crispy ambulance
"the aural drug"
crispy ambulance:
alan hempsall (vocals)
robert davenport (guitar)
keith darbyshire (bass)
gary madeley (drums)
"Later I insist that they're a pop group.
Alan was outraged.
'I don't see our music as pop at all.
It's in fact very devoid of pop.
I'd call it more a mind music,
an aural drug.'"
~ "Crispy SomnAmbulance"
by Dave McCullough
Sounds February 21, 1981
annotation by harry young
images & contents ©
frank brinkhuis / dennis remmer
january 19, 2009
crispy ambulance:
deaf
on
FACTORY RECORDS
communications 1978 - 92
warner UK 2564-69379-0
compiled by jon savage
project consultant alan parks
project co-ordination rick conrad
mastering by giovanni scatola at metropolis
design by saville parris wakefield and matthew robertson
essay by paul morley
track by track by james nice ltm
2008
crispy ambulance:
the presence
on
factory benelux
auteur labels series
LTMCD 2521
may 2008
ltmdvd 2519
crispy ambulance:
quarter caste
evil eye
deaf
the presence
chimera
lucifer rising
travel time
the plateau phase
open, gates of fire
on
december 15, 2007
a factory night
(once again)
plan k
brussels
december 8, 2007
sub space
the basement club at space bar
on new wakefield street
manchester
alan hempsall dj set 3.30pm
graham massey dj set 4.30pm
crispy ambulance on stage 6.30pm
june 19, 2006
north by northwest
(korova kode 1001L)
disc 3
cdliverchest
track 11
crispy ambulance:
deaf (3:56)
umbrellas in the sun:
a crepuscule / factory benelux
dvd 1979-1987
(ltm dvd 2400)
w/ crispy ambulance:
the presence
released august 31, 2004:
v/a little darla has a treat for you
volume 22, indian summer 2004
(darla drl 145)
w/ crispy ambulance:
open, gates of fire (7:41)
from ThePowderBlindDream sessions:
the only studio version of
crispy ambulance's standard
live encore closer,
never to be repeated
2004 Studio Album
CrispyAmbulance
ThePowderBlindDream (55:05)
LTM LTMCD 2372
Darla DRL 138
Released March 30, 2004
01. Quarter Caste 4:52
02. Triphammer 6:07
03. Evil Eye 3:42
04. Protocol 3:22
05. Any Second Now 4:51
06. Four Line Whip 4:56
07. Chimera 5:34
08. Lucifer Rising 6:37
09. Bad Self 3:50
10. Houses Sinking 6:13
11. Pain & Pleasure 4:55
all songs written and performed
by
crispy ambulance
recorded, mixed and produced
during the four weekends of june 2003
at testa-rossa,
longsight, manchester uk
produced by graham massey
engineered by andy drelincourt
additional vocals on 'pain & pleasure'
by clare brown and fiona kerr
Track 01. Quarter Caste 4:52
w/ samples from "Party 3"
(aka "Chromatic") and
"Party 4"
(aka "Lieber Herr Deutschland") on
'71 Minutes of Faust'
(Recommended Records
LP RR25, 1979, ReRF7CD, 1996)
ThePowderBlindDreamReviews
AMG
by Ned Raggett
Rating: 4 Out Of 5 Stars
One reunion album by Crispy Ambulance was almost too good to be true for hardcore fans, but the quartet kept on going after Scissorgun to produce another fine disc in the form of The Powder Blind Dream. Working again with producer/longtime fan Graham Massey, the quartet shows that the snarling, tense energy evident from their return hasn't dissipated -- if anything, Crispy Ambulance is an even more focused and fierce machine this time around. The swirling synth-murmur start to "Quarter Caste" leads into a rampaging, brawling arrangement, Alan Hempsall's immediately recognizable vocals as compelling as Robert Davenport's guitars or the steady rhythm blast of Gary Madeley and Keith Darbyshire. With that as a great calling card for the quartet, The Powder Blind Dream continues from there in just as excellent a fashion. If on the one hand it may seem like the band still explores familiar territory -- Hempsall's mantra-like choruses, a thick, rich sound overall from the whole band -- in turn it's even more their own unique sound in a time of post-punk revivalism, a clear continuation from where they started without simply rehashing. An ear for snippets of samples and almost left-field elements -- the gasping gurgle vocal break on "Triphammer," the deep tolling bells helping start "Lucifer Rising," the wonderful percussion-on-top-of-percussion overload on the instrumental "Four Line Whip," the almost soothing descending keyboard melody on "Pain and Pleasure" -- means that one can never quite predict what's next on the album, which still never loses the band's core sonic approach. Meanwhile, such moments as the inspiring call-and-response chorus on "Evil Eye" -- a loud rush balanced against the quieter but no less driving verses -- and the extended instrumental introduction to "Any Second Now," with piano taking a prominent role, are just great rock & roll moments, full stop.
