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Test Dept

 
Artist: Test Dept.
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Tony Cudlip, Graham Cunnington, Gus Ferguson, Alistair Adams, Paul Jambozy

Similar Artists:

D.A.F., Einstürzende Neubauten, Clock DVA, Chris & Cosey

Followers:

Food for Animals

Performed Songs By:

John Eacott
  • Formed: 1982, London, England
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "Beating the Retreat," "Materia Prima," "The Unacceptable Face of Freedom"
  • Representative Songs: "Critical Dub," "New World Order," "The Unacceptable Face of Free"

Biography

More expressly political than their German counterparts Einstürzende Neubauten, Test Department followed the same tack: A creative use of the ethos in which diverse objects (including large amounts of scrap metal and power tools) can be used as instruments. Formed in London's New Cross in 1982 by Alistair Adams, Graham Cunningham, Tony Cudlip, Gus Ferguson and Paul Jamrozy, the quintet became renowned for the staging of huge multimedia events at obscure venues -- a railway works in Glasgow, a sand quarry, Cannon Street Station in London, a Welsh car factory -- and their political agenda, which has included action against apartheid, the rise of neo-Nazism and Britain's Criminal Justice Act. The quintet signed to Some Bizarre Records for 1984's Beating the Retreat, and outlined their socialist agenda set to music on the following year's Shoulder to Shoulder, recorded with "the South Wales Striking Miners' Choir." After forming their own Ministry of Power label to organize multimedia events, Test Department released two records -- The Unacceptable Face of Freedom and A Good Night Out -- in a MOP/Some Bizarre conjunction, but struck out on their own with 1988's Terra Firma. Test Dept.'s sixth album, The Gododdin, was followed by their most scathing criticism of British politics, Pax Britannica, in conjunction with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Choir. After releasing albums for Jungle Records and Dossier, the group gained a contract with the American industrial label Cleopatra in 1994 and released the fruit of their early-'90s work on Legacy (1990-1993). Signed to Cleopatra's subsidiary Invisible, Test Dept. released the new albums Totality (1995) and Tactics for Revolution (1998), as well as reissuing several previous works. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Test Dept
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia

Test Dept was an industrial music band formed in New Cross, London, by unemployed musicians (including Martin King, Alastair Adams, Paul Jamrozy, Angus Farquhar, Graham Cunnington, Tony Cudlip, Toby Burdon and Paul Hines) from Glasgow, Scotland, where the band later re-located. Comedian Vic Reeves played bass in an early incarnation of the band.

History

Formed in 1981, they are hailed by many musicians as one of the most influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked out by a strong commitment to radical socialist politics.

Their discography spans a wide variety of influences and styles, including a collaboration with the South Wales Striking Miners Choir in support of the Miners' Strike of 1984. They were particularly notable for complex and powerful percussion, as well as high-energy live performances. Like the German band Einstürzende Neubauten, with whom they are often compared, Test Dept used unconventional instruments such as scrap metal and industrial machinery as sound sources; however, Test Dept's use of these objects was far more rhythmic than was Neubauten's, and was often accompanied by film and slide shows. The band played concerts in a number of unusual site-specific locations, such as Waterloo, Cannon Street station, Stirling Castle and the defunct St Rollox Railway Works in Glasgow.

In later years the band's music became less industrial and took on many of the properties of techno. The band's political stance was energised by the passing of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

The band split up in 1997, but its former members have continued to work in the fields of art and culture. For example, Angus Farquhar re-established the ancient Gaelic Beltane Fire Festival, held yearly on the night before/morning of the first of May on Edinburgh's Calton Hill. Farquhar also formed NVA, an innovative theatre company specialising in large-scale site-specific events. Cunnington, who suffers from chronic rheumatoid arthritis, produced a one-man show in 1996 called Pain, recounting his experiences as a sufferer from this condition.


Albums

  • Ecstasy Under Duress - 1982
  • Shoulder to Shoulder (with South Wales Striking Miners' Choir) - 1984
  • Beating The Retreat (Some Bizzare Records)- 1984
  • Atonal & Hamburg, Live - 1985
  • The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom (Some Bizzare Records) - 1987
  • A Good Night Out -1987
  • Terra Firma -1988
  • Materia Prima - 1989
  • Gododdin - 1989
  • Pax Britannica - 1990
  • Proven In Action (Live 1990) - 1991
  • Totality - 1995
  • Legacy [1990-1993] the singles plus more - 1995
  • Tactics for Evolution - 1997

External links

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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 "Test Dept".  Read more

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