By the time New Order were celebrating the success of #1 single World In Motion in the summer of 1990, the various members were already working on or planning various side projects – Gillian and Stephen were The Other Two, Bernard had teamed up with a few superstars to form Electronic, while Hooky chose to form Revenge.
Initially, it was a trio with Hooky (vocals, bass, keyboards) being joined by Davyth Hicks (guitar and vocals) and Chris Jones (keyboards). The debut single, 7 Reasons, was released, on Factory Records in 1989, and the following year saw an album One True Passion, from which the singles Pineapple Face and Slave were lifted. I’ve copies of all three singles on either 7″ or 12″ vinyl, all bought many years after the event for not a great deal of money. They might all be on a cult label, and feature a member of one of the most influential and important bands of the late 20th Century, but that doesn’t mean there’s ever been much demand across the second-hand market.
There’s a straightforward explanation as to why this is the case – Revenge aren’t all that good. Here’s the third and final single lifted from the album:-
mp3: Revenge – Slave
It sounds like a minor hit for New Order as imagined on one of those cheap Top of The Pops albums where session musicians did their best to mimic the stars and hitmakers of the day.
The b-side was a cover. A very obscure cover, with the original being found on John Cale‘s 1970 album, Vintage Violence.
mp3: Revenge – Amsterdam
Revenge did tour the debut album across Europe, America and Japan, and for the live shows, they were supplemented by David Potts (bass and guitar) and Ashley Taylor (drums). Shortly after returning from Japan, Hicks quit, citing the perennial ‘musical differences’. There would be one further EP in 1992, Gun World Porn, after which Hooky returned to New Order for the recording and promotion of Republic, released in 1993.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 