Image


Classic Bands

Oldschool Post-Punk Act Getting The Fear Debut Video for “Swell”

Cross-pollination in England’s ‘pleasant pastures green’ splintered the musical landscapes of the mid-1980s. Post-punk bands imploded, reformed and transcended due to personal differences, creative differences, drug use, and, in the case of Getting The Fear, a reformation at their label, RCA.

Formed by Southern Death Cult’s rhythm section (Barry Jepson, David “Buzz” Burrows, and Aki Haq Nawaz Qureshi), and voiced by Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth’s captivating and androgynous Paul “Bee”Hampshire (formerly of The Danse Society), the brief-but-beloved Getting The Fear is releasing their collection LP, DEATH IS BIGGER: 1984-1985.
Galvanized by Margaret Thatcher’s “iron fist” austerity policies and the cultural liberation of punk, the group blazed to creative fruition, quickly landing a lucrative deal with RCA. Their first (and only) album showcases the increasingly forking paths facing UK post-punk in 1984. Getting The Fear’s music feels eclectic and unfettered in its flaming youth. The compilation’s 10 tracks are alternately brooding, spiky, and sneering. Razor wire guitars slice through minimalist, melodic rhythms….occasionally flowering into psychedelic poetry, revealing Bee’s deep affinity with Psychic TV.
After RCA’s label shakeup left them stranded and unsupported, Getting The Fear chose to dissolve in order to escape their restrictive contract, paring down to the pair Into a Circle.
Death Is Bigger: 1984-1985 rectifies history’s error, collecting the group’s entire vault of demos and unreleased songs, with copious liner notes and a photo gallery capturing Getting The Fear in all their libertine glory.

Watch the video for Swell below created by Bee Hampshire, and restored by Jacqueline Castel.

Stream the track here:

Pre-Order here.

4 years ago
Alice Teeple

Alice Teeple is a photographer, multidisciplinary artist, and writer. She is not in Tin Machine.

Related Post

Recent Posts

  • Bands

Los Angeles Synth-Pop Outfit Male Tears Releases Self-Titled Debut Album on Vinyl for the First Time

I’ve been swimming in an ocean of tears I went swimming in all of my fears And every day is…

1 day ago
  • Bands

Beauty and Despair — Swiss Coldwavers Future Faces Drift Among the Ashes of Lost Tomorrows in “Memoria”

Our entire life Was like a spell of beauty and despair This old delusion Hectic with our own selfish thirst…

2 days ago
  • Bands

Chasing Ghosts by the Black Sea — Georgia-based Darkwavers Chronotape Release Poignant “Strangers” EP

Yesterday is history And today is just misery So we say "Long live the King" Oh, he ruined everything Hailing…

2 days ago
  • Bands

Melbourne Artist Claire Birchall Blends Tremulous Art Pop Melodies With Gothic Undertones in “The Haunting”

I don’t mean to rain on your parade But sometimes when I bend, I break Australian artist Claire Birchall, Melbourne's…

3 days ago
  • Bands

NYC Darkwavers MIDNIGHTCHOIR Release Spine-tingling Video for “Tempted” From Their “Temptation (Demos)” EP — Plus Review

You can keep your revolution if we can't dance to it. Because we're not going out on our knees.  We're…

3 days ago
  • Bands

Guitarist Slim Dunlap of The Replacements Passes Away at 73

The Replacements' guitarist Bob “Slim” Dunlap has passed away at 73, leaving behind a legacy as enduring as the melodies…

4 days ago

Sticky Footer Banner with Close Button