Classic Pop 30 2017 July PDF

CLASSIC
CLASSIC POP
now
monthly!
Janet Back with
Jackson a classic!
ALISON
JULY 2017
The princess
of R&B pop MOYET
DEPECHE MODE • ALISON MOYET • TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY • JANET JACKSON • GOLDFRAPP • CREATION • STEPS • SAINT ETIENNE • THE SOUND OF WALES
GOLDFRAPP
The masters
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reveal all
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RECORDS
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world!
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JULY 17
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WELCOME TO
CLASSIC
AS A DEPECHE MODE FAN OF MORE THAN

25 YEARS, IT’S A REAL HONOUR THIS MONTH
TO HAVE THE LADS AS OUR COVER STARS.
ACROSS FOUR DECADES, THEY’VE CEMENTED
THEIR LEGENDARY STATUS AS ONE OF THE 30
MOST IMPORTANT FORCES IN ELECTRONIC
MUSIC. FULL OF PASSION
T
AND RIGHTEOUS IRE, his month we’re also music possesses that makes it so
delighted to be able to addictive for us all.
THEIR NEW ALBUM SPIRIT champion Alison Moyet’s We’re a broad church here
IS A CALL FOR TOLERANCE sterling long-player Other. at Classic Pop so elsewhere this
AND COMPASSION IN There’s nothing retro here, just a issue we’re serving up a varied
collection of 10 new songs that smorgasbord of musical delights,
THE CURRENT WILDLY sound very of the moment. Lyrically from the slinky r&b soul of Janet
UNPREDICTABLE POLITICAL stronger than anything she’s ever Jackson and Terence Trent D’Arby,
released, it’s an exciting time to to the pure pop of Steps. There’s
CLIMATE. WE CAUGHT be a Moyet fan. Alison’s superb also something for the indie fans
UP WITH DAVE GAHAN interview with Wyndham Wallace among you as we chat to all three
AND MARTIN GORE contained in these pages is also members of St Etienne and take
another reason to celebrate her a look at the remarkable story of
AHEAD OF THEIR RECENT return. We’re so enamoured by it, Creation Records.
TRIUMPHANT LONDON Other takes the Album of the Issue I’m writing this Welcome note
STADIUM SHOW TO prize in our reviews section, too. the day after returning from
So, two icons of synth-pop, the Let’s Rock festival in Bristol.
GET THE INSIDE TRACK DM and Alison Moyet, united in Highlights abounded (take a bow
ON THE NEW RECORD delivering career-redefining new Nick Heyward, Heaven 17, Gloria
AND MUCH MORE works. How great is that? Gaynor and Happy Mondays) but
It’s always particularly gratifying I’m not sure I’ve quite recovered
BESIDES. IT MAKES FOR A when the established bands and from Pat Sharp’s DJ set in the
FASCINATING READ. artists that we showcase in Classic backstage bar where he blasted
Pop pull something extraordinary Barbie Girl at deafeningly high
out of the bag. Recapturing those volume a mere few feet away.
lightbulb moments of the early Who said this music journalism
years is often the most difficult lark was a walk in the park...
challenge that songwriters face Enjoy the (silence) issue!
over the long haul. How do
you grab hold of the zeitgeist Steve Harnell, Editor
again and tune into those eureka
moments that once may have come
so easily when full of the vim and
vigour of youth?
Perhaps it’s that mysterious
unquantifiable x-factor (no pun Follow me on Twitter:
intended) that all great pop @AnthemEditor
S U B S C R I B E
With our unique mix of features, interviews,

playlists and reviews, Classic Pop is
/classicpop unmissable. Get yours delivered to your door
mag
@classicpop
– and save yourself some cash – by subscribing.
mag Turn to pages 102-103 for details.
CP30.Welcome.print.indd 3 09/06/2017 15:18

CLASSIC
CONTENTS
24
80
© Getty Images
© Rob Baker Ashton

56
30 62
Follow us F E A T U R E S CLASSIC ALBUM: STEPS 68
Search Classic Pop DEPECHE MODE 24 TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY 42 Christian Guiltenane meets Faye Tozer,
magazine Rudy Bolly catches up with Martin Gore We revisit Introducing The Hardline According Lee Latchford-Evans and Claire Richards
and Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, who To Terence Trent D’Arby, the remarkable debut of the recently reformed pop sensations
@classicpop
have returned with their politically- by the US-born soul singer Steps, who have bounced back with
magazine
charged 14th studio album Spirit GOLDFRAPP 48 their fifth studio album Tears On
THE LOWDOWN: Rudy Bolly talks to dynamic duo The Dancefloor
JANET JACKSON 32 Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory LABELLED WITH
Join us as we explore the career of singer, about their new record, Silver Eye LOVE: CREATION 74
songwriter, dancer and actress Janet Jackson, SO MUCH TO ANSWER FOR 56 Paul Lester separates fact from fiction
who has been a prominent figure in pop Jonathan Wright crosses the Severn as he looks at the legendary label
culture for more than 30 years Bridge to explore the rich and diverse Creation − Alan McGee’s small indie
ALISON MOYET 36 music heritage of Wales that would dominate the 80s and 90s
Wyndham Wallace meets Alison Moyet whose POP ART: KEN ANSELL 62 SAINT ETIENNE 80
stunning ninth album, Other, out this month, The work of Ken Ansell, whose designs Croydon’s finest Saint Etienne talk
sees the former Yazoo singer return to her have featured on some of the biggest to Paul Lester about their brand new
electronic music roots sleeves of the 80s album Home Counties
CP30.Contents.print.indd 4 09/06/2017 11:34

© Getty Images
42
© Steve Gullick
32
36
© Alamy
68 N E W S
POP-UP 08
R E G U L A R S
A TO Z OF POP 21
48
NEW RELEASES
Alison Moyet, London Grammar, TLC,
89 Subscribe
Subscribe to Classic
All the latest news from Gary Numan, Ian Peel on the featured artist Phoenix, Black Grape and more Pop, save some cash
Madonna, Soft Cell, OMD, Nick LONG LIVE VINYL 100 REISSUES 94 (UK readers only)
Hayward, Nile Rodgers and a series of Classic Pop recognises few boundaries in our Shelleyan Orphan, The Art Of Noise, Pages 102-103
Pet Shop Boys reissues are announced ever-eclectic summary of the most interesting 10cc, David Bowie, The Membranes,
LOST & FOUND 12 recent vinyl releases, including Iggy Pop, Wendy & Lisa...
Abba’s final studio album The Visitors Ian Dury, David Bowie, Sparks, Radiohead, COMPILATIONS 98
BURIED TREASURES 14 Fleetwood Mac, Elton John and more Including a 7CD celebration of the
Another four rarities to seek out... CLASSIC POP MOMENT 114 great and good from Manchester
if you have the money! Madonna’s 1987 Who’s That Girl Tour BOOKS AND DVDS 104
GODFATHER OF POP 17 Featuring new books on Abba, Dave
Acid-house pioneer and Killer R E V I E W S Grohl, Prince and Kraftwerk
hitmaker Adamski SINGLES 88 LIVE 108
GODFATHER OF POP 19 Matthew Rudd on the latest releases from Let’s Rock Bristol, Adam Ant, Simple
Founding member of Madness and UK Beth Ditto, The Strypes, Dnce with Nicki Minds, Charlotte Church’s Late Night
ska legend Lee Thompson Minaj and more Pop Dungeon and The Gift
CP30.Contents.print.indd 5 09/06/2017 11:34

CLASSIC CLASSIC
CLASSIC POP
now
monthly!
Janet Back with
Jackson a classic!
ALISON
JULY 2017
The princess
of R&B pop MOYET
DEPECHE MODE • ALISON MOYET • TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY • JANET JACKSON • GOLDFRAPP • CREATION • STEPS • SAINT ETIENNE • THE SOUND OF WALES
GOLDFRAPP
The masters
of reinvention
reveal all
CREATION
RECORDS
The label that
changed the
world!
Anthem Publishing
Suite 6, Piccadilly House,
London Road, Bath, BA1 6PL
WHO’S WHO
“WE’VE NEVER FELT LIKE
ANY OTHER BAND”
30
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30
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STUNNING NEW ALBUM AND TOUR
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www.classicpopmag.com
CLASSIC POP
Phoenix • Terence Trent D‘Arby • Let‘s Rock Festival • TLC • Much more...
JULY 17
ISSUE 30
PRICE £5.99
CP30.Cover.print.indd 1 09/06/2017 13:13
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DEPECHE MODE SONG? WATERCOOLER

EDITOR MARKETING MANAGER MOMENTS
Steve Harnell Gemma Bailey *1 “Goth goes Gospel. Dave Gahan’s best
steve.harnell@anthem-publishing.com gemma.bailey@anthem-publishing.com vocal ever. Sounds like he hasn’t been to bed
Condemnation *1 Personal Jesus in a month (and probably hadn’t).”
*2 “The industrial Zephyr Mix of In Your
PRODUCTION EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Room, produced by Butch Vig, appeals to my
Dan Biggane Wyndham Wallace ‘office goth’ sensibilities the most.”
dan.biggane@anthem-publishing.com I Feel You *5 *3 “The King of electronic songs.”
In Your Room (Zephyr Mix) *2 Paul Lester *4 “I remember feeling uber-cool singing along
Halo *6 to this at Florida’s Wet ’n’ Wild disco. It had only
ART EDITOR Andrew Dineley just been released in the US and I already knew
Alex Duce The Sun and the Rainfall all the words as it had been out for a couple of
alex.duce@anthem-publishing.com Rudy Bolly weeks in the UK.”
Enjoy the Silence *3 Behind the Wheel *5 “I love it when they sound angry!”
Mark Lindores *6 “The soundtrack to a hellish phase of
ADVERTISING MANAGER
A Question of Lust *7 romantic dejection living in semi-squalor in a
Alison Zak-Collins Sheffield two-up, two-down. Happy days.”
Christian Guiltenane
alison.zak-collins@anthem-publishing.com
Little 15 *7 “I hadn’t even heard it until I bought
Somebody
Jonathan Wright their greatest hits in 1998 and then became
DIGITAL EDITOR New Life *8 obsessed with it. Still feel robbed of its 12 years
Mark Elliott of existence without me knowing it!”
Chris Mackin
chris.mackin@anthem-publishing.com Shake the Disease *8 “It skedaddles along like a puppy dog.”
Enjoy the Silence Dave Freak
*9 “All jaunty monophonic synth riffs, DM’s
Dreaming of Me *9 debut was a complete flop when it was first
FOUNDER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE Tom Hocknell released. How did that happen?
Ian Peel Behind the Wheel
ian.peel@anthem-publishing.com Matthew Rudd
Policy of Truth (Trancentral Mix) New Life
CREATIVE DIRECTOR MANAGING DIRECTOR

Jenny Cook Simon Lewis
jenny.cook@anthem-publishing.com simon.lewis@anthem-publishing.com
Personal Jesus *4 World in my Eyes
CEO Jon Bickley
jon.bickley@anthem-publishing.com
Personal Jesus
O U R C O N T R I B U T O R S
Paul Lester has been Mark Lindores grew up Wyndham Wallace
Features Editor of Melody during the golden age of is formerly a publicist,
Maker, and later Deputy pop mags, devouring Smash label representative
Editor of Uncut. Since Hits and Number One. and artist manager who
2007, he has freelanced for He now writes about the has written for Uncut
The Guardian, The Sunday artists he used to read about and The Guardian. He
Times, The Independent, MOJO, Classic for Classic Pop, Total Film and Mixmag. oversees Classic Pop’s new albums
Rock, Prog and Classic Pop, where this This issue, he casts his eye over the back reviews section, and this month talks
issue he tells the story of Creation Records, catalogue of Janet Jackson and tells the to Alison Moyet. His first book, Lee,
meets St Etienne and helms our reissues story of Terence Trent D’Arby’s fall from Myself & I, was about singer-songwriter
and compilations reviews section. grace in our Classic Album feature. Lee Hazlewood.
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES 0844 8560642 (Calls cost 7 pence per minute plus your phone company’s access charge) or +44 (0)1795 414877 classicpop@
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15 NEWCASTLE CITY HALL 27 OUT
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CP30.News.print.indd 8 09/06/2017 11:17

UP
Numan Savages Trump
G
ary Numan has revealed
upcoming new album
Savage was “shaped” by
Donald Trump. The follow-
up to 2013’s Splinter
(Songs from a Broken Mind) is due
later this year and Numan told Classic
Pop: “I’m not a Trump fan but he had a
shaping on the record. It’s not specifically
about him, but the entire album is based
on his attitude to global warming. It was
only when Trump came along I leant
more towards a science fiction-type vibe.
If global warming happens, if we tip the
scales, the world all becomes a desert,
it’s that sort of thing.”
The music bares all the hallmarks of a
Numan classic, but it also promises new
ideas. “It’s broad strokes, it’s hardcore
electronic and industrial in the way that
Splinter... was,” he explains. “But in
more detail, it’s quite different, I mean
there isn’t one song that you could put
on Splinter... and it would sound like it
belonged. It’s hard to put into words.
The production on it is better, I think Ade
Fenton has done an amazing job. It’s
heavy, miserable lyrics about horrible
things you know. Lots of death and dying,
why I hate God.”
Numan still has work to complete
before releasing the record and
then launching a 14-date UK tour,
commencing at Cardiff Tramshed on
30 September.
He says: “I’ve got to do the artwork
and write three more songs for giveaways
and exclusives that won’t be on the
album, then I have a little holiday in July.
We’ve got some shows at the end of that
month then we’re into the album and the
tour itself.”
Numan was recently honoured at
the Ivor Novellos where he received
the Inspiration Award. Visibly thrilled,
Numan told Classic Pop: “It has the
most credibility, short of the Grammys,
it’s fantastic. But I do find looking back
embarrassing, the way you look and
move, you just have to endure all that,
it’s like looking at embarrassing school
pictures. But it’s nice to see people that I
admire saying nice things.“

UP
© Mike Owen
Rebel yell! More, more,

more Madonna on DVD
Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour will finally arrive on
DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats on 15 September.
Recorded around the world, the film features both live
and behind-the-scenes footage, culminating with a
gig at the Sydney Qudos Bank Arena in Australia
from March 2016. The package will also include
a 22-song live album. S O F T C E L L S TA R T O
1,045,479 fans witnessed the Rebel Heart Tour S AY H E L L O A G A I N
which made $169.8 million, cementing Madonna’s Marc Almond is hitting the road with
status as the top an orchestra. The Soft Cell star has
grossing touring announced a 17-date orchestral Shadows
female artist of all time. And Reflections Tour this autumn,
Recently, a mysterious performing songs from his 36-year career.
new Madonna track The show is part of Almond’s 60th
No.30
BETTE DAVIS EYES
titled Two Steps Behind
Me appeared on
iTunes, believed to be
birthday celebrations and accompanies
the forthcoming release of his new album,
also titled Shadows And Reflections. The
KIM CARNES a demo recorded record features fresh arrangements of
Making direct reference in song to during the sessions for Almond’s hits alongside Billy Fury, Edith
a major Hollywood megastar can her 2015 album. It Piaf, Jacques Brel, David Bowie and Burt
be fraught with danger but Bette was swiftly taken Bacharach covers.
Davis was nothing but delighted down but not before it The Shadows And Reflections Tour
when Kim Carnes borrowed her managed to chart in kicks off at London’s Royal Festival Hall
name on her way to the US’s numerous countries. on 3 October.
biggest-selling single of 1981
and a pair of Grammy awards.
Davis, 73 at the time, wrote
to the LA singer with the raspy
voice to thank her for making her
“a part of modern times” when
the song hit the top, staying
there for nine weeks in total.
She subsequently sent roses on
hearing of the Grammy success,
and put gifts of gold and platinum
records on her wall.
Not bad for a song that had
been written seven years earlier
by Jackie DeShannon and Donna
Weiss and was originally a
honky-tonk number. It was then
sent to Carnes, whose keyboard
player Bill Cuomo came up
with the synthesised intro that
A punishing tour awaits synth-pop legends
S
illustrates the whole song. With
Carnes’ raucous, chain-smoking ynth-pop duo OMD are to set off on a massive UK and Irish
vocal over the top, it outsold tour in support of their 13th studio album. Released on
everything in the US that year. 1 September, The Punishment Of Luxury will be followed by 20
She enjoyed previous and live shows kicking off at Dublin’s Vicar Street on 23 October.
subsequent hits in the US but Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys very nearly called it
her career never approached a day after 2013’s English Electric, but found fresh impetus by stepping
such heights again. In the UK, out of their comfort zone. “On this album we have managed to make
it reached No.10 and Carnes beautiful things out of noises... There’s a little bit more sort of crunchy
was barely noticed afterwards, industrial sound in a few things,” explains McCluskey. “The trouble is,
although she got a notable grand we just can’t help but write a catchy melody!”
total of two solo words (“when The title is taken from an 1891 painting by the Giovani Segantini,
we”) as part of the USA For “We’ve taken that idea and extrapolated it into sort of... a metaphor for
Africa recording in 1985. modern life, really. First world problems.”
Matthew Rudd is the host of Forgotten
80s on Absolute 80s
10

Love spreads for Manchester
A
riana Grande made a defiant return
to Manchester on 4 June to headline a
special One Love Manchester benefit
concert at the Old Trafford Cricket
Ground. The 23-year-old pop superstar
arranged the concert to raise funds for the families
who were affected by the terror attack that took
place following her performance on 22 May at the
Manchester Arena.
Tickets for the event, arranged in just a week by
Ariana and her team, were given away for free to
those who were in attendance at the show, where a
suicide bomber killed 22 concert-goers and seriously
injured countless others. The rest of the tickets sold out
within minutes of going on general sale.
The evening began with a minute’s silence
led by Marcus Mumford, of Mumford &
Sons, which was impeccably observed
by the 50,000 fans. What followed was
a festival of music featuring some of the
biggest names in pop including Justin
Bieber, Pharrell Williams, Little Mix, Niall Horan,
Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Robbie Williams
alongside Manchester’s Take That and
Liam Gallagher.
Fighting back tears throughout the three-hour
concert, Ariana played all her hits (on the request
of the mother of Olivia Campbell, who died in the
arena attack aged just 15), before closing with a
deeply moving Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
Grande’s One Love Manchester album, now
available on Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal, features
39 songs and all proceeds will benefit the victims.
To donate in the UK, you can text ‘LOVE’ to 70507
to give £5 or donate online via this dedicated British
© Getty Images
Red Cross page: www.redcross.org.uk/LOVE
Brexit-matazz
Jarvis Cocker has compared the dwindling
appeal of the pop charts to the Brexit vote.
Sheffield’s finest was talking at the Ivor
Novello awards where Pulp were honoured
with the Outstanding Song Collection prize.
Jarvis said: ”Pulp always wanted to
be a pop group, because the pop charts
used to be interesting. We were drawn
to it because it was popular, not populist.
Populist is a dirty word now. And I‘m going
to say an even more dirty word now; Brexit!
It‘s a horrible word, almost as bad as
Britpop, but not quite as bad.
“We all know there was a referendum
almost a year ago and it was 52 to 48 –
the equivalent of your single going in at
No.19. That’s not a hit, that’s not burning
© Getty Images
up the charts, it‘s not the will of the people.”

The singer recently released Room 29
with Chilly Gonzalez.
11

UP
L OS T & F O U N D
No.30
THE VISITORS
ABBA
Abba’s final studio album was
never intended to be such, but
once it was established that the
group wouldn’t work together
again it became renowned as a
mature, poignant and proud way
to exit.
Both couples in the band had Back in the Nick of time
N
parted, and personal heartache ick Heyward has announced his first solo show of 2017 to
continued to be captured in sad preview a brand new album. The former Haircut 100 man plays
but immaculate lyrics such as the recently revamped 229 The Venue in London on 19 July,
lead single One Of Us, which where he promises to offer a taste of new material, alongside his
prompts the women to sing well-loved hits.
words of regret written by the Heyward’s new album, Woodland Echoes − due to be released this
men. The sinister title track summer − was recorded with his son Oliver and includes the tracks Baby Blue
instantly mentions panic, setting Sky and Forest Of Love. Fans can pre-order the album via Pledge where an
a tone for the remainder of the array of formats include signed CDs, deluxe signed media book CDs and
album that shows a hitherto coloured vinyl, alongside other unique items including official Nick Heyward
unknown worldly wisdom and tea plus Nick’s own guitar.
weariness in Abba that reflected
their intimate turbulence.
Their only album to be
recorded digitally, it is clean,
clinical and edgy. The other UK She shoots, she scores…
single from it, Head Over Heels, If you’ve ever dreamed of playing Björk classics on a celeste then
contrasts a gorgeous vocal with you’re in luck. The Icelandic wonder has just issued, 34 Scores For
a detached, staccato backing Piano, Organ, Harpsichord And Celeste, a beautiful new book of
track; When All Is Said And Done sheet music. Inspired by her 2011 project Biophilia, Björk wanted
is a philosophical work that, fans to turn their computers off and bring real scores into their homes.
with hindsight, should have been “I was curious about the difference of midi (digital notation) and
the last track. And for Abba classical notation and enthusiastic in blurring the lines and at which
traditionalists, Two For The Price occasions and how one would share music in these new times,” she
Of One harks back to their earlier explains. “What is the difference between karaoke and the lyrical
kooky storytelling. recitals of the 19th century? Maybe I should share digital notation
More would come, but not via that people could connect to their synths or do harpsichord versions
another LP. Subsequent non-album of electronic beats to enjoy in the living rooms and hopefully
singles of 1982 prior to their split families sing along to. I also wanted to question how I felt
were added to reissues of The about musical documentation, when CDs were slowly
Visitors but in its own right, it becoming obsolete.”
ended the Abba story unwittingly, French design house M/M are putting
yet with style. together the book which is available via
Matthew Rudd her website at bjork.com.
12

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buried pop & rock!
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IN THE NAME OF ESSEX

Forget pills, thrills and bellyaches, Shaun Ryder was more
interested in David Essex as a kid. Two early Essex movies
were the unlikely gateway drug for the Madchester man’s life
of debauchery. He told I-D Vice: “What got me involved in music
was going to watch a movie, in 1973, called That’ll Be The
Day, and a year later watching one called Stardust. That sort of
took my attention. I didn't want to die of a drug overdose but I
wanted to, you know, fuck loads of chicks and take lots of drugs,
and get off me face, and go and do rock’n’roll. So that’s really
what sparked my attention to do music.”
Ryder’s other band, Black Grape are back with new album
Pop Voodoo on 7 July, all recorded and mixed in just four weeks.
Dancing mascot Bez is no longer in the Black Grape line-up, and
judging by past history it’s probably for the best. Recalling their
90s heyday Ryder says: “Me and Bez used to drop acid and sit
in a field with the cows. We’d think we was Red Indians and try
and ride cows.” Only in Salford.
● Pop Voodoo by Black Grape is

reviewed on page 91.
selling? bring your mint condition vinyl & CDs to our

monthly Kent & London buying days or other days by appointment
check the site for dates, venues & directions
buying? fill the gaps in your collection and get 15% off at 991.com
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UP
BURIED TREASURES
ANSWERS 1 Jane Wiedlin; 2 VCMG; 3 Luther Vandross; 4 Felt Mountain; 5 Countdown; 6 Liam Gallagher; 7 The Power Station; 8 Beverly Hills Cop; 9 Grace Jones; 10 She Rockers; 11 Peter Hook & The Light; 12 Popped In Souled Out; 13. Midnight Oil; 14 Jacquie O'Sullivan; 15 Play Dead.
1
R
Which member of The Go-Go’s ooting around those boxes of “junk” in your loft may turn up more
had a massive hit with the song than you bargained for. While many vinyl releases from the 70s, 80s
Rush Hour? and 90s are worth next to nothing (nostalgic value aside, of course),
some could land you a small fortune – should you choose to part with
2 Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore
teamed up with Erasure’s Vince
Clarke to form which side project
them. Here, we take four rare artefacts to the experts at 991.com and
ask them for a valuation. Browse their online store at www.991.com, or tweet
in 2011? them about your own buried treasure @991dotcom.
3 Who duetted with Janet

Jackson on The Best Things In
Life Are Free?
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
DEPECHE MODE
KISS
ART OF NOISE FEAT. TOM JONES
This 1987 UK Mute limited edition double The rare original 1988 Japanese three-track
4 Name Goldfrapp’s debut album

from 2000
vinyl set comprises a nine-track clear vinyl
LP plus a two-track promotional HMV-only
3” CD single, that got Tom Jones on MTV
for the first time, includes the 7” version,
5 St Etienne’s Foxbase Alpha remixes 12” [HMV1] featuring Strangelove the Battery Mix & E.F.L. It was issued in
contains a sample from which [Maxi Mix] and Never Let Me Down Again a rare Japanese lettered snap-pack picture
long-running TV game show? [AggroMix]. Picture sleeve contains both sleeve printed with lyrics on the reverse.
discs plus album lyric inner. STUMM47 P13P37007
6 Which returning Britpop
legend’s new debut solo album
is called As You Were?
VALUE £100 (MINT) VALUE £65*
7 Name the supergroup featuring

Robert Palmer and members of
Duran Duran
8 Neutron Dance is on the

soundtrack of which classic
Eddie Murphy movie?
9 Which iconic 80s singer and

style icon appears on the new
Gorillaz track, Charger?
10 Alison Clarkson aka Betty

Boo was a member of which
girl group?
11 Name Peter Hook’s

current band.
XMAS 98
SAINT ETIENNE
STRETCHER CASE BABY
THE DAMNED
12 Which classic Wet Wet Wet

album is about to celebrate
its 30th anniversary?
Very rare 1998 UK fanclub-only two-track
CD single, featuring I Don’t Intend To Spend
The 1977 UK promotional vinyl 7”, which
was never available for retail sale, was
Xmas Without You and Kofi Annan, housed originally given away at a series of London
13 Peter Garrett is the lead

vocalist of which Aussie
hard rockers?
in a unique card wallet picture sleeve.
Pressed by Saint Etienne’s then record label
Sub Pop. SPCD463.
gigs and through an NME competition to
celebrate the band’s first anniversary.
Includes Sick Of Being Sick. DAMMED-1.
14 Who replaced Siobhan Fahey

in Bananarama when she
first left the group in 1988?
VALUE £75 (MINT) VALUE £150 (MINT)
15 Bjork wrote a hit song

for the movie The Young
Americans. Name the track.
HOW DID YOU DO?

