Look Back In Anger

About

Look Back in Anger are a goth rock band from Waterlooville Hampshire, UK. The initial line-up consisted of Mich Ebeling (vocals), Jim Newby (guitar), Steve Butler (bass and keyboards) and Rick Butler (drums), who got together while A level students at Havant College to create a musical version of the eponymous John Osbourne play. Their first public performance was at the Merchistoun Hall in Horndean in 1980, performing a subdued synth-based set that included a cover version of "[r1136416]". In the early days, rehearsals took place in the Butlers' record shop, Focus Sounds in Waterlooville. L.B.A. soon become established on the local gig circuit, playing such hallowed venues as the Leopard in Purbrook and the Waterlooville Community Centre. In 1981 they headlined at the "Rock Against the Bomb" festival in Waterlooville.

Ebeling and Newby were to remain the backbone of the outfit throughout its life, but the Butler brothers were soon replaced by more adventurous musicians in the form of Simon Tufnail on bass and Chris Pickford on drums. The band's combination of venomous heartfelt vocals, echoing guitar sounds and thumping bass and drums began to attract attention from further afield and in 1982 they secured the support slot to Death Cult on their national tour. They also supported the likes of Sex Gang Children and The Danse Society and headlined at the Brixton Ace. Despite inevitably being likened to Siouxsie and the Banshees, the L.B.A. sound was truly original and distinctive. L.B.A. split in 1984 and Newby joined The Fifteenth. Chris Pickford plays and records with Blisskreig a Basingstoke band playing festivals and london venues in 2007. The recorded legacy consists only of a six-track mini-LP and a 12" single from 1983, plus their debut independently-produced single Mannequin/Caprice (1981), the cass-single Fox Hunt released by "Plug it in your ear" in 1982 and a couple of appearances on compilation LPs.

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