Endgames (band)


Endgames was a Scottish pop band, having some success in the 1980s, due to songs such as "First-Last-For Everything," "Waiting for Another Chance," "Ecstacy," and "Desire." Not recognized among the bands of their day, they are still a charming reminder of the New Wave era.

History

Origins and early years

Endgames was formed in Glasgow, Scotland by David Rudden, Paul Wishart, and David Murdoch.
The band began through gigging at clubs and colleges in Glasgow, Scotland, and eventually appeared as a support act for the band Simple Minds in late December 1979, for which they received a rather lukewarm mention at the "New Musical Express".
During the second half of 1980, Endgames played in the London area. Their early style is represented on various artists compilations recordings released during 1980–1981: Beyond the Groove and Live Letters, which documented bands that played in the well-known South London club 101; and Heat from the Street.
Endgames attracted interest from BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and recorded their first session for his show. Recordings were done not only in London, but in Glasgow, too - for example, Endgames were the last band to do a recording session at the second home of Ca Va Studios in May 1981. During this time they played synth-rock characterized by cold-sounding synths, stiff rhythms and dark, brooding vocals reminiscent of Philip Oakey. This didn't sit well with the labels searching for the "next big thing" or the press, generally not very supportive of the "futurist"/electronic movement. Various commitments and endeavours of its members during this time also slowed down the band's progress.
Soon, however, their music started to show a much more commercial approach, with David Murdoch and Paul Wishart rediscovering their youth influences in disco music of the 1970s. The record companies, indifferent to their earlier style, quickly showed an interest in the wake of success of such bands as Haircut 100 and ABC. First Endgames signed with Warner - "for a week then they decided they didne want us". But they were quickly taken on board by Mercury, with which the band signed a basic two singles deal in Spring 1982. "Our aims are to make aggressively commercial music - that means aggressive and commercial in equal measures", - commented Paul Wishart. By that time the line-up changed and expanded, with Wilde being replaced by Brian McGee, and Douglas Muirden being added.
In April, their debut single "We Feel Good " was released. With its writing credited to The Enjoyment Club, it was produced by John Leckie. The single received support from ABC's Martin Fry who commented on its "tremendous potential that might borrow from Chic's "I Want Your Love" but maintains interest from start to finish... when Endgames get a mix that gives them more clarity they'll enjoy chart success". The band also recorded the second "Peel Session", showcasing their new direction.
October saw the release of their second single, catchy synthpop "First-Last-For Everything", produced by Steve Levine. It found success in clubs in Europe and North America, receiving significant airplay in Canada, especially on the "alternative" radio station CFNY-FM, while in the US it was a club success, with the DJ-oriented remix service Disconet choosing it for a dance edit treatment. Eventually it charted in the Billboard magazine Disco/Dance Chart, peaking at No. 31.
Still, the hoped mass commercial success wasn't forthcoming and Mercury chose not to continue with the band. Soon offers came flooding in from other major record companies, creating a "bidding war". It was won by Virgin Records, with which Endgames signed for the UK and Europe. The US labels also sought to contract the band - among the "power players" that showed enough interest to travel to Glasgow to meet the band were Tommy Mottola, Ed Leffler and Bill Aucoin. Eventually MCA Records succeeded in signing them for the North-American market with Aucoin becoming their manager. By that time the line-up officially expanded to sextet with the addition of Willie Gardner - former leader of the promising Scottish power pop/new wave band Zones, who also released a couple of solo singles.

Commercial semi-success and break-up

The first single in this third phase of the band's career was "Waiting for Another Chance", released in July 1983. It became a substantial hit in Scotland, but didn't appear on the UK charts. However, the song was well received in West Germany where, after the appearance on the TV music show and aided by a colourful videoclip, it became a sizeable hit. The song also briefly charted in Switzerland.
In October 1983, Virgin released their first album, Building Beauty, produced by Colin Campsie and George McFarlane of the dance-pop duo The Quick. It was a polished album with the sentimental but upbeat sound in vein of the "technologically enhanced blue-eyed soul and funk" of ABC and Heaven 17, with vocal stylings recalling Michael Jackson at times. The album's liner notes reveal heavy use of the latest advancements in music technology to augment and enhance the "standard" instrumentation : electronic drums and drum machines, synthesizers, computers. Building Beauty was greeted enthusiastically in some publications with Betty Page proclaiming in Record Mirror: "Endgames has come up trumps with a debut elpee every bit as spirited and accomplished as True".
Building Beauty was released in the USA in February 1984 with a slightly different running order. "Waiting for Another Chance" and "Love Cares" were serviced to radio stations and clubs as promos, with their accompanying clips distributed through music video services like Telegenics and RockAmerica. Additionally, their songs "Desire" and "Ecstasy" received attention from the R&B radio. "Love Cares" charted in Billboard, reaching No. 47 on the Disco/Dance Chart, but MCA didn't promote the band enough so the actual sales weren't strong with the album failing to chart. Meanwhile, Endgames toured as a support to Howard Jones during his sold-out first tour of the UK in March–April 1984. But the single "Desire",failed to catch on.
so it sold poorly. Virgin then ended their contract and not long afterwards Endgames disbanded.

Legacy

The band's most enduring song proved to be First-Last-For Everything, which regularly appears on various European compilations of '80s pop and new wave is now considered a cult underground dance hit, meanwhile occasionally getting played by radio stations like CFNY during "retro" shows. "Ecstasy" endured popularity on R&B radio and turned into a source of samples in the field of hip-hop. In 1994, the song was sampled by rap group Heavy D & The Boyz on the title track of their album Nuttin' But Love, which became a noticeable hit, while the album reached No. 11 on the Billboard Top 200, topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified Double Platinum. In 2007, "Ecstasy" was sampled by rapper Lil' Flip on his track "Flippin'" from the album I Need Mine.

Discography

Albums

Mercury/Phonogram
Virgin Records