A Brief History
with scrapbook cuttings and photos

As it's now the fortieth anniversary of Pumf Records' first album release, in January 1984, why not tell the tale of the band with whom it all started?

There were a few false-start incarnations of A-void during late 1982 and early 1983, with Stan trying out several different potential band members, but by early summer of 1983 the four folk who would go on to become the Most Famous Band in Blackpool* had come together and started rehearsing.
*for about seven months

Boz did vocals and played some bass, Paul played guitar, Shaun played with keyboards, and Stan played bass and did some vocals.
Their sound was based around an extremely rudimentary drum machine.

There were a couple of write-ups in the local newspaper (the Blackpool Evening Gazette) plus mentions in national music press listings - Sounds, Melody Maker and NME - and it's fair to say that A-void built up a sizeable local crowd of followers. Most of their shows were well-attended, although they only managed to play seven gigs.

The first was at Zowies in Blackpool on 16th November 1983, and as there had been much talk and hype about A-void the venue was packed wall-to-wall, with about 250 people in attendance. As a debut it went well, though not being without technical problems (unsolved by the sound engineer, with whom responsibility must lie).

The second was at Blackpool Bierkeller on 2nd December 1983, where the band again played well and got a good response, but their set was cut short owing to the support band's set overrunning - time ran out on A-void. 

The third was at Fox Lane Cricket Club in Leyland on 20th December 1983, where as an out-of-town band A-void went down well. Approximately 150 audience members watched them introduce metal percussion into their set for the first time.

The fourth was at the G.P.O. Club in Blackpool on 22nd December 1983, with about 100 people in attendance.

The fifth was at Blackpool Bierkeller on 7th January 1984, with another good audience turnout and a set that degenerated into a metal free-for-all towards the end.

(Around this time there were another couple of gigs that had been planned but didn't go ahead - one at the G.P.O. Club, February 18th, and another at the Bierkeller, February 29th).

The sixth was at Blackpool Bierkeller on 24th February 1984, when unfortunately there were several technical problems and some interpersonal relationship difficulties between band members. The performance was marred as a result, though audience members still seemed to enjoy the show.

The seventh and final gig was at Blackpool Bierkeller on 1st March 1984, when A-void took part in the local Rock Battle alongside five other bands. The metal percussion aspect of A-void had increased exponentially following their appearance in Leyland, until this last gig when they needed to hire a van to take along their copious quantities of metal instrumentation.
It was obvious that A-void had decided to be as abrasive as they could, to make the occasion as difficult to endure as possible for the audience members who had come along to see the other bands. Their set opened with two smoke bombs being set off from inside milk churns at either side of the stage, providing a foul-smelling, almost pea-soup-fog-like effect for 15 minutes of the 20-minute set, rendering the band invisible. The set ended with about ten people thrashing metal all over the dance floor to a drum machine beat, before Stan played a bass guitar solo of The Death March and cryptically announced that 'the hangman is hung', which sadly marked the band's demise.
Needless to say, they didn't win the contest . . . but it was their photo on the front page of the newspaper when the event was written up.

Ultimately, the band imploded after a career spanning only seven months - but one that hurled them into the short-lived position of being "The Biggest Band in Blackpool".

Their only recorded works appeared as the first release by Pumf Records, the cassette-only album titled "", released in January 1984. It featured ten tracks, most of which were taken from the live set but with a couple of pieces recorded specifically for the album.

  1 Hangman
  2 The Garden
  3 Love To You
  4 Necropolis
  5 A-void In Love
  6 Drug Stabbing Time
  7 God Is Dead
  8 The Death Of Walt Disney
  9 Insane
10 I Hate You 

It is being made available again in 2023 as a free download - a 40th anniversary present Time Capsule from Pumf Records to the world!
You can download the album here.

The earliest A-void photo - taken in early 1983 when Stan was still in his bedroom, hoping to find the folk with whom to form the band

The A4 handout sheet - hundreds of these were handed out to all and sundry prior to the first gig

A feature on A-void in the local newspaper, the Blackpool Evening Gazette, 5th November 1983
(the photo at the top was on the front page)

A4 poster for the first gig - these covered all of Blackpool town centre's available surfaces

             
A-void playing live at Zowies, Blackpool, 16th November 1983

A publicity photo of A-void (without Paul, unfortunately - he was at school that day) taken by Ian 'T' Tilton sometime late in 1983

A3 poster for the second gig

      
A photo of Boz, and one of backstage from the second gig at the Bierkeller, Blackpool, 2nd December 1983 -
L-R: Stan, unknown, Boz, unknown, Shaun, Christine (who took the photos below)

A photosession from sometime late in 1983 or early 1984 - photos taken by Christine Barter

      
A-void playing their third gig at Fox Lane Cricket Club, Leyland, 20th December 1983

A3 poster for the sixth gig

      
Two photos of Stan, before and during the sixth gig at the Bierkeller, Blackpool, 24th February 1984

      
A-void's collection of metal percussion and other instruments, photos taken early in 1984

      
Two photos of A-void playing their seventh and final gig at the Bierkeller, Blackpool, 1st March 1984 . . .

. . . and one of Boz, Stan and Shaun sitting in the audience
(also pictured on the far right, facing away from the camera, Ian 'T' Tilton who took the publicity photo shown further up the page)

Write-up on the heat of the Rock Battle featuring A-void in the Blackpool Evening Gazette, 3rd March 1984
(the photo at the top was on the front page)