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= Moscow Circus (Band) =

Moscow Circus (previously Critical Hippo (1988), Stigmata (1989), Bloodsugar (1990-1991) ) is a post-punk band formed in Long Eaton, Derbyshire in December of 1987. The band comprises of songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, Jonathan Beckett, vocalist and keyboardist Martin Haddelsey, Tom Parratt on drums, and Peter Temperton on bass.

Early Years (1987-1989)
In December 1987, Moscow Circus (originally called Critical Hippo) was formed. Original members were Jonathan Beckett, Peter Temperton, and Tom Parratt. Prior to forming the band, Temperton had never played bass before, but had some musical background with woodwind and brass instruments; they borrowed a bass guitar from a friend.

At first the band rehearsed at home but after frequent complaints from their neighbors; they moved to the local community centre which they could rent for £5.00. But they prioritized buying records from Selectadisc - a music store in Nottingham, and going to the pub over this practice.

Three weeks after forming the band, the band performed their debut gig at The Garage in Nottingham in January of 1988, supporting The Legendary Dolphins.

The band then changed their name to Moscow Circus then to Stigmata, and moved to Nottingham in May of 1988 The band did several more gigs around the city before disbanding in 1989.

Bloodsugar (1990-1991)
The band reformed as Bloodsugar in August of 1990, it was at this time that Martin Haddelsey was added to the trio.

The group continued to perform around Nottingham at venues like: The Narrowboat and The Newshouse before splitting up again in 1991.

After the split, Beckett penned the song 'Snapshot', and him and Temperton demoed it. Whilst Beckett would work with both Temperton and Parratt on various other musical endeavors, the original trio didn't come together again for seventeen years.

Re-united (2008-2012)
2008 marks the fortieth birthday of two of the band members, to celebrate, the band re-united under the name Moscow Circus to perform a birthday gig on Saturday November 22nd, where they performed 'Timebomb' at Nottingham's punk and alternative music venue: Junktion 7. Shortly after reforming the band received their first ever US radio play when 'Princess Rainbow' was featured on a radio show called 'The 80s Underground' on Radio KSCU, Santa Clara, California.

Resounding (2012-2016)
Between 2012 and 2013 Moscow Circus began recording their debut album 'Resounding'. Recorded at Hypermonosonic Recordings, featuring 'Princess Rainbow', 'Snapshot', and 'Between the Lines' from the 1989 E.P. A Parallel Derbyshire. The album was set to be released in 2015 on Beckett's own label: Echolocation Records; but was postponed until 27th May 2016. During the time between recording and release, Moscow Circus performed on Sunday 1st September 2013 at the Nottingham Green Festival, where they played 'Clarity' from their album. among other songs

When Resounding was released it was met by praise from critics. Dave Cantrell from Stereo Embers Magazine stated that Resounding was "resonant enough to not only arc between both these chosen eras [post-punk and LA-based indie] but to land as well in the middle of 2016 as if it belonged here all along, which is no surprise". CambridgeMusicReviews says that the album was "worth the wait", and Dave Goodwin of PennyBlackMusic describes them as "darn good"

They finished up the year by playing at Hypermonosonic Recording's ten year anniversary party on December 10th.

Musical style and influences
The members shared a lot of common ground regarding tastes in music; R.E.M. and Husker Du were strong influences on 'Ex Genius'.

The band also gained influence from post-punk bands such as Joy Division, Echo And The Bunnymen, Wire and Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime was the first single Jonathan Beckett purchased ; as well as sixties psychedelic music and garage punk.

In an article in PennyBlackMusic, a Scottish music magazine, published on December 22nd 2016, Beckett describes some of his favorite albums, these include: 'Talk Talk Talk' by the Psychedelic Furs, 'Systems of Romance' by Ultravox, 'Feline' by The Stranglers, and 'Computer World' by Kraftwerk - which he received for Christmas in 1981.

Beckett's solo career
In 2004 Jonathan released the song 'She's a Vampire', later, In June 2010, Beckett released an E.P. which shared the name of the song on Occultation Recordings (later released on Echolocation Records ). The E.P. attracted the attention of Paul Simpson of The Wild Swans who stated:"'I'm a sucker for musical beauty, lyrical sadness and outsiderism, and they don't come more beautifully outsider than Jonathan Beckett. For me, stumbling upon Jonathan's music is a bit like chancing upon the ivy-covered remains of an architecturally significant stately home while out walking in the woods; a little decayed, ever so slightly scary perhaps, but beneath the ivy lie elegant mullioned windows, intricately carved stone bestiary and secret doors in the oak paneling.'"Beckett also notes in an interview for PennyBlackMusic that one of his musical heroes Will Sergeant contacted him in 2010 to state that he loved 'She's a Vampire'.

In January of 2012 he sang 'I Lost My Sense Of Humour At The Sacre Coeur' on Vollwert Records (a small Indie label based in Berlin ) on the compilation album No Sleep Til Torcross. On March 2013, Beckett performed two Robyn Hitchcock songs on Dave Hammond's radio show on Cambridge 105.

Discography
Moscow Circus has released one studio album and one E.P.
 * A Parallel Derbyshire E.P. (1989)
 * Resounding (2016)

Videography

 * Princess Rainbow
 * Timebomb