Ian Craig Marsh facts for kids

Ian Craig Marsh was born on 11 November 1956. He is an English musician and composer. He helped start the electronic band The Human League. He wrote music and played on their first two albums and several songs. In 1980, he left to form the British Electric Foundation and later Heaven 17.

Early Musical Journey

Ian Marsh started his music career at a community theater group in Sheffield called Meatwhistle. This group was supported by the local council.

In 1973, Marsh played guitar for a band called Musical Vomit. He left the band after being kicked out of school. Other members of Musical Vomit included Glenn Gregory, who later became the lead singer for Heaven 17, and Ian Reddington, who became a famous actor.

Musical Vomit mostly played at the Meatwhistle workshop. In 1974, they also performed at Sheffield University and a church hall. They even put on a rock opera called Vomit Lost in Space. This show used early, simple synthesizers. Martyn Ware, who later helped form The Human League and Heaven 17, sometimes played with them.

Musical Vomit played at the Bath Arts Festival in 1974. Someone in the audience, Poly Styrene, called them "the very first punk band." The crowd booed them and threw bottles, but the band stayed on stage. After this, they never played together again.

Marsh later stopped playing guitar. He said guitars seemed "strange" to him. Instead, he bought a cheap synthesizer. He found it hard to use at first, but it could make cool "motorbike noises." Marsh also worked as a computer programmer. He played an important role in the early music scene in Sheffield. He shared the first Ramones album, which he bought as an import, with all his friends.

Forming The Future

In June 1977, Ian Marsh, Martyn Ware, and singer Adi Newton formed a band called Dead Daughters for a friend's birthday party. They enjoyed playing together so much that they decided to form a new band. They chose the name The Future.

The Future wanted to create pop music using only electronic instruments. This was very new and unusual in 1977. They also tried using a computer program called CARLOS. This program could turn words into song lyrics. At first, record companies were not very interested in their music. So, Marsh and Ware decided to continue as a duo without Adi Newton.

As a duo, they recorded a short instrumental song called "Dancevision." This song was later released on The Human League's Holiday '80 EP. Another song, "Being Boiled," led to Philip Oakey joining the group. With Oakey, the band changed its name to The Human League. A collection of their early songs from this time was released on CD in 2002. It was called The Golden Hour of The Future.

Leaving Heaven 17

Ian Marsh seemed to disappear in 2006. Even Martyn Ware did not know where he was. Marsh reappeared in early 2007. He announced that he no longer wanted to perform with Heaven 17. He did not play in any of their concerts in 2007. He also did not join them for The Steel City Tour in late 2008, even though Ware and Glenn Gregory tried to get him to return. In an interview in late 2008, Ware confirmed that Marsh was no longer an active member of the band. Today, Ian Marsh works as a music teacher.