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Random Hold
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Random Hold was a British rock band in 1977-1980.
History
In late 1976, Dulwich College schoolmates David Ferguson (keyboards) and David Rhodes (guitar) formed a musical unit together, after attending a gig by the band 801, featuring Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno. The two Davids felt that 801 was too mainstream, underused the talents of its members, and that they could do better themselves. The duet initially bore the name "Manscheinen", playing in an experimental/electronic genre.
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Encyclopedia
Random Hold was a British rock band in 1977-1980.
History
In late 1976, Dulwich College schoolmates David Ferguson (keyboards) and David Rhodes (guitar) formed a musical unit together, after attending a gig by the band 801, featuring Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno. The two Davids felt that 801 was too mainstream, underused the talents of its members, and that they could do better themselves. The duet initially bore the name "Manscheinen", playing in an experimental/electronic genre. Audience reception was not consistently positive ("One gig was so bad we took the audience down to the pub for a drink instead.", RHA). By September 1977, the duo had reinvented themselves as "Random Hold", and starting to audition and work with other musicians. Random Hold members included Mike Whitford, and then briefly Pete Phipps (The Glitter Band) on drums. Another Dulwich alumnus, Simon Ainley (Eric Smith Explosion, 801), joined on guitar in April 1978, and then in August, so did another, Bill MacCormick on bass, replacing original bassist Duncan Lane.
A first demo tape, recorded by the pre-MacCormick trio in August 1978, triggered little reaction. Bill had a substantial musical pedigree, having played extensively with Quiet Sun, Matching Mole and 801. Advertisemnets recruited another drummer, Richard Marcangelo, for a second demo, and then David Leach to replace him. The 5-piece line-up produced a very dark, post-punk sound, with vocal duties shared between the members. Their first major exposure in the music press was not to come until a December 1978 interview and article by Allan Jones in Melody Maker magazine. Increasingly frantic negotiations with many companies led to the band finally signing to Polydor Records for recording purposes on 19 March 1979. Separate contracts were made over the next two months for publishing with Tony Stratton-Smith's Hit and Run Music and for management with Gail Colson of Gailforce. After some exploration of the possibility of working with Peter Gabriel, Colson arranged for recording of Random Hold's first album to start in July 1979, produced by another Gailforce artist, Peter Hammill.
However, the line-up shifted again in June. Drummer David Leach was replaced due to medical problems by Pete Phipps (The Glitter Band). And Simon Ainley was sacked, on the grounds that his style was too light and poppy for the band. Ainley had been the presentable face of the band for company people, and had also become front man and lead vocalist on stage, so this change propelled David Rhodes into the lead role as well as causing a cooling in Polydor's attitude. They wanted a single, and the track "Etceteraville" was chosen. After a quiet September due to David Rhodes' work commitments with Peter Gabriel, the single was released in October, received poor reviews and no air play, and sank without trace. Regular, well-reviewed gigs at the Marquee Club, London, and a tour with XTC suggested that better things might have been on the horizon, but the next release, a 5-track EP "Avalanche", was poorly promoted and sold badly. The full-length album "The View From Here" got some positive reviews when it was released in February 1980, at the beginning of a month-long tour with Peter Gabriel. However, Polydor announced that they were dropping the band, shortly after the end of the tour.
The band continued to operate on their saved advances, were scheduled to tour the USA with Gabriel through June and July 1980, and still had their publishing and management companies. A company (Passport Records) was found to distribute an album in the USA to coincide with the tour, and there seemed to be substantial enthusiasm for the band on the west side of the Atlantic. However, on return to the UK, the two Davids sacked MacCormick for stylistic differences. MacCormick in turn claimed back from Gailforce the money that he had personally invested in the band at the outset, and Random Hold was left penniless and inoperative.
"Melody Maker, 16 August 1980: In last weeks' issue, Random Hold were looking for a new bass player. This week, they're also looking for a new keyboardist, drummer and guitarist. In other words, Random Hold have split up."(RHA)
Within a few weeks, the band members had started to go their various ways. David Rhodes consolidated his position as Peter Gabriel's lead guitarist. David Ferguson did revive the Random Hold name for a new band in 1981-2, signed to RCA. That line-up included Pete Phipps (drums), Andy Prince replaced by Nigel Hardy and later Martyn Swain on bass, Steve Wilkin on guitar and Sue Raven on vocals. They released one album, "Burn the Buildings".
Ferguson was able to have pressed a few hundred copies of the double LP "Avalanche" (including all pre-1982 released material). CD releases by Voiceprint in 2001 were "The View From Here", compiling the complete pre-1982 releases and some live material, and "Over View", archive material documenting the evolurtion of the band, mainly produced by Bill MacCormick.
Where are they now?
David Rhodes is mentioned above as a member of the Peter Gabriel Band. He continues to be so, doing world-spanning project and studio work aside of this.
David Ferguson lives in Bath, working as a composer for film and television scores.
Pete Phipps joined XTC later (his contributions were on "Mummer", "Big Express" plus live appearances), he played also for Roger Chapman, Eurythmics, Mike Rutherford among others.
Bill MacCormick was in business as a producer for a while afterwards, he withdrew from music activities later in favour of a political career with the Liberal Democrat party.
Simon Ainley (vox) is now in business as a landscape architect
Discography (incomplete)
- Etceteraville (1979); LP
- The View From Here (1980); LP, re-released as double-CD, studio and live (with an announcement of Peter Gabriel)
- Overview (2001); Collection of both demo and studio work of all RH line-ups 1977 - 1980; CD
Singles and EPs popped up in different song permutations during the band's lifetime.
External links
- the Random Hold Archive - official archive with an extensive and insightful chronicle plus 3 full-length mp3 downloads
- a Fan
- - the bass player (a retrospective interview on RH and precedent groups)
- the producer
- the drummer
- the synthesizist
- the guitarist and singer
- the not-so-bleak singer
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