The Beloved 589614 224444618 2008-07-08T21:34:44Z TTZnju 5116837 +subdivision into chapters with titles; +note about band name shift; +one single link for Single File/The Sun Rising collection and related re-issue; +correct dates (and source) for Happiness singles {{about|the British electronic music group|the American Christian metalcore/post-hardcore band|Beloved (band)}} {{Infobox Musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | Name = The Beloved | Img = | Img_capt = | Img_size = | Landscape = | Background = group_or_band | Alias = Beloved | Origin = [[London]], [[England]] | Genre = [[Electronic dance music|Electronic dance]]<br>[[Synthpop]]<br>[[Electropop]]/[[Technopop]]<br>[[New Wave music|New wave]]<br>[[Pop rock]] | Years_active = 1986-present | Label = [[Flim Flam]]<br>[[Atlantic Records]]<br>[[Warner Bros]]<br>[[EastWest]]<br>[[WEA Records]] | Associated_acts = Journey Through | URL = [http://www.thebeloved.com www.thebeloved.com] | Current_members = [[Jon Marsh]]<br>[[Helena Marsh]]<br> | Past_members = [[Steve Waddington]]<br>[[Tim Havard]]<br>[[Guy Gausden]] }} '''The Beloved''' are a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[electronic dance music]] [[band (music)|group]]. ==Biography== ===Jon Marsh's original advert in the music press=== In 1983, [[Jon Marsh]] placed an advert in the music press, which read as follows: <blockquote> I am Jon Marsh, founder member of the Beloved. Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three year's time at exactly 11am in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, [[Covent Garden]], [[London]], WC2. </blockquote> ===The Jon, Steve, Tim and Guy new wave quartet: ''Where It Is'' and the initial indie success=== At the meeting in 1986, [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] graduate [[Steve Waddington]] was present, and the two formed the core of '''Journey Through''', with [[Tim Havard]]. When [[Guy Gausden]] completed the lineup, the group changed their name to '''The Beloved'''. The band originally had a [[guitar]]-orientated sound, but soon began using [[drum machine]]s and [[Dance music|dance]] elements. They sounded at times like [[New Order]], and a summation of this stage of their career can be found on their first [[studio album]], ''[[Where It Is (The Beloved albun)|Where It Is]]'', which is actually best described as a [[compilation]] of previously released material, consisting of [[single (music)|singles]] and related [[B-Side]]s, pressed onto one individual [[long playing]] work. The record includes all the early singles, "[[A Hundred Words]]," "[[This Means War]]," "[[Happy Now]]," and the double A-side "[[Surprise Me]]" / "[[Forever Dancing]]," all of them released between 1986 and 1987, all of them on ''Where It Is'', all of them making the Top 30 in the [[UK Indie Chart]], and all of them failing in the [[UK Top 75]]. ===The Jon and Steve acid house duo: ''Happiness'', ''Blissed Out'', and the early UK hits=== After slimming down to a [[two piece]] consisting of Marsh and Waddington only, they began to embrace a dance sound more wholeheartedly and, in 1988, after another flop with another double A-side single, "[[Loving Feeling]]" / "[[Acid Love]]," the single entitled "[[The Sun Rising]]" became a club favourite, and crossed over to the [[UK Singles Chart|pop chart]], peaking at Number 26 in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], in September 1989. "The Sun Rising" featured a [[sample]] of "O Euchari" by [[Emily Van Evera]], a sample also used by [[Orbital (band)|Orbital]] on their tune "[[Belfast (disambiguation)|Belfast]]." This was followed by their second album, ''[[Happiness (The Beloved album)|Happiness]]'', the first and only as a [[duo]] and the first fully consisting of previosuly unreleased new songs, out in 1990, from which the [[hit single]] "[[Hello (The Beloved)|Hello]]" was also released, becoming their first international hit, and reaching Number 19 in [[Great Britain]]. This song features rather peculiar [[lyrics]], mostly consisting in names of real or fictitious people, groups and institutions, representing the band's most important and varied influences (from [[religion]] with [[Saint Peter]] and [[Saint Paul]], to [[music]] with [[Kym Mazelle]], [[literature]] with [[Jeffrey Archer]] and [[cartoon]]s with [[Flinstones]]). The [[LP|long playing]] spanned two more singles, "[[Your Love Takes Me Higher]]," which made the [[UK Top 40]], and the final cut, "[[Time After Time (The Beloved song)|Time After Time]]," one of their most famous songs internationally, which was only a minor hit in [[Great Britain]], failing at Number 48. The success of the album as a whole, and the four single releases pushed the group to follow it up with a brand new song, "[[It's Alright Now]]," which also failed to make the Top 40, stopping at Number 46 in the UK, but helped