Into A Circle – Assassins

Formed by Bee (aka: Paul Hampshire) and Barry Jepson escaping from the short-lived Getting the Fear (in itself formed from the ashes of Southern Death Cult) in 1985, Into a Circle never really attained the recognition they deserved. Sometimes known as In Two a Circle, or even In2a0, Assassins was the only full length album they ever recorded, ostensibly released in 1988 but in actuality, most of the material on here was recorded several years earlier. The re-released CD on Cherry Red’s Goth Collectors Series is worth owning as it includes all the duo’s singles as bonus tracks and so apart from a few B-sides effectively represents everything Into a Circle ever officially released. The often extremely frank liner notes on the re-release are also worthwhile, providing detailed and often explicit insights into the motivations underlying the pair’s music.
The topics that fascinated Into a Circle orbited largely around the philosophies and writings of Brion Gysin & William Burroughs, incorporating alternative sexualities (“Under Mikhail”, “Flow”), S&M (“Tender Skin”, “Rise”), drugs ("O’Siren", "And In Flames") and religion (“Allah Akhbar” – itself originally a song from the Getting the Fear period). A heady mix that in less talented hands could easily have produced a sensationalist and bombastic assault. In the hands of Into a Circle however, Assassins emerges as a beautiful and highly introspective piece of hugely under-rated Goth with backing vocals provided by Rose McDowall of Strawberry Switchblade.
Things couldn’t be sustained however; drugs and an already difficult relationship with Abstract Records exacerbated by the duo insisting on total control over all aspects of music, production and artwork saw Into a Circle implode. Barry now works as a tour manager in the UK and Bee relocated to Thailand where he works in various electro bands including Futon & Goo with former Suede drummer Simon Gilbert.

Posted by James Von Sutekh

Into A Circle - Rise

Into A Circle were Paul ‘Bee’ Hampshire and Barry Jepson although they were also known at various times as In Two A Circle and In 2 A O. Prior to Into A Circle, Bee and Barry were members of Getting The Fear, alongside Buzz (guitar) and Aky (drums). Getting The Fear formed from the remnants of Southern Death Cult after Ian Astbury left. Bee and Barry formed Into A Circle after Getting The Fear went their separate ways. After months of rehearsals, Into A Circle performed their first show as support to Nico, who along with Patti Smith was one of singer Bee's heroes, at the Croydon Underground in December 1985. Bee was resplendent in a clear plastic suit, designed by one of London's Kings Road boutique ‘Boy’ designers, containing KY and talc in its layers and adorned by tubes and syringes.

Attempting to bridge the gap between Getting The Fear and Into A Circle in 1985 they issued their debut release a sensual reworking of Getting The Fear's ‘Rise’, a song about sexual initiation extolling the virtues of genital piercing. Released on 12” in an edition of 5000 copies it remains one of the sexiest records I've heard. Bee brought to Getting The Fear (and subsequently Into A Circle) an intimate understanding of body piercings which resulted in appearances in the pages of Forum and an early edition of the Sunday Sport under the headline “Bernie the Bolt”, a short article about his ampallang piercing; performed by the esteemed piercist Mr Sebastian aka Alan Oversby. Backed by the acoustic workings of ‘Gabriel’ and ‘And In Flames’ (a continual fixture in later set lists), the 12” release featured the bittersweet accompaniment of Rose McDowall, formerly one-half of the polka dotted pop–punk outfit Strawberry Switchblade. Rose befriended Bee and Barry at a London club and like Bee, Rose McDowall was associated with Psychic TV (and TOPY - Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth). Rose sung on Psychic TV's near chart hit ‘Godstar’ and provided vocals, just as Bee had done to a lesser extent, to associated travellers like Current 93 and Death In June. Although never a full member, Rose would appear on all subsequent Into A Circle releases and appeared live whenever commitments permitted.

After signing to Abstract Records in July 1986, Into A Circle released the ‘Inside Out’ EP, additionally featuring the tracks ‘Reward’, ‘Flow’ and ‘Field of Sleep’. With cover stills from Graham Bentley's Flesh Mechanics video on the cover, the EP featured guitars from Billy Morrison, who would later go on to join The Cult and Billy Idol's band, where he became a permanent fixture in the LA music scene. Quite aptly ‘Inside Out’ was a drug filled Goth flanged-romp about heroin addiction, while the acoustic and slide guitar tinged ‘Reward’ featured a rare lyrical outing from Barry. The flipside included the acoustic love song ‘Flow’ and ‘Field of Sleep’, a dreamy duet between Bee and Rose. ‘Inside Out’ was another indie success but subsequent live dates highlighted Bee and Barry's increasing dissatisfaction with session musicians who never managed to capture the feel of how the songs were originally written. In order to reflect the true sound of Into A Circle they reverted to a new live format involving backing tapes and drum machines incorporating slide projected visuals to enhance the atmosphere they were seeking.