Northampton goth/post-punks RELIGIÖUS OVERDÖSE release a mini-album of their 80s singles
RELIGIÖUS OVERDÖSE
Strung Out On Heaven’s High 1980 – 1982
Label: Optic Nerve
Cat No: OPT4.050
Format: Mini-LP
Release date: Friday 12 Aug 2022
Midlands post-punks’ singles for Glass Records
Religious Overdose formed in 1979 and alongside the likes of PIL, Joy Division and Bauhaus, helped forge the sound that became to be known as post-punk. In just two years their experimental songs were pushing boundaries. From the hypnotizing drum-machine-led debut ‘25 Minutes’ and the Krautrock-influenced ‘I Said Go’ to the synth-infused new wave of ‘Blow The Back Off’ and their final single, the sprawling 7-minute ‘The Girl With The Disappearing Head’, this is a celebration of the much underrated and important Religious Overdose.
Formed in Barby (near Rugby) in 1979, their original vocalist left, and Alex Novak joined in 1980, producing three singles for Glass Records. They initially used a rhythm generator, then replaced by drummer Pete Brownjohn. Sharing stages with the likes of The Fall, Eyeless In Gaza, Bauhaus, Dance Chapter, Ski Patrol, English Subtitles and Theatre Of Hate, their last gig in Northampton in 1982, recorded and released as a tape by the Adventures In Reality label and fanzine from Coventry.
The Cast
Alex Novak (vocals; before Isaws, after Tempest, Attrition, now Venus Fly Trap)
Richard Formby (guitar; after Jazz Butcher, In Embrace, Spectrum)
Dave Hynes (keyboards)
Ady Tilley (bass; before Where’s Lisse?)
Pete Brownjohn (drums; before Isaws)
Alaric Neville (guitar)
Filipe Figuera (bass)
Tracklist
Side One: 1. Control Addicts 2. 25 Minutes 3. I Said Go 4. Alien To You
Side Two: 5. Blow The Back Off It 6. In This Century 7. Girl With The Disappearing Head
