Mo-Dettes

A post-punk band whose music blended stripped-down rock & roll with the lean rhythms of dub, the Mo-Dettes were formed in London in 1979 by American-born guitarist Kate Korris (she also used the spellings Kate Korus and Kate Corris), who previously had performed briefly with <a href="spotify:artist:5O0RrEgz4NLCPLrDZiPggz">the Slits</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4t7bXPFEPe0pu1ozhdDLOp">the Raincoats</a> very early in each band's history. Korris teamed up with bassist Jane Crockford, ex-Bank of Dresden, to form the Mo-Dettes, and they rounded out the lineup with Swiss singer Ramona Carlier (whose heavily accented vocals became one of the band's aural trademarks) and drummer June Miles-Kingston (whose brother Bob Kingston was also a figure on the British rock scene as guitarist with <a href="spotify:artist:3hsO9B2FiSAfdBddcNKZEV">Tenpole Tudor</a>). In 1979, the Mo-Dettes made their recorded debut with the single "White Mice" b/w "Masochistic Opposite," which was released on the band's own <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Mode+Records%22">Mode Records</a> label. Thanks to steady airplay from iconic radio host John Peel, the 45 fared well on the independent charts, and the band recorded three live-in-the-studio sessions for Peel's show between 1980 and 1981. The success of the "White Mice" single led to a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Deram+Records%22">Deram Records</a>, who released the Mo-Dettes' first album, The Story So Far, in November 1980. While the Mo-Dettes cover of <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">the Rolling Stones</a>' "Paint It Black" was a minor chart success, the album didn't sell as well as expected, and a non-LP single, "Tonight," released in June 1981, failed to break into the Top 50. Bowing to pressure from their record company, the Mo-Dettes briefly expanded to a quintet with the addition of a second guitarist, Melissa Ritter, but the lineup became unstable after Ramona Carlier left the band in May 1982; Jane Crockford took over on vocals before Sue Slack took over as singer during the group's last few months. By the end of 1982, the Mo-Dettes broke up. June Miles-Kingston went on to a successful career following the Mo-Dettes, working with <a href="spotify:artist:1dmEUAQBopYUrsMnQnScWL">the Fun Boy Three</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5jVeqi3PNaTOajfvBa4uFn">the Thompson Twins</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:13ccXrK7AmXb4TddMkE7jy">Everything But the Girl</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:17U2ImH5IyYMvjkCfPhMHT">the Communards</a>. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi