A product of the same mid-'70s Sheffield industrial music community which also gave rise to
Throbbing Gristle and
Cabaret Voltaire,
Clock DVA emerged in 1980 from the ashes of area bands including the Studs, Block Opposite, Veer and They Must Be Russians as well as the
Future, an early incarnation of the
Human League. After a series of shifting lineups, a roster comprised of vocalist
Adi Newton, bassist Steven Taylor, guitarist
Paul Widger, saxophonist
Charlie Collins and drummer
Roger Quail recorded
Clock DVA's debut
White Souls in Black Suits, a cassette-only, improvisational release fusing metallic noise with funk and soul designs which was issued on
Throbbing Gristle's Industrial label.
In 1981, the group issued
Thirst, which abandoned R&B accoutrements in favor of edgy, abrasive electronic noise. Following its release, all of
Clock DVA except
Newton defected to form
Box; after assembling a new lineup of saxophonist
Paul Browse, future
Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist
John Carruthers, bassist
Dean Dennis and drummer
Nick Sanderson,
Newton wrangled a major-label deal with Polydor, and
Clock DVA soon resurfaced with 1983's
Advantage, an intense montage of dance beats, piercing feedback and jarring tape manipulations. However,
Carruthers and
Sanderson both exited following the LP's release; after a brief attempt to forge on as a trio,
Clock DVA disbanded in late 1983.
Newton subsequently turned his focus to the
Anti Group, an industrial jazz and visual arts project created in tandem with engineer
Robert Baker; after a series of singles, he reformed
Clock DVA in 1988 with
Browse and
Dennis, releasing the sample-fueled 1988 EPs
The Hacker and
The Act, as well as 1990's full-length
Buried Dreams, on the Wax/Trax label. By 1991's
Transitional Voices,
Newton's Anti Group partner
Baker had replaced
Browse;
Dennis departed soon after, leaving the remaining duo to record a staggeringly prolific amount of material including 1992's
Man-Amplified, 1993's
Sign, Black Words on White Paper and Virtual Reality Handbook, 1994's 150 Erotic Calibrations and 1995's Anterior. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide