Severed Heads was an Australian electronic music group. It was formed in 1979 as Mr and Mrs No Smoking Sign. The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, who were later joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright both left the band by mid-1981, leaving Ellard as the only consistent member for the rest of the band's history. Over the next decade, several musicians joined Severed Heads, including Garry Bradbury, Simon Knuckey, Stephen Jones, and Paul Deering.

In 1984, the band released the single "Dead Eyes Opened." This song was remixed in 1994 and released again, reaching No. 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Two of their other singles, "Greater Reward" (1988) and "All Saints Day" (1989), reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In 2007, Ellard ended the group and worked on other projects. Later, Severed Heads reunited for several events: a 30th-anniversary concert in 2010, a performance supporting Gary Numan's Australian tour in 2011, a show at BimFEST in Antwerp in 2011, a gig at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 2013, and a U.S. tour in September 2015, their first in over 20 years. In November 2016, the band performed at the State Library of Victoria as part of Melbourne Music Week. In November 2017, they headlined a concert with Snog at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, Victoria. Severed Heads announced in September 2019 that they would end their activities again after headlining shows.

History

In 1979, Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright created an experimental electronic music group called Mr. & Mrs. No Smoking Sign in Sydney. By the end of that year, Tom Ellard joined the group. The group released cassette albums, including Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign Go Cruising for Burgers!. In December 2006, Ellard explained the name change: "[W]e were called Mr. & Mrs. No Smoking Sign, because that was really ugly. Then, we wanted to fool people that we were Industrial and it worked. Severed Heads was a really dumb name, so that's what stuck. Forever. I hate it by the way."

The group's early music used tape loops, noisy synthesizer arrangements, and other unusual sounds typical of industrial music. Wright left the group in late 1979, leaving Ellard and Fielding to create the band's early recordings, including the A-side of a split album, Ear Bitten/No Vowels, with the B-side by Rhythmyx Chymx. Fielding left the band during the recording of 1981's Clean, leaving most of the work to Ellard.

Severed Heads began using common music elements, such as a steady 4/4 rhythm, strong melodies, and resolved chord progressions, along with Ellard's thin but eerie vocals and poetic lyrics. This change was supported by the use of tools like drum machines and bass synthesizers. The result was a mix of avant-garde industrial and pop music. The group moved their live performances from art spaces to rock clubs and released the albums Blubberknife and 80's Cheesecake in 1982 after adding synthesizer player Garry Bradbury and guitarist Simon Knuckey. After these albums, video expert and musician Stephen Jones joined the band.

In 1983, British label Ink Records released Since the Accident, later released by Nettwerk Records in North America and Volition Records in Australia. AllMusic's John Bush described the album as not a "crossover effort" with the lead single, "Dead Eyes Opened," being "surprisingly melodic synth-pop." The band's recording deals led to a world tour, which became a multimedia event with video synthesisers performed by Jones. After the tour, Severed Heads returned to Australia in August 1984. However, this period saw more changes in the band's lineup. Bradbury left during the recording of Since the Accident in 1983 (leaving most of the work to Ellard), and Knuckey left before the 1984 world tour, so the tour lineup included Ellard, Jones, and newly recruited Paul Deering.

In 1985, Severed Heads released City Slab Horror on Ink Records for the European market. For this album, Bradbury returned as a guest musician and contributed vocals and songwriting. Clashes with Ellard caused Deering to leave the band to continue working with Bradbury. In October 1985, Jon Casimir of the Canberra Times described the group as "Australia's most innovative electronic band," with music "reminiscent of Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle." Local label Volition compiled international tracks for the local-only album Stretcher in November 1985. In August 1986, the band released Come Visit the Big Bigot. During that year, Ellard and Jones took Severed Heads on a European and North American tour. Bad Mood Guy was released by Volition in October 1987. Canberra Times writer Kathryn Whitfield noted the group had "gone way beyond experimental" to create "a commercially viable product," while Ellard said, "we have just worked carefully and solidly in an area that we think is good."

Severed Heads reached No. 19 in the United States on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart in 1988 with the 12-inch single "Greater Reward," which later appeared on the album Rotund for Success, released in October 1989. The album included remixes by Sydney-based producer Robert Racic, who worked with the band through the late 1980s and early 1990s and shaped their sound. Another single, "All Saints Day," reached No. 25 on the Billboard chart in 1989.

In 1989, Nettwerk and Volition re-released Since the Accident and City Slab Horror, each with tracks from Blubberknife, for the first time on CD. These releases used original masters, resulting in better quality than the earlier Ink Records releases, which Ellard later said were "cut from a tape of a tape."

In 1992, one year after the release of Cuisine (With Piscatorial), Jones left the band, leaving Ellard as the group's sole official member. Nettwerk did not renew its contract with the band, leaving Severed Heads without a label. Ellard sought another label for his next release, Gigapus, in 1994, which was released on Volition in Australia and Decibel Records in the U.S. Around this time, the band had a major Australian hit with a remixed version of "Dead Eyes Opened," which sampled Edgar Lustgarten reading from Death on the Crumbles. Both Volition and Decibel soon folded, and Severed Heads were no longer connected to the traditional music industry, lacking ownership of their music. This changed in 1998 when Sony Music claimed rights to Volition material.

With his music back in his hands, Ellard developed an independent, Internet-based music system at sevcom.com. During the early 2000s, Ellard created innovative products, such as the Sevcom Music Server, a subscription-based ambient music distribution system.

Ellard worked on a side project, Coklacoma, which released a few albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By 2004, he was heavily involved in video production but felt the Severed Heads label was no longer relevant, and in 2008, he decided to stop using the name. Ellard also collaborated with other Sydney-based electronic musicians, such as Paul Mac (of Itch-E and Scratch-E) and Boxcar, former members of the now-defunct Volition label, as well as with the Lab.

In early 2008, Ellard announced that Severed Heads were no longer active and that no further music would be released under the name. However, the band was reformed by Ellard and longtime friend Stewart Lawler for a 30th-anniversary show on 14 January 2010 as part of the Sydney Festival, and in May 2011, the group supported Gary Numan on a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of Numan's album The Pleasure Principle. In a May 2011 interview, Tom Ellard said, "Some people thought it was a bit rude of me to just shut it down without a proper farewell

Influence

The industrial band Skinny Puppy, from Vancouver, was influenced by early music from the group Severed Heads. A connection formed between the two bands, which resulted in Severed Heads signing with Nettwerk Records and participating in a joint 1986 North American tour. Tom Ellard took part in some of Severed Heads' "brap" sessions, which led to his involvement in creating and performing the Skinny Puppy songs "Assimilate" and "Chainsaw" (on the Bites single and the Chainsaw single, respectively).

Paul Mac, an Australian musician known for his work with Itch-E and Scratch-E, stated, "I thought Severed Heads were the future. They inspired Australian musicians who were making dance and electronic music, as they represented the future of the genre."

Trent Reznor, the musician behind Nine Inch Nails, and the band Orbital have both mentioned Severed Heads as an important influence in their work.

Awards and nominations

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. It began in 1987.