Terrorvision

Terrorvision are a British rock band from Keighley, West Yorkshire, formed in 1987. The group’s line-up includes Milton Evans, Leigh Marklew, Ian Shuttleworth, Tony Wright and Mark Yates. They release music on Total Vegas Recordings and are associated with alternative rock and hard rock, with strong heavy metal influences in their early work.

Career

The band begins under the name The Spoilt Bratz before changing to Terrorvision. Their debut album, Formaldehyde, appears in 1992. It shows the band’s metal background, but also the humour and pop leanings that become central to their sound. The single My House helps establish them, and their second album, How To Make Friends And Influence People, becomes the breakthrough release. That record includes Oblivion, which combines downbeat lyrics with a highly melodic chorus and gives the band wider commercial success.

Their third album, Regular Urban Survivors, arrives in 1996 and becomes a commercial and critical success. Singles from the album chart well, including Perseverance, and the record presents a larger, more elaborate version of the band’s earlier style. In 1998, Shaving Peaches offers a more restrained sound. Although it sells poorly, it yields their biggest hit through a Mint Royale remix of Tequila, which reaches number 2. Terrorvision adapt the remix for live performance rather than distancing themselves from it.

After leaving major label EMI following Shaving Peaches, the band return in 2001 with the independently released Good To Go. The album is a return to their earlier style and includes Friends And Family, which becomes a festival favourite. Their final gig of that initial period takes place in Bradford in October 2001 and is later issued as the double live album Take The Money And Run.

Later activity and reunions

After the split, members work on side projects: Tony Wright forms Laika Dog, Leigh Marklew plays with Malibu Stacey, and Mark Yates works in Blunderbuss and Boomville. Wright also releases two solo albums and one country album with Ryan Hamilton, while Milton “Milly” Evans tours with acoustic versions of Terrorvision songs and his own material.

The band reforms several times. A one-week-only tour follows in 2005, with a live album and DVD recorded from it, and they also perform at Scarborough Castle later that year. In 2007 they return again for a short run of shows without Leigh Marklew, with Danny Lambert of Blunderbuss standing in. Marklew rejoins the following year, and the original line-up plays short tours and festival dates, including a tour marking the 15th anniversary of How To Make Friends And Influence People, with two live albums issued from Manchester and London performances.

In 2010 Ian Shuttleworth retires and Cameron Greenwood replaces him on drums. Terrorvision then work on new material and release Super Delux in 2011, their first new album since 2001. They continue touring and appear at Download Festival in 2012. After a hiatus from 2013 to 2016, they return for an Alternative Valentines show and later tour the UK with Thunder. They also mount a tour for the 20th anniversary of Regular Urban Survivors, accompanied by the live album Wired Up and Scary, filmed at the Manchester Ritz.

Since 2016, Terrorvision continue to perform annually. In 2018 they tour with Reef and The Wildhearts on the rotating triple-headline bill Britrock Must Be Destroyed. In 2019 they tour again for the 25th anniversary of How To Make Friends And Influence People and issue new material including the Christmas single Our Christmas Song and the download track By My Side.

Style and legacy

Terrorvision’s sound combines hard rock and heavy metal roots with pop hooks, humour and a strong sense of melody. Mark Yates’s guitar work provides the main instrumental drive, while Tony Wright’s vocals give the band much of its character. Their repertoire also includes cover versions of The Passenger by Iggy Pop, Surrender by Cheap Trick, Wishing Well by Free, and an unusual lounge-blues version of Iron Maiden’s Take Your Daughter To the Slaughter. They also record remixes with Paul Oakenfold and a handbag-house-rock style B-side, Too Stoned To Dance.