Mega City Four

Wow, I just found out that the former lead singer from Mega City Four died on Wednesday. MC4 were one of the first real British indie bands that I liked. Probably one of the first real "emo" bands around too. Wiz was a great songwriter who wrote from the heart and wasn't afraid to put his honest feelings in a song.

Long before grunge. Long before the New Wave of New Wave. Long before Britpop. There was the indie "grebo" scene. There were bands like Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Senseless Things, and the Levellers. Mega City Four were part of this scene.

I first heard MC4 on Rodney on the ROQ on KROQ. He was one of the few DJs who championed them on US radio. I remember him playing Miles Apart and really liking it. But it wasn't until a few years later that I was able to get something from them when Caroline Records released their third album, Sebastopol Rd., in the States. I was able to get all their albums and singles a few years later. I had a lot of respect for Mega City Four because they truly were an indie band. They were the kind of band that wanted to give their fans value for their money. In their early days, they didn't release any singles from their albums. They chose to just record new songs as singles. To them, there was no point in re-releasing something that was already available on the album.

I only ever saw Mega City Four once when they play in L.A. in 1995 with Ash and China Drum. At first, it was just Ash and China Drum on the bill and then MC4 were added at the last minute. I was super stoked with having the chance to see three of my favorite bands on the same bill. That night, Mega City Four kicked ass. They played a handful of songs from their as-yet-unreleased final album, Soul Scraper. Definitely a great night. And I'm glad I got to see Mega City Four before they split. Wiz went on to form Serpico and Ipanema after MC4 split. Unfortunately, I never followed either band. But Mega City Four will always be one of my all time favorite indie guitar bands.

Here's a few of my favorite Mega City Four songs:

Miles Apart -- their first single
Dancing Days are Over
Clear Blue Sky
Iron Sky
Enemy Skies
Wallflower
Android Dreams -- their final single

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8PQAKZMR

Darren "Wiz" Brown RIP