Europeans (band)
Encyclopedia
Europeans were a New Wave
band formed in Bristol
, England
in 1977. The line-up was Jonathan Cole (formally of Colortapes on vocals, guitar and synthesizers), Jon Klein (ex-Emergency Exit on lead guitar), Steve Street (ex-Public Enemy Number One on bass guitar) and James Cole (drums/percussion). According to Jon, ‘we were going to be called 'The Noses.' (They should not be confused with the similarly named The Europeans
, a British band formed in 1981).
Their single "Europeans" / "Voices" was engineered by David Lord at his Crescent Studios in Bath and was the second release of Bristols' Heartbeat Records. This single was heard by Cherry Red Records and lead to a licensing agreement between them and Heartbeat. The band later contributed the track ‘’On the Continent’’ to the labels seminal ‘’Avon Calling
’’ compilation album. The band split in 1979 when Rialto Records signed Jonathan Cole as a solo artist. Jon Klein went to London with Kevin Mills from The X-Certs to form Specimen
(and was involved with the Batcave
), he later joined Siouxie & the Banshees and played on three of their albums. Steve Street joined Apartment
, then Interview
, he then moved on to recording bands as an engineer/producer, and later worked with Tears for Fears
.
The band had originally recorded an albums worth of material, but this was not released until 2008, when Bristol Archive Records brought out a downloadable album called Take Me To The Continent’. This was followed in 2009 with a recorded live set, Live 1978 – Bower Ashton College, and a collection of demos, GBH Demos 1978.
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band formed in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1977. The line-up was Jonathan Cole (formally of Colortapes on vocals, guitar and synthesizers), Jon Klein (ex-Emergency Exit on lead guitar), Steve Street (ex-Public Enemy Number One on bass guitar) and James Cole (drums/percussion). According to Jon, ‘we were going to be called 'The Noses.' (They should not be confused with the similarly named The Europeans
The Europeans (band)
The Europeans were a British group formed in 1981. They released three albums, none of which achieved much in terms of chart position. The band are perhaps best known for their lead vocalist and keyboard player, Steve Hogarth, who went on to greater things as vocalist with Marillion...
, a British band formed in 1981).
Their single "Europeans" / "Voices" was engineered by David Lord at his Crescent Studios in Bath and was the second release of Bristols' Heartbeat Records. This single was heard by Cherry Red Records and lead to a licensing agreement between them and Heartbeat. The band later contributed the track ‘’On the Continent’’ to the labels seminal ‘’Avon Calling
Avon Calling
Avon Calling is an album of tracks featuring bands from Bristol, UK, on local record label Heartbeat Records, and was originally released in 1979...
’’ compilation album. The band split in 1979 when Rialto Records signed Jonathan Cole as a solo artist. Jon Klein went to London with Kevin Mills from The X-Certs to form Specimen
Specimen (band)
Specimen are a British band formed in the 1980s. Their music has been described as spanning many different genres of music, including glam, goth, punk and post-punk, and the band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the Gothic movement, both musically and stylistically.-Early days:The band...
(and was involved with the Batcave
Batcave (club)
The Batcave was a nightclub in London, England at Meard Street, Soho. It is considered to be the birthplace of the English goth subculture. As one of the most famous meeting points for early goths, it lent its name to the term Batcaver, used to describe fans of the original gothic rock music...
), he later joined Siouxie & the Banshees and played on three of their albums. Steve Street joined Apartment
Apartment (Bristol band)
Apartment were a Post Punk band formed in Bristol, UK in late 1978. Fronted by Alan Griffiths -Vocals/Guitar, with Emil on Drums and Richard White playing Bass....
, then Interview
Interview (band)
Interview were a five piece pop/rock band from Bath, Somerset, England. They were signed to Virgin Records, and between 1978 and 1981 released two albums and four singles.-Career:...
, he then moved on to recording bands as an engineer/producer, and later worked with Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
.
The band had originally recorded an albums worth of material, but this was not released until 2008, when Bristol Archive Records brought out a downloadable album called Take Me To The Continent’. This was followed in 2009 with a recorded live set, Live 1978 – Bower Ashton College, and a collection of demos, GBH Demos 1978.
Post break-up
- Jonathan Cole – Signed to Rialto Records, his single "Keys to my Car" was never released.
- Jon Klein – formed SpecimenSpecimen (band)Specimen are a British band formed in the 1980s. Their music has been described as spanning many different genres of music, including glam, goth, punk and post-punk, and the band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the Gothic movement, both musically and stylistically.-Early days:The band...
