Rip Rig & Panic

Evolving out of Bristol's the Pop Group, Rip Rig And Panic was formed in 1981 as a conceptual musicians' collective, taking its name from an album by Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The group's prime movers were multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Gareth Sager, jazz trumpeter Don Cherry's step-daughter Neneh Cherry (b. Neneh Mariann Karlsson, 10 March 1964, Stockholm, Sweden; vocals), Cherry's partner and drummer Bruce Smith, Sean Oliver (d. March 1990; bass) and Mark Springer (piano). Powerful and disturbing live, their playful, anarchic jazz-funk was well captured on the irreverent 1981 debut album God, which appeared as two 45 rpm discs, but was too radical for daytime airplay or significant sales. They performed at the first WOMAD festival in 1982 shortly before Cherry returned to Sweden to have her first baby. Sean Oliver's sister Andrea temporarily took over vocals, and Louis Moholo joined on drums. The equally experimental second album, I Am Cold, appeared in 1982, followed by the more accessible Attitude in 1983. Unwilling to compromise further, but feeling the strain of constant innovation, they split in 1985, only to realign as the smaller outfit Float Up CP, and, briefly, God Mother And Country, before Cherry went on to a successful solo career, with Andrea Oliver contributing to some of her songs. Sean Oliver, who went on to co-write Terence Trent D'Arby's Wishing Well, died of sickle-cell anaemia in 1990. Sager formed Head, while Springer released a solo album before going on to work on film and television soundtracks. He returned to solo recording with 1998's Eye.