Martha and the Muffins
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Toronto, Canada (1977 – present)
Martha and the Muffins were a Canadian new wave synth pop band in the 1970s and 1980s.
The group’s initial line-up came together in Toronto in 1977, when David Millar asked his fellow Ontario College of Art student Mark Gane to help him start a band. Millar recruited Martha Johnson to play keyboards; Johnson brought in a friend from high school, Carl Finkle, to play bass; and Gane’s brother Tim Gane signed on as the drummer. With Millar and Mark Gane as guitarists, and Johnson as lead vocalist, this is the line up that debuted at an Ontario College of Art Hallowe’en party in October 1977.
They chose the name “Martha and the Muffins” to distance themselves from the aggressive names adopted by many punk bands of the era. According to Mark Gane: “We decided to use it as a temporary name until we could all agree on something better.” The name ended up sticking for the next 7 years.
Saxophone player Andy Haas began performing with the band early 1978 (initially as a guest artist). Founding member Millar left the band shortly thereafter, preferring to work as the band’s sound engineer for live shows. He was replaced by Martha Ladly, who had attended high school with the Ganes. She became the group’s second keyboardist/vocalist named Martha, although Martha Johnson remained the group’s primary lead singer.
In 1978, they released their first independent single, “Insect Love”. This and a demo tape recorded in June 1978 quickly garnered them a recording deal with the DinDisc offshoot of Virgin Records.
The group’s initial line-up came together in Toronto in 1977, when David Millar asked his fellow Ontario College of Art student Mark Gane to help him start a band. Millar recruited Martha Johnson to play keyboards; Johnson brought in a friend from high school, Carl Finkle, to play bass; and Gane’s brother Tim Gane signed on as the drummer. With Millar and Mark Gane as guitarists, and Johnson as lead vocalist, this is the line up that debuted at an Ontario College of Art Hallowe’en party in October 1977.
They chose the name “Martha and the Muffins” to distance themselves from the aggressive names adopted by many punk bands of the era. According to Mark Gane: “We decided to use it as a temporary name until we could all agree on something better.” The name ended up sticking for the next 7 years.
Saxophone player Andy Haas began performing with the band early 1978 (initially as a guest artist). Founding member Millar left the band shortly thereafter, preferring to work as the band’s sound engineer for live shows. He was replaced by Martha Ladly, who had attended high school with the Ganes. She became the group’s second keyboardist/vocalist named Martha, although Martha Johnson remained the group’s primary lead singer.
In 1978, they released their first independent single, “Insect Love”. This and a demo tape recorded in June 1978 quickly garnered them a recording deal with the DinDisc offshoot of Virgin Records.
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Top Albums
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Trance And Dance (Bonus Track Version)
Martha and the Muffins
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Far Away In Time
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Metro Music
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Then Again: A Retrospective
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Shoutbox
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bubblebobbles wrote:
aloha muffins
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Cokefloyd wrote:
- escucharI Echo Beach me hace sentir que deberás ya tengo mis años!!!!
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RussellChap wrote:
It's naff but I like it!
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newwavelad wrote:
Metro Music>This is the Ice Age>Danseparc>Mystery Walk ..it`s pure genius
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newwavelad wrote:
one of the most underrated bands in the world
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summersofar wrote:
my job is very boring i'm an office clerk! found out about them through minimal wave
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Dr-Doctor wrote:
This is the one to watch for me! :)
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Antonionii wrote:
Easily one of the greats in the new wave ''universe'', I love them like a sister band to the talking heads, all albums are worth the buy.
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fancygreen wrote:
I have so much love for this band. "I Start to Stop" is bliss.
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LQQKIE wrote:
Connected to group Canada
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treehause wrote:
Awesome stuff. Listening to Danseparc now.
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Retro_Saiyan wrote:
Only 5 scrobbles in my library? They deserve far more!
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Babs_05 wrote:
and very good it is too.
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SonnyJoeFoxx wrote:
New album out now.
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KoibitoZombie wrote:
Why hate? :(
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flashbleu wrote:
LOVE. 2-1 ha ha! Hate loses.
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giuseppinella wrote:
LOVE
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Black_Eyed_Siou wrote:
Lol, how do they remind you of Siouxsie & The Banshees???! Mind you, I like them both....
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stellarrrr wrote:
they're great
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KoibitoZombie wrote:
God, they remind me too much of Siouxsie and the Banshees <3
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Recent Activity
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atpunk, pleonasty, outquisition and 2 other people added Martha and the Muffins to their libraries. Friday morning
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Li-an tagged Martha and the Muffins with synth pop, new wave and 80s. 12 days ago
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squid_fish, emmaslack, Small_BlueThing and 3 other people added Martha and the Muffins to their libraries. 14 days ago
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bluesboyjr tagged Martha and the Muffins with ‘new wave’. last month
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Nyasa_Lake, perlyjerry, jenlynnwin and 6 other people added Martha and the Muffins to their libraries. last month
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LikeDee tagged Martha and the Muffins with canadian and new wave. December 2011
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CraigDurr, alixvs and mikegiles123456 added Martha and the Muffins to their libraries. December 2011
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simonwood32 tagged Martha and the Muffins with alternative, 80s and new wave. December 2011
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simonwood32, AngieStockton and 8 other people added Martha and the Muffins to their libraries. December 2011
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bertrand-escaff connected Martha and the Muffins to the group Zeru ta Lur. November 2011
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