A thread about The Chameleons...

[Master Ray]

Well, we're all of a similar age and I think this is a band that many might appreciate or remember...

Flashback to the 2000's.  I'm seeing NMA at the London Astoria, there's a support band called Bird who many of the crowd seem to quite appreciate.  I subsequently find out the singer was Mark Burgess who was in a band called, yes, The Chameleons.

That was when I left it but flash forward to when I had access to Spotify and I remembered The Chameleons and subsequently  listened them relentlessly and just fell in love with them.  What a great band, SO many wonderful tunes!  Reading up on them I find they're somewhat forgotten in some quarters and regarded as 'The Lost Yet Great Manchester Band' by many... heck, Noel Gallagher, Smashing Pumpkins, The Verve, Editors, The Slow Readers Club, Flaming Lips and Interpol have directly quoted them as a big influence... 

Well, they're back and have a new album coming out in September, the first since 2001.  They've just put out a terrific new song called 'Saviors Are A Dangerous Thing' (which I'll post below) and they're touring in November, I must try and make it to one of those dates!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wpCUqoV0FY

So, any Chameleons fans out there?   

[Guillaume]

I'm not a specialist in The Chameleons, but there are a few songs I like from them, especially "Soul in isolation" which is an incredibly strong, intense and moving song! There is a band often compared to The Chameleons and that I worship so much that I like them almost as much as NMA, I even created a thread about it: The Sound

[Master Ray]

The Sound, well, never heard of them but I'll be sure to check them out.

[Guillaume]

The Sound, well, never heard of them but I'll be sure to check them out.

Adrian Borland, the much missed and brilliant singer and guitar player of The Sound, was a friend of Mark Burgess and Burgess even wrote a lovely song about his friend Adrian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEVpSaL4hhA&list=RDxEVpSaL4hhA&start_radio=1&ab_channel=REPTILEHOUSE

Master Ray, At least listen to The Sound's masterpiece FROM THE LION'S MOUTH (with unforgettable songs like "Winning", "Silent air" and "New dark age"):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoSZTNr48gg&list=PLMxy067kbpQiGUg7nXLOa29Fw9oR6ckU4&ab_channel=TheSound-Topic

 and their incredible 1985 Marquee live album IN THE HOTHOUSE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpzCAT4Vhnk&list=PLI6kLIhBBwmTJmxvgcdH-_8K1I7xcCJ2h&index=1&ab_channel=TheSound-Topic

The official thread about The Sound/Adrian Borland:

https://board.newmodelarmy.org/index.php?topic=10095.0

[Master Ray]

The Sound, well, never heard of them but I'll be sure to check them out.

Adrian Borland, the much missed and brilliant singer and guitar player of The Sound, was a friend of Mark Burgess and Burgess even wrote a lovely song about his friend Adrian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEVpSaL4hhA&list=RDxEVpSaL4hhA&start_radio=1&ab_channel=REPTILEHOUSE

Master Ray, At least listen to The Sound's masterpiece FROM THE LION'S MOUTH (with unforgettable songs like "Winning", "Silent air" and "New dark age"):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoSZTNr48gg&list=PLMxy067kbpQiGUg7nXLOa29Fw9oR6ckU4&ab_channel=TheSound-Topic

 and their incredible 1985 Marquee live album IN THE HOTHOUSE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpzCAT4Vhnk&list=PLI6kLIhBBwmTJmxvgcdH-_8K1I7xcCJ2h&index=1&ab_channel=TheSound-Topic

The official thread about The Sound/Adrian Borland:

https://board.newmodelarmy.org/index.php?topic=10095.0

Sir, I might have taken a while to get around to it but I've finally been listening to The Sound...  and you're absolutely right.  What a terrific band. Only listened to From The Lions Mouth and All Fall Down so far (I actually like AFD better) but I'll be right onto the rest of their stuff asap.

 

[Guillaume]

Great news Master Ray! I'm glad to read another NMA fan who likes the songwriting of the late Adrian Borland, and I'm taking this opportunity to bring up and update the thread dedicated to this band. 

[lostockboy]

Well, we're all of a similar age and I think this is a band that many might appreciate or remember...

Flashback to the 2000's.  I'm seeing NMA at the London Astoria, there's a support band called Bird who many of the crowd seem to quite appreciate.  I subsequently find out the singer was Mark Burgess who was in a band called, yes, The Chameleons.

That was when I left it but flash forward to when I had access to Spotify and I remembered The Chameleons and subsequently  listened them relentlessly and just fell in love with them.  What a great band, SO many wonderful tunes!  Reading up on them I find they're somewhat forgotten in some quarters and regarded as 'The Lost Yet Great Manchester Band' by many... heck, Noel Gallagher, Smashing Pumpkins, The Verve, Editors, The Slow Readers Club, Flaming Lips and Interpol have directly quoted them as a big influence... 

Well, they're back and have a new album coming out in September, the first since 2001.  They've just put out a terrific new song called 'Saviors Are A Dangerous Thing' (which I'll post below) and they're touring in November, I must try and make it to one of those dates!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wpCUqoV0FY

So, any Chameleons fans out there?   

I've been a massive Chameleons fan for sooo many years and I just don't know where to start. Anyway, I got in to them in the later 80's not long after they split up in 1987 so missed seeing them live so of course I collected as much of their releases as was possible which included 3 excellent album releases, yes, all 3 were brilliant albums. Mark Burgess and John Lever started another band in 1988 called The Sun and the Moon who released a self titled album and a 12" single and who I got to see live about 4 times but that was short lived when they split up after maybe a couple of years. Thankfully The Chameleons reformed in 2000 releasing another excellent album and so I was able to see them live for the first time when they played Manchester Academy on June 3rd of that year and it also being my birthday made it even more memorable, what a great present. That gig was released as a live DVD so one not to ever forget and I also managed to see them a couple more times and then in 2002 they split again. After that I saw Mark supporting NMA in October 2005 when the then band was Mark Burgess and the sons of God and again I collected a fair amount of Mark Burgess's releases over the next few years.  Next up I saw John Lever's Second Skin live at Manchester Academy 3 in September 2009 which was basically drummer John Lever and band doing Chameleons songs where Mark guested on vocals which then went on to become Chameleons Vox who I saw live well into double figures and who released one EP called M+D=1( in 2013.  John Lever then left Chameleons Vox after a fall out so I heard and then Reg Smithies from the original line up came back on board and then for whatever reason they went back to being The Chameleons in 2021.  Since then I've managed to see them live 5 times including a two night stint in July this year in Nantwich (where I was  born) and the next night at The Devil's Arse in Castleton (a great venue name) and I will hopefully see them later this year when they will hopefully perform more songs from their up and coming new album release, so looking forward to that. I always tell people that the greatest band out of Manchester are The Chameleons so it was such a shame when I saw them in Nantwich as Oasis were playing Wembley that same night and I think to myself how the hell did that happen as they don't compare to The Chameleons. It's a shame that a lot of people like bands for their image rather than their music as is with Oasis, but of course we are entitled to our own opinions.