*Mint and unsnapped
13-15 You don’t need no education

10-12 The future’s so bright,
you gotta wear shades
6-9 That don’t impress me much
0-5 It’s a sin
14

N E W S
© Getty Images
Lightning strikes again

I
an Broudie is preparing a new album
as The Lightning Seeds. The Liverpudlian
revived the band for festival dates a
few years ago, but only recently found
inspiration to write fresh material. It’s been
reported that the singer-songwriter, best known
for an array of 90s hits including The Life of
Riley, Lucky You, Change and the ubiquitous
No.1 Three Lions, is now halfway through a
new studio album with the outfit.
Despite 2009’s Four Winds being recorded
as The Lightning Seeds, Broudie says that he
regards it more as a solo record.
His new tunes are being recorded with a live
band featuring his son Riley and former Zutons
sax player, Abi Harding.
Besides festival dates in County Durham,
Leicestershire and Stockport, The Lightning
Seeds will support Madness on their
December tour.
The Lightning Seeds recently played the
inaugural 90s day of Let’s Rock Bristol at the
Ashton Court Estate in North Somerset. For a
review of the event, see pages 108-109
PRESENTS
15

U2 trump
US leader
U2 have banned President
UP Good Times
are back
Donald Trump from attending The best-connected producer in
their Joshua Tree concerts. pop is becoming, err... better
Bono was disappointed connected. Nile Rodgers, is
when Trump’s administration finally close to completing
cut funding for HIV research in the first new Chic album in
the US. He told the Irish Times: 25 years. Over 12 months
“Trump’s supporters − the ago the guitarist revealed
people who voted for Trump Elton John and Janelle
− are welcome at U2 gigs in Monae were among the
America, but Donald Trump guestlist on It’s About
himself is not welcome at U2 Time. A year on and
gigs in America. I welcome his Rodgers is still working on
supporters. But him? I don't the new Chic album. He
want him here.” told the NME: ”The spectrum
The singer met US vice of artists goes right through to
president Mike Pence in the beginning of my career. I’ve
February, where he was told cut God knows how many songs
that the new administration with Anderson Paak and Bruno
would be “levelling out” funding Mars, I wrote a song for Debbie
for HIV research. Harry, I just wrote a song for
Hailee Steinfeld – that’s killer.”
As well as the new album to look
forward to, Chic fans will also
have a chance to catch Niles
© Getty Images
when the band tours with Earth,

Wind & Fire across North
America this summer.
I think we’re
serious now
Tiffany, the 80s pop princess,
still wrestles with being taken
seriously. The chart-topper,
who now dabbles with country
music, and recently performed
a string of UK shows, told the
Washington Times: “People say,
‘what is she gonna sing for 90
© Doron Gild
minutes? Doesn’t she just do I

Think We’re Alone Now? Once
they see the show, they are
like, ‘Oh my gosh, I remembered
more songs than I thought’.”
The association most people
have with Tiffany is as the Erasure on 30 years of glitter and Spandex
F
girl who sang in shopping ans of Erasure will be relieved to learn that Andy Bell has vowed never
malls. She laughs: “I have a to tone down his flamboyant performances. Reflecting on 30 years
lot of validating to do. But of glitter and Spandex, the frontman spills: ”I just felt like that was my
I’m resilient. I’m not going purpose, like that was what I was supposed to do and I thought, ‘I
anywhere. I’m a shopaholic. So can’t perform in any other way’. I sort of felt like, ‘OK, so you want a
I still love going to malls. But I gay stereotype? I’m going to give you one then and make it even more over
don’t sing in them anymore!”. the top than it really is’. Even though I was really shy I felt compelled to do
something with all guns blazing.”
Latest album, World Be Gone is Erasure’s 17th studio effort in 31 years. So
what is the secret to their longevity? “I really like Andy,” deadpans partner in
crime Vince Clarke. ”That helps. I still get a lot of satisfaction in writing and
producing with him. It’s a very easy relationship − he’s very laid-back. When we
start to write a new record, it’s always a surprise when songs start coming out. I
think also the reason why we’ve been together for so long is because there’s not
any ego in the band.”
Erasure are supporting Robbie Williams on his summer stadium tour.
16

GODFATHERS
of
A D A M S K I
F
rom the mega club anthem L.A.Z.Y. was me and Loretta Heywood.
that was Killer, to the fall I wrote more songs around that time
of the Berlin Wall being which were never released. I can’t
soundtracked by his Nina really remember what happened... we
Hagen collaboration, Adamski signed, then we made another single
is an acid-house pioneer. which Trevor Horn was working on,
From classic cuts to waltz- but it just ended up no that one was
time remixes, the artist born happy with how it turned out so I went
Adam Tinley, has been at the on to sign a solo deal.
forefront of the UK dance movement I think we had about eight songs or
since the late-80s. We caught up with something, I can’t remember how or
Adamski to talk about all of these why it fizzled out.
topics and more. I didn’t see Loretta for years but I do
see her now and then. She’s often in
We last spoke when Killer Ramsgate, as well, where I am now.
appeared on the This Is England Everyone is! Tony Thorpe, too. He
’90 soundtrack. How close do did a remix of L.A.Z.Y. (as North West)
you feel to that track now – like and I played with him a while back at
a child that’s flown the nest and a club date.
gone off to have its own life, or
do you still feel protective of it? Another great mix of that track
Nana S RK
For probably about 15 or 20 years was by The Jet Slags. Was that
I was really over it. I wouldn’t play it you under another name?
when I DJ’d or if I did live shows. Well, Yes, me and Mr Monday, who was
I did part of it, but I wouldn’t have When I travel outside the UK, one of the other keyboard whizzes
been able to get hold of Seal. I meet people around the world and of the rave scene – although we
He wouldn’t have wanted to come they’ll say: ‘oh, I love that track you didn’t like being called that, all those
and play in some electroclash club did with Nina Hagen’ or choose connotations of Rick Wakeman
when he was doing Hollywood and something more obscure. Or mention in a cape! I think of Rick Wakeman
everything like that. But, yes, I was one of my old instrumentals. That’s as a funny and nice man, but at the
pretty over it. much more flattering to me. time, that was all prehistoric.
Now I’ve recently reinvented it as
a waltz-timed track and a couple of Yes, that Nina Hagen Back to the present day and
the other old tracks, too. I’ve worked collaboration, 1992’s Get Your everything you’re currently
them into three-four time, so it’s got me Body!, is long overdue for a working on is in waltz time.
interested in it again and, yes, I’ve had reissue or remix... Was there a moment when you
fun reworking it. Yes, because that one was kind of realised that you’d hit upon this
It used to really annoy me that ubiquitous, too, in some ways. I was really great idea, conceptually
people defined me by that track alone very flattered when I moved to Berlin and musically?
because I was making music for a long 10 years ago and ex-East Berliners told I’ve had a few moments like that. But,
time before that. me that song was like a soundtrack to yes, basically I’ve just taken my whole
My first album was entirely when the Berlin Wall came down and life as a musician and producer, all
instrumental, I was playing everything. They totally related to that my favourite bits, and given myself
instrumental, techno-ish stuff in clubs song – it is the sound of freedom. the dogma that it all has to be in
and raves. waltz time.
Seal was just someone I met hanging One of my favourite deep I like setting myself a bit of a
around on that club scene and it all catalogue tracks is When We challenge. Except now I couldn’t
just came together, because it was Were Young, the one-off single make a track in four-four, because
meant to, but the track was just a as L.A.Z.Y., especially the I just find it too boring!
one-off thing. Starfish Mix. Ian Peel
17
CP30.Godfather_Adamski.print.indd 17 07/06/2017 16:58

A L I S O N M O Y E T
The gratitude is unnecessary. Moyet’s Moyet’s delight, however, comes Moyet is now nine
latest, astonishing album, Other, is from the fact that Other is as much a albums into a solo
arguably her most realised collection to celebration of her love of language as her career that includes
her 1984 debut Alf,
date, and its strengths lie as much in its self-declared, perennial outsider status. pictured left
vivid, inventive language as in its dark, It feels different from previous releases,
startling music. Brimfull of her trademark she says, “because the emphasis on
vocal intensity and peppered with it is not singing. The emphasis on it is
striking imagery – words, and I’ve been
I Germinate’s “bats in a coming closer to that
blink eclipse the moon/ point all the time.” This
Like whipped kerchiefs is particularly surprising,
in a courtly swoon”, The she confesses, because
Rarest Birds’ “dove-grey she barely reads. “The
gum constellations” most impactful of times
– it represents the with books in my life
culmination of her slow was nursery rhymes,”
but steady reinvention she comments, pausing
from ‘pop singer’ to briefly before adding,
‘proper artist’. “and I’m not even saying
that wryly! I don’t read,
SELLING HER SHORT and when I do read, I read fantasy.”
To some, Moyet remains fossilised as Indeed, one song, The English U – in
the Essex girl who first emerged as one which she describes herself facetiously as
half of Yazoo, alongside Vince Clarke, “a criminal to grammar/ To apostrophe,
before her 1984 solo debut, Alf, took the hammer”, but nonetheless “pretty
her to No.1, going four-times platinum sound with tenses/ With ‘when’ and
in the process. Even when, in 2014, ‘which’ and ‘whence’s” – is a tender
BBC Breakfast summarised her career paean to her late mother’s love of prose.
ahead of an interview, they stopped at
1986’s Is This Love?, as though the seven
albums she’d made since – including
2002’s Hometime and 2004’s Voice,
which both went gold, and The Minutes,
which had recently gone Top 5 – were
mere afterthoughts. Her six-month run in a
successful West End musical, and the play,
Smaller, in which she’d starred alongside
Dawn French, were also overlooked. But
Moyet’s been steadily refining her craft,
often out of the spotlight, and though her
commercial profile may not be as high as
it once was, she’s now free to make music
that appeals, first and foremost, to her
rather than the marketplace. The signs are
that it’s winning her new fans.
“I’ve been frustrated,” she admits when
reminded of that BBC appearance, and Other continues Moyet’s
of people’s nostalgia for her early work, successful collaboration with
the producer Guy Sigsworth
“but less so now, because I think people
are finally catching up with me. I’ve been
fortunate that I’ve been successful, and “Even though she sunk into Alzheimer’s,” keep me awake for days!” – or her
it was because of that success that later Moyet explains, “the last vestige of concerns about how best to proceed with
on I was able to make choices that were anything she had was her knowledge of her work. If, as she said at the time, The
perceived risky. What frustrates me is the grammar. The disappointment she had Minutes was “mindless of industry mores
assumption that your best work is always in me being dyslexic and not being able that apply to middle-aged women”, she’s
going to be your bestselling, so you’re to spell... How I wished I could have gone even further with Other.
locked into this particular time. I hated honoured her. But language has become “It’s mindless of all the industry mores”
my 20s. I really like middle age and I’m very important to me. I love words, I love she emphasises. “I’m aware of the
comfortable with the person I’ve become. the shape of words, and the colour and damning attitudes towards middle-aged
My great successes aren’t related to my the sound of them.” women: the idea that we’re asinine, or
big sales.” Her mother, one might confidently we’re occupied by gentler pursuits, or
Though she describes herself, suggest, would have been proud of what that middle-aged women aren’t expected
knowingly, as “plump with confidence”, she’s achieved, and not just because to be creative, or be seen in the media.
she’s also thoughtful and appealingly – if of her verbal wit. Other finds Moyet You can either react by feeling like you
unnecessarily – self-deprecating, though embracing what once troubled her, can’t push yourself forward, or you just
this she disputes. “It’s not even self- whether it be her self-confessed public continue regardless of how you’re going
deprecating. I try to answer honestly, and awkwardness – “I’m so prone to circular to be accepted. I make records with no
I think maybe you’ve got to have lots of thinking! I can forget where I’ve been, expectations now. I don’t expect to be on
self-confidence to own your crapness.” and yet one word that I’ve said could the radio, I don’t expect magazines to
38
CP30.Feat_AlisonM.print.indd 38 07/06/2017 16:47

© Steve Gullick
“WHEN YOU’RE
YOUNGER, NOT
FITTING IN IS
CRUSHING.
NOW I
FEEL QUITE
BLESSED BY IT”
faithful to me, and very loving, and full

of goodwill, but right down to my very
first experience in hospital as an eight-
year-old, waking up crying from a tonsil
operation and having the nurse put her
face next to mine and say ‘Why don’t you
shut your mouth?!’ These little things have
happened at such an alarming rate. Like
Last year, Moyet joined a host of stars – including Dame Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch and Dame Helen Mirren when I asked to audition for the school
– to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. She took on the unlikely task of performing Sigh No More, musical, and the head of English said,
Ladies from Much Ado About Nothing, and among its greater challenges was singing the final words of each verse: “Hey ‘What would we want someone like you
nonny, nonny”. for?’ All these things when I was young, I
“I really struggled!” she laughs. “It was funny, because they’d asked me to sing that song, and they sent over a felt, ‘Yeah, why would you want someone
few versions that had been done. I thought, ‘I can’t go there!’ But at the same time, it’s really intriguing. I just said,
like me?’ It didn’t even seem unreasonable
‘Actually, I can’t sing any of these melodies. Can I just write my own?’ And I had to do it in such a way that it lightly
after a while. It just seemed like, ‘Yeah,
buried the ‘nonny, nonny’. Words are so fucking tricksy!”
It’s not the first time she’s tackled stage musicals. In 2001, she spent six months playing Mama Morton in Chicago fair play. I know that I don’t fit.’ And when
at London’s Adelphi Theatre. This was an unexpected turn of events, and not just for her audience. “I hated musicals,” you’re younger, not fitting in is crushing.”
she confesses, “and I hadn’t done anything like that. Sometimes I determine to do things that frighten me. If something She hesitates momentarily. “Actually, I’ve
appals you then it’s worth investigating.” now come to that place where I feel quite
blessed by it.”
Even once she was a star, her well-
want to cover it. I just expect at this point as to be able to speak English. “Without documented weight problems drew
in my career to make a record that I want sounding crap,” she elaborates, “I have attention away from her music, and
to make.” always felt ‘other’. I came from a bit of a she recalls an occasion when a French
peasant family, where journalist asked: “Don’t
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN everything you had you you feel ashamed going
Attaining this has been harder than one had to make. Before I on stage looking the way
might expect for someone who’s sold was in Yazoo I didn’t you do?” Perhaps it’s no
well over 20 million albums. Other – as even have a surprise, then, that she
its title suggests – addresses the manner cassette player.” withdrew from the public
in which she’s always felt like she didn’t Moyet had other eye. This was partially
belong. Born to a French father, whom reasons to feel different, due to disagreements
she describes fondly but bluntly as too. “Weird things with her label, Sony,
“a complete and utter control freak”, have happened in my following the release
and an English mother, “who was a life that have made me of 1994’s Essex, but in
quite oppressed woman”, she grew think about the fact I 2014, on Desert Island
up in what she describes as “quite a have always for some Discs, she revealed
violent environment”, and always found reason drawn unkindness,” she says, she’d also suffered for many years from
communication intimidating, spending her albeit without a note of self-pity. “In latter agoraphobia, provoked by a painful
early years mentally translating French so years, a lot of people have been very encounter with Elvis Costello when,
39

Both Other and its predecessor, 2013’s The Minutes, were produced by Guy Sigsworth, whose pop career began
co-writing songs for Seal’s 1991 debut – including Crazy – and who’s since gone on to work with Björk, Madonna and
Britney Spears.
“I felt him on quite a human level,” Moyet explains of their fruitful relationship’s beginnings. “We’re not dissimilar.
We both have this complete core of self-belief that’s also coated in this inability to communicate very well. I noticed that,
when I first met him, he couldn’t look at me. He’d be talking to me, but relating it all to the engineer.
“He didn’t seem in any way affected by my history,” she continues. “He was able to take me at face value, and very
quickly we understood that we could communicate with very few words. He didn’t edit me, and I didn’t edit him. The
way Guy and I work is very complementary: he might send me a track, and I wouldn’t listen to it before putting it into
record. I would write the song from improvisation, having no awareness of where the next chord was coming from. I’m
© Steve Gullick
touching everything from instinct, and my words would be affected by the mood that I’d created.”
instead of praising a show, as she’d

intended, she blurted out “You dragged
that out a bit, didn’t you?”
SCULPTING A NEW FUTURE

In recent years, fortunately, she’s coaxed
herself out of the house, and not only
to tour. Though formal education never
suited her, she’s started to study figurative
sculpture. “I left school pretty much
unqualified,” she says. “I didn’t even have
an English exam. What I always wanted
to do was art, but I had no qualifications.”
Nowadays, she travels by train to
college, and speaks enthusiastically about
piece mould castings and modelling in
clay. “I’ve got one guy in my class I call
Diligent Dan. He’s fantastic. He’s one
of those people who will work really
carefully at everything. But that’s not
Inbetween albums, Moyet has taken
who I am. I could make a really fantastic
up sculpture as a fresh creative outlet
model and then fuck it all up by being
really slapdash. I did this portrait which
I thought was fantastic, but completely have to be scared about who we are.
fucked it when I moulded it.” They might kick our fucking teeth in, but
In the past, this might have stopped they can kick our teeth in and we’re going
Moyet sleeping, but though her inability to go out singing.”
to focus continues to dog her, her new It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that
hobby has brought her peace. “The thing she’s also active on Twitter, whose
I like about art the most is 140-character rule suits
you can occupy yourself her self-proclaimed
however many hours, inarticulacy. “People
and it’s the only time my say, ‘Let the trolls go’,
brain isn’t whirring about and I say, ‘You’ve got
anything else. I can lose no idea’. I have this
the circular thinking, the battle desire, and I love
concern I have constantly it when people think
that I’ve said the wrong they can floor me with
thing or behaved in the words that don’t touch
wrong way.” me. A couple of songs
Quite apart from have been informed by
informing her new that on the album,” she
album, her personal difficulties have also continues, pointing especially to Beautiful
made her especially sympathetic to others Gun. “Being contacted by Americans who
who struggle to conform. An ambassador are both completely right wing and hate
for Diversity Role Models, her love of anything liberal, and yet would practically
Brighton is enhanced by its inclusivity, and weep if you discussed taking away their
one song, The Rarest Birds, was inspired guns. You’re frightening people smaller
by living in a place where “none of us than yourself, and yet you have to have
40

this accoutrement to do it.” She also talks

angrily of “people who put words in a
deity’s mouth and claim him for their own,
and yet there’s nothing Christian about
the way they behave other than their
church attendance.” She points to other
hypocrisies, too, such as those who are
“anti-abortion, pro-life, and yet really
anti-social care. When does this child
go from ‘Their life must be preserved’ to
‘Their lives may be damned’? Is it when
their adult teeth come through?”
A MOVING EXPERIENCE
Alongside the freedom she now feels
to express herself and defend others,
Moyet’s also taken severe measures to
liberate herself from her past. When
she moved house, she threw out huge
mountains of historical baggage. “I just
trashed everything I had: the stuff in my
loft, my gold discs, all my itineraries,
everything that I kept pointlessly. I have
no care to carry things. I have no care to
carry that success. All of those things that
you keep and buy, that make note of the
fact you existed: when do you ever look
at them? When does it touch your life?
When do you need them?”
Evidently these extreme decisions
have paid off. Other celebrates Moyet’s
individuality in an unexpectedly vibrant
fashion, as well as the fresh lease of life
that her newfound self-assurance has
brought her. “I’ll tell you how normal my
life is,” she chuckles. “I came back from
sculpture the other day on the train, and
I looked bad. I’m covered in plaster, my
hair hasn’t been brushed. I was sitting at a
table of four people, and there’s a smartly
dressed young woman, sitting diagonally
to me, who pushed over her bag of nuts
and said, ‘Would you like these?’ That will
explain to you how invisible I’ve become:
she thought I was a bag lady! I feel so
bad now. I should have taken her nuts
and thanked her for my one meal of the
“WHAT I LOVE day. I never ever felt I looked underfed!”
35 years, almost to the day, since
NOW IS THE Yazoo battled their way to No.2 with
FREEDOM OF
Only You, Alison Moyet seems finally to
have found not only herself, but also a
NOT BEING
refreshed muse. “What I love now,” she
concludes, “is the freedom of not being
NOTICED SO I noticed so I can actually now observe,

as opposed to spending my whole time
CAN ACTUALLY worrying I’m being observed. Maybe

that’s where creativity for me comes from
OBSERVE” now: I can actually be a person in society,
which is what I wanted to be, and yet
A L I S O N M O Y E T invisible. I still feel ill equipped. I still feel
like a different beast. However, where
once I would very much have liked not to
have been, now I have no desire for it to
be otherwise.”
Vive la différence!
Other is out now on Cooking Vinyl

and reviewed on page 89
41

C L A S S I C
ALBUM
INTRODUCING THE
HARDLINE ACCORDING TO
TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY
T E R E N C E T R E N T D ’ A R B Y
THE ELECTRIFYING DEBUT ALBUM FROM TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY
SAW THE SINGER HYPED AS ONE OF THE 80’S BRIGHTEST STARS.
HOWEVER, ANY POTENTIAL HE HAD WAS LOST WHEN HE APPEARED
TO BELIEVE THE HYPE MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE.
M A R K L I N D O R E S
42
CP30.ClassicAlbum_TTD.print.indd 42 08/06/2017 12:25

