Cardiacs are an English rock band hailing from Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.[1] The band was formed by frontman Tim Smith with his brother bassist Jim Smith, vocalist Michael Pugh and drummer Peter Tagg in 1977.[2] [3] Since its inception, more than a dozen members have cycled through the group, contributing keyboards, percussion, vocals and woodwind.[2] The Smith brothers were the only constant members in Cardiacs' regularly changing line-up.
After playing his first gig as Gazunder, Tim Smith formed Cardiacs under the name Cardiac Arrest,[4] and released their debut single "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" in 1979.[5] It was recorded by the band's first full lineup, including keyboardist Colvin "Max" Mayers and saxophonist Ralph Cade.[6] [7] The same year, Tagg was replaced by Mark Cawthra and went on to form the Trudy with Cade.[8] Cardiac Arrest's reputation was kickstarted with two cassette-only albums — The Obvious Identity (1980) and Toy World (1981) — and they adopted the name Cardiacs on the second.[9] During this time, Mayers left and later joined the Sound.[10] Cade was replaced by Sarah Cutts in 1981 on keyboards and saxophone,[11] who married Tim Smith three years later. By 1983, the band had reached a semi-stable lineup with percussionist and keyboardist Tim Quy, keyboardist William D. Drake and drummer Dominic Luckman. For a short time, Cardiacs were an eight-piece with the employment of guitarist Graham Simmonds and saxophonist Marguerite Johnston, who featured on the cassette album The Seaside (1984) released by their own label the Alphabet Business Concern.[12]
The six-piece lineup toured extensively alongside Alphabet label representatives the Consultant and Miss Swift.[13] Shortly after releasing On Land and in the Sea (1989), Cardiacs were joined by guitarist Christian "Bic" Hayes the same year.[14] Hayes appeared on the video and subsequent live album All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest (1992; 1995), which was also their last performance with Quy. Drake and Sarah Smith also left the group, continuing to guest on future albums, and Hayes was replaced by guitarist and keyboardist Jon Poole in 1991.[15] [16] By 1992, the band had slimmed to a four-piece for Heaven Born and Ever Bright, displaying a new metal-leaning sound.[17] Mayers died due to complications with AIDS in 1993.[18] Luckman was replaced by drummer Bob "Babba" Leith the same year, giving Cardiacs their second "classic" lineup on Sing to God (1996).[19] [20] The lineup continued on Guns (1999) with assistance from session musicians.[21]
Poole subsequently left Cardiacs to join the Wildhearts as a bassist after playing in Silver Ginger 5.[22] He was replaced by guitar tech, Kavus Torabi in 2003 who played on the two volume live album The Special Garage Concerts (2005).[23] Between 2004 and 2008, Cardiacs expanded their lineup to include vocalists Claire Lemmon and Melanie Woods of Sidi Bou Said and Sharron Fortnam of the North Sea Radio Orchestra, as well as percussionists Cathy Harabaras and Dawn Staple.[24] [25] The collective released the single "Ditzy Scene" in 2007,[26] teasing an upcoming double album called LSD which was due to be released in October 2008.[27] Cardiacs stopped touring the same year,[28] and the band's lineup comprised Tim Smith, Jim Smith, Bob Leith, Kavus Torabi, Melanie Woods and Cathy Harabaras until the 2008 hospitalisation of Tim Smith resulted in an indefinite hiatus.[29] [30] On 22 July 2020, it was confirmed by Torabi that Smith had died of a heart attack the previous night. Former percussionist Tim Quy died on 2 February 2023 after a lengthy battle with several health problems.[31]
Cardiacs announced their return to the stage in 2023 in Tim Smith's honour, playing the Garage on 4 May 2024 (subsequently adding dates 3 May at the Garage and 5 May at Brudenell Social Club).[32] On 3 May, the band consisted of Jim Smith, Hayes, Leith and Poole, with Craig Fortnam (percussion, keys), Chloe Herington (saxophone), and Adrien Rodes (keyboards). Sharron Fortnam, Joanne Spratley, Tiny Wood from Ultrasound and Sleepy People, Torabi and Cawthra were guests.[33]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Smith | all releases | ||||
