The Silencers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Silencers are a Scottish
rock
band
formed in London
in 1986 by two ex-members of the post-punk
outfit Fingerprintz. Their music is characterized by a melodic blend of pop
, folk
and traditional Celtic
influences. Often compared to Scottish bands with a similar sound like Big Country
, Del Amitri
and The Proclaimers
, The Silencers have distinguished themselves with their eclectic sounds, prolific output and continued career. Their first single
, "Painted Moon," was a minor international hit
and invited critical comparisons to Simple Minds
and U2
. In 1987 they released their first album A Letter From St. Paul, which included "Painted Moon" and another minor hit, "I See Red." Buoyed by the huge European hit "Bulletproof Heart", the band's third album Dance to the Holy Man is the band's commercial peak to date. In the 1990s The Silencers saw popular taste shift away from their songwriter-based style of music toward grunge
and electronic music
. They released a regular stream of album
s, but have struggled to capture more than a cult
-size fanbase
.
scene. O'Neill wrote songs for Paul Young
and Lene Lovich
, while Burns played guitar in Adam Ant
's backing band during 1982-1984 together with Fingerprintz drummer Bogdan Wiczling. O'Neill, who, in the mid 1970s, had worked for a time as a clerical assistant in the Department of Health and Social Security, released a single for Oval Records in 1975, "Achin' in My Heart"/"Cold on Me", under the name Jimme Shelter (a throwback to the song, "Gimme Shelter
" by The Rolling Stones
).
's BBC Radio 1
show and the BBC's In Concert radio series. The group split in 1985. Then O'Neill formed a duo
with electropop singer Jacqui Brookes and they released two singles in 1983: "Haunted Cocktails" and "Lost Without Your Love". When Brookes subsequently released solo album Sob Stories, O'Neill wrote or co-wrote a majority of the tracks and played guitar and other instruments
on the album.
Soon O'Neill and Burns were playing music together again, this time joined by drummer Martin Hanlin and bass player Joseph Donnelly, a cousin of Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr
. After considering band names like 'My Granny's Green Chair' and 'The Hot Dog From Hell', they settled on 'The Silencers'. In September 1986, they began to tour Europe and the United Kingdom. They demoed
three new songs at Scarf Studios in London: "Painted Moon", "I See Red" and "I Can't Cry". The demos earned them a recording contract with RCA Records
, and their song "Painted Moon", about O'Neill's personal reaction to the Falklands War
, was included on the soundtrack
to the film The Home Front, and then released as their first single in April 1987. Their first album A Letter from St. Paul included re-recorded versions of all three demos. The Pretenders
invited the band to support them on their European tour, and then the success of Painted Moon across the pond induced a tour of the United States on their own, and later with Squeeze.
In 1988, The Silencers toured Europe with The Alarm
and Painted Moon became a radio hit in the UK. The band moved back to Scotland and recorded
a second album A Blues for Buddha at CaVa Studios in Glasgow, with Flood producing
. The standout tracks were "Scottish Rain", about love and fallout from Chernobyl
, and "The Real McCoy" which became a fan favourite. The band then toured Europe with Simple Minds
for four months, culminating with a stadium show at Wembley
in front of 80,000.
for his Lostboy project, became a big hit in Spain
and France
, where the band had success at that time, but album sales lagged back in the United Kingdom. Coatbridge
-born JJ Gilmour joined the band as a second male vocalist before another tour of Europe, and Stevie Kane joined the band, replacing Rankine during the tour due to personality conflict.
Deeply in debt to RCA and not having the expected success in the UK, The Silencers were in danger of being dropped by their record label
despite their success throughout Europe. However, after label representatives saw an impressive live show they allowed the band to begin work on fourth album Seconds of Pleasure. "I Can Feel It" (the video
for which featured a cameo
role from Frances Corrigan, O'Neill's daughter's friend from Coatbridge) is, true to form, a hit in Europe and ignored in the UK. Without tour support from RCA, the band financed its own tour to Switzerland
, France and Scotland.
In 1994, The Silencers signed to new labels: Permanent for Britain and BMG
for France. That summer they recorded the song "Wild Mountain Thyme", featuring O'Neill's daughter Aura on vocals. It became a hit in Scotland after featuring in a tourism board advertising campaign. Soon after, they completed fifth album So Be It.
