The Origins of Goth in the UK by Paul Lanyon RIP

Paul, M and me at Whitby Goth week mid 90s taken by Alma.

The below is a great piece on the origins Goth in the UK written by my late friend Paul (Lano) Lanyon RIP. Paul and his former wife Alma were there at the very beginnings of Punk Rock and followed the part that evolved into Goth as we know it. We were very close friends for nearly for 10 years going to Goth all dayers in Nottingham, Whitby Gothic weekend, Gigs at the Merecat in Birmingham ,Carnival of Souls in Derby spending many epic weekends drinking, discussing and enjoying all things goth. However we drifted apart due mainly to a personal tragedy and a need to go my own way. Life cut’s like a knife sometimes. We did meet at the WGT , in Whitby and also he came to Leeds for Black Veil a few times.

(The words of Paul )- I was asked to write this for Goth World in 2009. Goth a Historical perspective
Goth is a style of music and fashion which evolved In the United Kingdom from British Punk roots. One can view the development of Goth as number of phases all that overlap in some ways. These phases aren’t used here to create waves or sub genres etc they are just used in order to clarify how Goth developed chronologically in it’s historical context. I will also discuss other non Goth genres such as Original Deathrock, New Deathrock and Darkwave which are often viewed as having close associations with Goth due to similar influences both in regards to fashion and musically too.

1978 to 1981(In the beginning……..)
The first or Proto Goth (1978 to 1981) bands had origins in the formulative period of Punk (1976-78) and independently helped to create what is now termed Goth. The most notable and inluential bands were Siouxsie And The Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Cure, Killing Joke and UK Decay All the bands had diverse influences, musical (Glam (Bowie, Roxy Music,T Rex, Punk, Pop Art Rock (Velvet Underground, Nico,), Rock (Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Stooges, The Doors) and visual styles but shared many common traits. The common denominators that linked them were the usage of lyrics and iconography which were influenced by Gothic/horror literature, themes, film, TV and imagery, a common and sometimes shared fan base and also because they were often referred to Gothic by the media. Chart success ensured increased media coverage through the medium of TV, music press, radio coverage. Ironically the death of Ian Curtis gave added impetus and in consequence interest in Goth. All the bands had adopted black as their favourite colour, Siouxsie became a Goth icon with her spikey hair, pale make-up and blood red lipstick. Fans of Bauhaus and The Banshees created what was to become the prototype Goth image of black spikey hair, pale makeup and Winkle Pickers, Joy Division inspired ten thousand raincoats often worn on a bright summer’s day, Killing Joke’s tribal beats fuelled frenzied dancers and Uk Decay allowed many to take their chances.

Some of the most notable vinyl releases from this period are
(dates in parenthsis are when the band were either created in embryonic form or when they formed in actuality)
Siouxsie And The Banshees 1976
Singles
“Playground Twist” (1978),
“Happy House” (1979),
“Israel” (1980),
“Spellbound” (1981),
“Arabian Knights” (1981)
Albums
“The Scream” (1978),
“Join Hands” (1979),
“Kaleidoscope” (1980),
“Ju Ju” (1981)
Joy Division 1977 (Warsaw)
Singles
“Transmission” (1979)
“Love Will tear Us Apart” (1980)
“Atmosphere” (1980)
Albums
“Unknown Pleasures” (1979)
“Still” (1980)
Bauhaus (Bauhaus 1919 SR) 1977
Singles
“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (1979)
“Terror Couple Kill Colonel” (1980)
“Telegram Sam” (1980)
“Passion Of Lovers” (1981)
Albums
“In The Flat Field” (1980)
“Mask” (1981)
Killing Joke 1978
Singles
“Almost Red” (1979)
“Wardance” (1980)
“Requiem” (1980)
“Follow The Leaders” (1981)
Albums
“Killing Joke” (1980)
“What’s This For?” (1981)
The Cure (Easy Cure 1976)
Singles
“Jumping Someone Else’s Train” (1979)
“A Forest” (1980)
“Primary” (1981)
“Charlotte Sometimes” (1981)
Albums
“Seventeen Seconds” (1980)
“Faith” (1981)
UK Decay (The Resistors 1979)
Singles
“The Slit Single” (1979)
“The Black 45” (1980)
“For My Country” (1980)
“Unexpected Guest (1981)
Album
“For Madmen Only” (1981)

