The Snake Corps

The Snake Corps are an indie band based in London, England.
Formed in 1984, from the ashes of the (then) broken-up Sad Lovers & Giants, Tristan Garel-Funk and Nigel Pollard conceived the band, but Pollard left prior to recording the first album. Vocalist Marc Lewis responded to an advert in Melody Maker or a singer and shared a flat with Garel-Funk, the pair recruited Liam McGuinness on Bass and John Greville of Rudimentary Peni on Drums
The music was an original fusion of post-punk, indie rock and a dynamic guitar and vocal soundscape. Not unlike Sad Lovers & Giants before them, they focused on creating dreamy rock anthems and at least partly, discarded the post-punk influences that shackled many of their contemporaries. Consequently, the band found that the European market was more aligned to their musical style and they toured abroad extensively, receiving good support wherever they went.
Distancing themselves from Britain and shunning UK dates meant that the regular indie labels were largely uninterested. However, Midnight Music, who had been the home of early SL&G, signed the band and were able to give them the artistic freedom they craved. Unfortunately, this laissez-faire approach extended to most of the company's dealings and ultimately hastened their demise. In the wake of a messy collapse, the band found that they were not only label-less, but their publishing rights had transferred to another company without any involvement or agreement from the band members. Not surprisingly, they decided to call it a day.
A new album was already recorded, but this did not surface for some years, eventually appearing on the small Ophidian label, an offshoot of Rotator Records, thanks to a friend of Garel-Funk. The word Ophidian can mean 'snake-like'.
The Snake Corps reformed in 2010. Carl Jones joined on guitar, Liam McGuinness rejoined on Bass with a new drummer Richie Harris. The Snake Corps made a triumphant return to live performance with a gig in Salamandra Venue Barcelona, Spain on 18 September 2010.
The reformed Snake Corps with Marc on lead vocals were busy in 2011, playing gigs in London and Berlin with Steve Williams on lead guitar. They also played several sell out gigs in Spain in the autumn of 2011 (including the Rock Kitchen in Madrid ) these now featured Simon Meek on keyboards, with Liam McGuinness moving to guitar, and original bass player Jim Blanchard also rejoining the band, with Dave Vigay on drums.
The band played London's 02 Academy in Islington on 21 April 2012 supporting Chameleons Vox and had their best gig since reforming 2 years before.
The Snake Corps performed live at the Play club in Valencia Spain on Friday October 17, 2014, and again drew a fantastic crowd reaction. Another sold out gig at Sala Zero, Tarragona, Spain on Saturday 7 November 2015, featuring 3 original members - Marc Lewis, Jim Blanchard and Liam McGuinness, plus Carl Jones and David Vigay.
The band are now recording a new Album which will be released in two stages in May 2016 and September 2016.
Gigs in Spain, Portugal and a UK event are planned in 2016
Current Lineup
*Marc Lewis - Vocals
*Liam McGuinness - Guitar
*Jim Blanchard - Bass
*Carl Jones - Guitar
*David Vigay - Drums
Previous members
*Tristan Garel-Funk/Steve Williams -Guitars
*David Wood/Ian Gibson/Simon Meek/Will Hicks - Keyboards
*Nigel Pollard/Jon Greville/Richard Harris - Drums
Discography
Albums
*1985 Flesh On Flesh - Midnight Music - CHIME 00.14CD
*1990 Smother Earth - Midnight Music - CHIME 00.52CD
*1990 More Than The Ocean - Midnight Music - CHIME 1.12CD
*1993 3rd Cup - Ophidian - OPHD 3001
*1993 Spice 1984-1993: The Very Best Of - Anagram Records - CDMGRAM 97
Singles
*1985 "Science Kills" - Midnight Music - DONG 13
*1986 "Victory Parade" - Midnight Music - DONG 19
*1987 "Testament" - Midnight Music - DONG 30
*1989 "Calling You" "This is Seagull" - Midnight Music - DONG 50
*1990 "Colder Than The Kiss" - Midnight Music - DONG 60
*1992 "Some Other Time" - Midnight Music - DONG 75

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