BIOGRAPHY
Incubus Succubus
formed in the summer of 1989 when Tony McKormack,
Candia Ridley and Adam
Henderson met at college studying graphic design.
They shared an interest in paganism, witchcraft and vampirism as well as
making original music from an early age, and so the type of band that was
to emerge from the joining of forces was, quite naturally, an expression
of this.
Initially, the name
of the band was taken from a Gloucestershire long barrow, Belas
Knap. After a few months this name was dropped
in favour of Incubus Succubus.
The original aim of the band was (as it still is today) to be the vehicle
in which celebration of the Pagan experience could be conveyed.
After being in existence
for about a year the band released their first single, Beltaine,
which received Radio 1 and regional airplay. Unfortunately, shortly after
this some members of the band drifted away leaving just Candia & Tony.
The couple, however, continued in the form of Children
of the Moon, a studio based project in much the
same vein as Incubus Succubus.The
material was very well recieved by the growing Pagan underground scene.
In December 1991 Bob, the original drummer, rejoined Candia & Tony,
and Incubus Succubus was
consequently reborn. The band played around Gloucestershire, Bristol and
Oxford and released all of the Children of the Moon material on one cassette
album called Beltaine.
In 1992 the band
recorded the album Belladonna & Aconite
which was released in October. By this time Incubus
Succubus were hailed as 'Britain's Premier Pagan
Rock Band'.
1993 brought offers
from independent record labels which resulted in the release of Belladonna
& Aconite on CD in October, and the Wytches
CD in April 1994 on Pagan Records.
During 1993 the band
toured twice with Nosferatu and became regulars at the Marquee in London
and Nottingham's Rock City. The band's following grew and so did their
fame. They appeared on the BBC World Service and in several European, American
and Far Eastern magazines.
In 1994 they recorded
the EP Corn King, did two headline UK tours, played Paris and also supported
the likes of The Damned, Zodiac Mindwarp, Clawfinger, Patricia Morrison
and The Marionettes.
In 1995 Incubus
Succubus played alongside The Mission, Genitortures
and Danzig at two prestigious German festivals. By this time they had also
appeared on many compilation Gothic CDs including What Sweet Music They
Make I & II released by Thee Vampire Guild, Dreams In The Witch House
by Grave News, Touched By The Hand Of Goth from Euromedia and Jungle's
Gothic Rock II. In 1995 they signed to Ressurrection Records and released
the much-awaited album Heartbeat Of The Earth
at the end of October. The album was promoted with a successful tour where
the new material was welcomed with enthusiasm.
In the spring '95
it was decided that the spelling of the band's name would change to Inkubus
Sukkubus for numerological reasons, and with this
came other notable changes. The live band went through a stunning metamorphosis
and they now play with a drum machine and full backing from sequencers
giving the richness and diversity of sound and emotion previously found
only in the recorded band. Bob returned to his first instrument and began
to play bass guitar for Inkubus Sukkubus,
and the distinctive celtic bodhran was maintained as an integral part of
the live as well as the recorded Inkubus Sukkubus.
In March 1996 Inkubus
Sukkubus appeared on the popular British nationwide
television programme The Big Breakfast and were filmed playing live by
The Girlie Show, another nationwide quirky youth show. In May/June 1996
Inkubus Sukkubus did a
very successful tour of Germany- including a trip to Paris- so winning
a new army of followers. They returned to Germany as well as playing for
the first time in Belgium in the Autumn of 1996.
Also in 1996, by
popular demand, the band's first album Beltaine
was released on CD for the first time through
Ressurrection Records.
On the 23rd November 1996 Inkubus Sukkubus
were invited to perform at the Pagan Federation's 25th Anniversary Annual
Conference. The day was a great success, and the band rounded it off by
playing to an enthusiastic spiral dancing crowd.
1997 brought more
appearances on compilation CDs including the 3rd and final Vampire Guild
release, What Sweet Music... R.I.P. with their track Vampyre
Erotica; the CD to accompany Mick Mercer's new
book, The Hex Files with the track Heart Of Lilith;
a 4 CD compilation called The Goth Box and a cover version of Spellbound
on a Siouxsie & the Banshees tribute CD also on Cleopatra.
On 24th August 1997,
six weeks after the birth of Tony & Candia's baby boy Leon, the band
headlined a major convention at the Hippodrome in London -Vampyria- featuring
many well known horror authors as well as stars from the world of Hammer
to over 1000 enthusiastic fans. The band released their fifth album, Vampyre
Erotica, exploring wilder as well as more sombre
and haunting moods. It was released 22nd September 1997 and was promoted
by a series of UK dates including headlining the now famous Whitby Gothic
Weekend at Hallowe'en.
1998 has proved to
be a very exciting year for Inkubus Sukkubus.
In February they headlined The Bank in Manhattan, New York promoted by
Sabretooth Inc. to a capacity audience. They returned to Belgium in Spring
and during the summer they headlined a major festival held in a medieval
castle in the Polish mountains. They also headlined the annual Sacrosanct
festival in London.
September 1998 found
the band performing at Vampyria II which was held at the Camden Palace
in London to a capacity crowd of around 1600 people, shortly followed by
Symphony of Shadows Festival at Whitby, N. Yorkshire (home of Bram Stoker's
Dracula). Inkubus shall
also be playing this years Annual Pagan Federation Conference on the 21st
November where around 1700 pagans are expected to attend from all over
the world. They shall also be returning to the US at the end of October
to tour, culminating in a show in New Orleans on Hallowe'en. The CD entitled
Away with the Faeries,
which was previewed at Vampyria II shall be available on general release
in November. The recording is a strictly limited edition album featuring
6 new studio tracks along with 9 live tracks recorded recently in the band's
home town Cheltenham.
In March 1999 Inkubus
Sukkubus are looking forward to a return trip
to Germany where they shall be touring, both by popular demand, and also
because they can't await to get back there.
Shadow & Shade ......................Orkus......................Pagan
Fire Muzick
present
plus support
12.03.99......Zöblitz
- Kniebreche
13.03.99......Herford
- Spunk
15.03.99......Darmstadt
- Goldene Krone
17.03.99......Ulm
- Cat Cafe
18.03.99......Wuppertal
- HDJ Barmen
4th April 99
- Black Easter Festival - Vooruit / Ghent
8th May 99 - Underworld / London
15th May - Duchess of York / Leeds
21th-24th May 99 - Gothik Treffen / Leipzig
27th May 99 - Axiom Centre / Cheltenham
29th May 99 - Mercat / Birmingham
Inkubus
Sukkubus Discography