Phase 2 1980-1986 (The Golden age)
This is a very important period during Goth’s development and evolution. all the so called Proto Goth bands (apart from Joy Division) were still active releasing vinyl, touring etc however it was also a period when many diverse bands were formed and began to achieve recognition thanks the release of vinyl, tours, media coverage and recognition (NME, Record Mirror, Sounds, Melody Maker, Zig Zag etc), radio airplay thanks to DJ’s such as John Peel, Andy Kershaw, Janice Long etc TV appearances (Riverside, Oxford Road Show, The Tube, Switch, Bliss, Whistle Test, Top Of The Pops etc). It was also a period of much change within the scene. Many bands formed in this period such as
The Danse Society, The Veil, Bone Orchard, Holger Hiller, Anorexic Dead, The Folk Devils, The Sisters Of Mercy, Brigandage, Ritual, Theatre Of Hate, Balaam And The Angel, Ausgang, Blood & Roses, Play Dead, The March Violets, Sex Gang Children, 1919, Tones On Tail, Southern Death Cult, Death Cult, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Danielle Dax, Skeletal Family,The Cult, Specimen, Alien Sex Fiend, Flesh For Lulu, The Birthday Party, 13th Chime, The Inca Babies, Xmal Deutschland, The Bizarre Orkeztra, Bitter Grace, Decima Victima Beyond the Wall of Sleep, Belfagore, The Last Cry, Dead Artist Syndrome, Into A Circle, Ipso Facto, In Excelsis, The Virgin Prunes, Dead Can Dance, The Clan Of Xymox, Getting The Fear,
It was the period when the classic Goth look of big hair and pointed boots became standard issue for many Goths both new and old. The three most influential Goth style icons were Siouxsie Sioux, Robert Smith and Daniel Ash there were of course others too such as Anne Marie Hurst, Gavin Friday, J Slut, Nick Fiend, J Ha Ha etc. However it was a period of great individuality and inovation. Yes it’s true that many people found inspiration from many of the people mentioned but they developed it into their own styles which were wonderful in their diversity and creativity. Each band had it’s own personal image and sound. and this helped to create a scene that was both vibrant and wonderfully diverse from the stark amphaetamine fuelled guitar sounds and deep vocals of The Sisters Of Mercy, The wild electronic Punk craziness of Alien Sex Fiend, the Germanic influenced Punk/Cabaret of Sex Gang Children, the hectic Punk induced Ausgang, the blues fired Birthday Party. the sheer lunacy of The Virgin Prunes and the lovely Glam soaked beauty of Specimen, the power of Play Dead, the tribal Southern Death Cult and the rock/psychadelia tinge of The Cult. Clubs catering for Goths such as Tin Can Club, Batcave, Rock City, Hacienda, Club Foot, Warehouse, Le Phono helped by providing venues for bands to play, for Goths to hear their favourite songs and dance to them. Goth was everywhere, in the papers, on TV, Goth fashion was inspiring mainstream fashion, make-up for guys was acceptable (obviously this was also due to the impact of The New Romatics.) It was in a word a wonderfully exciting time. It’s also important to remember that there weren’t any dedicated Goth clubs as such. What we had was Alternative clubs playing what is termed Goth and other styles of music too. Yes much of the music played was in the main usually described as Goth but Goth was then as it is now part of a general alternative scene.

Notable singles and albums.
Singles
Bauhaus “Ziggy Stardust”, “Lagartija Nick”, “She’s In Parties”
Siouxsie And The Banshees “Fireworks”, “Slowdive”, “Dear Prudence”, “Dazzle”, “Swimming Horses”, “Cities In Dust”, “Candyman”
Sex Gang Children “Beasts”, “Sebastiene” “Song And Legend”, “Dieche”, “Maurita Meyer”
Theatre Of Hate “Do You Believe In The West World?”
The Sisters Of Mercy “Body Electric”, “Alice”, “Temple Of Love”, “Walk Away”, “No Time To Cry”
Play Dead “Propoganda”, “Shine”, “Break”, “Isabel”
Southern Death Cult “Fatman”
Balaam And The Angel “World Of Light”, “Love Me”
The Clan Of Xymox “A Day”
Specimen “Returning From A Journey“, “The Beauty Of Poison”
The Cult “Spirit Walker”, “Resurrection Joe”, “She Sells Sanctuary”
Dead Can Dance “The Garden Of Arcane Delight”
Xmal Deutschland “Incubus Succubus”, “Qual”
The Veil “Mannequin”
Alien Sex Fiend “Ignore The Machine”, “R.I.P”, “Dead And Buried”
Killing Joke “Empire Song”, “New Day”, Love Like Blood, “Eighties”
The March Violets “Grooving In Green”, “Religious As Hell”, “Crow Baby”, “Snake Dance”, “Walk Into The Sun”
Ausgang “Teachings Of Web”, “King Hell”
The Birthday Party “The Friend Catcher”, “Release The Bats”
Flesh For Lulu “Subteranneans”, “Roman Candle”, “Restless”
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry “Beating My Head”, “Monkeys On Juice”, Hollow Eyes”, “Spinning Round”
The Death Cult “Brothers Grimm”, “Gods Zoo”
Tones On Tail “Performance”, “Christians”
Ritual “Mind Disease”
Gene Loves Jezebel, “Shaving My Neck”, “Influenza Relapse”, “Shame”, “Screaming For Emmalene”, “Desire”
Skeletal Family “So Sure”, “She Cries Alone”, “Promisedd Land”
The Virgin Prunes “The Faculties Of A Broken Heart”, “Pagan Love Songs”
Albums
Bauhaus “The Sky’s Gone Out”, “Burning From The Inside”
Siouxsie And The Banshees “A Kiss In The Dreamhouse”, “Hyaena”, “Tinderbox”
Sex Gang Children “Beasts”
Skeletal Family “Burning Oil”
The March Violets “Natural History”
Play Dead “The First Flower”, “The Promised Land”
The Cure “Pornography”, “The Top”
The Theatre Of Hate “Westworld”
Flesh For Lulu “Flesh For Lulu”, “Blue Sisters Swing”
Gene Loves Jezebel “Promise”, “Immigrant”
Alien Sex Fiend “Someone’s Sleeping In My Brain”, “Acid Bath”
The Cult “Dreamtime”, “Love”
The Clan Of Xymox “The Clan Of Xymox”
Killing Joke “Fire Dances”, “Revelations” “Nightime”
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry “Talk About THe Weather”
Xmal Deutschland “Fetisch”, “Tocsin”
The Sisters Of Mercy “First And Last And Always”
The Birthday Party “Junkyard”
The Virgin Prunes “If I Die I Die”
Tones On Tail “Pop”
Dead Can Dance “Dead Can Dance”

