Wire

Wire are an English rock band. They were formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), George Gill (lead guitar) and Robert Grey (aka Robert Gotobed; drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on The Roxy London WC2 album, and were instrumental in the development of post-punk, while their debut album, Pink Flag, was influential for hardcore punk.

Wire are regarded as an influential band within the art punk and post-punk genres. Their sound evolved from an early noise rock style into a more complex and atmospheric approach characterized by the increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers, particularly on Chairs Missing (1978) and 154 (1979). Throughout their career the band have been noted for experimentation with song structures and arrangements.

History

1976 to 1980

Wire began as a five-piece band in October 1976. In its early period, guitarist George Gill served as the group's principal songwriter. Following a leg injury that left him unable to perform, Gill departed the band in February 1977. After his departure, the remaining members discontinued most of the material he had written, although several of the band's early songs were later released as demos or included on compilation albums. Wire's debut album, Pink Flag (1977) – "perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk", according to AllMusic – contains songs that are diverse in mood and style, but most use a minimalist punk approach combined with unorthodox structures. "Field Day for the Sundays", for example, is only 28 seconds long.

Their second album, Chairs Missing (1978), showed a substantial elaboration of the stark minimalism of Pink Flag, with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne. "Outdoor Miner" was a minor hit, peaking at number 51 in the UK singles chart. The experimentation was even more prominent on 154 (1979).

Wire's unorthodox ideas to promote 154 led to a falling out with their label. According to Newman, "We'd worked out a sales strategy for 154 that EMI couldn't see at all...They couldn't understand a rock band that wanted to do a week in a theater as an event, and wanted to promote 154 with videos or left-field TV adverts. We wanted to help them sell records; they thought we were simply being intransigent." According to Jim Green in an interview with Newman, "personnel changes at EMI had left Wire without any support." Colin Newman's solo album, "A-Z was planned as the fourth Wire album, but EMI cancelled studio time in the wake of failed negotiations with the band, and then dropped Wire's option."

Lacking a recording deal and money, creative differences split the band in 1979, leading to the Document and Eyewitness LP (1981), a recording of a live performance that featured, almost exclusively, new material. The album was described as "disjointed", "unrecognizable as rock music" and "almost unlistenable". The LP came packaged with an EP of a different performance of more new material. Some of these songs, along with others performed but not included on the album, were included on Newman's post-Wire solo albums (5/10, We Meet Under Tables), while others were released by Gilbert's and Lewis' primary post-Wire outlet Dome (And Then..., Ritual View).

Between 1981 and 1985, Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and collaborative projects such as Dome, Cupol, Duet Emmo and several Colin Newman solo efforts.

1985 to 1992

In 1985, the group re-formed as a "beat combo" (a joking reference to early 1960s beat music), with greater use of electronic musical instruments. Wire announced that they would perform none of their older material, hiring Ex-Lion Tamers (a Wire cover band from Hoboken, New Jersey, named after a song title from Pink Flag) as their opening act for a 1987 U.S. Tour. Ex-Lion Tamers played Wire's older songs, and Wire played their new material.

In June 1988, Wire were part of a lineup that included Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Thomas Dolby supporting Depeche Mode at the Pasadena Rose Bowl where they played to over 60,000 people. In 1989, Wire released IBTABA, a "live" album of mostly reworked versions of songs from The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is a Cup, heavily rearranged, edited, and remixed. A new song from the album, "Eardrum Buzz", was released as a single and peaked at number 68 in the UK singles chart.

Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album Manscape. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming "Wir" (still pronounced "wire"), and released The First Letter in 1991. There followed a further period of solo recordings, during which Newman founded the swim ~ label, and later Githead with his wife (ex-Minimal Compact bassist Malka Spigel), while Wire remained an occasional collaboration. It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.