Medium Medium

Medium Medium
Medium Medium in 2004
Background information
Origin	Nottingham, England
Genres	Dance-punk Post-punk Funk
Years active	1978 (1978)–1983, 2004–
Labels	Cherry Red Records
Associated acts	C Cat Trance
Website	http://www.mediummedium.com
Members
John Rees Lewis Alan Turton Andy Ryder Steve Harvey
Past members
Nigel Stone Graham Spink Leslie Joachim Barrett Julie Wood

Medium Medium were a post-punk band from Nottingham, England, initially active between 1978 and 1983.

History

Emerging in 1978 out of Nottingham punk/rhythm & blues band The Press,^[1] Medium Medium's debut single was "Them or Me", which was released in late 1978 and was still selling well enough in 1980 to place in the UK Independent Chart.^[2][3] The second single, "Hungry, So Angry," was released in February 1981 on Cherry Red Records. One of the first records to introduce slap-bass - a technique borrowed from black funk music - to a generally white audience, "Hungry, So Angry" reached the #48 spot in Billboard's Disco chart and has appeared on over a dozen compilations over the years.

The band released one studio album, late-1981's The Glitterhouse, and its stark, stripped-down dub and dance rhythms and chiming, funk guitar with occasional saxophone and other sounds failed to ignite a large following.

Lead singer/sax player John Rees Lewis left at the start of 1982 to form C Cat Trance with original drummer Nigel Stone, who had left shortly before the release of "Hungry, So Angry". The remaining members, Andy Ryder (guitar/vocals), Alan Turton (bass), Graham Spink (offstage special sounds) and replacement drummer Steve Harvey, continued to tour and were later augmented by, first, Leslie Joachim Barrett (guitar/keyboards), then Julie Wood (keyboards). Forays into a fuller, more produced sound failed to garner the band a new record deal and Medium Medium split up in late 1983.

Inspired by a Cherry Red retrospective CD release in 2001 and the subsequent dance-punk revival, Medium Medium reformed in late 2004 for several live shows, including a showcase at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York. No longer a full-time venture, the band has stated plans to continue to write, record and perform.

In 2010 Medium Medium released a Split-LP with Kommissar Hjuler on the German label Der Schoene-Hjuler-Memorial-Fond containings tracks from their concert at Part Time Punks Festival USA, followed by a second Split-LP in 2011.

Discography

Albums

• The Glitterhouse (1981), Cherry Red
• Live in Holland (1988), Trance
• Hungry, So Angry (2001), Cherry Red - compilation
• Fluxus and Funk (2010), Split-LP with Kommissar Hjuler on (SHMF)
• Fluxus and Funk 2 (2011), Split-LP with Kommissar Hjuler on (SHMF) with cover art by Clayton Patterson

Singles

• "Them or Me" (1978), Apt - UK Indie #42
• "Hungry, So Angry" (1981), Cherry Red - 7-inch single
• "Hungry, So Angry" (1981), Cherry Red - 12-inch single, released six months later
• "If You Touched Her She'd Smear" (1982), Intercord
• "Splendid Isolation" (1982), Intercord

References

1. ^ Unterberger, Richie "Medium Medium Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 2010-10-02
2. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 257
3. ^ Lazell, Barry (1998) Indie Hits 1980-1989, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 0-9517206-9-4, p. 145

External links

• www.mediummedium.com Official site
• Cherry Red Records Hungry, So Angry
• [1] Split-LP with Kommissar Hjuler
• Medium Medium on Myspace

Video

• PUNKCAST#593 live @ Knitting Factory NYC on 16 October 2004. (Realplayer)