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The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were a British-American rock band. A supergroup, the line-up originally consisted of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex-the Dead Boys), guitarist Brian James (ex-the Damned), bassist Dave Tregunna (ex-Sham 69) and drummer Nick Turner (ex-the Barracudas). Launched in 1981, the band released three studio albums prior to their dissolution in 1989. During this time, they underwent several line-up changes.
More melodic and slickly produced than most punk, their music both reached a broader audience than that of many bands in the genre and alienated hardcore punk fans. The band presented a stylized tribal identity around their appearance and their music that fans embraced: the writer Dave Thompson asserts this represented "the first time since the Sex Pistols' Bromley Contingent fanbase [that] a band had succeeded in grafting its own identity onto its audience without first paying obeisance to the gods of highstreet fashion." Their stage antics became notorious early in their career, with Bators stunts on one occasion reportedly resulting in his clinical death for several minutes.
The band experienced moderate chart success, with their eponymous debut album peaking at No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart, 1984's The Method to Our Madness hitting No. 158 in the US, and the 1985 Killer Lords compilation reaching No. 22 on the UK Indie Chart. Charting singles included "New Church" (No. 34 UK Indie), "Open Your Eyes" (No. 7 UK Indie; No. 27 US Mainstream Rock), "Dance with Me" (No. 85 UK Singles Chart) and a cover of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" (No. 22 UK Indie).
The band was re-established between 2001–2003, and again briefly in 2007, with original members James and Tregunna. The band reunited for a final time, prior to James’ death, with ex-Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe, at the behest of Vive Le Rock magazine, at their annual awards show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 6 April 2023. Former Clash, Hanoi Rocks and original Lords drummer Terry Chimes took Turner's place, except for 'New Rose', played by Rat Scabies, who'd just presented James with the Pioneer Award.
Stiv Bators and Brian James first met each other in 1977 when the Dead Boys opened for the Damned on a few CBGB dates in New York and an English tour. They had remained good friends and the two had often discussed working together on a project after their respective bands had disbanded. The opportunity would come in 1980, when Bators was invited to London to join British punk band Sham 69, who had recently parted ways with their singer Jimmy Pursey. Bators had met the band in Los Angeles a few months before, and they had got on well together. James: "That was really the ticket to get Stiv over to London, so we could work. So they'd be rehearsing for this thing and getting it together, while me and Stiv in private would be working on stuff which was to become Lords stuff." With a change of name to the Wanderers, the short-lived band released only one album before disbanding in 1981. This finally allowed Bators and James to form their own band, having already aroused the interest of Miles Copeland, co-founder of I.R.S. Records. They experimented with different rhythm sections, rehearsing with bassists Tony James and Glen Matlock, and drummers Terry Chimes and Steve Nicol. James: "Musically it sounded alright, but ... personality wise it just wasn't kind of fitting. So it was like me and Stiv and "the other two" all the time." Bators then approached his Wanderers bandmate Dave Tregunna and, with Rat Scabies of the Damned on drums, they performed a one-off gig in London at Hammersmith Clarendon as The Dead Damned Sham Band. Their set consisted of Dead Boys, Damned and Sham 69 material, as well as covers. Since Scabies was already committed to the Damned, they soon recruited Nick "Nicky" Turner of the Barracudas as their full-time drummer. Billed as the Things, the new band played their first gig in Paris in late 1981.
While brainstorming band names, Copeland had suggested the Lords of Discipline. At the time, he was also managing Sting, who had started to venture into acting, and one of the scripts that was presented to Sting was for the film The Lords of Discipline. James: "So Miles said, "Oh, great name for the band, boys! ... And we kind of thought, "Well, not really, especially if there's gonna be a film coming out with that name also." The band, however, liked the idea of calling themselves the Lords and they eventually settled on the Lords of the New Church.
Having signed with Copeland's I.R.S. Records, Copeland also took on managerial duties, the Lords of the New Church released their self-produced eponymous debut album in July 1982. Musically, the album is a mix of punk, glam, garage rock and goth, described by New Noise Magazine as a "seedy concoction of spidery guitars, sleazy bass lines, jungle drums and gothic keyboards." For the subsequent tour, the band enhanced their live sound with keyboardist Matt Irving, who had also played on the album. The Lords of the New Church was well-received and peaked at No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart. The single "Open Your Eyes" reached No. 7 on the UK Indie Chart, No. 34 on the Canadian charts and No. 27 on the US Rock chart. Two other singles, "New Church" and "Russian Roulette", reached No. 34 and No. 12 on the UK Indie Chart, respectively.
Is Nothing Sacred?, their second album released in September 1983, saw the band diversifying musically, incorporating new wave, classic rock and ska, along with synths, horns and a greater emphasis on the bass. Like their first album, Is Nothing Sacred? was produced by the band themselves, except for its first single - a cover version of "Live for Today" (No. 91 UK) - which was produced by Todd Rundgren. The success of the album's second single "Dance with Me" (No. 85 UK), a song that according to Dave Thompson's Alternative Rock came "close to a hit", was hampered when the video directed by Derek Jarman was pulled from MTV's rotation because, according to writer Colin Larkin, mistaken concerns were voiced about pedophilia. The song was later covered by Nouvelle Vague in 2006.
