Biography for No Ceremony///

No Ceremony///? Sounds like a New Order tribute band, doesn't it? In fact, they do come from Manchester, and as per other bands from that city, they have retained their anonymity to the extent that we don't know their names or indeed if they are a he, she or they. Wait, come back! They – or he, or she – can hardly be accused of being fashionably mysterious when acts from their (or his, or hers – we'll stop doing that now and use the generic plural) hometown have a history of assuming such a stance going back to the early 80s, when mystique and obfuscation were the air the music press breathed.

So what do we know about No Ceremony///? We know they were one of Amazing Radio's tips for 2012, their name is followed by three forward slashes (the devil is in the pop detail), they've been played on Radio 1, and they're making their live debut in Manchester on 18 May at Spinningfields for an event called New Sounds of the North alongside alt-J, Money, and more. By which point their cover will presumably be blown, unless they perform wearing masks. Everything else about them is opinion – some say their artwork hints at Metallica if they'd signed to Factory – rumour and hearsay. It has even been speculated that Wu Lyf's "War God" Warren Bramley may actually be No Ceremony///. We don't have a problem with that, with pop groups or rock bands as the front for Men with Ideas.

Uit: The Guardian