Ed Ball (musician)
Encyclopedia
Edward "Ed" Ball is a songwriter
, singer, guitarist
and keyboard
player from London
, who has recorded both solo and as a member of the Television Personalities, 'O' Level
, Teenage Filmstars
, The Times
, and Conspiracy of Noise. He also served as an executive
at Creation Records
. He was born and brought up in Chelsea, London
.
school-friend Dan Treacy formed the Television Personalities
. Ball also formed 'O' Level
with John Bennett, Gerard Bennett, and Dick Scully, releasing two singles in 1978. In 1979, he recorded as the Teenage Filmstars
, along with fellow members of the Television Personalities, releasing three singles between 1979 and 1980. Ball and Treacy (Foster left the band prior to the recording of any material under the Television Personalities name) released And Don't the Kids Just Love It
(1980) for Rough Trade Records
. Following a brief parting with Rough Trade, they launched their own label Whaam! records with Mummy Your Not Watching Me (1981), They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles (1982) and And Don't the Kids Just Love It. The Whaam! record label was later renamed Dreamworld following a legal dispute with George Michael
Ball, meanwhile, had formed a more permanent outlet for his music in 1981 with The Times
, releasing the Pop Goes Art! album in 1982, and leaving the TV Personalities the same year, although he later returned in 2004, appearing on the album My Dark Places
(Domino Records, 2005) and on parts of the albums And They All Lived Happily Ever After (Damaged Goods
, 2004) and Are We Nearly There Yet?
(Overground, 2007).
; however, in 1988 he began to release new material under the Times name, starting with the album Beat Torture. Three albums were also released by Ball under the name of the Teenage Filmstars (although the other members of the original Teenage Filmstars were not involved in any way), Star (1992), Rocket Charms (1993) and Buy Our Record Support Our Sickness (1995).
In 2005, Ball reactivated his Artpop! label through Cherry Red
, debuting with Here's To Old England!, a three decade anthology of his work as The Times, Teenage Filmstars and 'O' Level. This was followed by comprehensive reissues of This Is London (2006) and I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape (2006). The series continues late May 2007 with O' Level 1977 - 1980 compilation, A Day In the Life of Gilbert & George and The Times' first recorded album, GO! With The Times!.
. As a side-project to The Times, Ball began releasing dance music
records as the Love Corporation in 1990. Between 1990 and 1997, he released four albums under this name on Creation. He also collaborated with Richard Green as Sand on the 1991 album The Dynamic Curve, and with Phil Vane of Extreme Noise Terror
as Conspiracy of Noise on the 1993 album Chicks with Dicks and Splatter Flicks. In 1995 Creation Records
issued a two-disc compilation of Ball's material, Welcome to the Wonderful World of Ed Ball, covering all his material other than that released with the Television Personalities. Two albums of solo material were released to coincide with it, If a Man Ever Loved a Woman (1995) and Catholic Guilt (1997), followed by Why Do I Need A Gun I'm Chelsea (1999). For the first time on any of his projects, Ball received proper promotion for Catholic Guilt, which reaped two UK Top 75 chart singles, "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" and "Love Is Blue". Following the collapse of Creation in 1999 Ball was not signed to any other label and disappeared from the public gaze, to concentrate on experimental film documentaries about Simon Fisher Turner
and London. In 2004 Ball rejoined the Television Personalities, and continues to play occasional shows under the name of The Times. He also works with singer/songwriter Misty Woods
, although this collaboration has yet to result in any released recordings.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, singer, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, who has recorded both solo and as a member of the Television Personalities, 'O' Level
'O' Level
O' Level were a British, late 1970s, post punk, indie band, founded in 1976 by Ed Ball with friends John and Gerard Bennett. The group's name refers to the 'O'-Level of the British General Certificate of Education.-History:...
, Teenage Filmstars
Teenage Filmstars
Teenage Filmstars are an English, post punk, independent, psychedelic 1980s-90s band, formed in 1979 by Edward Ball, Daniel Treacy and Joseph Foster...
, The Times
The Times (band)
The Times are a British, 1980s-90s, independent band, the brainchild of Ed Ball, co-founder member of the Television Personalities, Teenage Filmstars and 'O' Level.-Whaam! Records 1981-1982:...
, and Conspiracy of Noise. He also served as an executive
Senior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
at Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
. He was born and brought up in Chelsea, London
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
.
Television Personalities
In 1977, singer/songwriter Ball and fellow London OratoryLondon Oratory
The London Oratory is a Catholic oratory, a community of lay-brothers, and the name given to the London Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri...
school-friend Dan Treacy formed the Television Personalities
Television Personalities (band)
The Television Personalities are an English group with a varying line-up. The only constant member is singer–songwriter Dan Treacy , who uses the band as a vehicle for his music...
