Then Jerico

Then Jerico

Then Jerico is a London band formed in 1983 and active from the 1980s to the present. The group’s core line-up includes Mark Shaw, Jasper Stainthorpe, Ben Angwin, Scott Taylor and Alex Mungo, and it is associated with alternative rock, new wave and pop rock.

Career

The band plays a British rock style that is especially tied to the late 1980s. It signs to London Records in 1984 after performing at The Limelight Club in New York in 1983. Its early single The Big Sweep is recorded for London, but the label objects to its lyrical content, which is an anti-Robert Maxwell/Rupert Murdoch statement. The track first appears in 1985 on Martin Rushent’s Immaculate label and later receives a limited-edition London release with the new song Fault.

Then Jerico’s songs Muscle Deep and The Motive chart in 1987. The group’s first album, First (The Sound of Music), appears in 1987, is co-produced by Mark Shaw and Owen Davies, and reaches number 35 on the UK Albums Chart. Its second album, The Big Area, follows in 1989, goes gold and reaches number 4 on the UK Albums Chart.

Notable songs and recordings

Big Area becomes the band’s biggest singles success, reaching number 13 in the UK Singles Chart in 1988. The song also features in the 1989 science fiction film Slipstream, starring Mark Hamill. The album The Big Area includes production work by Rick Nowels on more than half of the tracks, and Belinda Carlisle provides side vocals on the single What Does It Take. The band is also associated with the singles Sugar Box, Love So Bright and Under Your Spell.

Split, revival and later activity

The original line-up splits in early 1990, after which Mark Shaw pursues solo work and releases the album Almost in 1991 on EMI. That album is produced by Andy Taylor and includes the singles Love So Bright and Under Your Spell. Shaw also works intermittently with Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley and the SAS Band.

Shaw revives Then Jerico in 1998 for the self-financed album Orgasmaphobia, released on Eagle Rock. He co-produces the record with Andy Taylor, with contributions from Mick MacNeil of Simple Minds and the writer Iain Banks. A live album, Alive & Exposed, appears in 2000 on Yeaah! Records under the credit Then Jerico... Mark Shaw Etc.; it records a concert at The Grand Theatre, Clapham in London from summer 1992 and includes the new song Step into The Light.

Shaw launches a new Then Jerico tour in 2012 with an original-style line-up including Rob Downes, Scott Taylor, Jasper Stainthorpe and Steve Wren. A Reprise Tour follows in 2013 to support the compilation Reprise on Warner / Rhino Music, with appearances at Henley’s Rewind the 80s Music and the Let’s Rock Bristol festivals. By February 2014 the original incarnation ends, though Shaw continues the name with a revised line-up for festival dates and club shows.