DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott makes a guest appearance on the comeback album by the reunited British protopunk art rock band DOCTORS OF MADNESS. Joe contributed backing vocals to six songs on "Dark Times", including the LP's first single, "Make It Stop!" DOCTORS OF MADNESS were active as a recording and touring band from 1975 until late 1978. They found cult level acclaim and recognition in the '70s, but had little commercial success. Since then, they have come to be regarded as prime movers who were forerunners of the later punk movement. The Guardian described DOCTORS OF MADNESS as "the missing link between David Bowie and THE SEX PISTOLS." Exploding on to the music scene in 1975 with their theatrical, William Burroughs-inspired sci-fi nightmare, DOCTORS OF MADNESS were misunderstood by many, but those who knew understood the importance of the band's dangerous, uncompromising approach to lyrics, to music and to performance. They were the first to combine the avant-garde approach of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND with a distinctly European aesthetic. The blue hair, exotic stage-names, the lyrical themes of urban decay, political propaganda, mind control and madness were all taken up by the punk bands who followed in their wake. Produced by John Leckie (RADIOHEAD, STONE ROSES, PINK FLOYD), "Dark Times" features additional contributions from Sarah Jane Morris (COMMUNARDS), Terry Edwards (PJ HARVEY, NICK CAVE, TINDERSTICKS), Steve "Boltz" Bolton (THE WHO, SCOTT WALKER, ATOMIC ROOSTER) and the young protest singer Lily Bud (SARAH JANE MORRIS, BAND OF HOLY JOY), alongside the current thrilling and thunderous DOCTORS OF MADNESS rhythm section of Susumu Ukei (bass) and Mackii Ukei (drums) of the Japanese extreme glam-metal band SISTER PAUL, and Dylan O Bates (violin and keyboards). All songs were written by Richard "Kid" Strange (vocals, guitar) and Elizabeth Dearsley. "Dark Times" was released last September to little fanfare, with the official music video for "Make It Stop!" receiving less than 200 views as of this story's publication.
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