BIOGRAPHY
Biography
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Found at the All music guide:
Compulsion grew out of a Dublin neo-punk band called Thee Amazing Colossal Men. Singer Josephmary, guitarist Garrett Lee, and bassist Sid Rainey had a deal with Virgin that resulted in their winning a lawsuit against the label, after which they regrouped as Compulsion in London with Dutch drummer Jan-Willem Alkema. The group went on welfare while honing its songwriting skills, releasing three EPs and a minor hit single, "Mall Monarchy." Their sound combines punk volume and aggression with pop melodies on releases like 1994's Comforter and 1996's Future Is Medium. -- Steve Huey, All-Music Guide
"I saw Compusion play a gig in the Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin on September 7th, 1996. The venue is on the small side which was brilliant. All bands should play venues like this every now and again. There were four bands on before Compulsion, and very little happened while they were on stage, bit when Joseph Mary (vocals), Garret Lee (guitar, vocals), Sid Rainey (bass) and Jan-Willem Alkema (drums) came out, the place errupted! Despite the best efforts of fifty or so fans in the mosh pit, throwing people ten feet into the air and generally going bezerk in order to get attention, the band rarely (if ever) made eye contact. I can't say for certain what songs were played because I only heard their music for the first time about a week or two before the gig."
Taken from: http://www.clubi.ie/damian_penston/home/cmplsion.htm
Found this at http://www.ireallylovemusic.co.uk/rock/compulsion.htm
"hitting mid 20's i thought i had had enough of the live rock band, uninspired by everything i was hearing on the radio, one night heard peelie play 'why do we care' by compulsion, i was hooked, i saw a double booking with shed seven in leeds and decided to make a night of it, several strong ciders later the full on indiepunkrock onslaught hit me full on and the adrenalin rush lasted for weeks. i was awake again. the safety mini-lp is raw, short and full of intent, a classic in every sense, the first lp proper emerged not long after, the songs were recorded in the same way - ie live in the studio with very little tinkering, which suited the band fine, but the comforter lp wasn't strong enough for full listening, as it can drag in parts - even though there are some stunning tracks, after a couple of listens compulsion songs have a way of insisting you have the guitar licks firmly planted in your head.. this became to the fore on the future is medium lp, every song is short and sweet with proper production without resorting to radio friendliness the band introduced new elements/sounds to their solid soundscapes weird electronic sounds scattered over the stereo spread, the lp sank without trace after a great live presence (band all dressed in black with dayglo orange hair) - a real shame - as usa were moments away from rediscovering punk pop and this lot were perfect for a full world explosion .. but sometimes these things just aren't meant to be . as the band broke up with the main songwriter going in a dance route as jacknife lee, oh well - the gigs were great .. "
Bit of a cheeky one this, there's a shedload of good compulsion sites now, but there weren't......
http://members.tripod.com/~Lemon_Toucan/Compulsion.html
is a good place to start...samples and all sorts....though these days the links don't work...
From Wikipedia:
Compulsion was an Irish punk band. They formed in 1990 by Josephmary (singer) and Sid Rainey (bassist) as Thee Amazing Collossal Men. They signed a contract with Virgin Records, but after winning a lawsuit against their record label, they became "Compulsion" in 1992. Joined by drummer guitarist Garrett Lee and drummer Jan-Willem Alkema, they moved to North London and signed to One Little Indian.
They released several EPs and two albums. The first, Comforter, was labelled by the NME as part of the "New Wave of New Wave", while the second, The Future is Medium, saw them sport identical black outfits and orange hairdos.
The group split in 1996, after which Lee formed Jacknife Lee and later produced Snow Patrol and U2.
Alkema joined China Drum and later Driven to Collision. Sid is now a writer and has created/produced an animated kid's TV series called "Underground Ernie" which is due on the BBC June 06'.
From Trouserpress (http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=compulsion)
In a constellation of retro-looking and -sounding bands, London's Compulsion — three Irishmen and a Dutch drummer — is the great spiky hope for punk-like rock. Combining the best of Nirvana's quiet-loud dynamics and the Pixies' axemanship with incredibly forceful presentation (both live and on record), the band has forged a pummeling, absolutely individual sound.
Aging angry-young-man singer Josephmary and fellow Dubliner bassist Sid Rainey first hooked up in the '60s-inspired Thee Amazing Colossal Men. With the addition of guitarist Garret Lee and drummer Jan-Willem Alkema, they formed Compulsion and released two powerful vinyl-only EPs on their own label; Compulsion and Casserole were later collected on a bonus CD available in initial UK copies of Comforter; a few of the EPs' best tracks comprise the band's American debut, Boogie Woogie.
After bailing on a deal with Elektra, Compulsion issued its brilliant debut album, Comforter, on Interscope. Over vividly chunky riffs and ringing epic guitar (most notably on the gruesome "Accident Ahead" and Nirvana-echoing "Lovers"), Josephmary proffers muscular gravely vocals, the likes of which should have neighbors complaining in a jiff. After delivering aggro shoutathons ("Find Time") and speedy pop punk ("Easterman"), the band shows off its technical prowess on the instrumentals "Late Again" and "Dick, Dale, Rick, and Rickey," which surf a decidedly Pixie-ish guitar wave. A remarkable new band.
Despite its Devo-esque cover photo, the second album offers more of the same — tuneful if not exactly subtle punky growlers with cumbersome song titles like "Question Time for the Proles" and "Juvenile Scene Detective."
[Doug Brod]Sid from the band mailed me:
He says "One Little Indian are releasing a Compulsion compilation, there is also talk of a DVD.
As far as 'What we are doing as individuals' :
Garret is doing what he does best, MUSIC, he is steadily rising towards film scores.
Jan is working and living in Brighton, Joey is in Dublin and I'm still in London working full time as a comedy writer etc"
Edmund (FBP) July 2002 - This compilation is now out!
It's called "I Like Compulsion" and it's on One Little Indian!
Check out the discography for a tracklist, but the catalogue number is TPLP850CD!
And in 2006, still no sign of the DVD, though you can get the compilation from One Little Indians website:
http://www.onelittleshop.com
Jan is now in a band called: DRIVEN TO COLLISION