Outburn #26, July 2004
by Jason Mosheim
Rating: 8 Out Of 10
Although this silly named band split in 1982 and reformed two decades later, bland Dad rock is not what you get. Imagine a lethargic Fugazi with an ARP Odyssey synth and the inability to perceive time and space, and you've got Crispy Ambulance. Without any nostalgic pit stops, bleeps or snare reverb, The Powder Blind Dream, the band's third album, still exerts a comical science fiction feel. The throaty, baritone vocals are big and dumb, the basslines grin, and the songs are dense and memorable. The hyperventilating on "Trip Hammer" is frightening enough to hit stop, but it would be a mistake to miss the rest of this disc, especially the shuffling "Evil Eye" and the piano driven "Any Second Now." And don't forget the surreal, whacked-out trilogy starting with "Four Line Whip." However, the centerpiece of the album is "Houses Sinking." The repeated feel-good guitar noodle, the start-stop theme, gentle strings, and a stellar vocal delivery make this a great radio song. But in reality, it's not and never will be. You may smirk or twist your face in confusion at times, but curiosity will rough you up once you pop in this bold, spirited album.
Erasing Clouds, July 2004
by dave heaton
A Factory-era post-punk band pushing on after their 1999 reincarnation (which came 17 years after their original break-up), Crispy Ambulance play their songs like they didn't disappear for nearly twenty years, with the same devilish energy they displayed in their youth. ThePowderBlindDream is their third studio album, after 1982's The Plateau Phase and 2002's Scissorgun, and replicates the same basic sound of those albums: moody, intense rock with the energy of punk and the shadows of a haunted house. Some of those qualities have them incessantly compared to their contemporaries Joy Division, but that comparison shouldn't be overplayed (it is a fair starting place, but not the whole story, and unfortunately Crispy Ambulance's career is often reduced to a Joy Division imitation and nothing more). My favorite aspect of Crispy Ambulance's music is when they push off into the most mysterious places, usually with their guitars, as on the brilliant opening to "Chimera." For me ThePowderBlindDream has too few of those ambiguous moments - overall aggression often overtakes mystery, and sometimes threatens to make their music sound too conventionally rock for my tastes (especially in the first half - don't give up before the end, or you'll miss the odd dreamland that is "Pain & Pleasure," the album's final track and one of its most intriguing). There's still enough dark poetry in the lyrics, and enough sharp guitar turns, to make the album truly riveting at times, even though I also find it blurring past me somewhat indistinctly in places.
Q #216, July 2004
Leonard's Lair
Whisperin' And Hollerin'
Magnet #64, August / September 2004
june 26, 2004
crispy ambulance
Beech Rd Summer Festival
Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, South Manchester
Set List:
Heatwave, Quarter Caste,
Loupgarou, Evil Eye,
Any Second Now, Four Line Whip,
Chimera, Say Shake,
Endgame
released july 7, 2003
crispy ambulance
deaf
track 17 disc 2 on
various artists
Rough Trade Shops - Post Punk Vol.1
(UK Mute CDSTUMM 224)
http://www.roughtrade.com/
crispy ambulance
played
the ica in london
on may 29, 2003
event organised by fanzine
Hardcore Is More Than Music
released may 12, 2003
Various Artists
Black Music
LTMCD 2347 (double CD) w/
Crispy Ambulance:
Step Up! (6:24 Remix)
also on
Little Darla Has A Treat For You
Volume 20, Summer 2003
(Darla CD DRL-140, Released May 20, 2003)
Crispy Ambulance
Atlantic Crossing
LTMCD 2347 / 2
60:49 Live CD available free
with initial copies of
Black Music
(LTMCD 2347)
Tracks 01-02 recorded at
the Band On The Wall in Manchester
October 26, 2002
Tracks 03-09 recorded at
the Knitting Factory, New York,
November 10, 2002.