I N T R O D U C I N G T H E H A R D L I N E . . . C L A S S I C A L B U M
T
ime has decreed As a performer, songwriter
that 1987 was a and multi-instrumentalist,
Terence Trent D’Arby was the
monumental year
complete package and made a
for our male pop huge splash with his debut album
superstars with the holy
triumvirate of Michael Jackson,
Prince and George Michael
all delivering career-defining
opuses in Bad, Sign O’ The
Times and Faith respectively.
One name frequently omitted
yet worthy of inclusion in the list
of that year’s incredible albums
is Terence Trent D’Arby, at the
time one of the brightest hopes
of the music scene, whose
debut album, Introducing The
Hardline According To Terence
Trent D’Arby matched his peers
in terms of quality and success.
A one-man amalgamation
of the artists he had been
inspired by, Terence’s arrival
on the scene was initially
met with trepidation. With
a raspy, soulful voice that
could seamlessly evoke Stevie
Wonder, Sam Cooke and Otis
Redding, a stage presence
which alluded to James
Brown and Mick Jagger, an
androgynous visage akin to
that of Prince and a backstory
that placed him as a former
boxer and soldier, many
© Getty Images
questioned whether he was

indeed too good to be true.
He had been born in 1962
to a Minister father and
teacher mother, both of whom friends’ apartments and record duties, a lengthy battle ensued get laid.”), the band broke
sang gospel in church and shops and at night performed to get him released. He was up and Terence and Klaus
encouraged young Terence in clubs. While touting Touch’s eventually discharged from the moved to London. Following
to do the same. When he got demo tape, Terence met Klaus army in April 1983 and free to a spell in another band, The
older, Terence, disillusioned by Pieter Scheinlitz, a press pursue his music career. Bojangles, a headstrong and
his strict religious upbringing, officer at a German record Relationships within Touch focused Terence decided he
escaped first by going to label, who mentored the were strained (“There was a would prefer to be a solo artist,
college to study journalism, singer, introducing him to an lot of jealousy in the band,” eventually landing a deal with
then training as a boxer before expansive range of musicians Terence told Rolling Stone in Columbia Records.
enlisting in the US Army. After and becoming his manager, 1988. “I was the frontman, and Beginning work on his
a short spell in Oklahoma, trying to secure a record deal to be honest, I just wanted to album, Terence had already
Terence was posted overseas for Touch. be a star – I wanted a fast car written a wealth of material
to Frankfurt’s Third Armored However, with Terence still and fast women. I just wanted and was clear in what direction
Division, the same outfit Elvis obligated to fulfil his army to shake my butt onstage and he wanted to head. However,
Presley served at in the 60s. recognising his inexperience,
It was while in Germany that Columbia paired him with
Terence began his burgeoning
THE Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware,
career as a musician. He threw
himself into Frankfurt’s vibrant
PLAYERS who had been working as a
producer and helmed Tina
bustling live music scene, TERENCE TRENT MARTYN WARE Turner’s career-relaunching
eventually finding himself as D’ARBY A founding member of the Private Dancer album. Looking
the frontman of a band called With a clear vision of how Human League, Heaven for his next project, Martyn
he wanted the album to 17 and the British Electric
Touch, which he described as had refused offers to produce
sound, Terence took on the Foundation (B.E.F), Martyn
“Earth Wind & Fire-meets-The role of playing most of the instruments as became a hugely successful producer in the records for Rod Stewart and
Who”. As his career in music well as writing and co-producing the record. 80s. He revitalised Tina Turner’s career with Bette Midler, opting instead to
progressed, Terence was The majority of keyboards, piano, drums, the Private Dancer album and, as well as work with new artists.
unsuccessful in his request to percussion and saxophone were all played producing Introducing The Hardline... (the “I was actually just about to
be discharged from the army by the singer on the LP, something he has sleevenotes credit him with “Hardening” the do another weird soul project
and forced to go AWOL. He continued to do throughout his career. songs) he has produced acts such as Erasure. when this tape landed on my
spent his days hiding out in desk from a new A&R man
43

C L A S S I C A L B U M I N T R O D U C I N G T H E H A R D L I N E . . .
Terence Trent D’Arby’s at Sony,” Martyn recalled to

on-stage presence Emma Warren at the Red Bull
alluded to Prince,
James Brown and
Music Academy. “It was this
Mick Jagger tacky tape and it said Terence
Trent D’Arby on it and I put it
on. I’m literally about to sign
the contract on doing this other
artist and I put it on and went:
“This is absolutely fantastic!”
It was a bit rough, but the
songs were incredible and the
voice is incredible. So, I went
down there and managed to
persuade them that I should do
his first album.”
Martyn and Terence hit it off
immediately, both sharing a
vision of what they wanted to
achieve with the album, taking
the honesty and authenticity of
old-school rock and R&B and
updating it so that it was soul
music, but modern and not
derivative of what had gone
before. Martyn was particularly
impressed, not only with
Terence’s immeasurable talent,
but also his work ethic.
“We got on like a house
on fire,” he says. “He used to
come into the studio at least
an hour before I got in. And
he used to play Sam Cooke
tunes and Otis Redding, and
he sat there studying, as though
he was studying a university
subject. He used to study them
in darkness, in the studio,
listening to them, singing
along to them, and saying:
‘This might be my only chance,
this album, to try to get out
what I’ve got inside me’. And
he really wanted to know his
subject thoroughly.”
As the recording sessions
were coming to an end in
March 1987, Terence’s career
was launched with the release
of his debut single If You Let
Me Stay (one of the two tracks
on his album not produced by
Martyn). A slice of uplifting
soul just on the right side of
retro, the record company
were delighted when the single
reached the Top 10 and,
confident in the talents of their
new artist, decided to give him
© Getty Images
a major push, arranging a
hectic promotional schedule to
D ’ A R B Y D E S C R I B E D H A R D L I N E . . . ensure everyone heard about
A S “ B E T T E R T H A N S G T P E P P E R ’ S
the next big thing.
What Columbia hadn’t
L O N E L Y H E A R T ’ S C L U B B A N D ”
banked on however, was
A N D “ T H E M O S T B R I L L I A N T Terence’s gargantuan ego
D E B U T A L B U M B Y A N Y A R T I S T and outspoken views. Blurring
the lines between ambition
T H I S D E C A D E ”
and arrogance, he gave a
44

THE
SONGS
1 IF YOU ALL GET deep, seductive growl to deliver lyrics which 6 SEVEN MORE DAYS 9 SIGN YOUR NAME
TO HEAVEN he described as a “tone poem”, singing of In the grand tradition of the legendary Terence’s biggest hit single behind Wishing
One of the album’s most dramatic songs, If butterfly tears and crocodile cheers. The song’s bluesmen that had inspired him, Terence used Well, Sign Your Name is his classic love song.
You All Get To Heaven sees Terence sing from simplistic sonic tone is also evocative of Prince’s his songwriting as an outlet for storytelling, and Terence claims to have written the track after
the standpoint of a sinner bemoaning the When Doves Cry, with just a beat and a voice Seven More Days is one of the most illustrious, waking from a dream in which he’d watched
war and destruction of the world around him. delivering the verse before a simple musical with the artist seeming to be singing from the Sade perform. A simple drum machine, synths
Covering religion, politics, war and psychedelia, flourish is added to the chorus. As well as viewpoint of a prisoner yearning to be reunited and lush string arrangement envelope
the song sees Terence proving himself as an reaching the Top 10 in the UK, Wishing Well with his love. “Grown men wither and they Terence’s sensual vocal in which he pledges his
accomplished, well-read lyricist with lines such was Terence’s major breakthrough in the United dry away, their lives compromised/ I’ve gotta devotion stating: “I’d rather be in hell with you
as: “Young men must die to keep the old ones States reaching No.1. hold on, struggle through another day/ to see baby/ than in cool heaven”. The song was a Top
alive and to prove they’re studs once again”. the fire in my baby’s eyes,” he sings, claiming 10 hit for him around the world and was later
The song’s temperament is intensified by the 4 I’LL NEVER TURN that: “society’s debts have been more than covered by Sheryl Crow and Justin Timberlake
juxtaposition of Terence’s boyish falsetto of MY BACK ON YOU paid” and “the walls that divide us will come in 2010.
the verses against the dark, tribal chant of the (FATHER’S WORDS) tumbling down”. Comparisons to Jericho are
chorus (featuring the unmistakable vocals of A song of unconditional love and support, representative of the religious imagery that 10 AS YET UNTITLED
Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory). I’ll Never Turn My Back On You... tells of permeates the album. An impassioned, devastating song about the
a man who has made mistakes and let his political and social situation in South Africa,
2 IF YOU LET ME STAY pride stop him seeking help or guidance. The 7 LET’S GO FORWARD As Yet Untitled was inspired by the plight of
Here’s Terence in remorseful mode, imploring semi-autobiographical lyrics are a father’s A straightforward song about love over Nelson Mandela. Sung entirely a capella so
his lover to give him another chance after he testament to his son that no matter what, he will materialism, Let’s Go Forward is the moment as to emphasise the message of the song,
hadn’t treat her as well as he should have. An be there for him, despite their differences and on the album which sounds most like the Terence’s performance of the track at the Nelson
infectious slice of retro soul evoking the classic conflicts. Musically, the song pays homage to glossy, polished soul of Luther Vandross and Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free
sound of Philadelphia and vocal harmony one of Terence’s musical father figures, Stevie Anita Baker which was popular at the time, South Africa concert at Wembley Stadium in
groups such as the Temptations and Four Tops, Wonder, with a soulful, playful reggae bassline though Terence’s falsetto and the gentle 1990 was one of the day’s highlights. The line:
If You Let Me Stay is Terence promising to reminiscent of Master Blaster (Jammin’). shuffling rhythm are nods to Marvin Gaye’s “When I return, I’ll be a stronger man” was
change and right his wrongs before, on the Sexual Healing. sampled by Shut Up & Dance for their seminal
song’s bridge, realising he’s fighting a losing 5 DANCE LITTLE SISTER dance track Derek Went Mad in 1990.
battle, and giving up. “Your pretensions aim for While I’ll Never Turn My Back On You... had 8 RAIN
gullible fools and who needs you anyway?” he been about being afraid to ask for help, Dance One of the album’s catchiest melodies, it is 11 WHO’S LOVING YOU
sings, before prophesying his lover will regret Little Sister was a switch in roles and saw the little wonder that Rain was originally planned Having been raised on gospel music by his
not taking him back. He may have been right, song’s narrator in the position of offering to be the fifth single from the record, but was Reverend father and singer mother, the first
as the song was his debut hit, establishing him guidance, begging the troubled female in dropped at the 11th hour and relegated to music that Terence discovered and loved of
as one of the 80s brightest new stars. question not to give up. “Say now, share the promo single status instead (though it was a his own was the Jackson Five. Their cover of
weight and lay your cross down/ And let the single in Holland). The song deals with the Smokey Robinson’s Who’s Loving You was one
3 WISHING WELL long reaching arm of hope bring you around,” subject of history and legacy. As with many of their most notable recordings, and Terence
A sparse beat inspired by David Bowie’s Let’s he sings. One of the funkiest, most upbeat songs of the songs on the album, Rain manages to included his version on the album as a nod to his
Dance is the driving force of Wishing Well on on the album, its breezy dance beat conceals the seamlessly incorporate a number of different own musical awakenings. Another stellar vocal
which Terence dances the blues, adopting a song’s serious message. styles within the song. performance from the singer, too.
string of press interviews in doesn’t. I knew that when I

© Getty Images
which he boasted about his boasted that The Hardline...

sexual conquests, proclaimed was the best debut album by
himself “a genius”, described a male solo act in this century
his album as “better than Sgt. that the reporter would be sure
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club to quote that. Jesus Christ, can
Band” and “the most brilliant you not see that that was a
debut album by any artist statement dying to be put
this decade”, immediately into headlines?”
establishing himself as a Proving the adage that
divisive character. On the one there was no such thing as
hand, there were those who bad press, the attention and
were repelled by his bravado, notoriety his comments earned
while others lauded his him initially worked in his
refreshing no-BS demeanour. favour when Introducing The
Terence later clarified his Hardline... was released the
intentions in his first interview following July. The album sold
with Rolling Stone magazine. one million copies worldwide
“The simple truth is I had to in its first three days on sale
do my best to ensure that and topped the album charts
my album was going to win around the world. Over the
massive attention,” he said. “I course of the following year,
had to make sure that would it went on to spend nine (non-
happen, by hook or by crook. Introducing The Hardline... consecutive) weeks at No.1
As a former journalism student, sold one million copies in the UK, returning to the top
worldwide in the first three
I have some idea of what days of going on sale
spot each time he released a
makes good copy and what single from it. Wishing Well,
45

C L A S S I C A L B U M I N T R O D U C I N G T H E H A R D L I N E . . .
© Getty Images
THE BIG
PICTURE
T H E V I D E O S
IF YOU LET ME STAY

DIRECTOR: UNKNOWN
Introducing Terence Trent D’Arby to the world with his debut music
video, it was decided a straightforward performance clip of the
singer with his band would suffice. If You Let Me Stay captured
the essence of him; the raspy
soul voice, the androgynous sex
appeal and the electrifying stage
presence, which included moves
like Jagger and the swagger
of James Brown
in one perfect
pop package. The media in the United States
https://youtu.be/ didn’t take kindly to Terence
Trent D’Arby’s cocky soundbites
tp05UUg_8LM
WISHING WELL Dance Little Sister and Sign arrogance. The biggest music
DIRECTOR: VAUGHAN ARNELL/ANTHEA BENTON Your Name all became Top 20 magazine in the world, Rolling
In what was a standard feature of Terence’s early videos, live hits and earned him Brits and Stone was incensed when
performance is the emphasis of the clip. His first video with Grammys (he won Best Male Terence had the audacity to
directing team Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton, the video R&B Vocal in 1989 after losing only agree to an interview if he
incorporates grainy black and
to Jody Watley for Best New was given the cover. They ran
white footage of Terence and his
lover out on dates. The inclusion
Artist the previous year). the cover with the tagline,
of Le Monde newspaper places Aside from being a chart “A legend in his own mind”.
the video in Paris. The video mainstay, he was also Although Terence defended
is the first of a lauded as an electrifying live himself by reiterating his
trilogy, over which performer. As well as his earlier claims he was merely
the story unfolds. own songs, he regularly paid playing the media game and
https://youtu.be/ homage to his idols in concert his statements were intended
ynIHsHYaig0 and in TV performances, to attract attention to his work,
performing Sam Cooke’s his spoken words essentially
DANCE LITTLE SISTER Wonderful World, The Rolling overshadowed those he
DIRECTOR: VAUGHAN ARNELL/ANTHEA BENTON Stones’ Under My Thumb and sang with such passion and
The second part of the trilogy shows how Terence and his Smokey Robinson’s Who’s eloquence. His decision to
girlfriend’s relationship has progressed and the video opens with Loving You. take complete artistic control
a shot of their baby daughter in her cot. As the video continues, Martyn Ware told the Red of his subsequent music
we see the girl growing into was a brave move which
Bull Music Academy: “He
a toddler as Terence and his
performed live and could do backfired spectacularly from
girlfriend/wife revel in domestic
bliss. As with previous videos, everything. Every move you’d a commercial perspective. He
the narrative is interspersed with ever seen Prince do, every never came close to replicating
performance move you’ve ever seen the the success of Introducing
footage of Terence original soul artists do, even The Hardline… and “killed
with his band. James Brown, he could dance off” Terence Trent D’Arby to
https://youtu.be/ like that. At that point he was assume the identity of Sananda
FcUmIRw0N5w completely straight, didn’t take Maitreya in 2001, the name
any drugs, didn’t drink, he by which he still releases music
SIGN YOUR NAME looked like a god.” independently today.
DIRECTOR: VAUGHAN ARNELL/ANTHEA BENTON So where did it go wrong? With Terence’s chart rivals
The final part of the trilogy. Beginning with his lover and daughter Despite Terence’s undeniable Jackson, George and Prince
leaving him, Terence jumps on his motorbike and searches London talent and success, his all tragically gone now, a
for them as his daughter has left behind her favourite stuffed toy. grandiose statements and re-introduction to Terence
After briefly stopping off at Trent D’Arby would be more
outlandish behaviour were
the most stylish biker bar ever,
to be to his downfall. As he than welcome.
Terence tracks down his wife
and daughter, gives the child arrived in the US to launch
her toy and wins back his lover, his career in his abandoned LISTEN UP!
ending the video homeland in 1988, he found Check out Introducing
in a passionate his reputation preceded him. The Hardline
clinch. Influential magazines such as According to Terence
https://youtu.be/ Rolling Stone, Spin, People and Trent D’Arby for
dluHzQhLcME yourself here:
Village Voice all ran profiles
spoti.fi/2slfzWk
taking him to task for his
46

ON SALE NOW!
OM
AVAIL ABLE FR
L E C T E D I N D E PENDENT
AND SE ILABLE IN
S H O P S . A V A
RECORD E R SEAS TOO.
T O R E S O V
SELECTED S
FROM THE MAKERS OF
LLV03_A4.indd 47 09/06/2017 11:30

SHAPE
SHIFTERS
A F TER SEVEN A LBUMS AN D A L MOST 20 YE A RS TO G E TH ER,
YO U STI LL CAN’ T SECO N D GU ESS G O L D F R A P P.
R U DY B O L LY CATCH ES U P WITH TH E DYNA M I C D U O
– A LISO N G O LD FR A PP AN D WI LL G REG O RY – TO TA LK
A BO UT TH EI R N EW RECO RD, SILVER EYE
48
CP30.goldfrapp.print.indd 48 07/06/2017 16:27

G O L D F R A P P
The sound of reinvention:

Alison Goldfrapp and
Will Gregory released
their seventh studio
album, Silver Eye, earlier
this year
yodeling performance artist. Alison

Goldfrapp was someone he felt
compelled to meet: “Wherever
she is, I want to be there, too –
because I feel like I already am.”
Seven albums later, Goldfrapp
are closing in on their 20th
the peasant outfit and put on anniversary, a milestone longer
something a little more urban,” than many marriages. Reflecting
F
chuckles Will. “Whatever comes on their enduring relationship Will
next is the antidote to what we’ve quips: “I’m slightly amazed, too,
ew bands manage to done already, if only to keep how long we have managed to
reinvent their sound ourselves sane.” put up with each other.” Alison
and image as well as “I think most bands are too deadpans: “It’s been constant,
Goldfrapp. Frontwoman scared to try something different,” we are so used to each other
Alison Goldfrapp and agrees Alison, her signature now we are telepathic.” The
behind-the-scenes blonde locks now straighter and self-deprecating jibes certainly
sonic architect Will with a reddish hue. “We’ve never resemble those of an old married
Gregory consistently keep fans really thought too much about it.” couple, yet Alison and Will remain
on their collective toes, careering oddly independent entities.
from panoramic string-infused SILVER LININGS SONGBOOK Interviews are rarely conducted
extravaganzas to glam synth Two decades ago, Will Gregory together and Will has all but given
stompers. Their latest opus, – the son of a Covent Garden up performing live with Goldfrapp,
Silver Eye, jettisons the lush chorus girl – was plying his trade leaving Alison and hired hands to
pastoral textures of 2013’s Tales as a saxophonist. Tired of the tour. “It’s the same that it always
Of Us to embrace a dirtier tour bus he turned his attention was,” he explains, delving deeper.
electronic aesthetic. to writing soundtracks, until “We have had a very formal
“Our mood got a little darker happening upon a tape containing relationship and that’s why it has
so it felt like time to throw off an early demo of Human by a had such a long and fruitful
49

duration. I think we have kept a Crucially, Alison and Will ideas,” adds Alison. “It’s another
certain work aesthetic to how we both think about music visually way of creating a narrative.”
interact and it’s very much about and Silver Eye is no different. By their own admission, Silver
putting the hours in and respecting Its striking visuals complement Eye had a tricky gestation
what each other does. lyrics conveying pagan rituals, period. Following Tales Of
“Wanting to get the best out of the elemental and the clash of Us, the duo scored The National
each other. Because we are so human versus nature. It paints Theatre’s production of Greek
different as people, that’s always a sort of 21st Century version tragedy Medea; and then came
felt good because we don’t cover of The Wicker Man. Will laughs: a little unstuck. “We took more
each other’s bases at all – I think “We weren’t sacrificing in a Pagan time off,” acknowledges Will.
we both want what the other way. More in a angst way as “The longer we go on, the higher
person does. Outside of work, in ‘what are we doing and why the rejection rate has to be
we don’t crowd each other or see are we doing it?’ The usual self- otherwise you just repeat yourself,
much of one another. I tend not doubt and grey areas. and we get a little pickier. We are
to tour so there’s space there for “But we love the ideas of The terrified of turning the handle and
both of us to decompress. Because Wicker Man, those English cranking out another burger.”
when you are working on a record atmospheres, pre-Christian rituals. Silver Eye is no Big Mac. In fast
together it’s a long haul with a It’s hard to translate how that food terms a lobster roll, perhaps.
lot of contact hours together.” figures in what you are doing It’s luxurious, louder and even a
apart from making it more intense little bit grubbier than Tales Of
THEATRE OF DREAMS and primal.” Us. Such transformation – be it
It makes Goldfrapp sound like a “The visuals are just another way musical, visual or spiritual – is
marriage of convenience. That isn’t to express or translate some of the key to Goldfrapp’s success. Silver
quite the case he assures: “We Eye goes even further and takes
tried doing it independently and it aim at the metamorphic power of
doesn’t really work. the moon. “There’s a lot of moon,
“We still have to be there in I look at it a lot,” details Alison,
the room together and turn up for
Goldfrapp to happen.”
Alison Goldfrapp
describes new
album Silver
Eye as a hybrid
of mysticism
and dreams
50

G O L D F R A P P
“I THINK MOST
BANDS ARE TOO
SCARED TO
TRY SOM ETHIN G
DIFFERENT...”
Annemarieke van Drimmelen
describing the record as a hybrid

of anthropomorphism, mysticism
and dreams. “They’ve been there
on all the albums but it’s much
more focused on this record.”
Equally fascinated, Will says:
“Before humans stopped hunting,
they depended on the sun and the
lunar cycles. Yet we still know very
little about it.”
Sonically it’s a record that
constantly mutates, each song
building towards a crescendo
of some sort. But it’s Become The
One that really focuses on change
and questions who human beings
might want to be. Alison was
moved to write the track after
seeing the 2015 documentary,
My Transgender Summer Camp. Silver Eye is the
“Become the one/ You know you follow-up to
Goldfrapp’s 2013
are,” she sings over and over
album Tales Of Us
again, her treated vocals
morphing from a dark robotic
growl to the sweet purity of her Less certain Alison adds: “I don’t
real singing voice. think we ever really know what
“It’s celebratory, about looking
inside yourself and having the
we’re doing. But it has to feel
genuine. We often start out with
A WHOLE NEW STAGE
confidence to change – not a plan and quite quickly that plan The West End stage is calling Goldfrapp. Away from touring, the
changing, becoming the thing that goes out of the window. pair harbour dreams of producing their own theatrical production;
you want to be. We all have dual “Plans are good but it’s good to
personalities,” she says. be prepared to throw them away
as well.”
ALL THAT GLITTERS For all the incarnations,
Having instigated so many Goldfrapp’s music can just as than a musical maybe… certainly something for the future.”
transformations themselves, it begs easily be condensed into two
the question – is Goldfrapp the more basic camps – upbeat translate their ideas onto the stage. With some reticence, Will
band they always wanted it to be? and downbeat. Will concedes:
“We’ve tried wanting to be many “The last one we went off on a
things,” responds Will with a hint very pastoral vibe, no drums,
of irony. “We have written reams the groove aspect was in the Perhaps
about what type of album we background. It was mood, melody
wanted to create, like ‘surely we and harmony exploring textures.
could go here and do that’. But it But with this one we thought, ‘no,
has never worked and we end up let’s put the rhythm at the forefront
doing the opposite. A Goldfrapp and explore that’. We were long
record just seems to be something overdue to shake ourselves Classic Pop
we find as we go along.” around a bit.” in anticipation.
51

Alison and Will circa Silver Eye is a more
2010 and fifth studio collaborative effort
album Head First for Goldfrapp
The new music has exploring and mine the million

more in common with past voices that Alison has in her.”
electronic favourites, Black What is most unusual
Cherry and Supernature. Will about Silver Eye is its collaborative
agrees but adds: “Also, we roll call. Normally Alison and
had done the glammy thing, so Will work alone, but this time the
this time it had to be hard and celebrated likes of John Congleton
electronic, less soft-edged. Trying and Leo Abrahams injected a fresh
to see what else the synths can approach. “We wanted to bring
do.” Although Alison clarifies: “I some other heads into it to avoid Perhaps industrialist the Haxan
wouldn’t call it dance music.” The getting stale and reiterate our own Cloak, who tweeked Björk’s
“mantra-like rhythms” of Krautrock, foibles,” confirms Will. “You pick 2015 album Vulnicura, is the
so adored by Alison, make their new things up, it’s interactive and it most surprising partnership. “We
presence heard on the record. make things quicker because even loved his dark aesthetic, that deep
But, as ever, it’s her extraordinary if you’re not digging what they’re sonic droney, doomy thing was
voice that fuels Goldfrapp’s doing, it throws up questions about great.” Alison continues: “He is an
transformative power. how to focus. important part of the record, and
“The voice is the big thing that “Leo creates an amazing inspired us both.”
links it all,” says Will, patently still soundscape with the guitar which
excited by her talent. “And for me is very much his own thing and SECRET OF THEIR SUCCESS
it’s about trying to coax a new often you don’t even know it’s a Another important figure was
sound out of what Alison can do guitar. So there are big dreamy somebody who has been with
as she has such a huge range of soundscapes from him. Then we Goldfrapp from the very beginning
voices. I’m always excited to see if went over to America to work with – Mute label boss Daniel Miller.
we can get somewhere we haven’t John Congleton, because we love “Daniel is really your dream record
been before with the voice. That his stuff with John Grant and St boss because he doesn’t really get
has always given me hope when Vincent, to see if he could rough it involved if he thinks it will throw
we are stuck, we can keep up a bit; and he did.” you off,” explains Will. “But he will
give an opinion when you need
wisdom. What he was good at this
time was saying, ‘I can see what
you are doing with this track but
there was a version you made six
HAPPY SNAPPER months ago that I really liked when
you did this’. He had the ability
to see the project from a distance.
He’s been a player, too, on other
albums, fuzzed things up and
distorted things. We’ve definitely
picked up a lot of tips and
insights from him.”
Goldfrapp’s chart successes
© Getty Images
have nearly always coincided

with their upbeat material.
Oh La La and Number 1 became
huge pop hits, but unfortunately
British soul singer
Laura Mvula photographed bands of a certain age rarely get
by Alison Goldfrapp the opportunity to chart anymore.
52

