- Tin Machine
Infobox musical artist
Name = Tin Machine
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Genre =Hard rock
Years_active = 1988–1992
Label =EMI , Victory Music
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Current_members =David Bowie Reeves Gabrels Tony Sales Hunt Sales
Past_members =Tin Machine was a
hard rock band formed in 1988, famous for being fronted by singerDavid Bowie .The group recorded two studio albums before dissolving in 1992, when Bowie returned to his solo career. The group was generally reviled, often receiving scathing critical reviews. However, some critics and fans now consider Tin Machine's debut one of the strongest albums in Bowie's back catalog.
History
Bowie’s "
Never Let Me Down " album and subsequentGlass Spider Tour had been savaged by critics, and the singer was aware of his low stock. Eager to return to making music for himself rather than the mainstream audience he had acquired following the "Let's Dance" album, Bowie began collaborating withReeves Gabrels (who pushed the singer to rediscover his experimental side) and multi-instrumentalistErdal Kizilcay on new material in 1988. The first fruits of this came with a new version of Bowie’s 1979 song "Look Back in Anger", performed at the Intruders At The Palacebenefit concert on1 July 1988 . They then began to plan a concept album based onSteven Berkoff 's play "East" as a Bowie solo album, but this idea was scrapped. Bowie and Gabrels began working with producerTim Palmer on new material. Bowie then recruited brothers Hunt and Tony Sales (the sons of comedianSoupy Sales ) as a rhythm section. Bowie had worked with them onIggy Pop ’s "Lust for Life" album and ran into them at a party inLos Angeles around this time.The Sales brothers moved the tone of the sessions in Nassau away from art-rock and more towards hard rock, and Bowie looked to one of his favorite bands at the time, The Pixies, for inspiration. The Sales brothers heckled Bowie into greater spontaneity, with most songs recorded in one take, and lyrics left unpolished, thus giving the band a ragged, punk rock edge similar to the Pixies.
The group chose the name Tin Machine after one of the songs they had written (Gabrels would later credit the Sales brothers with this choice). The group set up allowed Bowie a certain level of anonymity, much needed after his 1980s overexposure, and he was happy to let the rest of the band (notably Hunt Sales) take the lead in interviews.
The band’s self-titled first album produced mixed but generally positive reviews on release in May 1989, picking up favourable comparisons with Bowie’s three more recent solo albums. However, many critics were scornful of Bowie’s latest attempt to reinvent himself as a bearded band-member. Commercially, the album initially sold well, reaching #3 in the UK charts, but sales quickly tailed off. The band undertook a low-key tour in small venues between
14 June and3 July 1989 , before further recording sessions inSydney ,Australia . During these sessions Tin Machine contributed to a surfing compilation album called Beyond the Beach, with a new instrumental song titled Needles on the Beach.The group then went on hiatus while Bowie conducted his solo
Sound+Vision Tour . In December 1990, Bowie split fromEMI . Both parties stated that the split was amicable, although it is believed EMI refused to release another Tin Machine album in an exasperated attempt to secure another album similar to "Let's Dance". In March 1991, the group signed to Victory Music, a new label launched byJVC and distributed worldwide byLondon Records andPolygram , and recorded more new material. This was combined with tracks from theSydney sessions to form "Tin Machine II " album. This time the commercial success was even more fleeting, and Bowie was already tired of being shackled to a group set-up. From5 October 1991 to17 February 1992 the group undertook a larger tour, known as theIt's My Life Tour . The band was joined on this tour by guitaristEric Schermerhorn , who would go on to play with Bowie's friendIggy Pop .Tracks from this tour were released on the July 1992 album "". Shortly afterwards, Bowie returned to solo recording with his single “
Real Cool World ” and the band dissolved.Bowie promised "Tin Machine III" or at the very least a boxed-set of unreleased material in the mid-1990s, but his solo career had taken precedence, making him reluctant to dedicate energy to an old project. He continued to work with Gabrels, spanning four albums after Tin Machine: "
Black Tie White Noise " (Gabrels contributed to only one track), "Outside", "Earthling", and "'hours...'" After the last album, Gabrels felt that Bowie was moving in a softer, gentler direction that he did not want to travel in, so the two parted ways professionally. In some interviews he has also indicated his disappointment in the retrospective projects Bowie was planning at the time (the "Toy" album as well as the Ziggy 2002 project) played a part in his parting with Bowie.Personnel
*
David Bowie – Vocals, guitar
*Reeves Gabrels – Guitar, vocals
*Tony Sales –Bass guitar , vocals
*Hunt Sales – Drums,percussion , vocalsNB: Instruments listed are the band's primary ones. For a full list of who played what, see the individual album entries.
Discography
tudio albums
*"Tin Machine" – May 23, 1989 (UK #3, US#28)
*"Tin Machine II " – September 2, 1991 (UK#23, US #126)Live albums
*"" – July 27, 1992 (Did not chart)
ingles
Notes
References
* Pegg, Nicholas, "The Complete David Bowie", Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, ISBN 1-903111-73-0
External links
*allmusic|id=11:hifyxqr5ldse
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