Play Wire Radio
Wire
4,249,764 plays (225,325 listeners)
Listening now: oliver55, abandoned_sock
Watford, England (1976 – 1980, 1985 – 1992, 1999 – present)
Wire is a band formed in 1976 in Watford, England and after splitting in 1980, have reformed three times. They consist of Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (vocals, bass) and Robert Gotobed (drums). Founding guitarist Bruce Gilbert left in 2004. In 2008, Margaret Fielder McGinnis of Laika joined the band as their touring guitarist.
Wire emerged out of the British punk explosion but, from the outset, maintained a distance from that scene and resisted easy categorization. While punk rapidly became a caricature of itself, Wire’s musical identity — focused on experimentation and process — was constantly metamorphosing. Their first three albums alone attest to a startling evolution as the band repeatedly reinvented itself between 1977 and 1979. That capacity for self-reinvention, coupled with a willingness to stop recording indefinitely when ideas weren’t forthcoming, has been crucial to Wire’s longevity and continued relevance.
By the time of punk, British art schools had long been a hotbed of musical activity, spawning some of the nation’s most innovative rock acts from the ’60s onward. Like many punk contemporaries, Wire had roots in the art school tradition. At Watford Art College in 1976, guitarists Colin Newman and George Gill formed Overload with audiovisual technician Bruce Gilbert (also on guitar). Subsequently, the three recruited bassist Graham Lewis and drummer Robert Gotobed (aka Robert Grey), and the first Wire lineup was in place.
Wire began playing dates in London and, having ousted Gill, started from scratch, writing new material and taking a more pared-down, experimental approach. A gig at the Roxy in early 1977 proved auspicious.
Wire emerged out of the British punk explosion but, from the outset, maintained a distance from that scene and resisted easy categorization. While punk rapidly became a caricature of itself, Wire’s musical identity — focused on experimentation and process — was constantly metamorphosing. Their first three albums alone attest to a startling evolution as the band repeatedly reinvented itself between 1977 and 1979. That capacity for self-reinvention, coupled with a willingness to stop recording indefinitely when ideas weren’t forthcoming, has been crucial to Wire’s longevity and continued relevance.
By the time of punk, British art schools had long been a hotbed of musical activity, spawning some of the nation’s most innovative rock acts from the ’60s onward. Like many punk contemporaries, Wire had roots in the art school tradition. At Watford Art College in 1976, guitarists Colin Newman and George Gill formed Overload with audiovisual technician Bruce Gilbert (also on guitar). Subsequently, the three recruited bassist Graham Lewis and drummer Robert Gotobed (aka Robert Grey), and the first Wire lineup was in place.
Wire began playing dates in London and, having ousted Gill, started from scratch, writing new material and taking a more pared-down, experimental approach. A gig at the Roxy in early 1977 proved auspicious.
Top Albums
-
Pink Flag
Wire
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $14.99
- iTunes $14.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $10.54
- eBay Search
New
-
154
Wire Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $7.77
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $47.98
- eBay Search
New
-
On Returning (1977-1979)
Wire Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $7.60
- eBay Search
-
Chairs Missing
Wire Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $8.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $10.54
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
sherwinbrian wrote:
I AM THE FLY...this shit is nasty it creeps under your brain
-
floserber wrote:
@rituallnoise: try "Chairs missing" or "the Ideal Copy" :)
-
skmelanie wrote:
Field Day for the Sundays reminds me of the song in the Free Credit Report.com commercial where they perform at a Renaissance Fair.
-
Inertia_90 wrote:
@rituallnoise: I only have the first three, so I'd say 154, then Chairs Missing. But Pink Flag is a very fine record, despite being very punky.
-
punchinthekiss wrote:
Punk at it's finest; doesn't belong to post-punk that's for sure.
-
ovsovereigndec wrote:
We, secret sons and daughters of werewolves...
-
rogerfariass wrote:
XEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS MUITO AMOR
-
rituallnoise wrote:
If I like more experimental than punk music, with which album do I must begin? I've never heard about this band, and it's by the collaboration of Graham Lewis on Strange Attractor, jazz-experimental band, that I found it. thx's
-
Mauchline1974 wrote:
154 is far better than Pink Flag, conceptually. Quite like a lot of Wire's 80s stuff but they really should think about retiring. Bruce Gilbert at least has some dignity. Some good songs on Send but O47 sounded really ropey.
-
sigmundfloyd wrote:
Great show at Garage Oslo last night!
-
diffractive wrote:
i think it's a good album (O47), but the absence of bruce leaves a noticeable gap that can't be completely filled by the other three.
-
cjkisaragi wrote:
Woah, really? I have to seek it out then
-
Chino_Patrone wrote:
cjkisaragi: Yes, yes it was. At least is my fourth favourite album from them (you know, after Pink Flag, Chairs and 154)
-
cjkisaragi wrote:
Was Object 47 any good?
-
smoothop327 wrote:
anyone got a tab for Champs?
-
TheOnlyRoc wrote:
theyre one of the original punk bands. the rest of their music is something different. whatever you wanna call it they arent a post-punk band.
-
distantfingers wrote:
Anti-Pro: I agree with that statement. What the general public associates with "Punk" is really just the residue of Punk.
-
Mutantbuddy wrote:
Wire started in the punk era and were a punk band. I loved their early songs short and very committed to the anti prog ethic.Their later work was excellent too don't listen to Kidney Bingos it is very hard to get out of your head.
-
wolowyzkoscia wrote:
spark and so on, if that sentence makes no sense, everyone is able to change it.
-
Anti-Pro wrote:
Spark_and_Spark: I agree with the wise man who once said that "Punk was over before it even started"
Videos
See more
Events
-
May
27
Primavera Sound
Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona, Spain
162 shouts
| 692 attendees
Listeners
-
oliver55
Listening now
to Two People in a Room -
abandoned_sock
Listening now
to Marooned -
edcc
Listening now
to Underwater Experiences -
tschafer
Top Listener
-
simonofyork
Top Listener
-
Thee23
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
lovemycat, Kollage1234 and isaisaisabela added Wire to their libraries. 23 minutes ago
-
AL-ice tagged Wire with english, seen live and post punk. yesterday evening
-
jmdgremu, lumpstarr, dandare2 and 20 other people added Wire to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
-
Wolfgarden connected Wire to the group Psychocandy. Monday evening
-
WorstFella added Wire to WorstFella’s library. Monday evening
-
brizookbizowers wrote about Wire in Brook Bowers Loses A Pie Eating Competition To Olivia De Havilland. Monday evening
-
barkerharry, jwkeller, IrenaeusKraus and 2 other people added Wire to their libraries. Monday evening
-
feefafo wrote about Wire in On my MP3 player. Monday morning
-
Timobz, synthetic_scott, ekimiki and 10 other people added Wire to their libraries. Monday morning
-
EpicSoundtracks tagged Wire with ‘post punk’. Sunday morning
Related Journals
-
On my MP3 player
by feefafo |
23 Nov 2009 | 1 comment
-
Alternative Addiction - Nov. 11
by OxfordCollapse |
13 Nov 2009 | 1 comment
-
About every band and artist (and some of the DJs) I have seen live.
by Codswallop |
10 Nov 2009 | 3 comments
Groups (202)
-
Scars
31 members
-
A Future in Noise
44 members
-
Wire
279 members
-
THE SOUND
62 members
-
Black Cat Bone @ Last.FM
59 members
