The Associates
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The Associates were a Scottish pop band of the early 1980s.
The band members were:
- Billy Mackenzie - Vocals
- Alan Rankine - Instruments
John Murphy, later of SPK and Death in June, was the Associate's drummer in 1981.
They had several hits that made it to at least the Top 20 of the British charts, including "Party Fears Two", "18 Karat Love Affair", and "Club Country". The band also produced several critically acclaimed albums.
Lead singer Billy Mackenzie, became renowned for his dramatic vocal style, and he achieved a cult following, eventually becoming involved with Swiss avant garde outfit Yello. During his tenure with Yello he sang backing vocals on "The Rhythm Divine" with Shirley Bassey. Mackenzie was also a close friend (and rumoured lover) of Morrissey for several years, and is rumoured to be the subject of The Smiths' song "William, It Was Really Nothing". (Furthering the rumours, the Associates subsequently recorded a song entitled "Stephen, You Were Really Something".)
Tragically Billy Mackenzie committed suicide in 1997 aged 39, after suffering from depression. He was contemplating a comeback at the time. The albums 'Beyond the Sun' (1997) and 'Eurocentric' (2000) were released posthumously.
Discography
- The affectionate punch (Fiction, 1980)
- Fourth drawer down (Fiction, 1981)
- Sulk (WEA, 1982)
- Perhaps (WEA, 1985)
- The glamour chase (WEA, 1988) - but unreleased until 2003
- Wild and lonely (Circa, 1990)
- Popera (WEA East West, 1990)
- The Radio 1 sessions (Nighttracks, 1994)
- Double Hipness (V2, 2000)
- Radio 1 sessions volume 1;1981-83 (Strange Fruit, 2003)
- Radio 1 sessions volume 2;1984-85 (Strange Fruit, 2003)
- Singles (Warners, 2004)
External Links
- An Associates website (http://www.lexiconmagazine.com/NWC/Associates.html)