The Enemy (UK punk band)
Encyclopedia
The Enemy are a punk rock
band from Derby
, England
, who formed in 1980, releasing two albums.
, with several changes of personnel before they stabilized the following year as Mark Woodhouse (vocals), Steve "Mez" Mellors (guitar), Steve O'Donnell (bass), and Mark Herrington (drums). They played their first gig at Woodlands Youth Centre, and landed a support slot on Anti Pasti's gig in Huddersfield
. They recorded their first single, "50,000 Dead" at Old Cottage Studios in Derby, releasing it on their own Tin Tin label. The single was quite successful and led to the band being signed to Fall Out Records, debuting on the label with "Fallen Hero" in May 1982, which reached number 44 in the UK Indie Chart
. "Fallen Hero", an anti-war song, was also included on the Punk and Disorderly volume 2 compilation which reached the indie top 10. The band's third single was less successful, and Mellor was replaced by Kevin Lamb of local punk band Total Loss, who livened up the band's live performances.
Debut album Gateway to Hell was issued in 1983 to much critical acclaim and respectable sales. Herrington left the band before the album was released, to be replaced by Dave Hill. The band toured around Britain in support of the album, but were dropped by Fall Out, and moved to the local Rot label (run by Riot Squad
's Dunk) for their next single, "Last But Not Least", which was followed by an album of the same name (now featuring a fifth member, lead guitarist Russel Maw), with tracks split between a live recording from The Bierkeller in Leeds
and studio tracks recorded at Cargo Studios in Rochdale
. The album turned out to be The Enemy's final release, with disappointing sales following the lack of support and funding from Rot together with musical differences prompted the band not to record or play live until 2006 when they got together for the writing of Burning Britain, they now plan to tour the UK again and are looking at writing some new material.
Drummer Dave Hill is still involved in music, having worked with Apes Pigs & Spacemen, Neil Finn
, and Johnny Marr
, and as a member of Arnold
.
Drummer Mark Herrington now plays in Derby Based Covers band The Spydermonkeys.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band from Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, who formed in 1980, releasing two albums.
History
The Enemy formed in early 1980 in their local youth clubYouth club
A youth club or youth social club is a place where young people can meet and enjoy activities such as football, soccer, basketball, table tennis, or video games, and other religious, sports activities are frequently sponsored by a community center....
, with several changes of personnel before they stabilized the following year as Mark Woodhouse (vocals), Steve "Mez" Mellors (guitar), Steve O'Donnell (bass), and Mark Herrington (drums). They played their first gig at Woodlands Youth Centre, and landed a support slot on Anti Pasti's gig in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
. They recorded their first single, "50,000 Dead" at Old Cottage Studios in Derby, releasing it on their own Tin Tin label. The single was quite successful and led to the band being signed to Fall Out Records, debuting on the label with "Fallen Hero" in May 1982, which reached number 44 in the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
. "Fallen Hero", an anti-war song, was also included on the Punk and Disorderly volume 2 compilation which reached the indie top 10. The band's third single was less successful, and Mellor was replaced by Kevin Lamb of local punk band Total Loss, who livened up the band's live performances.
Debut album Gateway to Hell was issued in 1983 to much critical acclaim and respectable sales. Herrington left the band before the album was released, to be replaced by Dave Hill. The band toured around Britain in support of the album, but were dropped by Fall Out, and moved to the local Rot label (run by Riot Squad
Riot Squad
Riot Squad were a second-wave punk rock band from Mansfield, England, initially active between 1981 and 1984.-History:Riot Squad formed in 1981, with an initial line-up of Duncan "Dunk" Mason , Nigel "Nello" Nelson , and Paul "Pommi" Palmer , Nelson the only one of the three with any musical...
's Dunk) for their next single, "Last But Not Least", which was followed by an album of the same name (now featuring a fifth member, lead guitarist Russel Maw), with tracks split between a live recording from The Bierkeller in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and studio tracks recorded at Cargo Studios in Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
. The album turned out to be The Enemy's final release, with disappointing sales following the lack of support and funding from Rot together with musical differences prompted the band not to record or play live until 2006 when they got together for the writing of Burning Britain, they now plan to tour the UK again and are looking at writing some new material.
Drummer Dave Hill is still involved in music, having worked with Apes Pigs & Spacemen, Neil Finn
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
, and Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
, and as a member of Arnold
Arnold (band)
Arnold are a 3 piece band from London, England comprising Phil Morris , Mark Saxby and Phil Payne who play guitar-based music influenced by the likes of Big Star, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and The Who...
.
Drummer Mark Herrington now plays in Derby Based Covers band The Spydermonkeys.
Singles
- "50,000 Dead" (1981) Tin Tin
- "Fallen Hero" (1982) Fall Out (UK Indie #44)
- "Punk's Alive" (1982) Fall Out
- "Last Rites" (1982) Fall Out (UK Indie #31)
- "Last But Not Least" (1983) Rot
Albums
- Gateway to Hell (1983) Fall Out, reissued in expanded CD form on Captain Oi! in 1995
- Last But Not Least (1984) Rot