The Wake (band)
Encyclopedia
The Wake were a British
post punk and later indie pop
band, founded in Glasgow
in 1981 by Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (formerly of Altered Images
), Steven Allen and Joe Donnelly, who was later replaced by Bobby Gillespie
. Steven's sister Carolyn Allen soon joined, and remained in the band thereafter.
manager Rob Gretton
, who helped the band sign to Factory Records
in 1982 and record an LP (Harmony) at Strawberry Studio in Stockport. This was followed by a number of singles on Factory and its Belgian sister label Factory Benelux. In 1983, The Wake toured with New Order
, and thus received critical attention but were often unfavourably compared to their more celebrated labelmates. Gillespie was asked to leave in 1983, subsequently playing drums with The Jesus and Mary Chain
and achieving fame with his own band Primal Scream
. Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson replaced Gillespie in 1983. That same year the band recorded a session on John Peel
's BBC Radio 1 programme. The band toured extensively and scored an indie hit with their 1984 single "Talk About The Past" which featured Vini Reilly
of Durutti Column on piano. The recording and release of their seminal 1985 album Here Comes Everybody marked the apex of their career. Further releases were few and far between: one more single "Of The Matter" emerged in 1985 before their last release for Factory, a 4-track EP entitled "Something That No One Else Could Bring" finally appeared in 1987.
In 1988, disillusioned with the lack of proper promotion and indeed apathy from Factory Records, The Wake left the label and signed to Bristol's legendary Sarah Records
, releasing two singles and two LPs, the last being 1994's Tidal Wave of Hype. By this point, once again down to a three piece featuring McInulty, Allen and Steven, they also shared personnel with another Glasgow-based band on Sarah, The Orchids
, with whom they had also played a few live gigs. When Sarah shut down in 1995, The Wake effectively dissolved.
Former bassist Alex Macpherson formed The Cat Club and signed to Jive Records. The Cat Club released "One Last Kiss / Wild" in 1987. Macpherson later formed Opium, releasing material on the Neuropa label.
For a few years, McInulty concentrated on other activities outside of recording music - notably writing scripts for plays that featured Allen in an acting role. McInulty and Allen eventually took up writing music again, and after a few tentative demos for possible new material later hooked up with Bobby Wratten ( The Field Mice
/ Northern Picture Library
/ Trembling Blue Stars
) under the name The Occasional Keepers. They released the albums "The Beauty Of An Empty Vessel" and "True North" on LTM, which also incidentally reissued the entire Wake, Field Mice and Orchids back catalogue on remastered CDs containing all the original albums and single/EP cuts collected together.
On the 12 December 2009, The Wake performed a one-off concert, with other Factory labelmates such as Section 25
and A Certain Ratio
, at the Plan K venue in Brussels.
On 28 February 2010, the band performed a 45-minute set at the London Popfest at the Islington venue, the Lexington. They were a last-minute replacement for another band who had dropped out. The set included early tracks such as "Testament", "The Old Men" and "Favour", as well as "O Pamela" and "Here Comes Everybody", from their Factory Records period, plus later Sarah Records recordings. Since then the group have also performed in New York and Paris.
as The Occasional Keepers:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
post punk and later indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band, founded in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1981 by Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (formerly of Altered Images
Altered Images
Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...
), Steven Allen and Joe Donnelly, who was later replaced by Bobby Gillespie
Bobby Gillespie
Robert Bernard Andrew "Bobby" Gillespie is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and founding member of the alternative rock band, Primal Scream. He was also the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain in the mid-1980s.- Early life :Born and raised in the south side district of Mount Florida in...
. Steven's sister Carolyn Allen soon joined, and remained in the band thereafter.
History
The Wake released their first single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling together "On Our Honeymoon" and "Give Up". This single eventually caught the attention of New OrderNew Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
manager Rob Gretton
Rob Gretton
Rob Gretton was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was also a partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder along with Tony Wilson of The Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, England. In 1977, Gretton became a leading figure in the Manchester punk...
, who helped the band sign to Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
in 1982 and record an LP (Harmony) at Strawberry Studio in Stockport. This was followed by a number of singles on Factory and its Belgian sister label Factory Benelux. In 1983, The Wake toured with New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, and thus received critical attention but were often unfavourably compared to their more celebrated labelmates. Gillespie was asked to leave in 1983, subsequently playing drums with 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...
and achieving fame with his own band Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
. Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson replaced Gillespie in 1983. That same year the band recorded a session on John Peel
John 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 programme. The band toured extensively and scored an indie hit with their 1984 single "Talk About The Past" which featured Vini Reilly
Vini Reilly
Vincent "Vini" Gerard Reilly is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group The Durutti Column.-Biography:...
of Durutti Column on piano. The recording and release of their seminal 1985 album Here Comes Everybody marked the apex of their career. Further releases were few and far between: one more single "Of The Matter" emerged in 1985 before their last release for Factory, a 4-track EP entitled "Something That No One Else Could Bring" finally appeared in 1987.
In 1988, disillusioned with the lack of proper promotion and indeed apathy from Factory Records, The Wake left the label and signed to Bristol's legendary Sarah Records
Sarah Records
Sarah Records was a UK independent record label active between 1987 and 1995, best known for its recordings of indie pop.The label was formed in Bristol in 1987 by Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes, and grew out of the fanzine scene at the time, Haynes having previously edited Are You Scared To Get...
