Cult post-punks 1919 remain “head and shoulders above” the rest.

It’s fair to say the group are well-versed in overcoming tragedy. Having achieved indie success in the early ‘80s with singles such as “Cry Wolf”, their Machine LP, and two sessions with the late John Peel, they returned after a 30-year hiatus to release the critically-acclaimed Bloodline LP (8/10 Vive Le Rock; 9/10 Rush on Rock) on Westworld Recordings. However, they would also lose their guitarist Mark Tighe to cancer shortly before the album’s release in 2017.

By this point, though, 1919 had cemented an international follwing through extensive European tours and festival appearances. Setting their sights on the US, the band, now with guitarist Sam Evans signed to iconic Los Angeles label Cleopatra Records to release their third album, Futurecide (2019). Set to embark on their first tour of the USA that summer, the band were unable to secure visas following recent Federal shutdown. However, they pressed ahead with packed dates in Mexico and Costa Rica before returning to Europe. The album featured Tighe’s final performance, alongside an appearance from Cry Wolf-era bass player Steve Madden, who tragically suffered the same fate as Tighe soon after.

In 2020, before the global health crisis put their tour plans to rest, 1919 said goodbye to another close friend, and long-time crew member for drummer Mick Reed, in former Leeds United mascot Kev Holroyd. The band emerged from quarantine in 2021 with their fourth studio album, welcoming new bass player Ding Archer (PJ Harvey, The Pixies, The Fall) to the fold, and following vocalist Rio Goldhammer’s bid to become Mayor of West Yorkshire! Citizens of Nowhere (Manic Depression) saw the band labelled “head and shoulders above other denizens of the shadowy genre” in Vive Le Rock. After receiving mainstream media attention in 2022 for their fundraising efforts in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, 1919 returned their powerful live show to the road in 2023, with shows in Los Angeles and Mexico City following their debut appearance at Leipzig’s Wave Gotik Treffen.