China Crisis
Shopping


CDs by China Crisis at amazon


 DVDs by China Crisis at amazon


books about China Crisis at amazon


rare music at Gemm.com


rare music at Music Stack
Unused button
 China Crisis
More info


search the web for China Crisis


pictures of  China Crisis
Videos - China Crisis


Unused Search button


Spare search button
Site Search

China Crisis

China Crisis

Origin Kirkby, Merseyside, England
Years active 1979–present
Genres Alternative, Art rock, Post-Punk
Labels EMI (Virgin) -UK, Australia, Malaysia
A&M-U.S.
Members Gary Daly (vocals, keyboards)
Eddie Lundon (guitars)
Gazza Johnson (bass guitar)
Kevin Wilkinson (drums, deceased)
Steve Levy (Oboe)

China Crisis are an English pop/rock group formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core band of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon. Their output was pop music similar in style to that of the new romantics, but with strong similarities to the post-punk movement of the early-1980s, namely inclusion of a broader range of musical influences and occasional flirtation with political commentary.

Throughout their career, China Crisis has seen moderate success in the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Australia and the Americas.

Contents

  • 1 Biography
  • 2 Discography
    • 2.1 Singles
    • 2.2 Albums
  • 3 External links

Biography

Sharing an affection for Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, and Brian Eno, Daly and Lundon had become burned out from playing with various Knowsley post-punk groups. Daly quit school and then spent much of his time indoors tinkering with synthesizers and a drum machine. Along with Lundon, Daly began writing songs using his high-tech toys. Feeling creatively stifled by the drum machine, the pair eventually asked percussionist Dave Reilly to join them, and in 1982 they released the single African & White as China Crisis on the independent label Inevitable.

Adding Gary "Gazza" Johnson and Kevin Wilkinson to the line-up, the band was signed to Virgin Records and recorded their debut album, Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, released in December 1982. A re-release of African & White became China Crisis' first hit in the U.K., reaching #45, and another single, Christian, made UK #12 in early 1983 and brought them to national prominence. The album peaked at #21.

A second album, Working With Fire & Steel : Possible Pop Songs - Volume 2 was released in November 1983. This was regarded as a more consistent effort, with standout tracks being 'Tragedy and Mystery' (released as a single six months earlier), 'Hanna Hanna' and the upbeat title track, Working With Fire & Steel, which became a hit single in Australia (though many fans believed the album's strongest track, 'When The Piper Calls', should have been released as a single). The album was a Top 20 success in the UK, and China Crisis spent 1984-1985 making their biggest chart run, beginning with their one and only UK Top 10 hit single, Wishful Thinking, which peaked at #9.

Their third album, Flaunt The Imperfection, was produced by the sympathetic Walter Becker (of Steely Dan fame) and reached #9 in the UK charts in May 1985. The LP was previewed by the #14 UK hit single Black Man Ray, which also enjoyed international success. The follow-up, King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) was also a Top 20 UK single (#19), but it would prove to be the band's last substantial hit. A third release from the album, the plodding You Did Cut Me, stalled at UK #54. Again, there were several stronger tracks on the album which may have fared better as a single, notably the excellent 'Wall of God'.

In 1986, the band returned with the lower-key What Price Paradise, the key tracks being the epic Arizona Sky (the LP's first single release and another Australian hit), the bouncy pop of 'June Bride', the unusual 'The Understudy' and the multi-paced 'A Day's Work For the Dayo's Done'. A second single from the album, Best Kept Secret, made UK #36 in early 1987. It was to be the band's final Top 40 hit single.

The band worked with Becker once more on 1989's Diary Of A Hollow Horse, which earned critical acclaim though little commercial success and spawned the singles 'St Saviour Square' and 'Red Letter Day'. Their last studio album, Warped By Success, was released in 1994 following the band's parting of ways with the Virgin label, although they managed to release a live unplugged album in 1995 entitled Acoustically Yours, which proved to be their swansong.

Sometimes misunderstood by critics, China Crisis distinguished themselves from their Liverpudlian contemporaries such as Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Teardrop Explodes, and Echo & The Bunnymen by digesting a cornucopia of musical genres, everything from jazz to progressive rock. Despite the stylistic deviations, China Crisis maintained their distinctive sound through a number of albums in the 1980s and '1990s.

Tragically, Wilkinson hanged himself on 17th July 1999. In 2000 Daly contributed a track to a tribute compilation to Wilkinson, Green Indians. The band accumulated a body of work consisting of six studio albums (including one covers album) and two live albums between 1982 and 1995. In the UK they achieved one top 10 hit single, three further top 20 singles and an additional five Top 50 singles whilst enjoying both a top 10 and top 20 album and two further albums in the top 40, selling an estimated 1.5 million records in the process.

Since 1992 there have been four compilations albums of their work for the UK/US markets.

China Crisis toured the UK during January and February 2007 as part of their 25th Anniversary.

Discography

Singles

Cover of the China Crisis acousic live album Wishful Thinking.
Cover of the China Crisis acousic live album Wishful Thinking.

Albums

External links