The Chameleons

The Profile

The Chameleons are an English post-punk band formed in 1981 in Middleton, Greater Manchester. Known for atmospheric guitars and anthemic melancholy, they released influential albums in the 1980s and later reunited for new activity.

Formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981 by Mark Burgess (bass, vocals), Reg Smithies (guitar), Dave Fielding (guitar) and John Lever (drums). Key albums include Script of the Bridge (1983), What Does Anything Mean? Basically (1985), Strange Times (1986) and Why Call It Anything (2001). Known as The Chameleons UK in the United States. The band reformed in 2021.

Three reviews trace The Chameleons’ arc from the dark, reverberant Script of the Bridge to the more varied What Does Anything Mean? Basically, up to the mature, expansive Strange Times. Writers situate them within Manchester’s shadowed lineage, noting kinships with Joy Division, The Cure, and U2, and their influence on later neowave acts like Interpol and Editors. The consensus: elegant arrangements, anthemic pull, and enduring under-recognition.