The Beloved (band)

The Beloved are a British electronic music group best known for the singles "Sweet Harmony", "The Sun Rising", "Hello", "Your Love Takes Me Higher", and "Satellite".

Originally a post-punk/indie band formed in 1983, they underwent a change of direction in the late 1980s to a house/alternative dance sound and experienced chart success in the UK and elsewhere.

History

Formation

According to a commonly known account of the group's formation, Jon Marsh placed an advertisement in the music press in 1983, which read as follows:

"I am Jon Marsh, founder member of The Beloved. Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three years' time at exactly 11 a.m. in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, Covent Garden, London, WC2".

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However, Marsh confirmed in 2017 that this was a story made up for a press release.

Marsh first met Steve Waddington when he joined the band Twelfth of August as an additional guitarist. Within a few months, Marsh suggested they leave and start their own band. Calling themselves The Journey Through in 1983, they recruited bass player Timothy Havard "Sweet Harmony", which was originally used to promote the second season of the popular American soap opera Melrose Place in several European countries, has since been used in advertising for British home improvement chain Homebase as well.

While "Sweet Harmony" went on to become their biggest hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in 1993, This re-release peaked at number 88 on the UK Physical Albums Chart. A similar re-release of Happiness was also released on 7 August 2020, with booklet notes written by Jon Marsh. This peaked at number 77 on the UK Albums Chart,

Collaborations with other artists or bands

Both Marsh and Waddington have collaborated with other artists or bands. Waddington co-wrote, co-produced, and contributed guitar to the System 7 (band) track "Habibi". Marsh has contributed vocals to tracks from Laid and Luke Solomon, as well as remixing other artists including Depeche Mode. He also worked with Bent on Beautiful Otherness from their 2003 album The Everlasting Blink and We Watch the Stars, which was released in 2013.

In 2020 Marsh gave vocals to "Sky's The Limit", a track released on Westbam's album Famous Last Songs Vol. 1 (2021).

Awards and nominations

{| class=wikitable

! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result

| 1991

| Brit Awards

| "Hello"

| Best British Video

| 1993

| MTV VMA

| "Sweet Harmony"

| Viewer's Choice (Europe)

Members

Current members

Jon Marsh – lead vocals, keyboards, programming, drums (1983–present)

Former members

Steve Waddington – guitars, piano, keyboards, occasional vocals (1983–1991)
Tim Havard – bass (1983–1987)
Guy Gausden – drums, percussion (1984–1987)
Helena Marsh – keyboards, programming (1992–1997)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Album

! colspan="7"| Chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Label

! rowspan="2"| Certifications

! width="35"|UK

! width="35"|UK Indie

! width="35"|US

! width="35"|AUS

! width="35"|SWE

| align="left"| Blissed Out

| 38

| –

| 111

| –

| 1993

| align="left"| Conscience

| 2

| –

| 144

| 22

| 47

| –

BPI: Gold

! style="width:35px;"| AUT

! style="width:35px;"| FRA

! style="width:35px;"| GER

! style="width:35px;"| IRE

! style="width:35px;"| NED

! style="width:35px;"| SWE

! style="width:35px;"| SWI

| rowspan="2"| 1986

! scope="row"| "A Hundred Words"

| – || 15 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Where It Is

! scope="row"| "This Means War"

| – || 22 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

| rowspan="2"| 1987

! scope="row"| "Happy Now"

| – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

! scope="row" | "Surprise Me" / "Forever Dancing"

| – || 15 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

| style="text-align:left;"| Where It Is

| 1988

! scope="row"| "Loving Feeling"

| – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

| rowspan="2"| 1989

! scope="row"| "Your Love Takes Me Higher"

| 91 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Happiness

! scope="row"| "The Sun Rising"

| 26 || – || – || – || – || – || 28 || – || – || –

| rowspan="4"| 1990

! scope="row"| "Hello"

| 19 || – || 94 || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

! scope="row"| "Your Love Takes Me Higher" (reissue)

| 39 || – || 148 || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

! scope="row"| "Time After Time"

| 46 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

! scope="row"| "It's Alright Now"

| 48 || – || 150 || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

| style="text-align:left;"| Blissed Out

| rowspan="4"| 1993

! scope="row"| "Sweet Harmony"

| 8 || – || 147 || 3 || 16 || 6 || 14 || 21 || 14 || 6

BPI: Silver