Severed Heads - Exploring the Secret of Treating Deaf Mutes

Severed Heads is an Australian group based and founded in Sydney in 1979. The group was originally known as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign who started recording in 1977 and comprised of Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright. Tom Ellard joined the group in 1979 and shortly thereafter Wright departed. Once Wright left the group Fielding decided to change the name to Severed Heads. Fielding eventually left the group too, in 1981, citing it as becoming "too rock 'n roll", leaving Ellard as the sole continuing member of the group. A variety of people have played in Severed Heads, including Garry Bradbury, Paul Deering, and Stephen Jones, but over time the group has devolved to Tom Ellard.
Early Severed Heads music was characterised by the use of tape loops, noisy arrangements of synthesizers, and other dissonant sound sources, putting Severed Heads in the general category of industrial music. After several releases in that vein, Severed Heads began incorporating various popular music tropes, such as a consistent 4/4 rhythm, strong melodic lines, and resolving chord arrangements. This move was underscored by the incorporation of mimetic devices, such as drum machines. The result was a striking hybrid of the avant garde, industrial and pop. Combined with Ellard's thin but gently eerie vocals and elliptical poetic lyrics, Severed Heads were signed to Nettwerk Records in North America, and Volition Records in Australia, and charted in 1984 with the song Dead Eyes Opened. This deal lead to a world tour, which was as much a multimedia event, thanks to the video work of Stephen Jones.

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Under the bridge tonight / squeezing a wormy horn
I played with Simon Brooks / exploring the secrets of treating deaf mutes
Olio globular foetid Louisa pizza
Who wants to buy a pimple fat squeezer
from Chris Marshall's Organ Warehouse?

7 yowies babe ram it up ascheemic organ pieces a TV dinner ill shove it up
your immolate religion who have blocked up my cannula 5 times 7

trampolining on 11 to punch kick break bone philosophiku all very good games.

http://severedheads.bandcamp.com/

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Tom
• Ellard
• Severed
• Heads
• Sevcom
• Since The Accident
• Andrew
• Wright
• Garry
• Bradbury
• Richard
• Fielding
• Robert
• Racic
• St

[kohoio]

It took me about 27 years to find out that the guitar music at the end is 12/8 Blues by The Stills Young Band. Thanks, Shazam!

[thedeadstatues]

Great track strange lyrics

[luzsyd]

Truly this is one of the most memorable tracks from 'Since the Accident'

[raymanscape]

i really love this one. Also, "Since the Accident" is he best album of all times :)

[Epiphyte]

This is one of my all-time favourite songs, honest to goodness.

[Timeredefined]

Oh thank you for posting this......I remember the album cover of 'Since the Accident' and I think the 12inch of 'Dead Eyes Open' had similar b&W artwork? I think I read at the time their studio was in Darlinghurst, the epicenter of creative Sydney at the time, maybe even on Oxford street. Such a good track, up there with Kraftwerk etc in my opinion

[monkeymadigan]

claasic mate cheers remember it well, changed me life.