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The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were a British-American rock band. A supergroup, the line-up originally consisted of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex-the Dead Boys), guitarist Brian James (ex-the Damned), bassist Dave Tregunna (ex-Sham 69) and drummer Nick Turner (ex-the Barracudas). Launched in 1981, the band released three studio albums prior to their dissolution in 1989. During this time, they underwent several line-up changes.
More melodic and slickly produced than most punk, their music both reached a broader audience than that of many bands in the genre and alienated hardcore punk fans. The band presented a stylized tribal identity around their appearance and their music that fans embraced: the writer Dave Thompson asserts this represented "the first time since the Sex Pistols' Bromley Contingent fanbase [that] a band had succeeded in grafting its own identity onto its audience without first paying obeisance to the gods of highstreet fashion." Their stage antics became notorious early in their career, with Bators stunts on one occasion reportedly resulting in his clinical death for several minutes.
The band experienced moderate chart success, with their eponymous debut album peaking at No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart, 1984's The Method to Our Madness hitting No. 158 in the US, and the 1985 Killer Lords compilation reaching No. 22 on the UK Indie Chart. Charting singles included "New Church" (No. 34 UK Indie), "Open Your Eyes" (No. 7 UK Indie; No. 27 US Mainstream Rock), "Dance with Me" (No. 85 UK Singles Chart) and a cover of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" (No. 22 UK Indie).
The band was re-established between 2001–2003, and again briefly in 2007, with original members James and Tregunna. The band reunited for a final time, prior to James’ death, with ex-Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe, at the behest of Vive Le Rock magazine, at their annual awards show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 6 April 2023. Former Clash, Hanoi Rocks and original Lords drummer Terry Chimes took Turner's place, except for 'New Rose', played by Rat Scabies, who'd just presented James with the Pioneer Award.
Stiv Bators and Brian James first met each other in 1977 when the Dead Boys opened for the Damned on a few CBGB dates in New York and an English tour. They had remained good friends and the two had often discussed working together on a project after their respective bands had disbanded. The opportunity would come in 1980, when Bators was invited to London to join British punk band Sham 69, who had recently parted ways with their singer Jimmy Pursey. Bators had met the band in Los Angeles a few months before, and they had got on well together. James: "That was really the ticket to get Stiv over to London, so we could work. So they'd be rehearsing for this thing and getting it together, while me and Stiv in private would be working on stuff which was to become Lords stuff." With a change of name to the Wanderers, the short-lived band released only one album before disbanding in 1981. This finally allowed Bators and James to form their own band, having already aroused the interest of Miles Copeland, co-founder of I.R.S. Records. They experimented with different rhythm sections, rehearsing with bassists Tony James and Glen Matlock, and drummers Terry Chimes and Steve Nicol. James: "Musically it sounded alright, but ... personality wise it just wasn't kind of fitting. So it was like me and Stiv and "the other two" all the time." Bators then approached his Wanderers bandmate Dave Tregunna and, with Rat Scabies of the Damned on drums, they performed a one-off gig in London at Hammersmith Clarendon as The Dead Damned Sham Band. Their set consisted of Dead Boys, Damned and Sham 69 material, as well as covers. Since Scabies was already committed to the Damned, they soon recruited Nick "Nicky" Turner of the Barracudas as their full-time drummer. Billed as the Things, the new band played their first gig in Paris in late 1981.
While brainstorming band names, Copeland had suggested the Lords of Discipline. At the time, he was also managing Sting, who had started to venture into acting, and one of the scripts that was presented to Sting was for the film The Lords of Discipline. James: "So Miles said, "Oh, great name for the band, boys! ... And we kind of thought, "Well, not really, especially if there's gonna be a film coming out with that name also." The band, however, liked the idea of calling themselves the Lords and they eventually settled on the Lords of the New Church.
Having signed with Copeland's I.R.S. Records, Copeland also took on managerial duties, the Lords of the New Church released their self-produced eponymous debut album in July 1982. Musically, the album is a mix of punk, glam, garage rock and goth, described by New Noise Magazine as a "seedy concoction of spidery guitars, sleazy bass lines, jungle drums and gothic keyboards." For the subsequent tour, the band enhanced their live sound with keyboardist Matt Irving, who had also played on the album. The Lords of the New Church was well-received and peaked at No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart. The single "Open Your Eyes" reached No. 7 on the UK Indie Chart, No. 34 on the Canadian charts and No. 27 on the US Rock chart. Two other singles, "New Church" and "Russian Roulette", reached No. 34 and No. 12 on the UK Indie Chart, respectively.
Is Nothing Sacred?, their second album released in September 1983, saw the band diversifying musically, incorporating new wave, classic rock and ska, along with synths, horns and a greater emphasis on the bass. Like their first album, Is Nothing Sacred? was produced by the band themselves, except for its first single - a cover version of "Live for Today" (No. 91 UK) - which was produced by Todd Rundgren. The success of the album's second single "Dance with Me" (No. 85 UK), a song that according to Dave Thompson's Alternative Rock came "close to a hit", was hampered when the video directed by Derek Jarman was pulled from MTV's rotation because, according to writer Colin Larkin, mistaken concerns were voiced about pedophilia. The song was later covered by Nouvelle Vague in 2006.