Goth Rock Party Day
Barnsley Goth Sounds
Party Day were from Wombwell near Barnsley, the North at that time being a bit of a Goth Powerhouse and was home to bands such as 'Danse Society', 'The Sisters Of Mercy', 'Ghost Dance' and 'The Cult'. They originally started off as 'Further Experiments' from 1978 - 1981, they then changed their name to Party Day. Their first single was released on their own 'Party Day' Record label in 1983.
The Band
The initial line-up was:
- Carl Firth - Bass/Vocals
- Martin Steele - Guitar
- Greg Firth - Guitar
- Michael Baker - Drums
The band's first single was 'Row The Boat Ashore' with the B Side 'Poison'. Have a listen to it below:
Further Releases & 'Peel' Airplay
Step forward to 1984 and they released their second 7" single 'The Spider' again on their own label. This got some playing on BBC Radio 1's John Peel show at the time.
As a band they worked hard and gigged constantly, they were evidently popular at Sheffield's 'Leadmill' and also on the Leeds Goth Scene of the day. They also received quite positive reviews by record magazines 'NME' and 'Sounds' back in the day.
They were to release one more single called 'Glasshouse' in 1985 and also released an album of the same name. Catch the track 'Atoms' from that album below:
A really good track to be honest, solid throbbing bass line, good keyboard atmospherics, a kind of New Wave Style meets Goth Rock.
Anarchy in Leeds
Glasshouse was engineered by Neil Ferguson who was part of Leeds based anarchist pop/punk band Chumbawamba in the role of recording engineer. Have a check out of the band's style and have a listen to the 1985 E.P. called 'Revolution' released on the band's own Independent 'Agit Prop' Record Label.
Sounds absolutely nothing like their well known chart hit 'Tub Thumping'! Their first real single release was on cassette in 1984 during the 'Miner's Strike' produced 'at home' as a benefit for the striking miners and their families.
Simplicity & The Unfinished 3rd
Party Day released a further album 'Simplicity' in 1986 and were part way through a third album, but eventually were to split by 1988. They released an album for their 40th Anniversary last year (2021) called 'Sorted!' on the 'Optic Nerve Recordings' label. Have a read of the review at louderthanwar.com.
You can catch their website at: partyday.co.uk
Also have a listen to the Playlist by [email protected] it contains some of their wonderful material, some of the tracks are:
- Atoms
- My Heroine
- Carousel
- Peel And Party Day
Videos Thanks to
Info Sources Thanks
Discogs, Wikipedia, PartyDay.co.uk, LouderThanWar.com
Photo Thanks
Photo by Peter Herrmann on Unsplash
Band Photo by Discogs.com
Cassette Photo Discogs.com
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