Biography
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Charles (b.1973) and Robert (b.1975) Peacefull originally hail from the Isle of Man.
They moved to London in 1990 and formed The Gifts, a post-punk band in the vein of
The Birthday Party. The Gifts did the usual circuit of London venues for two years
building up a cult following, but acrimoniously split whilst recording what would
have been their debut album, and Robert and Charles went their separate ways.
Robert married and settled in Tottenham, working as a packer in a meat factory,
until he was made redundant in 1995. Charles, meanwhile, moved north and took a
number of jobs in the Manchester/Stockport area, including spells at a burger bar
and a building site, until finally finding employment on the Ninian Central oil
rig in the North Sea, a job he held down for four years. He at this time initiated
contact with his brother, who had by now divorced his wife and begun a series of
short-lived homosexual relations. The tentative correspondence soon ended,
when Charles served thirteen months in HMP Barlinnie for aggravated assault.
On release in 2001, a period of homelessness ensued, ending when his parents
managed to contact him and prevail upon him to attend Robert’s second wedding,
which he did. It was the first time the brothers had met in eight years. Robert
had just begun taking medication for the depression and obesity which unfortunately
had come to dominate his life. After a long period on the dole, he had found
employment as a Label Inspector for a tinned food company. The job was lonely
and boring in the extreme, and did little to rid Robert of his daemons leading
to his suicide attempt of last year, in the midst of the break-up of his second
marriage, when his fragile mental state collapsed completely. It was ironically
when Charles was visiting him in St Ann’s Mental Health Unit that the idea of
them making music together again was first suggested. Since his brother’s wedding,
Charles had returned to his errant ways disappearing off the radar for some time.
There were reports that he was drifting in South America but for a couple of years
his whereabouts were unknown.
In the summer of 2005, only a few weeks after Robert was allowed home, the brothers
began recording songs in the front room of a friend’s house. The process was hampered
by the fact that, at some point in his travels, Charles had had the ring and pinkie
fingers of his right hand amputated, apparently as a result of an infection from a tattoo.
As of current writing, Robert is back at his parent’s house on the Isle of Man,
recuperating, and Charles is thought to be living somewhere in London. It is currently
uncertain when they may record again.
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