The Wolfgang Press
Enigmatic, moody, and challenging, Britain's Wolfgang Press were one of the most mercurial talents of the post-punk era, restlessly moving from gothic noise to dark balladry to eccentric funk; paradoxically, the group was also the 4AD label's longest tenured artist -- even their stylish album packages were all the product of the same designer, Alberto Ricci.
Formed in London in 1983, the Wolfgang Press comprised vocalist Michael Allen, guitarist Andrew Gray, and keyboardist Mark Cox. Allen and Cox first teamed in the group Rema Rema, which also featured Adam & the Ants alum Marco Perroni; after reuniting in the short-lived quartet Mass, the duo recruited Gray, and as the Wolfgang Press issued their cacophonous, gloomy debut LP, The Burden of Mules, in 1983. An EP trilogy co-produced by Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie followed in quick succession: while 1984's Scarecrow was a lighter, more streamlined affair, 1985's Water spotlighted ominously sparse torch songs, and the same year's Sweatbox explored deconstructionist pop.
The Wolfgang Press' second full-length effort, 1986's Standing Up Straight, incorporated industrial and orchestral influences into the mix, while the Big Sex EP's "God's Number" offered a soulful backing chorus, a harbinger of things to come. Indeed, after 1988's hypnotic Bird Wood Cage and its leadoff single, "King of Soul," introduced strong elements of dub, reggae, and R&B, the trio took the full plunge into the dance arena with 1991's Queer, an idiosyncratic outing admittedly inspired by De La Soul's landmark 3 Feet High and Rising; the first single, a surreal cover of the Randy Newman-penned "Mama Told Me Not to Come," was a minor hit. 1995's Funky Little Demons completed the Wolfgang Press' transition into white funk; prior to its release, however, Cox exited the group's ranks.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Discography
14 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Funky Little Demons
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 23/01/1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bird Wood Cage
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 7/11/1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Wolfgang Press And Other Tall Stories
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 15/07/1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Funky Little Demons
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 23/01/1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Everything Is Beautiful / A Retrospective 1983-1995
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 7/08/2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Standing Up Straight
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 1/05/1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Burden Of Mules
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 1/08/1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Girl Like You
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 18/05/1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Unremembered, Remembered (Demo)
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 9/10/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mama Told Me Not to Come (The Wolfgang Press)
Alternative & Indie - Released by 4AD on 13/05/1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -