![]() In 2006 he edited “Art Education in a Postmodern World” (Intellect Books).ĭuring that period, he was also a regular contributor to the Times Educational Supplement and has acted as creative arts consultant to the QCDA and The Princes Teaching Institute. He has released five solo albums since leaving The Monochrome Set: Carcass in 2017, Serotonin in 2018, Chautauqua in 2019, Nuevo Laredo in 2021 and Invisible Man in 2022.Īs a visual artist Square has regularly exhibited his work and between 19 he sat on the editorial board of The International Journal of Art and Design Education, acting as Literary Editor for 5 years. Also in collaboration with McCookerybook, he composed soundtrack music for the Channel 4 documentaries Pictures of Women and No-one Likes Us, We Don't Care, Akiko Hada and Wolfgang Müller's 1991 parable on the fall of the Berlin Wall, The Fall of a Queen, or the Taste of the Fruit to Come. Square has also composed music for dance performance, most notably Rhythm and Hues, a kinaesthetic exploration of 20th-century works of art in collaboration with the Tate Gallery and Helen McCookerybook. And the Native Hipsters, and Jesus Couldn't Drum. He left in 1978 to form The Monochrome Set with singer-songwriter Bid, a band cited as "a major influence on the Smiths, Franz Ferdinand, Orange Juice, Fire Engines and a whole host of UK indie and post punk bands." He has also briefly played guitar with The Invisible (1985–1987). ![]() He joined the first incarnation of Adam and the Ants as lead guitarist, (and its earlier incarnation known as The B-Sides) after meeting Adam while studying at Hornsey College of Art, writing Ants staples " Fall In" and "Fat Fun" during this period. Lester Square (born Thomas Hardy, 17 April 1954, Canada) is the former lead guitarist for The Monochrome Set. Still sounding very much like XTC’s upper-class city cousins, the Monochrome Set picks up the reins of attractive pop oddity with ease, filling the disc with such typically airy and clever charmers as “Bella Morte,” “Hate Male” and “House of God,” which bizarrely borrows a melody from Slade’s “Gudbuy t’Jane” and sets it to an acid-house beat.For the London landmark, see Leicester Square. Colour Transmission is a straight one- disc repackage of Strange Boutique plus Love Zombies.Īugmented by a keyboard-playing second guitarist, the original core trio reunited around the end of the decade and recorded the all-new Dante’s Casino with a guest drummer. Although presented as a supposed French film soundtrack, the strangely compiled Westminster Affair (with four repeats from Volume, Contrast, Brilliance) actually contains half of Eligible Bachelors, a song from The Lost Weekend and some singles the CD appends four more. Fin is a compilation of live recordings dating from 1979 to 1985. Volume, Contrast, Brilliance compiles early singles and significant album tracks. Clever and entertaining, although only the second side is truly compelling. ![]() Nostalgic recollections of the ’30s, ’50s and ’60s color the songs, variously suggesting “When I’m 64” crossed with XTC and a bikini beach movie soundtrack. Leading off with the suave pop of “Jacob’s Ladder,” The Lost Weekend has such a light touch that it threatens to float away. Songs like “March of the Eligible Bachelors,” “The Jet Set Junta” and “The Great Barrier Riff” typify the band’s witty intelligence.Īnother lineup revision left Bid and bassist Warren the only remaining original members. With a new drummer in the lineup, Eligible Bachelors strips the music down to essential elements-clean, bouncy melodies and gently satirical verse, performed with deceptive facility. The melodies are stronger, and Bid’s vocals are brought up to spotlight lyrics that take sharp, light jabs at emotional traps and social mores. Love Zombies expands the cabaret stylings while limiting the bizarre material, producing a smoother and more accessible sound. Fortunately, the highly controlled results are untainted by seriousness even without much to say, the arch Set says it well. Aided by producer Bob Sargeant on keyboards, the Set mixed uncommon source material (polkas, etc.) into cabaret material (à la Village Green Preservation Society Kinks) on Strange Boutique. Beginning with a series of arty rock singles, this amusingly suave and sarcastic London quartet fronted by Bid (vocals), Lester Square (guitar) and Andy Warren (bass) -all of whom had played with Adam Ant in obscure early bands-took a sharp sardonic swing towards lightweight pop when they reached album format.
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