After a mid-1996 tour of Europe, Gilmour and Soave left the band. After several years of writing with other artists, Gilmour released his first solo
album, Sunnyside P.A.L. in 2002 for ic-music/Edel Records. The album was recorded in New York
and produced by Dan Wise (who also produced Joan Osborne
).
Sunnyside P.A.L. was dedicated to the memory of a childhood friend, Paul Anthony Lennon, who had recently succumbed to cancer
. Lennon and Gilmour had shared much of their childhood exploring the Sunnyside area of their native Coatbridge, and the first single from the album "Me and You" was heavily play-listed by the French radio station Europe 2.
Despite the album's substantial critical success, it suffered from lack of promotion and distribution, as Edel closed down its Paris office later in the year. For the next few years, Gilmour concentrated on touring, supporting Bob Geldof
and Ocean Colour Scene
, among others.
In 2006, Gilmour was approached by Miles Copeland, who secured a contract for his second solo album. The Boy Who Didn't Fall was recorded in Scotland in late 2007, and released on adn/Universal Records in France and adn/BMG Records in Italy and Belgium in February 2008. The first single from thealbum, "If You Don't Give Me Love", was released in December 2007.
Jim McDermott of the Kevin McDermott Orchestra joined on drums and Aura O'Neill became a permanent member of the band. The year 1996 brought the release of singles compilation Blood & Rain, and The Silencers took several years off from recording.
In 1999, the band worked on seventh album Receiving, which was financed by money from festival appearances in Europe. Speaking of the new record, O'Neill said, "Some of the new tracks were recorded as if this was a different band. I wanted to forget about everything we'd done before and some of what came out reminded me of Fingerprintz - new wave for the nineties!" The experimental nature of the songs, he said, was inspired by the influence of Jack Kerouac
, William S. Burroughs
and Charles Bukowski
.
, A Night of Electric Silence, recorded in Glasgow in 2000, with McDermott on drums, Kane on bass, Phil Kane on keyboards, O'Neill on guitar and vocals, Milla on violin and Aura O'Neill on vocals.
In November 2004, Come was released, featuring the tracks "Siddharta", "Let It Happen" and "Head". However, by this time most of the band's albums were out of print. In July 2006, Baptiste Brondy, a 20 year-old French drummer, replaced McDermott. Burns was six days past his 50th birthday when he died of lung cancer
in the Welsh
seaside resort
of Prestatyn
on 26 March 2007.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in 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...
in 1986 by two ex-members of the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
outfit Fingerprintz. Their music is characterized by a melodic blend of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and traditional Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
influences. Often compared to Scottish bands with a similar sound like Big Country
Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
, Del Amitri
Del Amitri
Del Amitri were a Scottish pop-rock guitar band, formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1983. The band grew out of Justin Currie's Jordanhill College School band and came together after teenager Currie placed an advertisement in the window of a music store asking for people who could play to contact him...
and The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
, The Silencers have distinguished themselves with their eclectic sounds, prolific output and continued career. Their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Painted Moon," was a minor international hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
and invited critical comparisons to Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. In 1987 they released their first album A Letter From St. Paul, which included "Painted Moon" and another minor hit, "I See Red." Buoyed by the huge European hit "Bulletproof Heart", the band's third album Dance to the Holy Man is the band's commercial peak to date. In the 1990s The Silencers saw popular taste shift away from their songwriter-based style of music toward grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. They released a regular stream of album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, but have struggled to capture more than a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
-size fanbase
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
.
History
Before forming The Silencers, vocalist Jimme O'Neill and guitarist Cha Burns were active in London's new wave musicNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scene. O'Neill wrote songs for Paul Young
Paul Young (singer and guitarist)
Paul Antony Young is an English pop musician. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, his following solo success as a solo recording artist turned him into a 1980s teenage pop idol...
and Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich is an American singer based in England, who first gained attention as part of the New Wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her most popular hit single was "Lucky Number", first released in 1979.-Early years:...
