The Membranes

The Membranes are an English post-punk and noise rock band from Blackpool formed in 1977. The ensemble was founded by vocalist and bassist John Robb and guitarist Mark Tilton. They achieved professional recognition for pioneering the avant-garde noise scene and released the flexi-disc Flexible Membrane (1980) followed by the single “Muscles” (1982). Their discography includes the studio recordings Crack House (1983) and The Gift of Life (1985), the latter reaching number 15 on the UK Independent Chart. Their recording career includes the track “Spike Milligan's Tape Recorder” (1984), which reached number 12. After signing with the label In Tape, they released the studio recording Songs of Love and Fury (1986), which reached number four. Following a period of inactivity starting in 1990, the group resumed activity in 2009 for the All Tomorrows Parties festival. Their subsequent work includes the studio recordings Dark Matter/Dark Energy (2015) and What Nature Gives... Nature Takes Away (2019).