Career

The original members of Delta 5, Julz Sale (vocals

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

/guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Ros Allen (bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

) and Bethan Peters (bass), formed the band "on a lark", but soon became a part of the thriving Leeds post-punk scene, and later added Kelvin Knight on drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

 and Alan Riggs on guitar. Combining feminist

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

 politics with a two-bass funk-punk sound (much in the style of another, more famous Leeds band, Gang of Four

Gang of Four (band)

Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...

), they released in 1979 their debut single, "Mind Your Own Business". This song was later covered by Chicks on Speed

Chicks on Speed

Chicks on Speed is a multi-national musical ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, when members Melissa Logan, Kiki Moorse and Alex Murray-Leslie met at the Academy of Fine Arts....

, Le Shok

Le Shok

Le Shok was a synthpunk band from Long Beach, California, USA. The band was made up of members of various other punk bands from the area and existed from 1997 until early 2001, releasing numerous 7" records, one full-length, and touring the US twice....

 and Pigface

Pigface

Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...

. Bethan Peters went on to play on Fun Boy Three's second album, 'Waiting'.

Delta 5 were also important figures in the Rock Against Racism

Rock Against Racism

Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...

 movement, and were the subject of a highly-publicized assault

Assault

In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...

 at the hands of a right-wing group affiliated with rival movement Rock Against Communism

Rock Against Communism

Rock Against Communism started out as series of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, and is also a name for the subsequent music genre. Despite its name, RAC song lyrics rarely focus on the specific topic of anti-communism...

.

After the release of second single "You", the band went on a successful tour of the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and soon thereafter left Rough Trade

Rough Trade Records

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...

 for Charisma Records

Charisma Records

Charisma was a record label founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. Manager for The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own...

 imprint Pre. They recorded their debut album, See the Whirl, which suffered from overly clean production, and received low marks both critically and commercially. Because of the failure of the album, the group disbanded.

In 2006, Kill Rock Stars

Kill Rock Stars

Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...

 released a compilation of early Delta 5 material called Singles & Sessions 1979-1981

Singles & Sessions 1979-1981

Singles & Sessions 1979–1981 is a compilation of previously hard-to-find or unreleased material from Leeds post-punk band Delta 5. It contains, in addition to a number of other songs, singles "Mind Your Own Business" and "You", Peel sessions , and a scattering of live cuts.-Track listing:#"Mind...

, capitalizing on the reemerging popularity of post-punk bands like Gang of Four and Wire

Wire (band)

Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...

. The set includes a wealth of unreleased material, along with BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 radio sessions and live

Live Music

Live Music is a reggaeton company owned by DJ Giann.-Artists:* Jowell & Randy* Tony Lenta* Watussi* De La Ghetto* Guelo Star* Galante "El Emperador"-Producers:*DJ Blass*Dexter*Mr. Greenz*DJ Giann*Los Hitmen*Dirty Joe*ALX...

 cuts.

Compilation albums

• Singles & Sessions 1979-1981
  Singles & Sessions 1979-1981
  Singles & Sessions 1979–1981 is a compilation of previously hard-to-find or unreleased material from Leeds post-punk band Delta 5. It contains, in addition to a number of other songs, singles "Mind Your Own Business" and "You", Peel sessions , and a scattering of live cuts.-Track listing:#"Mind...
  
  (Kill Rock Stars
  Kill Rock Stars
  Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
  
  ; CD; (2006)

Singles

• "Mind Your Own Business" / "Now That You're Gone" (Rough Trade Records
  Rough Trade Records
  Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
  
  ) (1979)
• "Anticipation" / "You" (Rough Trade Records) (1980)
• "Try" / "Colour" (Rough Trade Records) (1980)
• "Shadow" / "Leaving" (PRE) (1981)
• "Powerlines" / "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" (PRE) (1982)