3 Colours Red

3 Colours Red were an English rock band. They achieved their biggest chart success towards the end of the 1990s, along with other 'Britrock' bands that retained a certain pop sensibility, such as Ash and Feeder. Having recorded their first four songs, and being anxious to release them, but being nameless, the band was named by sticking a pin in a London listings magazine, Time Out. It landed randomly on an advert for the concluding part of Polish movie director Krzysztof Kieslowskis 'Three Colors' trilogy. They went on to record two UK top 20 albums, including six top 40 singles.
History
The band's initial success was owed to the fact that they individually had a lot of experience under their belts already, and were being guided by a producer/mentor, Terry Thomas (no, not that one).
Chris McCormack (ex-Forgodsake) was the brother of Danny McCormack, bassist in The Wildhearts, another British rock band who had already achieved some success in a similar style to 3 Colours Red. Ben Harding (guitar) had established a track record with Punk/Pop pioneers, Senseless Things, which no doubt helped to endear the band to former fans. Pete Vuckovic's links with Diamond Head had galvanised his songwriting ability and primed him for the responsibility of leading a band, and Keith Baxter's history with Skyclad and awesome drumming sealed the deal. Well, no, it didn't, actually. What came together was a remarkable combination of songwriting talent (thoughtful, but heavy, in Vuckovic, and Punk Rock, but pop-oriented, in McCormack) which combined with the management and production skills of Terry Thomas. Essentially, by bringing in the additional talents and road-worthiness of Harding and Baxter, they created a very prolific and exciting working unit.
Influential independent label Fierce Panda Records released their first single, "This Is My Hollywood". Following a bidding war, the band signed to Creation Records, after Alan McGee, Creation's founder and discoverer of Oasis, called 3CR the "most exciting band since the Sex Pistols".
While with Creation, the band recorded two albums. Pure (1997) was produced by manager Terry Thomas and accurately encapsulated the furious assault of their renowned live performances. There was a minor controversy over the single "Sixty Mile Smile", the lyrical content of which referred to (frontman and main songwriter) Pete Vuckovic's overnight hospitalisation after taking the drug ecstasy. The band were misguidedly criticised by the parents of Leah Betts who had died from excessive consumption of water - an occasionally noted effect of misinterpretation of government advice on ecstasy use. The line "Sunrise, just for a while - inject the drip" was just one of the warnings contained in a song that was wrongly criticised for 'glamourising' the drug.
Revolt (1999), produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers), saw a more reflective side to the band emerge, with an epic feel evident on some tracks, notably the singles "Beautiful Day" and "This is my Time". The fury did not subside, however, as the live favourites "Paralyse" and the apocalyptic "Age of Madness" showed.
At the peak of their success, following the band's biggest hit, "Beautiful Day", they embarked upon tours with Marilyn Manson and Aerosmith (the latter culminating in an opening slot at the now demolished Wembley Stadium and Kerrang! magazine's 'Best Live Act' award).
The band imploded after they headlined the second stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 1999, citing musical and personal differences. The rift was deepest between Vuckovic and McCormack, the band's songwriters. Excessive drug and alcohol use helped spin the already turbulent partnership out of control once and for all.
Vuckovic was quickly signed to Sony and spent two years writing an album for his new project 'Elevation', unfortunately his A&R man was sacked. As a result, the album was never released and the band was dropped. McCormack joined Rich Battersby (ex Wildhearts) and Ralph Jezzard (ex- E.M.F) for a stint in 'Grand Theft Audio' which spent considerable time touring America before also being dropped. After time was called on their own bands, Vuckovic and McCormack reconciled their differences and reformed the band with original drummer Keith Baxter (ex- Skyclad). Ben Harding (ex- Senseless Things), original guitarist and backing vocalist, had, by this time, forged a career in public relations and was replaced by Paul Grant.
The new line-up recorded the album The Union of Souls, released on Mighty Atom Records with Joe Gibb (Funeral For A Friend) in 2004 to critical acclaim but little commercial success. "Repeat To Fade" and "The World is Yours", taken from the album, were released as singles and the band toured Europe and Japan with Die Toten Hosen and The Donots as well as several UK headline tours and festival slots including Download festival.
In mid-2005, a double album ('If You Ain't Got a Weapon..') of the band's singles and b-sides from the Creation period was released by Sanctuary Records, with accompanying sleevenotes penned by Vuckovic. A live DVD recorded at the Islington Academy in 2004 was also released followed by a live album (Nuclear Holiday) of the same show.
The band split again after a U.K 'farewell tour' with The Yo-Yos, having failed to spark a resurgence of interest and following further personal differences between Vuckovic and McCormack, in September 2005.
Pete Vuckovic and Paul Grant have since formed Bassknives. Chris McCormack is now touring with Gary Numan as part of his live band. Keith Baxter plays with Baby Judas. Ben Harding is currently a Civil Servant with the Crown Prosecution Service in Devon and Cornwall. And a Morris Dancer.

Dieser Artikel basiert auf dem Artikel aus der freien Enzyklopädie Wikipedia und steht unter der GNU-Lizenz für freie Dokumentation.
In der Wikipedia ist eine Liste der Autoren verfügbar.

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