About The Chameleons
The Chameleons are an English rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of bassist and vocalist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever.
The band released their debut studio album, Script of the Bridge, in 1983. They followed it with What Does Anything Mean? Basically and Strange Times in 1985 and 1986, respectively, before abruptly breaking up in 1987 due to the sudden death of the band's manager. After the break-up, Burgess and Lever formed the Sun and the Moon, while Fielding and Smithies formed the Reegs. Burgess also had a short solo career with backing band the Sons of God.
The Chameleons reformed in 2000, releasing their fourth studio album Why Call It Anything as well as the acoustic albums Strip and This Never Ending Now . Renewed tensions caused the group to break-up again in 2003. Burgess and Lever continued to play Chameleons songs live with their new project ChameleonsVox, although Lever later left that group and died in 2017. Burgess and Smithies reformed the Chameleons in 2021 with two members of Burgess' ChameleonsVox group.
Known for their atmospheric, guitar-based sound, the Chameleons are regarded as one of the most underrated Manchester bands of the 1980s. They did not attain the commercial success of other groups from the Manchester scene but developed a cult following.
The Chameleons were formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981 by Mark Burgess, Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding. Burgess previously played with the Cliches, while Smithies and Fielding had performed with Years. They started as a trio—Burgess as lead vocalist and bassist, Smithies and Fielding both on guitar—without a drummer. They later recruited fellow Middletonian Brian Schofield, who was soon replaced by Dukinfield-based John Lever, previously of the Politicians. Former Magazine drummer Martin Jackson briefly replaced Lever during 1982–83 while the latter was on sabbatical. The band were then inspired by U2's early recordings : "U2's first record was a big album for us. Edge's guitar opened it up in terms of how you could build an ambient atmosphere".
After performing several radio sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, - the first session was recorded in June 1981, the band signed a recording contract with Epic Records, which was then a subsidiary of CBS Records International. Their debut single "In Shreds" released in March 1982, was produced by Steve Lillywhite. The single's cover – a harrowing painting by Smithies, who created the artwork for all of their releases – mirrored the band's tense, atmospheric sound. During this time, the Chameleons' independent style clashed with their label's visions for the band. Wary of the loss of credibility Altered Images had suffered due to buckling to CBS' demands on packaging, the Chameleons were protective of their image and consequently were dropped by the label soon after the release of "In Shreds".
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