Urchin

There are 2 bands with the name Urchin.

1. Urchin was the second band of Adrian Smith (after Evil Ways) which was formed with his friend Dave Murray around 1974. Eventually Dave left to join Iron Maiden but Adrian stayed loyal to his band despite being offered to join Iron Maiden. Urchin had recorded two 7" singles, Black Leather Fantasy and She's A Roller. The band managed to sign a contract but did not last long after Adrian's eventual departure to replace Iron Maiden's guitarist Dennis Stratton.

On 19th December 1985 Adrian organised a reunion of his former band mates and performed two gigs under the names of The Entire Population of Hackney and the other under The Sherman Tankers. Both gigs were also performed with Nicko McBrain and the other members of Iron Maiden for various songs.

In 2004, High Roller Records released limited and handnumbered to 330 copies, silver vinyl incl. 4 Single Tracks, 1 x Live + 5 (!!!) unreleased songs.


2. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. It all started in a winter of the mid nineties; a winter whose dark nights long outstayed their welcome, either that or someone forgot to draw the curtains. Anyway, in a boudoir-come-studio lit by the dancing lights of echo boxes and strewn with records from lost musical eras, their once gaudy sleeves now musty and dog-eared, two shadowy figures busily worked the discs and dials until the clutch of tracks that became Urchin’s first album was assembled…..

From this introduction I will begin to describe the long and undulating journey through the leafy byroads and grassy bridleways of music that has led Urchin to this point in time.

Fortune smiled on the duo when they became acquainted with record producer Chris Bangs and an opportunity to remix a handful of tracks for his eccentric jazz project Mr.Electric Triangle was offered. The four completed remixes appeared on the album Kosmosis in Dub and this collaboration threw the then named Red Rum into the path of the 2Kool record label and a speculative album deal was struck. Buoyed by this enthusiasm the newly named Urchin spent the next year assembling the first album only to deliver it to a record label in terminal decline. However, links forged with Waveform records in the US proved solid and the self entitled release ensued.

The long-term hopes of Urchin remain: to experiment in the use of the scratch as a solo instrument and to translate their discoveries of obscure musical delights and sounds into little tomes to a curious audience.
Urchin's Website
Urchin's MySpace page

3. The Urchin are a Japanese punk band that started in 1998. They are the remnants of other bands such as JUST ONE DAY, Blew, and Big Champion. Full of heartfelt and serious lyrics, backed by fast paced riffs and traditional styles derived from bands such as Jawbreaker and Leatherface; The Urchin have often been called the "Dillinger Four" of Japan.
The Urchin's Myspace

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