, while Burns played guitar in Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
's backing band during 1982-1984 together with Fingerprintz drummer Bogdan Wiczling. O'Neill, who, in the mid 1970s, had worked for a time as a clerical assistant in the Department of Health and Social Security, released a single for Oval Records in 1975, "Achin' in My Heart"/"Cold on Me", under the name Jimme Shelter (a throwback to the song, "Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter
"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling...
" by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
).
1980s
In 1979, they met and formed a post-punk/new wave project called Fingerprintz, and released three albums under that name: The Very Dab, Distinguishing Marks and Beat Noir. They earned some critical recognition and notable appearances on John PeelJohn Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show and the BBC's In Concert radio series. The group split in 1985. Then O'Neill formed a duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with electropop singer Jacqui Brookes and they released two singles in 1983: "Haunted Cocktails" and "Lost Without Your Love". When Brookes subsequently released solo album Sob Stories, O'Neill wrote or co-wrote a majority of the tracks and played guitar and other instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
on the album.
Soon O'Neill and Burns were playing music together again, this time joined by drummer Martin Hanlin and bass player Joseph Donnelly, a cousin of Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr
Jim Kerr
James "Jim" Kerr is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Simple Minds who achieved five UK #1 albums and a #1 single "Ballad of the Streets EP". He released his first solo album, Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr, on the 27 May 2010.- Simple Minds :Kerr attended...
. After considering band names like 'My Granny's Green Chair' and 'The Hot Dog From Hell', they settled on 'The Silencers'. In September 1986, they began to tour Europe and the United Kingdom. They demoed
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
three new songs at Scarf Studios in London: "Painted Moon", "I See Red" and "I Can't Cry". The demos earned them a recording contract with RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, and their song "Painted Moon", about O'Neill's personal reaction to the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, was included on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the film The Home Front, and then released as their first single in April 1987. Their first album A Letter from St. Paul included re-recorded versions of all three demos. The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
invited the band to support them on their European tour, and then the success of Painted Moon across the pond induced a tour of the United States on their own, and later with Squeeze.
In 1988, The Silencers toured Europe with The Alarm
The Alarm
The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
and Painted Moon became a radio hit in the UK. The band moved back to Scotland and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a second album A Blues for Buddha at CaVa Studios in Glasgow, with Flood producing
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. The standout tracks were "Scottish Rain", about love and fallout from Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
, and "The Real McCoy" which became a fan favourite. The band then toured Europe with Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
for four months, culminating with a stadium show at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
in front of 80,000.
1990s
After the tour, the band began work on third album Dance to the Holy Man, but personal conflict derailed the process. Donnelly and Hanlin left the band, and were replaced by Tony Soave on drums and Lewis Rankine on bass. The album, a departure from the band's "guitar-based atmosphere pop", was recorded during the summer of 1990. It included funk, blues, and Celtic strains. The single "Bulletproof Heart", a re-recording of a track from the Fingerprintz album "Distinguishing Marks" and later to be covered by Jim KerrJim Kerr
James "Jim" Kerr is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Simple Minds who achieved five UK #1 albums and a #1 single "Ballad of the Streets EP". He released his first solo album, Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr, on the 27 May 2010.- Simple Minds :Kerr attended...
for his Lostboy project, became a big hit in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where the band had success at that time, but album sales lagged back in the United Kingdom. Coatbridge
Coatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
-born JJ Gilmour joined the band as a second male vocalist before another tour of Europe, and Stevie Kane joined the band, replacing Rankine during the tour due to personality conflict.
Deeply in debt to RCA and not having the expected success in the UK, The Silencers were in danger of being dropped by their record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
despite their success throughout Europe. However, after label representatives saw an impressive live show they allowed the band to begin work on fourth album Seconds of Pleasure. "I Can Feel It" (the video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for which featured a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
role from Frances Corrigan, O'Neill's daughter's friend from Coatbridge) is, true to form, a hit in Europe and ignored in the UK. Without tour support from RCA, the band financed its own tour to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, France and Scotland.
In 1994, The Silencers signed to new labels: Permanent for Britain and BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
for France. That summer they recorded the song "Wild Mountain Thyme", featuring O'Neill's daughter Aura on vocals. It became a hit in Scotland after featuring in a tourism board advertising campaign. Soon after, they completed fifth album So Be It.
