National Health
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National Health | |
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Origin | Georgie Born Lindsay Cooper |
National Health were an English
They toured extensively and released their first album, National Health, in 1978.[1] Although it was created during the rise of punk rock, the album is characterized by lengthy, mostly instrumental compositions. Their second record, Of Queues and Cures, which included Henry Cow associates Peter Blegvad (recitation on "Squarer For Maud") and Georgie Born (cello), is held as one of the "best records ever" on the Gnosis website.[2] National Health continued performing live until winter 1980, but disbanded without recording another album.[3]
After the May 1981 death of Gowen, the Queues lineup of Stewart, Miller, Greaves and Pyle reunited to record the album D.S. Al Coda, a set of compositions by Gowen, most previously unrecorded. The original albums and additional archival material have subsequently been released on CD.
The intro of National Health's "Binoculars" was used as a sample on American rock band Deftones' "Black Moon".
Line-ups
July - September 1975 | October - December 1975 | December 1975 - January 1976 | January - March 1976 |
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March - June 1976 | July 1976 - January 1977 | January - March 1977 | March 1977 - January 1978 |
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January - September 1978 | September - October 1978 | January 1979 - March 1980 | March 1980 - October 1981 |
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Dave Stewart took part in a performance of "The Collapso" on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test in January 1979, before being replaced by Alan Gowen. |
Disbanded |
October - November 1981 | November 1981 - August 1983 | August 1983 | |
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Disbanded |
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Discography
Studio albums
- National Health (1978)
- Of Queues and Cures (1978)
- D.S. Al Coda (1982)
Other releases
- Complete (1990; all three studio albums plus bonus tracks)
- Missing Pieces (1996; archival material)[4]
- Playtime (2001; live recordings from 1979)
- Dreams Wide Awake (2005; selected tracks from the first two studio albums)
Filmography
- 2015: Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales (DVD)
References
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ ranked #10 as of 2012/09/13, the Gnosis search facility
- ISBN 0-7043-8036-6.
- ^ "Exposé Online » Reviews » National Health - Missing Pieces". Exposé Online.