Darren Brown (musician)
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Wiz | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Darren Mark Brown |
| Born | 18 January 1962 London, England |
| Origin | Farnborough, Hampshire, England |
| Died | 6 December 2006 (aged 44) Tooting, South London, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, punk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, singer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1982–2006 |
| Website | http://www.spiny.co.uk/megacityfour/ |
Darren Mark Brown (18 January 1962[1] – 6 December 2006), known as Wiz, was an English musician who was the lead-singer and guitarist of indie punk band Mega City Four in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and later bands Serpico and Ipanema from 2002 to 2006.
Mega City Four
Mega City Four consisted of guitarist/vocalist Wiz, his brother and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Danny Brown, bassist/vocalist Gerry Bryant and drummer Chris Jones.
The group were noted for their hard-working ethics and extensive touring ethos. They performed some gigs around their local town of Farnborough before making their vinyl debut in September 1987 with “Miles Apart”/“Running in Darkness”. The single led to a round of gigs with bands such as Senseless Things and Snuff.
The band continued to tour extensively around the UK, across Europe and over to North America, working with bands including
Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Doughboys
Wiz had already played with
Later career: Serpico and Ipanema
Wiz and Gerry Bryant continued playing together for a short time in Serpico after the demise of Mega City Four. The band existed between 1999 and 2002, although Gerry left in 1998 to be replaced by Simon. In 2000, Serpico released the mini-album Everyone Versus Everyone and supported The Wonder Stuff at a gig at The Forum, Kentish Town.
After Serpico, Wiz went on to form Ipanema with the remaining members of Serpico (Simon & Paddy) who, after several line-up changes, were playing and recording until his death. In 2003, the band recorded their double A-side single, "Je Suis Un Baseball Bat"/"Skull". After the single was released, the band recorded and released two albums, Me Me Me in 2005, and their self-titled Ipanema in 2008, which contained all of the songs the band had recorded plus nine unreleased songs. album
Death
Just after returning from a tour of the United States, Wiz collapsed at a band rehearsal. It was announced that he had died at St George's Hospital, Tooting, South London, from a blood clot in his brain on 6 December 2006.[2]
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 November 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Condolences for Wiz - Mega City Four". Furtive-mts.com. 7 December 2006. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
External links
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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