The Pop Group

The Pop Group are a Bristol, England band formed in 1977 and active from 1977 to the present. Their core line-up includes Mark Stewart on vocals, John Waddington on guitar, Gareth Sager on guitar and piano, Simon Underwood on bass, and Bruce Smith on drums. Dan Catsis also becomes part of the group’s line-up after earlier changes on bass.

Style and influence

The band’s music combines post-punk with art punk, dance-punk, experimental rock and funk rock, and it is also associated with punk, avant-garde, new wave and experimental approaches. Their sound is described as dissonant and uncompromising, drawing on punk, free jazz, funk and dub. Their lyrics are often politically charged. The Pop Group are cited as an important influence on alternative music in the 1980s, and artists including Mike Watt and Nick Cave name them as an influence. The band and related Bristol acts help establish a local scene that later contributes to trip-hop.

Recordings and releases

The Pop Group issue their debut single, She Is Beyond Good and Evil, in 1979 on Radar. Their debut album, Y, is produced by reggae veteran Dennis Bovell and receives critical praise but low sales. Although it does not chart, it leads to a deal with Rough Trade. Their best-known single is often considered to be We Are All Prostitutes, which features free improviser Tristan Honsinger on cello. The second album, For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?, follows in 1980 and includes a contribution from The Last Poets. The band later issues the split single Where There’s a Will There’s a Way with The Slits.

Break-up and reunion

The Pop Group split in 1981 after legal disputes and internal disagreements. Members then go on to form or join groups including Pigbag, Maximum Joy, Head and Rip Rig & Panic, with the latter involving Neneh Cherry. Mark Stewart also works with Adrian Sherwood and the On-U Sound collective, first as Mark Stewart and Maffia and later as a solo artist. The group reunites in 2010 for a reunion tour and plays dates in the UK and Europe, including Paris for the first time. They perform at ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and at the final holiday camp edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties in Camber Sands in 2013.

Later activity

The band releases a new album, Citizen Zombie, produced by Paul Epworth. Their 1980 LP We Are Time receives a worldwide reissue outside Japan, and they also issue the rarities compilation Cabinet of Curiosities. Around the same period they tour the UK in support of the reissues.