. Ball also formed 'O' Level
'O' Level
O' Level were a British, late 1970s, post punk, indie band, founded in 1976 by Ed Ball with friends John and Gerard Bennett. The group's name refers to the 'O'-Level of the British General Certificate of Education.-History:...
with John Bennett, Gerard Bennett, and Dick Scully, releasing two singles in 1978. In 1979, he recorded as the Teenage Filmstars
Teenage Filmstars
Teenage Filmstars are an English, post punk, independent, psychedelic 1980s-90s band, formed in 1979 by Edward Ball, Daniel Treacy and Joseph Foster...
, along with fellow members of the Television Personalities, releasing three singles between 1979 and 1980. Ball and Treacy (Foster left the band prior to the recording of any material under the Television Personalities name) released And Don't the Kids Just Love It
And Don't the Kids Just Love It
And Don't the Kids Just Love It is the first album by the Television Personalities and was recorded in 1980 and released in 1981.The first full album by Television Personalities, recorded after a four-year series of singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage...
(1980) for 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...
. Following a brief parting with Rough Trade, they launched their own label Whaam! records with Mummy Your Not Watching Me (1981), They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles (1982) and And Don't the Kids Just Love It. The Whaam! record label was later renamed Dreamworld following a legal dispute with George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
Ball, meanwhile, had formed a more permanent outlet for his music in 1981 with The Times
The Times (band)
The Times are a British, 1980s-90s, independent band, the brainchild of Ed Ball, co-founder member of the Television Personalities, Teenage Filmstars and 'O' Level.-Whaam! Records 1981-1982:...
, releasing the Pop Goes Art! album in 1982, and leaving the TV Personalities the same year, although he later returned in 2004, appearing on the album My Dark Places
My Dark Places (album)
My Dark Places is an album by the Television Personalities, released in 2006.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Daniel Treacy#"Special Chair" – 3:03#"All the Young Children on Crack" – 3:13#"Sick Again" – 2:15#"Ex-Girlfriend Club" – 4:18...
(Domino Records, 2005) and on parts of the albums And They All Lived Happily Ever After (Damaged Goods
Damaged Goods (record label)
Damaged Goods is a British independent record label and online shop.- History :Damaged Goods started in 1988 from a living room in east London.Ian Damaged called it DamagedGoods. The first release was a re-issue of the 1977 single by Slaughter and the Dogs, "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone?"...
, 2004) and Are We Nearly There Yet?
Are We Nearly There Yet? (album)
Are We Nearly There Yet? is the tenth album by indie legends Television Personalities. It was released in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2007. The album features brand new tracks along with covers of Bruce Springsteen and The Killers...
(Overground, 2007).
The Times
On leaving the Television Personalities, Ball concentrated on The Times, a band with an ever-changing lineup in which he remained the only constant member. Following Pop Goes Art!, from 1982 to 1986 the band released four further albums / mini-albums on Ball's own Artpop label. In 1986 Ball dissolved The Times to become an executive at Creation RecordsCreation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
; however, in 1988 he began to release new material under the Times name, starting with the album Beat Torture. Three albums were also released by Ball under the name of the Teenage Filmstars (although the other members of the original Teenage Filmstars were not involved in any way), Star (1992), Rocket Charms (1993) and Buy Our Record Support Our Sickness (1995).
In 2005, Ball reactivated his Artpop! label through Cherry Red
Cherry Red
Cherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...
, debuting with Here's To Old England!, a three decade anthology of his work as The Times, Teenage Filmstars and 'O' Level. This was followed by comprehensive reissues of This Is London (2006) and I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape (2006). The series continues late May 2007 with O' Level 1977 - 1980 compilation, A Day In the Life of Gilbert & George and The Times' first recorded album, GO! With The Times!.
Solo career
Ball's first solo release credited as such was the L'Orange Mechanik album in 1989, featuring music inspired by the poems of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
. As a side-project to The Times, Ball began releasing dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
records as the Love Corporation in 1990. Between 1990 and 1997, he released four albums under this name on Creation. He also collaborated with Richard Green as Sand on the 1991 album The Dynamic Curve, and with Phil Vane of Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror are a British crust punk / grindcore band originally formed in Ipswich, England in 1985. The band are widely considered one of the earliest and most influential European grindcore bands, and particularly the forefathers of the crustgrind subgenre.Notable for one of the...
as Conspiracy of Noise on the 1993 album Chicks with Dicks and Splatter Flicks. In 1995 Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
issued a two-disc compilation of Ball's material, Welcome to the Wonderful World of Ed Ball, covering all his material other than that released with the Television Personalities. Two albums of solo material were released to coincide with it, If a Man Ever Loved a Woman (1995) and Catholic Guilt (1997), followed by Why Do I Need A Gun I'm Chelsea (1999). For the first time on any of his projects, Ball received proper promotion for Catholic Guilt, which reaped two UK Top 75 chart singles, "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" and "Love Is Blue". Following the collapse of Creation in 1999 Ball was not signed to any other label and disappeared from the public gaze, to concentrate on experimental film documentaries about Simon Fisher Turner
Simon Fisher Turner
Simon Turner is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays and roles in films such as The Big Sleep , Dover-born Simon Turner quickly rose to fame as a teen star in Britain thanks to his mentor...
