Grooving in Green

Grooving in Green

Grooving in Green is a UK gothic rock and post-punk group, formed in 2008 and active since then. The band begins when guitarists Pete Finnemore and Simon Manning start writing together again after more than 14 years, and the group takes its name from a March Violets song as a reference to its origins and influences. Tron joins on vocals later in 2008, completing the early line-up.

Releases and recordings

The band’s first release is the EP Ascent, written in early 2009 and later noted for strong club and compilation play. That same year they release a second EP, Dirt. In 2010 they issue their debut album, Post Traumatic Stress, produced by Stephen Carey, mastered by Andy Jackson, and featuring a guest contribution from Tony Pettit. The album appears at number 15 in Dominion Magazine’s top 20 albums of 2010 and also places in several other year-end top 20 lists.

In 2012 the band records its second album, Stranglehold, again with Stephen Carey and Andy Jackson. It is released by AF Music and reaches the top of the European Alternative Charts for two consecutive weeks. In 2015 the band releases the EP Rebirth and makes its debut music video for “The Ninth Circle” to support it. The group is also working on a third album, tentatively titled A Second Chance....

Line-up changes and live activity

Simon Manning leaves in late 2012. Joffie Lovett joins temporarily in 2013, before the band pauses activity for the rest of the year. In 2014 bassist Switchblade Switch and drummer Thomas T Cat join the line-up, and Lovett departs. After the deaths of former members Simon Manning and Thomas T Cat in 2015, the band returns to live performance at the Sacrosanct festival. Simon Rippin joins on drums, with Stephen Carey also appearing as a guest live guitarist. By 2016 the line-up settles as Tron on vocals, Pete Finnemore on guitar, Switchblade Switch on bass and Simon Rippin on drums.

Performances and collaborations

Grooving in Green plays in the UK and across Europe, including dates in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Festival appearances include Judgement Day and Emergency Exit in Austria, Lumous Gothic Festival in Finland, Helldorado in Norway, and DV8Fest, Sacrosanct and Whitby Goth Weekend in the UK. The band also appears at Whitby to headline the Absinthe Music Festival alongside Utah Saints, and plays in Athens, Belgium and Germany, including Gothic Castle 3.

They share stages with Clan of Xymox, The Eden House, House of Usher, The March Violets, O Children, Ulterior and Andi Sex Gang, and they also feature guest contributions from Rosie Lugosi of The March Violets and Stephen Carey of The Eden House. Their broader sound and associations place them within gothic rock and post-punk.