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About 1919
Hometown
Bradford, England
Formed
1980
Genre
Punk
1919 are a British post-punk group who formed in 1980. An early proponent of the goth rock genre, the band's music features danceable rhythms marked by pounding, tribal drums, and driving bass lines, joined with noisy guitars and shouted lyrics expressing alienation. Initially active for only a few years at the beginning of the '80s, the band released a handful of singles and EPs, plus a 1983 mini-album titled Machine, before the members pursued other projects. However, the group's material began to accumulate an audience as interest in vintage post-punk increased throughout the decades, and 1919 reformed in 2014, producing releases such as 2017 full-length Bloodline.
Based in Bradford, England, guitarist Mark Tighe and vocalist Ian Tilleard founded a new wave band called Heaven Seventeen in 1979. Settling on a lineup with bassist Nick Hiles and drummer Mick Reed, the group became known as 1919 at the end of 1980. The band's debut single, "Repulsion," was released as a white-label promo 7" in 1982. A copy marked "take it or leave it" was sent to influential DJ John Peel, who then asked the band to record a session for his radio program. Red Rhino Records re-released the single as well its follow-up, "Caged," and the band's 1983 mini-LP Machine. Steve Madden replaced Hiles on bass, and 1919 recorded their second and final Peel Session in May 1983. Madden played on 1983's Cry Wolf and 1984's Earth Song, both EPs issued by Abstract Records. By this point, 1919 had split into two groups. Reed initiated 1919 A.D., which evolved into the Hive, while Tighe, Tilleard, and Madden formed Another Cinema. Both groups released two recordings each before disbanding by 1986.
While 1919 largely remained obscure, their songs were periodically included on goth rock retrospective compilations, and Anagram Records released their catalog on CD as The Complete Collection in 2001. Spurred by increasing interest in the group's work, Tighe formed an updated lineup of the group with bassist and vocalist Rio Goldhammer. The band began playing concerts in May 2015, and Reed rejoined as the group's drummer a few months later. Karl Donner became the group's bassist, with Goldhammer remaining as the singer. The band released 2015: "The Madness Continues" Sessions, featuring older tracks as well as four newer compositions (which were also released as Death Note EP). The group signed to Westworld Recordings and set out on a European tour, but were forced to cancel most of the dates when Tighe was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away on January 28, 2017, but the band continued at his insistence.
Following the release of the full-length Bloodline, guitarist Sam Evans joined 1919, and they resumed touring. DNA, an EP containing the group's final recordings with Tighe, was released on cassette near the end of 2017. Politically charged full-length Futurecide arrived on Cleopatra in 2019. ~ Paul Simpson
Members of 1919 include, or have included, Rio Goldhammer and Mark Tighe.
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