Levitation (band)
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Levitation (1990-1994) were an innovative English psychedelic mind-punk band fronted by ex-House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers. Levitation's music and attitude challenged an early 1990s UK alternative music scene dominated by shoegazing and Madchester. The band were often credited by the music press with attempting to rehabilitate progressive rock.
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[edit] History
After an acrimonious departure from the House of Love in 1989, guitarist Terry Bickers teamed up with drummer David Francolini and formed Levitation the following year. Based in London, they quickly found a group of like-minded and established musicians, including Christian Hayes (ex-Ring, Cardiacs, and the Dave Howard Singers), Robert White (ex-Zag and the Coloured Beads), Johnny T (a violinist from the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra), and Joe Allan (a bassist). The band soon set off to tour France supporting Ride, and Belgium supporting Galaxie 500.
Upon returning from Europe, Levitation signed to the small independent label Ultimate records, and in April 1991 released the first of two EPs they would record with that label. The Coppelia EP made single of the week in Melody Maker, only to be scorned in the New Musical Express by journalist Barbara Ellen.
Initially, Levitation received a lot of publicity from the music press because of Terry Bicker's reputation as an eccentric and often unpredictable musical visionary, and his fondness of various conspiracy theories. His career in the House of Love, and standing as guitar hero to a generation of Indie fans, put Levitation in the media spotlight from the start. The band persisted in keeping their music before their image. In an interview with Andrew Smith in Volume magazine, Terry explained the band would like to "remain faceless for as long as possible. Maybe we'll take to wearing masks."
After the release of Coppelia the band underwent its first line-up change, which saw Johnny T and Joe Allan leave, and Laurence O'Keefe (ex-Jazz Butcher) was drafted in to play bass.
Through 1991, Levitation supported bands such as Pere Ubu, All About Eve, the Psychedelic Furs, Hawkwind, and The Sugarcubes, and earned a reputation as a hard-working live act whose energetic performances and live improvisations seldom disappointed, often blowing away the headliners. Levitations's live set usually kicked off with an adrenaline-fueled cover of Zag and the Coloured Bead's "Sweaty Thing", which in later gigs would be replaced by the band's own breakneck opener "Twice".
The band's influences were diverse, including Cardiacs, Krautrock, Television, XTC, Killing Joke, Wire, Zappa, Swans, Devo, Gentle Giant, Faust, Public Image Limited, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Julian Cope.
Levitation's second EP on Ultimate, After Ever, was released in August 1991 to more criticalacclaim, and again the band made single of the week in Melody Maker where it was described as "blessed genius". The video for "Firefly", the first track on the EP, pictured the band levitating over a golden field. In September two more tracks, "Squirrel" and "It's Time", were released on 7" via the new Rough Trade mail-order singles club. In November a taster compilation album, Coterie, was released on Capitol Records in the US. It included the tracks from the first two EPs and the Squirrel 7". The band also crossed the Atlantic for the first time for a mini-tour of the USA, playing in Los Angeles and New York.
At the end of the year Levitation left Ultimate and signed a deal with Rough Trade, and released their third EP, World Around (a homophone for "whirled around"), in February 1992. World Around reached the top five in the UK indie charts.
Leviation's first studio album, Need For Not, appeared on 4 May 1992 (the adverts for the album proclaiming "May the Fourth be with you"). "The Chain With No Name" independent record stores sold the album along with a limited edition 7" featuring the track "Cutwater" on one side and an etching of a heart by Dave Francolini and Joanna Peacock on the other. Throughout the summer the band toured with the Cardiacs, including playing at Reading Festival.
Following the collapse of Rough Trade, Levitation signed to Chrysalsis, and in April 1993 released their third EP, Even When Your Eyes Are Open. A second album, Meanwhile Gardens, was planned to be released in two parts, the first installment in summer, the second in autumn.
[edit] Terry Bickers quits
Then disaster struck. After playing a bad-tempered fifty-minute set at Tufnell Park Dome in north London on May 14 1993, where the band were co-headlining with Eat, Terry surprised the audience and the rest of the band by announcing his intentions to leave.
- "Levitation are a lost cause as far as I can tell. We've completely lost it haven't we? Haven't we?"
- "This is the last time you'll see me for a bit".
- "No corporation is going to stop us, gas is our business, cars are our business, the music business is our business.." paraphrasing Killing Joke's 1990 track Money is not our God.
A letter to the fan club from Christian Hayes described Terry's departure as "an unfortunate but necessary stick in the spokes... Terry no longer wishes to be in Levitation, feeling no excitement for the material and therefore uncomfortable within the band."
The band maintained that Terry's departure was positive for all involved. A later statement on 1 June read, "Terry Bickers (the one who stood in the middle) has parted company with Levitation... We believe the circumstances in which we now find ourselves presents us with the oil to lubricate our gears."
In the aftermath of Terry's shocking departure the Meanwhile Gardens LP was temporarily shelved, and scheduled appearances, including the Phoenix Festival (headlining the Powerhaus stage), and a support slot at The Cure's Great Expectations Finsbury Park concert, were cancelled.
[edit] The slight return
After rumours that the band had asked Juliane Regan from All About Eve to take over the front spot, Steve Ludwin, from the band Some Have Fins, was finally recruited in August 1993. The new line-up was aired for the first time at a series of gigs at the Splash Club, at the Water Rats in King's Cross in May and June 1994.
