Proto-punk pioneers Doctors of Madness to play Manchester

Exploding onto the music scene in 1975 with their theatrical, William Burroughs-inspired Sci-fi nightmare, Doctors of Madness were misunderstood by many, but those who knew understood the importance of the band’s dangerous, uncompromising approach to lyrics, to music and to performance.

Supported by The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Damned, The Skids, Simple Minds and Joy Division, they were trail-blazers in the years between Glam and Punk.

Their fans from across all areas of the arts include musicians Joe Elliott, Julian Cope, TV Smith, Simple Minds and Spitualized, as well as TV funnyman Vic Reeves and scottish crime noir writer Ian Rankin.

They were the first British band to combine the avant-garde approach of The Velvet Underground with a distinctly European aesthetic. The blue hair, exotic stage-names (Kid Strange, Urban Blitz, Peter di Lemma and Stoner), the lyrical themes of urban decay, political propaganda, mind control and madness were all taken up by the punk bands who followed in their wake.

Doctors of Madness were trailblazers, pioneers, adventurers…pushing the boundaries of rock music and theatre to see how far it would go before it bust. What happened after them was due, in no small part, to what they achieved in three short years.

In the period since Doctors of Madness disbanded, frontman, writer and singer Richard "Kid" Strange has not been idle. He has written a memoir, collaborated on a cantata with internationally celebrated composer Gavin Bryars, worked as an actor on films with Tim Burton, Martin Scorsese, Harmony Korine and Jack Nicholson, toured the world in a Russian version of Hamlet with James Nesbitt as his grave-digging co-star, played Glastonbury, sung baritone in the British premiere of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels at the Royal Festival Hall, executed John Cleese in nine different ways for a Norwegian chocolate commercial, directed a multi-media evening celebrating the life and work of William Burroughs, won Best Art Film Prize at the Portobello Film Festival last year, had his own live talk show, opened a Cabaret club, played a butler on a long running German TV show, worked with Tom Waits and Marianne Faithfull on the William Burroughs/Robert Wilson stage play The Black Rider, curated events for the Tate Gallery, and sung Walt Disney songs with Jarvis Cocker. His debut play, When You Awake You Will Remember Nothing, which he co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in, opened to critical acclaim in London in 2022. Oh, and he still finds time to teach contemporary music to degree students from Finland, Sweden, Japan, Portugal and the USA.

Now, forty-six years after they imploded, Doctors of Madness are back, with a UK tour announced for April 2024, which will feature material from all four of their albums, including their latest release- Dark Times, an album seething with lyrical anger and passion.

Produced by John Leckie (Radiohead, Stone Roses, Pink Floyd, XTC, Simple Minds etc), Dark Times features contributions from Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Sarah Jane Morris (Communards), Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Tindersticks etc.), Steve ‘Boltz’ Bolton (The Who, Scott Walker, Atomic Rooster, Paul Young Band) and the young protest singer Lily Bud.

The band, supported by Manchester's excellent The Harveys, play

The Castle, 66 Oldham Road, Manchester, M4 1LE

On Friday April 12. Tickets are £15.00

from https://www.wegottickets.com/event/597885

This should be a great night!!!