promoting a whole [[remix album]], entitled ''[[Blissed Out]]'', which was released in 1991, mostly being an expanded remodelled version of ''Happiness'', as the title itself suggested. Almost all of the songs from the second album were featured there, in one or more [[remix]]ed versions, also including an alternative cut of "It's Alright Now," and some previously unreleased [[instrumental]] tunes. The work is released in 3 different editions, varying as for length and track listing, depending upon the related format: the [[vinyl record|vinyl]] [[long playing|LP]], the shortest, includes 8 tracks; the [[compact disc|CD]] version, which is the only one being currently available, features 11 songs; and the [[compact cassette|MC]] edition, the richest, contains 16 [[remix]]es. ===The Jon and Helena pop dance duo: "Sweet Harmony", ''Conscience'', ''X'', and the big international success=== "It's Alright Now" and ''Blissed Out'' were the last works made by Jon with Steve at the time. In fact, by 1993, Waddington left the group, and was replaced by Jon's wife, [[Helena Marsh]], who was working as a purchaser for the [[Paris]]ian [[fashion house]] [[Comme des Garçons]], for the third studio album, ''[[Conscience (The Beloved album)|Conscience]]''. The band faced some controversy for the [[music video|video]] of the first new single, "[[Sweet Harmony]]," which consisted of a naked Marsh, among a group of women, also naked (although it was shot and edited so as not to show anything which might cause it to be [[censore]]d). One of the nude stars of this video is British [[television presenter]] [[Tess Daly]]. By this time, the project had dropped the definite article from its name, and was now simply called '''Beloved''' (though further shifts would take place, depending upon time and place, especially in some countries). "Sweet Harmony," which was originally used to promote the second season of the popular [[United States of America|American]] [[primetime]] [[soap opera]] ''[[Melrose Place]]'' in some [[Europe]]an countries, including [[Italy]], has since been used in [[Homebase]] advertising too. Though the video is thought by many to witness Jon Marsh naked for the first time publicly, it must be noticed that it actually isn't. Due to the huge success of the 1990 album, a [[VHS]] video collection had actually been packaged in 1991, containing all four singles form that album, and a final ghost video track, where Jon is openly making love to then official girlfriend, backed by a long extended remix of a track from the ''Blissed Out'' album. While "Sweet Harmony" went on to become their biggest hit in the UK, reaching Number 8, in January 1993, the other four tracks taken from the ''Conscience'' album, pressed onto three singles, one of them being a double A-side, did not make that well, with "[[Celebrate Your Life]]"/"[[You've Got Me Thinking]]" peaking at Number 23, "[[Outerspace Girl]]" at Number 38, and the final single, "[[Rock to the Rhythm of Love]]," not even charting. This latter song was performed [[live]] at the [[London]] [[Gay Pride]] in 1994, during the afternoon hours of a concert that started early in the morning and was then closed by [[Boy George]] late at night. After ''Conscience'', a fourth studio album was released in 1996, entitled ''[[X (The Beloved album)|X]]'', featuring an interesting cover art, in line with the short title of the album, with a [[computer]]-processed [[photograph]] picturing Jon's face right side, Helena's face left side, and a central picture resulting from the fusion of the two. Though the record peaked at Number 25 in the [[UK Albums Chart]], and three singles were taken from it, only the first, "[[Satellite (The Beloved song)|Satellite]]," made the Top 20, peaking at Number 19, while the second, "[[Deliver Me (The Beloved)|Deliver Me]]," which was also the album opening track, failed to chart, and the third, "[[Ease the Pressure]]," did not enter the UK Top 40, stalling at Number 43; this would be the last original album from the group to date. ===The greatest hits collection, the silent years, DJ Jon, and the comeback in the 2000s=== Beloved singles in fact continue to be remixed, and the band has not been formally wound up, but Jon Marsh has, for some ten years, actually been concentrating on his flourishing career as a club [[DJ]], as well as the raising of his young family, both things equally having involved a number of famous colleagues, [[Boy George]] being a famous example of the first, while far too many should be mentioned as for the second occupation. During these long silent years, only two compilations were marketed, the latter being just a re-release of the former, with another title. The first, promoted by a new remix of "The Sun Rising" (which reached Number 31, only five positions lower than the original 1989 release, and their last chart entry in the UK to date), was entitled ''[[Single File/The Sun Rising|Single File]]'', and was released in 1997, just one year after ''X'' was out. The second collection is instead more recent, having been released in 2005, its title being ''[[Single File/The Sun Rising|The Sun Rising]]'', which took its name form their very first hit single itself, and only being a re-release of the first compilation, as mentioned above. Jon has collaborated with original band member Steve Waddington and others on new material, although this is still unfinished as of June 2008. ==Discography== Chart placings are from the [[UK Singles Chart]]/[[UK Albums Chart]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |title=The Great Alternative & Indie Discography |year= 1999 |publisher=Canongate |isbn=0-86241-913-1 }} Exact dates of single releases from the ''Happiness'' album can be found in the 9th edition of ''[[The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles]]'', [[1993]]. ISBN 0-85112-526-3. As for the dates of further album and single releases, please see ''[[The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles|The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and Albums]]''.</ref> except those marked *, which are from the [[UK Indie Chart]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lazell |first=Barry |title=Indie Hits 1980-1999 |year= 1997 |publisher=Cherry Red Books |isbn=0-9517206-9-4 }} </ref> ===Albums=== *''[[Where It Is (The Beloved album)|Where It Is]]'' (Flim Flam, HARPCD2, 1989) #17* *''[[Happiness (The Beloved album)|Happiness]]'' (Atlantic 1990) UK #14, US #154 *''[[Blissed Out]]'' (East West 1991) UK #38 *''[[Conscience (The Beloved album)|Conscience]]'' (East West 1993) UK #2 *''[[X (The Beloved album)|X]]'' (East West 1996) UK #25 *''[[Single File/The Sun Rising|Single File]]'' (East West 1997) *''[[Single File/The Sun Rising|The Sun Rising]]'' (WEA 2005) [re-release of ''Single File''] ===Singles=== *"[[A Hundred Words]]" (April 1986) #15* *"[[This Means War]]" (September 1986) #22* *"[[Happy Now]]" (March 1987) #22* *"[[Surprise Me]]" / "[[Forever Dancing]]" ([[June 13]], [[1987]]) #15* *"[[Loving Feeling]]" / "[[Acid Love]]" (October 1988) *"[[Your Love Takes Me Higher]]" (January 1989) UK #91 *"[[The Sun Rising]]" ([[October 21]], [[1989]]) UK #26 *"[[Hello (The Beloved song)|Hello]]" ([[January 27]], [[1990]]) UK #19 *"[[Your Love Takes Me Higher]]" ''(reissue)'' ([[March 24]], [[1990]]) UK #39 *"[[The Sun Rising]]" ''(reissue)'' (1990) *"[[Time After Time (The Beloved song)|Time After Time]]" ([[June 9]], [[1990]]) UK #46 *"[[It's Alright Now]]" ([[November 10]], [[1990]]) UK #48 *"[[Sweet Harmony]]" ([[January 18]], [[1993]]) UK #8 *"[[Celebrate Your Life]]" / "[[You've Got Me Thinking]]" ([[March 2]], [[1993]]) UK #23 *"[[Outerspace Girl]]" (July 1993) UK #38 *"[[Rock to the Rhythm of Love]]" (1993) *"[[Satellite (The Beloved song)|Satellite]]" ([[March 16]], [[1996]]) UK #19 *"[[Deliver Me (The Beloved)|Deliver Me]]" ([[June 30]], [[1996]]) *"[[Ease the Pressure]]" ([[July 29]], [[1996]]) UK #43 *"[[The Sun Rising|The Sun Rising (remix)]]" (August 1997) UK #31 *"[[With You (The Beloved song)|With You]]" (2000) *"[[Timeslip (The Beloved song)|Timeslip]]" (2000) ===Promos=== *"[[Up, Up and Away (promo)|Up, Up and Away]]" ([[1990 in music|1990]] - from ''[[Happiness (The Beloved album)|Happiness]]'') *"[[The Remix EP]]" ([[1991 in music|1991]] - from ''[[Blissed Out]]'') *"[[1000 Years From Today]]" ([[1993 in music|1993]] - from ''[[Conscience (The Beloved album)|Conscience]]'') *"[[Let the Music Take You]]" ([[1994 in music|1994]] - from ''[[Conscience (The Beloved album)|Conscience]]'') *"[[Crystal Wave]]" ([[March]] [[1995 in music|1995]] - from ''[[X (The Beloved album)|X]]'') *"[[Sampler (promo)|Sampler]]" ([[1996 in music|1996]] - from ''[[X (The Beloved album)|X]]'') *"[[Physical Love]]" / "[[3 Steps to Heaven]]" ([[1996 in music|1996]] - [[double A-side|double promo]] - from ''[[X (The Beloved album)|X]]'') ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == * [http://www.thebeloved.com/ Official website] * [http://www.swcp.com/lazlo-bin/discogs?beloved Lazlo's Discography Machine] * [http://www.piccolodiario.it/bee-loved/ Visual discography] * [http://www.livevideo.com/video/D17B2B7BDA6E42D5A72A0DF75204C4CB/the-beloved-love-to-love-de.aspx New unreleased demo track "Love to love"] {{DEFAULTSORT:Beloved, The}} [[Category:British electronic music groups]] [[Category:English rock music groups]] [[Category:British house music groups]] [[Category:British techno music groups]] [[Category:Synthpop]] [[Category:Alternative musical groups]] [[Category:English musical groups]] [[Category:Remixers]] [[Category:1980s music groups]] [[Category:1990s music groups]] [[cs:The Beloved]] [[de:The Beloved]] [[it:The Beloved]] [[ja:ビラヴド (英バンド)]] [[pl:The Beloved]] [[sv:The Beloved]]