Ghost Dance was a guitar pop/goth/rock band formed in 1985 by Gary Marx (ex-The Sisters Of Mercy guitarist) and Anne-Marie Hurst (ex-Skeletal Family vocalist) as both were leaving their respective bands.
The band were originally signed to Nick Jones' record label, Karbon Records, then were later signed to the major label Chrysalis Records, before splitting up in 1989. See also: 1984 in music, other events of 1985, 1986 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 28 - Various artists, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon... Gary Marx is a guitarist who played with classic British goth band the Sisters of Mercy in the 1980s. ... The Sisters of Mercy are a band that emerged out of the British post punk scene in 1980-1981. ... Out the ashes of The Elements (1980-1982) came the Gothic rock group Skeletal Family in December 1982. ... Chrysalis Records is a record label that was created in 1969. ...

Leeds is the urban core of the metropolitan borough and city the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid... This article is about the year. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, a bass guitar, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as keyboards (organ, piano synthesizers) and horns (saxophone, trumpet, trombone) are common in some styles, however, horns have been omitted from newer subgenres... Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) evolved out of post-punk during the late 1970s. ... For Popular music (music that is popular, rather than of a specific genre or style), see Popular music. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Chrysalis Records is a record label that was created in 1969. ...

Members

• Gary Marx (guitars 1985-1989)
• Anne-Marie Hurst (vocals 1985-1989)
• Steve Smith (guitars 1985-1986)
• Richard Steel (guitars 1986-1989)
• Etch (bass 1985-1989)
• Pandora (drums 1986)
• John Grant (drums 1986-1989)

Gary Marx is a guitarist who played with classic British goth band the Sisters of Mercy in the 1980s. ... Several persons have been called Steven Smith or Stephen Smith, which both may be familiarised to Steve Smith: Professor Steve Smith (academic) British academic. ... Spacehog were a glam rock band from the 1990s and 2000s, heavily influenced by David Bowie, Queen, and T. Rex. ... There have been a number of individuals named John Grant: John Grant, mayor of Victoria, British Columbia from 1887 to 1891 John Grant, a screenwriter John Grant, a writer of and about science fiction John Grant, a British author who writers under the pen name Jonathan Gash and is best...

History

River Of No Return

Bassist "Etch" was hired, and with a drum machine nicknamed "Pandora", the band set about releasing their debut 12" single River Of No Return, featuring a cover of Roxy Music's song Both Ends Burning. By Gary Marx's own admission, the sound quality wasn't up to scratch^[1].
Nevertheless, the single was released in early 1986. Making of Pandora This article is about the Greek mythological figure. ... Roxy Music is a British art rock group founded in the early 1970s as a collaborative project between art school graduates Bryan Ferry (vocals, keyboards) and Brian Eno (electronic music specialist). ...

Heart Full Of Soul

The second single to be released was Heart Full Of Soul, a cover of The Yardbirds' song. It was backed with a cover of Golden Earring's hit single Radar Love. The 12" version of the single had a silver sleeve instead of the pale blue of the 7" single, as well as a bonus track on the a-side, a cover of Suzi Quatro's Can The Can.
Steve Smith from Red Lorry Yellow Lorry had been helping the band live and occasionally in the studio, and on this single, contributed by adding backing vocals and extra guitars. After recording this single, he played some more gigs, until his final one in Wolverhampton, when he left the band to concentrate on his own project, Riprize.
The drums on this single were programmed by Etch, rather than Marx. Yardbirds album cover The Yardbirds were an early British rock band, noted for spawning the careers of several of rock musics most famous guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. ... Golden Earring is a Dutch Rock/Pop Group that was founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings (the s was later dropped). ... Radar Love was the worldwide breakthrough hit by Dutch rock band Golden Earring. ... Suzi Quatro Suzi Quatro (born Susan Kay Quatro on June 3, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan. ... Several persons have been called Steven Smith or Stephen Smith, which both may be familiarised to Steve Smith: Professor Steve Smith (academic) British academic. ... Red Lorry Yellow Lorry is a rock band that was formed in Leeds, England in early 1981 by guitarist/songwriter Chris Reed and vocalist Mark Sweeney, along with bassist Steve Smith and drummer Mick Brown (who would later join The Mission UK). ...

The Grip Of Love

The Grip Of Love was the third single by Ghost Dance to be released in 1986. With the departure of Steve Smith, new guitarist Richard Steel played on this single.
The 7" single a-side was the "Bombay Mix" of The Grip Of Love, and the b-side was Where Spirits Fly.
The 12" single omitted Where Spirits Fly, and added Last Train to the a-side, and A Deeper Blue and "A Cheaper Blues Version" of The Grip Of Love to the b-side.
All the tracks on the 12" version are in the key of D minor, hence the subtitle to the single "Suite In D Minor". The single's producer, Richard Mazda, also plays harmonica on the "Cheaper Blues Version". Spacehog were a glam rock band from the 1990s and 2000s, heavily influenced by David Bowie, Queen, and T. Rex. ...

