This inventive UK post punk band was formed in October 1976 by Colin Newman (b. 16 September 1954, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England; vocals/guitar), Bruce Gilbert (b. 18 May 1946, Watford, Hertfordshire, England; guitar), Graham Lewis (b. 22 February 1953, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England; bass/vocals) and Robert Gotobed (b. Mark Field, 1951, Leicester, England; drums) along with lead guitarist George Gill - the latter member had previously been a member of the Snakes, releasing a single on the Skydog label, while the rest of Wire all had art school backgrounds. Their early work was clearly influenced by punk and this incipient era was captured on a various artists live selection, The Roxy, London, WC2, their first recording as a four-piece following Gill's dismissal. Although not out of place among equally virulent company, the band was clearly more ambitious than many contemporaries.
They were signed to the Harvest Records label in September 1977. Their impressive debut, Pink Flag, comprised 21 tracks, and ranged from the furious assault of "12XU", "Field Day For The Sundays" and "Mr Suit" to the more brittle, almost melodic, interlude provided by "Mannequin", which became the band's first single. Producer Mike Thorne, who acted as an unofficial fifth member, enhanced the set's sense of tension with a raw, stripped-to-basics sound. Chairs Missing offered elements found in its predecessor, but couched them in a new-found maturity. Gilbert's buzzsaw guitar became more measured, allowing space for Thorne's keyboards and synthesizers to provide an implicit anger. A spirit of adventure also marked 154 which contained several exceptional individual moments, including the beautiful "Map Ref 41øN 93øW", "A Touching Display", a lengthy excursion into wall-of-sound feedback, and the haunting "A Mutual Friend", scored for a delicate cor anglais passage and a striking contrast to the former's unfettered power. However, the album marked the end of Wire's Harvest contract and the divergent aims of the musicians became impossible to hold under one banner.
The quartet was disbanded in the summer of 1980, leaving Newman free to pursue a solo career, while Gilbert and Lewis completed a myriad of projects under various identities including Dome, Duet Emmo and P'o, plus a number of solo works. Gotobed meanwhile concentrated on session work for Colin Newman, Fad Gadget and later, organic farming. A posthumous release, Document And Eyewitness, chronicled Wire's final concert at London's Electric Ballroom in February 1980, but it was viewed as a disappointment in the wake of the preceding studio collections. It was not until 1985 that the band was resurrected and it was a further two years before they began recording again. The Ideal Copy revealed a continued desire to challenge, albeit in a less impulsive manner, and the set quickly topped the independent chart. A Bell Is A Cup (Until It Is Struck) maintained the new-found balance between art and commercial pop, including the impressive "Kidney Bingos".
In 1990, the band abandoned the "beat combo" concept adopted in 1985 and took on board the advantages and uses of computer and sequencer technology. The resulting Manscape showed that their sound had changed dramatically, but not with altogether satisfactory results. Following the album's release, Gotobed announced his departure. The remaining trio ironically changed their name to Wir, but not until The Drill had been released. It contained a collection of variations on "Drill", a track that had appeared on the Snakedrill EP in 1987. The new band's debut release, The First Letter, showed a harder edge than their more recent work, amusingly containing some reworked samples of Pink Flag. Although this was their last release of the decade, the band subsequently became the subject of renewed interest in the mid-90s when indie darlings Elastica not only name-checked but also borrowed liberally from their back-catalogue.
The original quartet re-formed in 1999, playing acclaimed live shows and returning to the studio to record new material. The mini-album Read & Burn was released in July 2002, and was followed by the acclaimed full-length Send.
