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Soil were an English indie pop group, formed in Manchester in 1984, by North Manchester school-friends Kevin Siddall, Lee Bennett and Rob Kerford. Matthew Karas joined in October 1984 after replying to an advertisement on the wall of Afflecks Palace.

History
After forming in October 1984, they first played live as a band in the spring of 1985 in The Waggon and Horses in Oldham. Despite performing strange songs, including a spoken word piece with tape-loop backing, the gig was very well-received by half a dozen teenagers sitting at the front.

During the rest of 1985, Soil played a variety of support slots for local bands, and some self-promoted gigs, teaming up with unlikely acts, e.g. free improvising musicians, such as Dave Tucker, a multi-instrumentalist who played on The Fall's album Slates. In August 1985 they produced a self-released cassette, which was reviewed by City Life.

In 1986, Soil's reputation and following grew, and they're gigs were regularly previewed in the