That Petrol Emotion
Encyclopedia
That Petrol Emotion are a Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

-based band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 with an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, Steve Mack.

Career

The band originally formed in 1984 from the ashes of the Derry Hitmakers, Bam Bam and the Calling and The Undertones
The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...

. It was formed by guitarist John O'Neill
John O'Neill (guitarist)
John Joseph O'Neill is the rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter within the punk/new wave band The Undertones...

 and second guitarist Raymond Gorman who DJ'd
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 together at the Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

 'Left Bank' club. Drummer and friend Ciaran McLaughlin joined next after having relocated from Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

 to London, followed by John's brother and Undertones
The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...

 lead guitarist Damian O'Neill
Damian O'Neill
Damian O'Neill is the lead guitarist in the pop-punk band, The Undertones. He joined the band following the departure of his older brother, Vincent, in 1976, and remained with the band until their break up in 1983...

 who played bass from 1985 until 1988 upon John's departure. He then took up guitar duties from 1988–1994 and 2008–present. Charismatic American singer Steve Mack, who was on a year out working in a pizzeria in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 at the time, finished off the line up. Two more bassists played in the band after John O'Neill left: John Marchini (1988–1991) then Brendan Kelly (1991–1994 and 2008–present). That Petrol Emotion's influences encompassed artists as diverse as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

, Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...

, Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...

, Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...

, Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...

 and Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...

.

The group released their debut single "Keen" in 1985 which immediately severed all musical links with the Undertones with its darker more edgy sound. Indeed That Petrol Emotion themselves were also far more political and outspoken than the Undertones. This statement of intent in the guise of Keen was followed by their debut album "Manic Pop Thrill", released in 1986 on Demon Records and charting at number 1 in the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

. It was received with rave reviews from the critics, especially by Undertones champion John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

. They were described by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine as "The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

 crossed with Creedence
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....

", and the New York Times described them in 1987 as "a youthful Rolling Stones" mixed with a "revved-up Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

".

Their second album (and major label debut) Babble released in 1987 on Polydor broke into the UK Top 40 album chart and won universal acclaim; just some of the accolades being that it was voted as one of the albums of the year by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 critics and receiving an A- 'grade' from the legendary Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

. In the UK, the single "Big Decision" was released in 1987 which narrowly missed a place in the coveted Top 40, charting at number 42. The back sleeve contained text decrying the use of plastic bullets by the British Army in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. The band never gained a higher chart position than on this first hit. Their next single, "Genius Move" (also 1987) was banned from being aired by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. Despite this, That Petrol Emotion had already won the praise of figures such as Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)
Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...

 and Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...

.

The management of Polydor changed in this period resulting in a request to the band for immediate hit singles. That Petrol Emotion exploited a loophole in their contract and left Polydor only to be snapped up within a few weeks by Virgin records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

.

On the eve of the recording sessions for their third album End of the Millenium Psychosis Blues (Virgin records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

, 1988), John O'Neill announced his imminent departure from the band. The resulting sessions were thus fraught with tension and foreboding and the album itself upon release was greeted with confusion by critics and fans alike. It was meant to emulate the eclectic mixtapes the band listened to and loved on their tourbus but this dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

 and sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 experimentation ("Groove Check", "Here it is...Take it!", "Tension") mixed with heavy alt rock ("Under the Sky"), Celtic ballads ("Cellophane") and indie ("Sooner or Later", "Every Little Bit") proved too disjointed and diverse to break into the mainstream at the time. However, this album has been reappraised with many critics and fans admitting that while this diversity in style did alienate people on the contemporary scene, That Petrol Emotion were very much before their time and trailblazers for the Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

 and Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...

 indie-dance scene due to their early experiments mixing up indie with funk and dance. Indeed they were posthumously described as having perfected "the art of the scuzzed up alternative pop song" during the '80s.

After John O'Neill left the band, a re-shuffle took place in That Petrol Emotion. Drummer Ciaran McLaughlin and guitarist Raymond Gorman picked up major songwriting duties; blossoming as writers in the process whilst new bassist John Marchini joined to allow Damian O'Neill to take up the guitar alongside Gorman. This new dynamic of musicians and songsmiths led to the 1990 album Chemicrazy
Chemicrazy
- Personnel :* Clif Birgden – Help* Steve Deutsch – Fretless Bass, Help* Andy Ferguson – Management* Joan Jones – Trumpet* Scott Litt – Producer, Engineer* Steve Mack – Booklet Design, Execution, Group Member* John Marchini – Group Member...

, again for Virgin records. "Chemicrazy" had a more alt rock style than before; hinted at on the final track of the previous album "Under the Sky". However whilst being more intense than before, "Chemicrazy" also maintained a pure pop heart, exemplified by singles "Sensitize", "Tingle" and "Hey Venus". Frustratingly for the band however the massive predicted sales for "Chemicrazy" never came.

