Ultrasound are an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band. With roots in the British underground psychedelic and experimental rock scenes of the 1980s and early 1990s, the band emerged in 1997 and soon gained attention for their "operatic prog-

glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

ambitions" and "violent reworking of the idiosyncratic compositions of

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

and the staged ambisexual pop idioms of the likes of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

". All Music Guide biography of Ultrasound by Dean Carlson - retrieved 19 January 2009 Signing a high-profile deal with

Nude Records Nude Records is an independent record label, established in August 1991 in London. The label was set up and operated by Saul Galpern, who had previously worked with artists such as Simply Red, The Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits ...

at the tail-end of the

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

era, the band released several well-received singles and were tagged as "another big, bright hope for British music" but split up acrimoniously in 1999 following the release of their debut album ''Everything Picture''. Reuniting in early 2010, Ultrasound have gone on to tour and to release two further albums.

History

Roots and origins (Possession, Step-TLV, Sleepy People and Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal - 1980-1995)

Future Ultrasound singer/rhythm guitarist Andrew "Tiny" Wood was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

and began his musical career in 1980 (under the pseudonym of "Anna Virgina War") in the experimental/industrial trio Possession with Victor Watkins and

Stephen Thrower Stephen Thrower (born 9 December 1963) is an English musician and author. Musical career Early career In 1980, Thrower formed the group Possession with Victor Watkins and Anna Virginia War and they released the album ''The Thin White Arms, Obt ...

. Possession released one album on the A-Mission label in 1984 (''The Thin White Arms, Obtusely Angled At the Elbow, Methodically Dipping and Emerging'') before breaking up, with Thrower moving on to Coil the following year. Wood subsequently played with guitarist and songwriter Paul Hope in a band called Step TLV. By 1989, aged twenty-five, Wood was attending the Popular and Commercial Music course at Wakefield College, Yorkshire, England as a mature student. Here, he met two of the future Ultrasound members - Richard Green (a 16-year-old classical cellist) and drummer Andy Peace. Moving on to a music degree course in Newcastle, they encountered future Ultrasound bass player Vanessa Best. Following a succession of brief-lived bands, Wood, Green and Peace teamed up with Wood's old ally Paul Hope. Joined by Hope's flute-playing wife Rachel Theresa, the five put together a psychedelic rock band called Sleepy People. For the next two years the band toured around the UK playing in various small venues around the UK and gaining underground attention. Wood, Green and Peace all appear on Sleepy People's 1994 cassette album ''Blunt Nails In A Sharp Wall'' (originally a cassette release, but reissued on CD in 1999 on

ORG Records ''Organ'' is a British independent magazine covering music, art and underculture. Based in London, the magazine was founded in 1986 as a handmade fanzine and has evolved many times over the years. It has covered a variety of punk, alternative, ...

A proto-Ultrasound: Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal (1995-1996)

Tiny Wood and Richard Green left Sleepy People in 1995, taking keyboard player Pete Haslam with them. Moving to London, they formed a new progressive/

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

band, Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal, which began earning underground attention (in particular after supporting cult band

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (Cardiacs), Tim Smith (guitar and lead vocals) and his brother Jim Smith (bassist), Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. One ...

). At this point, Green played bass (as he had in Sleepy People) and Wood doubled on guitar and harmonium as well as lead vocals. Andy Peace (who had left Sleepy People some time earlier than Wood, Green and Haslam) would also join Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal, replacing sometime drummer Steve Gilchrist. Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal released a self-titled cassette EP on Org Records in 1995, but did not prosper. Wood was later to comment that the band "had a bit too much prog-rock about it." Vanessa Best (who had moved to London and was singing as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

in a

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

tribute band) was added to the Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal line-up as bass player, with Green moving to lead guitar. With the subsequent departure of Haslam, the band began to reduce their more obvious progressive rock influences in favour of a stronger element of 1970s

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

and a more pronounced indie rock outlook. Circa 1996, Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal changed their name to Ultrasound.

Ultrasound rising (1996-1997)

Despite the more commercially acceptable developments of their sound, the renamed band was initially no more successful. Following a year of struggling to keep going (during which time Matt Jones was brought into the band on keyboards to expand the sound), Ultrasound released their first

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 ...

"Same Band" on

Fierce Panda Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Supergrass. Fie ...

in July 1997. It brought them some favourable press in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', who described it as "(sounding) like The Who's ''Tommy'' - in its entirety - squeezed into four-and-a-half minutes... utterly heroic and bizarrely, by some distance, their most understated moment." This led to the band performing in the ''NME'' sponsored Unsigned Showcase event. In turn, the Unsigned Showcase appearance led Ultrasound to a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

, following a bidding war between various

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

s excited by the band's powerful live presence.