G O L D F XR X
A X
P X
P
Is Silver Eye craving a hit? “Radio

Goldfrapp will be making
is a fickle mistress,” murmurs Will, a number of festival
with the trepidation of a jilted appearances this summer
lover. “If you court her you will including Glastonbury,
Bluedot and Latitude
be disappointed. Anything where
you are expecting a response is
dangerous territory and it can lead
you down the wrong path. You can
never second-guess these things,
you can only please yourself. It’s
about being satisfied that you have
explored everything to its fullest
extent and not left anything half
cocked. Some of the things I love
the most are obscure and have
probably never seen the radio
and that’s OK. You can’t expect
everything to appeal to everyone.”
IT TAKES TWO
In marketing terms, the focus has
switched from radio to streaming.
Goldfrapp are unlikely to make
it onto Spotify’s most-played list,
but they do see the positives in the
new medium. “You have to say
more music is getting out there
to more people in more varied
way,” says the man behind the
keyboards. “It makes people
search it out rather than being
spoon-fed. It’s a positive thing even
if it’s hard to handle in terms that already played a handful of
people seem to set themselves up UK shows, including the
as streamers rather than supporting BBC 6 Music Festival in Glasgow
the music financially.” ahead of a big performance at
Elegant new tracks like Faux Glastonbury in June. “We started
Suede Drifter allow Will to rehearsing in Will’s garage,”
parade his collection of analogue explains Alison. “His garage is
synthesizers. Alison has “to rein a real garage, it’s pretty low-key –
him in” from time to time. “I’m lot of tins of Ronseal.” Alison has
lucky to have collected some since escaped the whiff of turps,
lovely analogue things,” admits but Will hasn’t joined her, “this is
Will, who also makes music with where I let the band sail off into
the sunset.”
For Alison, touring seems a
“I DON’T THINK WE real joy and the new material
fits seamlessly in with her live
EVER REALLY KNOW favourites. “It’s a fun record to play

and the reaction has been great,”
she says eagerly.
WHAT WE’RE DOIN G” “I still really enjoy playing Strict
Machine, Ooh La La and Black
Cherry. I never get bored of
the Moog Ensemble. “My family and unwinding that has to go playing those songs live.”
probably need to sit me down on is difficult. When four people Current enthusiasm suggests
and say, ‘we need a holiday are being interviewed on TV I there’s plenty more changes to
not another synth’. But what the can see, by how they are sitting come from Goldfrapp. Surely
synthesizer can do or fails to do is together, exactly what is going on. retirement remains a long way off?
rather beautiful.” It’s painful to observe but you can The singer teases: “I say to myself
Perhaps the secret to Goldfrapp’s predict who is going to fall out I’m going to stop soon and do
longevity is down to the dynamic with who. It’s harder to work out something else. I can see myself
of a duo. From Pet Shop Boys the internal dynamics of a creative on stage in 10 years, but definitely
to Daft Punk, over the decades union when there are more than not 20. At the same time, Iggy Pop
some of pop’s most enduring acts two people involved. But if there’s does it, so why not me?”
have been pairs. “I think you’re two of you there’s only one other Why not indeed.
right. We’ve both been in bands, person to deal with.”
sometimes with 10 people and Now comes the job of Silver Eye is out now on
the amount of emotional knotting touring Silver Eye. Goldfrapp have Mute Records
53

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Cerys Matthews topped the
© Getty Images
charts fronting Catatonia in

1998 with the smash album
International Velvet
56
CP30.SoMuch_Wales.print.indd 56 07/06/2017 17:23

H E R I T
P A
G
O
E
P
SO MUCH TO
ANSWER FOR
E
P
O G
P A
H E R I T
Wales
THE MUSIC OF THE PRINCIPALITY
CAN DRAW ON A RICH AND
ROOTSY HERITAGE WHEN IT NEEDS
TO REINVENT ITSELF
J O N A T H A N W R I G H T
T
he figure dressed in black has Michael Barratt, better known as media-savvy cheerleader for the city,
tangled hair and looks directly Shakin’ Stevens, the most successful and his own Factory Records and
at the camera. For all it looks British singles artist of the 1980s. “There the Hacienda nightclub. In contrast,
like a mizzly day, he wears were plenty of transport cafes, trucker the story of Welsh music is often told
dark glasses. Behind him lies a places, but there was no motorway as through a list of apparently disparate
juxtaposition of old and new. Beyond such, and so we had to go from Cardiff names: Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones,
a car with lines to suggest it could to Chepstow and up to London. It would Amen Corner, Mary Hopkin, Shakey,
have been built in the 50s or earlier, a take three, three-and-a-half to four hours Badfinger, Budgie and more.
suspension bridge soars. It’s May 1966, to get there.” If there’s a unifying narrative in this
the scarecrow-skinny figure is Bob Dylan version of the Principality’s rich musical
and the photo, taken on the tour when INTO THE VALLEYS history, and it’s by no means the only
Dylan’s electrified performances with Perhaps because of this comparative version as we’ll see, it’s more around
the nascent Band outraged folk purists, geographic isolation, Wales can seem style than a particular figure or club.
speaks of a world still emerging from like a place set apart in terms of its South Wales in particular is a place
post-war austerity yet encountering, in pop history. Think of Manchester, for where rock’n’roll laid down deep roots.
Harold Wilson’s words, the “white heat” instance, and there’s the galvanising Tom Jones, Shakey and Cardiff-born
of technological change. presence of the late Tony Wilson, the Dave Edmunds, who enjoyed a No.4
More prosaically, considering it’s UK hit in 1979 with the Elvis Costello-
the Severn Bridge we can see, then Husky-voiced penned Girls Talk and performed with
still under construction, it’s a reminder Bonnie Nick Lowe in Rockpile, were all born
Tyler was
of just what a pain in the arse it could holding out in the 1940s, and grew up steeped in
be to travel to and from South Wales. for a hero the music of Elvis, Little Richard and
In an image later used to promote growing up Chuck Berry.
in Neath
Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home “I don’t think any A&R people, scouts,
documentary, Dylan is shown waiting came down to Cardiff,” remembers
at the Aust ferry terminal on the muddy Shakey of starting out. “I certainly
banks of the Severn estuary for a slow wasn’t aware of it, but it was great
boat to the Principality. Even after the for music. There were lots and lots
bridge opened, the local motorway of bands.”
infrastructure remained shonky for Paying that forward, rock and heavy
years, with the Welsh section of the M4 metal thrived in the Welsh Valleys in
completed as late as 1993. the 70s and 80s. This was music for
© Getty Images
“We need to remember that in the Saturday nights in the pub and it clearly
days when we [first] went to London had an effect on local musicians. When
there were no services at all,” recalls husky-voiced Bonnie Tyler, hitherto
57

H E R I T
P A
G
O
E
P
SO MUCH TO Cardiff-born Green
ANSWER FOR
© Getty Images
Gartside formed the
DIY post-punk band
Scritti Politti in 1977
E
P
O G
P A
H E R I T
Q&A
SHAKIN’
STEVENS
Q
Your latest album, Echoes
Of Our Times deals with your
family history…
“It’s a very personal album. A lot
of people can relate to the album,
I’m absolutely sure of that. It’s had fantastic
reviews, in blues mags, country mags, and
it’s been accepted. It’s good for me because
it’s my move-on album.”
Q
What were the 1980s like?
Was it all a bit mad?
“It was mad, totally mad. I look back
and I think, ‘How did I fit in?’ But
I guess I did somehow. Having said
that, there were groups like the Stray Cats
and Matchbox. They were heady days. There
were no TV shows, only Saturday morning
kids’ shows and Top Of The Pops, and so I
think the elder audiences could latch onto the
music and reminisce, and they started taking
their children to the shows. I guess that’s how
it evolved.”
Q
In a sense, has it taken a long known for country-tinged pop hits such the Manic Street Preachers soaked up
time to get over the success? as It’s A Heartache (1977), began the music of AC/DC, Rush and Hanoi
“[Playing live] I do the hits. But I working with Jim Steinman of Meat Loaf Rocks. Yet, like Kurt Cobain on the other
don’t do all of them, it would be a fame in the 80s, the transition in style side of the Atlantic, the band’s hard
complete hits show and I don’t really to outright bombast seemed the most rock influences went alongside a love
want to do that. This Ole House, for instance, natural thing in the world, and of punk’s revolutionary spirit –
we do it in a totally different way, we do it in produced the perennial it’s no coincidence MSP
a bluesy-type way, mid-tempo.” karaoke favourites Total first came together in
Early
Q
Eclipse Of The Heart 1986, the same
It’s a gruesome story [about and Holding Out year Channel 4
coming across the body of
a prospector]...
For A Hero.
From a
on the Manics broadcast a
Ten Years Of
It’s true to life, it’s what happened. different angle,
were derided as faintly Punk season.
© Getty Images
You can hear people actually The Alarm, The voracious

listening to the story
whereas when I used
fronted by
Mike Peters, ridiculous, silly poseurs. reading
of lyricists
to do it when it
was up-tempo,
grew from
punk and Richey Edwards begged to Richey
Edwards and
they just used
to tap their
new wave, but
brought a rock differ, carving “4REAL” Nicky Wire,
combined
feet. It is a
sad story.”
anthem sensibility
to such hits as Sixty
Eight Guns (1983),
into his arm with singer-
guitarist James
Dean Bradfield’s
Echoes
Echoes which brought success in musicianship, to create
Of Our the US as well as Europe. a potent brew fuelled by
Times is repeated listening to both Guns N’
available THE GENERATION TERRORISTS Roses’ Appetite For Destruction and
via HEC As the 90s began, one Welsh band Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of
above all proved it was possible to craft Millions To Hold Us Back.
something genuinely new from rock It’s difficult to remember now, but
influences. From Blackwood, Caerphilly, early on the Manics were derided as
58

W A L E S S O M U C H T O A N S W E R F O R
faintly ridiculous, silly poseurs. Richey

H E R I T
Edwards begged to differ, carving O
P A
G
“4REAL” into his arm with a razor
E
P
blade while a horrified Steve Lamacq, SO MUCH TO
then working for the NME, looked on,
uncertain what to do. During this era, ANSWER FOR
the band claimed they would make one
E
P
O G
P A
H E R I T
great album and then split up. As Wire
Remembering
noted: “The most important thing we can
do is get massive and throw it all away.”
In the event, the Manics did something
far braver: they carried on, perennial
RICHEY EDWARDS
semi-outsiders. Along the way, the trio
of Wire, Bradfield and drummer Sean
I
Moore weathered the still unexplained
1995 disappearance of Richey t was the second time I’d interviewed the about is: ‘We’ve got to get to London somehow,
Edwards, with dignity and grace. Manics. On the first occasion, the band whatever it takes, and then we’ve got to get a record
was still signed to the Heavenly Records deal and we’ve got to make an LP that sums up our
MAKING SONGS TO REMEMBER and my mental image of the encounter lives,’ and that’s all we’ve thought about. It’s been
A less often highlighted element in the is of young men having a hoot at all this really strange since we finished the LP because it’s
Manics’ mix of influences was the C86 attention while improbably sporting charity like this big gap in our lives... there’s nothing to think
generation of indie bands. In 1986 and shop leopardskin print chiffon. It would be about anymore...I don’t know what’s happening
1987, Wire and Bradfield would busk in an exaggeration to say they looked like Bet anymore, it’s all very confusing. I haven’t been to
Cardiff. “The idea was to make enough Lynch impersonators, but not by much. bed for days.”
Q
money to buy a seven-inch single [from The second encounter was a rather quieter
venerable record store Spillers Music] occasion. On a March morning, shortly after What did you think of the people you
and a burger,” he told Alexis Petridis of the release of Generation Terrorists, I headed met at your record label, Sony?
The Guardian in 2006. “The burgers to central London to meet Richey Edwards “I thought there would be a bit of an interest
came from Wimpy. The seven-inch at Sony’s offices for an interview to appear in music, that’s definitely not the case. There’s
singles came from indie bands no one in a Canadian magazine. He was softly probably nobody in this building that actually
really remembers now: The June Brides, spoken, polite yet direct, self-aware and far likes music as much as we do... Where we came from,
McCarthy, Tallulah Gosh, Big Flame.” more amusing than his subsequent image music was the biggest, most important thing in our
These were “fragile” and “feminine” might suggest. lives. It was all we had to get through the day, watch
Q
bands that, as with the Manics, liked videos and play records, that’s all what we did.
manifestos and were interested in things You’ve said a few times this will be “Everybody here just has a good time, they go for
“slightly under the radar”. your only album. Do you still feel the meals every day, they go to the cinema, they take the
As such, these were also bands same way? “A lot of the time... When we theatre in, they go for walks in the park. They’re so
heavily influenced by two Welsh groups were driving back from crap gigs [at ‘toilet well rounded, normal human beings. We were quite
to emerge in the post-punk era. Cardiff- circuit’ venues where the band had to pay to stunted, we’ve always admitted that, that we were
born Green Gartside-fronted Scritti play], we thought we still think we’ve got something very shy, very insecure. When the most important
Politti. Formed in Leeds in the late-70s important to say, and no other band’s really trying thing in your life is a vinyl record, it’s hardly a huge
and with a name chosen in homage to do anything different. All we’ve ever tried to think sign of sanity.”
Q
How much did you play on
Mitch Ikeda
Generation Terrorists? “I’m just barely,

barely adequate to play the most basic
rhythm... I think too many people care about
musicianship and not enough people care
about what a band says.”
Edwards was integral to choosing the quotes that
adorn Generation Terrorists...
“A lot of people have gone out and chosen a
Camus book [as a result] and it’s good. All we’re
trying to say is we can never be as intelligent or as
literate as our favourite authors, they can say things
that we feel... better than we can. We’re not authors,
we’re just in a band.”
Q
How would you describe Blackwood
for a Canadian audience... “It’s a tiny
village. The only reason people were ever
living there was because of heavy industry,
and all that’s gone and everybody’s still left
there, so if you can imagine a mini-population with
nothing to do. It is boring, it is fucking boring... We
chose to stay there and be these lonely little people,
Straight Outta Caerphilly: The
Manics featuring Sean Moore, and other people just go up the pub, get pissed, fight
Richey Edwards, James Dean and take out their frustration in another way – and
Bradfield and Nicky Wire that’s it.” Jonathan Wright
59

S O M U C H T O A N S W E R F O R W A L E S
WHEN WORD GOT AROUND

Labels such as Ankst, formed in 1988 at
the University of Wales in Aberystwyth
by Alun Llwyd, Gruffudd Jones and
Emyr Glyn Williams, documented bands
that fell in a lineage also represented
by singers such as Dafydd Iwan, Meic
Stevens and Geraint Jarman, figures
whose careers were, in the words of
Hill, “completely tied up with language
activism and language politics”.
But while the Welsh-language singers
of previous generations never really
succeeded, bands such as Catatonia
(whose guitarist/songwriter Mark
Roberts played in Welsh language indie
band Y Cyrff), Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci
and Super Furry Animals came through
as Britpop was in its pomp.
“That’s what makes 90s Welsh pop
so interesting,” says Hill, “the music was
good, it fit into the broader mainstream
culture, and it also showed that it was
possible for a Welsh band to succeed.
It just raised a whole bunch of questions
in some quarters about the fate of the
language, and the concern that Welsh
bands would abandon the language for
a chance at mainstream success.
“That’s why Super Furry Animals’
Mwng (2000) was such a landmark
album: it was in Welsh, but it was
well-received by the British music press
regardless. That never would have
happened 10 or 15 years earlier.”
Super Furry Animals, fronted by Gruff
Rhys, enjoyed a string of hits with tracks
such as Something 4 The Weekend and
Northern Lites; while Gorky’s Zygotic
© Getty Images
Stereophonics scored
their first UK Top 10 Mynci, having started out on Ankst,
single in 1998 with The
signed to Fontana had eight Top 75
Bartender And The Thief
singles without cracking the Top 40.
of the Italian political theorist Antonio Yet as Reynolds also argues, for all ENTER THE WELSH DRAGON
Gramsci, the Scritti’s rough and ready its understated qualities, there was a If the Furries and Gorky’s
debut Skank Bloc Bologna EP (1978) “subliminal rock’n’roll element in YMG specialised in the kind of pastoral-
was one of the key DIY releases of the music”, albeit “rock’n’roll Anglicised, the tinged psychedelic pop currently
era, with a sleeve that broke down the urge to cut loose checked by a native being performed with aplomb
costs of making the record. reserve and inhibition”. by Cate Le Bon, Catatonia
Later, Green honed his songwriting As Stuart Moxham has conceded: “In proved to be a more
skills to become a bona-fide pop star a lot of ways, I was a frustrated rocker. mainstream proposition.
in the 1980s, the surface brightness A lot of those riffs would sound great on
of singles such as “The Sweetest Girl” loud, distorted guitars in a conventional
(1981, and covered by Madness in band.” His words are a reminder that
1986) sneaking personal-political
messages into the mainstream.
musical histories aren’t always as
straightforward as they first appear. Super
Young Marble Giants were less
commercially successful, and released
In this context, one of the problems
with seeing Welsh pop and rock as Furry Animals’ Mwng
just one album, Colossal Youth for Rough
Trade in 1980. To quote Simon Reynolds
a parade of famous names is that it
ignores a rich vein of songs sung in was such a landmark
(Rip It Up And Start Again: Postpunk
1978–1984), writing the reissue liner
Welsh. “There has been a Welsh-
language pop scene since the 60s,” album: it was in Welsh, but
notes: “The Cardiff trio’s one-and-only
album contains not a wasted note,
says Dr Sarah Hill, senior lecturer
at the School of Music, Cardiff it was well-received by
the British music press
barely a blemish.” He’s right. The trio of University. “It just never got any notice
Alison Statton, Philip Moxham and Stuart outside of Wales until the late-80s,
Moxham made delicate music that, when John Peel started playing bands
if you’re looking for a contemporary
reference, brings to mind a lo-fi The xx.
like [experimental rock band] Datblygu
and [punk band] Yr Anhrefn.”
regardless
60

H E R I T
P A
G
O
E
P
In 1998, the band released International recent album Keep The Village Alive SO MUCH TO
Velvet. It reached No.1 and spawned
two Top 10 hits in Mulder And Scully
(2015) was another UK No.1.
It’s tempting to see the fame of both
ANSWER FOR
E
P
O G
and Road Rage. Much of this was down bands – and the success enjoyed by
P A
H E R I T
Wales
to singer Cerys Matthews. Feeder and 60 Ft. Dolls – as a case of
Charismatic, gobby and, at the height Welsh guitar rock being some kind of
of Catatonia’s success, boozy Cerys default setting.
fascinated the tabloids, but in truth But this misses Matthews’ eclectic
seemed relieved to walk away from pop knowledge of music. Or the way Jones’
stardom when the band split in 2001.
Stereophonics also enjoyed their first
best songs, from the days of Local Boy
In The Photograph and the tragic tale
BEST 10
UK Top 10 single in 1998, with The
Bartender And The Thief, from second
of a lad who commits suicide, have
so often been pop-tinged, kitchen-sink
TRACKS
album Performance And Cocktails. vignettes of working class life. GIRLS TALK (1979)
Formed in the former coalmining village During the Noughties the pop charts DAVE EDMUNDS
of Cwmaman in 1992 and fronted by was suddenly bothered by an unlikely Later to appear on Elvis Costello’s Get
Happy!!, Girls Talk is a near flawless
songwriter Kelly Jones, the band have source in Welsh wonder woman
slice of power pop.
rarely been out of the charts since and Charlotte Church. As an 11-year-old,
classical music prodigy, Church was FINAL DAY (1980)
dubbed the “Voice of an Angel”, but YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS
growing up in the public eye wasn’t A deceptively minimalist and soft
single that, as it unfolds, turns out to
easy. Continually criticised and hounded
deal with the horrors of nuclear war.
by the press, the singer hit back in
2005 with Crazy Chick and found MARIE MARIE (1980)
herself at No.2 in the charts. SHAKIN’ STEVENS
Now a well-respected political activist Not a standard as many suppose, but
and mother, she continues to entertain a song written by Dave Alvin of US
roots band The Blasters.
with her Pop Dungeon (see our live
review on page 112). JACQUES DERRIDA
In 2008, working among others (1982)
with former Suede guitarist Bernard SCRITTI POLITTI
Butler, Gwynedd-born Duffy became an A jolly, jaunting tune and a song named
overnight sensation with Rockferry. Here for the French philosopher who gave
the world deconstructionism.
was an album of blue-eyed soul that
told of heartbreak and angst, TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE
but with a very British spin, as HEART (1983)
evidenced by the hit single BONNIE TYLER
Warwick Avenue, named Own up, you love it. Jim Steinman
and Tyler’s worldwide No.1 hit sold
for the Tube station.
60,000 copies a day for a while.
Indirectly, we’re
back to the place of KISS (1988)
roots music, the way THE ART OF NOISE WITH
that rock’n’roll, folk, blues TOM JONES
and soul so often seem to The suprising collaboration that came
about after Jones added the song to
reassert themselves within
his Las Vegas show.
Welsh music.
When this works at MOTORCYCLE
its best, it’s hugely EMPTINESS (1992)
creative. In 1988, MANIC STREET PREACHERS
one Tom Jones That glorious melody serves as the

delivery method for a typically wordy
reinvigorated his
critique of consumerism.
career by covering
a floor-filling funk-soul THE MAN DON’T GIVE
belter in ebullient style. A FUCK (1996)
No surprise there, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
A single that includes the f-word more
except the song was
than 50 times, reason enough in itself
Prince’s Kiss and
to include it here.
he recorded
it with Art I AM THE MOB
Of Noise. (1997)
CATATONIA
A Godfather-powered declaration of
confidence – “I put horses’ heads in
people’s beds…”
Duffy’s debut LP
Rockferry entered WARWICK AVENUE
the UK Album Chart LISTEN UP! (2008)
at No.1, and became Take a listen to 10
DUFFY
the UK’s best-selling classic Welsh tunes
Duffy daringly Bakerloo-lines the
record in 2008 Da iawn! spoti.fi/2rsQ8SZ
imperious spirit of Dusty Springfield.
© Getty Images
61

K E N A N S E L L
KEN ANSELL’S NAME ISN’T AS WELL KNOWN AS

THE DESIGN WORK HE CREATED FOR SOME OF
THE BIGGEST HIT ALBUMS OF THE 80S. IN THIS
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, WE LOOK BACK ON A
POP PORTFOLIO THAT DARED TO HELP DEFINE
THE GRAPHIC STYLE OF AN ERA.
A N D R E W D I N E L E Y
C
lassic Pop: How did Guildford but discovered the social designed our own products which
you first get involved side of being a student at Farnham we screenprinted at college and
in design – did you and consequently ended up only attempted to sell in Brighton.
go to art school? applying for a vocational course at On leaving Worthing in 1973,
Ken Ansell: At school, I was the West Sussex School of Art where Ron (Birks) got a job as a Junior
good at art and, encouraged by I loosely studied Graphics. Creative at J Walter Thompson and
my teacher, I applied to go to art I found the technical side of Adrian (Sadgrove) joined the EMI
college, aged 17. I was turned the course hard to grasp and in in-house design team.
down by Kingston in 1968, so I my last year I was threatened I managed to get a job with the
applied for a foundation course at with expulsion along with two son of the external assessor of our
Guildford and managed to get in. colleagues. In a wave of rebellion, end of year show and finished up as
The course was disrupted by the we rejected the college curriculum, the sole graphic designer at a small
student unrest that was sweeping the formed a company (Ansell, design firm working (mostly) for
country and I was offered a second Birks and Sadgrove) touting for Island Records. After several years,
year at Farnham. I worked hard at small, local design projects and both Adrian and I were offered
“I can’t quite remember how the handwritten Japan logo
came about but the band must have liked it as we ended
up using it on other sleeves.” K E N A N S E L L
Ken Ansell’s first

album sleeve was
Seven Seals by
Matumbi in 1978
62
CP30.pop_art.print.indd 62 08/06/2017 09:10

