Bruce Gilbert

Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed . They were... originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on the Live at the Roxy WC2 album—a key early document of the scene—and were later central to the development of post-punk. Inspired by the burgeoning UK punk scene, Wire are often cited as one of the more important rock groups of the 1970s and 1980s. Critic Stewart Mason wrote, "Over their brilliant first three albums, Wire expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general." Wire are arguably a definitive art punk or post-punk ensemble, mostly due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound, often obscure lyrical themes, and, to a lesser extent, their Situationist political stance. The group exhibited a steady development from an early raucous punk style to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers . The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout its career.
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Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure, Fad Gadget and Grinderman. During 1978, Daniel Miller began recording music using synthesisers... under the name The Normal. He recorded the tracks "T.V.O.D." and "Warm Leatherette", and distributed them through Rough Trade Shops under the label name Mute Records. The label was formed initially just to release the one single. "T.V.O.D."/"Warm Leatherette" became a cult hit ensuring the future of the label. "Warm Leatherette" was later covered by Grace Jones and Chicks on Speed. After meeting Robert Rental , Miller began recording and playing live as Robert Rental & The Normal. In 1979 they went on tour supporting the punk band Stiff Little Fingers, who had just released an album that was being distributed by Rough Trade. In 1980, Miller released the single, "Kebabtraume", by the German band Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft , who had recently moved to London.
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