View source for Tones on Tail

{{Short description|British post-punk band}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Tones on Tail
| image             = Tones-on-tail.jpg
| background        = group_or_band
| years_active      = 1982–1984, 2024
| origin            = [[Northampton, England|Northampton]], England
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Post-punk]]|[[gothic rock]]}}
| label             = [[4AD]], [[Situation 2]], [[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet]]
| current_members   = [[Daniel Ash]]<br/>Diva Dompé <br/>[[Kevin Haskins]]
| past_members      = Glenn Campling
| associated_acts   = [[Bauhaus (band)|Bauhaus]], [[Love and Rockets (band)|Love and Rockets]], [[The Bubblemen]], [[Poptone]]
}}

'''Tones on Tail''' were a British [[post-punk]] band formed in 1982, originally as a musical [[side project]] of [[Daniel Ash]] of the [[gothic rock]] group [[Bauhaus (band)|Bauhaus]]. Their music was described by one critic as "doom-and-dance-pop."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gettelman |first=Parry |title=Daniel Ash |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |location=Orlando, FL  |page=21 |date=1 March 1991 |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1991/03/01/daniel-ash/ |quote=There also are hints of Tones on Tail, his doom-and-dance-pop side project. |access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref>

==History==
While still a member of Bauhaus, Ash formed Tones on Tail early in 1982, originally as a duo with Glenn Campling, an art school friend and flatmate who had also been a [[road crew|roadie]] for Bauhaus. The band's name was a reference to the way calibration tones were recorded on the "tail" of [[reel-to-reel]] tape.

The pair issued their debut eponymous EP on [[4AD]] in March 1982, followed by the single "There's Only One!", released by [[Beggars Banquet Records]] on 24 September. Ash sang and played guitar, Campling played bass, and both played percussion and keyboards. After the break-up of Bauhaus in 1983, Ash and Campling were joined by Bauhaus's drummer [[Kevin Haskins]] and the band became a full-time concern for all three members. Their first release as a trio was the ''[[Burning Skies]]'' EP, issued by [[Situation Two]] on 6 May 1983.

Their sole studio album, ''[[Pop (Tones on Tail album)|Pop]]'', was released by Beggars Banquet on 6 April 1984 in the UK, featuring the singles "Performance" (released 9 March) and "Lions" (released 11 May). The album was also issued in North America in altered form as ''The Album Pop''. "[[Go! (Tones on Tail song)|Go!]]", the popular [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of "Lions", was issued on its own as a single in Canada, licensed by [[Vertigo Records]]. Throughout October of that year, the group embarked on a short 12-date tour of the US; in concert, the band sported all white outfits.<ref name="Ohanesian">{{cite web |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/poptones-daniel-ash-and-kevin-haskins-revive-the-music-of-love-and-rockets-tones-on-tail-and-bauhaus-8215807 |title=For Fans of Dark '80s Music, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins' Poptone Is a Dream Project |last=Ohanesian |first=Liz |website=[[LA Weekly]] |date=2017-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202195903/http://www.laweekly.com/music/poptones-daniel-ash-and-kevin-haskins-revive-the-music-of-love-and-rockets-tones-on-tail-and-bauhaus-8215807 |archive-date=2019-02-02 |access-date=2024-05-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bauhausgigguide.info/tour.php?tid=28 |title=Tones On Tail - 1984 - US tour |website=Bauhausgigguide.info |access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref> The final Tones on Tail single, "Christian Says", was issued on 9 November. They disbanded later that year, and Ash and Haskins quickly formed [[Love and Rockets (band)|Love and Rockets]] with former Bauhaus bassist [[David J]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Molitor |first=Mike |title=Tones on Tail |newspaper=[[The Michigan Daily]] |location=[[Ann Arbor, Michigan]] |page=8 |date=14 January 1991 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2706&dat=19910114&id=rgZKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gB4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2644,205883&hl=de |quote=Somewhere around 1982 things began to go wrong with (Bauhaus), and before one could say "gothic," or even "goth," guitarist Daniel Ash and drummer Kevin Haskins were out on their own with Tones on Tail. This new band lasted until 1985, when Bauhaus bassist David J came back into the fold and the group was "reunited" as the famed Love and Rockets. |access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5669 |title=Tones on Tail |last=Huey |first=Steve |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=10 October 2011}}</ref>

The 1998 compilation ''[[Everything! (Tones on Tail album)|Everything!]]'' compiled every Tones on Tail track in remastered form, plus a radio interview with Ash and Haskins.

In 2017, Ash and Haskins, along with Haskins' daughter Diva Dompé on bass, formed the band Poptone, performing songs by Bauhaus, Love and Rockets and Tones on Tail in concert.<ref name="Ohanesian"/> On 11 May 2024, Tones on Tail performed their first official set since 1984 at the [[Cruel World Festival]], with Dompé filling in for Campling.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/watch-bauhaus-offshoot-tones-on-tail-play-their-first-show-in-40-years-at-cruel-world-2024-full-video-setlist/ |title=Watch Bauhaus offshoot Tones on Tail play their first show in 40 years at Cruel World 2024 (full video, setlist) |last=Pearis |first=Bill |date=May 12, 2024 |website=[[BrooklynVegan]] |access-date=May 15, 2024}}</ref>

==Reception==
Richard Williams of ''[[The Michigan Daily]]'' said, "Tones on Tail carries on with the traditional Bauhaus taste for the [[macabre]], but charts new courses of twisting the pop thing."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Richard |title=Tones on Tail: a subtle reminder of British skill |newspaper=[[The Michigan Daily]] |page=5 |date=21 October 1984 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yyRKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fx4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1544,2426395&dq=tones-on-tail+everything&hl=en |access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref> James Muretich of ''[[The Calgary Herald]]'' wrote, "From the ashes of Bauhaus has arisen a British trio that is turning into one of the most impressive and macabre dance bands around."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Muretich |first=James |title=Tones on Tail: Twist/Go! |newspaper=[[The Calgary Herald]] |date=23 March 1985 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-3dkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E38NAAAAIBAJ&pg=998,1382202&dq=tones-on-tail+everything&hl=en |access-date=10 October 2011}}</ref> Writing retrospectively for [[AllMusic]], critic Ned Raggett said, "With their former band's generally gloomier shadows left behind, what Ash and Haskins draw from their time with Bauhaus is that group's melange of styles—their most underappreciated strength".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r215668/review |title=Pop – Tones on Tail |last=Raggett |first=Ned |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=10 October 2011}}</ref> 

==Discography==
'''Studio albums'''
* ''[[Pop (Tones on Tail album)|Pop]]'' (1984, [[Beggars Banquet Records|Beggars Banquet]])

'''EPs'''
* ''Tones on Tail'' (1982, [[4AD]])
* ''[[Burning Skies]]'' (1983, [[Situation Two]])
* ''Something!'' (1998, Beggars Banquet)

'''Singles'''
* "There's Only One!" (1982, Beggars Banquet)
* "Burning Skies" (1983, Situation 2) No. 11 [[UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts|UK Indie]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-10-06 |title=Indie Hits "T" |url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/t.htm |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=[[Cherry Red Records]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006231611/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/t.htm |archive-date=6 October 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* "Performance" (1984, Beggars Banquet)
* "Lions" (1984, Beggars Banquet)
* "[[Go! (Tones on Tail song)|Go!]]" (1984, [[Vertigo Records|Vertigo]])
* "Christian Says" (1984, Beggars Banquet)

'''Compilation albums'''
* ''Tones on Tail'' (1985, Situation Two)
* ''Night Music'' (1987, Beggars Banquet)
* ''Tones on Tail'' (1990, [[RCA Records|RCA]]/Beggars Banquet)
* ''[[Everything! (Tones on Tail album)|Everything!]]'' (1998, Beggars Banquet)
* ''Weird Pop'' (2011, Beggars Banquet)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p5669}}
* {{Discogs artist |Tones on Tail}}
* http://www.tonesontail.net

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bauhaus (band)]]
[[Category:English post-punk music groups]]
[[Category:English gothic rock groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1982]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1984]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Beggars Banquet Records artists]]
[[Category:4AD artists]]
[[Category:Situation Two artists]]