Wire

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Wire is an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), and Robert Gotobed (drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on Various - The Roxy London WC2 (Jan - Apr 77) —a key early document of the scene—and were later central to the development of post-punk.

Inspired by the burgeoning UK punk scene, Wire are often cited as one of the more important rock groups of the 1970's and 1980's. Critic Stewart Mason wrote, "Over their brilliant first three albums, Wire expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general."

Wire are arguably a definitive art punk or post-punk ensemble, mostly due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound, often obscure lyrical themes, and, to a lesser extent, their Situationist political stance. The group exhibited a steady development from an early raucous punk style with 1977's "Wire - Pink Flag," to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers on both 1978's "Wire - Chairs Missing," and 1979's "Wire - 154." The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout its career.

In 2004 founding member Gilbert left the band. In 2010 Matthew Simms joined.
Sites:
pinkflag.com, wireviews.com, Facebook, MySpace, SoundCloud, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia
Aliases:
Wir
Members:
Bruce Gilbert, Colin Newman, George Gill, Graham Lewis, Margaret Fiedler, Matthew Simms, Robert Grey
Variations:
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Albums
SHSP 4076, 0C 062-06 564, SHSP 4076(I) Pink Flag — Wire Wire Pink Flag (Album) Harvest, Harvest, Harvest SHSP 4076, 0C 062-06 564, SHSP 4076(I) Ireland 1977 Sell This Version
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1C 064-06 801 Chairs Missing — Wire Wire Chairs Missing (Album) Harvest, Harvest 1C 064-06 801 Germany 1978 Sell This Version
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TC-SHVL-819 154 — Wire Wire 154 (EP, Album) Harvest, Harvest TC-SHVL-819 Australia 1979 Sell This Version
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ROUGH 29, ROUGH 2912 Document And Eyewitness — Wire Wire Document And Eyewitness (MiniAlbum, Album) Rough Trade, Rough Trade ROUGH 29, ROUGH 2912 UK 1981 Sell This Version
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STUMM 42 The Ideal Copy — Wire Wire The Ideal Copy (Album) Mute STUMM 42 Italy 1987 Sell This Version
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50617 A Bell Is A Cup... Until It Is Struck — Wire Wire A Bell Is A Cup... Until It Is Struck (Album) Mute 50617 France 1988 Sell This Version
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C STUMM 66 It's Beginning To And Back Again — Wire Wire It's Beginning To And Back Again (Album) Mute C STUMM 66 UK 1989 Sell This Version
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CDStumm 80, CDSTUMM 80 Manscape — Wire Wire Manscape (Album) Mute, Mute CDStumm 80, CDSTUMM 80 UK 1990 Sell This Version
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ALCB 279 The Drill — Wire Wire The Drill (Album) Mute, Mute ALCB 279 Japan 1991 Sell This Version
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none Send — Wire Wire Send (Album) Pinkflag none UK 2003 Sell This Version
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PF7TV On The Box: 1979 — Wire Wire On The Box: 1979 Pinkflag PF7TV US 2004 Sell This Version
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PF8TV The Scottish Play: 2004 — Wire Wire The Scottish Play: 2004 (Album) Pinkflag PF8TV US 2005 Sell This Version
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PF9-10 Live At The Roxy, London - April 1st & 2nd 1977 / Live At CBGB Theatre, New York - July 18th 1978 — Wire Wire Live At The Roxy, London - April 1st & 2nd 1977 / Live At CBGB Theatre, New York - July 18th 1978 ‎(2xCD, Album) Pinkflag PF9-10 UK 2006 Sell This Version
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PF 17 Object 47 — Wire Wire Object 47 (Album, EP) Pinkflag PF 17 USA, Canada & UK 2008 Sell This Version
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PFB 803 01 Dec 1987 The Town & Country, London — Wire Wire 01 Dec 1987 The Town & Country, London (Album) Pinkflag PFB 803 2010
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PFB 001 08 Dec 2000 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh — Wire Wire 08 Dec 2000 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh (Album) Pinkflag PFB 001 2010
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PFB 003 19 Apr 2002 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol — Wire Wire 19 Apr 2002 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol (Album) Pinkflag PFB 003 2010
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PFB 801 21 Jul 1988 Astoria, London — Wire Wire 21 Jul 1988 Astoria, London (Album) Pinkflag PFB 801 2010
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PFB 701 25 Oct 1978 Bradford University — Wire Wire 25 Oct 1978 Bradford University (Album) Pinkflag PFB 701 2010
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PF 18 LP Red Barked Tree — Wire Wire Red Barked Tree (Album) Pinkflag PF 18 LP UK 2010 Sell This Version
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PFB 004 02 May 2000 Great American, San Francisco — Wire Wire 02 May 2000 Great American, San Francisco (Album) Pinkflag PFB 004 2011
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PFB 804 17 Dec 1985 Paradiso, Amsterdam — Wire Wire 17 Dec 1985 Paradiso, Amsterdam (Album) Pinkflag PFB 804 2011
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PFB 703 12 Nov 1978, SO36, Berlin — Wire Wire 12 Nov 1978, SO36, Berlin (Album) Pinkflag PFB 703 2011
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PFB 802 21 Jul 1985 Bloomsbury Theatre, London — Wire Wire 21 Jul 1985 Bloomsbury Theatre, London ‎(DVD-D, Ltd, NTSC) Pinkflag PFB 802 UK 2011 Sell This Version
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PF 19 The Black Session — Wire Wire The Black Session ‎(CD, Album) Pinkflag PF 19 UK, Europe & US 2011 Sell This Version

Reviews Show All 5 Reviews

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meltdog

meltdog

December 31, 2022
The band that launched so many genres. Intelligent and stylish.
mekon21

mekon21

March 19, 2016
hi, can anyone say something about a compilation called "Never for money, always for love" (line from "Practice makes perfect")?
See 2 replies
Stoffeler10

Stoffeler10

January 16, 2005
edited over 13 years ago
"I've found something no one else is looking for. I've found something that there's no use for. And what's more. I'm keeping it to myself."

Wire was a real phenomenon in the end 70's. And probably THE BAND of that time.
Their first three LPs, all equally brilliant, absorbed or better reflected, what was happening in Europe these days.
Their sound changed from the fast and short punk tracks of "Pink Flag" and leaded to the longer, more complex sounds of "154" .

Wire was a band of four strong individualists with different music preferences.
And that's probably the reason why their collaboration only lasts three LPs at first.
Newman and Gotobed surely were more Rock orientated, while Gilbert and Lewis were interested in more abstract soundscapes. But no doubt , it was this mixture, which made this band so special and ahead of the time during that period.
But it's impossible to talk about Wire, without mentioning their lyrics. Because no other „Punk / New Wave“ band had lyrics like that. To get an idea, just picture a play by Samuel Beckett mixed with Kafka.
Anyway the band paused after this three LPs . Just a compilation of live tracks was released in 1981 on Rough Trade Records, called "Document And Eyewitness".
Gilbert and Lewis released LPs not only under their names, but also under Dome and Duet Emmo. Followed by „He Said“ (a Lewis project).
Newman had several solo albums on Beggar`s Banquet, 4 AD and Crammed. But in 1986 Wire started working together again, released a few albums, until their „final split“ in 1991.
After that the members came up with solo projects again. Newman also launched the label Swim, together with Malka Spigel.

Today Wire is active again with a new label called „Pink Flag“.

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