Dropped from Virgin, That Petrol Emotion's fifth and final album Fireproof (1993), released on their own label, Koogat, saw Marchini leave and Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

-born Brendan Kelly take up the bass in his place. Kelly's playing pushed That Petrol Emotion towards their heaviest, most riff-laden album to date which, just like their first album, reached number 1 in the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

.

Despite the great press and the loyal fan base they garnered over the ten years and five albums of their career, That Petrol Emotion never attained the level of commercial success or fame enjoyed by their contemporaries (e.g. My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

). As a result the band amicably split in 1994.

Still, their body of work remains to be critically acclaimed within the music press and it is widely agreed that whilst being very underrated, That Petrol Emotion greatly influenced the Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

 and Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...

 movements, and also artists such as The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...

, Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

, Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...

, Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...

, Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...

, Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

 and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

.

John O'Neill went on to form the band Rare
Rare (band)
Rare were a Northern Irish band in the 1990s from Derry. The line-up consisted of singer Mary Gallagher, Locky Morris, Seán Ó'Néill and David Whiteside. Morris and Ó'Néill were the main songwriters...

, while The Undertones reformed in the 2000s for an album, without Feargal Sharkey
Feargal Sharkey
Feargal Sharkey is a singer from Northern Ireland who first found fame as the lead vocalist of pop punk band The Undertones...

, on Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...

. Gorman also has a band called Wavewalkers.

A document of That Petrol Emotion's farewell concerts in London and Dublin was released in 2000 as Final Flame: Fire, Detonation and Sublime Chaos.

On 26 March 2008, Mack announced that the band were reforming to play reunion concerts in the summer. In August 2008 they appeared in London's The Boston Arms and Dundalk's Spirit Store, then went on to play at the Electric Picnic
Electric Picnic
The 2005 festival took place on Saturday 3 September and Sunday 4 September. It is best remembered for Arcade Fire's performance which came before their subsequent mainstream success...

 festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

 in Stradbally, Ireland.

In March 2009 That Petrol Emotion played at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 festival in Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. In the same month their official site confirmed that That Petrol Emotion would be playing the Hop Farm festival in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, 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 July 2009. Shortly afterwards a UK tour also in July 2009 was announced along with stints at Oxegen Festival in Ireland and T In The Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...

 in Scotland. That Petrol Emotion continued their reformation with a spot at the My Bloody Valentine curated Nightmare Before Christmas All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by The Velvet UndergroundAll Tomorrow's Parties may also refer to:* All Tomorrow's Parties , an annual festival in England...

 festival in December 2009 followed by dates in the UK and the US.

Singles

  • "Keen" (Pink Records - 1985)
  • "V2" (Noise a Noise Records - 1985)
  • "It's A Good Thing" (Demon Records - April 1986)
  • "Natural Kind Of Joy" (Demon Records - August 1986)
  • "Big Decision" (Polydor Records
    Polydor Records
    Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

     - April 1987) UK
    UK Singles Chart
    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

     #43
  • "Swamp" (Polydor Records - July 1987) UK #64
  • "Genius Move" (Virgin Records
    Virgin Records
    Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

     - October 1987) UK #65
  • "Cellophane" (Virgin Records - September 1988)
  • "Groove Check" (Virgin Records - 1988)
  • "Abandon" (Virgin Records - March 1990) UK #73
  • "Hey Venus" (Virgin Records - September 1990) UK #49
  • "Tingle" (Virgin Records - February 1991) UK #49
  • "Sensitize" (Virgin Records - April 1991) UK #55
  • "Detonate My Dreams" (Koogat Records - 1993)
  • "Catch A Fire" (Koogat Records - 1993)


Albums

  • Manic Pop Thrill (Demon Records - May 1986) UK #84
  • Babble
    Babble (album)
    Babble is the second album by Irish alternative rockers That Petrol Emotion, released in 1987. The album was re-released in 2001 with additional tracks...

    (Polydor Records - May 1987) UK #30
  • End Of the Millennium Psychosis Blues (Virgin Records - September 1988) UK #53
  • Chemicrazy
    Chemicrazy
    - Personnel :* Clif Birgden – Help* Steve Deutsch – Fretless Bass, Help* Andy Ferguson – Management* Joan Jones – Trumpet* Scott Litt – Producer, Engineer* Steve Mack – Booklet Design, Execution, Group Member* John Marchini – Group Member...

    (Virgin Records - April 1990) UK #62
  • Fireproof (Koogat Records - 1993)
  • Final Flame - Live at the Grand and the Tivoli Ballroom 1994 (Sanctuary Records
    Sanctuary Records
    Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...

    - 2000)
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