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Wire
4,268,061 plays (226,128 listeners)
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.
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Pink Flag
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154
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On Returning (1977-1979)
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Chairs Missing
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Shoutbox
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cretony38 wrote:
...In an act of contrition I lay down this track... Great band!
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sherwinbrian wrote:
I AM THE FLY...this shit is nasty it creeps under your brain
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floserber wrote:
@rituallnoise: try "Chairs missing" or "the Ideal Copy" :)
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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.
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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.
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punchinthekiss wrote:
Punk at it's finest; doesn't belong to post-punk that's for sure.
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ovsovereigndec wrote:
We, secret sons and daughters of werewolves...
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rogerfariass wrote:
XEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS MUITO AMOR
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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
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sigmundfloyd wrote:
Great show at Garage Oslo last night!
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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.
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cjkisaragi wrote:
Woah, really? I have to seek it out then
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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)
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cjkisaragi wrote:
Was Object 47 any good?
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smoothop327 wrote:
anyone got a tab for Champs?
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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.
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distantfingers wrote:
Anti-Pro: I agree with that statement. What the general public associates with "Punk" is really just the residue of Punk.
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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.
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wolowyzkoscia wrote:
spark and so on, if that sentence makes no sense, everyone is able to change it.
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Anti-Pro wrote:
Spark_and_Spark: I agree with the wise man who once said that "Punk was over before it even started"
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Recent Activity
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switchblade7 added Wire to switchblade7’s library. 41 minutes ago
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AeiouOueioa tagged Wire with ‘new wave’. 3 hours ago
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kamikaze_80, umlabs, Chucklesthegirl and 33 other people added Wire to their libraries. 4 hours ago
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Oximoronx wrote about Wire in Los 50 álbumes más escuchados de los últimos 6 meses. Saturday afternoon
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Oximoronx wrote about Wire – Chairs Missing in Los 50 álbumes más escuchados de los últimos 6 meses. Saturday afternoon
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Oximoronx wrote about Wire – Pink Flag in Los 50 álbumes más escuchados de los últimos 6 meses. Saturday afternoon
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Oximoronx wrote about Wire – 154 in Los 50 álbumes más escuchados de los últimos 6 meses. Saturday afternoon
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O_Lucifer, knitte-puh, Tofudog and 6 other people added Wire to their libraries. Saturday afternoon
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sevlesmeth connected Wire to the group República Experimental de Chile. Saturday morning
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cretony38 added Wire to cretony38’s library. Saturday morning
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