The March Violets
The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in the city of Leeds, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven March Violets singles reached the UK Indie Chart; the Natural History LP also was an indie hit (hitting No. 3 in 1984).
The original band members met while at Leeds University in 1981. Tom Ashton and Laurence “Loz” Elliot played lead and bass guitar, while vocals were handled by both Simon “Detroit” Denbigh and Rosie Garland. Percussion was provided by a drum machine, a feature that a number of bands in the Leeds scene had in common. Fellow student Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of the Sisters of Mercy, released the band’s debut 7″, the four-track “Religious as Hell” EP, on his Merciful Release label in 1982. The band garnered positive reviews for this first release, which was soon followed in 1983 by a second Merciful Release single, “Grooving in Green”.
At this point, the band established their own Rebirth record label to handle future releases. The “Crow Baby” single shortly followed, and repeated the pattern of good reviews and a good showing in the UK Indie Chart. On the title track of the next single, “Snake Dance”, additional female vocals were provided by Cleo Murray and bass by Steve McIntosh. Garland then left and did not perform on their two final independent releases, “Walk Into the Sun” and “Deep”. The March Violets shifted towards a more pop-oriented sound, and Denbigh left the band in early February 1985 (he went on to form The Batfish Boys and D-Rok).
The band then signed to major label London Records, adding drummer Andy Tolson to the lineup. The subsequent “Turn to the Sky” single was released on London, although still bearing the Rebirth imprint. Reviews were disparaging, and despite being featured on the soundtrack to the film Some Kind of Wonderful, the band failed to find a new audience and broke up in 1987.
Following the split, Ashton performed with Hard Rain and long-running goth band Clan of Xymox, while Murray briefly fronted the Lovecraft in the early 1990s.
Garland became a poet and cabaret performer, performing under the name Rosie Lugosi. Later, she was the victim of a stalker, with the court case featured as a lead article in the Manchester Evening News.