Hugo Largo

Did You Know?

• Under the name Mimi, Goese released a solo album, Soak, in 1998.
• Goese has collaborated with artists like Moby and Ben Neill.
• Sommer later played with the New Orleans–based Hi-Fi Sky, who released Music for Synchronized Swimming in Space in 2005.

History

Hugo Largo began in 1984 as a trio with vocalist Goese and bassists Tim Sommer and Greg Letson. Sommer was a WNYU DJ, journalist for Trouser Press and The Village Voice, and former member of Even Worse and Swans; Letson had played with Sommer in the Glenn Branca Ensemble. Letson left in January 1985 and was replaced by Adam Peacock. In February 1987, the Michael Stipe-produced Drum EP appeared on Relativity Records, with Stipe singing backing vocals on two tracks.

The EP was reissued in 1988 as a full album with additional material on Brian Eno's Opal Records. The second album, Mettle, came out in 1989 on Opal, then on All Saints Records and in the United Kingdom on Land Records. This lineup played its final shows in July 1989. In late 1990, Goese, Peacock, and Rowe reformed the band without Sommer, who had become an MTV veejay, and recruited bassist Bill Stair via a Village Voice ad.

The new lineup debuted at a sold-out Knitting Factory show on April 12, 1991, with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Mike Mills in attendance. They played several more New York shows but never recorded a third album, though demos and live recordings were made. Their last gig was at the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage on September 5, 1991. In September 2024, Missing Piece Records released the compilation Huge, Large and Electric: Hugo Largo 1984-1991, containing Drum, Mettle, and live and previously unreleased material.