Ghost Dance (band)
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- For the Native American spiritual movement of this name, see Ghost Dance. For the novel by John Norman, see Ghost Dance (novel)
Ghost Dance was a guitar pop/goth/rock band formed in 1985 by Gary Marx (ex-The Sisters of Mercy guitarist) and Anne-Marie Hurst (ex-Skeletal Family vocalist) as both were leaving their respective bands.
The band were originally signed to Nick Jones' record label, Karbon Records, then were later signed to the major label Chrysalis Records, before splitting up in 1989.
| Ghost Dance | |
|---|---|
| Country | Leeds, England, UK |
| Years active | 1985 – 1989 |
| Genres | Rock Gothic rock |
| Labels | Karbon Records, Chrysalis Records |
Contents |
[edit] Members
- Gary Marx (guitars 1985-1989)
- Anne-Marie Hurst (vocals 1985-1989)
- Steve Smith (guitars 1985-1986)
- Richard Steel (guitars 1986-1989)
- Paul Etchells a.k.a. Etch (bass 1985-1989)
- Pandora (drums 1986)
- John Grant (drums 1986-1989)
[edit] History
[edit] River Of No Return
Bassist "Etch" was hired, and with a drum machine nicknamed "Pandora", the band set about releasing their debut 12" single River Of No Return, featuring a cover of Roxy Music's song Both Ends Burning. By Gary Marx's own admission, the sound quality wasn't up to scratch[1].
Nevertheless, the single was released in early 1986.
[edit] Heart Full Of Soul
The second single to be released was Heart Full Of Soul, a cover of The Yardbirds' song. It was backed with a cover of Golden Earring's hit single Radar Love. The 12" version of the single had a silver sleeve instead of the pale blue of the 7" single, as well as a bonus track on the a-side, a cover of Suzi Quatro's Can The Can.
Steve Smith from Red Lorry Yellow Lorry had been helping the band live and occasionally in the studio, and on this single, contributed by adding backing vocals and extra guitars. After recording this single, he played some more gigs, until his final one in Wolverhampton, when he left the band to concentrate on his own project, Riprize.
The drums on this single were programmed by Etch, rather than Marx.
[edit] The Grip Of Love
The Grip Of Love was the third single by Ghost Dance to be released in 1986. With the departure of Steve Smith, new guitarist Richard Steel played on this single.
The 7" single a-side was the "Bombay Mix" of The Grip Of Love, and the b-side was Where Spirits Fly.
The 12" single omitted Where Spirits Fly, and added Last Train to the a-side, and A Deeper Blue and "A Cheaper Blues Version" of The Grip Of Love to the b-side.
All the tracks on the 12" version are in the key of D minor, hence the subtitle to the single "Suite In D Minor". The single's producer, Richard Mazda, also plays harmonica on the "Cheaper Blues Version".
[edit] Leaving Karbon
In 1987, Ghost Dance released their final Karbon EP, A Word To The Wise. They had recruited drummer John Grant, with Daniel Mass from ex-Merciful Release band Salvation providing backing vocals on the a-side track When I Call. This track was recorded in Amazon studios, proving to be the most financially demanding track the band had recorded. Nevertheless, it was one of the first tracks the band had written.
The second a-side track was Fools Gold (written by Etch, one of the few tracks in Ghost Dance's discography not wrtten by Marx), and the two b-sides were Cruel Light and Holding On.
Despite the success of A Word To The Wise (reaching the lower reaches of the charts, despite not being available in most mainstream shops), the band had reached the end of their time with Karbon Records. The final release on Karbon was the Gathering Dust LP, a compilation of all the singles they had released to date.
After leaving Karbon, their tour manager Simon "Sparky" Parker became their manager, and succeeded in securing Ghost Dance a deal with Chrysalis Records.
[edit] Chrysalis Records
The first release on Chrysalis was the single Down To The Wire, which made the UK Top 40. The various issues of the singles included a live "Gathering Dust Medley" for the b-side. This was a live recording of The Grip Of Love/Last Train/Celebrate. A promotional German release of this single was released as "Introducing Ghost Dance".
Finally, the band released their debut album, Stop The World (some copies coming with a bonus live 12" single), despite the tensions in the band growing. The label had wanted a remake of the early song Celebrate, to be a new single, despite the label ignoring the fact that there had been a version of Celebrate on the b-side of the previous single.
The single's reception was "disastrous[2]", and despite demoing new songs, such as Rock It and Adrift Without You with new manager Chris Cooke, the band slowly disintegrated playing their final concert in Amsterdam, on December 4th, 1989.
[edit] 1990 to the present day
Rumours of reunions continued to circulate throughout the 1990s, but as of 2006, it seems very unlikely, as Anne-Marie does not have any desire to return to music.
Gary Marx was in contact with Andrew Eldritch in 1995, and wrote several tracks for a studio collaboration, but never heard from Eldritch again. In 2005, Marx released the tracks as the solo album "1995 And Nowhere". He has also released his own debut album "Pretty Black Dots" and attempted to reissue Gathering Dust as a remastered CD-R, but many fans were dissatisfied by the product, and it was soon withdrawn.
Copies of Ghost Dance releases are no longer available. Stop The World occasionally appear on eBay, with the comparably scarcer CD issue often selling for over £40.
The official Ghost Dance website contains several mp3s of unreleased and rare songs, with extra tracks for forum members.
[edit] Discography
| Year | Title | Formats | Notes |
| 1986 | "River Of No Return" | 12" | compiled on Gathering Dust |
| 1986 | "Heart Full Of Soul" | 7", 12" | compiled on Gathering Dust |
| 1986 | "The Grip Of Love" | 7", 12" | compiled on Gathering Dust |
| 1987 | "A Word To The Wise" | 12" | |
| 1988 | "Gathering Dust" | LP, CR-r | compilation of first three Karbon singles |
| 1989 | "Down To The Wire" | 7", 12", CD | title track on Stop The World |
| 1989 | "Introducing Ghost Dance" | 12" | German promotional single |
| 1989 | "Stop The World" | LP, CD | Some LPs come with bonus live 12" single. Live tracks included on CD issue. |
| 1989 | "Celebrate" | 7", 12", 12" Picture Disc, CD | title track on Stop The World |
