A BRIEF NURSE WITH WOUND HISTORY...
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197? Inspired by the indie scene, three friends in North London have the idea to form a group, drawing on their experience in collecting Krautrock, progressive and avant-garde musics.
1978 Nurse With Wound are formed. Original line-up of: Steven Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak. Offer from Nicky Rogers to use his studio. Record debut LP without any rehearsals or proper planning, in December, the band are excited with the results, and a finished mixed product is soon created.
1979 Finances for release of the debut LP are sorted out. CHANCE MEETING ON A DISSECTING TABLE OF A SEWING MACHINE AND AN UMBRELLA is issued in early Summer as a numbered edition of 500 copies. To gain attention, Steven puts his artistic talents to good use and gives the album a startlingly bizarre cover. CHANCE MEETING... gets the unusual accolade of ????? (instead of 5 stars) as points of recommendation in Sounds! Later in the year Jacques Berrocal comes to London and joins in sessions for a second album: TO THE QUIET MEN FROM A TINY GIRL, and a less focused style, a side-step to more jazzy and ethnic free-form realms. Heman Pathak ceases to be a regular member. He later established his own project: Hastings Of Malawi.
1980 Nurse With Wound continue to work as a duo of Steven Stapleton and John Fothergill. Third album, MERZBILD SCHWET, is recorded. A dedication to the Dadaists, it marks a new direction in style, with more dramatic studio effects, use of voice and collage. In the Summer, TO THE QUIET MEN... and MERZBILD SCHWET are released simultaneously, both as special numbered 500 copy limited editions. Steven discovers Whitehouse. John Fothergill gets Lemon Kittens for United Dairies.
1981 Nurse With Wound, in essence, becomes the solo project of Steven Stapleton (and whoever he cares to work with) and he goes on to record INSECT AND INDIVIDUAL SILENCED with the aid of John Thirlwell (best known as "Foetus") and Trevor Reidy. Not a very well received album, nowadays rejected as 'terrible', even by Steven Stapleton himself! John Fothergill goes on to production of other projects. Steven collaborates with Whitehouse, live in concert and in studio, and together they also record the album THE 150 MURDEROUS PASSIONS..., with Nurse With Wound in control on one side, Whitehouse on the other.
1982 Time of the "Industrial Boom" and numerous contributions to compilations on record and cassette. HOMOTOPY TO MARIE is recorded and released, a step on from the Dadaist rock of MERZBILD SCHWET, with much use of tape manipulation and classical avant-garde techniques.
1983 Steven meets David Tibet. David Tibet starts collaborating with Nurse With Wound, and also establishes his own group Current 93. Nurse With Wound sign up to a new division of the Belgian label Les Disques du Crepuscule: L.A.Y.L.A.H. Records. Steven and David Tibet record together as Nurse With Wound the coldly electronic and abstract mini-album GYLLENSKÖLD, GEIJERSTAM AND I AT RYDBERG'S.
1984 Steven meets Diana Rogerson. Concerts in Britain and Europe. Recordings as Aeolian String Ensemble, a planned album doesn't materialise, only contributions to compilations exist. Mini-album BRAINED BY FALLING MASONRY dedicated to Brainticket's COTTONWOODHILL, backed by an abstract excursion dedicated to the film "Eraserhead". Extensive work with Current 93 from this point on, in parallel to Nurse With Wound, excepting live work Steven is involved either as a musician or engineer/producer on most releases. 1985 Sessions and concerts with various projects, with: Current 93, Annie Anxiety, D&V, some recordings end up as what can be heard on three albums titled LIVE AT BAR MALDOROR. Completion of the ambitious opus THE SYLVIE AND BABS HI-FI COMPANION, a concept on 60's pop music, with a huge guest cast-list, and lots of hijacked pop records. Debut album by Diana Rogerson, offering a rocky and daring twist on the Nurse sound, with extraordinary X-rated lyrics!
1986 Recordings with the German band Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa, Organum, and numerous other sessions. SCRAG cassette issued, featuring leftovers from SYLVIE AND BABS... and Diana Rogerson sessions. Further projects and releases on United Dairies, including the first in the AUTOMATING series mopping up classic tracks by Nurse With Wound previously only available on various artist albums (including remixes). Nurse With Wound signs to the Dutch label Torso Records for SPIRAL INSANA, a very complexly technical album, like a patchwork quilt of sonic snapshots, sewn together in a most unusual manner. Reissue of most of the United Dairies and Nurse With Wound back-catalogue on cassette. Second Diana Rogerson album.
1987 Various projects and United Dairies releases. Attempt to get an Uli Trepte album together. Special limited edition project of 100 uniquely presented albums: DRUNK WITH THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS, each with individual artwork covers and inserts painted by Steven Stapleton, it collected Steven's favourite unreleased recordings made during the SYLVIE AND BABS... to SPIRAL INSANA era. Solo piano album by Sema leader and Nurse With Wound collaborator Robert Haigh.
1988 Idle Hole Records is started, as an attempt to go professional, first release is SOLILOQUY FOR LILITH, a triple boxed set of meditative music. Meanwhile on United Dairies is the curious avant-rock mini-album ALAS THE MADONNA DOES NOT FUNCTION. Further United Dairies productions by Masstishaddhu and Current 93.
1989 Steven moves to Ireland. "People Who Can't", a division of Vinyl Experience in London, agree to take on production of new United Dairies releases, and issue A SUCKED ORANGE, a collection of 28 titbits covering almost every style of Nurse With Wound. It's the first Nurse With Wound production to be released on CD. In celebration of his new home, COOLORTA MOON offered a very different Nurse With Wound. Steven announces in the press, following his move to Ireland, a hiatus of Nurse With Wound activity, yet numerous releases appear (in the years 1989 to 1993) with a proliferation of reissues, compilations, and collections of previously unreleased music. Recording starts on LUMBS SISTER, an ongoing project to score Chris Wallis' surreal film.
1990 "People Who Can't" are dissolved and become "World Serpent" handling United Dairies and other labels. Tony Wakeford (from Sol Invictus) helps with the Nurse With Wound record SORESUCKER. Early albums reissued as a limited edition deluxe box set PSILOTRIPITAKA (on LP and CD).
1991 Special project THE SADNESS OF THINGS is realised is realised by Steven Stapleton and David Tibet, in parallel to Nurse With Wound and Current 93 productions. Nurse With Wound's CREAKINESS, half an LP created in the manner of SYLVIE AND BABS..., though derived from the sound effects of classic cartoons like "Roadrunner".
1992 Start recording at Colin Potter's ICR Studio. THUNDER PERFECT MIND sessions, taking Nurse With Wound to more electronic industrial realms. Steven records REVENGE OF THE SELFISH SHELLFISH with Tony Wakeford, making a really creepy gothic album, full of Nurse trademarks and the unexpected.
1993 Further reissues, collaborations, productions, etc., including extensive remixing of recordings by Coil, Legendary Pink Dots, and Stereolab. CD compilations of material previously only on record, including remixes and rare tracks.
1994 Fifteen years of Nurse With Wound, and a startling new twist with ROCK 'N' ROLL STATION, a weird techno album! Planned release of LUMBS SISTER soundtrack as a 2CD set, to coincide with the release of the film. Planned release of AUTOMATING VOLS. 1-3 as a 2CD set.
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1995+ For near-on 20 more years of Nurse With Wound has continued to perplex and surprise. And there's no sign of Steven running out of steam! There are now tons of other resources on the web where you can check-out and listen... www.brainwashed.com/nww/ nursewithwound1.bandcamp.com/ www.discogs.com/artist/26101-Nurse-With-Wound