Clock DVA

Clock DVA were one of the key groups to emerge from Sheffield’s late-1970s experimental music scene, alongside acts such as Cabaret Voltaire and The Human League. The band was formed in 1978 by vocalist and conceptualist Adi Newton (born Gary Coates) and bassist Steven “Judd” Turner. Their name came from the Nadsat language in Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange — “dva” meaning “two” in Russian.

Before forming Clock DVA, Newton had been involved with early Sheffield groups including The Future, alongside Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who later formed Heaven 17 and The Human League. Clock DVA grew from the same artistic underground centred around Sheffield clubs, tape experimentation, industrial sound art and DIY electronics.

Early performances mixed live instruments with tape loops, noise textures and synthesizers such as the EMS Synthi E. Their sound fused industrial noise, jazz improvisation, post-punk and experimental electronics.

Their breakthrough release was the cassette album White Souls in Black Suits (1980), issued on Industrial Records, the label founded by Throbbing Gristle. It established Clock DVA as part of the emerging industrial music movement.

In 1981 they released the album Thirst, now regarded as a Sheffield post-punk classic. The single “4 Hours” became one of their best-known tracks. By this point the group had evolved into a darker, rhythmic and more structured sound that still retained avant-garde elements.

After internal tensions and the death of Judd Turner from an accidental overdose in 1981, the band splintered. Newton rebuilt Clock DVA with new musicians including future Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist John Valentine Carruthers. The 1983 album Advantage pushed further into electronic funk, industrial dance rhythms and experimental production.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Newton transformed Clock DVA again, embracing digital sampling, cyberpunk themes and electronic body music. Albums such as Buried Dreams (1989) and Man-Amplified (1992) became influential within industrial and dark electronic music circles.

Clock DVA reactivated in the late 2000s and have continued performing and releasing material, including the 2023 album Noesis. Adi Newton remains the central figure and creative force behind the project.

Key releases include:

White Souls in Black Suits (1980)
Thirst (1981)
Advantage (1983)
Buried Dreams (1989)
Man-Amplified (1992)
Noesis (2023)

Clock DVA are widely regarded as one of Sheffield’s most innovative and uncompromising bands, helping shape industrial, electro-industrial and experimental electronic music internationally.