Young Marble Giants were a Welsh post-punk band formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1978. Their music was based around the vocals of Alison Statton along with the minimalist instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham. Their early sound was a sharp contrast with the more aggressive punk rock that dominated the underground at the time. Young Marble Giants released just one studio album, Colossal Youth, in 1980. They also released two EPs and recorded a John Peel session.

History

Members of Young Marble Giants had previously been in a band called True Wheel. Stuart Moxham's girlfriend, Wendy Smith, lent him the money to buy his Rickenbacker. (Smith, an art student in Cardiff at the time Young Marble Giants formed, photographed the band's US tour, and also designed cover art for several singles and albums by Weekend.)

Very early in their existence, there was a fourth member of the band, Peter Joyce, who was a cousin of the Moxham brothers. Joyce was a telephone engineer and skilled at electronics, and had made his own synthesiser from a kit. It made sounds similar to Eno's synths in the early Roxy Music, and Kraftwerk, both of which employed similar 'low-tech/high-tech' electronics. Young Marble Giants used tape recordings of Joyce's home-made drum machine, since they did not wish to have a drummer at that time. They were also interested in effects devices such as ring modulators and reverb units, with the emphasis always on simplicity.

Their first vinyl release was on the compilation LP Is the War Over? on Cardiff DIY label, Z Block Records, in October 1979. While signed to UK independent record label, Rough Trade Records the YMGs released two EPs, Final Day and Testcard, and an album, Colossal Youth

Post-breakup projects

After the band split up in 1981, Stuart Moxham formed the Gist,

The band played gigs at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester on 19 October 2014 and Stereo in Glasgow on 20 October.

They also performed at the MIMI Festival, on the Frioul Island in Marseille, on 3 July 2015.

On 8 June 2016, Stuart Moxham wrote on the band's Facebook page that the band was no more. Young Marble Giants' last show was in London in August 2015.

Style and influences

Young Marble Giants' sound was characterised by Phil's prominent bass lines, Stuart's rhythm guitar (a Rickenbacker 425) and Galanti electric organ lines and Statton's vocals.

Musical influences included Eno, Kraftwerk, Neil Young, Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Can and others. Stuart Moxham was a fan of Manchester guitarist Vini Reilly's early work, and was also very interested in dub reggae. The band were acquainted with Scritti Politti, the band of Cardiff native Green Gartside, and signed to the same label, Rough Trade Records.

Legacy

Young Marble Giants have had a lasting influence on many other groups and artists. It was revealed in his Journals that they were, along with the Vaselines, one of Kurt Cobain's two favourite bands. Courtney Love's band Hole covered the Young Marble Giants track "Credit in the Straight World"; a cover version of their song "The Man Amplifier" was included on the Magnetic Fields single "Why I Cry" as a B-side; Sydney group Toys Went Berserk covered the song "Brand-New-Life" in 1990. "Final Day" was covered by both Belle and Sebastian and Galaxie 500. The original recording of the song was included in The Pitchfork 500.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Colossal Youth (February 1980)
  • Reached No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart, No. 20 NZ

EPs

  • Final Day (June 1980)
  • Reached No. 6 on the UK Indie Chart
  • Testcard E.P. EP (March 1981)
  • Reached No. 2 on the UK Indie Chart

Live recordings

  • Peel Sessions (recorded 1980, released 1991)
  • Live at the Hurrah! (2004)

Compilation albums

  • Salad Days (2000)
  • Compilation of demo versions of songs which appeared on Colossal Youth and Testcard

<gallery>

Image:ymg_001.jpg|Alison Statton, Peter Joyce, Phil and Stuart

Image:ymg_002.jpg|Stuart on Rickenbacker and Phil on Hayman Bass

<!-- Deleted image removed: Image:ymg_003.jpg|Alison, Peter, Phil and Stuart -->

<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: Image:Ymg 004.jpg -->|Alison, Phil and Stuart

Image:ymg_005.jpg|Alison and Peter with the synth

Image:ymg_006.jpg|Stuart on Rickenbacker

Image:ymg_007.jpg|Philip Moxham, 1978/79

Image:Young Marble Giants live at Factory Festival, Nivelles, Belgium (2008).jpg|At the Factory Festival, Nivelles, Belgium, 2008

</gallery>

References

  • Young Marble Giants at julietippex.com