The Room

The Room

The Room are a Liverpool-based UK indie band active from 1979 to 1985. They form in the late 1970s around Dave Jackson and Becky Stringer, and go through a number of line-up changes before they split in 1985. The group’s members include Paul Cavanaugh, Dave Jackson and Alan Wills.

Style and position in the Liverpool scene

The Room play a form of new wave and melodic indie rock with a sparse, wiry sound and a strong focus on melody. Their music combines smooth vocals, sharp lyrics and a slender instrumental style. Their writing is noted for its literary bent, with lyrics described as intricate and ambitious. Although they belong to the same era as other Liverpool acts such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Wah! and the Wild Swans, they are presented as a band apart from that scene because of the detail and complexity of their songs.

Recognition and recordings

The band gain a strong reputation with John Peel and attract attention from the music press, but they do not achieve the wider commercial breakthrough their work might suggest. Their recording history includes an album produced by Tom Verlaine, which adds to their standing as a notable cult act from the period.