Marxman - Music Artist Band Bio

Biography

Irish/marxist rap crew whose political stance, in the final analysis, won them more fans than their music did. Yet for a period in late 1992/early 1993, they mounted an effective bid as supercharged champions of ultra left hip-hop. Fronted by rappers MC Hollis and Phrase, plus musician Oisin, if Marxman's political motives weren't already guaranteed to stoke controversy, then the subject of their debut single, "Sad Affair", was. Discussing Northern Ireland, with the explicit statement that English troops should be withdrawn, it was naturally banned by the BBC (one DJ attempted to play it but had it edited from his show - objections were made to the fact that the lyrics contained the IRA slogan "tiocfaidh ar la" - "Our Time Will Come"). Both sides of the debut used traditional Irish instruments (three quarters of the band are Irish-born), and the follow-up, "Ship Ahoy', featured Sin‚ad O'Connor. Other guest contributions have included the tin whistle of traditional Irish musician Davy Spillane. Contrastingly, both 45s emerged on Gilles Peterson's laid-back Talkin" Loud Records empire. A third, "All About Eve", actually made the UK Top 30, before "Ship Ahoy" was re-released. The sleeve of their debut LP confirmed their allegiances: "Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, Bobby Sands . . . and all those who have devoted themselves to the overthrow of the bourgeoisie". Though they were allied to a major (PolyGram Records), Marxman still set their sights on the death of capitalism. In the final analysis, however, there was simply too much analysis.

Discography:
33 Revolutions Per Minute (Talkin' Loud 1992),*** Time Capsule (More Rockets 1996)**.



Source: Encyclopedia of Popular Music