One Minute Silence

One Minute Silence was a four-piece band based in Ireland that combined influences from metal, hardcore punk and rap^{[citation needed]}. The band consisted of vocalist Brian 'Yap' Barry from Co. Tipperary, guitarist Massimo Fiocco from Limerick City, drummer Eddie Stratton and bass guitarist Glen Diani. The band announced its split after eight years in a press release dated October 21, 2003. Although it claimed not to be a "political band" — they are simply "political people" who are also musicians, they say — the group's lyrics have a political message which can be interpreted as generally anti-capitalist and anarchist.

Biography

Background

One Minute Silence came together in the early 1990s when Irish vocalist Brian Barry got together with guitarist Chris Ignatiou under the name "Near Death Experience". After working with various rhythm sections, they settled with Gibraltarian Glen Diani on bass guitar and Englishman Eddie Stratton on drums. Barry had befriended Stratton before the formation of the band. The band was soon forced to change its name because of an American group who shared it, and so it became One Minute Silence. That name, originally intended to be the title of a song, was chosen to parody the practice of having a one minute silence as a mark of respect when someone considered "important or well respected" dies. The band felt that that respect was often "misplaced".

Musical career

The band signed a record deal with Big Cat Records in 1997, and released Available In All Colours the following year. Buy Now... Saved Later followed in 2000 after an amicable split with Ignatiou, who was ultimately replaced by Italian Massimo Fiocco, known as Massy, after original replacement Kee Payne left the band in 1999. This second album represented a noticeable step in the band's musical progression: the record's production quality and style differed from that of the first, which had used a hip-hop producer. Buy Now... sounded more like a metal album. With its well-rounded production and matured song-writing, Buy Now... sent the band on a tour of the US, with notable acts such as Slipknot and Mudvayne, the latter touring with them in the UK as supporting act.

After circulating a three-track demo and signing a deal with Taste Media, the band started recording sessions for their third album in autumn 2002. From live performances and both live and studio recordings, the new material was obviously a further progression; the group was experimenting with various time signatures, such as 7/4, and was using more melody and a greater variation in song structure.

A single, "We Bounce", was released on March 31, 2003, with a third album, titled One Lie Fits All, following on July 7, 2003. According to the band's now-defunct website "[t]his name continues the pattern of manipulating well known marketing slogans in order to present a political statement".

One Lie Fits All showed a new direction for the band. Barry's rapping gave way to much more singing on tracks like "Price Of The King's Ticket". There are still the thunderous live songs like "We Bounce" and "I Wear My Skin".

Between these releases, One Minute Silence had toured extensively, though the last tour had to be cancelled. The group's following came largely from their energetic live shows — they have been voted "Best British Live Act" in Kerrang! magazine.

Break up

More recently, Barry has been following his spoken-word career, appearing on BBC Radio 4's Bespoken Word^[2]. However, in a statement released in October 2003, the band announced its split:

Although we are still the best of friends, and cannot rule out the possibility of working together in the future, for now we are dispersing to pursue other projects and interests. We're still in love, we're just not married any more!! There are no musical differences, and no personal conflicts affecting our friendship with each other, just a desire to branch out and explore other areas of life and music.

The band would like to extend their infinite love and respect to those who have championed OMS over the years, whether from within the industry and the media or from without. Your support has been life-giving. An extra-special acknowledgement is due to the people who have come to our shows, and especially to the people in the pit, because without you there would have been no OMS, and without people to listen, music would be meaningless. You rule, we love you, and we miss you already!!

Looking to the future; Yap is going full-throttle into spoken word performances, and he is also working on a number of political and philosophical media projects.

Glen Diani and Massy Fiocco are currently considering and inviting other options. Eddie Stratton is currently filling in on drums with his friends in New Disease.

Post One Minute Silence

After One Minute Silence, Barry began to write and perform new material as a slam poet and public speaker. The new material began to grow into a music project when he met producer John Hendicott and vocalist Donna Williams in 2005. A new band, Pink Punk, was formed and in 2006 the first album, Zoo Politics, emerged as an independent release on Freeport Records [1]. The band's web site, PPunk.com[2] went live later in 2006 and by the end of the year the album was on iTunes, Napster and more than 7000 digital retailers world wide through Universal Digital and IODA (USA). Pink Punk had a live show in late 2007.

In March 2008, vocalist Barry touched on the issue of a possible reunion and fourth album in an article posted on the band's unofficial Myspace page[3].

In 2008, Edwin Stratton was suffering severely from coeliac disease. He was arrested in mid-2008 after fire investigators, looking into a fire in a wine bar below his Leyton apartment, discovered cannabis plants in his home. Stratton stated that he was growing for medical use, but was charged with producing cannabis, exposing him to a potential maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. In November 2008, he is due to appear at the Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court and challenge the charge as a contravention of Article 14 of the Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on any grounds.^[3]

Discography

• Available in All Colours, 1998 album, Big Cat Records
  • "South Central", single, Big Cat Records
  • "A Waste of Things to Come", single, Big Cat Records
  • "Stuck Between A Rock And A White Face", single, Big Cat Records
• Buy Now... Saved Later, 2000 album, V2 Records
  • "Holy Man", 2001 single, V2 Records
  • "Fish Out Of Water", 2001 single, V2 Records
  • "Rise and Shine", 2001 single, V2 Records
• One Lie Fits All, 2003 album, Taste Media
  • "Revolution", 2003, EP, Taste Media
  • "We Bounce", 2003 single, Taste Media
  • "I Wear My Skin", 2003 single, Taste Media

References

1. ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry. "Rockdetector Biography". http://musicmight.com/artist/uk/one+minute+silence. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
2. ^ Bespoken Word on bbc.co.uk.
3. ^ Brown, Carl (2008-10-09). "'Medicinal' cannabis user in High Court challenge". Waltham Forest Guardian. http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/3744517.LEYTON___Medicinal__cannabis_user_in_High_Court_challenge/. Retrieved 2008-10-16.