Greater Than One
Greater Than One |
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Greater Than One was an English Electronic music band founded by husband and wife Lee Newman and Michael Wells in 1985. They released many albums under this name, and also under the names Tricky Disco, GTO, John + Julie, Church of Extacy, Signs of Chaos, T.D.5, Salami Brothers, Killout Squad, Technohead and L.E.D.. Only a few of their singles were commercially successful. Since Newman’s death on August 4, 1995 from cancer, Wells continues to release music under some of these names, and also as The Man and S.O.L.O.
1985: Greater Than One
In 1985, Newman and Wells met at the Royal College of Art in London, formed Greater Than One, and released their first album Kill the pedagogue on cassette. During the late 1980s they organised art installations and exhibitions accompanied by their own music: "When the whole audience were in, we started a soundtrack ... war sirens and searchlights. This was designed to disorientate the audience, throwing them into an unexpected nightmare. After the shock, Islamic chanting began which then changed to Song For England, during which we came onstage wearing illuminous skull masks...".[1] They formed their own label Kunst=Kapital and released four further albums under this alias between 1987 and 1990.
1990: First hits
Their first hit single was the trance record Pure as GTO on Chrisalis Records, a club hit around Europe, closely followed by Tricky Disco as Tricky Disco on Warp records, which peaked at number 14 in the UK charts in July 1990.[2]
They used many aliases because, releasing so much material, they feared the press wouldn’t write about it all, if they knew it all came from the same band. As Newman said, “if you give them a Tricky Disco one week and then a John and Julie two weeks later and GTO a month later they’ll write about all of it”.[3] Their aliases also allowed them to release different types of material on different record labels. The single Double Happiness as John and Julie appeared on XL Recordings; the 1993 Tip of the Iceberg album as GTO appeared on REACT, and the 1995 album Headsex as Technohead appeared on Mokum Records.
1995: Technohead
Headsex contained their biggest hit, I Wanna Be a Hippy. It was accompanied by a video featuring three Gabbers, wearing "Party Animal" t-shirts and carrying inflatable hammers, chasing a hippy on a bicycle around a park. It reached number 1 in 12 different countries including Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland,[4] and number 6 in the UK in February 1996. Two Technohead follow-up singles, less intense than the material on Headsex, followed in 1996; Happy Birthday reached number 18 in April and the next single Banana-na-na reached number 64 in October.[5]
Wells has recorded many singles and three more albums since, including two new Tricky Disco singles in February 2007.
Discography (albums)
Greater Than One
- Lay Your Penis Down (CS) (1985)
- Kill the Pedagogue (CS) (1985)
- All the Masters Licked Me (LP) (1987)
- Trust (LP) (recorded 1987 as the first attempt of All the Masters Licked Me)
- Dance of the Cowards (1988)
- London (1989)
- G-Force (1989)
- Index EP (1991)
- Duty + Trust (CS) (1991 - recorded 1987/1988)
GTO
- Tip of the Iceberg (1993)
Church of Extacy
- Technohead (1993)
Technohead
- Headsex (1995)
- Wanna be a Hippy (1996)
- Banana-na-na - DumB DiddY DumB (1996)
Signs Ov Chaos
- Frankenscience (Urban Cyberpunk) (1996)
The Man
- Phunk Box (1997)
Signs of Chaos
- Departure (1998)
S.O.L.O.
- Out Is In (1999)
External links
References
- ^ Godsend Magazine volume 13, accessed 15 June 2007.
- ^ EveryHit.com UK Top 40 Hit Database, accessed 15 June 2007.
- ^ Interview with New Hampshire radio station WUNH circa 1990, accessed 15 June 2006.
- ^ Dataflow music website, accessed 15 June 2007.
- ^ The Zobbel website Chart Log UK 1994 – 2006, accessed 15 June 2007.