Keith LeBlanc, known as drummer with bands like Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and TackHead, has died. On-U Sound, his record label, announced the sad news.

Adrian Sherwood reflects on LeBlanc’s legacy: “Keith was a major, major talent…incredible drummer, producer, and musician… Along with Doug, Skip and also dearly missed Mark Stewart we enjoyed some of the most creative times together that shaped my musical life. Thank you Brother Keith…Love Forever. Heart and Soul.”

Starting as a session drummer at Sugarhill Records in the early 1980s, LeBlanc was a key figure in forming the Sugarhill House Band alongside Americans Doug Wimbish (bass) and Skip “Little Axe” McDonald (guitar). They collaborated with top rap artists, including the Sugarhill Gang on “Rapper’s Delight” and Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel on tracks like “The Message” and “Freedom”.

Adrian Sherwood first encountered LeBlanc and his bandmates at the 1983 CMU conference in New York. Their innovative work, especially the “No Sell Out” single featuring Malcolm X speeches, led Sherwood to invite them to London. In the UK, they pushed boundaries in sample-based music, with Sherwood joining as a de facto fourth member. As Fats Comet and Tackhead, they produced a range of music from dancefloor tracks to politically charged songs, also backing Mark Stewart as The Maffia.

In addition to his role with the On-U Sound group, Keith LeBlanc launched several innovative sound projects through his own label, Blanc Records. He worked on song writing and production with artists such as Living Colour, Peter Gabriel, The Cure, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails. As a versatile drummer and programmer, LeBlanc collaborated with an array of music legends, including James Brown, Trevor Horn, Seal, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, Jalal of Last Poets, The Stone Roses, Robert Palmer, Bomb The Bass, Annie Lennox, Tina Turner, Bryan Ferry, Depeche Mode, and Sinead O’Connor.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Andy Rourke, bassist of The Smiths, has passed away at the age of 59. The news was shared today (May 19) by his former bandmate, Johnny Marr, via social media. According to Marr, Rourke’s passing was the result of an extended battle with pancreatic cancer. The last time Rourke played on stage was at Maddison Square Garden in September 2022 with his band.

Marr posted this on Twitter: “We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Andy Rourke after his prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. Andy will be cherished for his kindness and beautiful spirit by those who personally knew him, and his exceptional musical talents will be remembered by music enthusiasts. We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult period.”

Rourke is primarily recognized for his role as the lead bassist for The Smiths from 1982 to 1986, and then again from 1986 to 1987. He contributed to all four of The Smiths’ studio albums: ‘The Smiths’ (1984), ‘Meat Is Murder’ (1985), ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (1986), and ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’ (1987).

Beyond The Smiths, Rourke co-founded and performed with supergroup Freebass, which included Peter Hook of New Order and Mani of the Stone Roses. He also recorded with The Pretenders for their 1994 album ‘Last of the Independents’, and collaborated with Killing Joke, as well as Moondog One, featuring former Oasis guitarist Bonehead.

Rourke and Marr met when they were 11 years old, bonding over music at their school. After graduating, Rourke co-founded The Smiths in Manchester in 1982, along with Marr, Morrissey, and drummer Mike Joyce. Johnny Marr: “Andy and I initially connected as schoolboys. We quickly became inseparable, spending our time studying music, enjoying ourselves, and striving to become the best musicians we could be.” Marr and Rourke would maintain their friendship after The Smiths disbanded.

Various musicians and music industry professionals have publicly expressed their condolences following Rourke’s death including Stephen Street, The Smiths’ producer, and fellow bassists Mat Osman from Suede and Tom Chapman from New Order.

Stephen Street wrote: “I am so saddened to hear this news! Andy was a superb musician and a lovely guy. I haven’t been able to read any other news about details yet but I send my deepest condolences and thoughts to his friends and family. RIP.”

Suede bassist Mat Osman: “A total one-off – a rare bassist whose sound you could recognise straight away. I remember so clearly playing that Barbarism break over and over, trying to learn the riff, and marvelling at this steely funk driving the track along.”

New Order bassist Tom Chapman: “A true inspiration to me and the reason I moved to Manchester to be a musician. One of the best bass players to come out of Manchester. If it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t be in New Order today. My thoughts go to his family and friends.”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Out 17 March on Mute / BMG is Inspiral Carpets’ “The Complete Singles” compiling all of the Manchester band’s 24 singles to date. “The Complete Singles” coincides with the start of a major UK tour kicking off in Northampton in March.

The album will be available on double vinyl, and as a 3CD set with an exclusive remix bonus disc. Included on that 3rd disc are classic, rare and unreleased remixes from across their career alongside two new unreleased mixes, from The Go! Team and Martyn Walsh & Simon Lyon.

The Complete Singles sees all of the band’s singles remastered and available on one album for the first time. From 1988’s “Keep The Circle Around” to their latest single, 2015’s “Let You Down”.

Inspiral Carpets introduced the mainstream to the ‘Madchester’ sound which you can also find back in those other Manchester bands the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

Here is the tracklist of the bonus tracks on the 3CD set.

