Performance new single ‘The Living’ released 26th April
‘The Living’ The new single released 26th April 2010 on Too Much Information Records Possibly the only Mancunian pop trio to be fronted by an internationally published novelist, Performance end a three year hiatus with their storming new single ‘The Living,’ released 26th April. ‘The Living’ captures the ecstasy and misery of brilliant English pop. On the surface it’s a glittering, joyous rush of a song, but lyrically it’s dark and ominous. Unsurprisingly, Performance are a band with issues. They have overcome things that would have broken a lesser band – drugs, depression, disease, losing a band member, major label politics – but Performance never quit, they just got better. After a brief dalliance with a major, the band self-released their debut album ‘(we are) Performance’ in 2007. Only 1000 beautifully packaged CD’s were manufactured, all of which were sold (at £15) through Manchester record shops and the band’s website. Since then, singer Joe Stretch has written two acclaimed novels, ‘Friction’ (2007) and ‘Wildlife’ (2008), published by Vintage/Random House. Joe Cross (Synth, Bass, Programming) and Laura Marsden (guitar) formed the electro-pop duo Kiss in Cities, and Cross has also been working as a producer/songwriter, helping to develop, among others, hotly-tipped new bands Hurts and The Sound Of Arrows. Despite their other projects, the three childhood friends still found time to write and record their new album ‘Red Brick Heart’, produced by Cliff Jones, due out later this year.
Performance live:
Fri 26th February Manchester, High Voltage at Deaf Institute
T: 0161 832 1111 W: www.ticketline.co.uk
Thurs 25th March London, Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen
W: www.ticketweb.co.uk
Performance are: Joe Stretch (Vox), Laura Marsden (Guitar, Vox) & Joe Cross (Bass & Synths)
www.myspace.com/weareperformance
More bio about Performance;
Performance write thoughtful, dark, joyous, anthems. But they’re a strange band. The Mancunian outsiders have always been out of kilter with prevailing musical trends. Since getting together seven years ago, they have stuck to their own agenda. They have been driven by an urge to continue making their stern but euphoric music despite suffering more slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than is strictly fair.
Now, having survived major label turbulence, a fractious inter-band romance and the lead singer becoming an internationally-published novelist, Performance – frontman Joe Stretch, guitarist Laura Marsden and Joe Cross (synths/bass/producer) – are back with a dynamic new single plus a spectacular album that is shaping up as one of the more essential releases of 2010.
The single, The Living, sets a perfect tone for the album, Red Brick Heart. Together, they capture the mastery and misery of great British pop: on the surface, the music surges with glittering optimism; beneath that veneer, however, there lurks something deeper and troubled. It’s an irresistible combination.
‘I’ve always been into the idea of bands with decent lyrics,’ says Joe Stretch, (the singer, the novelist). ‘I’m into lyrical pop. I don’t really hear music. Just the words.’
Laura Marsden and Joe Cross bring the musical joy to Stretch’s dark words. This conflict is the essence of the band’s charm. ‘We actually make optimistic music,’ says Joe Cross. ‘But I guess there’s no real happiness without melancholy.’
The trio, friends since school, formed Performance in Manchester in 2003. Performance were at the vanguard of the synth revival, making machine-based pop music back when pop was a dirty word.
‘We’ve always divided Mancunian audiences,’ says Joe Stretch. ‘For some, we’re superficial tossers. For others, we’re sonic sages. Personally, I think we’re a subtle cross between Mickey Mouse and Jean-Paul Sartre. Just what the world needs.’
The band’s dominance of the Mancunian underground lead to a major label deal with Polydor in 2005 and a host of articles tipping the art-pop subversives for mainstream success. But as bands such as The Killers invaded the charts, Performance were busy imploding in a haze of chemicals, violence and romantic rifts that left them lost and in separate rooms.
‘We were a mess and we knew we weren’t going to happen,’ says Stretch. ‘We were getting great reviews, but we weren’t even talking to each other at the time. There was a lot going on behind the scenes, and I wasn’t surprised when we were dropped.’
In 2007, rehabilitated and mates again, the members of Performance returned to Manchester, where they completed the recording of their debut album, (We Are) Performance. An impressive debut, it was well-reviewed and loved by the band’s patient fans. One thousand beautifully-packaged CDs were manufactured, all of which were sold (at £15) through local record shops and online.
In late 2007 the band’s career was again interrupted when Joe Stretch signed a publishing deal with Vintage/Random House for his debut novel, Friction. Performance began what would become an amicable three year hiatus. During this time, Stretch published two novels, Friction (2008) and Wildlife (2009). He is currently working on his third. Cross and Marsden formed an electro-pop duo, Kiss In Cities, while Cross also made himself busy as a producer and songwriter, working with the hotly-tipped acts such as Hurts and The Sound Of Arrows.
‘We’d still meet loads in those days,’ says Laura Marsden. ‘And when we did we’d have a laugh and often end up writing a song and then, I guess, we accidentally wrote a new album.’
‘The thing is,’ says Stretch. ‘We all love being in Performance. We can’t help being in Performance. And right now, it’s odd, I feel like we’re unstoppable.’
Now, in 2010, Performance are back. New single, The Living, is the first off the album, Red Brick Heart, released through the band’s own label, Too Much Information. They are armed with a blind determination to succeed against the odds. In a world of talent shows and overnight success, they make for an oddly enchanting spectacle.
‘I suppose there’s always a chance that love will tear us apart again. But we’re a brilliant band,’ says Stretch. ‘We’re passionate and we’re flawed. That’s why we’re coming back. Some people in the music business told us it would be better if we changed our name, so we could seem new. But I’m not going to change my name for a man who looks like polished fruit. Anyway, aren’t most new bands crap? People might not necessarily be clamouring for our return. I mean, we’re not Abba – but we’re a fuck sight better than half the rubbish that gets on television.’
