In Industrial Evolution Mick Fish takes us on a journey through the eighties via the Sheffield music scene of Cabaret Voltaire, the Human League, ABC, Clock DVA, Hula and The Box, offsetting it against a background of rampant Conservatism and local authority politics.

By the late 70s Britain had a new leader in Margaret Thatcher and a music scene in London that was embracing New Romanticism, while up North bands like Joy Division were casting darker musical shadows.

1979 was the year Mick Fish first entered Central Depot, the local Council's Refuse Dept. That same year he visited Sheffield and became embroiled as a bystander in the post-punk Sheffield music scene, and in particular the Industrial music of Cabaret Voltaire. Over the next nine years, Fish made regular visits to Sheffield and watched the Cabs develop from the punk thrash of "Nag Nag Nag" into the synth-electro pioneers, whilst himself battling to hold down a day job amongst a bunch of weirdos and misfits working at the local refuse tip.

As the 80s progressed, harsh market forces were at play both within Local Authorities and Independent record labels. As a result Fish became unintentionally caught in Maggie's stringent initiatives to whip Local Government into shape. He also witnessed Cabaret Voltaire's rise to Indie favourites and early rave exponents, ultimately to disband in turmoil under the pressure of big labels, internal disputes and substance-induced paranoia.

Industrial Evolution is a highly cautionary but typical 80s tale, as a mood of rampant Conservatism ran roughshod over all things industrial.

ISBN: 0 946719 46 2
288 pages. Paperback

Publication: March 2002

INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION
Through the 80's with Cabaret Voltaire and Local Government

Mick Fish

About the author:

Mick Fish is the author of Cabaret Voltaire - The Art Of The Sixth Sense, a book of interviews and history about the pioneering Sheffield band. First published in 1984 and updated in 1992, this is a sequel to the original book and contains the original interviews as an addenda.

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You can order Tape Delay and the forthcoming Industrial Evolution together for the price of £20 plus postage.
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"The whole book is about boom and bust: The Cabs' ascendency into the wealthy realm of EMI followed by weak records with no hits; the abusive power of the Unions causing their own demise at Mick's council depot; the boom and bust cycle of capitalism; the explosion and void of the music scene in Sheffield; the rise and fall of Industrial music; and finally Mick (and it seems almost everyone else's) further reliance on booze and drugs with the inevitable crash that that causes. On the lighter side, we get lots of inside information on the Cabs and other bands from Sheffield, all told in Mick's engaging, conversational tone. He doesn't brag and is honest with his opinions about others and himself. If you have any interest in any Sheffield band of the period or Industrial music then this book is a must-read."

Nic Doyle, www.brainwashed.com

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