and London. In 2004 Ball rejoined the Television Personalities, and continues to play occasional shows under the name of The Times. He also works with singer/songwriter Misty Woods
Misty Woods
Misty Woods is a Welsh singer and lyricist, currently living in London.-Music career:Woods signed to the Future Legend record label in 1996, although not commercially successful in the UK, the releases sold well in Europe. Woods left the label in 2000....
, although this collaboration has yet to result in any released recordings.
Albums
- And Don't the Kids Just Love It (1981), Rough Trade
- Mummy Your Not Watching Me (1982), Whaam!
- They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles (1982), Whaam!
- The Painted Word (1985), Illuminated
Singles, EPs
- "14th Floor" (1978), W1 Teen
- Where's Bill Grundy Now? EP (1978), King's Road
- "Smashing Time" (1980), Rough Trade
- "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" (1981), Rough Trade
- "Three Wishes" (1982), Whaam!
- "A Sense of Belonging" (1983), Rough Trade
Albums
- Tones (1990), Creation
- Lovers (1991), Creation
- Intelligentsia (1994), Creation
- Dance Stance (1997), Creation
Studio albums
- L'Orange Mechanik (1989), Creation
- If A Man Ever Loved A Woman (1995), Creation
- "It's Kinda Lonely Where I Am" (acoustic) / "Firehorse" / "If A Man Ever Loved A Woman" / "She's Just High Maintenance, Baby" / "The Arizona Loner" / "You Only Miss Me When I'm Bleeding" / "The Ballad Of A Lonely Man" / "A Ton Of Blues" / "You're An Idiot Babe" / "It's Kinda Lonely Where I Am"
- Catholic Guilt (1997), Creation
- "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" / "Love Is Blue" / "Docklands Blues" / "Controversial Girlfriend" / "The Hampstead Therapist" / "Tilt" / "Trailblaze" / "Never Live To Love Again" / "This Is The Story Of My Love" / "This Is Real"
- Why Do I Need A Gun I'm Chelsea (May 1999), Creation
- "The Other Side Of Love Is Guilt" / "For The Souls Of Dead Horses" / "Never Live To Love Again" / "Bled A River Over You" / "So Sad But True" / "Docklands Blues" / "Ma Blues" / "Another Member Of The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" / "If A Man Ever Loved A Woman" / "12 Noon 28.8.93" / "When You Lose Your Lover Learn To Lose" / "Love Is Blue"* / "I'm Going Out Of Your Mind" / "Blues For Brian Wilson" / "Wrapped Up In Lonesome Blues" / "An Act Of Faith" / "Mill Hill Self Hate Club"
* * From Mark Radcliffe BBC Radio One Session
Compilations
- Welcome to the Wonderful World of Ed Ball (March 1995), Creation
- Here's to Old England! (October 2005), Creation
Singles & EPs
- "If a Man Ever Loved a Woman" (1995), Creation
-
- "If A Man Ever Loved A Woman" / "Firehorse Blues" / "12 Noon 28.8.93" / "United States Of Loneliness"
- "It's Kinda Lonely Where I Am"
-
- "It's Kinda Lonely Where I Am" / "Docklands Blues" / "Another Member Of The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" / "Bled A River Over You"
- "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" (1996), Creation - UK #57
-
- "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" / "Wrapped Up In Lonesome Blues" / "I'm Going Out Of Your Mind" / "An Act Of Faith"
- "Trailblaze" (1996), Creation
-
- "Trailblaze" / "The Other Side Of Love Is Guilt" / "Blues For Brian Wilson"
- "Love Is Blue" (1997), Creation - UK #59
-
- "Love Is Blue" / "When You Lose Your Lover Learn To Lose" / "Mill Hill Self Hate Club"* / "Love Is Blue"*
* Mark Radcliffe session
- "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" (1997), Creation - reissue
-
- "The Mill Hill Self Hate Club" / "For The Souls Of Dead Horses" / "Ma Blues" / "Never Live To Love Again"
- Split Xmas single (1996), Creation
-
- A: Ed Ball - "Never Live to Love Again" / AA: 18 Wheeler18 Wheeler18 Wheeler were a Scottish rock band active in the early 1990s, consisting of Sean Jackson , David Keenan , Alan Hake , and Neil Halliday...
- "Ballad of Paul Verlaine"
- A: Ed Ball - "Never Live to Love Again" / AA: 18 Wheeler