The Transmitters (band)
Encyclopedia
The Transmitters were a British alternative rock band active during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Mixing elements of punk
, jazz
and psychedelia
, the band were critical favourites throughout their lifetime and played support slots for a wide variety of underground and mainstream bands, although this did not translate into substantial commercial success.
The Transmitters are also notable for featuring future members of Loop Guru
and Transglobal Underground
and for sharing two members with cult pop band Furniture
, as well as a guest stint by Glaxo Babies
vocalist Rob Chapman
. Their sound was compared to (among others) The Fall, XTC
, Gang Of Four
, This Heat
and Magazine
.
(This band should not be confused with the other British indie band called The Transmitters, who are a more conventional indie rock band with an entirely different lineup, and were formed in 2006.)
, West London
in 1977. The original lineup was John Quinn (vocals – also known as “John Clegg”, “John Grimes” or “John X”), Sam Dodson (guitar, aka “Sam Dodds”), Simon “Sid” Wells (bass), Amanda de Grey (keyboards), Jim Chase (drums) and Dexter O'Brian (lyrics - real name Christopher McHallem
). Guitarists Steve Walsh (Manicured Noise) and John Guillani (from O'Brian's other band The Decorators) also stood in as live members at various times.
The band’s debut single was "Party", released on Ebony Records in 1978. This was followed in the same year by the album 24 Hours.
On December 29, 1978, the band played a concert at the Electric Ballroom
, Camden, supporting The Police
. On February 15, 1979, they supported an early lineup of The Human League
at the Nashville Rooms, West London. (Other bands played with during this period include Scritti Politti
, The Birthday Party
, Dolly Mixture, The Slits
, Alternative TV
, The Fall and Blurt
.)
A concert at the Greenwich Theatre
on March 18, 1979 was reviewed by both NME and Record Mirror
Review. Writing in the latter, Chris Westwood said “The Transmitters were, as is their forte, unpredictable, uncalculatedly comic, inspiring and brilliant... The sound is open, free, off-the-cuff, bound together through all the stumbling, fumbling chaos that their approach entails. “The One That Won The War”, par example, a personal favourite, damn near falls apart at the seams, with clattering whining guitar thrashes mating with probably the most essential bass phrase this side of any other Transmitters number you care to name.” NME’s Paul Morley
described the music as “feverish and jumpy” and stated “The Transmitters are the cheekiest group I've seen since The Mekons; the wackiest I've seen since Public Image
(and almost as sinister). They were, of course, great. Naturally, their music is of Velvets
' ancestry; deceptively nonchalant, barely controlled, repetitive, erratic and intoxicating, presented with an odd, wry condescension.”
The same reviews paid plenty of attention to the band’s stage presence, in particular that of the charismatic John Quinn. Describing Quinn as “inscrutable”, Morley also claimed that he had “the comedy timing of a Dave Allen
, the detachment of a Devoto
, the amused poise of a Mark Smith
, the cool of a Sinatra
.” Meanwhile, Westwood was entertained by the group’s ramshackle presentation - “A serious set? That may have been the intent, but one look at John, the vocalist, and a crowd can crack up. He stumbles around, fag in mitt, flanked by a drunken bass player (Simon Wells), a drunken guitarist (Sam Dodson), a workmanlike drummer (Jim Chase), and the strangely sombre on-stage persona of keyboardist, Amanda De Grey.”
During 1979, Dodson (along with de Grey and Wells) sometimes performed in The Good Missionaries - the art rock band led by Mark Perry
, which had evolved out of Perry's previous band Alternative TV
. Perry occasionally returned the favour by playing with The Transmitters.
, the band recorded a Peel Session in 1979, following which Dexter O'Brian left the band. (Under his real name of Christopher McHallem
, he would retrain as an actor and spend three years in the BBC soap opera "Eastenders
", playing the character "Rod Norman
" between 1987 and 1990, before branching out into screenwriting.)