K E N A N S E L L P O P A R T
Clockwise, from right, Deutsch

Amerikanische Freundschaft’s Gold und
Liebe (1981), Japan’s The Art Of Parties
12” vinyl single (1981) and John
Foxx’s The Garden (1981)
teaching positions at Worthing

and unable to keep our full-time
jobs, handed in our notice and in
1977 formed Ansell Sadgrove.
We managed to pick up work from
Adrian’s contacts at EMI including
my very first album sleeve, Seven
Seals by Matumbi.
In 1981, your portfolio

exploded with sleeve design
commissions for John Foxx,
Can, The Human League,
D.A.F., Japan and many
others. It must have been an
exciting time for you…
John Foxx (See Classic Pop Issue
20) had been to the Royal College
of Art and was extremely particular
about how he wanted his music to
look so I was commissioned to work
with him on The Garden making sure
everything was printable, had the
necessary technical spec and was
delivered on time.
D.A.F. were a really interesting
couple. They would arrive at our
studio with the pictures they wanted
to use and my assistant Kathy and
I would spend almost as much time
engaged in tense games of table
football with Gabi and Robert as
we did discussing their covers. The
meetings were very enjoyable and
perhaps due to a slight breakdown tranquil meetings at Virgin Records. as Virgin were always rushing to
in communication (neither Kathy or I Obviously, very style-conscious, release products at short notice and,
could speak German), very amusing. David wanted everything ‘just so’. unable to put too much pressure on
The Japan sleeves for The Art Of I can’t quite remember how the the band, I had to take up some of
Parties and Visions Of China were handwritten Japan logo came about the slack.
pretty much the creation of David but the band must have liked it as we I worked on one Can sleeve
Sylvian and in contrast to the D.A.F. ended up using it on other sleeves. and never met or had any contact
projects were discussed during Speed was often the priority with the band. Being fond
63

Right, Japan’s
Ghosts 12” vinyl
single (1982),
Visions Of China
(1981), Nightporter
(1982) and, below,
Can’s InCANdescence
(1983)
“Out of all the bands I worked with, XTC were the most demanding and also the most rewarding.
Andy Partridge acted as Creative Director for almost every release... His ideas were almost always
challenging from a production cost perspective.” K E N A N S E L L
of wordplay and never afraid to

embrace a cliché, the cover for
InCANdescence was a still life shot
by Gavin Cochrane, a photographer
I worked with many times. It featured
a can with a light inside, what else!
Unlike many designers of that

era, your sleeves had less
of a defined style, but you
helped to set the visual tone
of the period. Your hand-
rendering of the Japan logo
and the Vogue-referenced
sleeve designs for The Human
League remain classic pieces
of pop logo design.
Having been to art school at the
back end of the 60s/early-70s and
during my time at Farnham, I had
the pleasure of attending a lecture
by Bob Gill of Fletcher Forbes and
Gill. They were our role models and
the emphasis in graphic design was
on the ‘idea’ rather than purely style.
Consequently, treating every
sleeve as an individual project did
mean there was less opportunity to
be known for a particular ‘look’. decisions or were Virgin Issue 6), so I was surprised to be
However, some of the sleeves I and the band involved? asked to work on their new single,
worked on did develop into a style The album covers for Dare Boys And Girls. I was unaware
of sorts. The work for Japan featured and Hysteria were lavished that Martyn Ware and Ian Craig
my handwritten type and that did with particularly deluxe Marsh had split to form BEF, leaving
give them a ‘look’ and meant that gatefold treatments. Phil Oakey and Adrian Wright to
the band kept asking me to do more When electronic music started to continue as The Human League. It is
work, thankfully. become popular I was already always a nerve-racking experience,
trawling around Rough Trade in meeting ‘pop stars’, I was relieved
Your work with The Notting Hill picking up singles to find Phil and Adrian, now with
Human League varied from including Being Boiled by The Joanne and Susan Ann, easy to work
photographic to typographic Human League so I was a fan. Their with. So happy, in fact, that I was
and everything inbetween. first two albums were designed by asked to work on their next album,
Were these your creative Malcolm Garrett (See Classic Pop Dare. Phil and Adrian came with the
64

K E N A N S E L L P O P A R T
The Human League: Dare (1981),

Hysteria (1984) and The Sound Of The
Crowd EP (1981)
whole look, essentially a reworking a Human League concert at the studio and his extremely varied
of a European Vogue cover they’d Royal Albert Hall. illustrative capabilities meant that
seen. The photographs had already together we could handle most of
been taken and needed retouching In 1982, you began working Andy’s requests.
to match the original magazine with XTC, a partnership that One of my favourites is Skylarking
cover. Again there was virtually would last for a decade... featuring a very delicate illustration
no time to put the sleeve together. Out of all the bands I worked with, from Dave and understated
Fortunately, we all wanted a XTC were the most demanding typography from me. The Big
minimalistic typographical approach and also the most rewarding. Andy Express is another because it
with plenty of white space. Partridge acted as Creative Director involved a very complicated late
We would add little attachments for almost every release. He would night photo session at an engine
to the band logo − ‘Red’, ‘Blue’, arrive at meetings fully armed with yard. Andy Partridge was, and still
‘100’ etc. I can’t remember exactly a notebook, visuals and mock-ups is a remarkable talent and it was
what the concept was and we ready to do battle with Virgin. always a pleasure working with him.
never printed the words in the His ideas were almost always
corresponding colours, RED was challenging from a production In 1984, you worked on the
blue and BLUE was red! cost perspective. album sleeve of Working
Most of the XTC work was done With Fire And Steel and its
The Human League clearly with an ex-colleague of Adrian singles for China Crisis.
recognised your role as Sadgrove’s from the EMI days; I must have started working for
integral. You even got your Dave Dragon. He and I shared a China Crisis with the single
photograph on the sleeve of
the Love And Dancing remix.
I was walking along one of the
corridors at Virgin Records when
I bumped into Phil Oakey, he
announced that the band were
putting out a remix album and Of all the bands Ken
wanted to feature ‘the team’ Ansell has worked
and asked if I’d like to have my with, XTC were the
most demanding
photograph taken and have it and rewarding.
appear on the back cover. Their collaborations
I expected to be mobbed in the include Skylarking
street moments after its release, but I (1986) and The Big
Express (1984)
only ever got recognised once − at
65

Christian. Then it was Tragedy &
Mystery followed by the single
Working With Fire And Steel.
I think the band wanted a picture
of a steelworks for the album and
Gavin Cochrane, the photographer,
heroically drove all the way up to
Manchester to get the right shot.
The illustrations were done by my
girlfriend at the time, Marilyn Leader,
who is now my wife.
I had the freedom to create the
typographic style and layout and
went on to design the singles Wishful
Thinking and Hanna Hanna.
You continued to work with

David Sylvian as a solo artist
including work on his debut
album, Brilliant Trees. Top, UB40’s
I enjoyed a purple patch working Lilac Time. It started with a single, Labour Of Love
(1983) and
with David Sylvian, using my American Eyes and then the album Baggariddim
handwriting on Brilliant Trees and Paradise Circus followed by a (1985), The
his singles, plus the collaborations couple more singles and an album. Lilac Time’s
Paradise Circus
with Ryuichi Sakamoto – Bamboo (1989), China
Houses/ Music and Forbidden What are you doing now and Crisis’ Working
Colours, that was an exercise in how do you feel about design With Fire And
Steel (1983)
simple typography. and the music industry today?
David Sylvian’s
I retired last May, having spent 33 Brilliant Trees
UB40 were another of your years at Clinic. We had the best of (1984) and
regular clients during the 80s it designing for vinyl, I never really David Sylvian
and Ryuichi
and you were working as enjoyed CD packaging. In 2012, I Sakamoto’s
part of The Design Clinic. stopped purchasing CDs and went Forbidden
Up until the release of Labour Of back to vinyl. Having been told in Colours (1983)
Love, the band had input into their the 80s that vinyl was a thing of
sleeves but they were on tour and the past it’s so gratifying to see a
Virgin wanted to get something resurgence of the format.
released as soon as possible. We In 2008, I started Maverick, an
pitched the idea to Virgin of creating Americana festival in Suffolk, with
an illustration for each song so that Paul Spencer. Part of my role is to
as and when they were released as Was it important that you create the graphics. Maverick keeps
singles we would have ready-made enjoyed the music of the me busy year round, interspersed
images. Fortunately, on their return artists that you designed for? with the occasional corporate design
the band liked the concept and we We were lucky enough to work project and record sleeves for
went ahead. with one of my favourite bands, The friends. I hope it never ends.
66

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CP30.USSubs.print.indd 67 09/06/2017 13:45

C R E A T I O N L A B E L L E D W I T H L O V E
T
he 80s and 90s were of acid house/indie–dance
a golden age for and, somehow, the HQ of the
independent record biggest band in Britain, if not
labels – Postcard, the world (Oasis).
Factory, 4AD, Mute, “It was a random collection
Rough Trade, ZTT – but of all of misfits, drug addicts and
of them, arguably the one that sociopaths,” Pat Fish of The
most successfully straddled the Jazz Butcher proclaimed at
two decades was Creation. the start of the documentary,
It was an auteur project Upside Down: The Creation
from start to finish – it was Records Story. For Bobby
founded by Alan McGee Gillespie, the Primals mainstay
(with a little – well, a lot of to whom the film was
© Getty Images
– help from Dick Green and dedicated, Creation was full
Joe Foster) – and, in a way, of “outsiders, chancers and Teenage Fanclub emerged
lunatics”. McGee admitted: from the Glasgow C86 scene
it was his record collection,
his crazed dreams and “I do seem to attract, or am
obsessions, writ large.
It soared and crashed
as McGee rose and fell
himself. It both reflected the
attracted to, nutjobs.” As
for Joe Foster, summing up
this revolutionary imprint, he
said: “It started as our grand
TEENAGE FANCLUB
IF ANY BAND WAS GOING TO BREAK
developments of the period delusion, and eventually
and effected changes, became the mainstream sound
CREATION IN THE STATES, IT WAS THE
including as it did in its of a generation.” FANNIES. SINGER-GUITARIST RAYMOND
relentless release schedule Creation literally began MCGINLEY REMEMBERS THE LABEL’S HEYDAY.
some of the landmark records in a – or rather, The – Living
Q
of its time – of any time – Room populated by a few You must have been confident and not scared to be
culminating in the epochal dozen likeminds and grew in the studio doing melodic and harmonic.
1991 triptych of Primal and grew until, within 10 Bandwagonesque
Q
Scream’s Screamadelica, years, its flagship band would while Primal Scream and Were the Fannies the
Teenage Fanclub’s inspire half a million believers My Bloody Valentine were naughty kids before
recording Screamadelica Oasis arrived?
Bandwagonesque and My to congregate in a field in
and Loveless? I think McGee was frustrated
Bloody Valentine’s Loveless; Knebworth, Hertfordshire. that we wouldn’t play up in front
I guess. We weren’t necessarily
three albums that define indie According to Glaswegian of the press. We’d more likely
Creation’s No.1 priority, though.
ambition forever. McGee, the pivotal moment We got what we needed but become more sensible. We never
It began as a cult concern, in the creation of Creation it was the Primals and the wanted to self-mythologise.
the meeting place for all came with his decision, in Valentines occupying their We’d spent years reading the
manner of eccentric waifs and 1980, to come to London consciousness, so they just let us music papers and bands trying
strays – The Legend!, Momus, and attend an indie night in get on with it. That was the good to create a mythology and it
Lawrence (Hayward) of Felt Victoria where he saw The thing about Alan and Dick, we seemed a bit pathetic. It was
– but even at its most esoteric Television Personalities, the said what we wanted to do and great working with Alex Chilton,
they just paid for it. who was a lovely guy and had a
mythology about him, but to us
Q
Were you the classicist he was a total gentleman.
Even at its most esoteric and extreme, Creation rock band next to the
Q
struck a chord, bending the populace to its will Primals’ zeitgeist– Was there a sense
defining indie dancers and of you passing on
through the wayward but appealing pop of The MBV’s sonic explorers? the baton to the
Jesus And Mary Chain, The House Of Love, Ride, Well, the way you’ve laid that Gallaghers?
out is a classic journalistic I wouldn’t say that. Noel plainly
Sugar, Boo Radleys and Super Furry Animals perspective, but I’m not sure if saw what he wanted to do, and
the bands would have perceived he did it – did it very well. They
themselves that way. We never all seemed like very nice guys.
had any neatly stitched-up I just can’t say I was a fan. I’d
and extreme, Creation first band to blow his mind self-image. We weren’t thinking rather listen to Tim Buckley – the
struck a chord, bending the since The Clash. He recalls of being classicists, just more antithesis of Oasis.
populace to its will through seeing sometime member
the wayward but appealing Foster onstage, sawing a
pop of The Jesus And Mary Rickenbacker guitar in half.
Chain, The House Of Love, McGee was sufficiently moved 21. He launched The Living and associate Dick Green.
Ride, Sugar, Boo Radleys and to traipse to record store Room at The Adams Arms Their first releases – by music
Super Furry Animals. Rough Trade the next day in Central London and it writer Jerry Thackray aka
At various points, it was and buy all their records. became the club for indie Everett True alias The Legend!,
the de facto home of C86 “I thought, I can do that,” cognoscenti searching for a The Revolving Paint Dream,
“cutie”/jangling guitar McGee said of Dan Treacy’s new scruffy little underground The Jasmine Minks and
music (The Jasmine Minks, maverick mob. “That’s when to counterbalance the McGee, Green and Foster’s
The Bodines, The Weather Creation Records became a glossy, glamorous pop and own part-time combo Biff
Prophets), the label that reality – without them, there new romantic happening Bang Pow! – were variously
gave us shoegaze would be no Creation.” overground. In 1983, McGee peculiar, psych-inflected and
(Slowdive, The Telescopes, McGee began promoting quit his day job at British Rail scratchily melodic, i.e. of
Swervedriver), the birthplace gigs in 1981, when he was to launch Creation with Foster niche interest. But there were
75
CP30.labelled_creation.print.indd 75 07/06/2017 17:05

L A B E L L E D W I T H L O V E C R E A T I O N
early signs of a broader Gillespie, who seemed to

commercial potential in The embody, with his Roger
Ride’s second EP, Play, became
Creation’s first Top 40 entry Loft’s Why Does The Rain? McGuinn fringe and pale,
in April 1990 from September 1984 and skinny frame, every dissolute
the extreme noise pop of leather-clad rocker there had
The Jesus And Mary Chain’s ever been.
Upside Down from two Creation’s first heyday
months later. came with the gorgeous
“They had the sound, the Byrdsian jangle-pop of the
image and the philosophy – Primals’ All Fall Down/
everything was intact,” said It Happens and Crystal
“They were absolutely rock’n’roll animals who put

it on that they were mummies boys. I went on tour
with them and theirs was the worst behaviour.
They were shockingly out of control.”
A L A N M C G E E O N T H E H O U S E O F L O V E
Gillespie of East Kilbride’s Crescent/ Velocity Girl, The

feedback scions. McGee Bodines’ Therese/ I Feel, The
was initially unimpressed, but Loft’s Up The Hill And Down
before long he was frothing The Slope, The Weather
at the mouth and proclaiming Prophets’ Almost Prayed and
that, together, the Mary Chain The Jasmine Minks’ What’s
© Photoshot
and Creation were “going to Happening and Cold Heart –

make millions!” together they were a beacon
“It was a brilliant, violent, of lustrous indie in that dead
pop record,” McGee said of zone between the demise of
RIDE
Upside Down. He assumed it new pop and emergence of
would be “a big No.1 hit” in acid house.
the vein of The Ronettes’ Be But with the Mary Chain
COMBINING TEEN PIN-UP APPEAL WITH My Baby (the Mary Chain’s signed to Warners subsidiary
Reid brothers’ avowed Blanco Y Negro, Creation
POST–MBV NOISE–POP EXPERIMENTALISM, intention was to combine didn’t yet have a hit act, one
RIDE WERE CREATION’S ENTREE INTO THE garage noise with girl group that could sustain their mad
CHARTS. MARK GARDENER LOOKS BACK... harmony). And although it misadventures. Nor did they
didn’t quite manage that, it have one that the press could
did make the band arguably blazon as radically affecting
Q
Were you the bridge that the tide would turn, which
between shoegaze it did... But it was an amazing the most notorious since the a break with the past – for all
Creation and time. The parties at Creation Sex Pistols (give or take the the greatness of their releases
commercial Creation? would last all weekend. I’d hang concurrent Frankie Goes To to date, they had mainly been
Yes, we were the first lot to start out with Alan [McGee] a lot. Hollywood), helped not a little glorious upholders of rock
hitting the charts for them. When There were nights I’d be used as by the riot at their incendiary tradition rather than signposts
we first met Noel [Gallagher] “bait” [i.e. as a babe-magnet] (and brief) performance at to a bold new future.
he told us he had [Ride track] and we’d carry on the party at North London Polytechnic. Enter, circa 1987-88,
OX4 on his answerphone, Alan’s. But that was alright – “This is truly art as The House Of Love and
which was good. I was high at the time anyway.
terrorism,” declared McGee My Bloody Valentine.
If you were going to experiment
Q
Were Ride Creation’s with pills, they weren’t bad afterwards, although the band The debut House Of Love
noise-pop boyband? people to do it with. had to take refuge in their album signalled a change
A little bit. In our mind we dressing room as fired-up for Creation. It had that
Q
were arty, like Sonic Youth. We Was Creation audience members pounded inimitable hazy sound typical
weren’t ashamed of the ”p” essentially an auteur on the door with hammers. of Creation, but it also had
word, but we felt awkward with record label? Suddenly, Creation offered well-formed, memorable songs
certain videos. There were forces A bit. Alan believed in the an alternative to the cosy such as Christine and Man To
at work when we were younger people and got to know them.
mainstream pop consensus Child. Not surprisingly, that
and prettier when these aspects He knew our band – he’d seen
provided by Live Aid. From self-titled debut gave Creation
were played on and we were me off my head, and I’d seen
uncomfortable with them. him off his. There were no layers. their office – little more their first chart entry (albeit
But what made Ride great and than a broom cupboard, at No.49) and caused the
Q
Do you think Ride were Creation great was also what really – in Hatton Garden, phone to ring off the hook,
the darlings of the made them crash – made them they set themselves up as with major labels wanting in
music press? unsustainable. But we created the standard bearers of on the action. More people
Yeah, and for a while that was something that stood the test of rock’n’roll degeneracy, their were employed at Creation
great. We were so young – time, and that’s all you can hope ethos encapsulated by Primal HQ, and there was more of
19/20/21 – but also aware for, really. Scream, fronted by sometime a party atmosphere, which
Mary Chain drummer suited the band.
76

THE WEATHER PROPHETS
PETE ASTOR WAS CREATION’S FIRST GREAT WHITE HOPE, FIRST WITH THE LOFT
AND THEN WITH THE WEATHER PROPHETS. THE LATTER’S ALMOST PRAYED WAS
ONE OF THE LABEL’S EARLY INDIE HITS.
Pete Astor, who these days teaches “I went back into the office soon up his latest signings (“He did it was actually a member of early-
Music at Westminster University after and noticed they hadn’t put with millions of people”), but the 80s white funkateers Funkapolitan,
and still performs live, agrees that it back up – and they never did. It fact is, Creation’s majordomo liked whose brilliant 1981 near-hit, As
Creation had three discrete ages: was the change of the guard; Astor’s ambition. Sadly, despite The Time Goes By, was produced
the C86 era, the imperial phase of a symbolic moment.” being one of only a few signings by August “Kid Creole” Darnell.
Screamadelica, Bandwagonesque He acknowledges that Alan to Elevation – the label briefly set “Dave Morgan was an
and Loveless, and the Oasis years. McGee made a habit of bigging up as a joint indie-major venture amazing funky drummer,” says
He agrees that, give or take the by WEA and Creation – The Astor, who in 1990 played
Mary Chain, and before the arrival Weather Prophets never quite melodica on Saint Etienne’s debut
of Guy Chadwick and The House achieved crossover success. single Only Love Can Break Your
Of Love, he was the most hyped Perhaps this is why James Heart. “And I was obsessed with
figure of that first period. Not that Dean Bradfield of Manic Street James Brown.”
his early-godhead status lasted Preachers has described them File under: misunderstood. So
very long. as “the best guitar group who how hurtful was it when he got
“I remember talking to Guy never sold a million”. And who supplanted by The House Of Love?
Chadwick’s wife at a Creation was in the audience at shows by “Well, their album was better
party and she asked me, ‘Who Astor’s previous band The Loft? than ours,” he admits. “Ours
are you?’ There happened to be a None other than the nascent Stone was okay but a bit muddled.
framed NME cover with me on it Roses. Despite being part of a Theirs was more coherent. But I’m
on the wall so I pointed at that and mooted mid-80s revival of rock proud to have been involved with
said, ‘That’s me.’” He laughs. “Then values in the wake of synthpop Creation and pleasantly surprised
it fell off the wall by accident. and new pop, Astor’s drummer that people still give a shit!”
“They were absolutely electric guitar and, as per Jimi Etienne, who were managed Dinosaur Jr/ Sonic Youth axis)
rock’n’roll animals who put it Hendrix before them, offered by McGee and later signed to all signed, with Oxford’s fab
on that they were mummies a whole index of possibilities the label. four, fronted by the luscious-
boys,” said McGee of THOL, for the tired instrument. Isn’t Anything made lipped Mark Gardener,
who boasted a Morrissey & The subsequent Feed Me Creation the natural home for deemed the ones most likely
Marr-style writing partnership With Your Kiss EP and Isn’t aspiring “shoegazers” – the to achieve mainstream success
in frontman Guy Chadwick Anything album confirmed term ascribed to musicians with that drone-pop sound.
and mercurial guitarist MBV mainman Kevin Shields fixated on the fx pedals at Indeed, Ride’s second EP,
Terry Bickers and had as the premier guitar/studio their feet. Ride, The Boo Play, became Creation’s first
about them a deceptively sorcerer of his generation. Radleys, Slowdive, The Top 40 entry in April 1990.
austere air. “I went on “They went up about five Telescopes and Swervedriver Meanwhile, since 1987-
tour with them and theirs levels with Isn’t Anything,” (who were a sort of UK take 88, acid house had been
was the worst behaviour. said Bob Stanley of Saint on America’s Husker Du/ raging (or rather, raving)
They were shockingly out
of control,” McGee My Bloody Valentine, featuring
said of Chadwick, Kevin Shields, Debbie Googe,
Colm O’Ciosoig and Bilinda
who liked a drink Butcher, released the You Made
and admitted he Me Realise EP in 1988
“couldn’t cope
with fame”, and
Bickers, who was
soon suffering from
nervous exhaustion
combined with drug
psychosis. Despite the
mania, McGee managed
to secure THOL a deal with
Fontana, one of many majors
in awe of the ginger Scot’s
A&R foresight.
As for My Bloody Valentine,
long dismissed as fey
janglers, they seemed to
dramatically metamorphose
overnight. They issued the
© Getty Images
© Getty Images
seismic You Made Me Realise

