Draft:Dubmerge

Dubmerge was a long-running English reggae band formed in Herefordshire and Worcestershire in late 1991. Playing at some of Europe’s biggest festivals, they had a unique blend of reggae, dub, ska, post-punk and later electronic dance music, all interwoven with samples. {| class="wikitable" ! Dubmerge !

Guy Loughman photograph of Dubmerge on tour in Europe, early 90s.
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Background information

 * Origin: West Midlands, United Kingdom
 * Genres: Dub, reggae, ska, post-punk, dance music.
 * Years active: 1991 - 201X
 * Labels: Bud Urge Records
 * Spin-offs: Last Tree Squad, Dubrovnik
 * Spin off of: The Insect Brothers
 * Past Members: Mark Loughman, Steve McArdle, Paul Knight, Patrick McArdle, Jez King, Cut La Vis, Kenny I, Marcus Campbell, Barney Bee, Ben, John Eager, Trevor Wilde, Dominic Kemp, Nigel Thomas
 * }
 * Spin-offs: Last Tree Squad, Dubrovnik
 * Spin off of: The Insect Brothers
 * Past Members: Mark Loughman, Steve McArdle, Paul Knight, Patrick McArdle, Jez King, Cut La Vis, Kenny I, Marcus Campbell, Barney Bee, Ben, John Eager, Trevor Wilde, Dominic Kemp, Nigel Thomas
 * }
 * Past Members: Mark Loughman, Steve McArdle, Paul Knight, Patrick McArdle, Jez King, Cut La Vis, Kenny I, Marcus Campbell, Barney Bee, Ben, John Eager, Trevor Wilde, Dominic Kemp, Nigel Thomas
 * }
 * }

History
Dubmerge was formed by John Eager, Mark Loughman, Trevor Wilde, Dominic Kemp, Marcus Campbell and Nigel Thomas in late 1991 at Ralph’s Millstone Studios where they recorded their debut, ‘Dubverse’. Later next year, Paul Knight replaced Nigel Thomas on drums and Kenny I joined the band for their second release ‘New Age Holiday Maker’, engineered by Matthew Devenish (who also mixed their live sound.) Recordings from their tour in Europe, where they received an underground following, are on their 1993 cassette ‘Flat Out In Skunkland’. The final release for this line up - joined by Ben in 1994 - was ‘Future Tense’.

With a new line up - consisting of Mark Loughman, Marcus Campbell, Paul Knight and Kenny I, joined by new vocalist Steve McArdle and Barney Bee - Dubmerge performed live at the 25th Glastonbury Festival on the Green Field, the less commercialised area.

Around this time, the album, ‘Bud Urge’ also came out on cassette.

After receiving a grant from West Midland Arts, Dubmerge set up their own label, Bud Urge Records and released their first CD, ‘Wake up!’ in 1996. Further releases include: ‘El Dente’ on cassette and ‘Greed and Glamour’ and ‘Check it’ both on CD.

The most recent line up for the band was:

Paul Knight, Mark Loughman, Steve McArdle, Patrick McArdle, Jez King,

Cut La Vis and they teamed up with Zion train members, performing live with Molara (vocals) and Powerstepper (percussion).

Members
Nigel Thomas - Drums (1991-1992)

Dominic Kemp - Violin, Viola, Guitar (1991-1994)

Trevor Wilde - Vocals (1991-1994)

John Eager - Vocals, Samples (1991-1994)

Marcus Campbell - Guitar (1991-1999)

Mark Loughman - Bass Guitar (1991-201X )

Paul Knight - Drums (1992-201X )

Kenny I - Percussion (1992-?)

Ben - Trumpet (1994)

Barney Bee - Keyboards, Turntables (1995 -?)

Steve McArdle - Vocals (1995 -201X )

Patrick McArdle - Keyboards

Jez King - Guitar

Cut La Vis - Percussion

Discography
Dubverse (Self released, 1992)

New Age Holiday Maker (Self released, 1992)

Flat Out in Skunkland (Self released, 1993)

Future Tense (Self released, 1994)

Bud Urge (?)

El Dente (Bud Urge records, ?)

Wake up! (Bud Urge records, 1996)

Greed and Glamour (Bud Urge records, 1999)

Check it (?)