Skeletal Family
Encyclopedia
Skeletal Family were an English
gothic rock
band which formed in Keighley
, West Yorkshire
, England
in December 1982. The band formed from the remaining membership of an earlier group, called The Elements, and took their name from the title of the song "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family
" from the 1974 David Bowie
album, Diamond Dogs
.
(vocals), Stan Greenwood (guitar), Roger "Trotwood" Nowell (bass), Ian "Karl Heinz" Taylor (keyboard/sax), and Steve Crane (drums). In 1983, after their first single, the band signed on to the independent record label
, Red Rhino Records
, and recorded their first single
for Red Rhino, "The Night", just after losing their original drummer Steve Crane. Crane was replaced by Howard Daniels. Daniels soon left, joining My Pierrot Dolls, and he was replaced by Martin Henderson (formerly of The Last Laugh). Skeletal Family's first album
, Burning Oil, recorded in four days at a cost of £640, was released by Red Rhino in August 1984. It topped the UK Independent Chart, staying in the top 10 until the end of the year. The band began touring with The Sisters of Mercy
during the Sisters' First and Last and Always
tour. The group released "Futile Combat" in 1985, along with the "Promised Land" single.
The group then signed with Chrysalis Records
, and Anne-Marie Hurst along with Martin Henderson left the band to develop new projects. Anne-Marie Hurst
would eventually team up with Gary Marx
in Ghost Dance
. Martin Henderson teamed up with ex-The March Violets
vocalist Simon D to create The Batfish Boys
. Former Colourfield
backing vocalist Katrina Phillips replaced Anne-Marie Hurst
and Kevin Hunter replaced Martin Henderson. The remaining members of the group soon disbanded after being dropped from the Chrysalis label. Trotwood and Hunter formed a new band, Say You.
In 2002, Skeletal Family reformed, now with Claire Bannister on vocals. After reforming they played several high profile shows, including the Wave-Gotik-Treffen three times and Drop Dead New York.
Skeletal Family's last album, Songs of Love, Hope and Despair, was released in September 2009. Two months later the group announced that they had disbanded again.
Stan Greenwood and Roger Trotwood Nowell are currently recording and performing with Anne Marie Hurst.
Ian Karlheinz Taylor formed a band 'Sub Rosa' With Ashley Cartwright guitar and vox writer of the New Model Army
Hit 51st State, Steve Wilson who stood in on bass for Skeletal Family on several occasions and was also in the Shakes with Ashley and Peter Kaberry drums of the cult metal band Dawn Watcher.
Compilations:
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...
gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band which formed in Keighley
Keighley
Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, 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 December 1982. The band formed from the remaining membership of an earlier group, called The Elements, and took their name from the title of the song "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family
Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family
"Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" is a song written by David Bowie in 1974 ending his Diamond Dogs album.The song ends with the endlessly repeating sound of "bruh-bruh-bruh...", the first syllable of the word 'Brother' from " Brother" as though the record had broken...
" from the 1974 David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
album, Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
.
History
The original line-up of the band was Anne-Marie HurstAnne-Marie Hurst
Anne-Marie Hurst was the lead vocalist for the groups The Elements, Skeletal Family, and Ghost Dance. She was the lead vocalist of Elements until 1982. In December 1982, she helped form Skeletal Family...
(vocals), Stan Greenwood (guitar), Roger "Trotwood" Nowell (bass), Ian "Karl Heinz" Taylor (keyboard/sax), and Steve Crane (drums). In 1983, after their first single, the band signed on to the independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, Red Rhino Records
Red Rhino Records
Red Rhino Records, also known as Red Rhino, was a British record label which was developed by the independent record shop and wholesaler of the same name, all formed and run by "Tony K"...
, and recorded their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for Red Rhino, "The Night", just after losing their original drummer Steve Crane. Crane was replaced by Howard Daniels. Daniels soon left, joining My Pierrot Dolls, and he was replaced by Martin Henderson (formerly of The Last Laugh). Skeletal Family's first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Burning Oil, recorded in four days at a cost of £640, was released by Red Rhino in August 1984. It topped the UK Independent Chart, staying in the top 10 until the end of the year. The band began touring with The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
during the Sisters' First and Last and Always
First and Last and Always
First and Last and Always is the debut album by the British gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy, which was released in 1985 and proved to be style-shaping in the musical category of gothic rock.- Background :...
tour. The group released "Futile Combat" in 1985, along with the "Promised Land" single.
