DARKSIDE

by Jason Ankeny One of the many projects to emerge from the groundbreaking efforts of drone-rock avatars Spacemen 3, the Darkside was led by Pete Bain (a.k.a. Pete Bassman), who had left the Spacemen prior to their 1989 LP Playing with Fire. Upon returning to his hometown of Rugby, England, Bain encountered vocalist Nick Hayden, who asked him to join the Darkside; soon the revitalized group was performing locally and cutting demos, but after signing a record deal their drummer exited, to be replaced another Spacemen 3 alum, Stewart Rosco Roswell, for their 1990 debut single Highrise Love. Then, in the midst of a British tour, Hayden abruptly left the Darkside, forcing Bain to assume vocal duties; it was a line-up of Bain, Roswell and guitarist Kevin Cowan which recorded the groups 1990 LP All That Noise. Continuing their constant state of flux, Roswell announced he was rejecting the drums in favor of keyboards, heralding the arrival of new percussionist Craig Wagstaff for the 1991 limited-edition live LP Psychedelicise Suburbia. When Cowan quit after recording 1992s Melomania, Roswell took over guitar chores and the Darkside recorded another EP, Mayhem to Meditate; after demos for a third LP were cut but rejected by the label, the group finally disbanded.