Editing Wire (band) (section)

===1985 to 1992===

In 1985, the group re-formed as a "[[Popular beat combo|beat combo]]" (a joking reference to early 1960s [[beat music]]), with greater use of [[electronic musical instrument]]s. Wire announced that they would perform none of their older material, hiring Ex-Lion Tamers (a Wire [[cover band]] named after a song title from ''Pink Flag'') as their opening act for a 1987 U.S. Tour. Ex-Lion Tamers played Wire's older songs, and Wire played their new material.<ref>Stuart Tomlinson, 'Critic's Choice' ''The Oregonion'' 'A&E' section 26 June 1987 p. F8 </ref>

In June 1988, Wire were part of a lineup that included [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]] and [[Thomas Dolby]] supporting [[Depeche Mode]] at the [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]] where they played to over 60,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web|last=ckuttimecapsule|date=1988-06-29|title=Interview with Colin Newman of WIRE circa 1988|url=https://ckuttimecapsule.wordpress.com/1988/06/29/interview-with-colin-newman-of-wire-circa-1988/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=CKUT TIME CAPSULE|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-06-17|title=Video: Depeche Mode, 'A Concert for the Masses' — rare footage from 1988's '101' concert|url=http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/06/17/depeche-mode-concert-for-the-masses-25th-anniverary/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=[[Slicing Up Eyeballs]]|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1989, Wire released ''[[It's Beginning to and Back Again|IBTABA]]'', a "live" album of mostly reworked versions of songs from ''[[The Ideal Copy]]'' and ''[[A Bell Is a Cup... Until It Is Struck|A Bell Is a Cup]]'', heavily rearranged, edited, and remixed. A new song from the album, "Eardrum Buzz", was released as a single and peaked at number 68 in the UK singles chart.<ref name="Wire singles" />

Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album ''[[Manscape]]''. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming "Wir" (still pronounced "wire"), and released ''[[The First Letter]]'' in 1991. There followed a further period of solo recordings, during which Newman founded the [[swim ~]] label, and later [[Githead]] with his wife (ex-[[Minimal Compact]] bassist [[Malka Spigel]]), while Wire remained an occasional collaboration. It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.