Artery

Artery came together as an artsy post-punk outfit in Sheffield, England, during 1979, built around vocalist and guitarist Toyce Ashley, bassist Neil McKenzie, drummer Garry Wilson, and guitarist Mark Gouldthorpe. The group had first gone under the name The before settling on its eventual moniker. Their earliest recording appeared on Limited Edition, the imprint operated by their manager, via the 1979 single Mother Moon, after which the quartet received exposure in a substantial NME feature surveying Sheffield’s thriving music community.

A double-pack single followed in May 1980 on the Aardvark label, pairing two studio tracks with a second seven-inch that captured four numbers performed live at the Rotherham Arts Centre. Around the same period the band contributed to the Aardvark-issued Bouquet of Steel compilation, which highlighted several Sheffield acts including the Comsat Angels and I’m So Hollow.

Activity remained low until November 1981, when the Afterwards single surfaced on Armageddon; by then keyboardist and guitarist Simon Hinkler had taken Ashley’s place, having earned the members’ favor by chauffeuring them to shows, while Gouldthorpe moved from guitar to vocals. Guitarist and saxophonist Mick Fidler had already entered the lineup earlier that year.

After signing with Red Flame, the band issued the single The Clown one week ahead of the Oceans EP in September 1982. Fidler was dismissed for skipping rehearsals, and Hinkler soon departed to work as a piano tuner. Pianist Chris Hendrick stepped in for the 1984 album One Afternoon in a Hot Air Balloon, whose honky-tonk flavor marked a shift, yet he left once touring plans surfaced; Hinkler returned and brought along his trombone-playing brother David. By this stage bassist Dave Hendrick had replaced McKenzie, and guitarist and saxophonist John White had joined as well.

Further personnel shifts accompanied the heavier sound of 1985’s The Second Coming, with McKenzie returning for the sessions and guitarist Murray Fenton added while Wilson and Gouldthorpe stayed on. McKenzie exited before the subsequent tour, leaving manager Tony Perrin to fill the bass role on the live album Number 4: Live in Amsterdam. Fenton soon joined the Batfish Boys, prompting Artery’s dissolution. Hinkler thereafter concentrated on studio work, collaborating with pre-fame Pulp and with All About Eve; across the 1980s and 1990s he also played in the Mission and Mindfeel while reuniting with Gouldthorpe in the Flight Commander.