In September 1979, The Transmitters released two singles within the same month. The first was their last release on Ebony Records, "Nowhere Train", of which Lenny Kaye (in Melody Maker
) commented “The Transmitters, in an eerie, dronal tune, call up the ghosts of serpent power, a neat bit of seance, just following tracks…”
The second of the September singles was the four track EP "Still Hunting For The Ugly Man" (on new label Step-Forward Records) which hit Number 2 in the Our Price New Wave Charts. In NME, Paul Morley
described it as “an obsessive, frustrated record. Consistently effective and annoying, it rummages restlessly out on lunatic fringes. It's difficult, discomforting and oppressively manic, but worth exploring.” Morley also drew comparisons to The Fall, noting that “both groups are cynics and critics. Both groups are fronted by hurried, mocking inciters. Both groups deal with instabilities, abnormalities, ambitious truths... and make demented shell-shocked music.”
The Transmitters played a pro-National Abortion
Campaign benefit gig at the Hope & Anchor, Islington
, London
on October 28, 1979. Reviewing the concert in Sounds, Nick Tester reflected “The Transmitters were a useful choice for a movement (all about choice) fighting a pitiful and regressive male intrusion. They borrow from a wide source - early psychedelia, Beefheart
, through to even Essential Logic
- but furrow the influences into a style which demands to be taken on its own merits. Comparisons are so limited that I find it hard to avoid the much mistaken and inflexible term 'progressive'. Further to this, their music, whether cautious or dissipated, is always underlined by a devilishly impulsive awareness and wicked streak of unpredictability. They play a serious game of musical hide and seek… In a set that switched with as much consistency as a knackered fluorescent light the Transmitters were always compelling and somehow evaded a possible self-destructive urge.“
The Transmitters succumbed to internal pressures and "exploded" in 1980.
) was recruited to sing lead vocals.
Chris Westwood reviewed the new band’s concert at the Trafalgar, Shepherds Bush in Record Mirror, concluding “The ramshackle remnants of The Transmitters and Missing Presumed Dead have assembled in the name of fun, chaos and roo-beat enterprise. The end - and beautifully unrehearsed - result is a temporary six piece, sax and flute and guitars and drums, that quite honestly asks questions of all our established and revered leaders. Why is everyone else so sober? We're working on a smale scale here; in a Shepherd's Bush
pub with people being silly, playing sloppily but with undeniable width, stamina, ingenuity. Mikel (Presumed Dead) sings and dances, spins tinny guitar in the path of writing saxophone (Dave, Presumed Dead) and more jarring, clashing guitar (Sam, presumed drunk) while the conglomorate stagger from number to number: "Q-Tips" and "Catholics", "Kill the Postman" and "Change Gear". There’s even a ska-like destruction of "Sugar Sugar", where everything is so bad but brilliant - guitars out of tune, vocals all over the shop - but the actual point of TPD lies not in their affected clumsiness but in transforming clever and demanding music into a touching, entertaining sort of hobby.”
(lead vocals, ex Glaxo Babies
) replacing Tim Whelan. This band recorded a second Peel Session in 1981, as well as releasing the second Transmitters album - And We Call That Leisure Time - on Bristols' Heartbeat Records later in the year.
(In parallel, Mikel Lee (guitar, vocals), Julian Treasure (drums), Tim Whelan (guitar, vocals) and Ian Hawkridge (bass) came together as a reinvented Missing Presumed Dead, gigging and recording their own John Peel Session in the same year which was produced by Bob Sargent and included a strong version of the original Transmitters song "0.5 Alive".)
In 1985, a Transmitters song called “Sheep Farming” became the first song to be remix
ed by a new worldbeat
outfit called Loop Guru
(which happened to be led by head Transmitter Sam Dodson).
colleague Hamilton “Hammy” Lee (drums, sampler
). This lineup recorded tracks for a third Transmitters album which was not released during the band’s lifetime. This music finally saw the light of day as Count Your Blessings (1987/89), which was released as a free download album in 2006 by Portuguese digital record label You Are Not Stealing Records
.
