The Sound

For other uses, see The Sound (disambiguation).

The Sound
Origin	London, England
Genres	Post-punk, alternative rock
Years active	1978–1987
Labels	Korova, Statik, PIAS
Associated acts	The Outsiders, Second Layer
Past members	Adrian Borland Graham Bailey (AKA Graham Green) Max Mayers Michael Dudley Bi Marshall

The Sound were an English post-punk band, formed in 1979 and dissolved in 1988. They were fronted by Adrian Borland and evolved from his previous band, The Outsiders. While never commercially successful, The Sound have long been championed by critics.

History

Beginnings

Founded from the remnants of The Outsiders, the original lineup of The Sound consisted of Borland (vocals, guitar), Graham Bailey (bass guitar), Mike Dudley (drums) and Benita "Bi" Marshall (keyboards, saxophone, clarinet). In 1979 the band signed a contract to produce three albums with Korova Records, a small label under Warner Brothers. They debuted with Jeopardy, which received favourable reviews.

The second album, From the Lions Mouth, saw the replacement of keyboard player Marshall with Colvin "Max" Mayers, and more accolades from the critics, but neither record caused the band to break beyond cult status. Korova pressured Borland and his bandmates to come up with a more commercially successful third album. In an act of rebellion, they responded with All Fall Down, an album that took them even further away from the mainstream. Drummer Mike Dudley explained: "We thought [the label wasn't] giving us the support that we were due and that if they really wanted a commercial album, they had got to put plenty of money behind it, which with both Jeopardy and From the Lions Mouth they hadn't really done [...] So when they turned around and said, 'The solution is for you to write more commercial songs', we thought, 'Fuck you', and went ahead and produced All Fall Down."

During the early 1980s, The Sound toured throughout Europe, covering the UK and much of the continent. Like their contemporaries The Comsat Angels (whom they toured with in 1981), they enjoyed perhaps their greatest success in the Netherlands, developing a substantial following there. The Sound recorded several Peel sessions and performed the single "Sense of Purpose" on the TV show Old Grey Whistle Test. In 1983 and 1984, they made two short tours of the US.

Change of record labels

After All Fall Down, The Sound parted company with Korova and sought out another record company. In 1984 they signed with independent label Statik and released an EP, Shock of Daylight, followed a year later by the album Heads and Hearts. The touring continued, in spite of the fact that the band still struggled to gain a wider audience. By 1985, Borland had begun to exhibit symptoms of mental illness, perhaps worsened by the frustrations of his career.

Not long after the 1986 release of a live album, In the Hothouse, Statik went into bankruptcy. The band produced one more album, Thunder Up, on the small Belgian label Play It Again Sam. While touring Spain in 1987, they had to cancel several appearances after Borland suffered a complete breakdown. Dudley recalled bringing an incoherent Borland home on a plane. The band decided to split up in early 1988.

Post-breakup activity

Graham Bailey moved to New Orleans, where he lived for 16 years, returning to the UK in 2007. Max Mayers died in 1993 from an AIDS-related condition. Mike Dudley retired from the music industry, living and working in South London.

Following the collapse of The Sound, Borland maintained a solo career for approximately a decade, and helmed the bands White Rose Transmission and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils (in which he gave himself the alias Joachim Pimento). Never able to conquer depression, Borland committed suicide on April 26, 1999, throwing himself in the path of an express train at Wimbledon station.

Propaganda, an album of recordings the band had laid down in May to July 1979 when they were transitioning from The Outsiders, and before commencing Jeopardy, was released in 1999.

Legacy

Many have said that The Sound were not given the recognition they deserved. The Sun Records Music Store said: "The Sound were tragically overlooked in their time and have remained unjustly neglected since." Trouser Press questioned: "It's hard to understand why this London quartet never found commercial success. At their best, The Sound's excellent neo-pop bears favourable comparison to The Psychedelic Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen." Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover magazine stated: "The Sound? Just one of the finest bands of the 1980s."

Shortly before Adrian Borland's death, The Sound's back catalog was remastered and reissued by Renascent Records, a label which was originally founded to perform solely that task. (Thunder Up is the band's only studio album to not be reissued by Renascent.) In June 2006, members of notable British bands held a concert called "The Sound of Adrian Borland"; various guest singers who had been close friends with Borland (such as Mark Burgess of The Chameleons) filled in on vocals.

A biography of Adrian Borland, titled Book of (Happy) Memories, was published. In 2001, a tribute album titled In Passing – A Tribute to Adrian Borland and The Sound was released.

Discography

Studio albums

• Jeopardy (1980)
• From the Lions Mouth (1981)
• All Fall Down (1982)
• Heads and Hearts (1985)
• Thunder Up (1987)
• Propaganda (1999)

EPs

• Physical World E.P. (1979)
• Live Instinct (live; 1981)
• Shock of Daylight (1984)

Live albums

• In the Hothouse (1986)
• The BBC Recordings (2004)
• The Dutch Radio Recordings 1. 08.03.81 Amsterdam, Paradiso (2006)
• The Dutch Radio Recordings 2. 09.04.82 Utrecht, No Nukes Festival (2006)
• The Dutch Radio Recordings 3. 24.01.83 Arnhem, Stokvishal (2006)
• The Dutch Radio Recordings 4. 01.07.84 Den Haag, Parkpop Festival (2006)
• The Dutch Radio Recordings 5. 09.04.85 Utrecht, Vrije Vloer (2006)

Compilation albums

• Counting the Days (1986)

Split albums

• This Cover Keeps Reality Unreal (EP; 1983) (with Kevin Hewick)

Singles

• "Heyday"/"Brute Force" (1980)
• "Sense of Purpose (What Are We Going to Do"/"Point of No Return" (1981)
• "Hot House"/"New Dark Age" (live) (1982)
• "Counting the Days"/"Dreams Then Plans" (1984)
• "One Thousand Reasons"/"Blood and Poison" (1984)
• "Golden Soldiers"/"Counting the Days" (1984)
• "Temperature Drop"/"Oiled" (1985)
• "Under You"/"Total Recall" (1985)
• "Hand of Love"/"Such a Difference" (1987)
• "Iron Years (Remix)"/"I Give You Pain (Live)" (1987)

Bibliography

• Spook, Willemien (15 February 2001). Book of (Happy) Memories. Haarlem, Netherlands. 

External links

• Brittle Heaven – the official website of Adrian Borland
• The Sound discography at Discogs