Third Phase 1985-90 (The age of transformation)

This was the period when Goth truly went global. Whilst many earlier Goth bands (Siouxsie And The Banshees, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Sex Gang Children, The Sisters Of Mercy, the March Violets, ASF, The Cult, GLJ, FFL, The Cure) had toured or played shows in Europe and in some cases Asia and North America . None had yet really broken through or made a major impact on either the general public or the indigenous Punk/Post Punk scenes. This was also the period when this began to change. Many of the earlier bands had either split or were on the verge of splitting (Bauhaus, March Violets, Ausgang, Specimen, Play Dead, UK Decay, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Danse Society, The Virgin Prunes, Sex Gang Children etc.) Other bands were transforming or continuing to transform (Gene Loves Jezebel, Killing Joke, The Cult etc) others were on the verge of transformation (Siouxsie And The Banshees, Flesh For Lulu.) Many new more Rock orientated bands such as (The Fields Of The Nephilim (1984), All About Eve (1984), The Rose Of Avalanche (1984)) were forming or coming to prominence during this period. Valor’s version of Christian Death left it’s Deathrock roots behind them and became part of the British/European scene. The demise of the Sisters Of Mercy led to the creation of The Mission and Ghost Dance and also to the brief vinyl career of The Sisterhood and recognition of Eldritch’s collaborator James Ray. Bands such as The Mission, The Cult, Gene Loves Jezebel, Flesh For Lulu, The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Red Lorry Yellow lorry with Peter Murphy and love & Rockets had varying success on the American market, Europe and Asia. Goth scenes in Europe, America and the Antipides were blossoming thanks to British and home grown bands. Alien Sex Fiend started experimenting with more electronic based music and eventually reverted back to their more traditional sound. The resurrected version of The Sisters Of Mercy achieved worldwide recognition and success despite the fact that they refused to tour, Goth had been embraced by the MTV generation and enjoyed widespread popularity in consequence. European or European based bands such as Mephitso Walz, Neva and Bunkerstrasse created their own form of sound which was influenced by many different bands. Other British bands such as Broken Faith, Altered States, Eyes Of The Nightmare Jungle, The Screaming Marionettes, Nosferatu, Rosetta Stone, Every New Dead Ghost were forming during this period and some of these would go on to be some of the most important bands in the early 1990’s British scene. Gothic fashion was becoming more varied. yes the traditional Gothic image still remained but other styles became popular too. Many Goths adopted and adapted the Historical look (Regency, Georgian, Victorian.) Others the so called “Hippy Goth” look, Spaghetti Western look, or a more rock inspired image.

Notable Singles
The Sisters Of Mercy “This Corrosion”, “Dominion”, “Lucretia (My Reflection)
Alien Sex Fiend “I’m Doing Time In A Maximum Security Twilight Home.”, “I Walk The Line”, “Hurricane Fighter Plane”, “Bun Ho!”
The Mission “Serpent’s kiss”, “Stay With Me”, “Severina”, “Wasteland”, “Tower Of Strength”
The Cult “Rain”, “Revolution”, “Lil’Devil” ,”Love Removal Machine”
The Screaming Marionettes “Screaming Monster”
Danielle Dax “Big Hollow Man”, “Cathouse”, “White Knuckle Ride”
The Bolshoi “Away”, “TV Man”
The Sisterhood “Giving Ground”
The Cure “In Between Days”, “Love Song”, “Pictures Of You”, “Lullaby”
Siouxsie And The Banshees “The Passenger”, “This Wheel’s On Fire”, “Songs From The Edge Of The World”, “Killing Jar”
Peter Murphy “Final Solution”, “All Night Long”
Balaam & The Angel “She Knows”, “Show You Something Special”
Mephitso Walz “Mephitso Walz 12″”
Flesh For Lulu “I Go Crazy” “Siamese Twist”
Love And Rockets “Ball Of Confusion”, “Yin & Yang”, “Mirror People”, “No New Tale To Tell”
The Virgin Prunes “A Love That Lasts Forever”
Neva “Louchald”
The Rose Of Avalanche “LA Rain”, “Velveteen”, “Never Another Sunset”
Christian Death “Believers Of The Unpure”, “Church Of No Return”, “This Is Heresy”
Fields Of The Nephilim “Preacher Man”, “Blue Water”, “Moonchild”, “Psychonaut”
All about Eve, “D For Desire”, “In THe Clouds”, “Flowers In Our Hair”
Ghost Dance “River OF No Return”, “Radar Love”, “Celebrate”
Xmal Deutschland “Matador”, “Sequenz”, “Dreamhouse”
Notable Albums
Danielle Dax “Dark Adapted Eye”
Flesh For Lulu “Long Live The New Flesh”
Fields Of The Nephilim “Dawnrazor”, “The Nephilim”
The Clan Of Xymox “Medusa”
Love And Rockets “Seventh Dream Of A Teenage Heaven”. “Express”
The Virgin Prunes “The Moon Looked Down & Laughed”
Siouxsie And The Banshees “Peepshow”
The Mission “God’s Own Medicine”, “Children”
The Cult “Electric”, “Sonic Temple”
Xmal Deutschland “Viva”
The Sisters Of Mercy “Floodland”
Alien Sex Fiend “Maximum Security”. “It”, “Here Cum Germs”, “Another Planet”
The Cure “The Head At The Door”, “Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me”, “Disintigration”

