The Associates (band)

{{distinguish|text=the American band The Association}} {{Short description|Scottish post-punk band}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use British English|date=August 2012}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = The Associates | image = Associates sire.jpg | alt = | caption = Billy Mackenzie (left) and Alan Rankine in a Sire promotional image, {{circa|1981}} | image_size =  | background = group_or_band | alias = | origin = Dundee, Scotland | genre = {{hlist|Post-punk|synth-pop|experimental pop|new wave}} | years_active = {{hlist|1979–1990|1993 (reunion)}} | label = {{hlist|MCA (1979)|Fiction (1980–1981)|Situation Two (1981)|WEA (1982–1988)|Circa (1989–1990)|Virgin (reissues)}} | past_members = * Billy Mackenzie * Alan Rankine * John Sweeney * Ty Jeffries * John Murphy * Michael Dempsey * Steve Goulding * Martha Ladly * Martin Lowe * Ian McIntosh * Steve Reid * Roberto Soave * Jim Russell * Stephen Knight * L. Howard Hughes * Moritz von Oswald }} '''The Associates''' (or simply '''Associates''') were a Scottish post-punk and pop band, formed in Dundee in 1979 by lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine. The band released an unauthorized cover version of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" as their debut single in 1979, which landed them a recording contract with Fiction Records. They followed with their debut studio album ''The Affectionate Punch'' in 1980 and the compilation album ''Fourth Drawer Down'' in 1981, both to critical praise.<ref name="all">{{cite web|last1=Ankeny|first1=Jason|title=Associates – Biography|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-associates-mn0000038977/biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=6 November 2016}}</ref>

They achieved commercial success in 1982 with their UK Top 10 studio album ''Sulk'' and UK Top 20 singles "Party Fears Two" and "Club Country", during which time they were associated with the new pop movement.<ref name="new">{{cite web|last1=Harvell|first1=Jess|title=Now That's What I Call New yeahPop!|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/article/6139-now-thats-what-i-call-new-pop/?page=5|website=Pitchfork|date=12 September 2005 |access-date=28 April 2017}}</ref> Rankine left the group that year, leaving Mackenzie to record under the Associates name until 1990.<ref name="all"/> They briefly reunited in 1993. Mackenzie's suicide in 1997 was the band's end; Rankine died twenty-six years later in 2023.

== History == === 1979–1982: Formation and independent success === Billy Mackenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine met in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1976 and formed the cabaret duo the Ascorbic Ones,<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |year=1998 |title=The Great Rock Discography |publisher=Times Books |isbn=0812931114}}</ref> although Rankine claimed that this was "a fantasy band that Bill and I dreamt up to give ourselves a past".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie|last=Doyle|first=Tom|publisher=Polygon|year=2011|location=Edinburgh}}</ref> In 1978, they recorded songs as Mental Torture before changing the name to the Associates.

Disappointed that their early recordings were not getting picked up, Mackenzie concocted the stunt of doing a cover version of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging", without copyright permission, just six weeks after Bowie's version hit the UK Top 10.<ref name=":0" /> Released in June 1979, this debut Associates single reached No. 15 in ''Record Mirror''{{'}}s Scottish chart and gained them airplay on John Peel's Radio One show.<ref name=":0" /> Mackenzie later said that the band recorded the Bowie song "to prove the point. It was a strange way of proving it, but it worked. People said, 'That is ''awful''. How dare they!'"<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morley|first=Paul|date=27 September 1980|title=Boys Keep Scoring|journal=NME}}</ref> The ensuing attention earned them a recording contract with Fiction Records, and their debut studio album, ''The Affectionate Punch'', followed on 1 August 1980.<ref name="all" /> By this time the duo of Mackenzie and Rankine had been joined by bassist Michael Dempsey<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0785chz|title=BBC Radio 2 - Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies, Alan Rankine and Michael Dempsey|website=BBC|access-date=13 August 2021}}</ref> and drummer John Murphy,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.electricityclub.co.uk/the-associate-an-interview-with-michael-dempsey/|title=The Associate: An Interview with MICHAEL DEMPSEY|website=Electricityclub.co.uk|date=21 May 2016|access-date=13 August 2021}}</ref> though in most promotional material the group were still marketed as a duo.

A string of 1981 non-album singles on the label Situation Two were compiled as ''Fourth Drawer Down'', released that October.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/fourth-drawer-down-mw0000463301 |title=''Fourth Drawer Down'' – The Associates|last=Kellman |first=Andy |website=AllMusic|access-date=5 January 2014}}</ref> These releases saw the band develop an interest in experimenting with unorthodox instrumentation and recording techniques, including sounds being amplified through the tube of a vacuum cleaner on the track "Kitchen Person". Also in 1981, Rankine and Mackenzie released a version of "Kites" under the name 39 Lyon Street, with Christine Beveridge on lead vocals. The B-side, "A Girl Named Property" (a remake of "Mona Property Girl" from the "Boys Keep Swinging" single), was credited to the Associates.

=== 1982–1988: WEA/Warner years === As Situation Two's parent label Beggars Banquet<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beggars.com/group/qanda|title=Beggars Group|website=Beggars.com|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shsu.edu/~lis_fwh/book/punk_newwave_postpunk/support/BeggarsBanquet.htm|title=Beggars Banquet|website=Shsu.edu|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> had a labels deal with WEA International at the time (primarily for Gary Numan), the Associates found themselves signed to Warner with their releases now going out on their own Associates record label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/party-fears-two/|title=party fears two | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> The band's breakthrough came in 1982 with the release of the single "Party Fears Two". Buoyed along by the popularity of synth-pop at the time, the song reached No. 9 on the UK singles chart<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> with the band becoming one of the leading acts of the new pop movement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wearecult.rocks/the-associates-perhaps-expanded-collection-reviewed|title=The Associates: 'Perhaps' (Expanded Collection) reviewed » We Are Cult|first=Ange|last=Chan|website=Wearecult.rocks|date=27 February 2020|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/the-associates-perhaps-2cd-expanded-digipak-collection/|title=The Associates: Perhaps, 2CD Expanded Digipak Collection|website=Cherryred.co.uk|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> Two other hits followed, "Club Country" and "18 Carat Love Affair", a vocal version of the instrumental track "Nothinginsomethingparticular". On 14 May 1982, the band released their most commercially successful studio album, ''Sulk''. Martha Ladly, of the Canadian rock band Martha and the Muffins, contributed backing vocals and keyboards to this album.

[[File:Billy-Mackenzie-Dundee-Scotland-1985.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Mackenzie performing at the University of Dundee in 1985]] At the last minute, Mackenzie refused to proceed with the extensive tour that had been planned to promote the release of ''Sulk''. This proved disastrous for the band's career; the band was being courted by Seymour Stein of Sire Records, but without Mackenzie's willingness to tour, Stein lost interest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/scottish-legends-associates-talks-stage-7913955|title=The Associates in talks to stage anniversary concerts|first=John|last=Dingwall|date=6 May 2016|website=Dailyrecord.co.uk}}</ref> In the aftermath of Mackenzie's refusal, Rankine left the band. Mackenzie continued to write and record music under the name Associates until 1990.

Their third studio album ''Perhaps'' was released on 9 February 1985. It was a commercial failure in comparison to their previous releases, peaking at No. 23 on the UK Albums Chart but only selling around 40,000 copies, putting Billy Mackenzie in significant debt to Warner Music Group. However, it was their only album to chart in the Netherlands, peaking at No. 29 on the Dutch Albums Chart. The first single taken from the album was "Those First Impressions" which reached No. 43 on the UK singles chart, "Waiting for the Loveboat" peaked at No. 53, and "Breakfast" turned out to be their last Top 50 hit, peaking at No. 49. "Breakfast" was also their sole showing on the Dutch Single Top 100 chart, peaking at 36.

The non-album single "Take Me to the Girl" was also released around this time, but only made No. 95 on the UK singles chart.

