Tones On Tail was a musical side project created by Daniel Ash of Bauhaus along with Bauhaus roadie Glen Campling in 1982. After the demise of Bauhaus in 1983, they were joined by drummer Kevin Haskins. The band folded in 1984 shortly before Ash and Haskins went on to form Love and Rockets.

Tones On Tail's music is psychedelic/surrealist with a heavy English gothic rock vibe. It is textural and introspective and exhibits Ash's characteristically clean production. The band made a point of having each song sound as different as possible. In concert, the band sported all-white as a reaction to Bauhaus's all-black look. They never achieved a large following, though the track "GO!" is a retro dance club staple and a frequent addition to 80's music compilations.

The band's tiny back catalog has been subjected to a lot of compilation over the years. Small, independent labels like 4AD and Situation Two would issue limited editions with subtly different track listings from previously released items. Some tracks were only available on rare vinyl records, so collecting the entire Tones on Tail discography was a difficult task. This was the situation until the 1998 release of Everything!, an appropriately named 2-CD set of every track, fully remastered, plus a radio interview with Ash and Campling.

The band Television produce a similar style of music, particularly the Marquee Moon album.

Discography

Albums

• Pop (1984)

EPs and singles

• "Tones On Tail" (1982), 12" only
• "There's Only One" (1982), 12" only
• "Burning Skies" (1983)
• "Performance" (1984)
• "Lions" (1984)
• "Christian Says" (1984)
• "GO!" (1984)

Compilations

• The Album Pop (1984), a reconfiguration of Pop
• Tones On Tail (1985), LP only
• Night Music (1987)
• Tones On Tail (1990)
• Everything! (1998), which contains every released track and a radio interview
• Something! (1998), a promotional item with excerpts from Everything!

External Links

• Tones On Tail fansite