Third Phase 1989-2000 (The Fanzine age)
I like to refer to this period as the fanzine age. Goth had declined in popularity and many of the bands had either split or radically changed direction. Media coverrage was virtually non-existant for new and non established bands. It was the age of Grunge and Britpop, Goth was an even more dirty word and one had the ironic situation were Goth’s age old enemy were claiming that bands such as Slowdive, and Curve had inherited the mantle of Goth. Goth became smaller, more marginalized, clubs had to cater not just for Goth but for other genres too such as 80’s, Synth Pop, Industrial, Rock, Metal etc. However there were still a number of clubs that catered for many of Goths tastes. New bands emerged and many fanzines started up. It was a very exciting time in many respects. One would join the Gothic Society, subscribe to Blackmail, support fanzines like Helter Skelter, Dead & Buried, Bats And Red Velvet, Necroscope, Scent & Mascara. The Legacy, Lowlife. One would gain most of ones information by word of mouth, flyers and fanzines. It seemed that everybody knew each other and supported one and another’s local scenes. However one must argue that this isn’t the picture that is painted often painted by contemoprary observers 1990’s Goth is in many respects a sadly neglected period in the history of Goth and one is usually presented with the claim that the 1990’s was a period of decline notable in the main for the plethora of Sisters Of Mercy clones and the infusion of Industrial and electronic bands into so called Goth clubs. I do indeed agree that it may seem this way but i would argue that it was indeed an important period in the history of Goth. Three of the main Gothic related festivals started in this period Wave Gotik Treffen (D) (1992), Whitby Gothic Weekend (UK) (1994) and Convergence (USA) (1995). It was a period that saw the demise or partial retirement and periodical resurrection of many of the established Goth bands (Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cult, The Mission, Love And Rockets, Bauhaus, Balaam And The Angel, Siouxsie And The Banshees etc). However the 1990’s was a very interesting and inovative period in Goth’s history and proved the resililience and widespread nature of Goth. Yes there were many bands that were influenced by the big three (SOM, The Mission and FOTN) but there were many others that weren’t. It’s certainly true that much of 1990’s Goth was very different to the earlier Goth bands but Goth like all other genres are susceptical to outside influences. Fashion wise there were very few Goths that retained the traditional look (big hair, pointed boots) Goth fashion was in transformation, large heavy boots, wedges, pipes, club wear etc Victorian/Vampire/Fetish gear, the period of Vampires/Pagans/Fetish/Cyber/Rock/Industrial and musically it was very rare to hear bands such as The Virgin Prunes, Sex Gang Children, Bauhaus etc at most club nights especially from 1996 onwards.This was also the period when Darkwave developed mainly in Europe, I believe that Darkwave should be treated as a separate genre and needs to be considered separately.
1990’s Goth bands
SOM/Mission/FOTN influenced bands
Nightmoves, Kiss The Blade, Sweet William, Son Of William, Damage Done,The Merry Thoughts, The Wake RSV, Slowburn, Funhouse, Wasteland, Restoration, Star Industry ,. others were less obvious Rosetta Stone, Cries Of Tamuz, The Empire Hideous, Dreadful Shadows, Garden Of Delight, Nosferatu, Children On Stun, Love Like Blood, Flowers Of Sacrifice, 13th Floor Vendetta, Gethsemane, Angina Pectoris, Wreckage, Darkside Cowboys, Medicine Rain, Artica, Catherine’s Cathedral,
Other 1990’s Goth bands
Geko, Black Rose, Age Of Heaven,The Dark Theatre, Heavenly Way, Dawn Fades, M4 Alice, Thanatos, Sunshine Blind, All Fools Day, Ave Marie, Act Of Cruelty, Casual Sanity, Another Tale, Arts And Decay, Architecht, The Vengeful Widows, Crystal Reign, Requiem In White, Malaise, Head On Fire, Casual Sanity, Usherhouse, Autumn Cathedral, Two Witches, Madre Del Vizio, Creaming Jesus, Trottel, Suspiria, Amtag Unter Nul, Dark Orange, Diminished Responsabilities, Sins Of The Flesh, Sans Merci, Isabel’s Shrine, Manuskript, Shadowplay, Simon Dreams In Violet,Corpus Delicti, The Marionettes, Swan Death, Veil Of Thorns, London After Midnight, House Of Usher, Ikon, Land Of Passion, Vendemmian, Emma Conquest, Personality Crisis, Return To Kathji, Gothic Requiem, , James ray’s Gangwar, Shadowmaker, Manuskript, Into The Abyss, Judith, The Shroud, The Last dance, Gotterdamerung, Every New Dead Ghost, The Dream Disciples, The