Mesh – live at The Sala Bikini, Barcelona – June 22, 2002 –
Mesh in concert from Barcelona this Friday night – recorded live at Sala Bikini on June 22, 2002.
Mesh formed in 1991 after lead singer Mark Hockings and Richard Silverthorn (keyboards) met each other at a concert where Richard Silverthorn’s band was playing. Soon afterwards, Neil Taylor, Silverthorn’s former bandmate, joined the band on keyboards. The creative writing was split between Richard Silverthorn, who composes the music, and Mark Hockings, who writes the lyrics.
Mesh were signed by the Swedish label Memento Materia and an EP, Fragile, was released in 1994. This was followed by a full album, In This Place Forever, in 1996, and 1997 the band released an extended version of Fragile. A compilation album, Fragmente, was released in 1998, and a new studio album, The Point At Which It Falls Apart in 1999. In 2000 they worked with the German dance producer Mark Oh, releasing the track “Waves”, which reached position 83 in the German charts.
In 2002, Mesh were picked up by Sony Records, and released a new album Who Watches Over Me. The band grew in popularity in continental Europe, and most notably in Germany, where their singles and albums repeatedly attained chart positions. In 2006 a new album, ‘We Collide’, was released, produced by former Depeche Mode producer, Gareth Jones.
On 13 September 2006 Taylor announced he was leaving the band after 15 years to pursue other interests. Hockings and Silverthorn decided to continue as a duo, using an augmented line-up for live shows. Initially, Geoff Pinckney replaced Taylor at live shows.
In 2015 the band played with a classical orchestra at the ‘Gothic meets Klassik’ festival, hosted at the ‘Gewandhaus zu Leipzig’ in Leipzig. The show was recorded and initially scheduled for release in 2016. It was later decided to expand the live recording with some additional studio recorded tracks. These were recorded at Tonscheune Oleak, and the release was pushed back to late 2017.
Mesh have acquired a fan base in Germany and Scandinavia, and have also gained notice in North and South American countries. However, success and recognition in their home country of the UK has eluded them. Richard Silverthorn has discussed this in several interviews, stating that while he would love some recognition in the UK, the band has been lucky to find a market for what they do elsewhere and that is now what is important to them.
As a reminder of their 2002 period, and in conjunction with the release of Who Watches Over Me, crank up this Barcelona show and get ready for the weekend, COVID and all.