1. Dragging Me Down – Jon Dasilva Remix
2. This Is How It Feels – The Go! Team Remix*
3. Caravan – No Windscreen Mix (Justin Robertson)
4. Generations – Denmark 2 Germany 0 mix (Fortran 5)
5. Commercial Reign – Rub-A-Dub Mix (Forgemasters)
6. You’re So Good For Me – Like A Tonic Remix (Mark Reeder & Micha Adam)
7. Dubville – (Chris Nagle)
8. Two Worlds Collide – The Twelve Inch Mix (Mike Pickering & Paul Heard / M People)
9. Saturn 5 – High Energy Mix (Paul Van Dyk)
10. This Is How It Feels – Robbery Mix (PK & Dashboard)
11. Skidoo – Possession Mix (Justin Robertson)
12. Bitches Brew – Horse (Fortran 5)
13. Changes – Martyn Walsh & Simon Lyon Remix*
14. Uniform – Scripka Mix (featuring The Balanescu Quartet)

Inspiral Carpets 2023 Tour

• 23 March – Northampton, Roadmender
• 24 March – Newcastle, Boiler Shop
• 25 March – Oxford, 02 Academy
• 26 March – Brighton, Concorde 2
• 31 March – Cambridge, Junction
• 1 April – Manchester, Albert Hall
• 2 April – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
• 8 April – Leeds, 02 Academy
• 13 April – Glasgow, SWG3 Galvanizers
• 14 April – Sheffield, Leadmill
• 15 April – London, 02 Shepherds Bush Empire
• 21 April – Coventry, HMV Empire
• 22 April – Frome, Cheese & Grain
• 25 May – Holmfirth
• 26 May – Hull, Welly
• 27 May – Neighbourhood Festival
• 15 June – Buckley, Tivoli
• 16 June – Cardiff, Tramshed
• 17 June – Sign of the Times Festival
• 20 July – Dunfermline, PJ Molloys
• 21 July – Edinburgh, Liquid Rooms
• 22 July – Kubix Festival
• 24 August – Derby, Hairy Dog
• 25 August – Norwich, Epic Studios
• 26 August – Victorious Festival

And for those who don’t know the band, check the below videos.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

The Eugene, Oregon (USA) based post-punk / darkwave trio Stariana has just unveiled their new single, “Paradise Is Lost On You”. “Paradise Is Lost On You” is available digitally on Apple Itunes and Amazon.com and comes accompanied by a video which you can view below.

As far as the sound is concerned Stariana is heavily influenced by such bands as Depeche Mode, New Order, Bauhaus, Jesus And Mary Chain and 90’s era Britpop; Elastica, Blur, The Stone Roses “with just a little bit of Blondie and Joan Jett mixed in for flavor” as they put it.

Stariana is Nikki Brackett, Victor St. Petersburg (of Black Magdalene) and Tethys.

Here’s the video for “Paradise Is Lost On You”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Out on August 17th is a remix by the English avant-dub innovator Adrian Sherwood of International Thief Thief’s “Media Song”. Side-Line offers you an exclusive preview of this remix right below.

The remix is a result of the collaboration between Texas based label/creative hub eMERGENCY heARTS and Adrian Sherwood. Sherwood will work on a variety of tracks of the label’s artists and remixes for release during 2021-2022 including: Mark Stewart, Consolidated, Nun Gun, Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltiare)/ Eric Random, scott crow/Energy Fools, SINE, Lesson Seven, International Thief Thief (see the below photo).

The label will be releasing one track per month, then will collect the entire series for release as two 12” vinyl LP compilations featuring the remixes and dub versions in 2022. Additionally, the label will issue a remix EP of Adrian’s collaboration with his daughter Denise from her 2020 album “This Road”.

Listen to this exclusive preview of Adrian Sherwood’s take on International Thief Thief’s “Media Song”.

About Adrian Sherwood

Producer, remixer, and founder of the British dub collective/record label On-U Sound, Adrian Sherwood has long been regarded as one of the most innovative and influential artists in contemporary dance music.

Born in 1958, Sherwood first surfaced during the mid ’70s and formed On-U Sound in 1981. While the On-U Sound crew’s original focus was on live performances, the emphasis soon switched to making records and Sherwood began mixing and matching lineups, resulting in new acts including New Age Steppers, African Head Charge, Mark Stewart & Maffia, and Doctor Pablo & the Dub Syndicate.

Sherwood’s distinctive production style soon began attracting interest from acts outside of the dub community and by the early ’80s Sherwood was among the most visible producers and remixers around, working on tracks for artists as varied as Depeche Mode (remember the completely bizarre “Are People People?” / the ON-USound remix of “People Are People”?), Cabaret Voltaire, Nine Inch Nails, Primal Scream, Einsturzende Neubaten, Ministry, Sinéad O’Connor, Skinny Puppy, The Stone Roses, and so on. This is kinda endless.

In 2003 he launched his solo artist career with “Never Trust a Hippy”, which was followed in 2006 by “Becoming a Cliché”. Both were released by On-U in conjunction with the Real World label. In 2012 he issued his third solo album “Survival & Resistance”, and began an ongoing collaboration with Bristol-based dubstep don Pinch. The pair released their debut album “Late Night Endless” in 2015.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com