EP, which single-handedly
changed the sound of the
77

Noel Gallagher of Oasis sneers
behind brother Liam en route
to becoming the biggest band
since The Beatles
across Britain, but its Primals track called I’m Losing though, they still managed which dazzled the critics
ethos – its beats, loops and More Than I’ll Ever Have. to get the job done, mainly in September 1991 and was
attendant ecstasy-fuelled According to early Mary thanks to stabilising force voted Album of the Year
smiley culture – had yet Chain bassist turned video Dick Green. by NME. “It summed up that
to infiltrate Creation. That director Douglas Hart: “Acid Loaded made McGee’s whole era for a generation,”
eventually happened in 1989 house reinvented Creation; it dream come true: Primal proclaimed New Order’s
when, bored at an indie reinvigorated it.” Scream on Top Of The Pops, Peter Hook.
club in Manchester, McGee It also turned Creation into beamed into millions of Within two months,
and crew decamped to the Teenage Fanclub had issued
Hacienda, where he had “an Bandwagonesque – US
epiphany” as he witnessed The Stone Roses may have been what the world magazine Spin’s Album of
several hundred revellers, led the Year and the long-player
by Happy Mondays’ gurning
was waiting for, in theory, but it was Oasis who most likely to sell Creation to
totem Shaun Ryder, going put it into practice. They were phenomenally America – and My Bloody
“absolutely mental” to the successful and became the biggest band since Valentine had released
electronic pulse of music born Loveless, whose protracted
in Chicago and Detroit. The Beatles, sparking the Britpop movement recording brought McGee to
As a result, McGee the brink of a breakdown and
temporarily moved to was regarded as the ultimate
Manchester, where they had, the music business version homes. It was also the record in electric guitar wizardry.
he joked, “a better class of of Babylon. “That’s when it that allowed Primal Scream to “It was the last great
drugs”, and he introduced really went off the hook and truly explore Gillespie’s, and rock record,” McGee said
the new dance motion to the party really started,” said McGee’s, record collections, later. “It’s all been going
Gillespie, believing it would an onlooker of the label’s and their shared love of punk, backwards since.”
work for Primal Scream. offices in Hackney, a series dub, disco, country, krautrock, With the Primals’, TFC’s
Cue the February 1990 of mazes and staircases free jazz, PiL and Lee Perry, and MBV’s respective
single Loaded, an Andrew that became the scene of all Big Star and Beach Boys, on masterpieces, Creation
Weatherall remix of an earlier manner of chaos. Somehow, the seminal Screamadelica, were higher than the sun.
78

C R E A T I O N L A B E L L E D W I T H L O V E
Creation they had in Noel

Gallagher one of the great
populist songsmiths, and in
his brother Liam one of the
great British frontmen.
The Stone Roses may
have been what the world
was waiting for, in theory,
but it was Oasis who put
it into practice. They were
phenomenally successful and
– on the back of million-selling
albums Definitely Maybe
(1994) and (What’s The
Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
– became the biggest band
since The Beatles, sparking
the Britpop movement.
Unfortunately, McGee largely
missed the moment Creation
achieved world domination
because he was too busy
taking drugs. “I was partying
for six years,” as he put it.
He pulled himself back from
the edge, only to replace
The Lilac Time’s sole release on
necking pharmaceuticals with Creation was Astronauts in 1991
another mania: acquiring
acts. There were, in Creation’s
final days, some good
signings – notably, Super
Furry Animals – amid legions
of dubious ones (Mishka,
THE LILAC TIME
THE LILAC TIME, WERE AMERICANA BEFORE IT
Ruby, Adorable, Arnold, Idha EXISTED. STEPHEN DUFFY DISCUSSES BEING
– the list is endless). But by the
late-90s Creation had become MANAGED BY ALAN MCGEE, HIS ALBUM FOR
everything it despised: a CREATION, AND ROBBIE WILLIAMS.
©Getty Images
corporate leviathan run as
Q
a proxy by Sony, treating How did you There was a party where I
meet McGee? apparently carried him up a
music as commodity not
Through David Bates, [A&R] ladder to an attic, but I don’t
life-changing art. There was at Fontana. I was introduced remember – maybe he was
And yet the ever-prescient one final blowout – 2000’s to Alan and we got on like carrying me. It was that second
McGee could see the downer XTRMNTR, Primal Scream’s a house on fire. But it was a wave of ecstasy. I was an
coming. “Even though I was second great distillation terrible idea, because he wasn’t incredibly old 31 – at least five
on a lot of drugs. I knew that of Gillespie and McGee’s doing anything in America. months older than Alan.
this was the peak,” he said. favourite extreme music – Paradise Circus [The Lilac Time’s
Q
“If it got any better it would released just after the label second album] had just gone And then you worked
Top 10 in the US college charts, with Robbie Williams
be pretty strange.” was dissolved, in early 2000.
we’d made this album with (on 2005’s Intensive
It would be hard to dispute “It was unsustainable,” is
[XTC’s] Andy Partridge [1990’s Care album)…
that this was Creation’s Mark Gardener’s estimation Luckily, we were on the same
& Love For All], then suddenly
creative apotheosis. But their of what caused Creation to Alan started managing us medication and both incredibly
commercial zenith didn’t crash. “There was a sense and making us play dates depressed. He was listening
come for another three of what goes up must come in Scotland. We ended up to a lot of Smiths – he was a
years, following the selling down. It was all a bit bonkers. nearly killing each other, and massive Morrissey fan. We
of the label to Sony and Sooner or later that catches we split up before our Creation were going to do the Brits one
subsequent arrival of Oasis. up with you and starts to album [1991’s Astronauts] year, Robbie and Morrissey, a
Both events were well-timed: fall apart.” even came out. duet of Anything You Can Do
I Can Do Better. We ended up
Creation were on the verge Still, for 15 years or so,
Q
What was he like at doing Angels with Joss Stone.
of bankruptcy after years what McGee called “the
this point? That sums it up: one minute
of profligacy and McGee ultimate fucked-up family” Creation was just running you’re going to do something
indulging his every musical made some of the greatest on fumes – they weren’t just extraordinary, the next you’re
whim, with rampant signings records, indie or otherwise. broke, they were massively in doing the worst terrible thing.
and expensive studio bills, not Records that will, in the debt. Ride saved them. They I was just lucky to be making
to mention the assorted pills, immortal words of Noel G, were making no money, and records in the 80s when there
thrills and bellyaches. live forever. yet here they were, making was money falling out of the
“Their ambition outstripped Screamadelica and Loveless. sky, and no focus groups, no
their financial income,” said Artifact: The Dawn Of But Alan was great fun, and so anything. What a great time
enthusiastic about everything. that was.
Gillespie. “They were winging Creation Records is out
it all the time.” Fortunately for now on Cherry Red.

80
CP30.Feat_StEtienne.print.indd 80 07/06/2017 16:54

S A I N T E T I E N N E
WITH THEIR MELANCHOLY DISCO SINGLES

AND ALBUM STATEMENTS, SAINT ETIENNE WERE
ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED BANDS OF
THE 90S. NOW THEY’RE BACK WITH THEIR NINTH
ALBUM, HOME COUNTIES. CLASSIC POP ASKS
IF IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THEIR CLUB.
P A U L L E S T E R
Sarah Cracknell – ith their mash-up of Swinging Sixties in their idiosyncratic personal pantheon. They also
providing breathy imagery and melodies with modern acknowledged Pet Shop Boys as pioneers of their kind of
vocals to Saint
Etienne since 1991 technology and electronic beats, emotionally engaging, melancholy dancefloor entreaties.
Saint Etienne – Bob Stanley, Pete Of course, they would never have worked as a synth
© Rob Baker Ashton
Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell – were duo like PSBs, Yazoo or Blancmange because neither of
an emblematic 90s outfit. In a way, them could sing. Luckily, these avowed non-musicians with
they kickstarted that decade with their 1990 debut single, more ideas than instrumental prowess had as their secret
a dubby, housed-up version of Neil Young’s Only Love weapon the divine Ms Cracknell, whose breathy voice
Can Break Your Heart that caught the baggy, rave-era alluded to all manner of 60s French pop and girl groups
mood of “aciid”-tinged euphoria. and gave Saint Etienne that extra dimension.
It was a time of anything-goes mixing and matching: in These backroom boys with their latterday Julie Christie
Manchester, The Stone Roses were busy allying Byrdsian (Cracknell’s actress mother had been a pretty, blonde
bliss-pop with danceable grooves and Happy Mondays mainstay of 60s British TV) on the mic were somehow,
were turning scuffed indie and funk into one scabrous simultaneously, lo-fi London-philes (their earliest recordings
cocktail while down south Primal Scream were proving were done in producer Ian Catt’s bedroom studio in
that you could incorporate elements of krautrock, The Pollards Hill, near Mitcham) and Euro-glamorous, with a
Beach Boys, country and Lee “Scratch” Perry, often hi-tech sheen. They had one foot in mid-80s “cutie”/C86
within a single song. indie culture (indeed, Croydon boys Stanley and Wiggs
Saint Etienne were avatars of this “record collection had their own fanzine, Caff) but they also loved Chicago
rock”, evincing a dizzying array of influences. But house and Detroit techno.
although Stanley might joke that, like the militant quasi-
anthem by Denim – the early-90s neo-bubblegum outfit AN INTOXICATING MELANGE
fronted by Lawrence (Hayward), formerly of Creation Their genius was to bring all of these disparate elements
indie rockers Felt – he was “against the 80s”, Saint together. On their 1991 debut album Foxbase Alpha and
Etienne didn’t dismiss the era out of hand. For starters, attendant singles Kiss And Make Up and Nothing Can
ABC’s state-of-the-art Northern soul and Brill Building- Stop Us, they were equal parts Screamadelica and Sarah
inflected post-disco was an obvious precursor, and he Records: imagine The Field Mice in Ibiza, undercut by a
and Wiggs would regularly namecheck Orchestral fin-de-siecle sadness.
Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Dazzle Ships as a key release “One of the things that inspired me was when
81

Martin Fry said, ‘ABC are going to
soundtrack the 80s’,” recalls Stanley.
While the other two are interviewed
in person, he’s on the phone from
Saltair, an artistic community in
Yorkshire where he lives with his
wife and young son (although he still
has a home in North London). “Talk
about condemning yourself not to live
up to your hyperbole! But we went in
the studio in January 1990 [to record
Only Love…] to try and do just that.”
He chuckles at the audacity, even
OTHER MUSIC JOURNALISTS insanity, of it all. Actually, they had a
TURNED MUSICIANS five-year plan, because of the David
Bowie song, and because that was
NEIL TENNANT generally how long bands lasted. He
When Tennant quit Smash Hits, where he wonders whether, notwithstanding
had been News Editor and then Assistant Editor, the plundering from so many
© Getty Images
to launch the Pet Shop Boys, the magazine places and periods, and despite
published a mock-obituary. the eight albums they have made
CHRISSIE HYNDE since – up to and including 2017’s
Interviewed everyone from Tim Buckley typically wonderful Home Counties
to David Cassidy for NME before leaving – ultimately Saint Etienne are now keyboards for 100 quid from Loot,
to form The Pretenders. regarded as a 90s band. which is how we started. We did
BOB GELDOF “I certainly wouldn’t be Foxbase Alpha on budget equipment
Sir Bob had a brief stint as Northern Irish embarrassed if someone called us a at Ian Catt’s studio in his bedroom
stringer for the NME ahead of his tenure 90s band, which we get quite a lot,” at his mum and dad’s house, with a
at the helm of Boomtown Rats. avers Stanley, who prior to forming reel-to-reel tape recorder – this was
MORRISSEY the group with Wiggs worked as a before DAT and memory sticks. It
Used to send letters – more like missives – to freelance music journalist for Melody was all very DIY, cheap and cheerful.
the NME, Melody Maker, Sounds and Record Mirror Maker. “It doesn’t bother me cos we But somehow, you could get into the
on subjects varying from New York Dolls did a lot in the 90s, and there was Top 40.”
to Sex Pistols. a lot of good music.” He pauses to In fact, Saint Etienne got into the
MARTIN FRY compile a mental list, one with a Top 40 no fewer than 14 times
The ABC man started his writing career by penning possibly ironic flourish – you never between 1990 and 2005, the year
a review of Sheet Music, the second album know with the deadpan, prodigiously of their last high chart entry. How
by Manchester brainiacs 10cc, and sending pop-omnivorous Stanley (his 2013 many records do they think they’ve
it in, unsolicited, to the NME. book Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story sold in total? Millions?
NICK KENT Of Modern Pop truly covered every “I would have thought so,” says
Britain’s best-known music critic flirted with aspect of the music). “The KLF, Cracknell, ever a vision of English
rock fame in 1980 when his band The Subterraneans The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys, um, loveliness – she and a fashionably
released a catchy punk-Byrds ditty entitled My Whigfield…” He certainly “never bearded Wiggs meet Classic Pop in
Flamingo, rumoured to have been about his wanted to be one of those groups, a North London cafe (well, of course
former paramour, Chrissie Hynde.
like Mari Wilson or The Maisonettes, they do), travelling from their homes,
MARILYN MANSON who obviously wanted to live in a respectively, in Oxfordshire and near
Wrote music articles for a South Florida “lifestyle previous decade”. Brighton. “We used to sell quite a lot
magazine” called 25th Parallel back in the 80s. “It felt like the 80s had ended a of records back in the 90s. We’ve
JOHN ROBB good two years before [1990],” got a couple of 100,000-selling
The editor of Louder Than War actually he continues. “Acid house felt like Gold albums and a couple of
had parallel careers in the 80s as a journalist for the beginning of a new decade Silvers.” Were they the proverbial
Sounds and as a member of, variously, The Membranes, – that’s what we were born from. Big In Japan? “Momentarily.” Wiggs
Sensurround (signed to Saint Etienne’s defunct When I think of the 80s I think of laughs at the memory of being
label Ice Rink) and Goldblade.
1980-’82, not the dire stuff at the chased down the street in Tokyo by
CLIFF JONES end of the decade like Go West or fans on a school outing, although,
Music journalist for Mojo and The Face turned, briefly, Then Jericho. We were definitely ever self-deprecating, he believes it
notorious frontman for Gay Dad, who never quite Against The 80s in that sense. But was more likely the teachers than the
matched the hype with actual chart success. we were obviously inspired by pupils doing the screaming.
PATTI SMITH C86 aesthetically – cos of the DIY
Wrote reviews of, among others, Todd aspect and cos me and Pete wrote HITTING THE HEIGHTS
Rundgren (an ex-beau) for Rolling Stone that fanzine. But we always loved Saint Etienne had their biggest hits
before becoming, well, Patti Smith. pop music and the fact that, at the with 1992’s Join Our Club, 1993’s
PAUL MORLEY beginning of the 90s, the charts were You’re In A Bad Way and Hobart
Britain’s second-best-known music critic suddenly populated by outsiders Paving, 1994’s Pale Movie, 1995’s
became a member of the first and lunatics like The KLF, who were He’s On The Phone and 1998’s
incarnation of Art Of Noise. the biggest band in the country for Sylvie and The Bad Photographer.
a year, which was mind-blowing, They initially used Beats
and is hard to see happening again. International’s 1990 No.1 hit Dub Be
Also, back then, you could buy Good To Me as the model for what
82

and had, in the early days, Oasis in an indie band called The Worried
and Pulp supporting them – the video Parachutes before moving to London
for Pulp’s Babies was filmed in the at 17. She had stints with other acts,
north London flat shared by Stanley but following her vocal on third Saint
and Wiggs – even if they were never Etienne single Nothing Can Stop
really part of the Britpop party. Us she became a full-time member.
Wiggs – currently studying in She, too, recalls their untutored
his spare time for a postgraduate early days (“scattergun” is how
degree in Film Scoring (in 2014 she describes their approach), and
he wrote and performed the music admits that, in terms of prowess, they
for the movie Year 7) – remembers have improved immeasurably in the
the early days of Saint Etienne, quarter-century since.
when he and Stanley would dabble “We’re a lot better now,” she
with “rudimentary melodies” with laughs, ordering a hot chocolate as
facilitator Catt and “somehow Wiggs settles for a cider.
cobble together” songs, with ideas According to Stanley, their musical
of samples in their heads. They ability – or lack of same – didn’t
were probably at a similar level hinder their ambition.
of non-proficiency as The Human “We actually thought Only Love…
League. “None of us were good could do something. And then Dub
enough to sit down with a guitar and Be Good To Me went to No.1 and
piano and ‘jam’,” as Stanley puts it. [the danced-up cover of] Strawberry
In a way, at that point, they were a Fields Forever by Candy Flip reached
could be achieved with a dextrous Above: The band virtual band, a studio chimera – “an No.3 and we thought, ‘There you
blend of melody and beat science, during their experiment, really,” decides Wiggs. go!’ It didn’t seem that unlikely,
hit-making peak
and ended up, if not soundtracking in 1993 The intention at first was to bring in although at the same time it did
the 90s, producing music that kept different female singers to front each seem a bit ridiculous cos we were
up with technological advances while release: Moira Lambert sang on Only always following our muse with lots
remaining somehow timeless. Love… while Donna Savage was of in-jokes and references to things,”
They were peers of those other vocalist on follow-up single Kiss And he adds of the snippets of dialogue
60s-referencing pop house types Make Up.
Deee-Lite and Betty Being a fully-functioning
Boo, southern performing unit wasn’t really on the
counterparts cards until Cracknell joined. A drama
of esoteric student from Windsor, she had been
Mancunians World
Of Twist and
Intastella, and in
the same ballpark
as experimental
electronicists The
High Llamas and
Stereolab. But they
were regulars on
Top Of The Pops
© Rob Baker Ashton
At the beginning of
the 90s, the charts were
suddenly populated by
lunatics like The KLF From left, Bob Stanley,
Sarah Cracknell and
BOB STANLEY
Pete Wiggs. Before Cracknell
joined the band, the lads had
a hit with 7 Ways To Love in
1991 as Cola Boy
83

Saint Etienne’s and strange ambient interludes on as Northside and Flowered

new LP Home Foxbase Alpha and 1993’s follow- Up – he sneaked in a mention of
Counties is a
loosely framed up, So Tough, inspired by arcane Saint Etienne.
concept album that Dexys Midnight Runners album tracks “I thought, ‘Let’s see what happens’.
retains the band’s and Teardrop Explodes B-sides. Like And the labels got in touch! It was
grab-bag mix of
musical influences
The Smiths, they created their own incredibly cheeky, but it worked.”
self-contained universe, with their
own idiosyncratic iconography. “We HIGHWAY TO HEAVENLY
were cocky,” says Stanley, “but also Saint Etienne signed to Heavenly
quite odd.” and took their “shared love of minor
So cocky, in fact, that in one of chords and dance music” to the
the last articles he wrote for Melody toppermost of the poppermost, or
Maker – a piece on the new wave of at least to Top Of The Pops where,
© Rob Baker Ashton post-Roses/Mondays wannabes such for their first appearance (for You’re
In A Bad Way), they shared the
Borehamwood stage with East 17
(Stanley remembers Brian Harvey
playing pool at the bar with “Mandy
from EastEnders”, Nicola Stapleton),
2 Unlimited and Rolf Harris doing
Stairway To Heaven.
“Our first time on is embedded
in my mind,” Stanley says. “It was
amazing. The whole place had that
British Rail gravy smell that you
didn’t get anywhere anymore. It
was trapped in time – like being in
a sitcom in the 70s. I was a
wooden model of myself onstage –
I barely moved – but it felt like,
‘That’s it.’ It was like playing in the
cup final at Wembley. It was always
going to be a pinnacle of my life,
and I was quite aware of that as it
was going on.”
Being on TOTP strongly hinted to
Wiggs that his decision to jack in
his job in “phone support” wasn’t
as hasty as he first thought. Then,
one day during a picnic in Highbury
Fields, someone approached him for
an autograph, and that confirmed it.
“It was like I’d staged it,” he
laughs, still amazed. “It was really
bizarre – like, I’ve done the right
thing here.”
For Cracknell, the moment of
realisation – that Saint Etienne
had truly become a mainstream
proposition – came during their
performance on the main stage at
Glastonbury in 1994.
Walking out to
30,000 people at
Glastonbury, I look like the
cat who got the cream
SARAH CRACKNELL
84

“When we walked out to 30,000
people,” she sighs at the memory.
“We got there really late, and
didn’t have enough time to take it
on board. I didn’t presume tons of
people would come and watch us,
so it was a real, ‘Wow!’ moment.
I’ve watched footage of it and I look
like the cat who got the cream,” she
says, although Wiggs admits he was
so overwhelmed by the occasion, he
was petrified into total stasis.
SOUNDS OF THE CITY SAINT ETIENNE’S BEST-EVER NON-LP TRACKS.

Their first three albums – Foxbase
Alpha, So Tough and 1994’s Tiger THE PROCESS (1995) ANGEL (BROADCAST
Bay – were all recorded in London Extra track with the He’s On The Phone single. MIX) (1996)
and are considered by Stanley to “Everybody thinks they know the answers/ Everybody Like an unearthly transmission from a satellite planet
be of a piece. For the excellent, and wants to be courageous,” coos La Cracknell. inhabited by the desolate and heartbroken.
overlooked, Good Humor (1998) Impossibly touching. STUDIO KINDA
the band decamped to Sweden to BURNT OUT CAR (1996) FILTHY (1991)
work with Cardigans producer Takes the old Smokey Robinson and The Miracles More sorrowful dub from the Etienne’s
Tore Johansson. adage – “I gotta dance to keep from crying” – and private soundworld.
It was their bid to shake off their runs with it. Just call it sob disco. JAYDIP PHARMACY (1998)
reputation as the quintessential PUBLIC INFORMATION First written for Good Humor, a gorgeous instrumental
Londoners – they even gave “humor” FILM (1997) trifle, all harps, minor chords and keyboard glissandos
an American spelling. Unexpectedly manages to combine French that transports you to the nearest faraway place.
“We all got a flat in Malmö chanteuse pop with drum’n’bass. A SLAVIC BEAUTY
for that one,” Stanley reminisces. SUSHI RIDER (1994) WITH A ROSE BETWEEN
“It was terrific – I have incredibly Extra track with Like A Motorway. A Pale Blue Eyes HER TEETH (1997)
fond memories of living and eating for the Sarah Records generation. From the Valentine’s Day EP, this demonstrates
together, like The Beatles in Help! LOVER PLAYS Saint Etienne’s filmic smarts from the start.
“That,” he explains, “was the first THE BASS (1999) ANDREW MCCARTHY (1998)
album where we all wrote together Another new gorgeous Saint Etienne paradigm: Ostensibly a paean to the Brat Pack actor, but its
as well – for the first three, me and lovers dubstep. wistful grooviness could suit anyone or anything.
Pete wrote together and Sarah wrote
separately. That’s how we’ve always
worked since.”
Stanley sees Good Humor and
the subsequent two albums – 2000’s
Sound Of Water (recorded in Berlin, “when we went a bit nuts, and if Belongs To Me, indeed), have
with arrangements by To Rococo Rot we’d carried on that way we might afforded Saint Etienne a brainy
and Sean O’Hagan) and 2002’s have ended up…” allure. And yet they did have proper
Finisterre – as another obvious “…very ill,” Cracknell finishes hits – even one, 7 Ways To Love,
grouping, and the start of “another his sentence. in 1991 as Cola Boy – that proved
era” for the band. And he would put When asked why their friends they had “the common touch”. But
the next three – 2005’s Tales From in Pulp became so successful while are they really more of a theorist’s
Turnpike House, 2012’s Words And Saint Etienne maintained a steady, delight, making conceptual pop
Music and the new Home Counties – modest path, they ascribe it to Pulp’s music for academic types?
together. The latter is a “pretty loose” amazing live form and the fact “I don’t think we hide our light
(Wiggs’ words) concept about the that, as Cracknell says, “They were under a bushel,” says Stanley of
commuter belt that manages to make absolutely ready for it”. And because the suggestion they’re bookish and
such unfashionable subject matter Saint Etienne didn’t release an album far from the degenerate rocker
engaging by populating the songs for four years, they were never really stereotype, adding that he “would
with colourful characters (such as lumped in with the Britpop massive, love to cultivate a mystique”. Fact
the Church Pew Furniture Restorer even if Oasis did support them in is, none of them have ever suffered
and the Train Drivers In Eyeliner), Glasgow and Birmingham, where a meltdown.
and filling the songs with elegantly Wiggs remembers them being “I read this interview with Justin
hummable melodies. “full-on rock’n’roll”. Hayward [of The Moody Blues]
Stanley might be a fan of rock’s Unlike many of their peers, who where he said: ‘Acid? I took it 10
cult heroes or marginal eccentrics, shone brightly then faded away, or 11 times, then I realised that’s
whose trajectories were marked by Saint Etienne are in it for the long probably enough.’ So sensible! We
vertiginous highs and subterranean haul. All the better for pop scholars were probably like that. We all took
lows, but his group have never gone to study them over the distance. drugs and did things we shouldn’t
off the rails. Did they never have a The sleevenotes that accompanied have looking back, but we were very
mad moment, when fame went to their albums by the likes of Jon sensible. Very Home Counties.”
their heads? “There was a time,” Savage and Simon Reynolds, and
mutters Wiggs over the thump of their reclaiming of the capital as a Home Counties is out now on
Personal Jesus on the cafe stereo, psychogeographic space (London Heavenly Recordings
85

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C L A S S I C P O P M A G A Z I N E
R E V I E W S
NEW RELEASES p88