, and later on went to record with Siouxie & the Banshees. - Steve Street – joined ApartmentApartment (Bristol band)Apartment were a Post Punk band formed in Bristol, UK in late 1978. Fronted by Alan Griffiths -Vocals/Guitar, with Emil on Drums and Richard White playing Bass....
as bass guitarist, then InterviewInterview (band)Interview were a five piece pop/rock band from Bath, Somerset, England. They were signed to Virgin Records, and between 1978 and 1981 released two albums and four singles.-Career:...
. He had originally recorded demos for The Pop GroupThe Pop GroupThe Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
and in 1978/79 the Glaxo BabiesGlaxo BabiesGlaxo Babies were a Bristol-based UK post-punk group, formed in late 1977. There were three distinct phases in the bands life and after initially breaking up in 1980, they reformed in 1985, only to finally break-up again in 1990.-First phase:...
. He subsequently went on to engineer and produce a number of other Bristol-based bands including those on the Bristol BeatBristol record labelsThe city of Bristol, in England, has since the mid 1970’s had a particularly fertile music culture, resulting in not only a great many influential musicians and bands, but also its own sound; Bristol Sound or Trip Hop. Along with the music scene, a number of local record labels also developed, some...
tape, Essential BopEssential BopEssential Bop were a Bristol based Post-Punk/Art band formed in early 1978 by Dave Robinson , with an initial line-up of Steve Bush , Mike Fewings , Simon Tyler , Nick Tufnell and Seng-gye Tombs Curtis...
, Electric GuitarsElectric GuitarsElectric Guitars were formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport and Richard Hall who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Saunders , Matt Salt and Dick Truscott , they also later added two backing singers: Sara and Wendy...
, The X-Certs, Vice SquadVice SquadVice Squad is a punk band formed in 1978 in Bristol, England. The band formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. Songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage was a founding member and is currently with the band, although there was a period of time when the band had a different...
and The Blue AeroplanesThe Blue AeroplanesThe Blue Aeroplanes are an English rock band from Bristol, the mainstays of which: Gerard Langley, brother John Langley and dancer Wojtek Dmochowski originate from the earlier New Wave “Art band” Art Objects .-History:...
. He was also involved in working with other bands like Tears for FearsTears for FearsTears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
. He currently works for Sugar Shack Records and its re-release subsidiary Bristol Archive Records.
Singles
- "Europeans" / "Voices" (1978, Heartbeat, UK, 7", PULSE 2)
- "Europeans" / "It Wasn't Me" (1979, Rialto, UK, 7", TREB-105)
Albums
- Take Me To The Continent (2008, Bristol Archive, UK, Download, ARC002)
- ’’Live 1978 – Bower Ashton College’’ (2009, Bristol Archive, UK, Download, ARC095)
- ’’GBH Demos 1978’’ (2009, Bristol Archive, UK, Download, ARC098)
Tracks appear on
- ’’Labels Unlimited - The Second Record Collection’’ (1979, Cherry Red, UK, LP, ARED 4)
- ’’Avon Calling’’ (1980, Heartbeat, UK, LP, HB 1)
- ’’Avon Calling [Reissue + Unreleased Tracks and Heartbeat Singles Collection]’’ (2005, Cherry Red, UK, CD, CDMRED292)
- ’’I'll Give You My Heart I'll Give You My Heart - The Cherry Red Records Singles Collection 1978-1983’’(2008, Cherry Red, UK, 8xCD, CRCD BOX 4)
See also
- List of bands from Bristol
- Culture of BristolCulture of BristolBristol is a city in South West England. As the largest city in the region it is a centre for the arts and sport. The region has a distinct West Country dialect.-Events:...
- Heartbeat Records
- Crescent Studios
- Avon CallingAvon CallingAvon Calling is an album of tracks featuring bands from Bristol, UK, on local record label Heartbeat Records, and was originally released in 1979...
- List of record labels from Bristol
External links
- Listen to Europeans at last.fm (even though they mix up Europeans and The Europeans)
- [ Europeans at Allmusic (even though they mix up Europeans and The Europeans)]
- Europeans at Discogs.com
- Europeans at BandsConnect.co.uk
- Europeans at Heartbeat Records
- Europeans info at Bristol Archive Records
- Europeans Discography at Bristol Archive Records
- Jon Klein MySpace page
- Specimen MySpace page