The Telescopes
Encyclopedia
The Telescopes were formed in 1987 by Stephen Lawrie and could best be described as a noise/space rock
band - the Jesus and Mary Chain
, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3
being influences and contemporaries.
on the Cheree label in 1988, which was given away with the Sowing Seeds fanzine
. There followed their debut single
, "Kick the Wall", and "7th# Disaster" also on Cheree Records. They moved to the American
What Goes On Records and released their debut LP, Taste
and "The Perfect Needle" single which is perhaps their most famous song. A live album appeared on Fierce Records and following What Goes On’s bankruptcy they signed to Creation Records
. In contrast to Tastes noise-rock, a more laid back, baggy influenced sound followed, described by journalist Alexis Petridis as having "an almost fragile sense of elegance and melody", and the band scraped the lower reaches of the UK singles chart
with the single "Flying", and released The Telescopes
, their second album, in 1992. Lawrie explained the change in direction: "Your idea of perfection changes as you move on. I think we still hold the same approach to our music now, we still try just as many mad ideas, it's just a lot more subtle and works to a different end".
They toured again with a different line-up, new sound and all new songs in 1994 and later evolved into Unisex releasing a number of records. Unisex were Stephen Lawrie (Vocals) Jo Doran (Guitars/Backing Vocals) Nick Hemming
(Guitars/Keyboards) Dan (Drums) Foz (Bass)
In 2002 they made a surprise return with "The Third Wave" on Double Agent Records. In 2005 they released their fourth album "The Telescopes #4" on their own Antenna Records. By this time they were a core of just Stephen Lawrie and Jo Doran, with additional member Lorin Halsall (a member of The Dust Collectors), and were a much more experimental band specialising in electronic soundscapes. In 2006 The Telescopes line up again changed to Stephen Lawrie and Bridget Hayden. This incarnation continues in the experimental noise terror direction which has occupied The Telescopes since the turn of the century. They continue to perform live and release records. The band were chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror
festival that they curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace.
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
band - the Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
being influences and contemporaries.
History
Their debut release was a split flexi disc with LoopLoop (band)
Loop was a South London band founded in 1986 by Robert Hampson and his wife, Bex, and active until 1991.-Career:The band was formed in 1986 by Robert Hampson , with wife Bex on drums. Bex was soon replaced by John Wills and Glen Ray, with James Endeacott on guitar...
on the Cheree label in 1988, which was given away with the Sowing Seeds fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
. There followed their debut 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...
, "Kick the Wall", and "7th# Disaster" also on Cheree Records. They moved to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
What Goes On Records and released their debut LP, Taste
Taste (The Telescopes album)
Taste is the first studio album by The Telescopes, released in 1989 on What Goes On. After What Goes On folded, the album was re-released in 1990 by Cheree, and later released in 2006 by Rev-Ola to include live versions of "There Is No Floor", “ Sadness Pale”, “Threadbare” and “Suicide”.All songs...
and "The Perfect Needle" single which is perhaps their most famous song. A live album appeared on Fierce Records and following What Goes On’s bankruptcy they signed to 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...
. In contrast to Tastes noise-rock, a more laid back, baggy influenced sound followed, described by journalist Alexis Petridis as having "an almost fragile sense of elegance and melody", and the band scraped the lower reaches of the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The 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 ...
with the single "Flying", and released The Telescopes
The Telescopes (album)
The Telescopes is the second studio album by The Telescopes, released in 1992 on Creation Records. Later released in 2004 by Rev-Ola including bonus tracks "dnaanb" and "Tornado"All songs written by Stephen Lawrie.-Track listing:...
, their second album, in 1992. Lawrie explained the change in direction: "Your idea of perfection changes as you move on. I think we still hold the same approach to our music now, we still try just as many mad ideas, it's just a lot more subtle and works to a different end".
They toured again with a different line-up, new sound and all new songs in 1994 and later evolved into Unisex releasing a number of records. Unisex were Stephen Lawrie (Vocals) Jo Doran (Guitars/Backing Vocals) Nick Hemming
Nick Hemming
Nicholas 'Nick' Hemming is a British musician and guitarist, formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks To Angels with actor Paddy Considine, film director Shane Meadows and bassist Richard Eaton....
(Guitars/Keyboards) Dan (Drums) Foz (Bass)
In 2002 they made a surprise return with "The Third Wave" on Double Agent Records. In 2005 they released their fourth album "The Telescopes #4" on their own Antenna Records. By this time they were a core of just Stephen Lawrie and Jo Doran, with additional member Lorin Halsall (a member of The Dust Collectors), and were a much more experimental band specialising in electronic soundscapes. In 2006 The Telescopes line up again changed to Stephen Lawrie and Bridget Hayden. This incarnation continues in the experimental noise terror direction which has occupied The Telescopes since the turn of the century. They continue to perform live and release records. The band were chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival that they curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace.
Original Line-up
- Stephen Lawrie - Vocals And Acoustic Guitars (b. 28 March 1969, East Hartford, NorthumberlandNorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, England) - Joanna Doran - Backing Vocals And Rhythm Guitars (b. 17 October 1969, WednesburyWednesburyWednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
, West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England) - David Fitzgerald - Lead Guitars (b. 30 August 1966, WellingboroughWellingboroughWellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...
, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England) - Robert Brooks - Bass Guitars (b. 11 April 1969, Burton upon TrentBurton upon TrentBurton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
, StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England) - Dominic Dillon - Drums And Percussion (b. 26 September 1964, BoltonBoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England)
Albums
- TasteTaste (The Telescopes album)Taste is the first studio album by The Telescopes, released in 1989 on What Goes On. After What Goes On folded, the album was re-released in 1990 by Cheree, and later released in 2006 by Rev-Ola to include live versions of "There Is No Floor", “ Sadness Pale”, “Threadbare” and “Suicide”.All songs...
(1989) - The Telescopes (#Untitled Second)The Telescopes (album)The Telescopes is the second studio album by The Telescopes, released in 1992 on Creation Records. Later released in 2004 by Rev-Ola including bonus tracks "dnaanb" and "Tornado"All songs written by Stephen Lawrie.-Track listing:...
(1992) - Third Wave (2002)
- The Telescopes #4 (2005)
- Hungry Audio Tapes (2006)
Singles
- Forever Close Your Eyes (1988) (split 7" with LoopLoop (band)Loop was a South London band founded in 1986 by Robert Hampson and his wife, Bex, and active until 1991.-Career:The band was formed in 1986 by Robert Hampson , with wife Bex on drums. Bex was soon replaced by John Wills and Glen Ray, with James Endeacott on guitar...
) - Kick the Wall (1989)
- 7th# Disaster (1989)
- The Perfect Needle (1989)
- To Kill A Slow Girl Walking (1990)
- Precious Little (1990)
- Everso (1990)
- Celeste (1991)
- Flying (1991)
- Where the Sky Is Low (2003) (split 7" with Füxa)
- Mooga Destroya (2003) (split 7" with Lo Casta)
- Winter (2004)
- Live At Audioscope (2005) (split 10" with Vibracathedral Orchestra)
- Night Terrors (2006)
Compilations
- As Approved by the Committee (2003)
- Premonitions 1989-1991 (2003)
- Altered Perception (2004)