The Band of Holy Joy
| Band of Holy Joy | |
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Band of Holy Joy
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Holy Joy |
| Origin | New Cross, London |
| Genres | Urban folk |
| Years active | 1984–1993, 2002–2003, 2007–present |
| Labels | Tiny Global, Stereogram Recordings, Exotic Pylon Records, Moloko Plus, Radio Joy, Rough Trade, Flim Flam, Cherry Red |
| Website | www |
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The Band of Holy Joy are an English band formed in New Cross, London, and initially active between 1984 and 1993, releasing several albums. In 1992, they abbreviated their name to Holy Joy. They reformed in 2002, under their original name, releasing a new album called Love Never Fails. They concentrated on other musical projects during 2003 to 2006. The band began performing live again in 2007 and have since released a number of albums, including How To Kill A Butterfly in 2011, a limited edition double cassette City of Tales, Volume 1 and 2 in 2013 and Easy Listening in 2014. A new album entitled The Land Of Holy Joy was released in September 2015.
The band was formed in 1984 by Johny Brown in New Cross, South London. Early experiments revolved around cheap junk shop instrumentation and rudimentary electronics. After two self-issued cassettes, they signed to South London indie label Flim Flam for a string of singles and two 1987 albums; More Tales From The City and the live LP When Stars Come Out To Play.
The band reached a commercial and critical peak after signing to Rough Trade, with Manic, Magic, Majestic in 1989 and Positively Spooked in 1990, supported by a tour of the U.S.S.R. The label was forced into receivership in 1991 following cash flow problems and eventual bankruptcy. The band re-emerged in 1992 as Holy Joy, with the album Tracksuit Vendetta. They split up in 1993 and Brown moved into freelance journalism, playwriting and production.
Band of Holy Joy reformed in 2002 and released an album Love Never Fails. After a number of live dates the band became inactive between 2003 and 2006, pursuing other musical projects. In May 2007, the band began playing live again. October 2007 saw the release of Leaves That Fall in Spring, a best of released on the Cherry Red label.
In 2008, after playing nine warm-up dates in and around London during April, May and June, the band set off to the USA for the first time in their 24-year history and embarked on a successful tour of New York City.Punklore, a six-track CD was released and initially only available at the New York gigs.
In 2009, the band started to explore theatrical and multimedia based performances. As their alter ego Radio Joy, they performed two song plays Troubled Sleep and Invocation to William. Troubled Sleep was a fictional account of Sid and Nancy's last days at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. It played out over several nights in the Shunt Theatre Lounge in London and Star and Shadow Cinema in Newcastle.Invocation to William was performed at The University of London Institute in Paris at the event celebrating the 50th anniversary of William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, 'Lunch @ 50'. The songs from this show were released as a mini album CD A Lucky Thief In A Careless World on band's own Radio Joy label. In October 2009, they were invited to play The Wire magazine's 'Into the Vortex' festival, followed by a series of shows in Athens, Greece, later that year.
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