11 Empty Hours (Remastered)

Water's Edge - Ian Lowery

Presenting the complete recordings by Sunderland punk band The Wall that feature original vocalist and founder member IAN LOWERY.

The Wall’s story begins in the North-East of England at Sunderland Polytechnic’s School of Art and Design in 1978 where local gutter poet Ian Lowery joins forces with fellow students Andy Griffiths (bass), Joe Hammond (guitar) and Bruce Archibald (drums) to create one of the region’s first forces of the punk movement alongside local heroes The Angelic Upstarts. The band records four songs at Newcastle’s legendary Impulse Studios and a demo tape is sent to Pete Stennett at revered indie pioneer label Small Wonder, who had been responsible for introducing Crass, The Cravats, Patrik Fitzgerald, Bauhaus and others to the world. Small Wonder offer to release the band’s first two singles, and in 1979 the “New Way” EP is released featuring “New Way", “Uniforms” and “Suckers”. The single received multiple spins on the BBC’s John Peel show and goes on to sell 10,000 copies worldwide. Six months later, the band relocates to London without Hammond and Archibald, and new members Rab Fae Beith (drums) and Nick Ward (guitar) are recruited. Small Wonder hires Sex Pistol Steve Jones to produce the next single with the new line-up, and “Exchange/Kiss The Mirror” appears in late Summer.

The band signs to Fresh Records / Polydor in September 1979 and begins work on demo recordings with producer Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69. Four songs are recorded, but arguments break out between Lowery and the rest of the band regarding personnel and musical direction. He  is replaced by a new vocalist Ivan Kelly and Polydor subsequently re-record the vocals with this new singer. A single “Ghetto” is released in 1980 and The Wall go on to enjoy some recognition with the album “Personal Troubles and Public Issues", but Lowery has moved on to form post-punk band Ski Patrol and several years later, the highly acclaimed Folk Devils.

So, this 9-track album, compiled after several years of negotiations with various parties by Ian's older brother David Lowery, comprises all of the songs written and sung by Lowery during his tenure with The Wall, and completes a cycle of re-issues of Ian’s early and later works that chronicle his musical output up until his untimely death in 2001.

Released by:
Spectacle Music
Release date:
26 January 2021

Spectacle Music Ltd

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