Editing Wire (band) (section)

===1976 to 1980===

Wire began as a five-piece band in October 1976. Initially, the band's main songwriter was guitarist George Gill but after he broke his leg and was unable to perform, the band moved on without him in February 1977. They dropped most of the songs written by Gill, although many of these early songs have been released as demos or on compilation albums. Wire's debut album, ''[[Pink Flag]]'' (1977) – "perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk", according to [[AllMusic]]<ref name="Pink Flag Allmusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/pink-flag-r22101/review |title=Pink Flag |author=Steve Huey |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=16 February 2012}}</ref> – contains songs that are diverse in mood and style, but most use a [[minimalism|minimalist]] punk approach combined with unorthodox structures.<ref name="Trouser Press">{{cite web |url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=wire |title=Wire |author1=Jim DeRogatis |author2=Wilson Neate |publisher=TrouserPress.com |access-date=16 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204040037/http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=wire |archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> "Field Day for the Sundays", for example, is only 28 seconds long.

[[File:Colin Newman b nov 2011.jpg|left|upright=0.7|thumb|Colin Newman, 2011]]
{{Listen
| filename=Wire Outdoor Miner.ogg
| title="Outdoor Miner"| description=Sample of "Outdoor Miner", taken from ''[[Chairs Missing]]'' (1978)
| format=[[Ogg]]}}

Their second album, ''[[Chairs Missing]]'' (1978), marked a retreat from the stark minimalism of ''Pink Flag'', with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer [[Mike Thorne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/chairs-missing-r22102 |title=Chairs Missing |author=Steve Huey |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=16 February 2012}}</ref> "[[Outdoor Miner]]" was a minor hit, peaking at number 51 in the UK singles chart.<ref name="Wire singles">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/wire/ |title=WIRE &#124; full Official Chart History &#124; Official Charts Company |website=Officialcharts.com |access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref> The experimentation was even more prominent on ''[[154 (album)|154]]'' (1979).<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>

Wire's unorthodox ideas to promote ''154'' led to a falling out with their label. According to Newman, "We'd worked out a sales strategy for ''154'' that EMI couldn't see at all...They couldn't understand a rock band that wanted to do a week in a theater as an event, and wanted to promote ''154'' with videos or left-field TV adverts. We wanted to help them sell records; they thought we were simply being intransigent."<ref name="Trouser Press interview">{{cite magazine |url=https://trouserpress.com/magazine-covers-7/ |title=Colin Newman |magazine=[[Trouser Press]] |location=New York |volume=8 |issue=4 |date=June 1981 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |last=Green |first=Jim |page=18}}</ref> According to Jim Green in an interview with Newman, "personnel changes at EMI had left Wire without any support." Colin Newman's solo album, "''[[A–Z (album)|A-Z]]'' was planned as the fourth Wire album, but EMI cancelled studio time in the wake of failed negotiations with the band, and then dropped Wire's option."<ref name="Trouser Press interview"/>

Lacking a recording deal and money,<ref name="Trouser Press interview"/> creative differences split the band in 1979, leading to the ''[[Document and Eyewitness]]'' LP (1981), a recording of a live performance that featured, almost exclusively, new material. The album was described as "disjointed",<ref name="Trouser Press"/> "unrecognizable as rock music" and "almost unlistenable".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/document-and-eyewitness-r22090/review |title=Document and Eyewitness |author=Wilson Neate |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=16 February 2012}}</ref> The LP came packaged with an [[Extended play|EP]] of a different performance of more new material. Some of these songs, along with others performed but not included on the album, were included on Newman's post-Wire solo albums (''5/10'', ''We Meet Under Tables''), while others were released by Gilbert's and Lewis' primary post-Wire outlet [[Dome (band)|Dome]] (''And Then...'', ''Ritual View'').

Between 1981 and 1985, Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and collaborative projects such as [[Dome (band)|Dome]], Cupol, [[Daniel Miller (music producer)#Duet Emmo|Duet Emmo]] and several Colin Newman solo efforts.