Terrorvision
are an English rock band. They were formed in 1987 (originally as The Spoilt Bratz
) in Keighley, disbanding in 2001. The band used Bradford as a base after the name change to Terrorvision, by which time the band members had left home and all moved there.
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TERRORVISION TICKETS
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Career
The re-release of their second single, "My House" (from the album
Formaldehyde
), in December 1993 proved to be Terrorvision's breakthrough to
UK singles chart success, and preceded by months the release of their second album
How to Make Friends and Influence People
in April 1994. The leading single from that album, "Oblivion", was also a chart success. Indeed, all their singles achieved Top 40 entries in the
UK culminating in the release of "Tequila", which reached number 2.
A video compilation,
Fired Up and Lairy
, was released in April 1995, and included spoof documentary segments interspersed with all the band's videos to date. A third album,
Regular Urban Survivors
, followed in March 1996, and spawned four singles; "Perseverance" (their first Top 5 single, peaking at number 5), "Celebrity Hit List", "Bad Actress" and "Easy". Lead singer Tony Wright, possessed of a quirky and appealing sense of humour, achieved minor celebrity status in the UK during this period. He presented the
BBC TV music show
Top of the Pops
on one occasion, and made several appearances on the comedy music quiz
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
.
The band's fourth album,
Shaving Peaches
, appeared in October 1998, and was seen as a departure from their pop-metal roots. It incorporated the work of several different producers, and several tracks of a more subtle tone than the band had previously been known for. The album's first single, "Josephine", had been well-received the previous month, but it was a
Mint Royale remix of "Tequila" which was to prove to be their biggest-ever hit, reaching number 2 in the UK charts in January 1999.
The choice was a controversial one among fans. The band originally put a selection of their potential single releases to members of their official fan club, who voted in favour of "Day After Day". However, the remixed version of "Tequila" gained favour with
BBC Radio 1 DJ Zoe Ball, who championed its release as a single. Plans to release "Day After Day" were hastily shelved, and a video quickly shot, for the "Tequila" release. A few promo copies of the "Day After Day" single still exist.
Thus, despite having their greatest hit in 1999 with the track, they were dropped by their record label,
EMI, after the release of the album's third single, "III Wishes". It was the band's first single to fall outside the UK Top 40 since the release of "My House", six years earlier. During this time the band recruited a fifth member, Josephine Ellul, who played keyboards and sang backing vocals at live concerts.
The band signed to a smaller label,
Papillon and put out a fifth studio album,
Good to Go
, in 2001. The record, like all their others, was also credited to 'Total Vegas', the band's own independent imprint. A number of singles followed, but the band was unable to replicate their previous success. Their final single, "Fists of Fury", gained some notoriety for its video, which aped the cowboy-themed clip accompanying
Madonna's single,
Don't Tell Me
.
EMI issued
Whales and Dolphins
, a greatest hits collection in 2001, and the band decided to call it a day, after a farewell tour. The 'final' concert took place at Penningtons nightclub in their hometown of Bradford, on 4 October 2001, and was released with an interview DVD as a live album
Take the Money & Run - The Final Concert
.
The aftermath
Since splitting up, singer Tony Wright has formed
Laika Dog; guitarist Mark Yates joined firstly the short-lived Boston Crabs and then formed
Blunderbuss with biker bass player
Sasquatch Bob, releasing one album to date,
Relentless
, and has just formed yet another new band, entitled Badwolf; whilst Leigh Marklew formed
Malibu Stacey who released one album
On Heat
before splitting up. Ian Shuttleworth sought employment in Leeds, serving the UK's public education sector.
The re-unions
The group has since reformed to play two tours in 2005, and played what was described as their 'last EVER show' at Rock In The Castle in
Scarborough,
Yorkshire, on 17 September, 2005. As per usual the gig was a success with many fans left wondering why they had ever decided to call it a day, but as said by the band at the end of their first 'final tour'; "people have come to see us because they think that it'll be the last time that they can do so, if it were just another tour in support of an album, there would be hardly anybody here..."
A collection of B-sides and rarities was also issued by EMI in September 2005.
