@Farin
Ok, you asked for it... :twisted: Here comes a little music history lesson:
What would later be labelled as goth started long before The Smiths (and The Smiths were never a goth band, although it wasn\'t/isn\'t uncommon for goths to like them). Towards the late 70s you could start seeing punk bands developing their sound in different directions. Some of them turned to a darker, more twisted and sometimes quirkier sound with a more deliberate sense of aesthetics, both in music, style and performance.
Siouxsie & The Banshees, who\'d been part of the punk scene for a few years, released their second album Join Hands in 1979. This album had a distinctly darker sound and a very different overall character than the usual punk music. And one of the bands most prominent characteristics was the singer and her quite unique style.
A single from the album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77fZC04H_C4
Another punk band turning to a darker and weirder sound was UK Decay. They started in 1978, but already after one or two singles they clearly started heading a different direction. Some claim the first time the word \"gothic\" were first used to describe a band in British music press was with reference to UK Decay sometime in the early 80s.
From their third single, 1980: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMdmrnzcyfc
Another important band that surfaced in the late 70s were Bauhaus, coming more from an art school environment than being part of the original punk scene. Thanks to a unique sound and a sense of theatrics in their performance, mainly by the singer, they made a strong impact.
Their first single, from 1979: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mriBc6NjUhg
In the early 80s the sound of a certain clique of the \"post-punk\" bands of (mostly) the UK became more and more disconnected from the punk sound and certain common aesthetics could be identified. These bands often had a rather devote audience that followed them around when they were touring. This became a subculture of its own.
Some noteable early bands:
Sex Gang Children (another contender for the first band to be called \"goth\"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTgDfSF_2Pk
Virgin Prunes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMMHf2mJV1g
Play Dead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvU9x9koIXE
Now, I realise that most of this probably sound gloomy, and of course, the sound IS dark. But there is humour to be found as well in lyrics and the band\'s often theatrical performances. None of the bands I\'ve linked to here took themselves very seriously (at least not back then). This music brings a smile to my face, at least. It certainly doesn\'t make me depressed.
Ok, enough about this... Back to discussing drinking blood.
Ok, you asked for it... :twisted: Here comes a little music history lesson:
What would later be labelled as goth started long before The Smiths (and The Smiths were never a goth band, although it wasn\'t/isn\'t uncommon for goths to like them). Towards the late 70s you could start seeing punk bands developing their sound in different directions. Some of them turned to a darker, more twisted and sometimes quirkier sound with a more deliberate sense of aesthetics, both in music, style and performance.
Siouxsie & The Banshees, who\'d been part of the punk scene for a few years, released their second album Join Hands in 1979. This album had a distinctly darker sound and a very different overall character than the usual punk music. And one of the bands most prominent characteristics was the singer and her quite unique style.
A single from the album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77fZC04H_C4
Another punk band turning to a darker and weirder sound was UK Decay. They started in 1978, but already after one or two singles they clearly started heading a different direction. Some claim the first time the word \"gothic\" were first used to describe a band in British music press was with reference to UK Decay sometime in the early 80s.
From their third single, 1980: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMdmrnzcyfc
Another important band that surfaced in the late 70s were Bauhaus, coming more from an art school environment than being part of the original punk scene. Thanks to a unique sound and a sense of theatrics in their performance, mainly by the singer, they made a strong impact.
Their first single, from 1979: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mriBc6NjUhg
In the early 80s the sound of a certain clique of the \"post-punk\" bands of (mostly) the UK became more and more disconnected from the punk sound and certain common aesthetics could be identified. These bands often had a rather devote audience that followed them around when they were touring. This became a subculture of its own.
Some noteable early bands:
Sex Gang Children (another contender for the first band to be called \"goth\"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTgDfSF_2Pk
Virgin Prunes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMMHf2mJV1g
Play Dead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvU9x9koIXE
Now, I realise that most of this probably sound gloomy, and of course, the sound IS dark. But there is humour to be found as well in lyrics and the band\'s often theatrical performances. None of the bands I\'ve linked to here took themselves very seriously (at least not back then). This music brings a smile to my face, at least. It certainly doesn\'t make me depressed.
Ok, enough about this... Back to discussing drinking blood.
