| The Danse Society | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Barnsley, England |
| Genres | Gothic rock Electronic Post-punk |
| Years active | 1981–1987; 2011-present |
| Labels | Society Records, Arista |
| Associated acts | Y!, Lips-X, Blooding Mask |
| Members | |
| Maethelyiah Paul Nash David Whitaker Paul Gilmartin |
|
| Past members | |
| Steve Rawlings Lyndon Scarfe Tim Wright |
|
The Danse Society are a positive punk (the precursory term for gothic rock) group from Barnsley, England, active from 1981 to 1987. They achieved moderate fame during their short career. Their line-up included Steve Rawlings (voice), Paul Nash (guitar), Lyndon Scarfe (keyboards), Tim Wright (bass) and Paul Gilmartin (drums). Lyndon Scarfe was replaced by David Whitaker (formerly of Music for Pleasure) after the Heaven is Waiting Album.
In 1980, they recorded and released their first single, "Clock," on their own newly formed record label, Society Records.
Their most well known album, Heaven is Waiting, was released in December, 1983 by Arista. The album contained a cover of The Rolling Stones song, "2000 Light Years from Home", also edited in 1984 as a 12" single and as a limited edition double single. In 1986, the other band members left to form Johnny In The Clouds, after releasing their final album as Danse Society International, Looking Through. Rawlings later reappeared in 1987 as Society with the single, "Saturn Girl."[1]
After 1987, Rawlings continued to pursue his path in music with the electronic dance music act, Meridian Dream.
A recent campaign on Facebook (The Danse Society Reformation Plot) has brought most of the band back together, and released a new album "Change of Skin' in July 2011 featuring former founder of Blooding Mask vocalist Maethelyiah. This was followed with the first single to be taken from the album "God Cry" released in November 2011.[2]
Contents |
All three original albums have been recently re-issued on CD with bonus tracks
| Month | Year | Title | UK Singles Chart[4] | UK Indie Chart[3] | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 1980 | "Clock" / "Continent " | - | #11 | Society Records |
| March | 1981 | "There Is No Shame In Death" | - | #26 | PAX Records |
| May | 1981 | "Womans Own" | - | - | PAX Records |
| December | 1982 | "Somewhere" | - | #2 | Society Records |
| March | 1983 | "Somewhere" (re-issue) | - | - | Arista Records |
| July | 1983 | "We're So Happy" | - | #22 | Society Records |
| August | 1983 | "Wake Up" / "Seduction" | #61 | - | Arista Records |
| October | 1983 | "Heaven Is Waiting" | #60 | - | Arista Records |
| March | 1984 | "2,000 Light Years From Home" | - | - | Arista Records |
| July | 1985 | "Say It Again" | - | - | Arista Records |
| February | 1986 | "Hold On (To What You've Got)" | - | - | Arista Records |
| August | 1987 | "Saturn Girl" (as Society) | - | #48 | Big Life |
| November | 1987 | "Love It" (as Society) | - | #19 | Big Life |
| November | 2011 | "God Cry" | - | - | Society Records |