Terrorvision played three dates in November 2007 in Manchester, Holmfirth and Sheffield. Bassist Leigh Marklew was replaced by Danny Lambert, the singer in Mark Yates' band Blunderbuss, which was inactive. This was followed by a special homecoming show at the prestigious Victoria Hall in Saltaire in December 2007 and a new tour in 2008 entitled the '4 Days In May Tour' in Nottingham, Bristol, London Shepherds Bush and Norwich UEA, this time with Leigh Marklew again. They also played three dates over Easter 2009 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the release of How to Make Friends and Influence people, at the Manchester Academy (09/04/09) the Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (11/04/09) and the London Shepherds Bush Empire (12/04/09). The gigs at Manchester Academy and Shepherds Bush Empire offered limited edition live recordings of the shows through 'Concert Live', available to pick up immediately after the shows.
They are scheduled to play at
Stormin' the Castle in September, 2009
Covers
Terrorvision have covered many famous songs, often as B-sides to their singles. Notable covers include
Wishing Well by
Free and
Surrender by
Cheap Trick. Other covers include "
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" by
Iron Maiden with a
Jazz spin to it, performed in a
Radio One live session
[1] and more recently covered "
Oh My God" live during their 'Lost Weekend' 2007 tour with stand-in bassist Danny Lambert performing lead vocals.
Band members
- Tony Wright – Vocals - born 6 May 1968, Bradford.
- "Shutty" – Drums - born David Ian Shuttleworth, 20 March 1967.
- Mark Yates – Guitars - born 4 April 1968, Bradford.
- Leigh Marklew – Bass - born 10 August 1968, Bradford.
- Josephine Ellul – Keyboards (1999-2001) - born 31 July 1978.
- Danny Lambert – Bass/backing vocal (2007) - born 24 March 1983.
- Milly Evans – Keyboards/trumpet/backing vocal (2005-Present) - born 31 August 1980.
Discography
Studio albums
Title
| Release date
| Record label
| U.K. Album Chart
|
Formaldehyde
| 1993
| EMI
| 75
|
How to Make Friends and Influence People
| 1994
| EMI / Total Vegas
| 18
|
Regular Urban Survivors
| 1996
| EMI / Total Vegas
| 8
|
Shaving Peaches
| 1998
| EMI / Total Vegas
| 34
|
Good to Go
| 2001
| Papillon Records / Total Vegas
| 48
|
Compilation albums
Title
| Release date
| Record label
| U.K. Album Chart
| Notes
|
Live at Don Valley Stadium
| 1994
|
| -
| Rare live promo album
|
Whales and Dolphins
| 2001
| EMI
| 78
| Greatest hits compilation
|
The Essential Terrorvision
| 2002
| EMI Gold
| -
| Compilation
|
Take The Money And Run: The Final Concert
| 2003
| Recall
| -
| Live album
|
B Sides And Rarities
| 2005
| EMI
| -
| Compilation
|
For One Night Only - Live
| 2005
| Secret
| -
| Live album
|
Chart singles
Title
| Year
| Chart positions
| Album
|
U.K. Singles [2]
| Irish Singles [3]
|
"American TV"
| 1993
| 63
| -
| Formaldehyde
|
"New Policy One"
| 42
| -
|
"My House"
| 29
| -
|
"Oblivion"
| 1994
| 21
| -
| How to Make Friends and Influence People
|
"Middle Man"
| 25
| -
|
"Pretend Best Friend"
| 25
| -
|
"Alice What's The Matter?"
| 24
| -
|
"Some People Say"
| 1995
| 22
| -
|
"Perseverance"
| 1996
| 5
| -
| Regular Urban Survivors
|
"Celebrity Hit List"
| 20
| -
|
"Bad Actress"
| 10
| -
|
"Easy"
| 12
| -
|
"Josephine"
| 1998
| 23
| -
| Shaving Peaches
|
"Tequilla (Mint Royale Shot)"
| 1999
| 2
| 20
|
"III Wishes"
| 42
| -
|
"D'Ya Wanna Go Faster"
| 2001
| 28
| -
| Good to Go
|
"Fists Of Fury"
| -
| -
|
EPs
- Thrive
(1992)
- Problem Solved
(1993)
- ''The First and the Last (2001)
References
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW25_Uj7jG8
- UK singles and Album chart listings
- Irish singles chart