B.F.G. – The Complete

Following tours with The Cult, New Order, and appearances at the Montreux Rock Festival as drummer with various bands and artists including Factory Records band Lavolta Lakota, Mike Simii left to form BFG in Summer 1985 with long term counterpart Keith Lambert. The bands direction was set when Pete Hook, Joy Division’s  and New Order bassist, lent the fledgling B.F. G. the original Oberheim DBX drum machine responsible for probably one of the most recognisable kick drums intros of all time…….Blue Monday. It was at that point the bands manifesto, became clear.  Merge electronic dance beats, driving bass lines, and  heavy staccato guitar, a combination and sound  that would eventually find mainstream success  via the output of Chicago label ‘Wax Trax’ and Nine Inch Nails under the guise of ‘Industrial Music’. The final addition to the original BFG sound was vocalist B.J. Williams. Upon hearing the early demo of Paris / Amelia, Pete Hook invited B. F. G. to support New Order on tour, bringing the band immediately to a wider audience.

B.F.G. – Fathoms

Following tours with The Cult, New Order, and appearances at the Montreux Rock Festival as drummer with various bands and artists including Factory Records band Lavolta Lakota, Mike Simii left the drum stool behind to form B.F.G. in Summer 1985 with long term counterpart Keith Lambert. The bands direction was set when Pete Hook, Joy Division’s and New Order bassist, lent the fledgling B.F.G. the original Oberheim DBX drum machine responsible for probably one of the most recognisable kick drums intros of all time……. Blue Monday.

It was at that point the bands manifesto became clear.  Merge electronic dance beats, driving bass lines and heavy staccato guitar, a combination and sound that would eventually find mainstream success via the output of Chicago label ‘Wax Trax’ and Nine Inch Nails under the guise of ‘Industrial Music’. The final addition to the original B.F.G. sound was vocalist B.J. Williams. Upon hearing the early demo of Paris / Amelia, Pete Hook invited B.F.G. to support New Order on tour, bringing the band immediately to a wider audience.

After the release of Paris and early gigs, Mike moved back to drums and Steve Craig replaced B.J. Williams on vocals with Paul Batheram joining on guitar and Joe Cassidy on bass. The new line-up’s first recording was ‘Western Sky’, the last track to be written by the original BFG with lyrics written by Steve. The B.F.G. sound had dramatically altered and was now moving in a much more melodic ‘dark wave’ direction which resulted in the band’s debut album ‘Fathoms’. Numerous European tours followed including appearances in front of 15,000 at the Lorely Stadium alongside Bjork and the Pogues and at the WDR Festival with New Model Army, Dinosaur Jnr. and Wire.

Interpol, The Editors, White Lies and even the Killers, all give Fathoms a tip of the titfa.