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Big Flame

 
Artist: bIG fLAME
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Dil Green, Greg O'Keefe, Alan Brown

Similar Artists:

Minutemen, Talulah Gosh, Fire Engines

Influenced By:

The Pop Group, Josef K, Orange Juice, Wire, Gang of Four

Followers:

Sarandon, Liars

Formal Connection With:

Wham!
  • Formed: 1983, Manchester, England
  • Disbanded: 1986
  • Genres: Rock

Biography

Children of anti-rockist post-punk bands like the Pop Group, Josef K, and Gang of Four, Manchester, England's bIG fLAME was a self-proclaimed "tense and quirky three-piece pop group," combining the restless talents of bassist/vocalist Alan Brown, guitarist Greg O'Keefe, and drummer David "Dil" Green (the one who looked like Harry Connick Jr. with a squirrel on his head). Bizarrely enough, Green and Brown cut their teeth as members of Wham!'s backing band. The image-conscious group was advised to dump them due to their apparent lack of cuteness, so George Michael proceeded to give the rhythm section the boot. The duo headed home and decided to become a proper group by adding guitarist O'Keefe to the lineup. As bIG fLAME, they carried the traditions set by the U.K.'s vibrant post-punk scene of 1978-1981. They favored three-song 7" singles over 12" releases and LPs; their encore-free gigs lasted less than half an hour; the longest song they recorded is well under three minutes; there weren't any songs with "baby" in the title; there weren't any guitar solos, just lots of atonal screeching, off-kilter rhythms, and vocals that weren't so much sung as they were yelped. During their four-year existence, they issued six singles and appeared on a handful of compilations, including the famed C86 cassette released by the NME. After they broke up, Brown joined the Great Leap Forward. In 1996, Dan Koretzky's Drag City label issued Rigour 1983-1986, which compiled the trio's entire recorded output. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Big Flame (band)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Big Flame
Origin Manchester, England
Genres Indie rock, Post punk
Years active 1983–1986
Labels Ron Johnson, Laughing Gun
Associated acts Great Leap Forward, Meatmouth
Website www.bigflame.biz
Former members
Alan Brown
Greg Keeffe
Dil Green

Big Flame (often rendered bIG fLAME) were a post punk/Indie rock three piece band, based in Manchester, England and active from 1983 to 1986. The members were Alan Brown (bass, vocals), Greg Keeffe (guitar) and Dil Green (drums). After a debut single (Sink) on their own Laughing Gun label, they joined the Ron Johnson roster for a series of mid-eighties singles as well as an appearance on the NME's C86 compilation.

On the reverse of the "Two Kan Guru" compilation, it was jokingly stated that Green and Brown played in the original line up of Wham! with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley; incredibly, this was accepted as fact by many people.

In addition to releasing 5 singles and a compilation EP, Big Flame also recorded four sessions for the John Peel Show. Big Flame were a major influence on the Manic Street Preachers. In a 1991 interview, Richie Edwards stated "The 80s, for us, was the biggest non-event ever, like C86. All we had was Big Flame. Big Flame was the most perfect band. But we couldn't play their records 'cos they were too avant garde".[1]

The group also operated beyond the confines of the band itself. They hosted a night at Manchester's Man Alive club which they christened "The Wilde Club" providing a useful venue for groups other than their own. This spirit was also reflected in Ugly Noise Undercurrents which was a band-swap concept conceived by Alan to provide emerging groups with a facility for securing gigs in towns and cities beyond their home base. The Allez Ugly newsletter was the primary driver for this.

After the band split in 1986, Brown joined Ron Johnson labelmates A Witness on drums, touring the UK and Europe and appearing on several records (the 12" EP 'One Foot in the Groove' and Strange Fruit Double Peel Sessions) and three sessions for BBC Radio One DJ John Peel. He left A Witness in 1988 to form solo project Great Leap Forward, while Keeffe joined Meatmouth (with Mark Whittam and Nicholas Blincoe) who released "Meatmouth is murder" on Factory Records, Fac196.

After a break from music, Alan Brown teamed up with Daren Garratt (of Pram) and Vince Hunt (of A Witness) in the band Marshall Smith, releasing an album 'Colours' in 2006 on the Euphonium label.

In 2007 Alan Brown joined Sarandon as bass player.

Greg Keeffe is now Head of Design at the Manchester School of Architecture, UK.

Dil Green is now an architect based in London.

Discography

  • Sink/Illness/Sometimes - 7" EP, Laughing Gun Records (own label), 1984
  • Rigour - 7" EP, Ron Johnson Records, 1985
  • Tough - 7" EP, Ron Johnson Records, 1985
  • Two Kan Guru (compilation) - 10" EP, Ron Johnson Records, 1985
  • Why Popstars Can't Dance - 7" EP, Ron Johnson Records, 1986
  • Cubist Pop Manifesto - 7" EP, Ron Johnson Records, 1986
  • Cubist Pop Manifesto - 12" EP, Constrictor Records, 1987
  • Rigour - CD compilation of all the above, Drag City Records, 1996

References

  1. ^ Gabriel, Clive (1991) "Art is just short for Arthur", Lime Lizard, October 1991, Lime Lizard Ltd., ISSN 0961-8104

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Big Flame (band)".  Read more

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