Brotherhood Of Pagans, Doppelganger, Faith & The Muse, Mephitso Walz, Leisure Hive, Drama Asylum, Violet Stigmata, Bella Morte, Angel and the Badman, Catastrophe Ballet, Sopor Aternus, Fading Colours, XIII. Století, Forthcoming Fire, Arts And Decay, Lucie Cries, Swan Death, Big Electric Cat, Taedium Vitae, Cancer Barrack, The Flowers Of Romance, Subterfuge, Ikon, Disjecta Membra, Fear Of The Storm, Drama Asylum, Age Of Heaven, This Vale Of Tears, Exu, Neonrico, Gothic Sex, Funeral Party, Girls Under Glass, Hall Of Souls, Leisure Hive, Whores Of Babylon, Los Humillados, Marquee Moon, Martyr Whore, Blessing In Disguise, Ex Voto, Chateau Royale, Left As In Sinister, Closterkeller, Drama Of The Spheres, Exedra, Dawn of Oblivion, Bohemian, Elusive, Redemption, Revolution By Night, De Volanges, Drama Of The Spheres, Christabel Children, Erato, Darkness Visible, Counting The Mad, Doppelganger, The Morendoes
Notable dance tracks.
Suspiria “Allegedly Dance Floor Tragedy”, “The Swine”, “You Bleed Me”, “Nightime”, “Behind The Wheel”, “Silver”, “Suitable”,
Moonchild “Late At Night”
Fading Colours “Black Horse”
Fields Of The Nephilim “Sumerland”
Ikon “Black Roses”, “Persausion”, “Subevrsion”, “Condemnation”
Love Like Blood “Walking In Demimondes”, “Kiss And Tell”, “Siberian Pandemonium”, “Johannesburg”, “Heroes”, “Apathy And Boredom”, “Out Of Sight”, “Children”, “Love Like Blood”
The Clan Of Xymox “Jasmine And Rose”, “Falling Down”, “Crucifified”, “Taste Of Medicine”, “Spinning Round”, “Doubts”, “This World”
The Merry Thoughts “Chant”, “House Of Rain”, “Second Generation”, “Pale Empress”, “Goddess”, “WE Love To”, “Low Violet”
Strange Boutique “The Kindest Worlds”, “Whipoorwill”, “Strange Day”
Daniel Ash “Walk This Way”, “Coming Down”, “This Love”
Children On Stun “Cats Or Devils Eyes”, “Rebecca”. “Tortured By A Sense Of Humour”, “Celebration”, “Crawl”, “When Lovers Die”, “Downfall”
The Mission “Raising Cain”, “Swoon”, “Tower Of Strength (1994)
Blade Fetish “Mute”,
Peter Murphy “Cuts You Up”, “Blind Sublime”
Nosferatu “Siren”, “Dark Angel”, “Abominations”, “Vampyres Cry” “The Haunting”
This Burning Effigy “The Well”
Diary Of Dreams “June”, “Ex-Ile”, “Aphelion”, “But The Wind Was Stronger”, “Reality Mine”
London After Midnight “Hate”, “Black Cat”, “Kiss”
Rosetta Stone “Adrenaline”, “If Only And Sometimes”, The Witch”, “Nothing”, “Eye For The Main Chance”, “Subterfuge”, “Forever And Sometimes”, “Evolution”, “Forevermore”
Chiron “Eve”
Forthcoming Fire “Nocturne”
This Vale Of tears “Cubic Rotation”
Black Atmosphere “Bridge Of Change”
The Horatii “Daryll And Alicia”, “Riposte”
The Garden Of Delight ‘Spirit Invocation”, “Necromanteion”, “Sargonid Seal”, “Exodus”, “Dead Souls”, “Spirit Lovers”, “The White Goddess”, “Death Chant”, “Empire Of The Sun”
Big Electric Cat “Christalbel”
Gotterdamerung “Manipulate BSV”, “Longshot”,
The Breath Of Life “Nightmare”, “Blooming Sky”
Witching Hour “Ligea”
The Wake RSV “All Will Fall”
Love And Rockets “Alive”, “No Big Deal”
Passion Play “It’s Down To You”
The Sisters Of Mercy “Ribbons”,”Dr Jeep”, “More”, “Temple Of Love 92”, “Alice 1993”
The Last Dance “Do You Believe In Angels?”
13 Candles “Disbelievers”, “Lost Child”
Still Patient “God And Satan”, “Chameleon”
The Dreadful Shadows “Burning The Shrouds”, “Twist In My Sobriety”, “True Faith”
The Marionettes “Like Christabel”, “Damien”, “Ave Dementia”, “Horror Show”
Corpus Delicti “Absent Friend”, “Twilight”, “Firelight”, “Noxious”, “Absent Friend”
Swan Death “The Apocalyptical Scythe”
All Living Fear “Crimson”
Every New Dead Ghost “Not In A Lifetime”, “Obvious”
Autumn “Seconds”, “A Waiting Time””
Mephitso Walz “Mephitso Walz”, “Thalia”, “Procession Of The Equinoxes”, “Hunter’s Trail”, “Painted Black”
Alien Sex Fiend “Magic”, “Now I’m Feeling Zombiefied”
Taedium Vitae “Sexy Death”
Intra Venus “(Welcome To) Paradise”,”Unclean”, “Deathwish”, “Force Invisible”
Amtag Unter Nul “Sonore”
Darc Entries “The Beginning Was The End”
Shadow Project “Lord Of The Flies”, “Holy Hell”
Sex Gang Children “Barbarossa”, “Guy Wonder”, “The Bormann Chain”, “Home”
The Dream Disciples “Slowburn”, “F Perfect”, “Sundance”, “Care Of The Devil”, “Resting Place”, “In Amber”, “Crimson White”, “Sweet Dreams”, “Atomic”
Faith & The Muse “Sparks”, “Mercy Ground”, “Rise And Forget”, “Scars Flown Proud”, “Shattered In Aspect” “Through The Pale Door”, “All Lovers Lost”, “Plague Dance”
The Wake “Harlot”, “Nazarene”, “Locomotive Age”, “Sideshow”, “Silent Siren”, “Watchtower”, “Procession”, “Christine”, “Reverend Mother”
Star Industry “Nineties”. “Ceremonial”, “Sodium Haze”
Sopor Aternus “Pennance And Pain”, “Birth Fiendish Configuration”

