Editing Assemblage 23 (section)

===1980s–1990s (pre–Assemblage 23)===
Prior to starting Assemblage 23, Shear experimented with music under the name Man on a Stage, beginning in the early 1980s. Most of Shear's music at this point was instrumental, as he lacked the confidence to sing; the quality of the music itself was highly questionable by his own admission. Shear eventually began to add vocals to his music; at the same time, Shear was also playing bass in a live band called the Advocates.

Assemblage 23 was officially born in 1988, after Shear experienced the [[industrial music|industrial]] [[dance music]] played by an opening DJ for [[Depeche Mode]]. The style of this genre deeply impressed Shear; he believed he had finally found the sort of sound he wanted for his music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://assemblage23.com/infostart.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105220119/http://assemblage23.com/infostart.html|url-status=dead|title=A23 Beginnings|archivedate=January 5, 2009}}</ref> Even so, the project was more of a hobby for Shear at this point; it took until 1998 for Assemblage 23 to gather enough positive acclaim to attract the attention of record labels.