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Group Members: Trevor Tanner
The British band the Bolshoi flirted with gothic rock without succumbing to the genre's limitations. The group formed in 1984 after Trevor Tanner (vocals, guitar) and Jan Kalicki (drums) hitchhiked to Woolwich, England, to find stardom. With the addition of bassist Nick Chown, the Bolshoi opened up for bands such as the Cult, the Lords of the New Church, Wall of Voodoo, and the March Violets. In 1985, the Bolshoi released the EP Giants, and songs like "Happy Boy" and "Fly" defined the group's early sound -- stark, ominous guitars and morose narratives. Keyboardist Paul Clark joined the band before they recorded their first album, Friends, for Beggars Banquet in 1986. Distributed in America by I.R.S., the soaring single "A Way" garnered the band a loyal following on college stations and it was a hit in dance clubs as well. A year later a remixed version of "A Way" was included on the soundtrack of Something Wild. The Bolshoi toured with Peter Murphy and Spear of Destiny and then recorded their second album, Lindy's Party. With radio-friendly tracks such as "Please" and "T.V. Man," Lindy's Party enjoyed more airplay than the Bolshoi's previous efforts. In addition, Lindy's Party sheared the group's gothic leanings, opting for synth-driven pop that would expand their commercial appeal, but English critics continued to praise Tanner's taut songwriting. Nevertheless, deciding it was no longer fun working together, the band broke up shortly after its release. Clark moved to Seattle and became involved in electronic music. After a lengthy hiatus, Tanner returned to the studio to record Master of the World in 1998. Tanner reunited with Clark on the track "Majorette," and "Master of the World" was featured on Away...Best of the Bolshoi, a retrospective of the group's career, in 1999.
from Wikipedia:
The Bolshoi were a London-based music group prominent mostly in the mid-late 1980s. They are best known for the hits "Sunday Morning" and "A way" or "Away" (the name is interchangeable and has been noted as both on different albums/singles).
History
The band formed in 1984 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The original lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Trevor Tanner, drummer Jan Kalicki, and bassist Nick Chown; Tanner and Kalicki had previously played together in the short-lived punk band Moskow, where Trevor performed as Trevor Flynn (his mothers maiden name). Early gigs supported the likes of The Cult, The March Violets, and Lords of the New Church. In 1985, the band released their debut single, Sob Story, followed by the mini-album, Giants and their hit song "Happy Boy". Word of mouth was such that the Bolshoi were able to sell out many of their early headlining performances.
The band migrated to London in 1985, and their lineup expanded to include Paul Clark on keyboards. In 1986, they released their first full-length album, Friends, and expanded their touring schedule to U.S., South America, and Poland. It was followed in 1987 by the album Lindy's Party, on which the sound was more pop-oriented. TC Wall, reviewing the album in Underground magazine, described Lindy's Party as "completely confident, commercial, professional, and dangerously catchy" and "a fine album that'll be caressed for generations".
Stylistically, The Bolshoi was difficult to categorize. It has been described as a proto-goth band, similar in their live act to fellow Beggars Banquet signees, Bauhaus. Tanner was recognized for his dark, pensive lyrics that belied a social responsibility and awareness.
After the release of Lindy's Party, the band recorded a fourth album, but problems with their record label management impeded its release, and they disbanded as the 1980s drew to a close. The unreleased fourth album, apparently titled "Country Life", is reportedly still in the vaults at Beggars Banquet.
Trevor Tanner started a new group, Kite, who sounded similar to the Bolshoi, with Jason Stainthorpe from Then Jericho on bass and Ian Whitehead on drums, and recorded an album with Adrian Borland from The Sound. This album still remains unreleased to this day.
Since the band disbanded Trevor Tanner moved across the Atlantic to the USA and has continued to record both as a solo artist and as a founding member of 'cult' Celtic Rock band Rathkeltair. Paul Clark also moved to the USA, to Seattle, and is currently the owner/editor of electronicmusic.com and working on a solo recording.
