Working Week (band)
Encyclopedia
Working Week were a British
jazz
-dance
musical ensemble
, active in the 1980s and 1990s.
Working Week were formed in 1983 by guitarist
Simon Booth
and saxophonist
Larry Stabbins
, who were previously in post punk outfit Weekend. The duo
released their debut single
"Venceremos - We Will Win" the following year, a tribute to Chile
an protest singer Victor Jara
featuring vocal
contributions from Robert Wyatt
and Tracey Thorn
from Everything But the Girl
. It became the band's sole entry in the UK Singles Chart
, where it peaked at #64. Singer
Julie Tippetts provided vocals for the follow-up "Storm of Light".
A debut album
Working Nights was released in April 1985, with vocalist Juliet Roberts
added as a full time member of the band. She also sang on the 1986 album Companeros and Surrender, released in 1987, but left the band after that year's single "Knocking on Your Door". Julie Tippetts returned as vocalist (with other guest vocalists) for the 1989 album Fire in the Mountain, and Yvonne Waite was featured as solo vocalist for 1991's Black and Gold, the band's final studio album.
They appeared on 9 February 1986 at the Royal Albert Hall
, in a benefit concert for victims of the 1985 Armero tragedy in Colombia
.
The band also briefly featured future Swing Out Sister
lead singer Corinne Drewery
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-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...
musical ensemble
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...
, active in the 1980s and 1990s.
Working Week were formed in 1983 by guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Simon Booth
Simon Emmerson
For the experimental music artist, see Simon Emmerson .Simon Emmerson is a Grammy Award-nominated record producer, guitarist, DJ and founder of the group Afro Celt Sound System....
and saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Larry Stabbins
Larry Stabbins
Larry Stabbins is a British jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer.-Biography:Larry Stabbons learned clarinet at school at the age of eight, when his musical idol was Acker Bilk. He started playing saxophone at the age of eleven...
, who were previously in post punk outfit Weekend. The duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
released their debut 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...
"Venceremos - We Will Win" the following year, a tribute to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an protest singer Victor Jara
Víctor Jara
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile...
featuring vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
contributions from Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
and Tracey Thorn
Tracey Thorn
Tracey Anne Thorn is an English pop singer and songwriter. She is best known as being one half of the duo Everything but the Girl, which is currently on extended hiatus.-Personal life:...
from Everything But the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
. It became the band's sole entry in the UK Singles Chart
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 ...
, where it peaked at #64. Singer
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...
Julie Tippetts provided vocals for the follow-up "Storm of Light".
A debut 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...
Working Nights was released in April 1985, with vocalist Juliet Roberts
Juliet Roberts
Juliet Roberts is a British jazz, rock and house music singer of Grenadian descent.-Career:She originally recorded as Julie Roberts in 1982, and performed on the 1983 Top 10 hit single, "It's Over" by the Funkmasters...
added as a full time member of the band. She also sang on the 1986 album Companeros and Surrender, released in 1987, but left the band after that year's single "Knocking on Your Door". Julie Tippetts returned as vocalist (with other guest vocalists) for the 1989 album Fire in the Mountain, and Yvonne Waite was featured as solo vocalist for 1991's Black and Gold, the band's final studio album.
They appeared on 9 February 1986 at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, in a benefit concert for victims of the 1985 Armero tragedy in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
The band also briefly featured future Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister are a British "sophisti-pop" group best known worldwide for their 1986 song "Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", "Twilight World", "Waiting Game" and a remake of "Am I the Same Girl?" Though album sales in the U.S. and Europe have levelled off since the early 1990s, the...
lead singer Corinne Drewery
Corinne Drewery
Corinne Drewery is the lead singer of the pop music band, Swing Out Sister.-Early life:Drewery grew up in Nottingham and the Lincolnshire village of Authorpe and went to South Reston Primary School, then Monks' Dyke High School and King Edward VI Grammar School in nearby Louth, then Lincoln College...
.
Albums
- Working Nights (Virgin RecordsVirgin RecordsVirgin 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...
V2343) - 1985 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#23 - Companeros (Virgin Records V2397) - 1986 - UK #72
- Surrender (Virgin Records V2468) - 1987
- Paycheck (compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
) (Venture VEGD 19) -1988 - Fire in the Mountain (10 Records DIX86) - 1989
- Black and Gold (10 Records DIX95) - 1991
- Payday (Best of Working Week) (compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
) - 1999