| Christian "Bic" Hayes | |||||
| Jon Poole | |||||
| Bob "Babba" Leith | all releases from Sing to God (1996) | ||||
| Craig Fortnam | 2024–present | none to date | |||
| Chloe Herington | |||||
| Adrien Rodes | keyboards | ||||
| Quoted names in brackets denote aliases used on early recordings as Cardiac Arrest. | |||||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Smith | 1977–2008 | all releases to date | |||
| Michael Pugh | 1977–1980 | lead vocals | |||
| Peter Tagg | 1977–1979 | drums | "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" (1979) | ||
| Colvin "Max" Mayers | 1978–1981 | all releases from "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" (1979) to Toy World (1981) | |||
| Ralph Cade | 1978–1979 | saxophone | "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" (1979) | ||
| Mark Cawthra | 1979–1983 | ||||
| Sarah Smith [34] | 1980–1989 | ||||
| Tim Quy | 1981–1990 | ||||
| Dominic Luckman | 1982–1993 | ||||
| William D. Drake | 1983–1990 | ||||
| Graham Simmonds | 1983–1984 | guitar | |||
| Marguerite Johnston | saxophone | ||||
| Kavus Torabi | 2003–2008 | ||||
| Cathy Harabaras | 2004–2008 | percussion | |||
| Melanie Woods | vocals | ||||
| Sharron Fortnam | 2004–2007 | ||||
| Claire Lemmon | 2004–2007 | ||||
| Dawn Staple | percussion | ||||
| Quoted names in brackets denote aliases used on early recordings as Cardiac Arrest. | |||||
Some members of the Cardiacs crew are listed on the album liner notes of Greatest Hits (2002) alongside the other band members.[35]
| Image | Name | Role | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Hiles | Ordinary Shop Girl | |||
| The Consultant [36] | ||||
| Miss Swift | label representative |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hills | 1984 | trombone | |||
| Mike Peters | trumpet | ||||
| Nick Pell | |||||
| Lanze Lorrens | |||||
| Wendy Collins | vocals on "A Little Man and a House" | ||||
| Ashley Slater | 1988 | trombones | A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (1988) | ||
| Phil Cesar | |||||
| Elain Herman | violins | ||||
| Mr Walmesley [37] | vocals | ||||
| Natalie Box | 1996 | violins | Sing to God (1996) | ||
| Jane Kyprianidis | scissors | ||||
| Mark Barratt | trumpets | ||||
| Chris Brierly | string quartet | ||||
| Catherine Morgan | |||||
| Mark Pharaoh | |||||
| Robert Woollard | |||||
| David Murder | 1996 | orchestral arrangements on "Fiery Gun Hand" and "Wireless" | |||
| Joanne Spratley | 1999 | vocals on "Sleep All Eyes Open" and "Come Back Clammy Lammy" | Guns (1999) | ||
| Rob Deschamps | |||||
| Suzanne Kirby | 2007 | vocals |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Bastable | 1983 | bass | Bastable filled in for Jim Smith when neither he nor Tim Quy could make it to a gig. A noted gig was at the Kingston Grove Tavern on 13 July 1983. | ||
| Stephen Gilchrist | 2004 | drums | Gilchrist filled in for Bob Leith at a show supporting the Wildhearts on 8 December 2004. |
| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Late 1977 – 1978 |
| none |
| 1978 |
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| 1978 – 1979 | ||
| July 1979 – June 1980 |
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| June 1980 – March 1981 |
|
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| March 1981 – 30 August 1983 |
| none |
| 31 August 1983 – 10 July 1984 |
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| 11 July 1984 – 13 August 1984 |
| none |
| 14 August 1984 – 11 February 1989 |
|
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| 1989 – 30 June 1990 |
| |
| 31 June 1990 – 16 May 1991 |
| none |
| 17 May 1991 – 20 October 1991 |
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| 21 October 1991 – 20 July 1993 |
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| 2 December 1993 – 16 October 2003 |
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| 17 October 2003 – 2004 |
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| 2004 – 2007 |
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| 2007 – 2008 |
| |
| 3 May 2024 – present |
|