Reviewing a gig at Subterrania, London in 1988, Melody Maker’s Chris Roberts claimed “Tim Whelan is the most restless man alive and demonstrates this by dancing like a young Jackson
, pacing like Mark E Smith, and hurling himself at the floor like any-age Iggy
. He spits forth his topical angst ("there's a hole in the world") while his lanky henchmen beat manifold drums, extract Haitian war chants from keyboard thingies, and scratch shrill guitars like jaguars assaulting sandpaper. They tangle with the Velvets
' "Ferryboat Bill" quite swimmingly and, all things assimilated, are a cathartic anglepoise on the heart of darkness. Highly wrecked and mended.”
The Transmitters released a 12-inch single, “The Mechanic”, on yet another label (9CC/Craving Co Productions) in 1989. Writing in Music Week, Dave Henderson described it as “like Stump
never happened, wanton artiness, expressing-yourself tendencies and other such angles are exposed.”
The band split up for the second time later in 1989.
, until 1990. They launched their own highly successful worldbeat
project Transglobal Underground
two years later in 1992, which immediately scored a hit with the “Temple Head” single and has remained as a high-profile dance act ever since.
project Loop Guru
), launching the project in full in 1992.
Dodson also teamed up with Loop Guru
singer Linda Finger, Damned’s drummer Rat Scabies
, Psychic TV
’s Jim Daly (aka “Jym Darling”) and jazz singer Liz Fletcher to form Slipper, an electronica-and-vocal project with elements of gospel and jazz. Described as “Portishead with a sense of humour” the project released two albums (2000’s Invisible Movies and 2002’s Zoon Sandwich, both on Rephlex Records) and a mini-album called Earworms (released on the Mechanism label in 2002). Another Transmitters player, theremin player John Woodley, was a frequent contributor.
Dodson and Daly also teamed up as Thaw, another electronica project blending urban trance techno with ancient vocal chants and “tribal rhythms”. Thaw released the Holy Cat album on Dodson’s record label Elsewhen in 2005.
Most recently, Dodson has teamed up with Neil Sparkes (ex-Transglobal Underground
and a current Temple Of Sound member) to form Loungeclash, whose debut album Dread Time Story was released on Warlock Records/Sony Red USA on February 19, 2008.
In addition to his Loop Guru membership, Dave Muddyman is currently a member of Hoopy Froods, Round Way Wrong and MuudMap.
band named after a gas cooker
and dedicated to the performing of classic Arabic and Middle Eastern pop music standards, oriental classics, Russian polkas, Nigerian brass band favourites and Klezmer
tunes. During its existence, the band made regular performances at Club Dog and Waterman's Art Centre (in West London) and also made an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as the house band for a variety theatre show.
The band performed a reunion gig at The Inn on the Green, Ladbroke Grove, West London on March 30, 2007. The band lineup on this occasion was very similar to the final 1980s lineup, consisting of Sam Dodson (guitar), Tim Whelan (vocals), James McQueen (bass), John Woodley (theremin and keyboards), Jim Chase (drums) and Hamilton Lee (drums and sampler). It’s not yet clear whether this reunion is longterm or whether it was simply a short-lived promotional exercise.
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...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and psychedelia
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, the band were critical favourites throughout their lifetime and played support slots for a wide variety of underground and mainstream bands, although this did not translate into substantial commercial success.
The Transmitters are also notable for featuring future members of Loop Guru
Loop Guru
Loop Guru is a worldbeat group consisting of bassist/guitarist Salman Gita and programmer Jamuud . They first met around 1980 and initially played together in The Transmitters and released their debut single as Loop Guru, Shrine, in 1992...
and Transglobal Underground
Transglobal underground
Transglobal Underground is a London-based music collective who specialise in a fusion of western, oriental and African music styles...
and for sharing two members with cult pop band Furniture
Furniture (band)
Furniture was a British pop band, active from 1979 to 1991 and best known for their 1986 Top 30 hit "Brilliant Mind". Since its break-up, the band has retained a certain cult appeal, partly due to a continuing high reputation for songwriting and partly due to the nature of the band's career...