Matthew Rudd’s singles, Alison
Moyet, London Grammar, TLC, Phoenix,
Black Grape, Beth Ditto, Echobelly,
Public Service Broadcasting...
REISSUES p94
Shelleyan Orphan, The Art of Noise,
Wendy & Lisa, David Bowie, The
Membranes, BA Robertson and 10cc
COMPILATIONS p98
Manchester: North of England,
Don Letts Presents Culture Clash Radio,
12-Inch Dance/80s Remix...
LONG LIVE VINYL p100
The best new releases and reissues
on vinyl including Ian Dury, Iggy Pop,
David Bowie, Elton John, New Order,
Saint Etienne, Sparks...
DVDS & BOOKS p104
Abba, Prince, Kraftwerk and Virginia
Grohl’s life as a rock star mother
LIVE & EVENTS p108
Let’s Rock Bristol, Adam Ant, Simple
Minds, Charlotte Church and The Gift
R A T I N G S
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
AVERAGE
Nick Heyward PATCHY
was one of
highlights POOR
at Let’s
Rock Bristol 87
CP30.Reviews Opener.print.indd 87 09/06/2017 10:52

S I N G L E S
BETH DITTO RØMANS

FIRE HAPPY LOVE
One of the coolest women in the world, A serial songwriter parading into the
Beth has delivered a ripsnorting new limelight for once, and rightly so. Sam
single here. She growls and broods her Roman is wildly gifted, with a resonant
way through a menacing but appealing and layered voice that’s all the more
lyric, taking the darkened production on striking in a stripped-back production
a dramatic journey without letting a big that strides smartly along while also
guitar part outshine a marvellous vocal. paying a perhaps unintentional homage
What a fine talent she is. to doo-wop acts of the 50s.
MATTHEW RUDD GEORGE MAPLE

KRYPTONITE
DON DIABLO & MARNIK
CHILDREN OF A MIRACLE
OUR REGULAR SINGLES REVIEWER AND HOST A female singer, despite the name, with One of his generation’s greater DJs issues
OF FORGOTTEN 80S ON ABSOLUTE 80S a semi-familiar bit of production line a new single refreshingly reliant on
RADIO CHECKS OUT A VARIED GRAB BAG OF dance pop. The vocal is breathy and vocals rather than beats. Collaborating
would probably benefit from fewer dubs with Italian duo Marnik, the track grows
NEW RELEASES THAT TAKES IN POP, HOUSE and while it’s a big arrangement with a mightier with each listen and even when
MUSIC, RETRO POST-PUNK AND R&B quite movable beat, it doesn’t really go moving bodies are the priority, a decent
anywhere and ends unexpectedly. chorus is always welcome.
THE STRYPES MØ KATO & SIGALA DNCE WITH NICKI MINAJ

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS NIGHTS WITH YOU SHOW YOU LOVE KISSING STRANGERS
These Irish retro rockers clearly have The first five seconds of this sound Two house DJs team up with vocalist This track is a riot. Funky, bassy and
discovered a whole binful of post-punk, like Natasha Bedingfield – one for Hailee Steinfeld to deliver a fairly catchy as hell, a jaunt through suspicion
judging by this thumpy, hard-edged, the teenagers, there. Danish singer- standard dancefloor tune. It’s perfectly and trust in the lyrics and a chorus of
rhythm-section dominated jam with songwriter MØ delivers an earnest fine, and more attention may be paid hedonism and human urge via a melody
clever lyrics that is brilliant from lyric, there isn’t much of a hook and to a video in which three women steal that should have been written years ago.
the moment it starts. The drums are the limited underscore – reminiscent a guy’s car then don masks – including Nicki is gloriously clumsy as she raps
fantastic, then the slightly cockeyed of Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks & one of Donald Trump – to rob a petrol an X-rated middle eight and the whole
middle eight takes everyone by surprise. Bigfoot, seems desperate for help. station at gunpoint. thing just works a treat.
88
CP30.Reviews Singles.print.indd 88 08/06/2017 15:16

N E W R E L E A S E S
J U L Y 2 0 1 7
CLASSIC
BEST NEW RELEASE
Getty Images
ALISON MOYET
OTHER
COOKING VINYL
PICKING UP WHERE HER LAST RECORD LEFT OFF, ALISON MOYET PAIRS UP WITH PRODUCER
GUY SIGSWORTH FOR HER NINTH ALBUM, AN INTENSELY THRILLING TOUR DE FORCE
in rich electronic arrangements honour/ Every breath implied/ man”. However, on Beautiful
and matching its passion Uncertain of its need” – it’ll be Gun she converts this flippancy
with drama. Four years later, a while before we stumble on to grotesque sarcasm (“You’ve
on Other’s opening track I anything so poetic. got a gun-toting gait/ That’s a
Germinate, this remains true. So compelling are her words, walk that I rate”), while guitars
Moyet seems reborn, she recites to us rather than wail behind her.
overflowing with confidence, sings on April 10th, conjuring Those holding onto the Alf
her melodies as strong as up arresting images of “Fog, of All Cried Out and That
any she’s sculpted, her lyrics like boiled wool, felt-tight”. Ole Devil Called Love might
ingeniously weighty. Elsewhere, her luxurious be surprised by elements of
She is also accompanied vocals are perfectly suited Other, but the majority will
by some of the most pristine, to descriptions of “a crocus feel invigorated. Moyet still
“
S
formidable music of her career, offering saffron token” on the addresses romance on Lover,
uddenly the landscape but – with all due respect to grandiose I Germinate, or Go, where rich synths are
has changed,” sang Sigsworth – it’s Moyet’s words loaded observations such as the matched, unexpectedly, by a
Alison Moyet as that demand most attention. delicate title track’s “Don’t want baroque harpsichord line, and
2013’s The Minutes Eloquent and expressive, they another rock to hang about my she is sweet as syrup on Alive.
got underway, and it reveal a woman revelling in neck/ You see bejewelled/ I Throughout it is her
was true. In producer both her environment and her see bedecked in dead stars”. individuality that radiates
Guy Sigsworth, she’d articulacy. Though she belittles On the energetic Happy strongest. As she puts it so
finally found someone her strengths on the gorgeous Giddy, a big budget throwback exquisitely on Other: “I cut out
who understood how The English U – ironically with to Yazoo, her mood is lighter as whichever shape I need… I’m
to best exploit the dark pithy wit like: “I want to know she mocks social media culture: as free as I have ever been.”
power of her voice, cloaking it the comma/ Though I neglect to “Find your life online/ Emoji Wyndham Wallace
89
CP30.reviews.print.indd 89 08/06/2017 11:15

LONDON GRAMMAR © Eliot Lee Hazel
TRUTH IS A
BEAUTIFUL THING
METAL & DUST/ MINISTRY OF SOUND
music – its mood obsequious,

its surfaces polished – that’s
just waiting for Ryan Gosling
and Scarlett Johansson to get
it on to in some stylish, but
underwhelming, tear-jerker.
Two significant things stand
in London Grammar’s favour.
One: they sound unusually
sincere rather than emotionally
manipulative. Two: damn it!
Hannah Reid can sing! These
impressions are obviously
With their debut EP described subjective. They are, most likely, to the melismatic mores of the track, and is none the worse
in The Guardian by Classic interlinked, too. day. Her tone is uncommonly for it. Everyone Else is full
Pop’s own Paul Lester as While London Grammar folkish, and though she offers of picturesque space, drums
“so tasteful it cries out to be are conservative, there’s an grace notes aplenty, she rarely dampened, taut guitar strings
defaced”, and initially touted undeniable beauty to this overemphasises them. brushed, while on Bones Of
as “the new xx” – or, in Lester’s album. It shares qualities that On Big Picture, there’s an Ribbon Reid reaches for high
words again, “the PG xx” – drew people to Morcheeba almost Celtic quality to her tone, notes against a shimmering
London Grammar first appear when they first began. But just her restraint matched by her backdrop always one step
to be doing little original. because similarly polite music understated accompaniment, away from tempestuous. And
There’s a multitude of politely has become overly familiar, that the song’s crescendo unhurried. that title track? Impeccable.
passionate singers out there, doesn’t mean this should be Oh Woman Oh Man starts Yes, it’s safe. But so is Tom
male and female, blurring written off. as a quiet piano ballad, then Hanks’ Big. Sometimes fun for
the lines between hipster Instead, one ought to revel explores the same territory as all the family is just what you
electro-soul and this kind of in how Reid refuses to bend that aforementioned Morcheeba need. WW
TLC
TLC
COOKING VINYL
act so admired for songs of

female empowerment, they
can sometimes appear awfully
insecure. There’s no need for
reinforcement: we know what
they can do.
We were excited when
they announced that this new
album “will stay true to the TLC
© Getty Images
sound”, and since they touted it

as their ‘final album’, wrapping
up loose ends is fair enough. It’s
just that this is a lot of nostalgia
So confident are Tionne to deal with at once. time as the one-time trio. On Perfect Girls finds them,
‘T-Boz’ Watkins and Rozonda Here they are on the Interlude, too, we’re treated against acoustic guitars, pianos
‘Chilli’ Thomas that everyone throwback R&B of Way Back, to tape recordings of happier and a primitive beat, reminding
remembers them that their fifth surrounded by squidgy synths, times, while on Joyride we’re us how you’ve “gotta learn to
album – their first in 15 years – convincing us how easy this is – advised that “I’ma take it back love yourself”, while on the
begins with No Introduction. “It’s nothing but a thing/ To pick down memory lane tonight”. subdued American Gold they
“We gon’ do it in the future up where we left off” – before Top that off with the sounds of are “feeling undefeated”.
like we did it in the past,” they reminding us of “that other shit It’s Sunny, whose brash disco Surprises are few, however,
announce, adding a little later, we went through”. sounds like the Spice Girls – and nor are there many
“We keep the hits coming”. There are references to and which leans so heavily classics: the effervescent pop
And no doubt they will. They “Prince and Marvin Gaye”, on Boney M’s Sunny it even of Haters, frankly, could have
are, after all, the US’s biggest- “James Brown and Michael J”, samples it – and it’s enough to been penned by anybody.
selling girl group ever. underlining their place in the make one forget what century There’s plenty to remind one
It’s odd, though, that they grand canon, and a throwback it is. Nonetheless, the message of TLC’s appeal, of course, but
spend so much time on TLC appearance from Snoop Dogg, that made them so beloved too much of it is unnecessarily
reminding us of this. For an who emerged around the same remains intact. flagged. WW
90

PHOENIX
TI AMO
GLASSNOTE / ATLANTIC RECORDS
in Sofia Coppola’s Lost In

Translation that helped propel
them into hipster circles.
By the end of the 21st
Century’s first decade, they
were a Top 40 act in the
United States, and nowadays
they’re headlining festivals and
luxuriating in the opportunity to
© Getty Images
ensure their records sound ‘just
so’ before they’re released.
Ti Amo’s title track, a rich mix
of disco and New Wave, finds
Perhaps it was always them revelling in the privileges in explosive style with J-Boy, the MDMA generation, and the
inevitable that Phoenix would of fame, offering “Champagne whose twinkling synths glossy funk of Goodbye Soleil
become one of France’s biggest or Prosecco”, declaring their and syncopated beat are struts like it’s dressed in a white
bands. By the time guitarist love in multiple languages, guaranteed to make the summer silk summer suit.
Laurent Brancowitz joined his “sunbathing in Rio”, and even seem utterly trouble-free, it Admittedly the slower tracks
younger brother, Christian inviting people to “open up treads familiar ground as are less immediately persuasive.
Mazzalai, he’d already played your legs”. unapologetically as it avoids Fior De Latte – named after
in a group with Daft Punk’s two They acknowledge how the contemporary events. an ice cream – sounds like it’s
members, and, alongside singer world has changed in the time Lovelife’s keyboards flutter spent a little too long in the sun.
Thomas Mars and bassist Deck it’s taken them to complete their like butterfly wings, while But if the comparative simplicity
d’Arcy, they were soon acting sixth record – they began work Fleur De Lys leans heavily on of the closing Telefono seems
as Air’s backing musicians. in late 2014 – so instead offer flighty 80s pop, much as their throwaway, it can’t shake
Their debut, 2000’s United, it up as an escapist fantasy. compatriots M83 did on last the album’s overwhelmingly
met with critical acclaim, but Its protracted genesis has year’s Junk. Tuttifrutti updates buoyant mood. Phoenix’s rise
it was the use of Too Young been worthwhile. Opening the AM/FM era’s soft rock for looks unstoppable. WW
BLACK GRAPE
POP VOODOO
UMC
one criminal use of a rhyming

dictionary) and tired breakbeats
not heard since Stereo MCs got
themselves connected.
Billed as “testament to Ryder’s
reigning social and political
commentary”, Everything You
Know Is Wrong – Intro sets the
tone, its digs at Donald Trump
reaching the erudite verdict:
“He’s a knobhead”. At best
reminiscent of the Poundland,
early 90s indie dance of The
If it wasn’t that all that remains Soup Dragons, it sounds like he advises us: “You left me From time to time, there’s
of Black Grape are Shaun producer Youth was left to naked in my socks/ You left cause for hope: the title track,
Ryder and Kermit, you could rescue the consequences of the me holding all the rock/ You in particular, boasts a muscle-
be forgiven for dismissing duo’s latest night on spice. The put your joint out on my cock”, bound chorus that – most likely
their comeback as a typically rest of the album sounds like he while his grunted “Cum!” on unconsciously – borrows from
dysfunctional family reunion. never forgave them. Young And Dumb is simply Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get
But that would still be little But chemicals are no excuse puerile. There are flashes of Enough, while Money Burns
excuse for this disaster. here either: Ryder recently wit elsewhere, like Shame’s offers a sleazy groove that
Written, recorded and mixed claimed they’re “not feeding melodic tip to both Bowie’s wouldn’t be out of place on
in four weeks – Oh, how that habits any more... Sex and Fame and the similarly titled Happy Mondays’ Pills ‘n’ Thrills
shows! – Pop Voodoo is a drugs has gone”, making the 1980 film. However, even And Bellyaches.
calamitous mess of scrappy hedonism of which he boasts the best is signposted – the Otherwise, though, this is
lyrics (Shame’s “Running yet more hollow. promising but clumsy: “This is undignified, recorded with all
around with a habit/ With On String Theory, whose the first day of the rest of my the care of its hastily scribbled
his hand inside his jacket/ He simple riff and monotonous nine lives” opens a song cover. It’s really not so great
can outrun a rabbit” is just delivery soon wear thin, called Nine Lives. when they’re straight. WW
91

BETH DITTO JAH WOBBLE & THE
FA K E S U G A R INVADERS OF THE HEART
VIRGIN EMI RECORDS
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
3MS
mostly, with Jennifer Decilveo

(Ryn Weaver). opener Public Image’s rolling
Her debut’s largely founded bassline sounds as roguish
on familiar influences – gritty as ever, and there’s a muted
garage rock, flamboyant disco, version of PiL’s Poptones,
and passionate soul – while recorded live, as well as
her larger-than-life voice, an extended take on his
somewhere between Etta James extraordinary Visions Of You.
and Bonnie Tyler, remains the Wobble has surrounded
focus, oozing attitude. himself with quality players,
The stomping Oo La La, and allows them freedom to
co-written with Jackknife Lee, flaunt their talent. Within a live
and strutting Savoire Faire environment, this makes sense,
When Beth Ditto’s former band, are two tracks separated from but it’s unclear what purpose
Gossip, hooked up with Girls her band’s catalogue only There are many reasons to a drab take on the Midnight
Aloud producer Brian Higgins by their richer arrangements, respect Jah Wobble, not least Cowboy theme has, and
for 2012’s A Joyful Noise, while Go Baby Go sounds like his willingness to explore while it’s conceptually exciting
it seemed the group had run LCD Soundsystem fed Dusty different musical genres. An to think of Wobble playing
aground. Instead of powering Springfield amphetamines. album recorded with his current the unforgettable bassline to
the trio’s rhythmic punk rock The influence of Paul Simon’s band revisiting elements of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain,
into the mainstream, it stifled Graceland is a surprise on the his back catalogue, as well it proves to be little more than
it, something the band must breezy title track, but she slips as music that’s inspired him, an excuse for Martin Chung’s
have recognised. Solo Ditto’s up a few times: We Could Run’s therefore sounds more than a lengthy guitar solo.
not forsaken the idea of a undercooked stadium pop, the little tempting. There’s some tasty jazz
high-fidelity, polished record, saccharine This Is Love, and Somehow, however, The excursions on the second
however: she “speed-dated” Lover’s melodrama. Usual Suspects falls short of disc here, but there are better
writers and producers for Fake Fake Sugar is best when it’s celebration. It’s still a pleasant ways in to Wobble’s often
Sugar, ending up working, sweet and sour. WW reminder of his finest moments: fascinating work. WW
FADER PUBLIC SERVICE

FIRST LIGHT BROADCASTING
BLANC CHECK RECORDS
E V E R Y VA L L E Y
PIAS RECORDINGS
and primitive. Check The Power

– which, like much of this edgy relatively mundane Turn No
collection, features antique More, while others will enjoy
synths, hushed vocals and little the additional charm bestowed
else – even finds Arthur asking by Camera Obscura’s
“Is the door locked?” The Tracyanne Campbell on the
answer is apparently yes. radiant Progress. Some, too,
I Prefer Solitude further may be taken aback by You
underlines this cramped + Me, a tender ballad which
atmosphere, though it brightens features Lisa Jen Brown singing
in its chorus – “I’ve never been in her native Welsh.
lonely/ I prefer solitude” – But the real transformation
but moments later, on Way on Every Valley comes because
Examine the artwork for this Out, Arthur returns us to its their sometimes-bombastic
debut from Blancmange’s dominant, oppressive mood. On the surface, PSB’s third approach is here applied to a
Neil Arthur and Benge, a The nostalgic tones of album offers only one subject worthy of attention: the
musician, producer and serial Benge’s synths – inevitably significant change to their results of industrial decline in
collaborator who last appeared sounding at times like early methodology, which, ostensibly, Wales coalmining communities.
in these pages as part of Depeche Mode – are at times has always been an attempt There’s a tremendous
Wrangler, and you’ll get an matched by similarly nostalgic to commercialise Godspeed poignancy to hearing the
idea of what to expect. images, such as Liverpool You! Black Emperor’s dramatic, voices of ordinary Welsh
Its cover is blacker than Bricks’ “broken glass bottles cinematic post-rock: it’s the first people discussing the mid-80s
black, with a chink of light like on top of Victorian walls”, on which they’ve employed miners’ strike on the furious All
it’s leaking through a closed and there are hints of surreal vocalists. But that’s not what Out and its aftermath, on the
doorway, while its booklet humour, too: 3D Carpets’ “Put makes Every Valley their first forlorn Mother Of The Village:
features typed lyrics and images the rings back on... the onion”. genuinely inspiring collection. “We all thought we’d be there
created from letters printed In general, though, this is Sure, there will be people for the rest of our lives”. An
in Courier font. It’s stark and an unremitting experiment in excited by the presence of unquestionably worthwhile and
monochrome – claustrophobic bleak simplicity. WW James Dean Bradfield on the earnest endeavour. WW
92

ECHOBELLY SIMON LAW THE LAST DINOSAUR CHRIS MERRICK

ANARCHY & ALCHEMY LOOK TO THE SKY THE NOTHING HUGHES
ECHOBELLY DOME RECORDS NAIM RECORDS EIRENIC LIFE
HELIUM RECORDS
Perhaps conscious that they’re indelibly Jazzie B’s deep voice on this debut album’s Although he is a committed fan of Talk Talk’s
associated with Britpop, Echobelly open lengthy title track provides a helpful later albums, there are only occasions where “It was important to do something that
their sixth album with a raucous blues rock reminder of Toronto resident Law’s pedigree their influence on Jamie Cameron’s second wasn’t cathedral-like,” Chris Hughes says of
number, Hey Hey Hey. It doesn’t, of course, as a songwriter with Soul II Soul. album is evident. They are crucial, however, his second album, and if that was his goal
take long for their Smiths roots to show That Look To The Sky sounds similar is in setting the tone for his often-elaborate he’s succeeded. One-time drummer for Adam
through with a nod to How Soon Is Now, therefore no surprise, especially since Caron musical arrangements. & The Ants, and the producer behind Tears
though quite why singer Sonya Madan howls Wheeler lends her voice to the laid-back, The placid The National Stage, in For Fears’ first two albums, Hughes instead
like a dog halfway through is a mystery. flutey Morning Love. Most vocal duties, particular, owes a debt to Laughing Stock’s offers six meditative piano pieces.
It’s also the template for much of the however, are undertaken by Lain Gray, opener, Myrrhman, but elsewhere it’s the At times, there’s accompaniment: an
album, which sees the band’s only other notably the upbeat, brassy funk of the wide range of instruments employed that ambient hum on Safe Warm Sun, a short
remaining member, Glenn Johansson, tautological Fire On Fire. underlines Cameron’s fascination with Mark keyboard arpeggio during Tenemos Historia,
prominently flexing his muscles while On the predictably Caribbean sounds Hollis’ aesthetic. He wields a banjo on Grow the creak of a gate on Exmoor Pony Gavette.
borrowing tricks from Johnny Marr. Madan’s of Sunshine Girl, meanwhile, Gray teams and We’ll Greet Death, and accordion on The But mostly this is the sound of a man
claim, on Reign On, that she’s “sold myself up with Maxi Priest, who also takes the Sea, while the appearance of a small choir on unwinding, embracing a love of minimalist
to rock ‘n’ roll” isn’t entirely convincing, but lead for the acoustic reggae of When You All My Faith is almost as moving as on Talk composition to fashion a pleasantly
the – again – bluesy rock of the brilliantly Love Someone. However, it is Law’s sister Talk’s legendary I Believe In You. That this meandering album of serene, seemingly
titled If The Dogs Don’t Get You My Sisters Joanna who really steals the show on the is essentially a requiem for a dead friend, extemporised instrumentals. Less a cathedral,
Will ably compensates. WW sweet My Heart Is Ready. WW makes it even more poignant. WW then, and more a sanctuary. WW
EARL MARK REEDER TORO Y MOI PETER PERRETT

TONGUE TIED MAUERSTADT BOO BOO HOW THE WEST WAS WON
BMG KENNEN CARPARK RECORDS DOMINO
Though she’d actually been knocking around Mark Reeder’s been ahead of the curve for Chaz Bundick’s not afraid of switching it up “I’ve read this book too many times,”
for a while under her full name, Kate Earl’s a while. The Mancunian formed The Frantic when it comes to stylistic choices, much as he sings Peter Perrett on An Epic Story, “The
abbreviated persona first came to significant Elevators with Mick Hucknall in 1977, moved does languages with his pseudonym. Having hero’s death is tragic every time.” Perrett’s
attention as part of BBC Introducing, ending a year later to Berlin, where he worked as emerged in the chillwave era, his latest own story could have ended similarly: the
up, in 2015, on their Hyde Park bill. a Factory Records scout, remixed countless sees him reacting to the success of his last man behind Another Girl, Another Planet,
Shifting from the Amy Winehouse sounds synthpop legends, and later documented album by retreating from the spotlight and The Only Ones’ supercharged classic, has
of her early days, she tried playing her jazz some of these adventures in 2015’s B-Movie. searching for more space on his fifth. struggled with drugs most of his life, which
straighter back then, but Tongue Tied is more This odds and sods collection features The results, consequently, are subdued, explains the sporadic nature of his catalogue.
playful, with much of it offering a pleasure both familiar and new names: New Order’s combining aspects of 80s and contemporary Now, 20 years since his last release,
comparable to Lily Allen’s LDN. Her fourth Academic gets a sweaty workout, while their production, with Mirage full of slap bass and he’s back – older, wiser, but no less witty.
album feels like the result of a painstaking The Game is stripped down to its essentials, consciously cheesy keyboard riffs, Don’t Try On the Sweet Jane-referencing title track,
exercise in cut and paste, with samples and Reeder transforms Inspiral Carpets’ is like Joy Division attempting synth-pop, he drawls: “Just like everyone else/ I’m
seemingly sourced from a prized collection of You’re So Good To Me into a Depeche Mode and Girl Like You the sound of an especially in love with Kim Kardashian”, and on the
doo-wop albums and breakbeat compilations, stomper. Work with The KVB and Ekkoes experimental Prince B-side. There is plenty appealingly uncomplicated Sweet Endeavour,
something Holland’s Caro Emerald has been prove he can do happy, too, while Broken of Vocoder action, too, not least on the he announces “the jigsaw pieces next to me/
doing for a decade. That said, the title track’s Hearts, with Majo Pierro, could almost be woozy Windows. Are part of the assembly/ Of a major work of
highly entertaining swing borrows heavily Goldfrapp. His own ominous Giant Mushroom It’ll likely satisfy his fanbase, but art”. Gentler, and more American-flavoured
from Professor Bobo & Bosko Slim’s Disco and Mauerstadt’s swirling synths are the there’s little danger of it adding to whatever than one might expect, this is a welcome, far
Bob, familiar from a Homebase ad. WW true highlights. WW pressure he’s feeling. WW from tragic return. WW
93

