Continental hosts old new wav

The Cleveland, Ohio band are the latest prestigious act to feature at happening North-West venue The Continental.

The experimental rock band, formed in 1975, are set to appear at the South Meadow Lane venue this Sunday, November 10.

The band, led by Miami-born 60-year-old founder member David Thomas, were named after the protagonist of Ubu Roi, a play by Alfred Jarry, and have a devoted following.

They are frequently cited as a highly-influential and critically-acclaimed band, once described as ‘the most original and important of the new wave bands’.

Pere Ubu have compiled a list of guidelines for touring, live performances and the like, namely: “Lighting should be theatrical rather than rockist.

“We are interested in atmosphere, mood, drama, energy, subtlety, imagination - not rock cliché.”

To define their music, Pere Ubu coined the term ‘avant-garage’ to reflect their interest in both experimental avant-garde music (especially musique concrète) and raw, direct blues-
influenced garage rock.

Thomas has stated the term was ‘a joke invented to have something to give journalists when they yelp for a neat sound bite or pigeonhole’.

The band’s recorded output includes their acclaimed 1978 debut album, The Modern Dance, including opening track, Non-Alignment Pact, as later covered live in the 1980s by That Petrol Emotion.

Leading man Thomas was previously a founding member of short-lived protopunk band Rocket From The Tombs, going by the name Crocus Behemoth, and put Pere Ubu together in 1975.

He has also released several solo albums. Though primarily a singer, he sometimes plays melodeon, trombone and guitar, describing his artistic focus as being the ‘gestalt of culture, geography and sound’.

Something of a cult figure, his high-pitched voice is one of the most distinctive in rock, memorably described by Emerson Dameron as ‘James Stewart trapped in an oboe’.

Special guests on the night are yet to be named, but tickets are priced £12 and available online from Seetickets, WeGotTickets & Skiddle.

They can also be ordered in person from The Continental bar on 01772 499 425, Action Records on 01772 884 772 or Preston Visitor Information on 01772 253 731.

For more details about the venue, head to http://www.newcontinental.net

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