Emerging from the British punkexplosion in the 70's, Wire was formed by Graham Lewis(bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert(guitar), Colin Newman(vocals, guitar) and (drums). Their sound is often associated with a vague subgenre of punk called art punk or post-punk, mostly due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound, often obscure lyrical themes and, to a lesser extent, their situationist political stance. The group exhibited a steady development from an early raucous style (1977's Pink Flag) to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of synthesizers (1978's Chairs Missing and 1979's 154). As a result, they had a tremendous influence through later decades on a variety of bands and rock music genres, notably in The Urinals, The Minutemen, R.E.M., who covered "Strange" on their Document album and most recently, Bloc Party, Futureheads and Franz Ferdinand. Ian MacKaye of hardcore punk band Minor Threat was also a big fan of the band.
last.fm page
An unwilling sailor adrift from Artic waters
As the water gets warmer, my iceburg gets smaller
As he pours more petrol on, he feels no fear
As the flames get nearer, its thought gets clearer
A blue-white polar bear arrives at the end
Diverting his attention, his feelings froze over
I'm only a runaway AWOL at the logical start
Not present in the present, overboard with limited future
And I'm standing alone still getting a thrill
While the ship is afloat, he's losing his boat