Band · United Kingdom

The Associates

Scottish rock band featuring Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine

Formed in 1976

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The Associates (or simply Associates) were a Scottish post-punk and pop band, formed in Dundee in 1979 by lead vocalist Billy MacKenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine. The band released an unauthorized cover version of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" as their debut single in 1979, which landed them a recording contract with Fiction Records. They followed with their debut studio album The Affectionate Punch in 1980 and the compilation album Fourth Drawer Down in 1981, both to critical praise.

They achieved commercial success in 1982 with their UK Top 10 studio album Sulk and UK Top 20 singles "Party Fears Two" and "Club Country", during which time they were associated with the new pop movement. Rankine left the group that year, leaving MacKenzie to record under the Associates name until 1990. They briefly reunited in 1993. MacKenzie's suicide in 1997 was the band's end; Rankine died twenty-six years later in 2023.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Also in Français

Associates est un groupe de post-punk britannique, originaire de Dundee, en Écosse. Il est actif au début des années 1980, et principalement connu pour la voix de son chanteur, Billy Mackenzie. Mackenzie rencontre le guitariste Alan Rankine à Dundee en 1976. Ils forment un duo, enregistrant quelques chansons sous le nom de Mental Torture avant de devenir les Associates.

Ils atteignent la célébrité en 1982, avec plusieurs singles classés au Royaume-Uni et leur album le plus réputé, Sulk. Rankine quitte le groupe peu après, mais Mackenzie continue à enregistrer sous le nom des Associates, avec divers invités, jusqu'en 1990.

Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0