#Chameleons vox youtube plus#
#Chameleons vox youtube series#

I’ve managed to dig up a selection of clips from two L.A. But Burgess continues to maintain The ChameleonsVox – which brings me to the heart of this post. Lever has since passed away, in March of ’17.

#Chameleons vox youtube plus#

On the plus side, the reunion did bring these Mancunians back to the stage, and more importantly, inspire bassist/frontman Mark Burgess and drummer John Lever to keep going under the revised moniker The ChameleonsVox. And consequently, the original line-up disbanded again in ’03, which of course, was wholly unfortunate. Neither of those efforts had quite the same visceral impact as their initial six-year run. In that respect, the Chameleons shared a similar trajectory, returning in ’00 for a three year run that produced a fourth original album “Why Call It Anything?” (’01), and a pair of acoustic LPs of reimagined earlier material. Time, though, has an interesting way of re-interpreting the past, as we’ve seen many long-forgotten acts from the ’80s and ’90s return to the fold, reuniting, or in some cases, just continuing on, having never stopped. The Chameleons were no different.īut like I said, they were mostly under-the-radar and underrated, unlike these kindred spirits I’ve named. All of these artists had a distinct and defining sound, one you’d recognize near-immediately if you heard it. I just saw them as a unique alternative rock act, with goth tendencies, sort of like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, or Joy Division. During their six year tenure – they broke up in ’87 – these Brits produced three uniquely atmospheric guitar-oriented albums, most notably their ’81 debut “Script of the Bridge” and the smartly inventive ’86 effort “Strange Times.”īack then, I never labelled The Chameleons as post-punk. (due to a domestic naming conflict), were never really a breakthrough band, always remaining on the flipside of the underground, despite some major label support.

The Chameleons, sometimes known stateside as The Chameleons U.K. So I’m going to drift a bit old school here, setting the way-back machine to 1981, Manchester, England, where a little known four-piece helped pave the foundations for what we liberally refer to as post-punk today. He and his band the Sons of God toured America the following year.A few days ago, I ventured into this semi-post-punk riff, starting with Portland outfit Soft Kill, then moving on to SoCal’s Cold Showers, both of whom embrace that old-school rebellious energy, while layering nu wave synth melodies with melodic pop listenability.īack in that initial post, I made reference to another longtime genre act, The Chameleons, who precede both these artists by a few decades or more.

In 1993, Burgess surfaced with his proper solo album Zima Junction. The dark, complex record proved to be the Chameleons’ finale, however, when they split following the sudden death of manager Tony Fletcher while Burgess and Lever continued on in the Sun & the Moon, Smithies and Fielding later reunited in the Reegs. What Does Anything Mean? Basically followed in 1985, and with it came a new reliance on stylish production following its release, the Chameleons signed to Geffen and emerged the following year with Strange Times. The quartet was soon released from its contract with Epic, but then signed to Statik and returned in 1983 with the band’s first full-length effort, Script of the Bridge.

#Chameleons vox youtube series#

After establishing themselves with a series of high-profile BBC sessions, the Chameleons signed to Epic and debuted with the EP Nostalgia, a tense, moody set produced by Steve Lillywhite which featured the single ‘In Shreds.’….

Contact ~ are the latest incarnation of the atmospheric post-punk pop band the Chameleons formed in Manchester, England, in 1981 from the ashes of a number of local groups: vocalist/bassist Mark Burgess began with the Cliches, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding arrived from the Years, and drummer John Lever (who quickly replaced founding member Brian Schofield) originated with the Politicians.

Chet Baker / Piero Umiliani ~ Italian movies.

Jazz on Film… Sidney Bechet – French Movies CD.