01. Step Up! 6:38
02. End Game 6:44
03. Deaf 4:06
04. The Presence 7:25
05. Say Shake 5:08
06. Chimera 6:19
07. The Drop 3:54
08. Open, Gates Of Fire 10:55
09. The Plateau Phase 9:33
Andrew Prinz plays
Doepfer Synthesizer on Track 09
due to flesh wound on
Keith Darbyshire's hand
crispy ambulance
live in the usa
november 2002
see
the aural drug usa tour page &
simdisc usa tour page
cancelled
usa tour ep:
crispy ambulance & mahagony
and now after a brief intermission
(simdisc 7)
crispy ambulance:
01. step up! (remix)
02. say shake (live)
produced by graham massey
mahogany:
03. uneasy center
04. mantissa
produced by andrew prinz
simdisc 7
crispy ambulance
'live on a cold january night' essay
by frank brinkhuis
simdisc 7
crispy ambulance
booklet page
simdisc 7
package also included
mahogany essay
'the winter's morning sun'
by jason kolb
simdisc 7 info:
darla
insound
simdisc
crispy ambulance
SCISSORGUN
Darla DRL-126 &
LTM CD 2329 (46:03)
released april 8, 2002
01. step up! (6:27)
02. loupgarou (3:14)
03. metal grey (5:24)
04. re-animator (5:31)
05. heatwave (6:34)
06. parallax (4:29)
07. the drop (4:17)
08. end game (5:18)
09. even now, in heaven
there are angels
carrying savage weapons
(instrumental) (3:53)
10. sound block (0:50)
all titles written by
crispy ambulance
recorded at testa-rossa,
longsight, manchester
late january / early february 2002
produced by graham massey
engineered by andy drelincourt
scissorgun
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
(Russ Meyer, 1965):
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Violence. The word and the act. While violence cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favourite mantle still remains - sex.
scissorgun track 10 w/ sample from
Nick Bougas Presents:
Celebrities...At Their Worst!
(Volume 1)
While recording a trailer with Dean Martin for their new film, The Caddy, Jerry Lewis's mousy adolescent voice skips off-message into bursts of abuse. "No doubt about it, Dean, this is the funniest picture we've ever made, no kidding folks, we're sensational. Take my word for it, come on in and join the fun. The Caddy!
It'll make you sh*t!"
CRISPY AMBULANCE
“Loupgarou”
Track 04 on
LITTLE DARLA HAS A TREAT FOR YOU, V.19
FALL 2002 v /a
Darla DRL 125, July 2002
SCISSORGUN
CD Reviews
Amazon.com
Time Out New York, Issue 360: Aug 22–29, 2002
The Big Take Over #51, Nov 2002 (p. 265)
Record Collector #275, July 2002
Erasing Clouds
5plendid, July 22, 2002
Whisperin' & Hollerin'
All Music Guide
FM Sound
Audiogalaxy
crispy ambulance
the power of abstraction
From The Cradle To The Grave / Four Minutes From The Frontline
7" single: Aural Assault Records AAR-001
Recorded January 28, 1980
NME review April 12, 1980; Not reviewed in Melody Maker
Unsightly And Serene
Not What I Expected 4:04 / Deaf 3:56
10" single: Factory FAC 32
Recorded July 22 & 24, 1980
NME review February 7, 1981; Not reviewed in Melody Maker
Live On A Hot August Night:
The Presence / Concorde Square
12" single: Factory Benelux FBN 4
NME & Melody Maker reviews July 4, 1981
The Plateau Phase
LP: Factory Benelux FBN 12
Compare cover of
Three Dog Night:
Joy To The World:
Their Greatest Hits
Dunhill 50178, November 1974
Side 1: Are You Ready?, Travel Time, The Force and The Wisdom,
The Wind Season, Death From Above
Side 2: We Move Through The Plateau Phase, Bardo Plane,
