hypersongs

Delta 5

The Leeds post-punk band with two bass players, whose 1979 Rough Trade debut single "Mind Your Own Business" has been used in television and an Apple advertisement.

Leeds, 1979

Delta 5 came out of the Leeds University art-school scene that also produced Gang of Four and the Mekons, with whom they shared a rehearsal room, equipment and a homemade PA. Julz Sale, Ros Allen and Bethan Peters started as a trio, and Kelvin Knight on drums and Alan Riggs on guitar joined later; Alan Riggs is Alan Briggs in one fan account. In Mike Appelstein's 2006 interview for furious.com the band said the name came from Mekong Delta plus the five members. Allen studied fine art at Leeds University, and the early line-up included Jon Langford of the Mekons on guitar and the Mekons' soundman Simon Best on drums. Peters co-wrote most of the lyrics with Sale. Their two-bass funk-punk with feminist politics is often compared to Gang of Four.

Geoff Travis of Rough Trade offered them a deal after seeing them live. The first single, "Mind Your Own Business" backed with "Now That You've Gone" (Rough Trade RT 031), came out in 1979, in September by Wikipedia and December by the Kill Rock Stars bio. "Anticipation" and "You" (RT 041) followed in February 1980, recorded at Foel Studios in Wales, and "Try" and "Colour" (RT 061) in September 1980, recorded at The Point in London. They recorded John Peel sessions on February 4 and September 2, 1980, took part in Rock Against Racism, and toured the US in the fall of 1980 with Gang of Four and Pere Ubu, and supported the B-52s.

See the Whirl and after

In 1981 they moved to Pre, a Charisma imprint, for their only album, See the Whirl (PREX 6), produced by Adam Kidron, with a second US tour that summer. It was a commercial disappointment and some critics found it glossy, with horns and keyboards tacked on. A BBC session for Richard Skinner followed on July 16, 1981, and the last single, "Powerlines" with "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", came in 1982, shortly before the band split. Bethan Peters went on to play bass on Fun Boy Three's "Waiting" and toured with them.

Kill Rock Stars issued the compilation Singles and Sessions 1979 to 1981 in January 2006 (the 24th or the 26th, as sources differ), with notes by Greil Marcus; AllMusic gave it 4.5 stars, Pitchfork 8.3 and PopMatters 7 out of 10. A vinyl reissue followed in 2019. Kelvin Knight died on December 2, 2015, aged 56, and Julz Sale on September 20, 2021; the Rough Trade announcement came two days later. Sale's name is on the Ribbons sculpture in Leeds, unveiled in 2024. Louder Than War's John Robb called them brilliant live and noted the groundbreaking mixed line-up with two lead bass players.

Albums

Songs

  • Mind Your Own Business Mind Your Own Business · 1979

    The debut single, a sarcastic address to a negligent partner, later used in Sex Education and an Apple advertisement.

Sources

  1. Delta 5, Wikipedia
  2. See the Whirl, Wikipedia
  3. Singles and Sessions 1979-1981, Wikipedia
  4. Julz Sale, Delta 5 founder, Louder Than War (2021-09-22)