The Monks

The Monks - Sixties US group, famed for early use of feedback

Group from United States

Genres: Garage Rock, proto-punk, 60s, garage, rock

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About The Monks

There are two bands with this name: 1. The Monks (US) is a rock n roll band, primarily active in Germany in the mid to late sixties. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made. The Monks stood out from the music of the time, and have developed a cult following amongst many musicians and music fans. Artists to have acknowledged the Monks as an influence include Henry Rollins, the Beastie Boys and Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, as well as The Fall. The latter covered both I Hate You and Oh, How to Do Now on their 1990 album Extricate (under the titles Black Monk Theme Part I and Black Monk Theme Part II, respectively), as well as the song Shut Up! on their 1994 album Middle Class Revolt. The Fall have also covered "Higgledy-Piggledy" for the Monks tribute CD Silver Monk Time. All the members were American GIs stationed in Germany in the mid-sixties. They began playing together in 1964, calling themselves the Torquays. The Torquays differed little from stinctive name and image to go with it. At the beginning of 1965, Dave Day and Roger Johnston, on a whim, got their heads shaved into monks' tonsures. The rest of the band followed their lead, and to complete the image, the band took to wearing a uniform - all black, sometimes in cassocks, with nooses worn as neckties. Eddie Shaw later claimed in his band autobiography "Black Monk Time" that the nooses were symbolic of the metaphorical nooses that all humanity wear. His explanation of the symbolism is unclear and confusing, but regardless, dressed as black monks, The Monks undoubtedly made a shocking visual impression. Official Website: http://www.the-monks.com/ 2. The Monks (UK) : After a four-year stint as the rhythm section for respected English trad rockers the Strawbs and a subsequent four-album run as Hudson-Ford, John Ford and Richard Hudson emerged in this utterly unexpected incarnation.As the '70s closed with punk at its apex, the Monks changed with the times. Unlike truly ticked-off punkers such as the Sex Pistols, they played it for a lark on their debut Bad Habits, which featured a leggy, cigarette-smoking, stocking-revealing nun on the cover. Revelling in their Englishness, they jabbed mirthfully at headbangers and ska-fanciers alike with spot-on spoofs including "Drugs in My Pocket," "Spotty Face" and of course "Johnny B. Rotten." Likely surprising even themselves, they watched as "Nice Legs Shame About Her Face" climbed to No. 19, borrowing the rhythmic strum Lou Reed perfected with Velvet Underground. Former drummer Hudson was playing bass by now, allowing one-time bassist Ford to be the band's guitarist. Terry Cassidy had full band member status as the writer or co-writer of half of the album's 12 tracks. Chris Pearce allowed Hudson to get out from behind the drum kit. Perhaps realizing the punk spoof concept didn't have much longevity, they had a fling with 1930s-style music as High Society in 1980. They returned to the ersatz punk of the Monks with Suspended Animation, an only-in-Canada release that didn't chart.

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