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While much of 2023 was a quiet period coming to terms with Mark’s departure from this physical plain, we resume our work this year to continue with Mark’s various plans that he was so excited about, according to his wishes.
Mark’s huge spirit and total one off attitude to everything in existence is very much alive and with us - Freaks R Us
Photo Freaks R Us
Mark in Bristol, July 2019
JOHN WADDINGTON - 01/01/1960 - 20/06/2023
John Waddington – former guitarist and founding member of The Pop Group – has passed away. An influential musician, and an integral member of the group, John contributed to some of the band’s most iconic recordings, playing on their first two albums ‘Y’ and ‘For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?’.
John later joined Maximum Joy for their debut album ‘Station MXJY’ and continued to make memorable appearances on records by Judy Nylon and by On-U Sound affiliated projects including New Age Steppers and African Head Charge.
John’s energy and friendship will be sorely missed, and his unforgettable musicianship will always be remembered.
The prolific maestro & founding member of The Pop Group + Rip Rig & Panic returns once again...
Last Night From Glasgow: 'The brand-new album from (and we don't use the word loosely) genius multi-instrumentalist, composer, founding member of The Pop Group and Rip Rig & Panic and all-round good egg Gareth Sager. Including the soon-to-be smash hit 'They're Playing Kraftwerk In The Coffee Shop'. If it were 1984 this would surely top The Peel Festive 50!'
Creeping Bent: 'Get it on! Gareth Sager dubs up disco, punk & funk, in cahoots with regular chums from The Nectarine No. 9, both Davy Henderson & Ian Holford - also of Sexual Objects & sometime live drummer for The Pop Group, immense!'
Stream 'They're Playing Kraftwerk in the Coffee Shop' via Spotify,
also available to stream in all the usual places.
'Maelstrom in the Bare Garden' is out on the 30th June 2023, available on vinyl & digital formats, released by Last Night From Glasgow in conjunction with Creeping Bent.
Presenting 'Ghost Ship Trance Lamentations' - the new album by Gareth Sager (The Pop Group, Rip Rig & Panic) & his Quartet
Lush, soothing piano-driven miniatures recorded at Studio 1, Abbey Road, featuring bassist Debs Spanton, cellist Lisa Watchorn & frequent collaborator David 'Flash' Wright on saxophone
Vinyl & CD - out 15th July via Org Music
Mark Stewart in conversation with Algiers for Talkhouse discussing the multiplicity, history & evolution of post-punk - including the life & times of The Pop Group - as well as DIY communities, local scenes in Bristol, Atlanta & more
The Vinyl Edition of 'Y in Dub' by The Pop Group & Dennis Bovell is here!
⚫ Double Heavyweight Black Vinyl
📦 Brown Kraft Board Sleeve
🎨 Exclusive Poster created by Garth O'Donnell & Sara Dalimore
Out Now on Mute Records
Dub ruination with the original master 💥
'Live Y in Dub' - a new 3-track live EP by The Pop Group & Dennis Bovell
Recorded at the 2021 live premiere of 'Y in Dub' from Coventry Cathedral Ruins for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, curated by Terry Hall (The Specials)
Out now digitally via Mute Records
Listen / Download
'Like kids in a toy shop, getting to do things that are more advanced than forty years ago...we’re going back into this shipwreck & pulling out the gold'
Dangerous Minds interview Dennis Bovell, exploring the making of 'Y in Dub', his first encounters with The Pop Group, the aesthetic correlation between TPG & John Coltrane and more.
Plus hear the premiere of three live tracks by The Pop Group & Dennis Bovell ('Snowgirl', 'We Are Time' + 'She Is Beyond Good & Evil') recorded at Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 curated by Terry Hall (The Specials) and taken from 'Live Y in Dub', out digitally on 15th March via Mute.
The vinyl edition of 'Y in Dub' is out 25th March (UK / EU) + 8th April (USA / ROW) via Mute.
'Rip It Up & Start Again' - a new documentary film by Nikolaos Katranis, Russell Craig Richardson & Academy Award-winning director Leon Gast
Based on the eponymous book by Simon Reynolds, featuring The Pop Group plus interviews with Mark Stewart
Watch the extended trailer ☝️
The rhythm rocks and the rhythm rolls when The Pop Group are at the controls 🎛️
A guest session for dublab, featuring exclusive input from the late Lee 'Scratch' Perry (RIP)
Originally aired Sunday 30th January, 8pm GMT | 12pm PST | 3pm EST
'Y in Dub' by The Pop Group & visionary dub pioneer Dennis Bovell
CD | Cassette | Digital - Out now on Mute Records
Vinyl out 25th March 2022
Listen / Order
#31 - Wire Magazine Archive Releases of the Year
#35 - Concrete Islands Albums of the Year
Treble Zine 10 Essential Remixed Albums
'A masterful reconfiguration of the Bristol post-punk outfit’s pipebomb LP wherein Bovell picks apart and re-imagines the entire album in a way that accentuates its scarifying doom and white-hot grooves while rendering it freshly tooled for the present' The Quietus
'A remarkable achievement, adding a new layer to an old record in a unique way'
Record Collector
'Bovell and The Pop Group take 'Y' to the furthest reaches of the galaxy and the depths of the ocean, ripping these songs apart and stitching them back together in surprising ways, stretching them to breaking point and beyond...More than a companion piece, more than a remix album, 'Y in Dub' stands on its own' Brooklyn Vegan
'Fierce and fearless, a brave triumph' Electronic Sound Magazine
'With 'Y In Dub', Dennis Bovell has taken a sacred text and reawakened the demons within it. He has created a new language with old words and has answered the question of can you improve on perfection because here Bovell has proven that yes indeed you can' Louder Than War
'A quiet triumph...the quality of sound in this new dub version is sky-high. It’s immensely fun. Recording artists of all manner should be contractually obligated to dub out every album and find the better version hiding inside a perfectly good one' Sasha Frere-Jones / 4Columns
'Four decades on, The Pop Group’s post punk classic get exquisitely dubbed up by Dennis Bovell...a resolute success - a relevant and interesting return to a landmark album'
Juno Daily - Album of the Week
Read Dennis Bovell's Baker's Dozen w/ The Quietus
Read an essay by Sasha Frere-Jones on 'Y in Dub' & dub music history for 4Columns
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