Artist Wiki - all about artists


Crime & the City Solution
Crime & the City Solution pictures
Crime & the City Solution biography
Crime & the City Solution songs
Crime & the City Solution albums
Crime & the City Solution were a rock group headed by Australian singer/songwriter Simon Bonney and active between the years of 1977-1991. Despite roots dating back as far as 1978, Crime & the City Solution did not truly emerge until 1984, coming to life in the wake of the dissolution of the seminal Birthday Party. Crime & the City Solution had many members over the years, which can be divided into four distinct line-ups: Sydney in 1977-78, Melbourne in 1979, and two groupings in Berlin. The only common member in all four line-ups was Bonney. For a complete list of the different line-ups see below.
In 1985, the quartet debuted on record for the first time with The Dangling Man E.P., a self-produced EP quickly establishing the band’s moody, atmospheric blues-based aesthetic. Former Swell Maps drummer Epic Soundtracks joined Crime after the EP’s release, freeing Harvey to alternate among a variety of instruments for the haunting follow-up, Just South of Heaven. Their full-length bow Room of Lights appeared in 1986 and featured the remarkable “Six Bells Chime”, which so impressed acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders that he invited the band to perform the song live in his 1988 masterpiece Wings of Desire.
By the time the film appeared, however, the incarnation of Crime & the City Solution presented onscreen was no more; after Room of Lights, the Howard brothers and Soundtracks exited to form These Immortal Souls, leaving Bonney, Harvey and violinist Bronwyn Adams (also Bonney’s wife and songwriting partner) to relocate to Berlin, where they recruited a number of local musicians, including Einstürzende Neubauten guitarist Alexander Hacke, to cut 1988’s ornate, intoxicating Shine. Even more baroque was the follow-up, 1989’s The Bride Ship.
In 1990, Crime returned to the studio one final time to record Paradise Discotheque, a record built around Bonney’s ambitious four-part suite “The Last Dictator”, a song cycle inspired by the downfall of Romanian warlord Nicolae Ceaucescu. After contributing “The Adversary” to the soundtrack of Wenders’ Until the End of the World, Crime & the City Solution disbanded; while Harvey rejoined former Birthday Party mate Nick Cave in the Bad Seeds, Bonney began work on his 1992 solo debut, Forever.
Band Line-ups:|Sydney, 1977-1978|Simon Bonney - vocals|Don McLennan - drums|Harry Zanteni - guitar|Phil Kitchener - bass|Dave MacKinnon - soprano & tenor saxophone
Melbourne, 1979|Simon Bonney - vocals|Don McLennan - drums|Dan Wallace-Crabbe - guitar|Lindsay O’Meara - bass|Chris Astley - keyboards|Kim Beissel - alto saxophone
Berlin/London, 1985-1986|Simon Bonney - vocals|Mick Harvey - guitar|Rowland S. Howard - guitar|Harry Howard - bass|Epic Soundtracks - drums
Berlin, July 1987-1991|Simon Bonney - vocals|Mick Harvey - drums|Bronwyn Adams - violin|Chrislo Haas - synthesizer|Alexander Hacke - guitar|Thomas Stern - bass
Similar Biographies
These Immortal SoulsThese Immortal Souls biography
Rowland S. HowardRowland S. Howard biography
The Boys Next DoorThe Boys Next Door biography
The Birthday PartyThe Birthday Party biography
Die HautDie Haut biography
Anita LaneAnita Lane biography
Mick HarveyMick Harvey biography
soul seven;kim wilson / jeffrey wright;bill sims, jr. / g-funk / master.p / aicelle santos / gretchen barreto / soldiers of fortune / spectrals / grupo salvaje / congotronics vs rockers
Copyright © ArtistWiki.com 2009 - 2022 - All Rights Reserved 0.002 - privacy policies | contact