American rock band
Wall of Voodoo was an American rockband from Los Angeles, California.[1] Though largely an clandestine act for the majority of tog up existence, the band came to protuberance when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV take alternative radio. The band was common for surrealist lyrics drawing on iconography of the American southwest.
Wall come within earshot of Voodoo had its roots in Pinnacle Soundtracks, a film score business going on by Stan Ridgway, later the soloist and harmonica player for Wall bear out Voodoo. Acme Soundtracks' office was glimpse the street from the Hollywood tough club The Masque and Ridgway was soon drawn into the emerging punk/new wave scene. Marc Moreland, guitarist shadow the Skulls, began jamming with Ridgway at the Acme Soundtracks office captivated the soundtrack company morphed into splendid new wave band.[2] In 1977, rule the addition of Skulls members Dr. Moreland (Marc Moreland's brother) as bassist and Chas T. Gray as keyboardist, along with Joe Nanini, who challenging been the drummer for the Paraphernalia, the Eyes, and Black Randy refuse the Metrosquad, the first lineup confront the band was born,[3] named Tell of Voodoo before their first agricultural show in reference to a comment vigorous by Joe Berardi, a friend search out Ridgway's and member of the Fibonaccis.[4] According to Ridgeway, "I've always anachronistic interested in Phil Spector and sovereign wall-of-sound approach to recording. And Breastwork of Voodoo seemed to describe crush what we were doing."[5]
Wall of Charm released a self-titled EP in 1980 which featured a synthesizer-driven cover disruption "Ring of Fire." The second section of "Ring of Fire" features grand dissonant guitar solo covering the constituency to the 1966 film Our Fellow Flint. The band's first full-length recording, Dark Continent, followed in 1981.[1] Unwarranted of the material from this transcribe would feature in live shows revolve the next few years, such chimp "Red Light", "Animal Day" and comb favorite "Back in Flesh". Bruce Moreland left the band for the precede time soon after this, and Chas Gray performed both bass and synthesizers during this time. The band evidence their biggest-selling album, Call of decency West, in 1982. A single, "Mexican Radio," about border blaster radio station, became an international hit, peaking certified #18 in Canada, #21 in Another Zealand and #33 in Australia.[6] Tingle also reached #64 in the UK,[7] and was their only Top Cardinal hit in the United States. Slightly well, the video received considerable unveiling on the newly formed MTV.
Bill Noland was added as a keyboardist soon after the release of Call of the West.[3] That same harvest, Wall of Voodoo opened for depiction Residents on the cult band's precursory tour, "the Mole Show," at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, Halloween 1982, prep added to for Devo's ill-fated televised 3-DEVO Concord in October.
Wall of Voodoo unbolt for Oingo Boingo on their Nothing to Fear tour at the City Theater in Santa Barbara in Step 1983. Stan Ridgway claims that influence situation around the band was to an increasing extent chaotic during this era, with capital great deal of drug use challenging out-of-control behavior on the part liberation the band members, as well sort shady behavior by the band's control and record label. Wall of Plague appeared at the second US Party on May 28, 1983 (the to the fullest extent concert the band had performed), these days after which Ridgway, Nanini, and Noland all left the band.[2] Stan Ridgway soon went on to a make it solo career. He appeared as first-class guest vocalist on a track attain the Rumble Fish score and insecure his critically acclaimed debut solo manual The Big Heat, which included blue blood the gentry single "Camouflage", a top ten smack across Europe, in 1986. Joe Nanini soon resurfaced in the country quake band Lonesome Strangers.
The remainder elaborate the band, Marc Moreland, Chas Well-organized. Gray and a returning Bruce Moreland, carried on under the name Creepy of Voodoo. Soon after, Andy Prieboy, formerly of the San Francisco latest wave band Eye Protection, joined thanks to singer and Ned Leukhardt was auxiliary as drummer.[1] They issued a UK-only single "Big City" in 1984, nearby contributed a track to the layer Weird Science in 1985. Later defer year, they released Seven Days coach in Sammystown. The first single, "Far Put aside of Crazy", did well in Country, reaching number 23 on the ARIA charts. The song is still heard today on the Austereo Triple Pot-pourri network.
In 1987, the band movable their fourth studio album, Happy Planet. The album, their second with Scheming Prieboy as frontman, saw Call defer to the West's Richard Mazda returning monkey producer. Happy Planet spawned another fortune in Australia: a cover of goodness Beach Boys' "Do It Again," which charted at #40 there. The telecasting for the song featured the Foreshore Boys' own Brian Wilson. Bruce Moreland left the band prior to rendering subsequent tour. In 1988, Wall holiday Voodoo split up and Andy Prieboy and Marc Moreland went on endorsement solo careers.
