RhoDeo 1738 Aetix

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Today's artists were a South London-based post-punk band that welded the impassioned urgency of early Killing Joke to the graceful but pained atmospheric flourishes of the Chameleons. Marcus Bell, Mark Long, and Ralph Hall formed the band in 1979  ........N'Joy

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The Opposition is a London group of cold wave. They are Ralph Hall, Marcus Bell, Mark Long, later years with Sterling Campbell, Lol Ford, Terence Devine King and Jean-Daniel Glorioso. Founded in 1979, The Opposition released its first single Very Little Glory on the independent label Double Vision Records. The single has a very good press; will follow the release of the first album Breaking the Silence in 1981 and a tour in England and France.

They then record Intimacy still on Double Vision Records. With a very positive welcome from the press, the band has gone from an indie label to a major, Charisma Records, on which promises first, in 1984, with a tour of a few dates in the United States in the first part of Thomas Dolby and a major tour in Europe. It was then the release, in 1985, of the album Empire Days with their sound engineer Kenny Jones joined for the occasion by John Porter.

Meanwhile, Charisma Records is bought by Phonogram, which in turn will be devoured by Virgin. Without changing their contract, the group finds themselves with their third record company. It is time to begin a change.
In 1987, the group paused. Bell and Long take advantage of it to work on more commercial songs [What?] Under the name of So. Ralph Hall is replaced on this project by Sterling Campbell on drums. Their album Horseshoe in the Glove with the single "Are you sure" has met with some success in the United States. They have a very good media coverage, many passages on rock radio and a nomination for the MTV Video of the Week, Are you sure ranks 41st in the Billboard Hot 100.

After this American experience and two years of touring, Marcus Bell and Mark Long resumed Opposition and released, in 1990, a very intimate album Blue Alice Blue, recorded again, with Kenny Jones. In 1990, under the new label Mrs Jones Records they released War Begins at Home (1994) and EP One (1995). Sterling Campbell then left the group to play with David Bowie; he is replaced by Jean-Daniel Glorioso on Blinder (2004) In 2005 they released the Lost album this basically debut album was held back by their first major Arista who forbade them to even do anything with it, ah yes the recordindustry. They compiled Arc - The Charisma Years and Hive compiling EP´s, B-Sides and Remixes, EP2 (2010). In 2011 a digital only album was released Love & Betrayal it has been the last sigh of the band, 3 years later December 2014 Marcus Bell died.


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It's hard to classify Opposition's sound, although the production values on all their records is top notch. It is very rhythm heavy, with a lot of pounding drums and chunky basslines, with the guitar and occasional keyboards swirling around in the background to fill out the arrangements. It's mostly the vocals that lend the music an incredible intensity that I really haven't heard from anyone else. Ever. It's a truly unique style that comparisons could never really do justice to. That said, if you're a fan of The Comsat Angels, Joy Division, Chameleons or even early Shreikback, I think you might really like these guys, too. You just need to give yourself a few listens to get into it and I'm confident it will reward you amply. I really can't recommend this band highly enough, they are unique and simply brilliant. That success eluded them is a great travesty because I'm sure if I'd discovered them in the 80s I'd still love them today.

  Opposition - Promises   (flac  243mb)

01 Fall Into Line 3:40
02 Small Talk 3:18
03 I Already Know 5:06
04 Innocent 3:36
05 Alternatives 5:10
06 Searching For A Home 3:49
07 Factory Gate 3:14
08 Don't Forget To ... 4:43
09 I Dream In Colour 4:08
10 Stranded 3:18

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The Opposition have a reputation for being one of the major undiscovered dark-wave bands, but you wouldn't be able to tell from this album, which basically contains atmospheric pop-rock like "Five Minutes" and "First Suspect", and radio-friendly passionate statements such as "Abusing Words" and "Fool For You", that if anything sound like mid-80's Alphaville or Comsat Angels. There's nothing particularly bad about this record. It's all very professionally made, but a bit artificial and pompous (typical of it's era you could say). The highlight is "The World's First Vitaphone Announcement", an elegant soundscape rich in ambiance and texture, a track that rivals The Blue Nile at their most ambitious. Empire Days was made to be utterly likable and Opposition is surely in control here.

Opposition - Empire Days (flac 297mb)

01 Five Minutes 5:14
02 Abusing Words 3:21
03 Fool For You 3:42
04 First Suspect 4:06
05 Susan Gets By On Love 2:33
06 If That Wasn't Love 3:41
07 Someone To Talk To 3:25
08 Mr Cleanum 3:34
09 War Zone 3:48
10 Who's Been Telling You Lies? 5:19
11 The World's First Vitaphone Announcement 3:49
12 Empire Days 4:53

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After South London's Mark Long and Marcus Bell made their fourth post-punk record with Ralph Hall as the Opposition, they took some time off from what was a busy recording schedule and reappeared as the duo So in 1988. So's material differed from the Opposition's with a much slicker production slant and a big sound that pointed toward the chart pop of the time with a foot in the pair's past; consider the Blue Nile, Simple Minds, as periodic points of reference sound-wise. In the end it was a betrayal to the all old Opposition's fans, this record it's so poppy. 'Are You Sure' was even a hit in America, 'Burning the Bush', 'Capitol Hill' are very good pop-rock tracks with nice melodies & strong rhythm. 'Dreaming' & 'Would You Die For Me' are excellent ballads. 'Villains' is a quite interesting experiment with loops & moods. & my favorite 'Tips on Crime' reminds me Wang Chung & their soundtrack to 'To Live & Die in LA', it's sounds like a background to the movie. There's no weak track, if you like this kind of pop-rock music, even if they are closer here to Deacon Blue than to The Chameleons.

 SO - Horseshoe in the Glove   (flac 359mb)

01 Are You Sure 4:44
02 Dreaming 5:29
03 Burning Bush 4:29
04 Horseshoe In The Glove 4:58
05 Capitol Hill 4:45
06 Tips On Crime 7:01
07 Villains 4:10
08 Would You Die For Me 4:29
09 Are You Sure (12" Mix) 6:58
10 First Of May 5:30
11 Dreaming (Cocktail Mix) 5:15

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Alice Blue is a pale blue to grayish blue that is redder and stronger than forget-me-not.

Blue Alice Blue features a combination of acoustic and electronic sounds; singing can be a bit strained and emotive; the tones range from warm and comforting to cool, rain-soaked, and urban; the word Blue...This album does have its own very special appeal. Take "Digging for Water" - features a synthesized drum beat and somewhat mechanical rhythm that's accentuated by more organic elements, like chiming guitar and fluid synthesizer flourishes. That sounds like kind of a simple formula but, like the other tracks, it makes for a quite moving combination. Another special track - "Do You Know How That Feels" might be the best entry point with its very catchy chorus. This album is a bit of an anomaly in the wider discography of The Opposition, which started out as more of a post-punk band with very impassioned singing. You wouldn't really know it to hear this album, and it's unfortunate that this period didn't last longer (although their other albums are worth checking out and might appeal to fans of dark, guitar-driven synthpop).

 Opposition - Blue Alice Blue  (flac  206mb)
 
01 The Man Who Almost Shaves 4:56
02 Calling Home 4:03
03 Do You Know How That Feels ? 4:08
04 Crawl To Me 3:27
05 War Cries 3:03
06 Deep Down Blue 5:28
07 Her First Migraine 4:36
08 Digging For Water 3:54
09 Blue To Grey 2:27

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