John Peel Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Positive Noise

Positive Noise were a new wave and synthpop band from Scotland who had a number of indie hits in the 1980s. They released three albums and several singles and were together for over five years.

The band was formed in 1979 by Ross Middleton (vocals), his brothers Graham Middleton (keyboards, vocals) and Fraser Middleton (bass guitar, vocals), Russell Blackstock (guitar, vocals), and Les Gaff (drums). Their first released material were two tracks ("Refugees" and "The Long March") on the Statik label compilation EP Second City Statik in 1980, and they followed this with two singles on Statik in 1981, both of which were top-ten hits on the UK Indie Charts.

Début album Heart of Darkness was released in May 1981, after which Ross left to form the short-lived Leisure Process, with Blackstock taking over on lead vocals. Heart of Darkness peaked at number four on the indie chart, and the band's second album, Change of Heart (1982), also charted, reaching number 21. They released a third and final album, Distant Fires, in 1985, now with John Telford on drums and John Coletta on guitar, but their earlier success was not repeated and they split up shortly afterwards.

Ross Middleton had earlier worked as a music journalist, writing for Sounds under the pen name Maxwell Park.

Links to Peel[]

Peel invited the band in the summer of 1980 along with another group called the Cheetahs to his roadshow at the Nite Club in Edinburgh. Despite two sessions and airplay of the band's material, they never achieved pop stardom and split in 1985.

Sessions[]

Positive_Noise_-_Peel_Session_1980

Positive Noise - Peel Session 1980

1. Recorded: 1980-08-19. First Broadcast: 27 August 1980. Repeated: 18 September 1980

  • Give Me Passion / Down There / End Of A Dream / Ghosts

2. Recorded: 1981-03-16. First Broadcast: 25 March 1981. Repeated: 07 April 1981, 11 March 1982

  • Charm / Love Like Property / Treachery / 1917 (I'm In The Mood)

Other Shows Played[]

1980
  • 13 May 1980: Refugees (Comp. EP - Second City Statik) Statik
  • 17 May 1980 (BFBS): Refugees (v/a 12" - Second City Statik - A Glasgow Compilation) Statik
  • 02 June 1980: 'The Long March (12” EP compilation – Second City Statik - A Glasgow Compilation)' (Statik)
  • 05 June 1980: Refugees (LP – Second City Statik - A Glasgow Compilation) Statik
  • 07 June 1980 (BFBS): The Long March (v/a mini-album - Second City Statik - A Glasgow Compilation) Statik
  • 12 July 1980 (BFBS): The Long March (v/a mini-album - Second City Statik - A Glasgow Compilation) Statik
  • 18 August 1980: The Long March (various artists LP - Second City Statik - A Glasgow Compilation) Statik
1981
1982
1983

See Also[]

External Links[]

Advertisement