The Assembly

British synth-pop project

For other uses, see Assembly (disambiguation).

The Assembly

Origin| Basildon, Essex, England
Genres| Synth-pop
Years active| 1983–1984
Labels|

* Mute
* Sire

Past members|

* Vince Clarke
* Eric Radcliffe

The Assembly were a British synth-pop project formed in 1983 in Basildon, England, by Vince Clarke (songwriting, keyboards, backing vocals) and Eric Radcliffe (songwriting, production).

Feargal Sharkey was hired as a guest vocalist for the A-side of the duo's only single, "Never Never". Clarke and Radcliffe had planned to use a different singer on each track the duo recorded,[1] but the duo disbanded after the release of "Never Never".

## Band history

[edit]

Clarke founded the Assembly shortly after disbanding Yazoo (featuring vocalist Alison Moyet), upon completion and distribution of Yazoo's 1983 album, You and Me Both.[2]

The Assembly marked the most involved phase of Clarke's long-term professional relationship with sound engineer Radcliffe, who had contributed significant influences to the recordings of Clarke's previous bands, Depeche Mode and Yazoo. However, the Assembly project never became a full-fledged band and resulted in only one single release, the UK hit "Never Never".[2] It featured a sampled guitar track triggered note for note on a Fairlight CMI. The sound was augmented by session musician Clem Clempson on electric guitar.[1]

Former Undertones frontman Feargal Sharkey was hired to sing on this track. Clarke and Radcliffe had planned to use a different singer on each track the group recorded,[1] but none were released after "Never Never".[2]

The other track on the single, "Stop/Start", was an instrumental, featuring Clarke's signature songwriting style with syncopation that gradually became the downbeat of the musical phrase.[citation needed]

Despite the commercial success of the single, the Assembly was no longer a functioning entity by the end of 1984. Clarke went on to form Erasure with vocalist and co-songwriter Andy Bell in 1985.[2] Although Erasure worked with Radcliffe on some of their early work, they eventually began working with other producers and engineers, including Flood. Sharkey, for his part, began a successful solo career in 1984,[2] and achieved his only UK number one single in 1985 with "A Good Heart".

"Never Never" was re-released on CD single in 1996 with four tracks, containing both the normal and extended versions of both the title song, and "Stop/Start".[1] The music video for "Never Never", filmed at Upminster Windmill in the London Borough of Havering, was featured on the first Now That's What I Call Music! video in 1983, though it did not feature on the corresponding compilation album.

## Reunion

[edit]

In May 2011, Sharkey appeared on stage during the Erasure set at Mute Records' Short Circuit music festival for a one-off performance of "Never, Never" with Clarke.

## Discography

[edit]

* "Never Never" – b/w "Stop/Start" (instrumental) – 1983 – Mute TINY1 – No. 4 UK[3] – BPI: Silver[4]

## See also

[edit]

* The Tube (1982 TV series)
* Casio VL-1

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "The Assembly | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
2. ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 32/3. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 31\. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
4. ^ "Assembly - Never Never". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.

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Depeche Mode

* Martin Gore
* Dave Gahan

* Andy Fletcher
* Vince Clarke
* Alan Wilder

Studio albums|

* Speak & Spell
* A Broken Frame
* Construction Time Again
* Some Great Reward
* Black Celebration
* Music for the Masses
* Violator
* Songs of Faith and Devotion
* Ultra
* Exciter
* Playing the Angel
* Sounds of the Universe
* Delta Machine
* Spirit
* Memento Mori

Live albums|

* 101
* Songs of Faith and Devotion Live
* Recording the Angel
* Recording the Universe

Compilation albums|

* People Are People
* The Singles 81→85
* Catching Up with Depeche Mode
* Greatest Hits
* The Singles 86–98
* Remixes 81–04
* The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1
* Remixes 2: 81–11

Singles|

* "Dreaming of Me"
* "New Life"
* "Just Can't Get Enough"
* "See You"
* "The Meaning of Love"
* "Leave in Silence"
* "Get the Balance Right!"
* "Everything Counts"
* "Love, in Itself"
* "People Are People"
* "Master and Servant"
* "Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
* "Shake the Disease"
* "It's Called a Heart"
* "Stripped"
* "A Question of Lust"
* "A Question of Time"
* "Strangelove"
* "Never Let Me Down Again"
* "Behind the Wheel"
* "Little 15"
* "Personal Jesus"
* "Enjoy the Silence"
* "Policy of Truth"
* "World in My Eyes"
* "I Feel You"
* "Walking in My Shoes"
* "Condemnation"
* "In Your Room"
* "Barrel of a Gun"
* "It's No Good"
* "Home"
* "Useless"
* "Only When I Lose Myself"
* "Dream On"
* "I Feel Loved"
* "Freelove"
* "Goodnight Lovers"
* "Precious"
* "A Pain That I'm Used To"
* "Suffer Well"
* "John the Revelator" / "Lilian"
* "Martyr"
* "Wrong"
* "Peace"
* "Fragile Tension" / "Hole to Feed"
* "Heaven"
* "Soothe My Soul"
* "Should Be Higher"
* "Where's the Revolution"
* "Going Backwards"
* "Cover Me"
* "Ghosts Again"
* "My Cosmos Is Mine"
* "Wagging Tongue"
* "Speak to Me"
* "My Favourite Stranger"
* "Before We Drown"
* "People Are Good"

Video albums|

* The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg
* Some Great Videos
* Strange
* Strange Too
* Devotional
* The Videos 86–98
* One Night in Paris
* Touring the Angel: Live in Milan
* The Best of Videos Volume 1
* Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09
* Live in Berlin
* Video Singles Collection

Documentary films|

* 101
* Spirits in the Forest
* Depeche Mode: M

Tours|

* World Violation Tour
* Devotional Tour
* Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94
* Touring the Angel
* Tour of the Universe
* The Delta Machine Tour
* Global Spirit Tour
* Memento Mori World Tour

Tribute albums|

* I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous
* For the Masses
* A Broken Frame & An Extended Broken Frame by Marsheaux

Related|

| Articles and books|

* Discography
* Awards and nominations
* Cover versions
* Peter Gordeno
* Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (book)

|

Bands|

* Yazoo
* The Assembly
* Erasure
* Recoil
* VCMG
* Soulsavers
* Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience

* v
* t
* e

Feargal Sharkey

Studio albums|

* Feargal Sharkey (1985)
* Wish (1988)
* Songs from the Mardi Gras (1991)

Singles|

* "Listen to Your Father"
* "Loving You"
* "A Good Heart"
* "You Little Thief"
* "Someone to Somebody"
* "It's All Over Now"
* "More Love"
* "Out of My System"
* "I've Got News for You"
* "Women & I"
* "To Miss Someone"

Related articles|

* The Undertones
* The Assembly

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

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