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Que bono
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Origin: Bolton, England Genre(s): Post Punk/New Wave Label: Naked Records Years active: 1980 – 1982 Que Bono was a short-lived four-piece punk/new wave band from Bolton, England, who was beginning to rise through the music scene at the beginning of the 1980s, only to flounder just as their success was about to begin. History Formed at the beginning of 1980 by Alan Maskell (formerly of the Waxworks) and Jane Devine & Peter Mulvhill (formerly of Victor Drago), they recruited local bassist Simon Hall, who just showed up for an audition. The band began to write songs and started gigging around the Greater Manchester area, under the name of 'Rhythm Section' and soon generated an interested audience as they found their sound and started to build a loyal following. A name change was later suggested a few months later and they became ‘Que Bono’ which better suited their post punk/new wave sound. Though-out 1980 the band gigged relentlessly and received a glowing review in Rock Life Magazine who likened them to Siouxsie & the Banshees and Bow Wow Wow. In October of that year, the band also cut a 5-track demo, recorded at the legendary Graveyard Studios in Manchester and sold a cassette version through Rock Life Magazine and the Jamm Studios to their local fan base. It was through this demo the band met Paul Tandy, a local music producer and promoter who was impressed enough to help manage the band and sign them up for a German tour, mainly in West Berlin, scheduled for the summer of the following year. At the beginning of 1981 the band took up the offer to make a promotion video and included the tracks – ‘Siren Scream’, ‘Emelia’, ‘Electric Light’ & ‘Making Noise’. The video was shot in stark black and white at the UMIST in Manchester and was (at the time) deemed as cutting-edge for a band to do, as videos were still seen by many bands as gimmickry. This wave of momentum led to band member Jane posted the demo of their songs to Kenny Dalglish (who was a football player for Liverpool FC at the time – John Peel’s favourite football team) in the hope he would follow her request and pass the demo to Peel. As luck turned out, he was only too happy to oblige and passed it on to John Peel. This also gathered a mention in John Peels’ autobiography ‘John Peel: Margrave of the Marshes’ ‘Another resourceful outfit, Que Bono, found a unique way of making their demo tape sparkle alluringly in the morning post- bag: they mailed it to Kenny Dalglish, and requested that he pass it on to John.’ This inventive move proved successful as the band was offered a Peel Session a few months later. The session was recorded in the summer of 1981 at the BBC Langham Studios in London and included the tracks – ‘Siren Scream’, ‘Twister’, ‘Houses’ & ‘Burtonwood’ and was broadcast on the John Peel Radio Show in the Autumn of that year. To coincide with the broadcast of their Peel Session, Paul Tandy produced a double A single, that included the tracks – ‘Making Noise’ & ‘Emelia’. The single was released in the summer 1981 on the bands own label Naked Records, but performed poorly in the UK indie charts, due to the lack of support of radio and their Peel Session broadcast being put back until the Autumn. However by July 1981, the band was playing to bigger audiences for their West German tour, which included a sold out night at the legendary Music Halle in Berlin. The release of the single proved a huge success in Germany, thanks mainly to the tour, it scored high in the German alternative music charts and for a while the band became indie darlings of the new German music scene. After the tour of Germany, the band retreated back to their home town to rehearse and write some new songs. It was during this period that the tensions in the band started to grow, with arguments over musical direction and image, which led to cooling off period towards the end of 1981, but by the beginning of 1982, the band decided to call it day. The final output of the band came in the April of 1982; at popular request their Peel Session was transmitted again. Aftermath Alan (guitars) went on to form Pressure (82-84) but went back to his DJ roots to ride the wave of the House Music / Superstar DJ culture in the late 1980s. During 90s he started promoting bands at the Manchester’s legendary Boardwalk and now owns & runs two Night-Clubs in Manchester. Simon (bass) went on to join Pressure and after the demise of that band, turned to session playing while studying for his degree. He later came back to the music scene in the new millennium with rock outfit The Four Candles. Jane (singer) went to form (with Peter) The D Notes (82-85) and had varying success with the band until she went solo in 1985 under the name of Jane Darling. Towards the late 80s Jane changed career from singing to acting and had short-lived theatre career, before taking back seat to raise a family. Peter (drums) went on to The D Notes and after that bands decline, moved away from drums to play guitar in various bands, until settling for the jazz fusion band Big Heat - which has received acclaim all over the country and maintains a small, but loyal following. Lineup Jane Devine - vocals Alan Maskell - guitars Simon Hall - bass Peter Mulvhill - drums Discography 5-track Demo – ‘Siren Scream’ Que Bono 1980 ‘Feedback Song’ ‘Burtonwood’ ‘Muddy Bath’ ‘Electric Light’ ‘Making Noise / Emelia’ Naked Records 1981 Que Bono Live Bootleg 1981 Videos Que Bono: The Past is Present 1981 Naked Records 1982 Behind the music: This was Que Bono Stripy King Films 2007 
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