Years active 1983–1988 Website TheBolshoi.co.uk | Labels Beggars Banquet Active until 1988 | |
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Origin England, United Kingdom (1983) Albums Bigger Giants, Lindy's Party, Away: Best of The Bolshoi Members Trevor Tanner, Nick Chown, Jan Kalicki, Paul Clark Genres Post-punk, Gothic rock, Alternative rock, New wave Similar Gene Loves Jezebel, The March Violets, Southern Death Cult, Xmal Deutschland, Sex Gang Children | ||
The bolshoi away
The Bolshoi were a London-based music group prominent mostly in the mid to late 1980s. They are best known for the hits "Sunday Morning" and "A way" or "Away" (the name is interchangeable and has been noted as both on different albums/singles).
Contents
History
The band formed in 1984 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The original lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Trevor Tanner, drummer Jan Kalicki, and bassist Nick Chown; Tanner and Kalicki had previously played together in the short-lived punk band Moskow, where Trevor performed as Trevor Flynn (his mother's maiden name). Early gigs supported the likes of The Cult, The March Violets and The Lords of the New Church. In 1985, the band released their debut single, "Sob Story", followed by the mini-album, Giants and their hit song "Happy Boy". Word of mouth was such that the Bolshoi were able to sell out many of their early headlining performances.
The band moved to London in 1985, and their lineup expanded to include Paul Clark on keyboards. In 1986, they released their first full-length album, Friends, and expanded their touring schedule to the U.S., South America and Poland. It was followed in 1987 by the album Lindy's Party, on which the sound was more pop-oriented. TC Wall, reviewing the album in Underground magazine, described Lindy's Party as "completely confident, commercial, professional, and dangerously catchy" and "a fine album that'll be caressed for generations".
Stylistically, The Bolshoi was difficult to categorize. It has been described as a proto-goth band, similar in their live act to fellow Beggars Banquet signees, Bauhaus. Tanner was recognized for his dark, pensive lyrics that belied a social responsibility and awareness.
After the release of Lindy's Party, the band recorded a fourth album, but problems with their record label management impeded its release, and they disbanded as the 1980s drew to a close. The previously unreleased fourth album, titled Country Life, had been lost for years but has now been resurrected by Beggars Banquet with extensive help from Tanner's current record label-head, Creative Director, David Paul Wyatt Perko. This new release is now available as one of five CDs in Beggar's 5-CD box set, put out via Beggar's imprint, Arkive.
Studio albums
Compilations
Songs
Sunday MorningFriends · 1986
TV ManLindy's Party · 1987
Books on the BonfireFriends · 1986