, releasing two singles and two LPs, the last being 1994's Tidal Wave of Hype. By this point, once again down to a three piece featuring McInulty, Allen and Steven, they also shared personnel with another Glasgow-based band on Sarah, The Orchids
The Orchids
The Orchids are a Scottish twee pop band that achieved success with Sarah Records. Formed near Glasgow in 1986, the Orchids released a series of underground singles on the influential Sarah Records . The group's line-up comprised James Hackett , John Scally , Chris Quinn , Matthew Drummond and...
, with whom they had also played a few live gigs. When Sarah shut down in 1995, The Wake effectively dissolved.
Former bassist Alex Macpherson formed The Cat Club and signed to Jive Records. The Cat Club released "One Last Kiss / Wild" in 1987. Macpherson later formed Opium, releasing material on the Neuropa label.
For a few years, McInulty concentrated on other activities outside of recording music - notably writing scripts for plays that featured Allen in an acting role. McInulty and Allen eventually took up writing music again, and after a few tentative demos for possible new material later hooked up with Bobby Wratten ( The Field Mice
The Field Mice
The Field Mice were an indie pop band on the indie label Sarah Records. Initially a duo from South London suburb of Mitcham comprising Robert Wratten and Michael Hiscock, their first EP, Emma's House, was released in November 1988, and reached number 20 in the UK Independent Chart...
/ Northern Picture Library
Northern Picture Library
Northern Picture Library was a British dream pop group, formed in 1993 by Bobby Wratten and Annemari Davies, both former members of The Field Mice. They were soon joined by former Field Mice drummer Mark Dobson....
/ Trembling Blue Stars
Trembling Blue Stars
Trembling Blue Stars is a London-based band that currently includes members Robert Wratten and Beth Arzy . Begun as a side project of Wratten's previous band Northern Picture Library, Trembling Blue Stars became Wratten's main band when Northern Picture Library broke up in 1995...
) under the name The Occasional Keepers. They released the albums "The Beauty Of An Empty Vessel" and "True North" on LTM, which also incidentally reissued the entire Wake, Field Mice and Orchids back catalogue on remastered CDs containing all the original albums and single/EP cuts collected together.
Recent developments
In autumn 2009, The Wake (McInulty and Allen) came together once again to record a new album, "A Light Far Out", set for release in early 2012.On the 12 December 2009, The Wake performed a one-off concert, with other Factory labelmates such as Section 25
Section 25
Section 25 is an English post-punk band, best known for its single "Looking from a Hilltop" and its association with the Manchester record-label, Factory Records.-Early recordings 1977 - 1982 :...
and A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio are a Post-punk band formed in 1977 in Manchester, England. While originally part of the punk rock movement, they soon added funk and dance elements to their sound. They are sometimes referred to as "post punk funk"...
, at the Plan K venue in Brussels.
On 28 February 2010, the band performed a 45-minute set at the London Popfest at the Islington venue, the Lexington. They were a last-minute replacement for another band who had dropped out. The set included early tracks such as "Testament", "The Old Men" and "Favour", as well as "O Pamela" and "Here Comes Everybody", from their Factory Records period, plus later Sarah Records recordings. Since then the group have also performed in New York and Paris.
Singles
- "On Our Honeymoon" (7" SCAN, 1982)
- "Something Outside" / "Host" (12" Factory Benelux, 1983) (No.23)
- "Talk About The Past" (7"/12" Factory, 1984) (No.11)
- "Of The Matter" (7" Factory, 1985) (No.22)
- "Something That No One Else Could Bring" EP (12" Factory, 1987)
- "Crush The Flowers" / "Carbrain" (7" Sarah, 1989)
- "Major John" / "Lousy Pop Group" (7" Sarah, 1991)
Albums
- Harmony (Factory, 1982)
- Here Comes Everybody (Factory, 1985) (No.20)
- Make It Loud (Sarah, 1990)
- Tidal Wave Of Hype (Sarah, 1994)
- Assembly (live, LTM, 2002)
- Holy Heads (compilation, LTM, 2002)
- A Light Far Out (LTM, 2012)
as The Occasional Keepers:
- The Beauty Of An Empty Vessel (LTM, 2005)
- True North (LTM, 2008)
Covers
- The covers for the single "Something Outside" and the album "Here Comes Everybody" were adapted respectively from "Beat the Whites with the Red wedge" and "Schaumachinerie" (a poster for the opera Victory over the SunVictory over the SunVictory over the Sun is a Russian Futurist opera premiered in 1913 at the Luna Park in Saint Petersburg.The libretto written in zaum language was contributed by Aleksei Kruchonykh, the music was written by Mikhail Matyushin, the prologue was added by Velimir Khlebnikov, and the stage designer was...
) works by El LissitzkyEl Lissitzky, better known as El Lissitzky , was a Russian artist, designer, photographer, typographer, polemicist and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant garde, helping develop suprematism with his mentor, Kazimir Malevich, and designing numerous exhibition displays and propaganda works...
. - A cover version of The Wake song 'O Pamela' appears on the Nouvelle VagueNouvelle Vague (band)Nouvelle Vague is a French musical collective led by musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux. Their name is a play on words, meaning "new wave" in French, and "bossa nova" in Portuguese...
album Bande à Part.