“What does the future sound like?” – Andy McCluskey
From its curious origins as a concept for an electronic music club night back in 2007, The Electricity Club eventually emerged as an electronic music website in 2010.
TEC’s ethos was founded on the idea of exploring electronic music across the broad spectrum of history that it encompasses. From the classic synth-pop bands of the 1980s through to the contemporary electronic bands of the 21st Century and all points in between.
The website has an extensive library of interviews with a variety of people from the electronic music scene. This includes Howard Jones, Empathy Test, Maya Postepski, Parralox, OMD, John Foxx, Billy Currie, Steve Strange, Northern Kind, Twist Helix, Nature of Wires, Sailor & I and much more.
Our features and reviews have covered artists and bands such as Chvrches, a-ha, TR/ST, Gary Numan, Blancmange, The Sound Of Arrows, Hannah Peel, Susanne Sundfør, Dubstar, Marnie, Promenade Cinema, Erasure, OMD, Kelly Lee Owens, Depeche Mode, Freezepop, Vitalic, Austra, Marina And The Diamonds, Grimes, Cult With No Name, Ultravox, Kraftwerk and The Human League.
Our long-form features have also covered some of the hidden history behind a-ha and Savoy, Gary Numan, Soft Cell, OMD, David Bowie, Queen and explored the legacy of the Synth Britannia generation.
TEC continues today with its team of TEC founder/writer Paul Browne, Barry Page, Jus Forrest, Simon Heavisides, Imogen Bebb and a selection of guest writers.
What people have been saying about The Electricity Club:
“Great stuff! Very well written and crammed full of details and info that most writers miss or neglect. I love it!” – Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
“Thanks for the kind write up” – Polly Scattergood
“‘Melodious & mythical’-another well researched, well written & very insightful review!” -Empathy Test
“thanks for the amazing write-up!” – Sailor & I
“A great review of our new single…” – Lola Dutronic
PAUL BROWNE
After studying electronic music at Goldsmiths College in London, Paul spent his formative years indulging in fanzine culture before branching out to graphic and web design in later years. Responsible for the creation of the Official OMD Website, Paul also spent over 10 years administrating the site as well as providing sleeve notes for many of the OMD reissues along with several sleeve and graphic design contributions.
In more recent years, Paul has embraced the emerging Japanese popular music scene and is also the current editor of Blitzed Magazine.
BARRY PAGE
Barry is a Sussex-based writer and former editor of a local charity magazine. He has previously written for the monthly music magazine Record Collector and various music blogs, including The Electricity Club’s sister sites, Messages and Wavegirl.
Sharing a birthday with singer Morten Harket, he felt a special affinity with a-ha from an early age, and has written several articles about the band and their members’ various side projects. In 2018 he was personally commissioned by the band’s songwriter and guitarist, Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, to pen extensive liner notes for the special vinyl edition of Våkenatt, the near-mythical second album by Bridges (a pre-fame band featuring two members of a-ha).
His first book a-ha : Down To The Tracks, is due for publication in March 2020.
Praise for Barry’s work:
“Very well written and crammed full of details and info that most writers miss or neglect. I love it!” – Pål Waaktaar-Savoy (a-ha)
“This article is a must-read about the album’s development and critical reception.” – a-ha (on Facebook)
“Very good and so well researched.” – Andy McCluskey (OMD)
“I’m truly stunned and blown away by your work… I’m stunned by its accuracy!” – Barry Harris (musician, DJ and remixer)
“Wow, what a great take on this!” – John Luongo (producer and remixer)
IMOGEN BEBB
Describing herself as “vinyl collector/budding music journalist/OMD maniac/regular gig-goer”, Imogen is one of the most active people in the OMD fan community. This includes a very creative streak with the assembly of highly detailed scrapbooks centered around the iconic synth-pop act.
After exploring the idea of writing about music, she has since gone on to write for both the Motion & Heart website and TEC’s sister site Messages.
Imogen also maintains her own music blog at The Sound Of The Crowd which has a strong emphasis on the classic 1980s period.
JANE DAVIES
Jane Davies is a Liverpool-based writer with a strong interest in the grass roots music scene.
Her musical interests cover a very broad base, from indie rock through to electropop. A contributor to our sister site Messages, Jane also writes for a range of outlets, including Little Indie and Getintothis.
JUS FORREST
Jus compiled the (Ultravox) Remembering Eden 30th Anniversary Tour Book, which in turn gave birth to the lavish and highly acclaimed Blitz Club Revisited event she co-organised.
Jus has worked professionally for a number of rock acts in her youth (performance and PR) and holds a degree in Arts & Humanities with a specialisation in music and writing, as well as a qualification in journalism.
She has contributed to publications worldwide, worked with promoters Live Nation, producing copy for one of their mainstream rock events, and has also worked on high profile photographic assignments for some of the largest UK rock festivals.
Her first ever live concert was Ultravox during their Quartet Tour in 1982 – handily crossing over into the values of TEC – especially considering her additional appreciation of Gary Numan, Duran Duran and Visage. Today, her musical interests remain wide and varied – think rock / prog / electronic / ambient / classical.
GREG LANSDOWNE
Greg Lansdowne is a freelance writer, who wrote a book on a-ha in 2016 called ‘Living A Fan’s Adventure Tale – a-ha through the eyes of the beholders’
FLIP MARTIAN
Flip Martian is a long time fan of music made with synths – going back to hearing his Uncle’s copy of Oxygene and a friend’s copy of Kraftwerk’s Die Mensch-Maschine. He’s been an active musician for many years and put his broad music tastes and technical skills to good use as a DJ working for internet radio and for Phonic FM, in Exeter. He still re-engineers gig recordings for broadcasting via the long running ‘Live and Loud!’ series featuring classic live performances from the likes of Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, Blancmange, Duran Duran, Ultravox and OMD (www.liveandloudshows.com). His own first live music experience was Gary Numan in Coventry in 1980.
When not working on old live shows, he writes his own music, does freelance proofreading (including proofing and editing the ‘Remembering Eden – 30th Anniversary’ Ultravox Tour Book) and cleans up and transfers old cassette and vinyl recordings, also on a freelance basis.
ROBERT RUMBELL
Robert is a well known figure within the Marsheaux, Erasure and OMD fan communities. His first electronic pop singles were Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygene Part IV’. He is also lucky (and old) enough to be able to say that Abba at Wembley Arena in 1979 was his first ever concert experience.
Despite loving the dark brooding overtones of OMD’s Organisation album, he is also a keen Madonna and Kylie Minogue enthusiast.
JER WHITE
Jer White (@afront) is a long-term synth-pop fan whose website The Pansentient League even gets its name from the same sci-fi game as The Human League. His work has been published in Rolling Stone magazine and his site has been featured in The Guardian, Wired magazine and Mashable. His devotion to The Human League is recalled in Rob Grillo’s recent book Is That The Twelve Inch Mix?
The album that changed his life was Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene which eventually led to musical journey that also included Kraftwerk, OMD and Associates. In an era where methods of listening to music are varied, Jer has been a strong advocate of the music streaming service Spotify.