Jackdaw with Crowbar is an English multi-media indie band from Leamington Spa.[1] The band was formed in 1985, but consolidated in 1987, when signed to Ron Johnson Records, until it went bust.[1]
Jackdaw With Crowbar | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Leamington Spa, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years active | 1986–1992, 2007–present |
| Labels | Ron Johnson |
| Members | Tim Ellis Adam Sindall Louis Scheuer Avery Green |
| Past members | David Tibbatts Dan Morrison Steve Law Fran Juckes Tris King Andy Guthrie Alan McCulloch Andy Grimmer Wilf Plum Charley 'H' Bembridge Fergus Durrant |
History
editJackdaw with Crowbar's original line-up was Timothy Ellis, Fergus Durrant, Dave Tibbats and Dan Morrison, with Adam Sindall, Steve Law and Fran Juckes making Super 8mm films which were always present in their live performances.[1][2][3] This line-up released the band's first three records, Monarchy, Mayhem and Fishpaste, Sink Sank Sunk and Hot Air.[4]
The band contributed to the 1988 compilation album Take Five in aid of the charity Shelter.[5]
In 1991, Jackdaw released Hanging In the Balance, expanding the line-up with Tris King (formerly of Bogshed and later of A Witness),[6] Andy Guthrie, Alan McCulloch (aka "Wak"), Andy Grimmer, Wilf Plum (Dog Faced Hermans) and Charley 'H' Bembridge (The Selecter).
Jackdaw had two John Peel sessions on 19 May 1987 and 4 October 1987.[7] Jackdaw stopped touring around 1991 or 1992. In 2005, "Fuck America" was released on a compilation CD, Commercially Unfriendly: The Best Of British Underground, on Gott Discs.[8] In 2007, Ellis and Sindall started working together and Jackdaw was re-hatched with Fergus Durrant joining soon after. With all new films and songs, Jackdaw released a new EP available from Hybrid Cuts. The 8mm films were replaced by lap tops and video projectors. Jackdaw received air play on BBC Radio 6 in Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone and Don Letts' show.
Jackdaw with Crowbar, in 2018, entered into its third age continuing as a duo, known as Jackdaw with Crowbar, Because You're Worth It, with Ellis and Sindall.
Musical style
editThe band's musical style was described by the musician and writer John Robb as a combination of "spiky and dark guitar-driven blues and guitar-punk disco-filth".[1] Discussing the first EP, Monarchy, Mayhem, and Fishpaste, the writer John Corbett described the music as "a song sung through a bull horn ("Crow"), an accordion reggae-dub ("Fourth World"), a two-step featuring slide guitar reminiscent of Zoot Horn Rollo in Captain Beefheart's Magic Band ("The Night Albania Fell on Alabama")."[3] In Corbett's view, "the brief appearance of Jackdaw's records exemplifies the local-mode commodity at both its most appealing and its most politically volatile".[3]
Discography
edit| Year | Title | Label | Catalogue | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Monarchy Mayhem and Fishpaste | Ron Johnson Records | ZRON24 | 12-inch single |
| Sink Sank Sunk | Ron Johnson Records | ZRON31 | 12-inch single | |
| 1988 | Hot Air | Ron Johnson Records | ZRON33 | LP |
| 1989 | First After Epiphany | Ron Johnson Records | ZRON36 | LP |
| 1991 | Hanging in the Balance | HAX Turino | HAX04 | LP |
| 2010 | EP200 | Hybrid Cuts | 069CDEP200 | CD EP |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Robb, John (2009) Death to Trad Rock, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 978-1-901447-36-1, p. 369
- ^ Booth, Vachel (1987) "Clapperboard Clash! Jackdaw With Crowbar in Film Fun", Underground, October 1987 (Issue 7), p. 26
- ^ a b c Corbett, John (1994) Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr.Funkenstein, Duke University Press, ISBN 978-0-8223-1473-8, p. 48
- ^ Turner, Simon (17 September 1988). "Crowbar Attack", Melody Maker, 64 (38): 16.
- ^ Wilde, John (16 July 1988). "Albums: Take Five (Proceeds to Shelter)", Melody Maker 64 (29): 34.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 237
- ^ "Jackdaw With Crowbar". BBC Online. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ Lee, Stewart (29 January 2006). "Various Artists: Commercially Unfriendly: The Best of the British Underground 1983–1989", The Sunday Times, p. 21.