Chill, Federation, Simon's Ghost
NME March 6, 1982: LP to be released this weekend (= March 6-7)
Sounds (5 Star) review March 20, 1982
Melody Maker review March 27, 1982
NME review April 3, 1982
LP peaked @ #21 on NME's Independent LP Chart May 1, 1982;
Entered chart Apr 10 @ #27; Apr 17 (-); Apr 24 #28;
May 1 #21; May 8 #29; May 15 (-)
The Blue And Yellow Of The Yacht Club
Mail order-only cassette: Les Temps Modernes CSBT V: II, Nov 1983
(Previously self-issued by Crispy Ambulance with different insert)
[Side A] 1. Motorway Boys {GM organ}, 2. Suzie's In Fragments,
3. This Perfect Day {AH trumpet}, 4. No Surrender,
5. Interview with DJ Stuart McInnes
6. Opening Theme {AH bass; KD 2nd guitar},
6.1. Transmission opening, DJ Mark Radcliffe
7. The Presence {GM synth}, 7.1. DJ Mark Radcliffe (cut-off),
8. A Sense Of Reason, 8.1. DJ Mark Radcliffe, 9. Concorde Square,
9.1. DJ Mark Radcliffe, 10. The Eastern Bloc, 10.1. DJ Mark Radcliffe
[Side B] 11. Three Minutes From The Frontline,
12. From The Cradle To The Grave,
13. Interview with DJ Stuart McInnes, 14. Deaf,
15. New Violence {AH bass; KD synth}, 15.1. DJ John Peel, 16. Come On,
17. October 31st, 18. Egypt, 19. Interview with DJ Stuart McInnes,
20. Rain Without Clouds,
21. The Presence, 22. Feedback Phase
23. Drug User/Drug Pusher (fragment) 0:16
Sounds review, November 26, 1983
Open, Gates Of Fire
Mail order-only cassette: Les Temps Modernes CSBT V: III
All Cuts Live ~ See below
[Side A] 1. United, 2. Chill,
3. I Talking/You Talking (Parts 1 + 2),
4. Federation, 5. Travel Time, 6. Say Shake, 7. Cult,
[Side B] 8. Green Light/White Shirt, 9. Brutal,
10. The Plateau Phase, 11. Choral,
12. Nightfall Ends The Ceasefire, 13. The Poison
Sounds review, November 26, 1983
Sexus /
Black Death
(Life Is Knife)
12" single: Factory Benelux FBN 18
Recorded January 1982
Released [April?] 1984
No dating evidence yet detected
"Thank you to Fast Product and hello to Crispy Ambulance!"
on sleeve of
MINNY POPS: Een Kus /Son
7" single LTM CSBT V: IV
NME & Melody Maker May 19, 1984
Wax: "Are You Ready"
Label: "merci beaucoup: hall, hempsall,
van middendorp, ancient"
Sleeve: "PUBLISHED BY AURAL ASSAULT"
on
A PRIMARY INDUSTRY:
At Gunpoint / Perversion
7" single LTM CSBT V: V
No dating evidence yet detected
Fin
LP: Les Temps Modernes LTM V: X, Edition of 900
Side One: United, Choral, Green Light/White Shirt, Brutal, The Plateau Phase
Side Two: Nightfall Ends The Ceasefire, Bardo Plane,
At The Sounding Of The Klaxon, Chill, I Talking/You Talking
Mention NME August 24, 1985, page 34
Heures sans Soliel
LP: Les Temps Modernes LTM V: XI, 1985
Various Artists w/ Side B, Cut 4: Crispy Ambulance:
Rain Without Clouds (= Peel Session Come On)
as Ram Ram Kino:
Advantage 3:23 /
Advantage (Basket Mix) 4:00 /
Into The Bush 3:26 /
Special 3:56
12" single: Temple Records TOPY 006
Catalogue review, [September] 1985
Record Collector #237, May 1999:
TOPY 001 Aug 1984
TOPY 002 Dec 1984
TOPY 003 Dec 1984
TOPY 004 July 1985
TOPY 005 (-)
TOPY 006 RAM RAM KINO (-)
TOPY 005 (-)
TOPY 007 (-)
TOPY 008 1985
TOPY 009 Feb 1986
Various Artists
Crepuscule Collection 3
The Rough With The Smooth
Crepuscule album TWI 651
December 1986
w/
CRISPY AMBULANCE
Concorde Square (8:36)
Crispy Ambulance
Unauthorized [60 minute] Cassette "about 15 made"
Teen Beat 18, June 13, 1988
As per Insert:
Side A:
1. From The Cradle To The Grave
2. Four Minutes From The Frontline
3. Deaf
4. Not What I Expected
5. The Presence
Side B:
6. Concorde Square
7. Travel Time
8. The Wind Season
9. Death From Above
10. Simon's Ghost
11. Black Death (Life Is Knife)
12. United
13. Ram Ram Kino: Special
Cassette actually plays:
Side A:
1. Not What I Expected
2. The Presence (full)
3. Concorde Square (4:30 edit)
4. Travel Time
Side B:
1. The Wind Season
2. Death From Above
3. Simon's Ghost
4. Black Death (Life Is Knife) (3:30 edit)
5. United
6. Ram Ram Kino: Special
Comprising: The Plateau Phase /
Live On A Hot August Night /
Sexus
(72:44)
CD: Factory Benelux FBN 12 CD (Austria)
CD: Be Music FBM-12 CD (UK) &
CD: PLAS 9157-2 (Germany)
Are You Ready? 5:49,
Travel Time 3:50,
The Force And The Wisdom 4:00,
The Wind Season 5:29,
Death From Above 3:27,
We Move Through The Plateau Phase 5:48,
Bardo Plane 3:31,
Chill 4:45,
Federation 3:42,
Simon's Ghost 3:41,
The Presence 13:00,
Concorde Square 9:05,
Sexus 6:10
NME review July 28, 1990
Option review Issue #34, Sept-Oct 1990
Vox review January 1991
Fin (73:04)
CD: Les Temps Modernes LTM CD-2302 (Austria)
CD: IRS 990.145 (Germany)
Rainforest Ritual 2:22,
United 5:17,
Choral 4:50,
Green Light/White Shirt 3:27,
{- :20}, Brutal 3:00,
The Plateau Phase 6:03,
Nightfall Ends The Ceasefire 4:16,
Bardo Plane 3:31, {- :05},
At The Sounding Of The Klaxon 3:58,
Chill 5:02,
I Talking/You Talking (Parts 1 + 2) 6:38,
Lucifer Rising 5:12, {- :05},
Black Death (Life Is Knife)
8:36, {- :04},
From The Cradle To The Grave 3:19,
Four Minutes From The Frontline 4:20,
Come On 2:13
NME review July 28, 1990; Vox review January 1991
Ear, Magazine Of New Music review May 1991, p 50
Crispy Ambulance Cover Version:
Deaf by Unrest
7" EP: Sub Pop SP 103, March 1991/Teen Beat 63, April 8, 1991
"7,000 pressed; 4,000 on lilac vinyl; 3,000 on black vinyl"
Teen Beat: PO Box 3265, Arlington, VA 22203
Crispy Ambulance live with Section 25:
Haunted (Bochum Zeche January 1, 1982) on
Section 25: Live In America & Europe 1982
CD: Les Temps Modernes 2312, September 1, 1997
Edition of 500
Comprising:
The Plateau Phase /
Live On A Hot August Night /
Sexus (72:44)
CD: LTM 2315
September 1, 1999
Are You Ready? 5:49,
Travel Time 3:50,
The Force And The Wisdom 4:00,
The Wind Season 5:29,
Death From Above 3:27,
We Move Through The Plateau 5:48,
Bardo Plane 3:31,
Chill 4:45,
Federation 3:42,
Simon's Ghost 3:41,
The Presence 13:00, Concorde Square 9:05,
Sexus 6:10
UNCUT review December 1999
NME review January 8, 2000
Q review March 2000
Leonard's Lair
Magic Issue 38, 2000
The Blow Up review
Fin (73:04)
CD: Les Temps Modernes LTM CD-2302
October 21, 1999
Rainforest Ritual 2:22,
United 5:17,
Choral 4:50,
Green Light/White Shirt (Deaf) 3:27,
{- :20}, Brutal 3:00,
The Plateau Phase 6:03,
Nightfall Ends The Ceasefire 4:16,
Bardo Plane 3:31, {- :05},
At The Sounding Of The Klaxon 3:58,
Chill 5:02,
I Talking/You Talking (Parts 1 + 2) 6:38,
Lucifer Rising 5:12, {- :05},
Black Death (Life Is Knife)
8:36, {- :04},
From The Cradle To The Grave 3:19,
Four Minutes From The Frontline 4:20,
Come On 2:13
NME review January 8, 2000
Q review March 2000
Magic Issue 38, 2000
The Blow Up review
accessory after the fact (60:55)
ltm cd 2317
april 2000
recorded live in manchester
5 november 1999
produced by graham massey
are you ready? 5:45