A letter to the fan club stated, "The storm has passed and the voyage may begin again." The reception was mixed, but most fans were glad to have Levitation back and playing. However, the new line-up did not find its feet, and to the dismay of their devout fans, Levitation finally split for good in October 1994. Their brief but bright career was over.
Plans announced in winter 1995 to mix the second half of Meanwhile Gardens and release it with the first half as originally planned never came to fruition. A nine-track version of the album was released through Festival Records in Australia, followed by two EPs, but much of the band's material failed to see the light of day.
[edit] Post-Levitation
Terry went on to form Cradle with Caroline Tree and Ian Mundwyler, releasing an Baba Yaga in 1996, before going on to another band, Monkey 7, based in Brighton. Terry has since reformed the House of Love with Guy Chadwick, who, after a series of low-key gigs in 2003, are recording new material.
Christian, Dave and Laurence formed Dark Star, releasing a number of EPs and an album, Twenty Twenty Sound, in 1999 on EMI. Despite some success and critical acclaim, Dark Star split up. Christian has since played guitar for the Pet Shop Boys and has been recording a solo album under the name Mikrokosmos.
In 2007 Christian, Dave and Laurance re-surfaced with three others in a new band, Dragons. Dave Francolini has also started talking of a Levitation re-issue on Rough Trade including the original, never released, version of 'Meanwhile Gardens'.
[edit] Members
- Joe Allan - bass (1990-1991)
- Terry Bickers - vocals, guitar (1990-1993)
- David Francolini - drums (1990-1994)
- Christian Hayes aka Bic - guitar, backing vocals (1990-1994)
- Laurence O'Keefe - bass (1990-1994)
- Steve Ludwin - vocals, guitar (1993-1994)
- Johnny T - violin (1990-1991)
- Robert White - keyboards, bass, backing vocals (1990-1994)
[edit] Quotes from the band
"You can be progressive without being pompous. It sounds like a cliché but I don't care - we are a progressive band and we're in the here and now."
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- - Terry Bickers interviewed by Steve Sutherland Melody Maker April 27 1991.
"Mark E Smith punched his sound engineer in the face and told him to turn our f-ing power off. The guy is a rotten c-t. I can't imagine how someone so bitter as he is has retained so much credibiltiy. He really is the Caligula of Pop."
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- - Tery Bickers on Mark E Smith of The Fall
"If people are tenacious enough they can dance to anything."
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- - Christian Hayes interviewed by Steve Sutherland Melody Maker April 27 1991.
"I'd like to come back as an otter."
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- - Terry Bickers
"We're into positive negativism. Yo have to be aware of all the negative things that are going on, all the grimness, and then turn it all around... It's like John Lydon said, 'Anger is an energy.'"
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- - Terry Bickers interviewed by Steve Sutherland, Melody Maker, April 27, 1991.
[edit] Quotes from the press
"Levitation are all the bands you ever wished for.."
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- - Andy O'Reilly in Lime Lizard March 1992
"This is speeding, hallucinating, rampaging, brilliance. You can take your Loops, Spacemen and ARKanes and drop them in the river like an armful of unwanted kittens."
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- - MM on the Coppelia EP (single of the week)
"If we're going to be serious about the Nineties then Levitation are the sort of group we should be exalting."
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- - David Stubbs in Melody Maker reviewing Need For Not
"are Levitation too far out? While other bands take it one step at a time, have they leapt into space and severed the umbilical cord?"
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- - Melody Maker
"There's a chorus of sorts, and stuff about animals turning blue in your stomach, but it's Dave's ludricously-athletic drumming that ultimately blows your mind. It's gloriously frenetic, and so f-ing quick off the mark it'll take a few plays just to tame the blur into some kind of image."
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- - Melody Maker on World Around
"Bunch of hippies. Write a song next time."
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- - Melody Maker on Squirrel
[edit] Discography
Singles and EPs
- Coppelia EP 12" and CD Ultimate (April 1991)
- Nadine / Smile ltd. (1000) 7" Ultimate (April 1991)
- After Ever EP 12" and CD Ultimate (August 1991)
- Firefly / Attached ltd. (1000) 7" Ultimate (August 1991)
- Squirrel / It's Time 7" Rough Trade singles club (September 1991) (some mispressed with Mercury Rev track on b-side)
- World Around EP 7", 12", CD, Rough trade in UK (February 1992)
- World Around 12", CD, cassette Capitol in USA, (February 1992) EMI in Germany (February 1992)
- Cloudshine on Volume CD magazine No.3 (May 1992)
- Even When Your Eyes Are Open EP (April 1993) Chrysalis UK, Capitol USA
- King of Mice EP EMI, Germany (1994)
- Chain by Day EP Festival Records, Australia
Albums
- Coterie - CD (50,000 pressed) only on Capitol Records, USA (November 1991) a taster compilation of the first two eps and the Squirrel single.
- Coterie LP, CD (ltd. 5000) Ultimate (March 1992)
- Need For Not LP (May 1992) CWWNN ltd. 7" Cutwater and etching
- Meanwhile Gardens - Festival Records, Australia only (1994)
Cassette albums
- Demos 1989-1991, fanclub cassette (ltd. run of 800).
- Live at Reading University 29 February 1992, (fanclub cassette ltd. run of 800).
Radio Sessions
- Radio 1, Mark Goodier's Evening Session May 1992 Resist, Pieces of Mary, Evergreen, Hangnail
- Radio 1, Mark Goodier's Evening Session July 1992 Sacred Lover, Hieronymous Bop (Terry and Bob playing acoustically).