Fourth Phase 1998-Present (The Internet Age)
This is the period of Goth that we now experiencing and in our little way contributing to. It’s the period where many of the earlier bands were rediscovered and many reformed to tour and to in many cases release new material. This period is unique in that the internet became an integral and influencial part of the scene. Many rely on the Internet for much of their information, for downloading music and for the passing on of ideas. Obviously the Internet is a two edged sword yes it is informative, and an excellent resource for basic information and for discovering new and old bands, information about clubs, tour dates and for music downloads. One is also able (if one wishes to) to view and choose different styles at will, there are sites that are dedicated to Alternative fashion. One can see perfect examples of different styles worn by models. One can if one wishes to adopt and adapt the style of band members and semi and professional models too. Everything is seemingly there with the click of a mouse. However the Internet is also often highly unreliable and innacurate in regards to gaining information and should always be cross referenced and used in conjunction with other readily available resources and This is obviously the period that most contemporary Goths are most aware of. Goths are well catered for in regards to social networks (Myspace, Vampirefreaks, Facebook.) Goths are also well catered for in regards to Festivals, we have The Drop Dead Festival, Mera Luna, Woodstage, Castle Party as well as the ones mentioned earlier. Goth has truly gone global with the it’s rise in popularity in the former communist states of Eastern Europe and the creation of an exciting and enthusiastic scene in Australia especially Melbourne. It is also a period of divergence and uncertainty and a period of the renewed interest in the more Punk based bands of the 1970’s and 80’s either through image or through musical influences. It is also the period where a new genre has been created a genre that has had an important impact on the Alternative scene especially in North America, Mexico and to a lesser extent Europe. This genre is known as New Deathrock I see it as being distinct from original Californian Deathrock and Goth. I will therefore deal with this genre separartely because I believe that it deserves to be consider as an independent genre. There are many diverse bands such as
Blacklist, Diva Destruction, NY Decay, Deathcamp Project, Dead Sea Surfers, Curse Of The Vampire, Elclan, Dada Dumdums, Black Ice, Dearest Death,The Dirge Carolersis, Date At Midnight, Bells Of Soul ,Desmo Donte, Daniel Colletti, Bellmer Dolls ,Beauty For Ashes ,Dance With The Gloom, BATZZ In The Belfry, Crush Violets, Entertainment ,Bell, Book & Candle Elegia, The Eternal Chapter ,Black Chanterelle ,Deadchovsky ,Christabel Dreams ,Eden House ,Burning Gates ,Christ Vs Warhol, Blessure Grave, Dr Arthur Krause ,Eurishima, Days Are Nights, Atomic Spider, After Dusk, The Wounded, Joy Disaster, Avant-Garde, The Realm, The Last Rites, Zadera, Merciful Nuns, Zeraphin, The Eternal Fall, The Daughters Of Bristol, Wladislaw Draculaesti, Voices Of Masada, Grooving In Green, Scarlet Remains, 13th Sky, NFD, Adoration, Ahráyeph, Sunset Down, Thatch Noir, Arts Of Erebus, Atomic Neon, Violet Sky, Ultranoir, Eden House, Tweny Six Tears, Decendents Of Cain, Address Unkown,Alice On Speed, Anfisbena, Whispers In The Shadow, Two Old Vamps, Art Gotik, Screaming Banshee Aircrew, Dead Sea Surfers, Curse Of The Vampire ,Elclan, Dada Dumdums, Black Ice, Dearest Death, The Dirge, CarolersisDate At Midnight, Bells Of Sou, lDesmo Donte, Daniel Colletti, Bellmer Dolls, Beauty For Ashes, Dance With The Gloom, BATZZ In The Belfry ,Crush VioletsEntertainment, Bell, Book & Candle
Fashion wise it’s again quite diverse, very few people have the tradional image. some prefer the Mohawk, fishnet, tee shirt, jeans, big boots look, others the romantic look, others sub cyber look, Punk inspired, Rock inspired etc.There are many Goths that have drawn inspiration from many of the looks created by bands such as Alien Sex Fiend, Specimen, Sex Gang Children etc and also from the style made popular in Germany during the 1990’s (flat hair with shaved and what could be termed side tails. Many German Goths sported such haircuts in the mid to late 1990’s and many Goths have taken the next step and have adopted hawks. Much of the impetus for the Gothic Renaissance has come from Europe and I would argue that clubs such as Pagan Love Songs and bands such as New Days Delay have helped to renew interest in the earlier bands. I think the most interesting aspect of post Milleneum Goth is the fact that the primary centre of Goth as moved from it’s birthplace in the United Kingdom to Europe and Germany in particular. One could argue that this change began in the mid 1990’s and to be honest the gothic Renaissance in Germany has done much to ensure the continued existence of Goth not just in Europe but the UK as well. I think another interesting aspect of our present scene is not so much the diversity of bands but the diversity of labels and sub genres created in our Internet dominated age. It’s fashionable to place different bands into manufactured and irrelevent sub-genres. These sub genres are artificial and in many cases done retrospectively and have no historical validity. Goth as never been harder to define than it is today. We have the situation in that there are many, many influences and many, many bands. One persons Goth is another persons Darkwave, or Gothabilly, or Post Punk, or Postive Punk, or Horror Punk, or Deathrock. What i do know is that there are many good and many bad bands out there and it all depends on ones’s personal choice. if one looks at a typical flyer for a club night, each usually has at least five to ten different styles (both real or imagined) of music mentioned on the flyer, Old School Goth, Gothic Rock, Post Punk, Batcave, Electro Punk, Miminal, Old School EBM/Electro, Deathrock, Horror Punk, Gothabilly, Psychobilly, New Wave, Cold Wave etc. What does all this mean? One it’s difficult to run a night that will be able to concentrate on one genre and the other is pure and simply is that we are part of an Alternative scene which is diverse and frankly wonderful, embrace it, experience it, enjoy it.