, as well as a guest stint by Glaxo Babies
Glaxo Babies
Glaxo Babies were a Bristol-based UK post-punk group, formed in late 1977. There were three distinct phases in the bands life and after initially breaking up in 1980, they reformed in 1985, only to finally break-up again in 1990.-First phase:...
vocalist Rob Chapman
Rob Chapman (musician)
Rob Chapman is an English rock-musician, journalist, teacher and writer.- Biography :He was the singer with the Bristol-based band the Glaxo Babies and with the British alternative rock band The Transmitters, a music journalist for Mojo and other magazines and newspapers, he made some broadcasting...
. Their sound was compared to (among others) The Fall, XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Gang Of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
, This Heat
This Heat
This Heat were a British experimental music group formed in early 1976 in Camberwell, London by multi-instrumentalists Charles Bullen , Charles Hayward and Gareth Williams .This Heat were active in the ascendancy of British progressive rock and punk rock, but stood apart...
and Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
.
(This band should not be confused with the other British indie band called The Transmitters, who are a more conventional indie rock band with an entirely different lineup, and were formed in 2006.)
Formation and early releases
The band formed in EalingEaling
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, West 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 1977. The original lineup was John Quinn (vocals – also known as “John Clegg”, “John Grimes” or “John X”), Sam Dodson (guitar, aka “Sam Dodds”), Simon “Sid” Wells (bass), Amanda de Grey (keyboards), Jim Chase (drums) and Dexter O'Brian (lyrics - real name Christopher McHallem
Christopher McHallem
Christopher McHallem is a British actor, writer, musician and director.McHallem began his career in 1977 with the punk rock/post-punk band The Transmitters under the pseudonym "Dexter O'Brian", but left the band shortly after its formation to pursue a career in acting.He is well remembered for...
). Guitarists Steve Walsh (Manicured Noise) and John Guillani (from O'Brian's other band The Decorators) also stood in as live members at various times.
The band’s debut single was "Party", released on Ebony Records in 1978. This was followed in the same year by the album 24 Hours.
On December 29, 1978, the band played a concert at the Electric Ballroom
Electric Ballroom
The Electric Ballroom is a performance venue and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London . The Electric Ballroom has been in operation for over seventy years, during which time it has been used in many different ways.The two storey building has two dance floors and...
, Camden, supporting The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
. On February 15, 1979, they supported an early lineup of The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
at the Nashville Rooms, West London. (Other bands played with during this period include Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Although there have been various changes to the line-up, Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside was the founding member of the band and the only member to have remained throughout the group's...
, The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
, Dolly Mixture, The Slits
The Slits
The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
, Alternative TV
Alternative TV
Alternative TV were an English rock band, formed in London in 1976. Their punk rock and post-punk sound was influential for several musical artists.-History:...
, The Fall and Blurt
Blurt
Blurt is a British musical group founded by the poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire; with Milton's brother Jake Milton, formerly of psychedelic group Quintessence, on drums and Peter Creese on guitar...
.)
A concert at the Greenwich Theatre
Greenwich Theatre
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
on March 18, 1979 was reviewed by both NME and Record Mirror
Record Mirror
Record Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
Review. Writing in the latter, Chris Westwood said “The Transmitters were, as is their forte, unpredictable, uncalculatedly comic, inspiring and brilliant... The sound is open, free, off-the-cuff, bound together through all the stumbling, fumbling chaos that their approach entails. “The One That Won The War”, par example, a personal favourite, damn near falls apart at the seams, with clattering whining guitar thrashes mating with probably the most essential bass phrase this side of any other Transmitters number you care to name.” NME’s Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
described the music as “feverish and jumpy” and stated “The Transmitters are the cheekiest group I've seen since The Mekons; the wackiest I've seen since Public Image
Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....
(and almost as sinister). They were, of course, great. Naturally, their music is of Velvets
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
' ancestry; deceptively nonchalant, barely controlled, repetitive, erratic and intoxicating, presented with an odd, wry condescension.”
The same reviews paid plenty of attention to the band’s stage presence, in particular that of the charismatic John Quinn. Describing Quinn as “inscrutable”, Morley also claimed that he had “the comedy timing of a Dave Allen
Dave Allen (comedian)
David Tynan O'Mahoney , better known as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, very popular in Great Britain, Australia, and Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. He also became known in the United States through repeats of his shows on public television. His career had a major resurgence during the late...
