Biography
Formed in 1980 in Manchester, England by Graham Massey and Howard Walmsley, the group initially aimed to score Walmsley’s live film screenings. Massey took up guitar while Walmsley played saxophone, and they recruited local writer Ken Hollings on vocals along with Colin Seddon on bass and Eddie Sherwood on drums. Drawing from jazz, punk, and dance music, Biting Tongues produced four albums across the 1980s, with their final effort marking a shift to Factory Records, the notable independent label based in Manchester. Hollings and Sherwood had already left by then, with Sherwood later becoming part of Simply Red, and their spots were filled by Basil Clarke handling vocals and Phil Kirby on drums. Accompanied by the singles ‘Trouble Hand’ and ‘Compressor’, the Factory album provided the soundtrack for an additional Walmsley film, and a complete video album titled Wall Of Surf appeared in 1988. Nevertheless, Clarke and Kirby eventually gravitated toward the rising Yargo, allowing the founding members to resume their focus on video and soundtrack projects. An attempted fifth album was abandoned following the collapse of Cut Deep, their fifth record company. Once the last single ‘Love Out’ came out, Massey transitioned to 808 State while Walmsley devoted himself once more to film and video work full time, creating visuals among other tasks for his previous collaborator’s new outfit.
Albums