Test Dept

Test Dept, sometimes credited as Test Department is a British industrial music group from London, England, that was one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked by the use of "found" material, re-constructed to better serve their purpose, of making "more" with "less".
he group formed in the London suburb of New Cross in 1981. The core members of the group were Graham Cunnington, Paul Jamrozy, Jonathan Toby Burdon, Paul Hines and Angus Farquhar. Other members who played with the group at various times included Alistair Adams, Neil Starr, John Eacott, Andy Cowton, Tony Cudlip, David Coulter, Liz Ranken, Gus Ferguson, Martin King, Simon Hyde, Russell MacDonald and Katie Jane Garside. Comedian Vic Reeves played bass in an early incarnation of the band. The band signed to Some Bizzare Records, a label connected to acts like Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Cabaret Voltaire, PTV, Foetus, and Swans. The slides and film for Test Dept multi-media events were made by visual director Brett Turnbull.
Their discography spans a wide variety of influences and styles, including a collaboration with the South Wales Striking Miners Choir in support of the miners' strike of 1984. They were particularly notable for complex and powerful percussion, as well as high-energy live performances. Like the German band Einstürzende Neubauten, another Some Bizzare label signing with whom they are often compared, Test Dept used unconventional instruments such as scrap metal and industrial machinery as sound sources; however, Test Dept's use of these objects was far more rhythmic than was Neubauten's, and was often accompanied by film and slide shows. The group were noted for large-scale events in unusual site-specific locations, such as Bishopsbrige Maintenance depot at Paddington station, Arch 69 and Titan Arch near Waterloo station, Cannon Street station, Stirling Castle and the disused St Rollox Railway Works in Glasgow. Test Dept. were also active in the 1980s underground tape scene with many of their earliest releases being available only on cassette.
(read more on Wikipedia)
==Links to Peel==
Peel seemed to have discovered the group in 1983 via the various artists compilation album, 'Batcave: Young Limbs And Numb Hymns', according to available tracklistings on this site. Further material from the group were played on his radio programmes, including two sessions they recorded for his programmes between 1983 and 1985. After 1991, Peel seemed to have lost interest in the band's material.
==Sessions==
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1. Recorded: 1983-08-15. First Broadcast: 22 August 1983. Repeated: 14 September 1983, 05 October 1983, 22 December 1983, 14 August 1985
*Hunger / State Of Affairs / Shockwork
2. Recorded: 1985-02-19. First Broadcast: 04 February 1985. Repeated: 19 February 1985
*Operation Prayer Power / Massive Kamikaze Attack
==Other Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1983
*31 May 1983: Shockwork (v/a album - Batcave: Young Limbs And Numb Hymns) London 
*11 August 1983: Shockwork (v/a album - Batcave: Young Limbs And Numb Hymns) London 
*24 November 1983: Compulsion (Machine Run) (12" - Compulsion) Some Bizarre
*28 November 1983: Compulsion (7") Some Bizzare 
*07 December 1983: Compulsion (12") Some Bizarre 
*10 December 1983 (BFBS): Compulsion (Machine Run) (12") Some Bizarre 
*12 December 1983: Compulsion (12") Some Bizarre 
;1984
*04 January 1984 (BFBS): Compulsion (12") Some Bizarre 
*17 March 1984 (BFBS): Compulsion (Machine Run) (12" EP - Compulsion) Some Bizarre 
*06 August 1984: Sweet Sedation (2 x 12" - Beating The Retreat) Phonogram
*08 August 1984: Total State (album - Beating The Retreat) Some Bizarre 
*19 August 1984 (BFBS): Spring Into Action (album - Beating The Retreat) Some Bizzare 
*19 August 1984 (BFBS): Kick To Kill (album - Beating The Retreat) Some Bizzare 
*20 August 1984 (BBC World Service): Kick To Kill (album - Beating The Retreat) Some Bizarre 
*26 August 1984 (BFBS): Spring Into Action (album - Beating The Retreat) Some Bizzare 
*02 September 1984 (BFBS): Sweet Sedation (album - Beating The Retreat) Some Bizzare 
*31 December 1984 (BBC World Service): V.F.M. (v/a album - Raging Spool) New Musical Express 
;1985
*02 January 1985: Kick To Kill (LP – Beating The Retreat) Some Bizarre 
*03 March 1985 (BFBS): Comrades (album - Shoulder To Shoulder) Ministry Of Power
*04 March 1985: Gdansk (album - Shoulder To Shoulder) Ministry Of Power
*19 March 1985: Fuel To Fight (shared LP with South Wales Striking Miners Choir - Shoulder To Shoulder) Ministry Of Power
*12 October 1985 (BFBS): Total Nervous Phenomonom (v/a album - If You Can't Please Yourself You Can't, Please Your Soul) EMI 
*11 November 1985: Total Nervous Phenomonom (v/a LP - If You Can't Please Yourself You Can't, Please Your Soul) EMI
;1986
*08 April 1986: The Crusher (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power
*12 April 1986 (BFBS): 'The Crusher (LP-The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom)' (Ministry Of Power)
*14 April 1986: Fist (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power
*14 April 1986 (BBC World Service): The Crusher (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power
*19 April 1986 (BFBS): 'Fist (LP-The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom)' (Ministry Of Power)
*21 April 1986 (BBC World Service): 51st State Of America (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power
*23 April 1986: Fist (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power
*29 April 1986: Fuckhead (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power 
;1987
*23 June 1987: Fuckhead (LP - The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom) Ministry Of Power
*08 December 1987: Cha Till Sinn Tuille (We Shall Return No More) (12" - Victory) Ministry Of Power
;1990
*24 November 1990: Pax Americana (The Desert Mix) (12") Ministry Of Power / Jungle
;1991
*03 March 1991: New World Order (Crusader Mix) (12") Jungle
*16 March 1991: New World Order (Crusader Mix) (12") Jungle
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Official Website
Category:Artists