| This Heat |
| Background information |
| Origin |
Brixton, London, England  |
| Genre(s) |
Progressive
rock, post-punk |
| Years active |
1975-1982 |
| Label(s) |
Rough
Trade |
Associated
acts |
Dolphin Logic, Friendly Rifles, Camberwell
Now |
| Former members |
Charles
Bullen
Trefor Goronwy
Charles Hayward
Steven Rickard
Gareth
Williams |
This Heat were a British
punk-era
band widely considered a missing link between progressive
rock (especially krautrock) and such later experimental
genres as post-punk,
post-rock,
and noise
rock. They were formed in late-1975 in Brixton, London by multi-instrumentalists Charles
Bullen (guitar, clarinet, viola, vocals, tapes), Charles Hayward
(percussion, keyboards, vocals, tapes) and Gareth
Williams (keyboard, guitar, bass, vocals, tapes). Their music touched
on numerous different styles and genres, but was always confrontational
and politically charged.
Their first radio airplay came from, unsurprisingly, legendary
DJ John
Peel, to whom they sent a demo tape (recorded in a disused meat factory
converted to a studio, which the band dubbed 'Cold Storage') in early 1977. During this
time, they also recorded a session with Ghanaian musician Mario Boyer Diekuuroh, parts
of which later appeared on a 1982 split cassette with Albert Marcoeur, released by the
French experimental rock magazine Tago Mago.
Their self-titled debut album was recorded between February 1976 and September 1978, and surfaced in
August 1979.
It was characterized by heavy use of tape manipulation and looping,
combined with more traditional performance, to create dense, eerie,
electronic soundscapes. Also released in this period was an EP, Health
& Efficiency, which foreshadowed the more
rock-oriented sound of Deceit ( 1981 ), the band's
second and final album. Produced with help from reggae mixer Martin
Frederick, Deceit found the band incorporating more
influence from punk rock, and consolidating the world
music influences in their work. Although, like all of This Heat's
releases, it sold poorly, Deceit is now seen as a
classic of the post-punk era comparable with Closer
or Metal
Box.
This Heat split up in 1982 after completing their final European tour
with bassist/vocalist Trefor Goronwy and
keyboardist Ian Hill joining Bullen and Hayward. Hayward went on to
form Camberwell Now with Goronwy
and ex-This Heat soundman Stephen Rickard, and remains active
musically. Charles Bullen had a solo venture during this time, called
Lifetones, and released one record, For a Reason,
in 1983 on his Tone of Life imprint. In 1993 a new album of previously unreleased This
Heat recording was unearthed. Repeat featured three
long tracks, including the title track, a 20 minute remix of "24 Track
Loop". A box set of all the band's official recordings, Out
of Cold Storage was released in June 2006 on This is!, a new Recommended
Records sub-label set up by Charles Hayward and Charles Bullen to
re-release This Heat's back catalogue. It comprises This Heat,
Deceit, Health and Efficiency, Made
Available and Repeat, plus Live
80/81, a CD of concert recordings. Williams later formed
Flaming Tunes with Mary Currie and released a cassette of new material,
in a much softer style than that of This Heat. He died in late 2001.
Discography
- This Heat
(1978; CD
reissue 2006)
- Health And Efficiency
(1981; 12" EP)
- Deceit (1981)
- This
Heat with Mario Boyer Diekuuroh (1982; split-cassette with Albert Marcoeur)
- Live In Krefeld
(1986; cassette)
- The
Peel Sessions (1988; EP)
- Repeat
(1993; CD)
- Made Available
(1996; CD)
- Out of Cold Storage
(2006; 6 CD box set)
References
- Strong, Martin C. The Great Alternative and Indie
Discography
-
Cutler,
Chris (2006), box set booklet, Out of Cold
Storage by This Heat. Thornton Heath:Recommended
Records LC-02677
External links
