Biography
Clive Langer's extensive involvement in music stretched well before the Clang Group's launch in 2014. He began as guitarist in the early 1970s for the art rock cabaret band Deaf School and later joined the legendary Liverpudlian punk band Big in Vegas. By the late 1970s he had shifted into production after discovering Madness and aiding their first single.
In tandem with Alan Winstanley he produced Madness's debut album, 1979's One Step Beyond, while simultaneously forming Clive Langer & the Boxes, whose output included the 1979 EP I Want the Whole World and the 1980 album Splash!. Production quickly proved the more viable path, so Langer devoted the 1980s chiefly to that work, shaping landmark tracks such as Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding," co-written by Langer and Elvis Costello, and David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners," as well as key albums including Dexys Midnight Runners' Too-Rye-Ay, Teardrop Explodes' Wilder, and Madness's The Rise & Fall.
The Langer-Winstanley partnership became noted for drawing strong performances from acts and delivering a spacious, transparent pop sound emblematic of the period. Unlike many contemporaries they adapted to changing tastes and continued into the 1990s with projects ranging from established artists like Morrissey on Kill Uncle to up-and-coming ones like Bush on Sixteen Stone and those who deserved greater recognition such as They Might Be Giants on Flood. Collaboration with Madness remained consistent throughout. In the 2000s they produced albums by bands influenced by their earlier work, among them Dogs Die in Hot Cars' Please Describe Yourself and the Holloways' So This Is Great Britain.
Toward the end of the decade Langer returned to performing; Deaf School resumed live shows and issued a mini-album in 2001. At the same time he began stockpiling original songs he intended to retain for himself. During a 2014 dinner with drummer Gregg Braden the pair resolved to form a new group as a vehicle for those compositions, giving rise to the Clang Group. Completed by Roxy Music's Andy Mackay on sax, Malcolm Lunan on bass, and keyboardist John Wood, the band signed with Domino Records and released its self-titled four-song EP in February 2015, which contained a version of "Shipbuilding" and updated the Langer-Winstanley aesthetic for contemporary ears. Their first full-length album, Practice, arrived late in 2016 on Domino and included guest vocals from longtime associate Suggs of Madness.
In tandem with Alan Winstanley he produced Madness's debut album, 1979's One Step Beyond, while simultaneously forming Clive Langer & the Boxes, whose output included the 1979 EP I Want the Whole World and the 1980 album Splash!. Production quickly proved the more viable path, so Langer devoted the 1980s chiefly to that work, shaping landmark tracks such as Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding," co-written by Langer and Elvis Costello, and David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners," as well as key albums including Dexys Midnight Runners' Too-Rye-Ay, Teardrop Explodes' Wilder, and Madness's The Rise & Fall.
The Langer-Winstanley partnership became noted for drawing strong performances from acts and delivering a spacious, transparent pop sound emblematic of the period. Unlike many contemporaries they adapted to changing tastes and continued into the 1990s with projects ranging from established artists like Morrissey on Kill Uncle to up-and-coming ones like Bush on Sixteen Stone and those who deserved greater recognition such as They Might Be Giants on Flood. Collaboration with Madness remained consistent throughout. In the 2000s they produced albums by bands influenced by their earlier work, among them Dogs Die in Hot Cars' Please Describe Yourself and the Holloways' So This Is Great Britain.
Toward the end of the decade Langer returned to performing; Deaf School resumed live shows and issued a mini-album in 2001. At the same time he began stockpiling original songs he intended to retain for himself. During a 2014 dinner with drummer Gregg Braden the pair resolved to form a new group as a vehicle for those compositions, giving rise to the Clang Group. Completed by Roxy Music's Andy Mackay on sax, Malcolm Lunan on bass, and keyboardist John Wood, the band signed with Domino Records and released its self-titled four-song EP in February 2015, which contained a version of "Shipbuilding" and updated the Langer-Winstanley aesthetic for contemporary ears. Their first full-length album, Practice, arrived late in 2016 on Domino and included guest vocals from longtime associate Suggs of Madness.
Albums
Singles
