Brendan Perry

Brendan Perry
Background information
Birth name	Brendan Perry
Born	June 30 1959 (1959--) (age 48)
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar, Bass guitar, Keyboards, Hurdy Gurdy
Associated acts	Dead Can Dance

Brendan Perry (born June 30, 1959 in Whitechapel, London) is a singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the male half of the duo, Dead Can Dance, with Lisa Gerrard.

Career

The Scavengers and The Marching Girls

Though now primarily known for his quiet introspective work with Dead Can Dance, Perry's first musical forays were in a markedly different style. In 1977, Perry was a leading member of New Zealand punk rock band The Scavengers, working under the pseudonym of Ronnie Recent. Perry started as the band's bass player, becoming lead vocalist after a lineup change in 1978. In 1979 the band moved to Melbourne and changed their name to The Marching Girls. Perry left this band in 1981. Perry's work with these two bands can be found on the compilation album, AK79, and on a compilation of Scavengers singles which has recently been released on CD. The Scavengers are regarded as New Zealand's equivalent of The Buzzcocks, with the Perry co-penned song "Mysterex" being seen as one of the country's best and most distinctive punk rock singles. The Marching Girls also reached the New Zealand singles charts in 1980 with "True Love".

Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance originally formed as a quartet in 1981 in Melbourne, with Brendan Perry, drummer Simon Monroe (ex-Marching Girls as well as Perry), bass player Paul Erikson and Lisa Gerrard, last to join the band. In 1982, Dead Can Dance moved to London leaving Simon Monroe in Australia. Peter Ulrich would play drums on the band's first demos, concerts and recordings. Paul Erikson quickly left the band to fly back to Australia, leaving the band as a duo. The band recorded eight albums on the 4AD Records recording label beginning with the self-titled, Dead Can Dance album, released in February 1984.

Solo career

In 1999, Perry released his solo album, Eye of the Hunter, on 4AD Records. The album contains songs written by Perry, as well as a cover of Tim Buckley's song "I Must Have Been Blind". Perry would eventually cover two more Tim Buckley songs: "Happy Time" and "Dream Letter".

A second album, to be called Zun Zun, has been continually postponed; nothing has been heard about it since 2003. According to the German Wikipedia article, Brendan seems to be working on a new album (he still is contractually obligated to provide one to the record label 4AD). His collaborators on this new project are said to be Lance Hogan and drummer David Kuckhermann.

Around 2001, Brendan Perry did the music for a 10-mm film (Mushin) made by Graham Wood, who designed the artwork for the box set 1981-1998 and the album Wake.

From 2000 to 2005, Brendan, with his brother Robert, ran workshops on Afro-Cuban and West African traditional hand percussion at Quivvy Church. Brendan also held free classes for local residents. He also organized a samba festival and seemed to be involved in a samba school.

Currently Brendan Perry is working on his new solo album, expected towards the end of 2007.

Discography

Albums

• The Scavengers: The scavengers (1978, first LP from the punk band of Brendan Perry)
• AK79 (compilation 1980, Scavengers & Marching girls)

• Eye of the Hunter (1999)

Contributions

• Opera Multi Steel: Stella obscura (CD, "Du chant des elfes")
• The 13 Year Itch (4AD compilation,"Happy time" 1993)
• Elijah's Mantle: Angels of perversity (1993, "Paradis IAC" & "Quem di dilicunt -part two")
• Hector Zazou: Songs from the cold seas (1994, "Annuka suaren neito" & "Adventures in the Scandinavian skin trade" )
• Rare on Air (KCRW compilation, 1994)
• CoEx: Synaesthesia (1995, "Chant of Amergin" )
• Hector Zazou & Harold Budd: Glyph (1995, "Around the corner from everywhere")
• Hector Zazou: Lights in the dark ("Gol na dtrí Muire" & "In ainm an athar le bua" & "Caoine Mhuire" )
• Barbara Gogan & Hector Zazou: Made on Earth (1997, "True love")
• "Sunset Heights" 1997 (movie soundtrack by Brendan Perry)
• "Greenwood voice of the celtic myth" (compilation, "Balor's song" ; 1997)
• Peter Ulrich: Pathways and dawns (programming & sequencing, guitars, hurdy gurdy & tin whistles: Brendan Perry)
• Sing a Song for You (Tim Buckley tribute album,"Dream letter" 2000)
• Zoar: Clouds without water (2003, "Winter wind" & "Wakeworld")

References

• Official Brendan Perry Website
• Dead Can Dance | Il Sito Italiano
• Muzic net's Scavengers page
• Dead Can Dance Library
• http://www.gothic.hu/pantheon_dcddiszkografia.html
• Interview ca. 2001 with Brendan Perry

Donate to Wikimedia