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Wire
On Tour2,751,695 plays (152,537 listeners)
post-punk, punk, new wave, post punk, alternative… see all
Watford, England (1976 – 1980, 1985 – present)
Wire are a post-punk band formed in 1976 in Watford, England and after splitting in 1980, have reformed three times. They consist of Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (vocals, bass), Bruce Gilbert (guitar) and Robert Gotobed (drums).
Wire emerged out of the British punk explosion but, from the outset, maintained a distance from that scene and resisted easy categorization. While punk rapidly became a caricature of itself, Wire’s musical identity — focused on experimentation and process — was constantly metamorphosing. Their first three albums alone attest to a startling evolution as the band repeatedly reinvented itself between 1977 and 1979. That capacity for self-reinvention, coupled with a willingness to stop recording indefinitely when ideas weren’t forthcoming, has been crucial to Wire’s longevity and continued relevance.
By the time of punk, British art schools had long been a hotbed of musical activity, spawning some of the nation’s most innovative rock acts from the ’60s onward. Like many punk contemporaries, Wire had roots in the art school tradition. At Watford Art College in 1976, guitarists Colin Newman and George Gill formed Overload with audiovisual technician Bruce Gilbert (also on guitar). Subsequently, the three recruited bassist Graham Lewis and drummer Robert Gotobed (aka Robert Grey), and the first Wire lineup was in place.
Wire emerged out of the British punk explosion but, from the outset, maintained a distance from that scene and resisted easy categorization. While punk rapidly became a caricature of itself, Wire’s musical identity — focused on experimentation and process — was constantly metamorphosing. Their first three albums alone attest to a startling evolution as the band repeatedly reinvented itself between 1977 and 1979. That capacity for self-reinvention, coupled with a willingness to stop recording indefinitely when ideas weren’t forthcoming, has been crucial to Wire’s longevity and continued relevance.
By the time of punk, British art schools had long been a hotbed of musical activity, spawning some of the nation’s most innovative rock acts from the ’60s onward. Like many punk contemporaries, Wire had roots in the art school tradition. At Watford Art College in 1976, guitarists Colin Newman and George Gill formed Overload with audiovisual technician Bruce Gilbert (also on guitar). Subsequently, the three recruited bassist Graham Lewis and drummer Robert Gotobed (aka Robert Grey), and the first Wire lineup was in place.
Including Colin Newman, The Fall, Mission of Burma, Gang of Four, Minutemen, Pere Ubu, Swell Maps and more…
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Shoutbox
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honeyiscooooool wrote:
interuppttting my train of thouughhhht
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FootToFace wrote:
lol you took me seriously lol
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sparrow1970 wrote:
It's all in the art of stopping. Pure genius. play. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat.
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Android42 wrote:
Unfortunately the link doesn't work at least for me it doesn't but anyways go to my profile and join the new Josef K group if you enjoy their music.
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Android42 wrote:
http://www.last.fm/group/Josef%20K.
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Drudenfusz wrote:
@ FootToFace: so what?
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FootToFace wrote:
this band definitely ripped off joy division because you know this band was formed before them
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slakbox wrote:
I'm gonna see them soon in LA. I really hope they play some older stuff, especially from Chairs Missing.
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SikTh wrote:
ripped off joy division
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cafecaligula wrote:
Oh, and 106 Beats That.
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cafecaligula wrote:
To Subhuman1016, I've seen them twice this year, in the period since Object 47 was on the cards, and both times they played 12XU, Lowdown and Pink Flag, as well as Being Sucked in Again and The 15th. Boiling Boy as well at the first gig. Had I any complaint, it would be the sets were very similar, but on the whole I was pretty pleased with selection, considering I as well had heard they only played new material, with maybe a Pink Flag encore.
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Wolfframe wrote:
Its really good song, thank you!
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Gregster1978 wrote:
Saw them last night, fucking spectacular.
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mtaunton wrote:
Amazing gig last night.
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aangen wrote:
I've seen them maybe seven times. They always play the current release music, and MAYBE one chestnut. The first time I saw them they brought a cover band named The Ex Lion Tamers who played all their earlier music to open the show. Brilliant! Wouldn't mind more of that. I have never met anyone who did not thoroughly enjoy seeing Wire Live. Nope.
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Androogy wrote:
Shoegaze?
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Subhuman1016 wrote:
for those of you who have seen the band recently: what are they playing live nowadays? i'm expecting lots of new stuff, which i certainly can't complain about, but i've never seen them before, so do they play anything from the earlier albums?
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nicoinfurs wrote:
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPEEE
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Colin_Cancer wrote:
12XU: Catchiest song ever? Also: it works for everything (Saw you in a bar, drinking a beer)
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arranjgoodchild wrote:
can't wait until offset festival
Events
- Oct 12 Wire Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, United States
- Oct 14 Wire Echoplex, Los Angeles, United States
- Oct 15 Wire The Fillmore, San Francisco, United States
Listeners
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JonnyQPublic
Listening now
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VirtualPope
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to One Of Us -
SonicPeace
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to Drill -
Qong
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icfthr
Top Listener
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mikejefferson
Top Listener
Recent Activity
- irish_twin, joshjacobs, onusbonus and 1 other person added Wire to their libraries. 2 hours ago
- boiled_dove tagged Wire with ‘new wave’ and ‘post-punk’. 8 hours ago
- LAURENTHEHAM, legendline83, tonyatherton and 30 other people added Wire to their libraries. 8 hours ago
- trezmick created the wiki page for Ex Lion Tamer (2006 Digital Remaster). Tuesday morning
- Lars_ollo wrote about Wire in "Reward Yourself" 2SER Radiothon Special - Extended Playlist 131008 - www.2ser.com…. Tuesday morning
- rocknserve, fh06og and TomMPain added Wire to their libraries. Tuesday morning
- tomaszmasz tagged Wire with ‘post-punk’. Monday evening
- factotumsda, michaeldbennett and mike_k_2k7 added Wire to their libraries. Monday evening
- jsin013 tagged Wire with ‘seen live’. Monday afternoon
- marte29 added Wire to marte29’s library. Monday afternoon
Related Journals
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"Reward Yourself" 2SER Radiothon Special - Extended Playlist 131008 - www.2ser.com…
by Lars_ollo |
14 Oct 2008 | 
Add comment
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Liquid Liquid at the Borderline
by SpoonfedMusic |
8 Oct 2008 | Add comment
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"Pig Children Play Pen" - Extended Playlist 061008 - www.2ser.com 107.3FM
by Lars_ollo |
7 Oct 2008 | Add comment
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