These Immortal Souls
| These Immortal Souls | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Berlin, Germany |
| Genres | Post-punk |
| Years active | 1987–1998 |
| Labels | Mute, SST, Elektra |
| Associated acts | Crime & the City Solution |
| Past members |
|
These Immortal Souls were an Australian post-punk band formed in West Berlin in 1987 by Harry Howard on bass guitar, his older brother Rowland S. Howard on guitar and vocals, Epic Soundtracks (a.k.a. Kevin Godfrey) on drums (all three ex-Crime & the City Solution) and Genevieve McGuckin on keyboards (Rowland's then-girlfriend). They issued two albums, Get Lost (Don't Lie) 1987 and I'm Never Gonna Die Again 1992. The group relocated to Australia in 1995 and played less frequently before disbanding there in mid-1998. Soundtracks died in November 1997 and Rowland died in December 2009.
Late in 1986 Australian-born brothers Harry on bass guitar and Rowland S. Howard on guitar, and United Kingdom-born Epic Soundtracks (a.k.a. Kevin Godfrey) on drums left the rock group, Crime & the City Solution. With Rowland's then-girlfriend, Genevieve McGuckin on keyboards, Harry, Rowland (on lead vocals and guitar) and Soundtracks formed another rock band, These Immortal Souls, in Berlin in 1987. Rowland explained why he formed the group, "I had lots of songs I really liked... songs that would never have been done if I hadn't said, 'Right, I'm going to sing them,' because you can't give somebody a set of lyrics and tell them what to sing if you want any kind of sincerity." They relocated to London.
The group's debut single, "Marry Me (Lie! Lie!)", was issued in September 1987. Melody Maker's reviewer asked "What possesses Rowland Howard when he writes an immaculate piece of music, something that might have qualified as the score for Romero's next film?... what spirit galvanizes this frail young man to bugger it all up by singing?" and then answered "It's arrogance. Punishable arrogance... in [his] black hole of insensitivity, [he goes] on to ruin the hard work of others." A 12" extended play version, Marry Me, with three tracks was reviewed by AllMusic's Dean McFarlane "while the EP is astonishing, it is merely a hint of what was to come the following year... [it]features a rendition of 'Open up and Bleed' which is so devastating as to justify seeking [it] out."
...
Wikipedia