Leaving Karbon

In 1987, Ghost Dance released their final Karbon EP, A Word To The Wise. They had recruited drummer John Grant, with Daniel Mass from ex-Merciful Release band Salvation providing backing vocals on the a-side track When I Call. This track was recorded in Amazon studios, proving to be the most financially demanding track the band had recorded. Nevertheless, it was one of the first tracks the band had written.
The second a-side track was Fools Gold (written by Etch, one of the few tracks in Ghost Dance's discography not wrtten by Marx), and the two b-sides were Cruel Light and Holding On.
Despite the success of A Word To The Wise (reaching the lower reaches of the charts, despite not being available in most mainstream shops), the band had reached the end of their time with Karbon Records. The final release on Karbon was the Gathering Dust LP, a compilation of all the singles they had released to date.
After leaving Karbon, their tour manager Simon "Sparky" Parker became their manager, and succeeded in securing Ghost Dance a deal with Chrysalis Records. There have been a number of individuals named John Grant: John Grant, mayor of Victoria, British Columbia from 1887 to 1891 John Grant, a screenwriter John Grant, a writer of and about science fiction John Grant, a British author who writers under the pen name Jonathan Gash and is best... Merciful Release is a record label started by Andrew Eldritch, frontman with Leeds outfit The Sisters of Mercy. ... Chrysalis Records is a record label that was created in 1969. ...

Chrysalis Records

The first release on Chrysalis was the single Down To The Wire, which made the UK Top 40. The various issues of the singles included a live "Gathering Dust Medley" for the b-side. This was a live recording of The Grip Of Love/Last Train/Celebrate. A promotional German release of this single was released as "Introducing Ghost Dance".
Finally, the band released their debut album, Stop The World (some copies coming with a bonus live 12" single), despite the tensions in the band growing. The label had wanted a remake of the early song Celebrate, to be a new single, despite the label ignoring the fact that there had been a version of Celebrate on the b-side of the previous single.
The single's reception was "disastrous^[2]", and despite demoing new songs, such as Rock It and Adrift Without You with new manager Chris Cooke, the band slowly disintegrated playing their final concert in Amsterdam, on December 4th, 1989.

1990 to the present day

Rumours of reunions continued to circulate throughout the 1990s, but as of 2006, it seems very unlikely, as Anne-Marie does not have any desire to return to music.

Gary Marx was in contact with Andrew Eldritch in 1995, and wrote several tracks for a studio collaboration, but never heard from Eldritch again. In 2005, Marx released the tracks as the solo album "1995 And Nowhere". He has also released his own debut album "Pretty Black Dots" and attempted to reissue Gathering Dust as a remastered CD-R, but many fans were dissatisfied by the product, and it was soon withdrawn. Andrew Eldritch (born Andrew William Harvey Taylor, May 15, 1959) is the frontman, singer, songwriter and the only remaining original member of The Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post punk scene and, in later years, also flirted with pop and hard rock. ...

Copies of Ghost Dance releases are no longer available. Stop The World occasionally appear on eBay, with the comparably scarcer CD issue often selling for over £40.

The official Ghost Dance website contains several mp3s of unreleased and rare songs, with extra tracks for forum members.

Discography

See also: 1985 in music, other events of 1986, 1987 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 23 - The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee... See also: 1985 in music, other events of 1986, 1987 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 23 - The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee... See also: 1985 in music, other events of 1986, 1987 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 23 - The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee... See also: 1986 in music, other events of 1987, 1988 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 3 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ... See also: 1987 in music, other events of 1988, 1989 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events Peter Ruzicka becomes director of the Hamburg State Opera and State Philharmonic Orchestra. ... See also: 1988 in music, other events of 1989, 1990 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 - Genesis 88 and Sunrise/Back to the Future stage large-scale illegal Acid House party in London January 14 - Paul McCartney releases Back in the... See also: 1988 in music, other events of 1989, 1990 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 - Genesis 88 and Sunrise/Back to the Future stage large-scale illegal Acid House party in London January 14 - Paul McCartney releases Back in the... See also: 1988 in music, other events of 1989, 1990 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 - Genesis 88 and Sunrise/Back to the Future stage large-scale illegal Acid House party in London January 14 - Paul McCartney releases Back in the... See also: 1988 in music, other events of 1989, 1990 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 - Genesis 88 and Sunrise/Back to the Future stage large-scale illegal Acid House party in London January 14 - Paul McCartney releases Back in the...

Footnotes

1. ^ [Ghost Dance Official Website]
2. ^ [Ghost Dance Biography]

External Links

[1] Ghost Dance Official Website
[2] Gary Marx Official Website