Clinic | |
|---|---|
 Clinic performing in Edinburgh, 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Crosby,Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Indie rock,post-punk revival,garage rock,neo-psychedelia |
| Years active | 1993 (1993)–present |
| Labels | Domino |
| Members | Adrian "Ade" Blackburn Jonathan Hartley |
| Past members | Brian Campbell Carl Turney |
Clinic are an English rock band, formed in 1993 in Crosby, Liverpool by frontman Ade Blackburn, guitarist Jonathan Hartley, bassist Brian Campbell and drummer Carl Turney. The band were originally namedPure Morning.
Following the release ofFree Reign in 2012 the band went on a seven year break before returning withWheeltappers and Shunters, the first album written solely by Blackburn and Hartley. The band's latest albumFantasy Island only features Blackburn and Hartley, with press shots confirming the departure of Campbell and Turney. The band's business Clinic Voot Ltd. was dissolved in August 2019.[1]
The band are signed toDomino, and are noted for wearing surgical masks and outfits in concert and press shots.[2] Blackburn has stated that this is an homage toSan Francisco bandsCrime andThe Residents, and that "I like the way there was a visual side to what they did, but it wasn't something too serious. It was like a tacky pun on the band name. I liked something a bit more ridiculous like that."[3]
Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ade Blackburn and lead guitarist Jonathan Hartley formed the earliest incarnation of the band around 1984, initially known asSunny Rainy Afterlife, and offering home-made demo cassettes through a local free-circulation magazine. By the late 1980s, the band had renamed itselfJellystone Park, with Blackburn and Hartley joined by drummer Steve "Captain" Dougherty, who later went on to joinCreation signings One Lady Owner,[4] and bassist Derek Finn. Following a brief hiatus, and a one-off appearance by Blackburn and Hartley in a covers act, Sean Durney's L-Ego, supporting the post-A Flock of Seagulls combo An Almighty Atmosphere,[5] Dougherty was replaced in 1988 by Sean Durney, previously drummer with an acoustic agit-pop outfit also part of a mini-scene centred on the Birkey[6] pub inCrosby, Liverpool. The band by this time was based in a former storage room at the Regent Bingo Hall in Crosby (nowSt Mary's College Sports Centre), where Blackburn was a bingo caller. Finn departed and was replaced by Rich Stevens, and following his departure, for a short period by Paul Entwhistle, also of Liverpool band Spontaneous Cattle Combustion.[7] Entwhistle was subsequently replaced by Brian Campbell after Durney spotted him playing in a band at The Crosby Squash Club. The band recorded two demos in 1991 (both of which were released as digital downloads by Museum Records under the name ofJellystone Park[8] in 2011, andThe Dark Side of the Birkey[9] in 2012) along with a flexi-disc in 1992. Durney also departed in 1993, being replaced on the drums by Carl Turney, an associate of Campbell, and the band renamed itselfPure Morning, recording an album,Two Inch Helium Buddah,[10] forRadar Records in 1996.
With the line-up unchanged, the band again renamed itself toClinic the following year and soon developed early notoriety for featuring instruments (primarily keyboards/organs) that were acquired at variousjumble sales andflea markets. Shortly after, theEPI.P.C. Subeditors Dictate Our Youth was released on their own Aladdin's Cave of Golfrecord label. The EP made the top ten ofJohn Peel'sFestive Fifty at the end of the year,[11] and two other self-financedsingles followed in 1998.
In 1999, the band signed toDomino Records and the first three singles were compiled on a singleCD orLP. Their debutalbum,Internal Wrangler, was released in 2000. Album tracks "The Second Line", "The Return of Evil Bill" and "Distortions" were released as singles; "The Second Line" was later reissued after being used in a television advertisement forLevi's jeans. In the same year, the band played atAll Tomorrow's Parties andScott Walker'sMeltdown, and toured withRadiohead.Internal Wrangler was voted Number 9 inPitchfork's best albums of the year.
Two further albums,Walking with Thee (which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album) andWinchester Cathedral, followed in 2002 and 2004, respectively, along with tours withThe Flaming Lips and an appearance on theLate Show with David Letterman, performing "Walking with Thee". "Come into Our Room", the second single fromWalking with Thee, was featured on an episode of "The O.C.", as well as an episode ofCSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and was included on the series' soundtrack album. Additionally, another song fromWalking with Thee, "The Equaliser", was featured in the 2003 indie filmThirteen. The band released their fourth album,Visitations, in October 2006. "Tusk", the first single from the album, was made available as a free download from the band'sofficial website in February 2006, and "Harvest (Within You)" preceded the album as a single in early October.
