Group
Five or Six
UK post-punk band
- From
- United Kingdom
- Since
- present
- Releases
- 7
- art punk
- experimental rock
- post-punk
About
Five or Six were an English post-punk band, originally signed to Cherry Red Records by A&R head Mike Alway, who deemed them to be the act with the most potential from the scene he had helped create around the Snoopies club in south-west London. In addition to the singles they released with Cherry Red, they recorded two albums, A Thriving and Happy Land and Cántame esa canción que dice, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, neither of which was released in the UK. The line-up was fluid. One of their songs was included on the compilation album Pillows & Prayers.
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John Yorke became a senior executive for both Channel Four and the BBC and is currently head of independent drama. Dave Harper is involved in the management of bands including Goldfrapp. His brother, Simon Harper, became head of international at 4AD. Dave Knight and Ashley Wales joined Karl Blake as members of the Shock Headed Peters, with Wales then proceeding to dance/jazz duo Spring Heel Jack. Knight later worked with Lydia Lunch and Danielle Dax, records solo under the name Arkkon, and with Stephen Thrower (Coil, Cyclobe) in UnicaZürn.
In 2008, Cherry Red released a retrospective anthology, entitled Acting on Impulse: The Best of Five or Six.
Members
Discography
Compilations
Links
Reference
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- e40ace3a-0fb0-4c50-bb5b-60c447a98f0e
- ISNI
- 0000000122930506
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 11 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.