The Aloof

Full line up includes: Ricky Barrow- Vocals. Gary Burns- Keyboards, bass guitar. Jagz Kooner- Programming, engineering. Richard Thair- Drums, percussion. Dean Thatcher- Keyboards. After leaving The Aloof, Richard Thair went off to play drums for the group Red Snapper. Also Gary Burns and Jagz Kooner, (along with Andrew Weatherall) went on to form Sabres of Paradise. Unlike many bands who started out playing more or less straight-ahead rock but in the late '90s began to assimilate electronic elements, the Aloof was formed as a strictly dance squad and only later added a vocalist and employed tighter song structures. The band began in 1990 when DJ Dean Thatcher and producer Jagz Kooner (also a member of Andrew Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise) issued the single "Never Get out of the Boat" on a limited white-label pressing, but was only officially launched when FFRR Records gave the single a proper release. By the following year, the duo added vocalist Ricky Barrow and programmer Gary Burns (also with the Sabres) and recorded several singles for Cowboy Records, including, the incredibly catchy but fairly dumb (compared to the politically aware material on their debut album) "On a Mission". While playing live PAs at nightclubs around Great Britain, the Aloof grew disgusted with the burnt-out house scene and decided to become a true live band. Adding drummer Richard Thair (later with Red Snapper) in 1993, Dean Thatcher and Richard Thair set up their own label, Flaw Records, and released Cover the Crime in 1994. The album became popular on British indie charts, and earned the Aloof a contract with East West, which reissued the LP in 1995 and also released their second album Sinking one year later. The group played several festivals during the summer of 1996, opened for Leftfield and watched their single "One Night Stand" reach the British Top 30 late that year. The album Seeking Pleasure followed in 1998 with a darker, definitely more guitar based feel. The group was dropped from East West the same day that Seeking Pleasure was released. Kooner left soon after, and the Aloof set up Screaming Target Records for 1999's This Constant Chase for Thrills. This album went back to the almost minimalist roots of Cover the Crime. Ricky Barrows has since collaborated with Luke Slater on his 2002 "Alright On Top" album. The Aloof are still writing and recording. The current line up is Ricky Barrow, Dean Thatcher, David Stone, Nick Avinit & Richard Thair. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.