- Loop (band)
Loop was a
South London band founded in 1986 byRobert Hampson and his wife, Bex, and active until 1991.Career
The band was formed in 1986 by
Robert Hampson (vocals, guitar), with wife Bex on drums. Bex was soon replaced byJohn Wills (of The Servants) and Glen Ray, withJames Endeacott on guitar.Strong, Martin C.: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, ISBN 0-86241-913-1] [Larkin, Colin: "The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music", 1992, Guinness Publishing, ISBN 0-85112-579-4] Initially releasing records on their own Head label, their first release was 1987's "16 Dreams", with debut album "Heaven's End" following later that year. The band's psychedelic/drone rock gained comparisons withSpacemen 3 , much to the latter's annoyance. [ [http://www.spacemen3.co.uk/pages/recordreviews/playingwithfire.htm "they seemed to spend their spare time bleating that the increasingly prominent and popular Loop had nicked that psychedelic artillery nightmare sound from them.", Danny Kelly, NME/"Spacemen 3, a group out of time, have now left Loop looking as astral and cosmic as a No 73 bus.", Chris Roberts, Melody Maker] ] [ [http://www.spacemen3.co.uk/pages/articles/limelizerdinterviewplayingwithfire.htm "Yeah, they really ripped us off!! Their first record sleeves, their sound, their live shows, just about everything. Their first few gigs were supporting us. The first time they had acid was when we gave it to them. Then they started calling themselves Loop. The first album was alright but it wasn’t anything we hadn’t done already.", Sonic Boom interviewed in Lime Lizard magazine, April 1989] ] [ [http://www.3ammagazine.com/musicarchives/2002_oct/interview_sonic_boom.html Interview with Peter Kember of Spacemen 3] ]James, Ray and Bex left, to be replaced by Endeacott, Wills and Neil MacKay, the band also being signed up by
Chapter 22 Records , returning with a more polished sound with the "Collision" single in 1988. Second album "Fade Out" followed in 1989, reaching #51 on the UK album chart. Endeacott left the band in 1988, Scott Dowson joined the following year.They then hopped labels again to
Beggars Banquet subsidiarySituation 2 , releasing the "Arc-Lite" single in 1989 and the third and final studio album "A Gilded Eternity" in 1990.The band split in 1991, with Hampson briefly joining
Godflesh before forming Main with Dowson. Hampson's Main project continues although he now releases under his own name. Chasm is said to be his most recent (1999) project. Wills and Mackay went on to formThe Hair and Skin Trading Company .A collection of the band's
John Peel sessions entitled "Wolf Flow" was released in 1992. Following the split Loop's official studio albums were re-released on their Reactor label.The band's sound was influenced by
Krautrock andNo Wave influences and relied heavily on three chordriff s. Some of the records featuredcover version s of Suicide,The Pop Group and Can tracks. During the latter stages of their career the band played at theReading Festival in 1989.Hampson's Myspace pages refer to friendly pressure to again re-release the Loop albums and these are scheduled for November 2008 on the Reactor label [ [http://www.heavensend.org/news/index.html Loop tribute site, accessed September 2008] ] .
Members
Initial line-up (87):
* Robert Hampson (vocals ,guitar s)
* Bex (drums)
* Glen Ray (bass)Interim line-up (87/88):
* Robert Hampson (vocals ,guitar s)
* James Endaecott (guitar s)
* John Wills (drums)
* Neil Mackay (bass)Final line-up (89/90):
* Robert Hampson (vocals ,guitar s)
* Scott Dowson (guitar s)
* John Wills (drums)
* Neil Mackay (bass)Discography
Albums
ingles
References
External links
* [http://www.glassdarkly.com/LOOP-PAGE.html Loop: Complete Discography]
* [http://www.roberthampson.com Robert Hampson]
*MySpace-music|loopuk|Loop
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