Kangaroo Court (single)
| Ritual | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Harrow, London, England |
| Genres | Post-punk, gothic rock |
| Years active | 1981–1983 |
| Labels | Red Flame Records |
| Associated acts | General Confusion, Death Cult, In Excelsis, Famous |
| Past members | Errol Blyth Mark Bond Steve Pankhurst Ray Mondo Jamie Stewart |
Ritual was an early 1980s Harrow-based post-punk band that were later aligned with the early UK-based gothic rock movement. The group is commonly associated with Death Cult (later the Cult), which two Ritual members later joined.
Ritual was formed out of the remnants of the Harrow-based punk band General Confusion, which included Steve Pankhurst on drums. Formed in December 1979, General Confusion played its first gig at Watford College supporting Toyah.
After two name changes (Suppressed Emotion and Stigma) and lineup shifts (a new drummer, Peter Gould, was brought onboard and Pankhurst switched to saxophone), the band finally settled on a permanent lineup and the name Ritual in 1981. The new lineup consisted of Errol Blyth (vocals), Mark Bond (bass), Pankhurst (saxophone), Ray Mondo (simply referred to as "Ray", drums), and the newly recruited 17-year-old Jamie Stewart (guitar). The band's name did not carry any religious significance but was instead chosen for its "sharpness" and the fact "it goes with the music to an extent".
The group began writing songs which were, according to Bond, "written together as a band, although most of the music comes from the more musical Jamie". The band compiled a four-track demo (consisting of "Human Sacrifice", "Mind Disease", "Playtime" and "Brides") to shop around to independent labels in London.As part of their self-promotion of the demo, the band described themselves as a cross between the Birthday Party and Theatre of Hate. The band distributed approximately 60 copies of the tape and received positive responses from two labels (Situation Two and 4AD) but neither label was ready to sign the band.
Ritual played their first gig at the Windsor Castle in Harrow Road in September 1981. Shortly afterwards, they were invited to perform on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. The session was recorded on 7 December 1981 (consisting of "Playtime", "Mind Disease", "Human Sacrifice" and "Brides") at Maida Vale 4 and later broadcast on 14 December 1981.
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