, the detachment of a Devoto
Howard Devoto
Howard Devoto is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for the punk band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands...
, the amused poise of a Mark Smith
Mark Smith
Mark Smith may refer to:*Mark A. Smith, professor of pathology at Case Western Reserve University*Mark S. Smith, American biblical scholar, professor at NYU*Mark Smith , designer of radio-controlled model airplanes...
, the cool of a Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.” Meanwhile, Westwood was entertained by the group’s ramshackle presentation - “A serious set? That may have been the intent, but one look at John, the vocalist, and a crowd can crack up. He stumbles around, fag in mitt, flanked by a drunken bass player (Simon Wells), a drunken guitarist (Sam Dodson), a workmanlike drummer (Jim Chase), and the strangely sombre on-stage persona of keyboardist, Amanda De Grey.”
During 1979, Dodson (along with de Grey and Wells) sometimes performed in The Good Missionaries - the art rock band led by Mark Perry
Mark Perry (musician)
Mark Perry, also known as Mark P, was a British fanzine publisher and is a writer and musician.Perry was a bank clerk when, inspired by The Ramones, he founded the punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue in 1976...
, which had evolved out of Perry's previous band Alternative TV
Alternative TV
Alternative TV were an English rock band, formed in London in 1976. Their punk rock and post-punk sound was influential for several musical artists.-History:...
. Perry occasionally returned the favour by playing with The Transmitters.
First Peel Session, further releases and initial split
Gaining the attention and approval of DJ 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...
, the band recorded a Peel Session in 1979, following which Dexter O'Brian left the band. (Under his real name of Christopher McHallem
Christopher McHallem
Christopher McHallem is a British actor, writer, musician and director.McHallem began his career in 1977 with the punk rock/post-punk band The Transmitters under the pseudonym "Dexter O'Brian", but left the band shortly after its formation to pursue a career in acting.He is well remembered for...
, he would retrain as an actor and spend three years in the BBC soap opera "Eastenders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
", playing the character "Rod Norman
Rod Norman
Rodric "Rod" Norman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher McHallem.Rod the roadie, was a modern day hobo. He dossed in squats and never settled anywhere for long, although he did return to Albert Square several times...
" between 1987 and 1990, before branching out into screenwriting.)
In September 1979, The Transmitters released two singles within the same month. The first was their last release on Ebony Records, "Nowhere Train", of which Lenny Kaye (in Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
) commented “The Transmitters, in an eerie, dronal tune, call up the ghosts of serpent power, a neat bit of seance, just following tracks…”
The second of the September singles was the four track EP "Still Hunting For The Ugly Man" (on new label Step-Forward Records) which hit Number 2 in the Our Price New Wave Charts. In NME, Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
described it as “an obsessive, frustrated record. Consistently effective and annoying, it rummages restlessly out on lunatic fringes. It's difficult, discomforting and oppressively manic, but worth exploring.” Morley also drew comparisons to The Fall, noting that “both groups are cynics and critics. Both groups are fronted by hurried, mocking inciters. Both groups deal with instabilities, abnormalities, ambitious truths... and make demented shell-shocked music.”
The Transmitters played a pro-National Abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
Campaign benefit gig at the Hope & Anchor, Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, 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...
on October 28, 1979. Reviewing the concert in Sounds, Nick Tester reflected “The Transmitters were a useful choice for a movement (all about choice) fighting a pitiful and regressive male intrusion. They borrow from a wide source - early psychedelia, Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
, through to even Essential Logic
Essential Logic
Essential Logic was a UK post-punk band formed by saxophonist Lora Logic after leaving X-Ray Spex.The band initially consisted of Lora Logic on saxophone and vocals, Phil Legg on guitar and vocals, William Bennett on guitar, Mark Turner on bass guitar, Rich Tea on drums, and Dave Wright on saxophone...