The Early West Coast Deathrock scene and it’s aftermath
The American West Coast namely California and Los Angeles in particular had developed in all isolation it’s own brand of Dark Punk, this became to be referred to as Deathrock. These Deathrock bands
The Flesh Eaters, Voodoo Church, Christian Death, Radio Werewolf, This Burning Image, 45 Grave, Kommunity FK, Pompeii 99, The Gun Club etc
emerged and evolved from the LA Punk scene from 1977 onwards. They had a variety of styles and influences but also very much in common. Many of the bands had a very strong Punk based sound and image 45 Grave for example, whilst others such as Christian Death had a more rock based sound with powerful Glam Rock elements too. Some argue that these Deathrock bands and the LA Deathrock scene were just American versions and appendages to British Goth. I personally disagree with this view and I think that it’s unfair to just consider what was an entirely autonomous creation with it’s own style, scene, image, history and development and should always be viewed as being unique and in no way just another branch of Goth. Whilst it’s true that some British bands such as (Bauhaus, The Cure, Siouxsie The The Banshees, The March Violets, Sisters Of Mercy etc) did play shows in California it’s not evident that they contributed much or anything whatsoever to the Deathrock scene in regards to image and sound. Yes British Goth bands singles were probably played at Deathrock clubs but so did British Punk and Post Punk bands material too. I honestly believe that Deathrock is often associated with British and later European Goth mainly because of the fact that The Gun Club supported the SOM and mainly because of Christian Death’s later association with Britain and Europe. Rozz and Valor took the band to the United Kingdom to record “Catastrophe Ballet” at the same studio in Wales where Bauhaus and Echo & The Bunnymen had recorded albums already. The band played 2 dates in the UK both at the Batcave. June 1984 and dates in Europe and later released their third album “Ashes”. Rozz decided to leave the band in 1985 and Valor relocated the band to London. Valor’s Christian Death then became part of the British Goth scene by default. However Deathrock didn’t die other bands emerged to take on the Deathrock mantle such as
Shadow Of Fear, Farenheit 551,The Plague, Samhain, The Deep Eynde, The Plague, The Ochrana, Scarecrow, Brain Eaters, Wailing Wall, Gargoyle Sox, 13 Knots, Of A Mesh, The Naked And The Dead, The Children’s Zoo
The LA/American Deathrock scene therefore retained it’s unique character in both image and sound. Yes the club scene changed with Deathrock, Punk, Horror Punk, Goth, Post Punk and later Industrial being played but the genre what is termed Deathrock remained in essence independent. What has developed is an alternative culture in the United States (as in the rest of the world to varying degrees) that includes many different genres and scenes within this culture (Deathrock, New Deathrock, Horror Punk, Industrial, Goth, Punk) Many clubs call themselves Goth, Alternative or Deathrock clubs and usually play a mixture of Goth, Post Punk, Horror Punk, New Deathrock, Punk, New Wave, others play some Industrial, 80’s electro, Miminal, Coldwave, Darkwave etc too. What we have is basically an Alternative scene that caters for most tastes. However each genre within this scene of scenes retains it’s own distinctive character despite the fact that they have been influenced by each other to various degrees in the post mid 1980’s period and are part of an Alternative culture which is constantly developing and evolving thanks to internal and external developments and influences.
New Death Rock
1998 saw the birth of what was to become known as New Deathrock. It’s origins were in the late 1990’s Californian Alternative scene and would seem to stem from a Punk, Deathrock, Horror Punk, Goth Halloween Party held at a Long Beach club calle Que Sera. The night was a success and Dave Bats started the now famous Release The Bats club. Interest in this embryonic new genre gathered apace thanks to the Internet. Other clubs started emulating Release The Bats. Bands sarted to form and gain recognition not just in California but all over the USA, Mexico, Europe, Australia and eventually The United Kingdom. There are many New Deathrock bands such as
Cinema Strange, 13th Moon, The Anti World, La Peste Negra, Trapdolls, The Cemetary Girlz, Fangs On Fur, Cemetery Whispers, Thirteen Bats, Cadillacs and Cadavers, Strange Dolls Cult, Bloody Dead And Sexy, Castratii, The Coffinettes, Death Party Swann Danger, Bloody Dead And Sexy, They Feed At Night, Gorgonas, Tragic Black, All Gone Dead, 13 Tombs, Eat Your Makeup.
New Deathrockers have adopted and adapted a musical style that draws upon many diverse influences (Original Deathrock, Punk, Horror Punk, Post Punk, Psychobilly, Goth, Electro etc). The now traditional New Deathrock fashion is usually a Cyber Punk inspired style comprising of in the main Punk inspired fashion, (Modern Mohawk, fishnet, ripped T shirts, big boots, patches, badges/pins, bondage trousers, jeans, mini skirts, leggings, chains, belts and lots of variety of colour.) New Deathrock is sometimes quite erronously described as a sub genre of Goth. I personally view New Deathrock as a genre all in it’s own. yes it does have influences from many other genres (original Deathrock, Punk, Horror Punk, Goth) but I honestly believe that it’s distinctiveness in both musical style and in fashion to warrant it to be treated as a genre rather than a sub genre. What we have in fact is the first truly internet inspired and Internet fuelled Alternative genre. It is true that New Deathrock has associations with the various Alternative scenes around the world. I think New Deathrock has helped to create a much more vibrant Alternative scene through it’s unique musical and fashion style, for it’s drive and passion, for it’s interest in 1970’s 1980’s Alternative music and for adding a huge dose of fun and colour into the melting pot of Alternative culture.