ah on bass, kd on moog
deaf 3:31
come on 2:19
federation 3:35
travel time 3:46
the presence 5:10
lucifer rising 6:12
choral 4:08
gm on sequencer & kit
nightfall ends the ceasefire 3:43
ah on 2nd guitar, kd on moog
the plateau phase 5:32
kd on moog
{- 0:03}
united 4:27
say shake 4:16
ah on moog
open, gates of fire 6:22
ah on moog & floor tom
sound block 1:57
tokai strat copy through a music man rd 112
Record Collector review July 2000
Q review August 2000
frozen blood 1980-1982
ltm cd 2327 (71:40)
released november 13, 2000
01. not what i expected (3.59), {-0:06}
02. deaf (3:56),
{-0:02},
03. come on (2.10), {-0:03},
04. drug user – drug pusher (6.24), {-0:03},
05. october 31st (3.34), {-0:03},
06. egypt (5.10), {-0:02},
07. a sense of reason (4.00), {-0:01},
08. eastern bloc (5.23), {-0:02},
09. concorde square (3.08), {-0:02},
10. the presence (5.14), {-0:01},
11. headhunters (2.52), {-0:01},
12. frozen blood (4.39), {-0:02},
13. turnbuckle (5.57), {-0:02},
14. the gift of danger (3.22),
15. hollow points (4.30),
16. the grind (4.28), {-0:02},
17. cult (3.14)
Tracks 1-2 Factory Records (FAC 32) November 1980.
Recorded July 22 & 24, 1980.
Tracks 3-6 recorded Monday, January 12, 1981 at Langham Studios, London for the John Peel programme. First air date January 19, 1981.
Tracks 7-10 recorded Wednesday, July 16, 1980 at Pennine Studios for Radio Piccadilly’s Transmission. First air date Saturday, July 26, 1980.
Track 11 recorded live January 17, 1982, Vera Groningen, Holland.
Track 12 recorded live May 6, 1982, The Venue, London.
Tracks 13-15 recorded live October 13, 1982,
The Ad Lib Club, Nottingham.
Track 16 recorded live May 22, 1982, The Porterhouse, Retford.
Track-17 recorded July 1982, second album rehearsal.
Leonard's Lair review, February 2001
Q review March 2001
in november 2001
ltm issued a
limited edition
(out of print) CD
ltmcd 2321 (18:04)
crispy ambulance's
piccadilly radio transmission session
produced & mixed by stuart james
engineered by paul asdhead
recorded pennine sound studios, oldham
july 16, 1980,
first air date july 26, 1980:
01. the presence (5:18)
02. a sense of reason (4:02)
03. concorde square (3:17)
04. eastern bloc (5:17)
Released May 25, 2001:
ltm cd 2326
various artists:
the night watch
with crispy ambulance:
'bardo plane' (3:32 'Plateau Phase'
album version) and
'concorde square' (3:11 unreleased 'From Factory Manchester,
Without Gregorian Chants, Who The Hell Are Factory Benelux?' mix by
Tony Wilson and the late Rob Gretton, to have been released as a limited
12" on FACTORY US [FACUS 3] but cancelled at the very last moment).
Record Collector review
August 2001, Issue #264
Letter printed in NME, date unknown:
"After buying the 'Unsightly And Serene' 10" by Crispy Ambulance, I found that the Sisters Of Mercy had completely ripped it off.
The cover of the Sisters'
'Body And Soul' (7" and 12" single, June 1984)
is a blown-up version of
FAC 32 (January 1981).
The bass and arrangement of Crispy Ambulance's 'Not What I Expected' (recorded July 1980) is very similar to that of the Sisters' 'Nine While Nine' (on LP First, Last And Always, March 1985). The chorus of 'Not What I Expected' ('no time to hesitate') sounds so much like the Sisters' 'No Time To Cry' (7" February 1985, LP First, Last And Always, March 1985) it's criminal."
~ Simon's Ghost, Paisley
