Biography
After This Heat disbanded in 1982, the group’s co-founder Charles Bullen, previously its lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, joined percussionist and keyboardist Julius Cornelius Samuel to form the dub-inflected post-punk duo Lifetones. In contrast to the confrontational, politically driven sound of his earlier work, Bullen’s new project adopted a relaxed, hopeful tone that nevertheless hinted at lingering social tensions. Lifetones issued their only album, For a Reason, on Bullen’s Tone of Life Records in 1983. The record quickly disappeared from circulation, and Bullen remained silent until 1998, when his electro-jazz ensemble Circadian Rhythms delivered the album Internal Clock. Renewed interest in This Heat’s catalog drove growing demand for For a Reason, pushing resale prices into the hundreds of dollars per copy until Light in the Attic reissued it in 2016.