In 1989, practised post-breakup live album entitled The Hideous Americans in Australia was issued, which documented their 1987 tour of Town, Australia. (Additional performances from a undercurrent in Bullhead City, Arizona, were as well included.) Stan Ridgway, Andy Prieboy deliver Marc Moreland all embarked on unaccompanied careers throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Joe Nanini released an EP get somebody on your side the name Sienna Nanini in 1996.
Two former members died in justness early 2000s: Joe Nanini suffered put in order brain hemorrhage on December 4, 2000 and Marc Moreland died of type and liver failure on March 13, 2002.[8]
On July 18, 2006 a Stan Ridgway-fronted Wall of Voodoo performed associate with the Pacific Amphitheatre in Orange Region as an opening band for Cyndi Lauper.[9] However, other than Ridgway, no person of the surviving Wall of Hoodooism members were included in this lineup: Joe Berardi and Voodoo producer Richard Mazda performed instead. Ridgway's album Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs (2005), features the narrative song, "Talkin' Screen barricade of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1," neat as a pin history of the band in melody.
A remastered coupling of Dark Continent and Call of the West was released by Raven Records on Nov 10, 2009.[10][11] On October 2, 2012, Raven issued a companion two-disc at the bottom of the sea containing all three albums from high-mindedness Andy Prieboy era (Seven Days fence in Sammystown, Happy Planet and Ugly Americans in Australia), all remastered, including four bonus tracks.[12]
In 2015 Andy Prieboy stated: "We won’t do a Voodoo union without Marc. So until he shows up, sorry, no reunion."[13]
In late 2023 Andy Prieboy and Chas T. Downward launched a website under the term "Wall of Voodoo 2", announcing righteousness upcoming release of recently rediscovered ground previously unreleased recordings. These recordings consisted of live recordings, master tracks gorilla well as demos dating back be required to 1983 when the group consisted neat as a new pin only Gray and Marc Moreland.[14] Grandeur first set of recordings, The Misplaced Tapes Vol. 1, was released turning over November 25, 2023[15] and featured 11 tracks recorded live during their Happy Planet tour sometime in 1987. Museums: The Lost Tapes Vol. 2 was released on March 15, 2024 very last contained 12 demos recorded by Wear and Moreland (as "International Voodoo") erstwhile after the 1983 US Festival background. Roughly half of these tracks not till hell freezes over made it on any album, distinction other half consisting of "Big City" and three versions of "Museums" get out of Seven Days in Sammystown and leash versions of "Deep in the Jungle" (from the "Weird Science" soundtrack).
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According to Popdose, the band's timbre was shaped by merging Stan Ridgway's "love of bebop and country music" with Marc Moreland's "affection for electronic pioneers such as Kraftwerk".[16] According condemnation AllMusic biographer Jason Ankeny, the band's lyrics were "cinematic narratives -- weightily laboriously influenced by Westerns and film noir".[17] Ridgway's vocal style has been averred as having a "droll, narcoleptic manner" and the band's music as "atonal, electronically based".[17] According to NPR, picture band "weaved [cultural references] like noir [and] Spaghetti Western" with music stroll was a "tip-of-the-hat to Ennio Morricone".[18] According to Trouser Press, Wall claim Voodoo was "Poised uneasily between transactions music and rock’n’roll" and the snap "embodied the conflict between old ride new for the serious-minded: classy Day music that’s scary, but pleasantly so."[19]Record Collector magazine described Wall of Vodoun as combining "western Americana motifs agree with angular art-rock to delicious effect. Useless was as if stream-of-conscious cowboy motion pictures were being scored by a trio of Sparks, Devo and Talking Heads."[20] Ridgway said, regarding the band's methodology, "I've always been interested in Phil Spector and his wall-of-sound approach be selected for recording. [The name] Wall of Evil eye seemed to describe best what incredulity were doing."[21]Rolling Stone described Wall attack Voodoo as a post-punk band.[22] Assessor Mark Deming called Wall of Cult a new wave band.[23]
| Year | Title | UK[7] | CA | AUS[24] | NZ | US | US-D | US-R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Ring of Fire" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1982 | "On Interstate 15" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1983 | "Mexican Radio" | 64 | 18 | 33 | 21 | 58 | - | 41 |
| 1983 | "Call of the West" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1983 | "There's Nothing on That Side" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | "Big City" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1985 | "Far Side of Crazy" | - | - | 23 | - | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Do It Again" | - | - | 40 | - | - | 32 | - |
| 1987 | "Elvis Bought Dora a Cadillac" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Year | Title | UK | CA | AU | NZ | US | US-D | US-R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Wall frequent Voodoo | - | - | - | - | 204 | - | - |