Nude Records period & ''Everything Picture'' (1998-1999)

The band's first two singles for Nude were "Best Wishes" and "Stay Young" (1998), the latter of which reached No. 30 in the UK Singles Chart. The band received favourable reviews for their recorded output, while receiving a good deal of press attention for their energetic live gigs, unusual appearance and determined outsider appeal. Wood, in particular, became a frequent interviewee and subject of attention in the British weekly music press, making a virtue of subjects usually avoided or discouraged in pop music discourse (such as his relative older age as a rock star debutante, his imposing physique, and his unfashionable enthusiasm for

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

). In October 2011, ''

'' placed "Stay Young" at number 109 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The band compounded their 1998 success by playing a string of

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s, culminating in a critically acclaimed performance at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

during a torrential downpour. One more single followed in October 1998, "I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours" (about a relationship gone sour), and the band toured with

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

. During 1998, Ultrasound worked in the

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

on their debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Everything Picture''. The band released their fifth single, "Floodlit World" (a re-recording of a

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 ...

from the "Same Band" single) in March 1999. It was both a ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' 'Single of the Week' and a modest chart success reaching number 39. ''Everything Picture'' was released in April 1999 as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

CD, or triple vinyl, release. The album received poor reviews for its length and lack of focus. In spite of the negative critical response, ''Everything Picture'' reached number 23 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. Ultrasound maintained their high media profile via a guest appearance at

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

, at which Wood contributed to the

Red or Dead Red or Dead was a fashion designer and manufacturer, started in London in 1982 by married couple Gerardine Hemingway and Wayne Hemingway. They designed products such as shoes, spectacles, bags and watches. History In 1982, Wayne and Gerardine ...

fashion house display by posing as a model, and flashing his substantial stomach (on which the word "Unique" had been scrawled in makeup). This particular opportunity gained an appearance on the front page of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper. Peace and Jones also carried out a naked catwalk streak, which was captured on live TV. During the summer, the band cancelled a set of live dates during the festival season, including one at the

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

festival in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, although they did fit in a second Glastonbury appearance. The album track "Aire & Calder" was selected as the next single, although the band clashed with record label Nude regarding the editing of the track for

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

. The single was not released.

Split and hiatus (1999-2009)

In the autumn of 1999, severe existing tensions within Ultrasound reached breaking point and Richard Green walked out on the band. With their main songwriter gone (and continuing dissension among the remaining members), the band foundered. Ultrasound officially split up on 12 October 1999. While the other band members went their separate ways to pursue new projects, Tiny Wood remained in London and briefly attempted to reform Ultrasound with a new line-up. This included drummer Andy Peace, ex-Sleepy People bassist Bill Bailey, keyboard player Carly Graham and guitarist Adam Taylor. The new version of Ultrasound recorded an EP which never saw the light of day and performed their only live show at the Newcastle Arts Centre in the spring of 2000 but disbanded shortly afterwards due to the 5 members being located so far from one another. Wood returned to Newcastle and formed a new band called Siren with Carly Graham, Jayne Pearson, Leon Tighe and Pete Moffat. Wood also took on the role of lead singer in Blue Apple Boy (featuring his former Sleepy People bandmates) and performed on their album ''Salient'' (Soma Sound, 2002). Matt Jones went on to form Minuteman, and subsequently played and performed with many musicians, including

Black Crowes Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

front-man Chris Robinson's New Earth Mud,

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

Iain Archer Iain Archer is a Northern Irish writer, producer, singer and songwriter from Bangor. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominat ...

Beth Rowley Beth Ann Rowley (born 10 October 1981) is an English singer-songwriter. Early life Rowley was born in Lima, Peru, to British parents who moved back to Bristol, England, when Rowley was two years old. Career Early career She was influenced by ...

Baxter Dury Baxter Dury (born 18 December 1971) is an English indie music, indie musician, originally signed to Rough Trade Records. Early life Baxter Dury is the son of Ian Dury and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Rathmell. As a young boy he appeared on the ...

and Jamie T. He also wrote the music for the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

''Thespian X''. Vanessa Best and Andy Peace formed The Sunshine Valley Dance Band with former

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centred on Pie ...

Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or water) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slips ...

guitarist Mark Refoy. Best also formed The Soulwinners with

Mathew Priest Dodgy are an English rock band formed in Hounslow in 1990. The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s. They are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and " Good Enough". "Go ...

and Andy Miller (both ex-

Dodgy Dodgy are an English rock band formed in Hounslow in 1990. The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s. They are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and " Good Enough". "Go ...

), with whom she continues to play. Alongside these projects Best qualified with a PGCE, spent time as the Assistant Director of Music at a comprehensive school in East London, and moved into music education management. Meanwhile, estranged guitarist Richard Green had settled in Leeds and formed The Somatics (who released two albums). He would also contribute to

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; née Bailey; born 26 February 1979) is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an a ...

's 2010 album '' The Sea'' (providing guitar for the track "Paper Dolls") and provided a guitar solo to Blue Apple Boy's ''Salient''.

