Originally a guitar pop band formed by early Jesus & Mary Chain drummer Bobby Gillespie, Primal Scream got harder, wilder and heavier as the decade wore on, and would hit a solid dance groove in the 1980s.
Attracted to a dance scene that offered a spirit of adventure – plus copious amounts of pharmaceuticals – Primal Scream transformed themselves from pallid Byrds/Velvet Underground copyists to innovative dance-rock evangelists for their third LP, Screamadelica (1991).
Helped by then-unknown DJ Andy Weatherall, who remixed one of their better songs into the Stones-go-Dub party anthem, Loaded, Gillespie and co-created a musical kaleidoscope of styles ranging from psychedelic house to stoned ballads, Dub symphonies to spaced-out jazz.
Vanishing Point (1997) found them unsure of their sound – a mixture of genres and dubious darker influences that fused together for a rollercoaster ride – at times nightmarish, at others ecstatic in the truest sense.
Keyboard player Martin Duffy died on 18 December 2022 when he suffered a brain injury after a fall. He was just 55.
Bobby Gillespie
Vocals Robert ‘Throb’ Young Guitar Andrew Innes
Guitar Martin Duffy
Keyboards
Darrin Mooney
Drums Mani Mounfield
Bass
Video
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