- but furrow the influences into a style which demands to be taken on its own merits. Comparisons are so limited that I find it hard to avoid the much mistaken and inflexible term 'progressive'. Further to this, their music, whether cautious or dissipated, is always underlined by a devilishly impulsive awareness and wicked streak of unpredictability. They play a serious game of musical hide and seek… In a set that switched with as much consistency as a knackered fluorescent light the Transmitters were always compelling and somehow evaded a possible self-destructive urge.“
The Transmitters succumbed to internal pressures and "exploded" in 1980.
Transmitters Presumed Dead
Soon after the split a new Ealing-based band emerged, called Transmitters Presumed Dead. As the name implied this was a merger between members of Transmitters (Dodson, Wells and Chase) and members of the similarly defunct band Missing Presumed Dead (Mikel Lee and Dave Baby). Tim Whelan (one of the two singers of FurnitureFurniture (band)
Furniture was a British pop band, active from 1979 to 1991 and best known for their 1986 Top 30 hit "Brilliant Mind". Since its break-up, the band has retained a certain cult appeal, partly due to a continuing high reputation for songwriting and partly due to the nature of the band's career...
) was recruited to sing lead vocals.
Chris Westwood reviewed the new band’s concert at the Trafalgar, Shepherds Bush in Record Mirror, concluding “The ramshackle remnants of The Transmitters and Missing Presumed Dead have assembled in the name of fun, chaos and roo-beat enterprise. The end - and beautifully unrehearsed - result is a temporary six piece, sax and flute and guitars and drums, that quite honestly asks questions of all our established and revered leaders. Why is everyone else so sober? We're working on a smale scale here; in a Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
pub with people being silly, playing sloppily but with undeniable width, stamina, ingenuity. Mikel (Presumed Dead) sings and dances, spins tinny guitar in the path of writing saxophone (Dave, Presumed Dead) and more jarring, clashing guitar (Sam, presumed drunk) while the conglomorate stagger from number to number: "Q-Tips" and "Catholics", "Kill the Postman" and "Change Gear". There’s even a ska-like destruction of "Sugar Sugar", where everything is so bad but brilliant - guitars out of tune, vocals all over the shop - but the actual point of TPD lies not in their affected clumsiness but in transforming clever and demanding music into a touching, entertaining sort of hobby.”
Launch of second lineup, and second album
Transmitters Presumed Dead soon transformed into the second Transmitters lineup of Sam Dodson (guitar), Sid Wells (bass), Dave Baby (saxophone) and Julian Treasure (drums, ex Fish Turned Human) with Mikel Lee leaving and Rob ChapmanRob Chapman (musician)
Rob Chapman is an English rock-musician, journalist, teacher and writer.- Biography :He was the singer with the Bristol-based band the Glaxo Babies and with the British alternative rock band The Transmitters, a music journalist for Mojo and other magazines and newspapers, he made some broadcasting...
(lead vocals, ex Glaxo Babies
Glaxo Babies
Glaxo Babies were a Bristol-based UK post-punk group, formed in late 1977. There were three distinct phases in the bands life and after initially breaking up in 1980, they reformed in 1985, only to finally break-up again in 1990.-First phase:...
) replacing Tim Whelan. This band recorded a second Peel Session in 1981, as well as releasing the second Transmitters album - And We Call That Leisure Time - on Bristols' Heartbeat Records later in the year.
(In parallel, Mikel Lee (guitar, vocals), Julian Treasure (drums), Tim Whelan (guitar, vocals) and Ian Hawkridge (bass) came together as a reinvented Missing Presumed Dead, gigging and recording their own John Peel Session in the same year which was produced by Bob Sargent and included a strong version of the original Transmitters song "0.5 Alive".)
