Minny Pops

Often stern, occasionally humorous, sometimes both at once, Dutch post-punk experimentalists Minny Pops formed in Amsterdam in 1978. They made their recorded debut the following year on Plurex, a label operated by band vocalist Wally Van Middendorp. The three-track 7" single contained "Kojak," on which Van Middendorp impersonated Telly Savalas' TV character of the same name with lines like "If you make more money, you make fewer friends." Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement, the band's debut album, followed later in the year, and offered more lean, mechanical sketches and abrasive noise diversions.

After a handful of gigs in support of Joy Division and the release of a live EP, Minny Pops joined the Factory roster and, during 1981 and 1982, bounced between Factory proper and Factory's secondary Benelux division. A re-recording of "Dolphin's Spurt," produced by Martin Hannett and engineered by Chris Nagle, appeared in 1981, while the relatively slicker album Sparks in a Dark Room came the following year. Two more albums, Poste Restante and 4th Floor, were released on Plurex and Prime prior to the band's 1985 dissolution. The band, still led by Van Middendorp, reconvened in 2012 for several gigs, as well as a single recorded by fan Tim Burgess (of the Charlatans). Archival releases and reissues of the band's '70s and '80s output appeared on LTM and Factory Benelux.