Figures on a Beach

Figures on a Beach was an American 1980s musical band that played in a style that drew influences from new wave, techno and pop music.

Figures on a Beach
OriginDetroit, Michigan, U.S.
GenresNew wave, synthpop, pop rock
Years active1981–1991
LabelsSire
Past membersAnthony Kaczynski
Christopher Ewen
John Richard Rolski
Michael "Smitt E. Smitty" Smith
Perry Tell
Ricci Ara

History

Figures on a Beach was formed in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the early 1980s from the ashes of the band Razor 1922. The group was composed of vocalist Anthony Kaczynski, guitarist John "Rik" Rolski, keyboardist Christopher Ewen, bassist Perry Tell and drummer Michael Smith. The group recorded an independent EP, Swimming in 1983, and the Don Was-produced single "Breathless" in 1984.

Figures moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1985 and was signed by Seymour Stein of Sire Records soon afterward. They released their first full-length album in 1987, titled Standing on Ceremony.[1] A self-titled LP (Figures on a Beach) followed in 1989, containing a hit cover of Bachman–Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and a single titled "Accidentally 4th Street (Gloria)". The group disbanded in 1991.

Chris Ewen went on to form Future Bible Heroes, a collaboration with Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson from The Magnetic Fields.[2] Kaczynski performed Merritt's vocals on Future Bible Heroes' 2013 tour, which Merritt opted to skip. Ewen and Kaczynski are performing on the Magnetic Fields 2017 tour for Merritt's 50 Song Memoir.

Anthony Kaczynski and Michael Smith went on to form Fireking.

Michael Smith currently performs as Smitt E. Smitty and Little Billy Lost.[3]

"Accidentally 4th Street (Gloria)" was covered by The Echoing Green on the band's self-titled album.

Charting singles
Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1989 "Accidentally 4th Street (Gloria)" - 14 - - Figures on a Beach
"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" 67 - - - Figures on a Beach

Discography

Albums
  • Paradise And Other Four Letter Words (Metro America, 1985)
  • Standing On Ceremony (Sire, 1987)
  • Figures on a Beach (Sire, 1989)

Singles
  • Swimming EP (Metro America, 1983)
  • "Breathless" (Metro America, 1984)
  • "In Camera Obscura/Paradise" (Metro America, 1985)
  • "No Stars" (Sire, 1987)
  • "Accidentally 4th St. (Gloria)" (Sire, 1989)
  • "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (Sire, 1989)

Compilation albums
  • Just Say Yes.. (Sire, 1987)
  • Just Say Mao (Sire, 1989)
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gollark: They generally just take one outdated kernel version, patch in the code they need, ship it, and then never update it, instead of "upstreaming" the drivers so they'll be incorporated in the official Linux source code.
gollark: You know how I said that companies were obligated to release the source code to the kernel on their device? Some just blatantly ignore that (*cough*MediaTek*cough*). And when it *is* there, it's actually quite bad.

References
  1. Marotta, Michael (August 24, 2016). "Watch members of Figures On A Beach perform 'No Stars' live for the first time in 24 years". Vanyaland. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  2. Klein, Joshua (December 19, 1997). "Future Bible Heroes Memories of Love". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  3. Doom, Jimmy (August 2, 2017). "Detroit All-Star Garage Rock Punk Revue looks back at the local scene's early days". Metro Times. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
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