Dislocation Dance - Casually referred to as "Forgotten Pioneers"
Dislocation Dance – In Session 1981 – Past Daily Soundbooth
(We could use a little love, right about now):
Dislocation Dance to start off the week. Referred to by some as one of the Forgotten Pioneers in the genre of Post-Punk, the original incarnation got started in 1978 and disbanded in 1986 – they regrouped in 2009 and are still in business.
Dislocation Dance are from Manchester, England. Their original line-up is obscure; their first EP, a self-titled 7″ as a co-release between two labels, Delicate Issues and New Hormones[1] recorded in May 1980, lists its line-up as ‘B’ on vocals and keyboard; ‘Don’ on drums; ‘Ian’ on vocals and guitar, and ‘Paul’ on bass, but also mentions ‘Past members of the band’ as Rod Bloor, Kathryn Way, Tim Glasser, Ian Rogers (drummer, who subsequently joined Blue Orchids) and Julie Gask.
The group proper formed in 1978 and included chief songwriter Ian Runacres (vocals, guitar), Andy Diagram (trumpet, vocals, also of The Diagram Brothers), Paul Emmerson (bass), and Richard Harrison (drums). The Slip That Disc 12″ EP featured a much more confident and tight sound, as well as a cover of The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out”. Both this release and the group’s debut album Music Music Music (1981) featured the Runacres, Diagram, Emmerson and Harrison line-up. New Hormones also issued a string of poppy singles by the band, including Show Me, Rosemary and You’ll Never Know, before the pioneering label closed due to lack of funds.
In 1982 Dislocation Dance signed to Rough Trade. 1984’s Midnight Shift album saw Kathryn Way rejoin as vocalist and the band explore a more jazzy pop sound. A final EP, “What’s Going On”, saw the replacement of Way by Sonja Clegg with Herbie Bryan joining on saxophone. The band called it a day in 1986, with Clegg going solo, releasing an album in 1987, and Diagram taking his trumpet to pop success with James.
To get an idea what the band sounded like during their formative period, here is their first of two sessions for John Peel, broadcast on August 11, 1981.
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