ADS (band)

ADS
Origin Copenhagen, Denmark
Genres Post-Punk, Deathrock, Punk
Years active 1980–1984
Labels BZ-Records, Irmgardz
Associated acts Sort Sol, D-A-D
Past members Stig Pedersen (D-A-D)
Lars Top-Galia (Sort Sol)
Michael "Funder" Thorlasius
Karsten Hjarsø
Søren "Slys" Johnson
Peter Top-Jensen
Martin Krogh
Mads Nordheim
Tolle Tolstoy

ADS (1980–84) was a Danish gothic punk band with among others Stig Pedersen (later in D-A-D) and Lars Top-Galia (later in Sort Sol).

Genre-wise ADS was a mix of punk rock and post-punk not infrequently with a dystopian / doomsday-like expression. Inspiration from Sex Pistols and other early punk bands, early Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Birthday Party can be found in the music, but ADS had their own recognizable style and sound.

The band's sound is more grandiose than traditional punk rock, and more in line with post-punk.

Despite that frontman Funder is more yelling than singing the expression is neither desperation-filled or outright angry, but instead powerful and efficient, which matches the instrument's also powerful and expressive style.

The band debuted on 14 September 1980, when they played together with Martin Hall's Ballet Mécanique at a venue in Copenhagen.

ADS supported U.K. Subs at Saltlageret, 27 November 1981, Dead Kennedys at Saltlageret 19 December 1982 and Nick Cave at Ungdomshuset (the Youth House) 23 May 1984. In addition ADS played at the LP-documented Nosferatu Festival on 7 March 1982 at Saltlageret - a festival which was initiated by guitarist Lars Top-Galia.

The band played at various occupied houses in Denmark and toured in Germany.

ADS played together with other bands on the Danish punk scene such as Disneyland After Dark, Ballet Mécanique, UCR, Before, City-X, Electric Deads, NRG, Razorblades, Enola Gay and The Zero Point among others

Band-members

ADS was formed in 1980 by Stig Pedersen (bass, later in D-A-D), Michael "Funder" Thorlasius (vocals), Karsten Hjarsø (guitar, also in the post-punk band UCR), Søren "Slys" Johnsen (guitar, also in UCR) and Peter Top-Jensen (drums).

In 1981/82 Søren "Slys" Søndergaard Johnsen and Karsten Hjarsø who both mainly played in the punk / goth band UCR were replaced by Lars Top-Jensen (later Top-Galia, guitar, later in Sort Sol). In 1982 Stig Pedersen, who went off to form the cowpunk band "Disneyland After Dark" was replaced by Martin Krogh (bass, also in "Martin And The Martians" and Martin Hall's "Front and Fantasy").

In approx. 1983 Mads Nordheim (also in the Post-punk band "Before") joined the band on keyboards, and later Martin Krogh was replaced by Tolle Tolstoy (Lars Bo "Tolle" Tolstoy Jacobsen, bass, also in "Before").

Visual style and time

ADS is probably the Danish punk band of all time who collectively have been most focused on image and style (from approx. 1982-84), and thus one can subjectively say that the band were pioneers of how the style-conscious Danish punk-related underground developed later and partly also looks today.

The bandmembers in ADS were 100% punks who were gripped by the punk dynamics and language, and wanted to be a part of the story. Guitarist Lars Top-Galia played at age 16 in 1980 with Franz De Zaster from the early Danish punk band "Brats" at the "Concerto de Nobrainos insanos" punk-festival and at age 18 in 1982 arranged the LP-documented punk/post-punk festival "Nosferatu Festival".

ADS in their familiar style-conscious version (from around 1982) appeared at a time when the first Danish punk scene was well on its way to die. Already in 1981 several of the old punk bands either disappeared or had moved away from the original punk-rock genre, and in 1983 the first Danish punk scene was in reality dead. So it was important that ADS found a newer and different musical expression that pointed forward and marked their own territory.

Although the band members had grown up with Sex Pistols, Ramones and all the old favorites ADS' style in pace with the times were more gothic and post-punk'ish with inspiration from Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Birthday Party and alike.

External links and references/sources

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