European Darkwave
European darkwave is a genre which came to prominence in the 1990’s. It has many varied influences in regards to musical and fashion styles. Much of the visual image relied heavily on the Gothic image of the 1980’s and 1990’s. It’s lyrical style was Gothic inspired as was some of it’s musical influences
Alien Sex Fiend, Danse Society, The Clan Of Xymox
However much of the genre’s predominantly electronic influences come from early electronic bands such as
Kraftwerk, DAF, Gary Numa, Vision, Ultravox, John Foxx, Attrition
and European Coldwave bands such as
Norma Loy, Clair Obscur etc.
Fans of Darkwave were often referred to as “Grufties” a title that aptly suits the predominent dark Teutonic style of the majority of Darkwave bands. Many Grufties were indistinguishable with Goths. The main difference was usually musical rather than image wise. European Darkwave is quite varied in tempo, rythmn and in texture. Much is Teutonic in nature drawing inspiration from Wagner, Schiller,Goethe, Brothers Grimm and from Germanic folklore coupled with post industrial electro beats.Prominent Darkwave bands include
Das Ich, Goethes Erben, Midnight Configuration, Drown For Rsurrection, Fortification 55, The Eternal Afflict, Brother Orchid, Project Pitchfork, Blooding Mask, Love Is Colder Than Death, Diorama, Bleak, Die Form, Athamay, Vomite Nigro, Calva Y Nada,Placebo Effect, Umbra Et Imago, Faithful Dawn, Deine Laikaien, Frozen Autumn, Crown Of Jesus, Dead Souls Rising, Nekromantik, Ghosting. Panic On The Titanic.

One final quote from Paul ” Despite all the claims and myths about 90s Goth it was never “dire”, it was fucking fun if you actually experienced it. I was a punk/alternative/goth in the 80s, I was just Goth in 90s and I fooking loved every second of it.”