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Bio:
The Atrix were a new wave rock band formed in mid-1978 by John Borrowman (guitar/vocals) and
Chris Green (keyboards), both ex Berlin, with Alan
Finney on bass (ex Schoolkids) and drummer Hugh Friel, ex Slow Motion
Orchestra.
This lineup made the first
demo recording ("Circus Tragedy") and appeared at the Carnsore Point Ani-Nuclear
Rally in 1978. Finney was later replaced by Dick Conroy.
The Atrix combined a strong theatrical element to quirky but memorable tunes,
the most striking examples being the singles "The Moon Is Puce" and "Treasure on
the Wasteland". In 1981 they released their debut album "Procession" which placed
strongly in the Hot Press polls. Earlier on April 8th 1981 the band supported
Toyah at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. This show was filmed by the BBC so presumably
tapes exist somewhere. The band made at least one video ("I Wonder Why", filmed
at Windmill Lane) and appeared on Irish TV many times.
The Atrix split in 1983.
Borrowman & Friel's next project was to supply background music for a 1983 production of Sam
Sheppards "Unseen Hand", which starred Marc Parry of Expresso Mambo.
Borrowman was also reported to be working on a musical called "Fools" around the same
time.
Borrowman & Green returned in 1985 as Very Much In Love,
with Pat O'Connell (ex Max Von Rap) on bass and Mick Collins (also
of Max Von Rap) on drums. This was a much
smother, slicker, saxophone solo'd version of the band which some wags renamed Very Much In Debt.
Borrowman's songwriting partner in Very Much In Love was Frank West (ex Eight And A Half,
later in Laramie and Benny's Head). They recorded
an excellent track called "Ball O' Malt Blues" which was played on Dave Fanning's show,
as well as a cover of "Brand New Cadillac". Another unreleased track from this period
was "Cashel". None of this material has been released.
Very Much In Love changed their name to The Atrix at the behest of
Deke O'Brien, who was thinking of record sales, naturally enough, and so a couple
more Atrix singles emerged in 1985-86. One of these was released
in Denmark (Borrowman was living in Copenhagen) under the name Afghan Trucks.
John Borrowman also published two books of poetry, "Weak Ends" (self published
in Dublin, 1977) and "Master Of None" (Beaver Row Press, Dublin, 1984) as
well as some plays and a novel still in progress when he died in Copenhagen in
1992. He also made a couple of short films dealing with heroin addiction which
are not that successful.
While there are no unreleased Scoff recordings, there is lots of unreleased material
in existance, especially from the 1985-86 era, but as yet there are no plans to collate
or release it.
Recorded March 1979 at Keystone Studios with
Phil Chevron producing and Johnny Byrne (New Versions) engineering.
tracks: I Wonder Why / I Feel For You / The Moon Is Puce / +1
Notes:
Produced by John Leckie. The version of "Treasure On The Wasteland" is
the same recording as the Double D single version though its obviously
been remixed and sounds much punchier.
The original Irish pressing came with a free cassette of the LP and a
16 page booklet containing photos, a cariciture of the band, a short
biography and the lyrics to three LP tracks (which also appear on the
inner sleeve) and the non-LP B-side "The 11th Hour".
A special promotional edition of the album included all of the above plus a
copy of In Dublin magazine (issue 142?) with the band on the cover,
a badge and a 2-page press release and bio, all housed in a clear PVC
bag sealed with a sticker with the band logo on it.
Scoff Records signed a licensing deal with Regency Records in Los Angeles
to release this LP is the US. Did this ever come out?
The band split in 1983. Borrowman & Green resurfaced in 1985-86 as Very Much In Love.
They later reverted to the name The Atrix at the request of Deke O'Brien & Scoff Records.
We need your help to correct and/or complete this entry. If you can provide more information about this band, have scans, photos or any other memorabilia we can use, or spare copies of any releases, then please get in touch.