Biography
The Art Objects emerged as an unconventional British ensemble whose preference for abrasive, melody-free guitar lines and pronounced psychedelic leanings helped open doors for later post-punk outfits including Echo & the Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes. The group took shape in Bristol, located in southwest Great Britain, when an eccentric trio assembled in the middle of 1978; poet Gerard Langley supplied spoken vocals, Jonathan J. Key—also known as Jonjo—provided jagged guitar parts, and Wojtek Dmochowski contributed dance. A more standard configuration took hold in the summer of 1979 once drummer John Langley came aboard, with bassist Bill Stair and second guitarist Robin Key, Jonathan’s sibling, arriving shortly afterward. The Art Objects issued a three-track 7-inch on the Fried Egg imprint in 1980 that contained “Hard Objects,” “Biblioteque,” and “Fit of Pique”; the release performed modestly on the indie listings, prompting a follow-up single pairing “Showing Off (To Impress the Girls)” with “Our Silver Sister.” Heartbeat Records, the label behind that second release, commissioned a full-length project, and Bagpipe Music was captured across five days of recording during the summer of 1980. Almost twelve months passed before the album appeared in shops, after which the band promptly dissolved. Gerard Langley, Wojtek Dmochowski, and John Langley soon launched the Blue Aeroplanes, whose debut LP Bop Art drew most of its material from earlier Art Objects compositions; Bill Stair, Jonathan J. Key, and Robin Key also participated in those sessions. Cherry Red, the British independent label, issued an expanded reissue of Bagpipe Music in 2007.