Funf, acompilation album ofb-sides, was released in June 2007. Clinic also appeared withRoky Erickson atJarvis Cocker's 2007Meltdown Festival[12] and later in the year toured withArcade Fire. "If You Could Read Your Mind" fromVisitations was used in the arthouse filmHallam Foe the same autumn.
2008 saw the release of the uncharacteristically mellow single "Free Not Free", preceding their fifth albumDo It!. The single was released as a free download from the band's website. The download also contained the B-side, "Thor". The band later released "The Witch (Made to Measure)" as the second single from the album, and "Tomorrow" as the third. After touring to promote the album, in May 2009, Clinic played the Moondog tribute concert at the Barbican in London, performing "Oboe Round".[13]
The band's sixth album,Bubblegum, produced by John Congleton was released on 4 October 2010. A press release stated that the album was a marked change in direction from their trademark "hyped-up sound".[14] The acoustic-based lead single from the album, "I'm Aware", was released on 20 September 2010,[15] and a second single, the titularwah-led "Bubblegum",[16] came out on 31 January 2011.
The band released an EP of cover versions,Ladies Night,[17] in support ofRecord Store Day, on 16 April 2011; the main track was a version ofMan 2 Man's "Male Stripper". In March 2012, the band was invited to supportThe Shins at the Forum inKentish Town.[18] They performed the new song "Seamless Boogie Woogie Rpt BBC2 10pm". In April 2012, the song "D.P." from the band's debut EP was used in a TV advertisement forWeetabix breakfast cereal.[19]
The LPFree Reign was released in 2012 and mixed by Daniel Lopatin and the band. The album was markedly different fromBubblegum with more of an electronic/keyboard based sound. After a sabbatical Clinic performed with John Cale at his 'Velvet Underground and Nico' LP show in May 2016 in Liverpool.[20]
Following a seven year break, the band releasedWheeltappers and Shunters in 2019, with only Blackburn and Hartley receiving songwriting credits. There was no tour in support of the album.
In July 2021, the band announced what would have been their first national tour since 2012.[21] However, the tour was cancelled without explanation or any announcement.They releasedFantasy Island in October 2021 viaDomino Records, again with only Blackburn and Hartley receiving songwriting credits. Press shots for the album also only featured Blackburn and Hartley.[22]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [23] | UK Indie [24] | US Indie [25] | ||||||||||||
| Internal Wrangler | 142 | 25 | — | |||||||||||
| Walking with Thee |
| 133 | 20 | 29 | ||||||||||
| Winchester Cathedral |
| — | 29 | — | ||||||||||
| Visitations |
| — | 47 | — | ||||||||||
| Do It! |
| — | 42 | — | ||||||||||
| Bubblegum |
| — | — | — | ||||||||||
| Free Reign |
| — | — | — | ||||||||||
| Wheeltappers and Shunters |
| — | 33 | — | ||||||||||
| Fantasy Island |
| — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Clinic |
|
| Funf |
|
| Free Reign II |
|
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [23] | UK Indie [26] | SCO [27] | ||||||||||||
| 1997 | "I.P.C. Subeditors Dictate Our Youth" | — | — | — | Clinic | |||||||||
| 1998 | "Monkey on Your Back" | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Cement Mixer" | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1999 | "The Second Line" | 112 | 24 | — | Internal Wrangler | |||||||||
| 2000 | "The Return of Evil Bill" | 70 | 13 | 88 | ||||||||||
| "Distortions" | 80 | 15 | — | |||||||||||
| "The Second Line"(re-release) | 56 | 10 | 62 | |||||||||||
| 2002 | "Walking with Thee" | 65 | 13 | 79 | Walking with Thee | |||||||||
| "Come into Our Room" | 85 | 20 | — | |||||||||||
| 2004 | "The Magician" | 77 | 11 | — | Winchester Cathedral | |||||||||
| "Circle of Fifths" | 89 | 23 | — | |||||||||||
| 2006 | "Tusk" | — | — | — | Visitations | |||||||||
| "Harvest" | 137 | 6 | — | |||||||||||
| 2007 | "If You Could Read Your Mind" | — | 6 | — | ||||||||||
| 2008 | "Free Not Free" | — | — | — | Do It! | |||||||||
| "The Witch (Made to Measure)" | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Tomorrow" | — | 37 | — | |||||||||||
| 2010 | "I'm Aware" | — | — | — | Bubblegum | |||||||||
| 2011 | "Bubblegum" | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2012 | "Miss You" | — | — | — | Free Reign | |||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