Transmitters in transit (1982-1987)
The lineup of The Transmitters continued to change over the years. Baby, Wells and Treasure all left at various points during the 1980s; Treasure was replaced by the returning Jim Chase, and Whelan also returned to the line-up (replacing Chapman). Several more musicians passed through The Transmitters during this period – including guitarist Vince Cutcliffe and keyboard player Bob Sargeant (aka “the Hand of Borgus Wheems”). Live performances were augmented by several other “floating” members - Joe Sax and theremin player John Woodley.In 1985, a Transmitters song called “Sheep Farming” became the first song to be remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed by a new worldbeat
Worldbeat
Worldbeat is a music genre that primarily refers to a blending of Western pop music with traditional/folk or world music influences...
outfit called Loop Guru
Loop Guru
Loop Guru is a worldbeat group consisting of bassist/guitarist Salman Gita and programmer Jamuud . They first met around 1980 and initially played together in The Transmitters and released their debut single as Loop Guru, Shrine, in 1992...
(which happened to be led by head Transmitter Sam Dodson).
Final lineup and recordings
The band’s final lineup (between 1987 and 1989) was Dodson, Whelan, Chase, James McQueen (bass), Dave “Mud-Demon” Muddyman (keyboards/accordion/sampler, ex-Birdloom) and Whelan’s FurnitureFurniture (band)
Furniture was a British pop band, active from 1979 to 1991 and best known for their 1986 Top 30 hit "Brilliant Mind". Since its break-up, the band has retained a certain cult appeal, partly due to a continuing high reputation for songwriting and partly due to the nature of the band's career...
colleague Hamilton “Hammy” Lee (drums, sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
). This lineup recorded tracks for a third Transmitters album which was not released during the band’s lifetime. This music finally saw the light of day as Count Your Blessings (1987/89), which was released as a free download album in 2006 by Portuguese digital record label You Are Not Stealing Records
You Are Not Stealing Records
A Portuguese netlabel launched by Stealing Orchestra in 2001.The original idea was to create a way to freely share EPs by the band or their side projects but soon it expanded to include items by other artists.-Discography:...
.
Reviewing a gig at Subterrania, London in 1988, Melody Maker’s Chris Roberts claimed “Tim Whelan is the most restless man alive and demonstrates this by dancing like a young Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, pacing like Mark E Smith, and hurling himself at the floor like any-age Iggy
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
. He spits forth his topical angst ("there's a hole in the world") while his lanky henchmen beat manifold drums, extract Haitian war chants from keyboard thingies, and scratch shrill guitars like jaguars assaulting sandpaper. They tangle with the Velvets
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
' "Ferryboat Bill" quite swimmingly and, all things assimilated, are a cathartic anglepoise on the heart of darkness. Highly wrecked and mended.”
The Transmitters released a 12-inch single, “The Mechanic”, on yet another label (9CC/Craving Co Productions) in 1989. Writing in Music Week, Dave Henderson described it as “like Stump
Stump (band)
Stump were an Anglo-Irish indie/experimental/rock group featuring former Microdisney members Mick Lynch and Rob McKahey , along with Kev Hopper and Chris Salmon . They formed in London in 1983...
never happened, wanton artiness, expressing-yourself tendencies and other such angles are exposed.”
The band split up for the second time later in 1989.
Tim Whelan and Hamilton Lee (Transglobal Underground)
Whelan and Lee continued to write and play with their other band, FurnitureFurniture (band)
Furniture was a British pop band, active from 1979 to 1991 and best known for their 1986 Top 30 hit "Brilliant Mind". Since its break-up, the band has retained a certain cult appeal, partly due to a continuing high reputation for songwriting and partly due to the nature of the band's career...
, until 1990. They launched their own highly successful worldbeat
Worldbeat
Worldbeat is a music genre that primarily refers to a blending of Western pop music with traditional/folk or world music influences...
project Transglobal Underground
Transglobal underground
Transglobal Underground is a London-based music collective who specialise in a fusion of western, oriental and African music styles...
two years later in 1992, which immediately scored a hit with the “Temple Head” single and has remained as a high-profile dance act ever since.
Sam Dodson & Dave Muddyman (Loop Guru etc)
Dodson and Muddyman (under the pseudonyms of “Salman Gita” and “Jamuud”) continued with their worldbeatWorldbeat
Worldbeat is a music genre that primarily refers to a blending of Western pop music with traditional/folk or world music influences...
project Loop Guru
Loop Guru
Loop Guru is a worldbeat group consisting of bassist/guitarist Salman Gita and programmer Jamuud . They first met around 1980 and initially played together in The Transmitters and released their debut single as Loop Guru, Shrine, in 1992...
