Section 25
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Section 25 | |
|---|---|
| Country | Blackpool, England |
| Years active | 1977–1988 and 2001 - Present |
| Genres | Post-punk, Techno, Electronic, Alternative |
| Labels | Factory (1981-1988), LTM (reissues) (1991-present). |
Section 25 are an English post-punk band.
Section 25 were formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, UK in November 1977. Initially they were a duo, consisting of brothers Larry Cassidy (bass, vocals) and Vincent Cassidy (drums). In June 1978 they made their live debut, and in November were joined by guitarist Paul Wiggin.
Their debut 7", "Girls Don't Count", was released in 1980 on Factory Records, produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton of Joy Division. All Section 25 releases would be released through Factory Records. Their debut LP, Always Now, was released in 1981 and produced by Martin Hannett.
The three-piece group played many gigs in Britain and Northern Europe between 1979 and 1981, both as a headline act and with other Factory Records artists, such as Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Crispy ambulance and New Order. The group also released a self-produced second album, The Key of Dreams. However the original line-up split in 1982 when Paul Wiggin declined to fly to the US for their first North American tour.
Abandoning much of the existing live set, the Cassidy brothers prepared for an upcoming European tour with backing tapes and an extra percussionist, John Grice. Following a warm-up date at the Boulevard Theatre in London on 16 December, the group visited Belgium, Holland and Germany in January 1982 in tandem with Crispy Ambulance, with a set that typically comprised Inside Out, Babies in the Bardo, One True Path, Trident, Dirty Disco, Consequencer (aka Sakura) and The Beast, together with two unrecorded pieces, God's Playground and You Leave Me No Choice.
The new-look Section 25 ran into problems after just two shows when Grice, a relative newcomer to the rigours of touring, suffered a panic attack and was flown home.
Joined by percussionist Lee Shallcross, Section 25 gradually evolved a more electronic-dance direction, a process which culminated in the album From the Hip and single Looking From A Hilltop, both released in 1984 and produced by Bernard Sumner of New Order. This new version of the band also featured Angela Flowers (vocals, keyboards) and Jenny Ross (vocals, keyboards). This line-up completed a second tour of North America in 1985.
In 1986 the group again splintered, leaving husband-and-wife team Larry Cassidy and Jenny Ross to complete a fourth album, Love and Hate, finally released by Factory in 1988. Section 25 then fell silent for more than a decade, although their entire catalogue was reissued on CD on LTM as well as an archive DVD.
In 2001 the band regrouped and started writing new material. It was originally expected that this would form the basis for a new album but these plans were derailed by the death of Jenny Ross who died in 2004.
Now with Ian Butterworth (ex of fellow Factory act Tunnelvison) on guitar and Roger Wikeley on bass and keyboards the band performed their first live show in nearly two decades at their hometown Poulton-Le-Fylde at The Royal Oak in May 2006 followed by dates in Blackpool, Paris, Brussels and Leicester.
The first release by this latest incarnation of the band was a live version of Dirty Disco, taken from their gig at Batofar Paris on 25/06/2006, which was featured on the compilation album The Ugly Truth About Blackpool Volume 2 (released by Just Say No To Government Music) along side other local legends Sick 56, Kraul and Higgins++.
Work is currently well underway on the production of a new studio album which will be released by LTM records early in April 2007. It is intended that this will feature ten brand new tracks plus mixes of a couple of tracks that had been started before Jennys death.
Larry and Vin Cassidy also feature in the 2006 Factory documentary film 'Shadowplayers'.
