Biography
1 The Magnificent is a side project by Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) and Torsti Spoof (Leverage).
2 The Magnificent is also a punk band from North West England, who formed in 2008 featuring ex-members of That Fucking Tank, Kill Yourself, and Eighty Six, and following their demo released their debut album "Pay The Crimes" in 2009 on Boss Tuneage Records, contributed 3 songs to the same label's "Instant Singles Collection Volume 3" in 2010, and released a split single with Noise By Numbers on Drunken Sailor Records in 2011.
Apparently compared to Pinhead Gunpowder, The Replacements, Billy Bragg, The Clash, and Alkaline Trio, they went on to release their second album "Bad Lucky" on JSNTGM Records in 2012. A "For Fans Only" release "Live in Leeds" featuring the majority of a live show from 2010 plus old demos and out-takes was released in 2013 on the band's bandcamp page, where they explain that the reason part of the set is missing is because "…some of it just didn't get recorded. We were all really drunk."
3 The Magnificent was one of the first bands to emerge from the punk scene in Nijmegen and certainly one of the few bands from that era to reach an audience outside their home town. The roots of the band lie in the first generation punk band The Squats, formed in the late seventies of the last century. The three original members formed a new band in 1983, consisting of Toon (guitar and vocals), Bock (drums) and Gerrit (bass). Shortly afterwards Toon concentrated on guitar while Gilbert joined on lead vocals. Around that time they got in touch with British independent record labels. One of their highlights, the classic Heat of the Street, was included on Oi! The resurrection in 1986. Almost ten years later the chord sequence of this song reappears on When I Come Around from Green Day's million selling Dookie CD. Coincidence? Probably so.
Gilbert and Toon left the band, leaving Bock and Gerrit on their own. The two had developed into one of tightest rhythm sections ever to come from Grootstal, and possibly from Nijmegen. They found singer Joop and guitarist Ted willing to join a revamped Magnificent. This quartet worked on a set of strong songs and contributed one side to Skins 'n' Punks Volume 3. The recordings show a self confident band with a lot of potential. The concrete rhythm section is now expanded with Joop's extremely powerful, but never over-the-top vocals and Ted's heavy guitar sound. In 1987 Rob joined as second guitarist and by the end of that year the band spent some cold weeks in the studio for the recording of their first full album Hit and Run. The album was released early 1988 on Link Records and captures the band at its musical peak. The record showcases a set of excellent song material, played with great energy and recorded using the maximum of the limited eight-track studio facilities. The only setback was the poor sound quality of the vinyl release, which can now luckily be replaced by the CD version (taken from the original master tape with good sound quality). In the rush following the release of the album the band did a gig at the London Astoria, part of which can be found on Oi! The Main Event. While recording material for a new album in 1989, the inevitable musical and personal difficulties arose. With a US tour on the horizon, Ted was replaced by new guitarist Ernst. On the eve of the US tour, Gerrit quit the band, leaving the rest in a state of shock with a cancelled tour. Later that year, Rob quit, followed by Ernst. Bock and Joop were on their own. Against all odds, the two managed to get a new line up together with Hardy on bass and John on guitar. In 1990 the new band finally took off for a tour through the promised land. In the US, they recorded a couple of new, powerful songs that were included on the long awaited second album St. Cloud Days, together with some left-over tracks from earlier recordings made in Nijmegen. The band was in shape again and consolidated its reputation by touring Germany, adding another second guitarist in the shape of Cyril on the way. There was no real split up, the band just stopped doing gigs somewhere in 1994, with members getting involved into different things in and out of music.
Now that time overtook the band with some ten years, it is obvious that one of the strengths of the band lie in the fact that it sprang from the first wave of punk bands. The individual members had spent their formative years listening to a variety of pre-punk music, so there always was a broad perspective on the music. At the same time, the band stayed close to the chosen punk path. Despite the many personnel changes, the band always kept faithful to its original basics: a no-nonsense mentality, a professional attitude as far as the music is concerned, and above all a good sense of humour.
For several years it seemed as if the band only lived on in the memories of those who were in or around it. Then, in 2001 the Magnificent website was made available to the world. The site offers free downloads of all tracks from all the officially released albums. Besides that there's is a large archive of rehearsal tapes, taped gigs etc., which will be made available on the web soon, if not sooner, wasting precious gigabytes. Who cares, old punks never die…
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