), launching the project in full in 1992.
Dodson also teamed up with Loop Guru
Loop Guru
Loop Guru is a worldbeat group consisting of bassist/guitarist Salman Gita and programmer Jamuud . They first met around 1980 and initially played together in The Transmitters and released their debut single as Loop Guru, Shrine, in 1992...
singer Linda Finger, Damned’s drummer Rat Scabies
Rat Scabies
Christopher Millar , better known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known for his tenure as the drummer for The Damned....
, Psychic TV
Psychic TV
Psychic TV or PTV, is a video art and music group that primarily performs psychedelic, punk, electronic and experimental music...
’s Jim Daly (aka “Jym Darling”) and jazz singer Liz Fletcher to form Slipper, an electronica-and-vocal project with elements of gospel and jazz. Described as “Portishead with a sense of humour” the project released two albums (2000’s Invisible Movies and 2002’s Zoon Sandwich, both on Rephlex Records) and a mini-album called Earworms (released on the Mechanism label in 2002). Another Transmitters player, theremin player John Woodley, was a frequent contributor.
Dodson and Daly also teamed up as Thaw, another electronica project blending urban trance techno with ancient vocal chants and “tribal rhythms”. Thaw released the Holy Cat album on Dodson’s record label Elsewhen in 2005.
Most recently, Dodson has teamed up with Neil Sparkes (ex-Transglobal Underground
Transglobal underground
Transglobal Underground is a London-based music collective who specialise in a fusion of western, oriental and African music styles...
and a current Temple Of Sound member) to form Loungeclash, whose debut album Dread Time Story was released on Warlock Records/Sony Red USA on February 19, 2008.
In addition to his Loop Guru membership, Dave Muddyman is currently a member of Hoopy Froods, Round Way Wrong and MuudMap.
Various members (The Flavel Bambi Septet)
Circa 1991, Whelan and Lee reunited with Julian Treasure, Jim Chase and James McQueen in The Flavel Bambi Septet, a light-hearted Ealing-based world musicWorld music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
band named after a gas cooker
and dedicated to the performing of classic Arabic and Middle Eastern pop music standards, oriental classics, Russian polkas, Nigerian brass band favourites and Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
tunes. During its existence, the band made regular performances at Club Dog and Waterman's Art Centre (in West London) and also made an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as the house band for a variety theatre show.
2007 reunion
The Transmitters reunited in March 2007 to promote the compilation album I Fear No One, which included the recordings from their first Peel session in 1979. This album was released on March 12, 2007 on the Dodson-owned record label Elsewhen Records.The band performed a reunion gig at The Inn on the Green, Ladbroke Grove, West London on March 30, 2007. The band lineup on this occasion was very similar to the final 1980s lineup, consisting of Sam Dodson (guitar), Tim Whelan (vocals), James McQueen (bass), John Woodley (theremin and keyboards), Jim Chase (drums) and Hamilton Lee (drums and sampler). It’s not yet clear whether this reunion is longterm or whether it was simply a short-lived promotional exercise.
Singles and EPs
- “Party” (Ebony, 1978)
- "Nowhere Train" (Ebony, 1979)
- "Still Hunting For The Ugly Man" (1979, Step-Forward Records)
- "The Mechanic" (1989, 9CC/Craving Co Productions)
Albums
- 24 Hours (1978, Ebony Records)
- And We Call That Leisure Time (1981, Heartbeat, UK, LP, HB4)
- Count Your Blessings (1987/89) (2006, You Are Not Stealing RecordsYou Are Not Stealing RecordsA Portuguese netlabel launched by Stealing Orchestra in 2001.The original idea was to create a way to freely share EPs by the band or their side projects but soon it expanded to include items by other artists.-Discography:...
– download-only album containing material originally recorded between 1987 and 1989). - And We Call That Leisure Time [Reissue + 4 Bonus Tracks] (2007, Birdsong, Japan, CD, BIRD-2008)