Crime & the City Solution

Despite roots dating back as far as 1978, Crime & The City Solution did not truly emerge until 1984, coming to life in the wake of the dissolution of the seminal Birthday Party. The group was led by the evocative singer/songwriter Simon Bonney, a Melbourne, Australia native who led a series of bands under the verbose Crime name throughout the late '70s and early '80s; a longtime friend of the Birthday Party, he contacted former members Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard after the group's breakup, and following the addition of Howard's bassist brother Harry, the most successful and famed lineup of Crime & The City Solution was born.



In 1985, the quartet debuted with The Dangling Man, a self-produced EP quickly establishing the band's moody, atmospheric blues-based aesthetic. Former Swell Maps drummer Epic Soundtracks joined Crime after the EP's release, freeing Harvey to alternate among a variety of instruments for the haunting follow-up, Just South Of Heaven. Their full-length bow Room Of Lights appeared in 1986 and featured the remarkable "Six Bells Chime," which so impressed the acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders that he invited the band to perform the song live in his 1988 masterpiece Wings Of Desire.

Read More