After a mid-1996 tour of Europe, Gilmour and Soave left the band. After several years of writing with other artists, Gilmour released his first solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album, Sunnyside P.A.L. in 2002 for ic-music/Edel Records. The album was recorded in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and produced by Dan Wise (who also produced Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
).
Sunnyside P.A.L. was dedicated to the memory of a childhood friend, Paul Anthony Lennon, who had recently succumbed to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Lennon and Gilmour had shared much of their childhood exploring the Sunnyside area of their native Coatbridge, and the first single from the album "Me and You" was heavily play-listed by the French radio station Europe 2.
Despite the album's substantial critical success, it suffered from lack of promotion and distribution, as Edel closed down its Paris office later in the year. For the next few years, Gilmour concentrated on touring, supporting Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date.-Early days :...
, among others.
In 2006, Gilmour was approached by Miles Copeland, who secured a contract for his second solo album. The Boy Who Didn't Fall was recorded in Scotland in late 2007, and released on adn/Universal Records in France and adn/BMG Records in Italy and Belgium in February 2008. The first single from thealbum, "If You Don't Give Me Love", was released in December 2007.
Jim McDermott of the Kevin McDermott Orchestra joined on drums and Aura O'Neill became a permanent member of the band. The year 1996 brought the release of singles compilation Blood & Rain, and The Silencers took several years off from recording.
In 1999, the band worked on seventh album Receiving, which was financed by money from festival appearances in Europe. Speaking of the new record, O'Neill said, "Some of the new tracks were recorded as if this was a different band. I wanted to forget about everything we'd done before and some of what came out reminded me of Fingerprintz - new wave for the nineties!" The experimental nature of the songs, he said, was inspired by the influence of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
and Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
.
2000s
In 2001, the band released their first live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, A Night of Electric Silence, recorded in Glasgow in 2000, with McDermott on drums, Kane on bass, Phil Kane on keyboards, O'Neill on guitar and vocals, Milla on violin and Aura O'Neill on vocals.
In November 2004, Come was released, featuring the tracks "Siddharta", "Let It Happen" and "Head". However, by this time most of the band's albums were out of print. In July 2006, Baptiste Brondy, a 20 year-old French drummer, replaced McDermott. Burns was six days past his 50th birthday when he died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
of Prestatyn
Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside resort, town and community in Denbighshire, North Wales. It is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. At the 2001 Census, Prestatyn had a population of 18,496.-Prehistory:...
on 26 March 2007.
Albums
- A Letter From St. Paul, (1987) RCA PD 71336
- "Painted Moon"
- "I Can't Cry"
- "Bullet And Blue Eyes"
- "God's Gift"
- "I See Red"
- "I Ought To Know"
- "Blue Desire"
- "Possessed"
- "Painted Moon" (Blues Mix)
- A Blues for Buddha, (1988) RCA PD 71859
- "Answer Me"
- "Scottish Rain"
- "The Real McCoy"
- "A Blues for Buddha"
- "Walk With The Night"
- "Razor Blades of Love"
- "Skin Game"
- "Wayfaring Stranger"
- "Sacred Child"
- "My Love is Like a Wave" / "Razor Blade Reprise"
- "Sand and Star"
- Dance to the Holy Man, (1991) PD 74924 (UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#39)- "Singing Ginger"
- "Robinson Crusoe in New York"
- "Bulletproof Heart"
- "The Art of Self Deception"
- "I Want You"
- "Just Can't Be Bothered"
- "Cameras and Colleseums"
- "One Inch of Heaven"
- "Hey Mr Bank Manager"
- "This Is Serious" / "John the Revelator"
- "Afraid to Love"
- "Electric Storm"
- "When The Night Comes Down"
- "Robinson Rap"
- Seconds of Pleasure,(1993) RCA 74321 14113 2 (UK #52)
- "I Can Feel It"
- "Sylvie"
- "Cellar of Dream"
- "Small Mercy"
- "It's Only Love"
- "Misunderstood"
- "Life Can Be Fatal"
- "The Unhappiest Man"
- "Walkmans and Magnums"
- "Streewalker Song"
- "My Prayer"
- "Unconscious"
- So Be It, (1995) BMG France 74321 25231 2
- "Something Worth Fighting For"
- "Killing for God"
- "27"
- "I Woke Up"
- "Number 1 Friend"
- "Flying"
- "Hello Stranger"
- "Henry's Black Shadow"
- "Wild Mountain Thyme"
- "Listen"
- "About the Sea"
- "I Believe in You"
- Receiving, (1999) Uncanny Records CANNYCD1
- "Utopian Space Bible"
- "Receiving"
- "Incredible Creature"
- "Psychic Magnet"
- "Partytime in Heaven"
- "Hallucigenocide"
- "China Soldiers"
- "For Those Who Have Everything"
- "Zen Angel"
- "Flies In The Waste"
- "Pharmaceuticals"
- A Night of Electric Silence, (2001) Last Call, Wagram Music 3068202
- "Intro : A Glasgow Kiss"
- "Bulletproof Heart"
- "Painted Moon"
- "Sacred Child"
- "I Can Feel It"
- "27"
- "Partytime in Heaven"
- "Receiving"
- "Camera and Colloseum"
- "One Inch of Heaven"
- "Sylvie"
- "I Want You"
- "Wild Mountain Thyme"
- "The Real McCoy"
- "La Chanson de Prévert"
- Come, (2004) Keltia Musique KMCD 157
- "Intro"
- "Siddharta"
- "Don't Make Plans"
- "Come"
- "Head"
- "She Found Me"
- "I Belong"
- "Let It Happen"
- "Time"
- "Alchemy"
- "You Kill Me"
- "A Blues for Francie Brady"
- "It's No Secret"
- "Siddharta" (Radio Edit)
- En Concert, (2006) Keltia Musique KMDVD 110
- "Painted Moon"
- "Time"
- "Let It Happen"
- "Come"
- "Head"
- "Don't Make Plans"
- "Partytime in Heaven"
- "Coeur Blindé" ("Bulletproof Heart")
- "I Want You"
- "The Real McCoy"
- "I Can Feel It"
- Real, (2008) Keltia Musique KMCD 194
- "From The Gospel of Johnny Cash"
- "To the Country"
- "Meltdown Love Hymn"
- "It's You"
- "Dark Xstasy"
- "Being There"
- "I'm in Love with You Tonight"
- "Gypsy"
- "Everybody Wants to Be in Love"
- "Clear"
- "Lonely Town"
- "Faraway"
- "Serial Killer"
- "Before"
- "Real"
- "Overcome"
- "Wild Mountain Thyme" (1995)
Compilation albums
- Blood and Rain, (1996) BMG France 74321 41924 2
- "Painted Moon" (Blues Mix)
- "I Can't Cry"
- "I See Red"
- "Answer Me"
- "Scottish Rain"
- "The Real McCoy"
- "Razor Blades of Love"
- "Bulletproof Heart"
- "I Want You"
- "Hey Mr Bank Manager"
- "I Can Feel It"
- "Cellar of Dreams"
- "Number 1 Friend"
- "Wild Mountain Thyme"
- "Something Worth Fighting For"
Singles
- "Painted Moon" (1987) #57 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
(in 1988) - "I Can't Cry" (1987)
- "I See Red" (1988)
- "Answer Me" (1988)
- "The Real McCoy" (1988)
- "Scottish Rain" (1989) #71 UK
- "Razor Blades of Love" (1989)
- "I Want You" (1991)
- "Bulletproof Heart" (1991)
- "Hey Mr. Bank Manager" (1991)
- "I Can Feel It" (1993) #62 UK
- "Number One Friend" (1995)
- "Something Worth Fighting For" (1995)
- "27" (1995)
- "Wild Mountain Thyme" (1995)
External links
- UK Based Official site
- Official site
- Fingerprintz/Silencers fan site with bio, discography and photos
- A Brief history of Fingerprintz
- Trouser Press band summary
- Last Call Records site for A Night of Electric Silence
- May 2006 interview with Jimme O'Neill
- Official site of former member JJ Gilmour
- Cha Burns obituary in The Herald (Glasgow)The Herald (Glasgow)The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...