In 1988, WEA/Warner rejected the band's fourth studio album ''The Glamour Chase'', considering it not commercially viable (it was later released on a two-disc set with ''Perhaps''). However, they decided to release Mackenzie's synth-pop cover version of Blondie's 1979 single "Heart of Glass"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/heart-of-glass/|title=heart of glass | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> as a single and also put the track on the record label's compilation album ''Vaultage from the Electric Lighting Station''. This track was to be MacKenzie's last release whilst under contract to WEA in the United Kingdom, as he signed to AVL/Virgin subsidiary Circa Records (still under the Associates name at this point). "Heart of Glass" was released in September 1988 on a number of formats<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://postpunkmonk.com/2014/10/10/a-young-persons-guide-to-associates-heart-of-glass/|title=A Young Person's Guide To: Associates – Heart Of Glass|website=Postpunkmonk.com|date=10 October 2014|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> including a twelve-inch single with an anaglyphic 3D cover (which came with 3D glasses) and a CD single. It reached number 56 on the UK singles chart.

The track was included on ''Popera: The Singles Collection'' by WEA in 1990, alongside withdrawn follow-up single "Country Boy", and a version of the Mackenzie and Boris Blank song, "The Rhythm Divine".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/popera-the-singles-collection-mw0000311469|title=Popera: The Singles Collection - The Associates | Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref>

Between 1987 and 1992, Mackenzie worked with Blank and musical partner Dieter Meier of the Swiss electronic music band Yello. Mackenzie wrote the lyrics of the song "The Rhythm Divine", which can also be found on Yello's fifth studio album, ''One Second'', with lead vocals by the Welsh singer Shirley Bassey and Mackenzie singing backing vocals. During these years Mackenzie contributed to three Yello studio albums: ''One Second'' (1987), ''Flag'' (1988) and ''Baby'' (1991), whilst tracks for ''The Glamour Chase'' and ''Outernational'' (1992) were recorded with Blank at Yello's recording studio.<ref name="vvbrt" />

=== 1989–1997: Circa and solo years === After his fourth studio album was rejected and "Country Boy" single scrapped, Mackenzie signed to AVL/Virgin subsidiary Circa Records, to release the fifth Associates album ''Wild and Lonely'' (the fourth studio album to be released during Billy Mackenzie's lifetime).<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/19454/associates/|title=ASSOCIATES | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.stevepafford.com/associateshog/|title=Random Jukebox: the Associates cover Blondie's Heart of Glass|website=Stevepafford.com|date=5 September 2018|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=https://www.electricityclub.co.uk/the-beginners-guide-to-billy-mackenzie/ |title=A Beginner's Guide to BILLY MACKENZIE - THE ELECTRICITY CLUB |access-date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125235510/http://www.electricityclub.co.uk/the-beginners-guide-to-billy-mackenzie/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="auto3">''The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy Mackenzie'' by Tom Doyle (published by Birlinn General {{ISBN|9781846972096}})</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/wild-and-lonely|title=Wild and lonely|website=Recordcollectormag.com|access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> The album was released on 24 March 1990 and was produced by the Australian record producer Julian Mendelsohn. It peaked at No. 71 on the UK Albums Chart and had three singles charting in the lower parts of the UK singles chart with "Fever", "Fire to Ice" and "Just Can't Say Goodbye", peaking at numbers 81, 92 and 79 respectively.<ref name="auto2"/> ''Wild and Lonely'' was the last album that Mackenzie recorded under the name the Associates, as from this point his releases would go out under his own name. However, recordings were sporadic and subsequent records failed to reach the UK chart and sold far fewer than their/his early albums. In 1992, Mackenzie released an electronica-influenced solo studio album, ''Outernational'', for Circa Records with limited success.<ref name="vvbrt" />

In 1993, Mackenzie and Alan Rankine began working on new material together. News of an Associates revival generated hype and speculation of a tour, and the demos recorded by the two were promising. However, Mackenzie was not fully committed to the reunion and especially touring with it, so the Associates broke up for a final time. Mackenzie went back to his solo work, signing a recording contract with Nude Records and finding a new collaborative partner in Steve Aungle.<ref name="vvbrt">{{cite web|title=The Vinyl Villain – SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 11)// // BTRread|url=http://www.btrtoday.com/read/the-vinyl-villain-saturdays-scottish-single-part-11/|website=Btrtoday.com}}</ref>

Rankine later became a lecturer in music at Stow College in Glasgow, and worked with the Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian on their debut studio album, ''Tigermilk'' (1996).

=== 1997–present: Legacy releases === Mackenzie committed suicide in 1997 at age 39, shortly after the death of his mother.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article1599059.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617010515/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article1599059.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 June 2011|title=Billy Mackenzie Tribute|last=Dalton|first=Stephen|work=The Times| date=2 April 2007|access-date=3 June 2009 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://sport.scotsman.com/modernchristians/Dead-rockers-and-our-inner.2295236.jp | title=Dead rockers and our inner ghouls | work=The Scotsman |date=18 January 2002 |access-date=31 July 2014}}</ref> He had been suffering from clinical depression. He was contemplating a comeback at the time with material co-written with Aungle. The studio albums ''Beyond the Sun'' (1997) and ''Eurocentric'' (2000) were released posthumously and, in 2005, reconstructed and expanded with new unreleased songs into the two studio albums ''Auchtermatic'' and ''Transmission Impossible''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Billy Mackenzie: Transmission Impossible|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/billy-mackenzie-transmission-impossible/|website=PopMatters.com |date=9 June 2006 }}</ref>

Before Mackenzie's death, almost all Associates records had been deleted. Former band member Michael Dempsey and the Mackenzie estate began a reissue programme to make sure the band's legacy continued, reissuing almost every Associates album, including a 25th anniversary edition of ''The Affectionate Punch'' in 2005. In addition to the original albums, two compilation albums were released: ''Double Hipness'' (2000), a collection of early tracks with the 1993 reunion demos; and ''Singles'' (2004), an extended version of ''Popera – The Singles Collection'' which caught up with post-1990 material and included the cover version of Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging". In 2002, ''The Glamour Chase'' (recorded in the years 1985–87) was finally released as a set titled ''The Glamour Chase & Perhaps''. Finally, ''Wild and Lonely'' and Mackenzie's solo studio album ''Outernational'' were repackaged with bonus tracks in 2006.

The Tom Doyle book ''The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie'', first published in 1998 and reissued in 2011, documented the band's career and Mackenzie's subsequent life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-glamour-chase-by-tom-doyle|title=The Glamour Chase by Tom Doyle - The Skinny|website=Theskinny.co.uk}}</ref>

Rankine died on 3 January 2023 at the age of 64.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/alan-rankine-of-the-associates-dies-aged-64-tmrv32wqw | archive-url=https://archive.today/20230104011339/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/alan-rankine-of-the-associates-dies-aged-64-tmrv32wqw | url-status=live | archive-date=2023-01-04 |title=Alan Rankine of the Associates dies aged 64|website=The Times|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

== Legacy and influence == The Associates drew stylistically on a variety of genres, including art rock, disco, glam, minimalism, balladry and cabaret.<ref name="all"/> Their music has been described as post-punk,<ref name="f">{{cite web|last1=Hawking|first1=Rom|title=10 Bewilderingly Underrated Post-Punk Bands You Need to Hear|url=http://flavorwire.com/249707/10-bewilderingly-underrated-post-punk-bands-you-need-to-hear/view-all|website=Flavorwire|access-date=3 March 2017|archive-date=3 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303201924/http://flavorwire.com/249707/10-bewilderingly-underrated-post-punk-bands-you-need-to-hear/view-all|url-status=dead}}</ref> synth-pop,<ref>{{cite web |author=Armond White |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/remembering-captain-gay-pop-loveboat-000000820.html?ref=gs |title=Remembering the Captain of Gay Pop and His Loveboat |website=Yahoo.com |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=20 July 2017 |archive-date=11 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911210741/https://www.yahoo.com/news/remembering-captain-gay-pop-loveboat-000000820.html?ref=gs |url-status=dead }}</ref> new wave<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bowiebiography00spit|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/bowiebiography00spit/page/296 296]|quote=The Associates new wave band.|title=Bowie: A Biography|first=Marc|last=Spitz|date=27 October 2009|publisher=Crown/Archetype|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and experimental pop.<ref name="associates">{{cite web|last1=Kellman|first1=Andy|title=White Car in Germany – The Associates: Song Review|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/white-car-in-germany-mt0011807975|website=AllMusic|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> The group was hailed by the likes of Björk and U2's lead vocalist Bono. Björk stated that her "love affair with the Associates started when I was fifteen [...], it was ''Sulk'' I really got into". "I really admired the way Billy used and manipulated his voice on that record".<ref name=tom>{{cite book|title=The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie |last=Doyle |first=Tom |publisher=Polygon |isbn=978-1846972096 |year=2011}}</ref> Bono said about the Associates: "We ripped them off. Billy was a great singer: I couldn't rip him off".<ref name=tom /> Artists who have covered "Party Fears Two", include the Divine Comedy,<ref>Divine Comedy recorded a version of "Party Fears Two" on their album ''Victory for the Comic Muse'' in 2006, Parlophone – 00946 365372 2 1</ref> Dan Bryk, King Creosote and Heaven 17. Journalist Simon Reynolds, called the group "great should-have-beens of British pop".<ref>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 |date=2 April 2009 |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=9780571252275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dK-F43T8V0wC&dq=%22the+associates%22+band&pg=PT385 |access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref> Chris Tighe wrote that the band have "been belated acknowledged as one of the '80s' most inspired pop groups".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Buckley |editor-first=Peter |year=2003 |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |chapter=The Associates |page=44 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=9781843531050 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&dq=%22the+associates%22+band&pg=PT51}}</ref>

The Scottish crime writer and philanthropist Ian Rankin took the title of his twentieth instalment of the ''Inspector Rebus'' series for his novel, ''Even Dogs in the Wild'' (2015), from a track on ''The Affectionate Punch'', and the song itself has a role in the story.

Upon news of Rankine's passing, the English electronic band Ladytron wrote on social media, "No Associates = No Ladytron" while saying that he was the "creator of amongst the most joyous magnificent pop music of all time."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/LadytronMusic/status/1610265322946183168 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230104071140/https://twitter.com/LadytronMusic/status/1610265322946183168 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-01-04 |title= Ladytron - RIP Alan Rankine|publisher= Ladytron official|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

== Band members == * Billy Mackenzie – lead vocals (1979–1990, 1993) (died 1997) * Alan Rankine – guitars, keyboards (1979–1982, 1993) (died 2023) * John Sweeney – drums (1979–1980) * John Murphy – drums (1980–1981) (died 2015) * Michael Dempsey – bass guitar (1980–1982) * Steve Goulding – drums (1982–1983) * Martha Ladly – keyboards, backing vocals (1982–1986) * Miffy Smith – keyboards, saxophone (1983–1984) * Martin Lowe – live guitar (1982) * Ian McIntosh – live and radio session guitar (1982–1985) * Steve Reid – guitar (1982–1984) * Roberto Soave – bass guitar (1983–1985) * Jim Russell – drums (1984) * L. Howard Hughes – keyboards (1982–1990) * Moritz von Oswald – drums, percussion (1985–1990)

== Discography == {{Main|The Associates discography}} '''Studio albums''' * ''The Affectionate Punch'' (1980) * ''Sulk'' (1982) * ''Perhaps'' (1985) * ''Wild and Lonely'' (1990)

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000038977}} * {{discogs artist|18509}} * {{imdb name|2671338}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Associates, The (band)}} Category:The Associates (band) Category:Scottish new wave musical groups Category:Scottish pop music groups Category:Scottish musical duos Category:Scottish synth-pop new wave groups Category:Musical groups established in 1979 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Category:Musicians from Dundee Category:New wave duos Category:Fiction Records artists Category:Situation Two artists Category:Beggars Banquet Records artists Category:Sire Records artists Category:Charisma Records artists Category:V2 Records artists Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Experimental pop musicians Category:British rock music duos Category:Scottish post-punk music groups Category:1979 establishments in Scotland Category:1990 disestablishments in Scotland