The Membranes are a
post-punk band formed in
Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being
John Robb (bass guitar),
Mark Tilton (guitar), Martyn Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums). Critchley soon left, with Robb and Tilton taking on vocals, and Kelly moving to keyboards, with "Coofy Sid" (Coulthart) taking over on drums. Their first release was the "Flexible Membrane"
flexi-disc in 1980, and over the next 11 years they would go on to release six studio albums. Their first single proper, "Muscles", was a single of the week in the UK music press and a big club hit in
New York being played in the
Danceteria by the likes of the
Beastie Boys eventual DJ Mojo and other cutting edge New York DJs. Kelly left after "Muscles", to be replaced by Steve Farmery on guitar for the follow-up
Pin Stripe Hype EP. The band pioneered the avant noise scene of
Big Black and
Sonic Youth for several years with their critically acclaimed "Spike Milligan's Tape Recorder" single and
Death To Trad Rock EP and their debut
Gift Of Life album. They were the first band to be signed to
Alan McGee's
Creation label but the deal fell though when McGee could not afford to pay their studio bill for the "Spike Milligan's Tape Recorder" single. The band relocated to
Manchester in 1983, and "Spike Milligan's Tape Recorder" was issued on the Criminal Damage label, which met with a positive critical response but distribution problems limited its impact.