The group then signed with Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, and Anne-Marie Hurst along with Martin Henderson left the band to develop new projects. Anne-Marie Hurst
Anne-Marie Hurst
Anne-Marie Hurst was the lead vocalist for the groups The Elements, Skeletal Family, and Ghost Dance. She was the lead vocalist of Elements until 1982. In December 1982, she helped form Skeletal Family...
would eventually team up with Gary Marx
Gary Marx
Gary Marx is a founding member of British rock band The Sisters of Mercy and its lead-guitarist and songwriter from 1979 to 1985....
in Ghost Dance
Ghost Dance (band)
Ghost Dance were a British gothic rock and post-punk band. formed in 1985 by Gary Marx and Anne-Marie Hurst as both were leaving their respective bands...
. Martin Henderson teamed up with ex-The March Violets
The March Violets
The March Violets are an English goth rock band of the 1980s, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echo laden electric guitar, much in the way of scene mates The Sisters of Mercy, who also originated from the city of Leeds...
vocalist Simon D to create The Batfish Boys
The Batfish Boys
The Batfish Boys were a gothic rock/garage rock/rockabilly band from York and Leeds, England, active between 1984 and 1990, releasing three albums....
. Former Colourfield
The Colourfield
The Colourfield were a British band formed in 1984 in Manchester, when former Specials and Fun Boy Three frontman, Terry Hall, joined up with ex-Swinging Cats members Toby Lyons and Karl Shale...
backing vocalist Katrina Phillips replaced Anne-Marie Hurst
Anne-Marie Hurst
Anne-Marie Hurst was the lead vocalist for the groups The Elements, Skeletal Family, and Ghost Dance. She was the lead vocalist of Elements until 1982. In December 1982, she helped form Skeletal Family...
and Kevin Hunter replaced Martin Henderson. The remaining members of the group soon disbanded after being dropped from the Chrysalis label. Trotwood and Hunter formed a new band, Say You.
In 2002, Skeletal Family reformed, now with Claire Bannister on vocals. After reforming they played several high profile shows, including the Wave-Gotik-Treffen three times and Drop Dead New York.
Skeletal Family's last album, Songs of Love, Hope and Despair, was released in September 2009. Two months later the group announced that they had disbanded again.
Stan Greenwood and Roger Trotwood Nowell are currently recording and performing with Anne Marie Hurst.
Ian Karlheinz Taylor formed a band 'Sub Rosa' With Ashley Cartwright guitar and vox writer of the New Model Army
New Model Army (band)
New Model Army are an English rock band, who were formed in Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1980. They have been variously classified by Allmusic as post-punk and alternative rock.-Overview:...
Hit 51st State, Steve Wilson who stood in on bass for Skeletal Family on several occasions and was also in the Shakes with Ashley and Peter Kaberry drums of the cult metal band Dawn Watcher.
Albums
- Burning OilBurning OilBurning Oil, released in 1984, is Skeletal Family's debut studio album. The band had only been together less than two years by the time this album was released by the independent label Red Rhino Records...
(1984), Red Rhino - UK Indie #1, reissued with bonus tracks 2001 - Futile Combat (1985), Red Rhino - UK Indie #7
- Ghosts (1986), Onsala International
- Sakura (2006), Omniamedia
- Songs of Love, Hope & Despair (2009), Gepek
Compilations:
- Together (1985), Red Rhino - double cassette combining Burning Oil and Futile Combat
- The Singles Plus 1983-85 (1994), Anagram
- Promised Land - The Best of Skeletal Family (2001), Anagram
Singles & EPs
- Trees 7" EP (1983), Luggage - UK Indie #50
- "The Night" / "Waiting Here" 7" Double A-side (1983), Red Rhino - UK Indie #41
- "She Cries Alone" 7" / 12" single (1984), Red Rhino - UK Indie #8
- Recollect 12" EP (1984), Red Rhino - UK Indie #7
- "So Sure" 7" / 12" single (1984), Red Rhino - UK Indie #2
- "Promised Land" 7" / 12" single (1985), Red Rhino - UK Indie #2
- "Restless" 7" / 12" single (1986), ChrysalisChrysalis RecordsChrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
- "Just A Minute" 7" / 12" single (1986), Chrysalis
DVD, Video
- Live At Sheffield 1984 (1984) - mail-order release by the band
- Promised Land - Live 1983-1984 (2007), Cherry Red