The Opposition

Formed in South London during 1979, the post-punk outfit known as The Opposition fused the urgent, impassioned drive associated with early Killing Joke alongside the elegant yet anguished atmospheric textures reminiscent of the Chameleons. Marcus Bell, Mark Long, and Ralph Hall established the group that year, issuing their debut single Very Little Glory on their independently run Double Vision label before 1979 concluded. A brief arrangement with Japan’s Ariola imprint yielded a follow-up 7-inch in 1980, which in turn secured a recording agreement with Disc AZ. The band’s self-produced first album, Breaking the Silence, appeared in 1981. Between 1983 and 1985 they delivered three successive long-players on Charisma—Intimacy, Promises, and Empire Days. After an extended break, Long and Bell pursued a polished pop diversion under the name So, which achieved a modest chart success in 1988 with the track “Are You Sure.” The Opposition reconvened during the 1990s to record Blue Alice Blue and War Begins at Home, the latter arriving in 1993, before disbanding once more. In 2001 the Netherlands-based Red Sun label reissued Breaking the Silence on compact disc, remastered with additional bonus material. The musicians assembled again in 2002 to produce and release another studio album.