The God Machine (band)

The God Machine was a rock band active in the first half of the 1990s. Its members were all from San Diego, California, U.S., but they all lived and performed mainly in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, they were one of the few foreign acts to play at the short-lived Repre club in the Obecni dum in Prague

The band consisted of three members, Robin Proper-Sheppard (born Gary Sheppard) (guitar/vocals), Jimmy Fernandez (bass) and Ronald Austin (drums), and they first performed officially under the name The God Machine in 1991. They released an EP, Purity with the record label Eve, and were later given contracts with the label Fiction. They released two albums in their career, both with their trademark dark and industrial-sounding alternative rock, before Jimmy Fernandez suddenly died from a cancerous brain tumour. Robin went on to form The Flower Shop Recordings label, and bands Sophia and The May Queens.

Their second album, One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying, was recognized by Alternative Press as one of the "90 greatest albums of the 90s" (#88) in their December 1998 issue.

Their San Diego incarnation was called Society Line and also featured guitarist Albert Amman, who left the band before its move to London.

Discography

tudio albums

*"Scenes from the Second Storey" (Fiction Records, 1993) Released as CD and double LP. A double CD version including the "Home" EP was released as in the US.
*"One Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying" (Fiction Records, 1994)"'

EPs

*"Purity" (Eve Recordings, 1991)
**12", featuring "Home", "The Blind Man" and "Purity ". These were the original versions and were subsequently re-recorded for the "Scenes From The Second Storey" album
*"The Desert Song" (Fiction Records, 1992)
**CD and 12", featuring "The Desert Song", "Prostitute", "Commitment" and "Pictures Of A Bleeding Boy". The title track was the original version and was subsequently re-recorded for the "Scenes From The Second Storey" album. The three B-Sides are not available on any album
*"Ego" (Fiction Records, 1992)
**CD and 12", featuring "Ego", "Temptation (The Experimental Zen Mix)" and "The Piano Song". The two B-Sides are extended versions of the tracks available in shorter form on the "Scenes From The Second Storey" album
*"Home" (Fiction Records, 1993)
**7" silver vinyl, featuring "Home (edit)" and "What Time Is Love?" (a cover version of The KLF). The B-Side is not available on any album
**CD, featuring "Home", "Double Dare" (BBC Session, a cover version of Bauhaus (band)), "All My Colours" (a cover version of Echo & the Bunnymen) and Fever (a cover version of Peggy Lee). The three B-Sides are not available on any album
**12", featuring "Home", "All My Colours" (a cover version of Echo & the Bunnymen), "Train" (a cover version of The Morlochs) and Fever (a cover version of Peggy Lee). The three B-Sides are not available on any album
**Promo-CD, featuring "Home (edit)", "Home", and "What Time Is Love?" (a cover version of The KLF). The last B-Side is not available on any album
**Promo-CD, featuring "Home (live)", "Pictures Of A Bleeding Boy", "Commitment (BBC session)" and Fever (a cover version of Peggy Lee). None of these tracks are available on any album

External links

* [http://site.voila.fr/thegodmachine/tgm.html The God Machine - Sunday Velvet] (unofficial site featuring biography, discography, FAQ, lyrics, pictures, press, reviews, tour, etc.)
* [http://www.geocities.com/cdmunter/godmac2.html The God Machine] (unofficial site featuring band history, discography, gig chronology, press archive, lyrics, etc.)
*MySpace|thegodmachine|The God Machine
* [http://www.sophiamusic.net/ The official unofficial Sophia site 'Sophiamusic.net']
*MySpace|thesophiacollective|Sophia