PRESENCE - Inside (1993)

Presence were a British rock band formed in 1990, best known for its associations with the Cure. They released the album Inside in 1992 and split the following year.

Presence was formed by keyboardist Lol Tolhurst, a founding member of the Cure who had left that band in 1989; and singer Gary Biddles, a former member of Fools Dance who had also served as a member of the Cure's road crew in the early 1980s. 

Two other former members of the Cure, bassist Michael Dempsey and guitarist Porl Thompson, contributed to Presence's early demo recordings, with Dempsey receiving some songwriting credits.

The band's lineup was eventually completed with bassist Roberto Soave, guitarist Rob Steen, keyboardist Chris Youdell (formerly of Then Jericho), and drummer Alan Burgess. 

This lineup first released the single "In Wonder", followed by the album Inside in 1992, which despite some favorable reviews was not successful

Inside is the debut studio album released by British rock band Presence, released in the UK through Reality Records in 1992, and in the US and Canada through Smash Records, a subsidiary of Island Records, in 1993. Although Inside was well received by critics, it was a commercial failure, and the band dissolved shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, this band does spark interest among some Cure fans because of the involvement of Lol Tolhurst.

Tolhurst believes that Presence would may had a better chance of achieving commercial success had his reputation not been tied to that of The Cure. In his autobiography, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys. Tolhurst writes:

"I believe the biggest impediment to us succeeding was the baggage that came with me. If it had been a new band that nobody knew, I think we might have got a different reaction. We were either too much like The Cure (surprise, surprise) or not enough. We couldn’t win.”

North American version

1.  Never - 4:24 

2.  Fragments - 3:40

     Biddles, Dempsey, Tolhurst, Youdell 

3.  Act of Faith - 4:02 

4.  On Ocean Hill - 5:05

     Biddles, Burgess, Tolhurst, Youdell 

5.  Revolve - 4:29 

6.  Highest Peak - 5:30 

     Biddles, Dempsey, Tolhurst, Youdell 

7.  Pause - 5:00 

8.  Raindown - 3:38 

9.  Missing - 4:17 

10.  In Wonder - 4:16 

11.  All I See - 4:56 

12.  Inside - 5:43 

All tracks written by Biddles, Tolhurst, and Youdell, except where noted. 

 

Presence

• Gary Biddles - vocals
• Alan Burgess - drums
• Roberto Soave - bass guitar
• Rob Steen - guitar
• Laurence Tolhurst - keyboard
• Chris Youdell - keyboard

Production

• Produced by Presence
• Engineered by Jim Russell, assisted by Alex Byrd
• Mixed by Ingmar Kiang, assisted by Anthony Fisher
• Mastered by Greg Calbi
• Art direction – Deborah Melian
• Design and Logo – Rob Steen
• Artwork and Photography – Jeremy Baile and Darryl Schiff

Notes

Released: 1992/1993 

Genre : Pop rock 

Length: 55:45 (original release)

Producer:  Presence 

Label - Smash / Island