The March Violets

The March Violets

The March Violets are a Leeds-based gothic rock and post-punk group formed in 1981. The band is associated with the early Leeds scene, using a drum machine rather than a live drummer in its original line-up and pairing male and female vocals with echo-heavy electric guitar. Their sound sits close to other Leeds gothic acts of the period.

Formation and early line-up

The band forms in December 1981 at Leeds University. The original members are Tom Ashton on guitar, Laurence “Loz” Elliot on bass, Simon “Detroit” Denbigh on vocals, and Rosie Garland on vocals. Percussion comes from a drum machine nicknamed “Dr. Rhythm”.

The group’s early work is issued through a connection with Andrew Eldritch of The Sisters of Mercy, who releases the debut four-track EP, Religious as Hell, on his Merciful Release label in 1982. A second Merciful Release single, Grooving in Green, follows later that year. The band then creates its own label, Rebirth.

Singles, compilations and chart success

The March Violets build a catalogue of singles that reach the UK Indie Chart, with seven singles entering the chart. Their 1983 single Snake Dance becomes a club hit and is widely regarded as a gothic rock classic. After Cleo Murray joins as a second female vocalist for that release, Rosie Garland leaves and Murray becomes the sole female singer for Walk Into the Sun in 1984.

Their first compilation album, Natural History, appears in 1984 and collects the first four singles plus two tracks from a BBC Peel Session. It reaches No. 3 on the indie chart. In the United States, Electric Shades is issued by Relativity Records in 1985, drawing together material from the later singles and including a piano-heavy remix of “Snake Dance”.

Major-label period and break-up

After moving toward a more pop-oriented sound, Simon Denbigh leaves in early 1985 before the band’s first American tour. He still appears on the single Deep, which is recorded earlier and released in May 1985. The group then signs to London Records and adds drummer Andy Tolson. The single Turn to the Sky appears in 1986, still carrying the Rebirth imprint.

“Turn to the Sky” and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Miss Amanda Jones” are later used on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Some Kind of Wonderful, which also includes a live performance by the band of “Turn to the Sky”. The March Violets break up later in 1987.

Later releases and reunions

A first CD compilation, The Botanic Verses, is released in 1993 by Jungle Records in the UK and Cleopatra Records in the US, covering the band’s 1982–1984 material. A reunion gig follows in Leeds in 2007 with Denbigh, Garland and Ashton, plus Mat Thorpe on bass. Further live activity resumes in 2010 after Rosie Garland recovers from throat cancer.

In the reformed period, the band records its first full album through fan funding. Made Glorious appears in 2013 and mainly consists of new material, alongside remixed versions of tracks from the Trinity and Love Will Kill You EPs. A second album, Mortality, follows in 2015, again self-released and funded in part through PledgeMusic. Mars Williams of the Psychedelic Furs contributes saxophone to several tracks. The album’s initial version is made available digitally to supporters and mostly reworks older songs.

In 2021 the band releases Big Soul Kiss: The BBC Recordings, a limited-edition double vinyl set on Jungle Records for Record Store Day in the UK. Repressings and further compilations follow in 2022, including Play Loud Play Purple and The Palace of Infinite Darkness, a five-CD box set with two discs of unreleased material. A further reunion is announced in 2022 for touring and new recordings.

Other projects

Tom Ashton also plays live guitar for The Sisters of Mercy and the Danse Society before joining Clan of Xymox for its 1991 Phoenix US tour and relocating there. He later composes soundtracks for independent films and produces bands in the South East USA, including Vision Video and Tears for the Dying.

Cleo Murray fronts Lovecraft in the early 1990s and releases the singles “Hungry” and “Medicine” in 1993. Simon Denbigh forms Batfish Boys and D-Rok. Rosie Garland becomes a poet and cabaret performer under the name Rosie Lugosi, later publishes the novel The Palace of Curiosities in 2013, and receives several awards plus a longlisting for the Desmond Elliott Prize.