Reunion and ''Play for Today'' (2010-2013)

In early 2010, Ultrasound were invited to reform for a benefit concert raising money for one of their key influences, Tim Smith of

(who had suffered a debilitating

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and stroke in 2008). In March 2010, the five members of the band reunited at Vanessa Best's home in Shoreditch, London, ending a decade of estrangement. They subsequently agreed not only to play the concert but to reunite and write material for a new album. Ultrasound played a reunion concert at The Lexington in Kings Cross,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 9 September 2010, playing mostly old material with two new tracks. A second concert took place the following night at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. Further concerts were planned for London in late September, followed by one on 8 October in Bradford. December 2010 saw the first appearance of new Ultrasound recordings - a cover version of the

song "Big Ship" which was included on '' Leader Of The Starry Skies: A Tribute To Tim Smith, Songbook 1'', a fundraising compilation album to further benefit the hospitalised Tim Smith. In the same month, Matt Jones left the band for a second time (this time amicably), opting to continue as the touring keyboard player for

Beady Eye Beady Eye were an English rock band formed in London in 2009 by former Oasis members Liam Gallagher (vocals), Gem Archer (guitar) and Andy Bell (guitar), and former Oasis touring musician Chris Sharrock (drums). The band was created when Oasi ...

as well as concentrate on other projects. He was replaced as Ultrasound's keyboard player by former New Mastersounds member Bob Birch. Ultrasound's comeback single 'Welfare State/Sovereign' was released in August 2011 on Fierce Panda subsidiary Label Fandango. It was followed in 2012 by a second single, 'Beautiful Sadness', on Fierce Panda; the label would also release Ultrasound's second album ''Play for Today'' in September 2012. A second ''Play for Today'' single, 'Beautiful Sadness', also appeared in 2012; followed by a third, 'Between Two Rivers', in 2013.

Ultrasound today, including ''Real Britannia'' (2013-present)

Despite the departure of Andy Peace in 2013 (to be replaced by former Somatics drummer Bruce Renshaw), the remaining various Ultrasound members retained their commitment to the band; although without major label money and infrastructure available, band activity for the reformed Ultrasound was more intermittent than it had been during the 1990s. In December 2013, Ultrasound released a new non-album download-single, 'Modranicht', for the winter solstice. The video for the single was financed by long-term band fan and general practitioner Dr Philip M. Peverley. In 2015, Peverly, along with fellow GP Dr Nicki Waldman, formed the record label Classic Album Club Records with the specific aim of releasing further music by Ultrasound (although the label would later sign the Manchester band Nihilists, featuring former Puressence singer James Mudriczski). Peverly and Waldman invited Ultrasound to make a third album, ''Real Britannia'', which was recorded at only Factory Street Studios in Bradford throughout 2016 and was released in December 2016, with four-star reviews in Mojo, Uncut, Q and Prog Magazine. The album was preceded in November 2016 by the 'Kon-Tiki' single and by Ultrasound's triumphant return to the live scene at the Scala, London, in which the band played new songs from ''Real Britannia''. Fans cited the show to be ' an incredible performance from an understated gem of the British rock scene' Following various delays and reschedulings relating to Covid-19 lockdowns, a twenty-first anniversary tour for ''Everything Picture'' was planned for the UK during summer 2021.

Members

Current

* Andrew "Tiny" Wood – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, banjo (1996-1999, 2010-present) * Richard Green – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (1996-1999, 2010-present) * Vanessa Best – bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals (1996-1999, 2010-present) ''(NB - Best has been credited as "Vanessa Wilson" since 2015)'' * Bruce Renshaw – drums (2013-present)

Former

* Matt Jones – keyboards (1996-1999, 2010-2011) * Andy Peace – drums (1996-1999, 2010-2013) * Bob Birch – keyboards (2012-2013 - continues to contribute)

Touring

* Chris Duffin - keyboards

Discography

Albums

*'' Everything Picture'' (1999) *''Play for Today'' (2012) *''Real Britannia'' (2016)

Singles

*"Same Band" (1997) **"Same Band"/"Floodlit World"/"Over There" *"Best Wishes" (1998) **"Best Wishes"/"Kurt Russell"/"Black Hole" *"Stay Young" (1998) **CD1: "Stay Young"/"Underwater Love Story"/"Can't Say No" CD2: "Stay Young"/"Football Meat"/" Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" *"I'll Show You Mine" (1998) **"I'll Show You Mine"/"One Plus One"/"Final Solution"/"Lovesick" *"Floodlit World" (1999) **CD1: "Floodlit World"/"

Getting Better "Getting Better" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney, with some of the lyrics written by John Lennon, and credited to the Lennon� ...

"/"Death of a Drag Racer" CD2: "Floodlit World"/"We Will Find Love"

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

"I'll Show You Mine"

ideo IDEO () is a design firm, design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 500 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environmen ...

*"Aire & Calder" (1999, unreleased) **"Aire & Calder"/"Goodbye 25"/"Valencia"

EPs

* "Mayflower" (US, 1999) **"Stay Young"/"Best Wishes"/"Kurt Russell"/"Underwater Love Story"/"Can't Say No" his EP was also released in Europe as "Ultrasound Sing Five Songs for Europe"">Europe.html" ;"title="his EP was also released in Europe">his EP was also released in Europe as "Ultrasound Sing Five Songs for Europe"

References

{{Authority control Britpop groups Alternative rock groups from London Indie rock groups from London English rock music groups English pop music groups