The Bears

about

The Bears is an American power pop band formed in 1985 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It features the distinctive avant-garde guitar playing of Adrian Belew, the band's most prominent member. Fetters, Nyswonger and Arduser are all former members of the Raisins, a Cincinnati-based band that was a local success in the early 1980s. In 1983, the Raisins, who then consisted of Fetters, Nyswonger, Rick Neiheisel (keyboards, vocals) and Rick "Bam" Powell (drums, vocals), recorded an eponymous album, produced by Belew. Belew's friendship with the Raisins dated back to the mid-'70s, when he crossed paths with them as a member of a band named Sweetheart before being discovered by Frank Zappa. The Raisins album, which was released on the small Cincinnati-based label Strugglebaby, produced a local No. 1 hit, "Fear is Never Boring" (later re-recorded for the Bears' first album), on popular Cincinnati radio stations. Clive Davis, then head of Arista Records, considered signing the band, but the Raisins didn't break through nationally. In 1985, the Raisins broke up. Fetters and Nyswonger joined forces with Belew (who had recently completed a stint with King Crimson) to form a new band, the Bears. The band name was chosen in order to get their albums placed in the alphabetically-ordered record store racks next to The Beatles. Arduser, who had left the Raisins years before, was recruited to play drums after Larrie Londin became unavailable for touring. The Bears had some initial trouble getting signe

top songs

albums

The Bears

Rise and Shine

Car Caught Fire

Perfect Unpop: Peel Show Hits and Long Lost Lo-Fi Favourites - Vol 1. 1976-80

Eureka!

Live

▥

Good Vibrations: The Punk Singles Collection

▥

Perfect Unpop - Peel Show Hits & Long-Lost Lo-Fi Favourites Vol.1 1976-80

▥

Live and Loud

▥

Perfect Unpop: Peel Show Hits & Long-Lost Lo-Fi Favourites Vol.1 1976-80

Good Vibrations - The Punk Singles Collection

▥

Punk Rock Rarities Vol. 1

similar artists