Electronic Sound Magazine

We're walking the dark and gritty streets of post-punk Sheffield for this month's Electronic Sound cover feature detailing the formative years of CLOCK DVA.

Our story starts with Clock DVA main man Adi Newton in a band called The Future, alongside soon-to-be members of The Human League. Once Newton got DVA rolling, his new group forged close associations with Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle, quickly matching TG's reputation for fearsome live sets. By the time they’d played three gigs, they'd been banned from three venues. The focus of our piece is on the first two DVA albums – released in late 1980 and early 1981– with fights, drugs, porn, constructivism, cricket, a missing person and a tragic death all part of the saga. It really is a rollercoaster read.

One of Clock DVA's most notable live appearances was at the FUTURAMA FESTIVAL and the legendary post-punk gathering is the subject of another of this month's features. The brainchild of Leeds promoter John Keenan, the event ran for five years, from 1979 to 1983, with the line-ups including Joy Division, PiL, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Soft Cell, The Gang Of Four, Simple Minds, Bauhaus, OMD, Killing Joke, The Sisters Of Mercy and Dead Or Alive, to name just a few. It's no wonder that John Keenan has some of the very best anecdotes in the music business. And with ALAN VEGA, KIM GORDON, JUSTIN ROBERTSON, KAYLA PAINTER, KEITH SEATMAN and ANNIE HOGAN also in the magazine's contents list, this is one issue of Electronic Sound you definitely don't want to miss.