1981-1986
Leeds, North of England, 1981. The March Violets started in 1982 as one of Leeds' four famous 'drum machine bands', the other three being Merciful Release labelmates The Sisters of Mercy, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and The Three Johns.
From the beginning they wanted a band that was very sparse on stage. No drummer... so in came the drum machine (it was state-of-the-art then, the most advanced drum machine on the market, but now of course seems really primitive). They wanted something visually striking at the front of the stage. So, two vocalists. Male & female. Both looking and sounding very different.
First recordings were at KG Studios in Bridlington, a small seaside town in North Yorkshire, with the fabulous Kenny Giles. It's amazing what you can do on an 8-track. They recorded the Religious as Hell EP, Grooving in Green, Steam, 1,2,I Love You and Crow Baby there. It wasn't until Snake Dance that they got into a 24 track (Amazon in Liverpool).
Rosie left the band in 1984, after Snake Dance, and things started to go Horribly Wrong. By the time Rosie returned in 1986, after working in Sudan for two years, The March Violets were no more. For now...