The Associates

Associates were a post-punk/new wave band which formed in 1977 in Dundee, Scotland. They initially consisted of Billy MacKenzie (vocals), Alan Rankine (guitar, keyboards) and later, Michael Dempsey (bass), formerly of The Cure. After Rankine and Dempsey’s departures in 1982, the band featured a fluctuating lineup revolving around MacKenzie. Their best known single is 1982’s “Party Fears Two”. The band split in 1990, but Billy and Alan reunited briefly in 1993. They did not play any more concerts but made some recordings which were released on the double CD “Double Hipness”. MacKenzie commited suicide in 1997, which deeply affected his friends Robert Smith and Siouxsie Sioux, who both wrote songs in tribute of MacKenzie for their respective bands The Cure (“Cut Here”) and The Creatures (“Say”).