Severed Heads  

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 +"For the [[1961 in literature|1961]] novel by [[Iris Murdoch]], '''see''''' [[A Severed Head]], for the Géricault painting, see ''[[Severed Heads (Géricault)]]''." --Sholem Stein
 +|}
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 +'''Severed Heads''' are an [[Australian music]] group based and founded in [[Sydney]] in 1979 . They are best-known for recordings such as "[[Dead Eyes Opened]]" (1984) and "[[We Have Come To Bless This House]]" (1985).
-'''Severed Heads''' is an [[Australian music]] group based and founded in [[Sydney]] in 1979 (see [[1979 in music]]) as '''Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign'''. They are best-known for recordings such as "[[Dead Eyes Opened]]" (1984) and "[[We Have Come To Bless This House]]" (1985).+Founded in [[1979 in music|1979]] as '''Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign''', the original members were [[Richard Fielding]] and Andrew Wright, who were soon joined by [[Tom Ellard]]. Fielding and Wright had both left the band by mid-1981. Throughout the next decade, several musicians joined Severed Heads' ranks, including [[Garry Bradbury]], Simon Knuckey, [[Stephen Jones (musician)|Stephen Jones]] and Paul Deering.
-The original members were [[Richard Fielding]] and [[Andrew Wright]], and were soon joined by [[Tom Ellard]]. Fielding and Wright eventually left the group, leaving Ellard as a singular talent, the sole continuing member of the group. A variety of people played in Severed Heads, including [[Garry Bradbury]], [[Paul Deering]], and [[Stephen Jones (musician)|Stephen Jones]], but over time the group devolved to [[Tom Ellard]]. +In 1984 the band released "[[Dead Eyes Opened]]" as a single, which was remixed in 1994 and re-released, reaching No. 16 on the [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Singles Chart]]. Two of their singles, "Greater Reward" (1988) and "All Saints Day" (1989), reached the top 30 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Dance Club Songs]] chart. Ellard disbanded the group in 2007 and continued with other projects. Subsequent Severed Heads reunions have occurred: in 2010 for a 30th-anniversary concert, in 2011 in support of [[Gary Numan]]'s tour of Australia, again in 2011 at BimFEST in [[Antwerp]], in 2013 with a gig at the [[Adelaide Festival|Adelaide Festival of Arts]] and in September 2015 with a tour of the United States for the first time in more than 20 years. In November 2016, Severed Heads played at the [[State Library of Victoria]] as part of Melbourne Music Week and in November 2017 they headlined a one-off double act along with [[Snog]] at the Corner Hotel in [[Richmond, Victoria]]. Severed Heads announced that they would again disband following headlining shows in September 2019.
-In early 2008 Ellard announced that Severed Heads was now defunct and that no further creative output would be released under this name. However, in November 2009, it was announced that Severed Heads would be performing a 30th anniversary show on January 14, 2010 as part of the annual [[Sydney Festival]]. It's unclear if this will be a one-off event, or if the Severed Heads name will be revived for the longer term.+==Discography==
-In January 2011, it was announced that Severed Heads would be supporting [[Gary Numan]] in a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album [[The Pleasure Principle (Gary Numan album)|The Pleasure Principle]] the following May.+*''[[Ear Bitten/No Vowels, No Bowels]]'' (1980)
- +*''Side 2'' (1980)
-==History==+*''[[Clean (Severed Heads album)|Clean]]'' (1981)
-The band's name change to Severed Heads, from the aforementioned Mr. & Mrs. No Smoking Sign, was meant, in part, as a joke. Tom Ellard: “...We were called Mr. & Mrs. No Smoking Sign, because that was really ugly. Then, we wanted to fool people that we were Industrial and it worked. Severed Heads was a really dumb name, so that’s what stuck. Forever. I hate it by the way.”+*''[[Blubberknife]]'' (1982)
- +
-Early Severed Heads music was characterised by the use of [[tape loop]]s, noisy arrangements of synthesizers and other dissonant sound sources, putting Severed Heads in the general category of [[industrial music]]. After several releases in that vein, Severed Heads began incorporating various popular music tropes, such as a consistent 4/4 rhythm, strong melodic lines, resolving chord arrangements and Ellard's thin but gently eerie vocals and elliptical, poetic lyrics. This move was underscored by the incorporation of mimetic devices, such as [[drum machine]]s and bass synthesizers. The result was a striking hybrid of the [[avant-garde]] industrial and pop. +
- +
-Severed Heads were signed to [[Nettwerk]] records in North America, and [[Volition Records]] in Australia, and charted in 1984 with the song "Dead Eyes Opened". This deal led to a world tour, which was as much a multimedia event, thanks to the [[video synthesizer]]s of Stephen Jones. They also charted in the [[United States]] in the late 1980s with a [[12-inch single]] of "Greater Reward" (from the album ''Rotund For Success'') assisted by several remixes by [[Sydney]]-based producer [[Robert Racic]]. Racic, who produced album tracks and various singles on and off through the late 1980s and early 1990s and became integral to the Severed Heads sound of that period.+
- +
-Nettwerk severed its relations with Ellard in the early 1990s, leaving the band adrift in the marketplace. Ellard sought out another label for his next release, ''Gigapus'', in 1995, which was released on Volition in Australia and Decibel Records elsewhere. Around this time, the band had a major Australian hit with a remixed version of "[[Dead Eyes Opened]]". Both Volition and Decibel soon folded, and once again, Severed Heads were unaligned with the traditional music industry, and didn't fully own the rights to their music. This changed in 1998, when [[Sony Music]] sold Ellard the rights back for a nominal fee.+
- +
-With his music back in his hands and fully independent, Ellard took this on as a challenge and began developing an independent music system, which is entirely Internet based, at sevcom.com (the link is below). During the early 2000s, Tom Ellard blazed an independent path for his art and developed several innovative products, such as the Sevcom Music Server, a subscription based [[ambient music]] distribution system.+
- +
-Ellard has worked on a side project, Coklacoma, which released a few CDs in the late 1990s. By 2004, he was heavily involved with developing video but increasingly felt that the Severed Heads label was a thing of the past, and in 2008 opted to jettison the name. Ellard also worked extensively during the 1990s with other Sydney based electronic musicians and groups such as [[Paul Mac]] (of [[Itch-E and Scratch-E]]) and [[Boxcar (band)|Boxcar]], former alumni of the now-defunct Volition label, as well as [[The Lab (band)|The Lab]].+
- +
-==Selected discography==+
- +
-*''Ear Bitten'' (1980)+
-*''Clean'' (1981)+
-*''[[Blubberknife]]'' (1983)+
*''[[Since the Accident]]'' (1983) *''[[Since the Accident]]'' (1983)
-*"[[Dead Eyes Opened]]" (1984)+*''[[City Slab Horror]]'' (1985)
-*''City Slab Horror'' (1985)+*''[[Come Visit The Big Bigot|Come Visit the Big Bigot]]'' (1986)
-*''Clifford Darling, Please Don't Live In The Past'' (1985)+*''[[Bad Mood Guy]]'' (1987)
-*''Come Visit the Big Bigot'' (1986)+*''[[Rotund For Success]]'' (1989)
-*''Bad Mood Guy'' (1987)+*''[[Cuisine (With Piscatorial)]]'' (1991)
-*"Greater Reward" (1988)+*''[[Gigapus]]'' (1994)
-*''Bulkhead'' (1988)+*''[[Haul Ass]]'' (1998)
-*''Rotund For Success'' (1989)+*''Contoured Simulation'' (1998)
-*''Retread'' (1991)+*''Airconditioning Your Productivity'' (1999)
-*''Cuisine'' (1991)+*''Gashing and Kato'' (2001)
-*''Gigapus'' (1994)+
-*"Dead Eyes Opened 94" (1994) (remix)+
-*''Severything V. 1'' (1996) (CD-ROM)+
-*''Haul Ass'' (1998)+
*''Op1.0'' (2002) *''Op1.0'' (2002)
 +*''Cubical Broadcasts'' (2002)
 +*''Controlling Time'' (2003)
*''Op2.0'' (2004) *''Op2.0'' (2004)
-*''The Illustrated Family Doctor'' (2005) (Soundtrack)+*''Op2.5 - Millennium Cheesecake'' (2005)
-*''Op2.5 - Millennium Cheesecake (2005)+*''[[Under Gail Succubus]]'' (2006)
-*''Under Gail Succubus (2006)+*''Op3.0'' (2007)
-*''Viva! Heads! (2006)+
-==See also==+
- +
-:''For the [[1961 in literature|1961]] novel by [[Iris Murdoch]], '''see''''' [[A Severed Head]], for the Géricault painting, see ''[[Severed Heads (Géricault)]]''.+
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

Revision as of 12:54, 2 April 2020

"For the 1961 novel by Iris Murdoch, see A Severed Head, for the Géricault painting, see Severed Heads (Géricault)." --Sholem Stein

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Severed Heads are an Australian music group based and founded in Sydney in 1979 . They are best-known for recordings such as "Dead Eyes Opened" (1984) and "We Have Come To Bless This House" (1985).

Founded in 1979 as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign, the original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, who were soon joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright had both left the band by mid-1981. Throughout the next decade, several musicians joined Severed Heads' ranks, including Garry Bradbury, Simon Knuckey, Stephen Jones and Paul Deering.

In 1984 the band released "Dead Eyes Opened" as a single, which was remixed in 1994 and re-released, reaching No. 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Two of their singles, "Greater Reward" (1988) and "All Saints Day" (1989), reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Ellard disbanded the group in 2007 and continued with other projects. Subsequent Severed Heads reunions have occurred: in 2010 for a 30th-anniversary concert, in 2011 in support of Gary Numan's tour of Australia, again in 2011 at BimFEST in Antwerp, in 2013 with a gig at the Adelaide Festival of Arts and in September 2015 with a tour of the United States for the first time in more than 20 years. In November 2016, Severed Heads played at the State Library of Victoria as part of Melbourne Music Week and in November 2017 they headlined a one-off double act along with Snog at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, Victoria. Severed Heads announced that they would again disband following headlining shows in September 2019.

Discography


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