Prolapse

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Prolapse were a musical group formed in Leicester, England active from c.1992 to c.2000. The group's sound was a mixture of punk rock, krautrock and shoegazing styles.

The group's line-up comprised: Mick Derrick (vocals), Linda Steelyard (vocals), David Jeffreys (guitar), Patrick Marsden (guitar), Mick Harrison (bass), Tim Pattison (drums), Donald Ross Skinner (keyboards).

Prolapse formed in the summer of 1991 under a table at Leicester Polytechnic's Friday night disco, "With the aim of being the most depressing band ever", earned a cult following for their live set, particularly for the tension within songs such as "Tina This Is Matthew Stone", which were not so much sung as acted to a musical accompaniment. In 1993 they released two EPs on Cherry Red Records, "Crate" and "Pull Thru Barker", followed in 1994 by the single "Doorstop Rhythmic Bloc" and album Pointless Walks to Dismal Places, which won critical acclaim. After leaving Cherry Red records, they then went on to release a variety of singles and EPs on a bewildering number of different labels....

In 1995, they released their second album backsaturday, which saw them experimenting with both repetitive grooves and ambient soundscapes. The album was preceded by the single "TCR", a fast-paced number which also featured on the subsequent US release of backsaturday. A remixed version of the 15-minute lead track "Flex" was also later issued as a llimited edition 12" titled "Flexed".

Their third album The Italian Flag (1997) was an eclectic 13-track tour de force which saw Prolapse pick up significant radio play for the first time, particularly for the lead single "Killing The Bland" and its even more commercial-sounding follow-up "Autocade", though neither singles became hits. The album returned to the more melodic approach of the first LP, though now with a harder guitar sound, but this time there was also a whole diverse array of styles, earning the band many favourable reviews.

The final Prolapse LP was Ghosts of Dead Aeroplanes, released in 1999, after which the group drifted apart. As of 2005, Mick Derrick is working as an archaeologist in Norway, Pat Marsden lives in nearby Denmark, drummer Tim plays in MJ Hibbett & The Validators, while Linda Steelyard is a reporter for the Leicester Mercury. David Jeffreys is a professor of art at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Discography

Albums

• Pointless Walks to Dismal Places (Cherry Red) - 1994
• backsaturday (Lissy's) - 1995
• The Italian Flag (Radar) - 1997
• Ghosts of Dead Aeroplanes - (Cooking Vinyl) - 1999

Singles/EPS

• Crate (Cherry Red)
• Pull Thru Barker (Cherry Red)
• Doorstop Rhythmic Bloc (Cherry Red)
• When Space Invaders Were Big/Love Like Anthrax (Cherry Red)
• Psychotic Now (split-artist Flexi given away free with Warped Reality magazine issue 4)
• TCR (Love Train)
• Flexed - remix EP (Lissy's)
• Killing The Bland (Radar)
• Autocade (Radar)
• Deanshanger(Radar)
• Fob.com (Cooking Vinyl)

External links

• The Palace of Prolapse
• Prolapse myspace page
• Pineapster the main on line music community for Leicester. A site with a proud love and admiration for all things Prolapse.
• Prolapse discography at MusicBrainz
• Interview on the Leicester Bands website
• Prolapse interview from Delusions of Adequacy (2007)
• Prolapse interview from Warped Reality (originally published in Puncture 1996)