Afraid of Mice

Afraid of Mice were an English new wave/post-punk band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1979.^[1] They released five singles between 1981 and 1982, and one self-titled album in 1981 on the Charisma label.

History

Prior to Afraid of Mice, Philip Franz Jones had already been in various Liverpool bands since the early seventies, such as Skyfall and Next. The band was formed in Liverpool in 1979 by Jones (vocals, sax, flute, keyboards), together with Geoff Kelly (bass, vocals) Roddie Gilliard (guitar) and Clive Gee (drums). They were originally called The Press and recorded a collection of original Phil Jones songs as demos.

Changing their name to Afraid of Mice, they had two of the demos released on the A Trip to the Dentist compilation, issued by Skeleton Records. Sam Brew later replaced Roddie Gilliard.

Working alongside producer Tony Visconti, their self-titled debut album was released in 1981.^[1] That same year, the band played at the Marquee Club in London on 29 August that year.

Despite having a fan following, the album did not sell well. A second album was planned, but was never completed. This eventually led to Afraid of Mice leaving Charisma and disbanding completely, with Jones later teaming up with Alex McKechnie in 1986 to form the duo Two's a Crowd (later renamed to Up and Running).^[2][3][4]

Since the break-up

Jones remains a constant presence in the Liverpool music scene, performing at pubs and clubs and at music festivals.

Kelly now works at The City of Liverpool College as a support worker and has formed his own band called G.L.I.B. He has posted songs on his SoundCloud page known as Glib Kelly.^[5]

Discography

References