formed in 1982, originally as a musical

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

Daniel Ash Daniel Gaston Ash (born 31 July 1957) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He became prominent in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the goth rock band Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus, which spawned two related bands led by Ash: Tones on Ta ...

of the

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 ...

group

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

. Their music was described by one critic as "doom-and-dance-pop."

History

While still a member of Bauhaus, Ash formed Tones on Tail early in 1982, originally as a duo with Glenn Campling, an art school friend and flatmate who had also been a roadie for Bauhaus. The band's name was a reference to the way calibration tones were recorded on the "tail" of

reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

tape. The pair issued their debut eponymous EP on

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

in March 1982, followed by the single "There's Only One!", released by

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing D ...

on 24 September. Ash sang and played guitar, Campling played bass, and both played percussion and keyboards. After the break-up of Bauhaus in 1983, Ash and Campling were joined by Bauhaus's drummer

Kevin Haskins Kevin Michael Dompe (born 19 July 1960), born and best-known as Kevin Michael Haskins, is an English drummer, best known from the British rock group Bauhaus. He was also a member of Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets. Early career As a child, H ...

and the band became a full-time concern for all three members. Their first release as a trio was the ''

Burning Skies ''Burning Skies'' is an EP by English post-punk band Tones on Tail. It was released on 6 May 1983 on record label Situation Two. Track listing Critical reception ''Trouser Press'' commented that the EP "offers very little songwriting c ...

'' EP, issued by

Situation Two Situation Two (a.k.a. Situation 2) was a British independent record label founded in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the Beggars Banquet Records, Beggars Banquet label. The name is a reference to Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus's old management ...

on 6 May 1983. Their sole studio album, ''

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

'', was released by Beggars Banquet on 6 April 1984 in the UK, featuring the singles "Performance" (released 9 March) and "Lions" (released 11 May). The album was also issued in North America in altered form as ''The Album Pop''. " Go!", the popular

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "Lions", was issued on its own as a single in Canada, licensed by

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a British record company. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Universal Music Group#B ...

. Throughout October of that year, the group embarked on a short 12-date tour of the US; in concert, the band sported all white outfits. The final Tones on Tail single, "Christian Says", was issued on 9 November. They disbanded later that year, and Ash and Haskins quickly formed Love and Rockets with former Bauhaus bassist

David J David John Haskins (born 24 April 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England), better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician, producer, and writer. He is the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus and for ...

. The 1998 compilation '' Everything!'' compiled every Tones on Tail track in remastered form, plus a radio interview with Ash and Haskins. In 2017, Ash and Haskins, along with Haskins' daughter Diva Dompé on bass, formed the band Poptone, performing songs by Bauhaus, Love and Rockets and Tones on Tail in concert. On 11 May 2024, Tones on Tail performed their first official set since 1984 at the

Cruel World Festival The Cruel World Festival is an annual music festival held at the Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 2020, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents. The festival revolves around the new ...

, with Dompé filling in for Campling.

Reception

Richard Williams of ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

'' said, "Tones on Tail carries on with the traditional Bauhaus taste for the

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

, but charts new courses of twisting the pop thing." James Muretich of ''

The Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The Ca ...

'' wrote, "From the ashes of Bauhaus has arisen a British trio that is turning into one of the most impressive and macabre dance bands around." Writing retrospectively for

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 ...

, critic Ned Raggett said, "With their former band's generally gloomier shadows left behind, what Ash and Haskins draw from their time with Bauhaus is that group's melange of styles—their most underappreciated strength".

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1984,

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album pro ...

) EPs * ''Tones on Tail'' (1982,

) * ''

'' (1983,

) * ''Something!'' (1998, Beggars Banquet) Singles * "There's Only One!" (1982, Beggars Banquet) * "Burning Skies" (1983, Situation 2) No. 11 UK Indie * "Performance" (1984, Beggars Banquet) * "Lions" (1984, Beggars Banquet) * " Go!" (1984,

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

) * "Christian Says" (1984, Beggars Banquet) Compilation albums * ''Tones on Tail'' (1985, Situation Two) * ''Night Music'' (1987, Beggars Banquet) * ''Tones on Tail'' (1990,

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

/Beggars Banquet) * '' Everything!'' (1998, Beggars Banquet) * ''Weird Pop'' (2011, Beggars Banquet)

References

External links

* * * http://www.tonesontail.net {{Authority control Bauhaus (band) English post-punk music groups English gothic rock groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups from Northamptonshire 1982 establishments in England Beggars Banquet Records artists 4AD artists Situation Two artists