J U L Y 2 0 1 7
CLASSIC
© LFI/Photoshot Getty Images

BEST REISSUE
S H E L L E YA N O R P H A N
BOXSET
ONE LITTLE INDIAN
THEY SUPPORTED THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN LIVE AND WERE SIGNED TO THE SMITHS’
LABEL, BUT THEIR ORNATE CHAMBER POP COULDN’T HAVE BEEN LESS “INDIE-80S”...
80s act, even if they did support This box comprises the studio They did have commercial
The Jesus And Mary Chain, sign albums – 1987’s Helleborine, instincts, and by the second
to Rough Trade and tour with The 1989’s Century Flower, 1992’s album were writing songs like
Cure. A duo comprising Crawley Humroot – plus a 19-track bonus Shatter and Timeblind that
and Jemaur Tayle (who met on CD of unreleased material and weren’t a million miles from the
Bournemouth beach in 1980), a DVD of videos, as well as a sort of ethereal, cute racket then
augmented by quasi-classical 20-page booklet and poignant being purveyed by The Sundays.
instrumentation (oboe, cello, posthumous letter handwritten by Self was an exquisite apotheosis,
flute, bassoon, strings), they Tayle to Crawley. Crawley’s voice soaring and
were probably better suited to The music is as ravishing as dipping like a bird. Humroot was
the 1780s. ever. With sleeve art by Lord less rarified, with what sounded
A sort of pop chamber group, Of The Rings artist/illustrator like concessions to early-90s
W
they were notable for Crawley’s Alan Lee, Helleborine has a indie. There was a moment when
e lost so many pop voice – one of the decade’s best, surface prissiness, and their Burst threatened to become a hit,
musicians in 2016 as striking as Billy Mackenzie’s language was at its most mimsy but Rough Trade were having
– Prince, Bowie, and Björk’s – and their often and arcane, with titles including problems and despite the brief
George Michael, breathtaking, sumptuously sad Jeremiah and Midsummer Pearls interest of MTV, it fizzled out.
Maurice White – circuitous melodies. Imagine And Plumes, but the latter, with There is nothing from 2008’s
that the death, last Dollar if they were around before its hooks and handclaps, could lovely comeback album We
October, of Caroline the Industrial Revolution. be a single from a Medieval Have Everything We Need – the
Crawley, lead singer Named after a poem by Motown. Epitaph Ivy And Woe box really misses I May Never,
with Shelleyan Shelley, they used to have an is arrestingly pretty (Crawley which reduced Crawley, and
Orphan, was artist onstage creating impromptu and Tayle bonded early over the the engineer, to tears during
inevitably overlooked. But then, paintings, although their live symphonic soul of The Chi-Lites), recording -– but there is enough
they were largely ignored during shows – in art galleries, churches while Melody Of Birth is quietly esoteric beauty here to last all
their only modestly successful and theatres – weren’t so much devastating, where pop meets summer, if not a lifetime.
career. They were an atypical prim as powerfully moving. Gregorian chant. Paul Lester
94
CP30.Reissues.print.indd 94 08/06/2017 11:13

R E I S S U E S
Getty Images
© Getty Images
THE ART OF NOISE
IN VISIBLE SILENCE
WARNER MUSIC
THE SOPHOMORE STUDIO ALBUM FROM SEMINAL CUT-AND-PASTE SYNTH-POPPERS GETS THE
BELLS AND WHISTLES REISSUE TREATMENT INCLUDING RARITIES AND REMIXES
Art Of Noise for ZTT, Morley and Post-Morley/Horn, AON were is pop as a series of dextrously
Horn – the brainiac wing, aka less conceptual art terrorists than deployed abstract effects,
the Lennon of the piece – split, novelty technoid popsters. The Something Always Happens
leaving the tuneful axis alias the music remains less forbidding features the child’s plaint, “The
McCartney to soldier on as a de and probably more fun albeit not Art Of Noise is weird”, and Why
facto Wings for China Records. quite as groundbreaking. Me? is all big electric bassline
They may have lost their It’s musique concrète you can and merry clatter. As Ian Peel
cerebral dimension, but they move to, all found sounds and says in the sleevenotes, The First
certainly enjoyed a commercially taped voices used as keyboard Leg is “the sound of this AON
successful afterlife via their 1986 notes – technology employed coming out of the shadow of that
album In Visible Silence, which in the service of bright, catchy AON.” Happy Harry’s High Club
included two hits – No.12 single melodies. Highlights include Peter is busy and bustling, like Robert
D
Paranoimia and Peter Gunn Gunn, which marvellously marries Palmer’s Looking For Clues on
ecades before featuring Duane Eddy, a Top 10 the ancient and modern, Eye Of steroids. Chameleon 4 is a catchy
Deadmau5 and Daft UK entry and Grammy winner – A Needle, with its reconfigured cavalcade of beats and hooks,
Punk, (The) Art Of the latter sold a million copies. crooner vocal, Backbeat with its Beddoo-Bedoo is infuriatingly
Noise were mask- On this 2CD version of AON’s chopped-up snippet of Chic’s Le infectious, Trumpton Boogie is
wearing Fairlight-pop second long-player you get the Freak, the reworking of Beat Box would-be wacky kids’ TV music
avengers, comprising album plus rare mixes as well as that is Legs and Camilla – The and Panic is metalbashing meets
arranger Anne Dudley, edits and previously unreleased Old, Old Story’s seven minutes of pop, like Einsturzende Neubaten
engineer Gary Langan, material – no fewer than 26 extra sighing and synth trills, essentially having a row with The Archies.
programmer JJ Jeczalik, tracks beyond the original vinyl Moments In Love revisited. It’s not all non-stop lunacy: A
producer Trevor Horn LP. Remastering sessions were Of the rarities from the Nation Rejects is three minutes
and journalist Paul Morley. overseen by Dudley, Jeczalik and China vaults, amid the of twinkling loveliness, ending a
After issuing 1983’s epochal Langan, who recently reformed (per)versions of Peter Gunn, Legs collection of perkily synthetic –
Into Battle EP and 1984’s debut briefly at Liverpool Sound City for and Paranoimia, there are several and danceable – robotronica.
album (Who’s Afraid Of?) The a live ‘reboot’ of the album. goodies. Hoops And Mallets Paul Lester
95

DAVID BOWIE WENDY & LISA
CRACKED ACTOR – EROICA
LIVE LOS ANGELES ’74 CHERRY RED
PARLOPHONE
from psychedelic freak-funk to

the original LA Amphitheatre ornate folk.
show programme and a This expanded 22-track
contemporary piece about double-CD iteration of the
the shows by Rolling Stone’s album includes the singles
Richard Cromelin from 10 – the Raspberry Beret-ish
October, 1974, neither of Strung Out, the purple funk of
which was included in the Rainbow Lake, whose tinny
vinyl package. It was recorded drum machine pulse is very
on the same tour that gave Sly-circa-There’s A Riot Goin’
us Bowie’s first in-concert LP, On, and sweeping orchestral
1974’s David Live, only minus ballad Don’t Try To Tell Me –
that album’s studio overdubs with guest contributions from,
and spotty sound. It also Prince acolytes Wendy Melvoin among others, kd lang, hurdy-
This is a limited-edition 2CD features a more R&B-oriented and Lisa Coleman were gurdy man Tony Berg and horn
digipak of a triple vinyl album band including Luther Vandross mainstays of Prince & The merchant Eric Leeds.
originally released for this on backing vocals, who had Revolution (and indeed are Bonus tracks on disc two
year’s Record Store Day. It was assembled to perform the new part of that unit again, having include single mixes as well
recorded on the Philly Dogs Young Americans material. recently reformed for some live as rare B-sides, and the
Tour in September 1974, some Cracked Actor has been shows), and you can hear his whole thing comes with a
material from which appeared mixed by Tony Visconti, Bowie’s Purple influence all over this, comprehensive booklet.
in the iconic BBC documentary longtime producer, who brings their third and final album for As for the album itself, it
Cracked Actor helmed by up- everything to vivid life. Virgin, from 1990. contains some of the best-
and-coming TV director Alan Available for years in bootleg Even the spread of influences received music of Wendy &
Yentob. Whatever happened form, this is its first official evinced the breadth of music Lisa’s careers, from the
to him? release, a fine document of enjoyed by their old boss, from woozy Mother Of Pearl to the
It comes with a 12-page Bowie in transition from glam Sly Stone to Joni Mitchell, a daringly arranged Staring At
booklet featuring notes from icon to white soul man. PL dizzying mixture that stretched The Sun. PL
THE MEMBRANES BA ROBERTSON

THE COMPLETE INITIAL SUCCESS/
RECORDINGS 1980-1993 B U L LY F O R Y O U / R & B A
CHERRY RED CHERRY RED
Northern Prices, suggesting a humour was underlined when

warped intelligence garnered he penned We Have a Dream
from a mixed diet of Mark E for Scotland’s 1982 World
Smith, Captain Beefheart and Cup campaign. A sucker for
Half Man Half Biscuit. punishment then.
Then again, The Universe He has co-written songs for
Explodes Into A Billion Photons Cliff Richard (Carried and the
Of Pure White Light has some million-selling global hit Wired
of the fearless freaky quality of For Sound) and Mike & The
prime-period Flaming Lips. Mechanics (international smash
The music itself will appeal The Living Years), even coming
to fans of quirky noise, but it’s up with theme songs for TV
not just clatter and hum: Typical shows such as Multi-Coloured
Subtitled Everyone’s Going Male Penis is two minutes and Scottish actor-musician Brian Swap Shop.
Triple Bad Acid, Yeah!, this 44 seconds of sheer controlled Alexander “BA” Robertson was Most of Robertson’s big-hitters
boxset collects the work of carnage and Everything’s a perennial of British music and came from his third album,
the post-punk band formed Brilliant isn’t too distantly TV between the late-70s and Initial Success (1980), which
by journalist, author, editor of related to something vaguely the mid-80s, enjoying a slew of reached No.32 with its Elvis
Louder Than War magazine resembling pop. catchy, near-novelty new wave Costello-lite guitar-pop barbs
and all-round lifelong punk Some of the aforementioned hits with quirky, humorously (he even donned new wave
and Mancunian motormouth, fans include Sonic Youth, Pussy askew lyrics that were almost regulation garb – suit jackets
John Robb. Galore, Butthole Surfers and like Eurovision Song Contest with upturned collars and
Featuring no fewer than Nirvana producer Steve Albini entries penned by Ian Dury: skinny ties – at the time),
99 tracks, the titles alone are – The Membranes were the Bang Bang (No.2 in 1979), while follow-ups Bully For You
priceless: Cor Blimey! Ain’t first band that Albini worked Knocked It Off (No.8, 1979), (1981) and R&BA (1982) –
England Snidey, Phoney TV with outside the groundbreaking Kool In The Kaftan (No.17, issued for the first time on
Repair Man, Jaw Cracker Big Black. Now you can 1980) and To Be Or Not To CD – show him broadening
Fuzz and 24 Hour Drinking At hear why. PL Be (No.9, 1980). His sense of out stylistically. PL
96

R E I S S U E S
Getty Images
10CC
© Getty
BEFORE, DURING, AFTER:
THE STORY OF 10CC
UMC
50 YEARS OF 10CC-RELATED ACTION BY PAST/PRESENT MEMBERS
productions for ABC, Frankie But 10cc were literally an 80s told by this boxset, a companion
Goes To Hollywood and Dollar – band, because they had so many piece to 2012’s five-disc
the sumptuous Give Me Back My hits in that decade. Not as 10cc Tenology. It spans 50 years,
Heart is essentially the I’m Not In – their supremely witty, brilliant ranging from their prehistorical
Love (10cc’s best-known song) of 10cc singles (Donna, Rubber work – Stewart’s tenure with The
the early-80s. Bullets, The Dean And I, Life Is A Mindbenders singing A Groovy
Horn would wind up working Minestrone, I’m Mandy, Fly Me, Kind Of Love, Hotlegs’ bizarre
with two ex-members of 10cc, Art For Art’s Sake) were all in 1970 smash with Neanderthal
Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, the 70s, before they went their Man, their pre-10cc productions
on The History Mix Volume 1, separate ways. No, their chart at Strawberry for everyone
a 1985 remix/mash-up of hits run continued via their various from prog-rockin’ Egyptian
by 10cc, Godley & Creme, and post-split configurations, mainly Pharaoh oddity Ramases to Brill
A
Hotlegs, the latter a pre-10cc as Godley & Creme (Under Building tunesmith Neil Sedaka
lthough they had roots outfit also featuring 10cc’s Eric Your Thumb, Wedding Bells, and assorted pseudonymous
in the 60s and formed Stewart. If that wasn’t evidence Cry) and Wax, who comprised bubblegum confections for the
in the 70s, 10cc were enough, in 1998 Creme would 10cc’s Graham Gouldman and Kasenetz-Katz pop production
arguably the first band join a reformed Art Of Noise, 70s American singer-songwriter line – to their cosmically inventive
of the 80s. Their state- alongside Horn, Anne Dudley, Andrew Gold. Wax (Building heyday, to more recent efforts
of-the-art, super-brainy ex-NME writer and Frankie Goes A Bridge To Your Heart, No.12 (Godley’s 2016 Confessions is a
hi-tech pop was pored To Hollywood provocateur Paul in 1987) marked Gouldman’s darkly ethereal beauty).
over by a young Trevor Morley, and rapper Rakim. And third decade of success, having If you like postmodernist
Horn, the pre-eminent for most of this century Creme penned hits for The Hollies (Bus art-pop or baroque post-Beatles
80s sonic architect. – one of four singers, multi- Stop), Herman’s Hermits (No songcraft – Roxy Music, Sparks,
You can hear definite echoes instrumentalists and producers in Milk Today) and The Yardbirds Queen, ELO – you should check
of 10cc’s work at Strawberry 10cc – has been a member of (For Your Love). this out, because 10cc were the
Studios in Stockport in later Horn Horn’s supergroup, Producers. This is the extraordinary story best of the lot. PL
97

Bernard Sumner on
stage with New
Order in 1981
J U L Y 2 0 1 7
CLASSIC
Images
Images
BEST COMPILATION
© GettyGetty
VA R I O U S A R T I S T S
MANCHESTER:
NORTH OF ENGLAND
CHERRY RED
A 7CD TREASURE TROVE OF DELIGHTS FROM ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSIC CITY
OF THE LAST 40 YEARS... BUZZCOCKS, JOY DIVISION, ROSES, OASIS, MONDAYS AND MORE
T
his boxset has been compendium of the greatest CD3 is filled with 1982-84
years in the planning, acts of the last four decades shards of electro light via
but its arrival coincides and charts the development New Order’s Temptation,
with a Manchester of British (alternative) music, 52nd Street’s Cool As Ice,
reeling from the shock from the big bang of punk, Marcel King’s Reach For Love
of the Ariana Grande through post-punk, white funk/ and Section 25’s Looking For
tragedy and the Factory disco, C86 jangle, acid A Hilltop.
wonderful One Love house, baggy/Madchester, and CD4 sees a return, circa
Manchester benefit Britpop. The point is, it’s not all 1985-6, to rock values with
concert response. This guitar-driven indie, even if that James, Easterhouse and
CD collection is a monumental, tends to dominate. The Bodines, and a slew of
albeit unwitting, tribute to the CD1 shows the city’s roots, jangling, shambling bands (Big
city, to its vitality and strength, with punk-era bands Slaughter Flame, The Weeds, The Man
and a guarantee that it will And The Dogs, The Nosebleeds From Delmonte) while Yargo are
emerge unbowed from one of and The Drones, but there are one of many forgotten Manc
its darkest hours. demonstrations of dub life in outfits brought to your attention.
It’s the story of the X-O-Dus’ English Black Boys, of By CD5, Manchester has
Manchester scene and the comedy amid the gravity (Jilted embraced Detroit techno and
way its future was shaped by John’s Going Steady), as well Chicago house, which Happy
punk and the revolutionary as signs, in Magazine’s The Mondays transmute into the
Spiral Scratch EP. There are Light Pours Out Of Me and Joy mutant disco of 24 Hour Party
no Hollies or 10cc here, the Division’s She’s Lost Control, People, while A Guy Called
focus instead on 1977 and of the places musicians were Gerald’s Voodoo Ray is a
beyond. But Manchester: North prepared to go next. northern take on acid house.
Of England is no thin, ragbag By CD2, there are glimmers, CD6 features The Stone Roses
collection of minor-league in A Certain Ratio’s The Fox, and some of their acolytes (The
noise-mongers. No, Cherry Red of a strange new experimental Mock Turtles, Northside, Paris
have managed to secure all the rhythmical direction for so- Angels, The High).
main players – the only glaring called guitar music, while The Finally, CD7 includes baggy-
omission are The Smiths, Fall, Manicured Noise, Blue era mavericks World Of Twist
although Morrissey makes a Orchids, Crispy Ambulance and Intastella, and ends with
cameo with The Last Of The and The Chameleons all plough the demo of Oasis’ Columbia.
International Playboys. It’s a their own unique furrows. Paul Lester
98

C O M P I L A T I O N S
The Stone
Roses feature in
the third Cherry
Red indie
compilation C88
VARIOUS ARTISTS VARIOUS ARTISTS

DON LETTS PRESENTS 12-INCH DANCE/80S REMIX
© Getty Images
CULTURE CLASH RADIO RHINO
STATION 5
This 3CD package assembles a series of

Subtitled A Selection Of Sounds Crossing
Time, Space & Genres, this collection was
VARIOUS ARTISTS dance de/reconstructions of 80s classics.
Shep Pettibone is featured a couple of
inspired by legendary film director, musician, C88 times – for his remix of New Order’s Bizarre
DJ and 1977 punk scenester Letts’ weekly CHERRY RED Love Triangle and The Communards’ Never
show on BBC 6 Music. It’s a bunch of Can Say Goodbye – but there is no Pet Shop
tunes that, says Letts: “Have touched my Boys. Many of the other big 80s names are
head, my heart and my feet – and, most here: Duran Duran with the Night Version of
importantly, have stood the test of time”. of the indie ghetto: The Stone their Hungry Like The Wolf, Spandau Ballet’s
This kaleidoscope of sounds and rhythms Roses most notably, but also The Chant No.1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On),
certainly reflects the diversity of his radio Mock Turtles and Pale Saints. the Destruction Mix of Paul Hardcastle’s N-n-
show, with an array of genres represented Then there are cult favourites n-n-No.1 smash 19 and the Extended Mix
and covering all corners of the world. There’s The Pooh Sticks (who attracted of Bronski Beat’s Why. There are artists you
soul, reggae, dub, krautrock, blues and all a devoted following in the US), don’t associate with clubland – The Cars, Echo
points in between, with artists ranging from Bridewell Taxis, the Morrissey- & The Bunnymen, Fleetwood Mac, Howard
The Mamas & The Papas to The Moody Blues, sanctioned Bradford and Jones – but their respective extended edits
Bryan Ferry to Lewis Taylor, Nina Simone to acclaimed Manchester band and beat reconfigurations makes them seem
Holger Czukay, Baaba Maal to Whodini. PL King Of The Slums. like dancefloor naturals. PL
Meanwhile, Sarah Records –
adored by diehard cutie fans,
loathed for its supposed feyness
This is the third in a series of and mimsiness by others – is
indie compilations from Cherry represented by The Orchids,
Red, following on from 2016’s Another Sunny Day, The Sea
C86, which expanded on the Urchins and The Poppyheads.
notorious, era-defining C86 CD2 features The House Of
NME cassette, and 2016’s Love, soon to sign to Creation,
C87. This 3CD boxset does The Vaselines (a favourite
what its predecessors did: of Kurt Cobain), “blonde”
focuses on the melodic guitar- bombshells The Darling Buds,
based outfits from its titular Kitchens Of Distinction and
year, the sort who worked to The Heart Throbs from One
VARIOUS ARTISTS a DIY budget and issued their Little Indian, soon to be baggy VARIOUS ARTISTS
THE 70S LOVE ALBUM tunes on small labels with outliers Inspiral Carpets, and ULTIMATE 90S ANTHEMS
DEMON handmade artwork and limited The Shamen ahead of their ULTIMATE
hope of mainstream exposure. transformation from psych indie
By 1988, indie wasn’t the kids to fully paid-up members of
It might be somewhat adrift of Valentine’s only interesting music in town, the acid house squad. It goes without saying that the Classic Pop
Day, nevertheless this collection comes just or certainly Brit-indie wasn’t. Finally, on CD3 there are era didn’t end on 31 December 1989. This
in time for summer lovin’, as John Travolta There were the American likes the likes of The Revolving compilation offers 5CDs worth of music
and Olivia Newton-John (shamefully not of Pixies and Throwing Muses Paint Dream, The Wake, The to the contrary. There are fabulous R&B
featured) would have it. There are three CDs, on 4AD, and the output of Siddeleys, Would-Be-Goods, anthems (Montell Jordan’s This Is How We Do
each chock-full of pop, disco and soul. CD1 labels such as Blast First and The Caretaker Race, The Great It, Blackstreet’s No Diggity, Bobby Brown’s
is an R&B-fest, with healthy doses of Philly SST. There were emerging Leap Forward, East Village Two Can Play That Game, Bell Biv Devoe’s
soul (The O’Jays’ Love Train, Harold Melvin hip-hop colossi (Public Enemy, The Corn Dollies and Bad Poison, Shanice’s I Love Your Smile), dance
and The Blue Notes’ If You Don’t Know Me NWA), Swiss techno renegades Dream Fancy Dress – bands anthems (Ce Ce Peniston’s Finally, Snap!’s
By Now, Billy Paul’s Me And Mrs Jones), Young Gods, Icelandic who would regularly fill the Rhythm Is A Dancer), indie/baggy anthems
The Isley Brothers’ Summer Breeze Pt.1, mavericks Sugarcubes, and “downpage” reviews sections of (The La’s’ There She Goes, Inspiral Carpets’
and assorted ballads from Deniece Williams so on. C88 imagines a world the NME and Melody Maker’s This Is How It Feels, The Farm’s All Together
(Free) and Earth Wind & Fire (After The Love where these groundbreaking live pages but have since Now, James’ Sit Down), Britpop anthems
Has Gone). CD2 features the likes of Hall & artists didn’t exist. disappeared from view. C88 (Shed 7’s Going For Gold, Stereophonics’ Just
Oates (She’s Gone), Leo Sayer (When I Need Taken on those terms, it’s tells you where they went, via Looking, Dodgy’s In A Room), and general
You), and Sad Café (Every Day Hurts), and an intriguing artefact. Disc the 9,000-word sleevenote from multi-purpose, uncategorisable anthems
Patti Smith (Because The Night). CD3 delves 1 includes bands new to this original C86 compiler, and (Semisonic’s Secret Smile, New Radicals’ You
further back (Andy Williams, Perry Como), compilation series, who would NME journalist, Neil Taylor. Get What You Give). The 90s was a truly
but still hits the heart-shaped target. PL actually manage to break out Paul Lester anthemic decade. PL
99

R E I S S U E S
A N D B E Y O N D
FROM IGGY POP AND BOWIE TO
IGGY POP – THE IDIOT/LUST FOR LIFE/
NEW ORDER, IAN DURY, SAINT ETIENNE, TV EYE LIVE 1977
SPARKS, AND MORE: AS EVER, CLASSIC POP 1977 was a great time for punk, but also for the previous generation who all made
bold statements that year. David Bowie had a busy 12 months, issuing two major
RECOGNISES FEW BOUNDARIES IN OUR albums in Low and ‘Heroes’, and he also found time to collaborate with Iggy Pop on his first
EVER-ECLECTIC SUMMARY OF THE MOST two solo albums, The Idiot and Lust For Life. Both are here reissued – and apparently
“remastered for the first time from the original analog tapes” – on vinyl for their 40th
INTERESTING RECENT VINYL RELEASES... anniversary. This is alongside 1978’s TV Eye Live 1977, recorded during four different shows on
P A U L L E S T E R his 1977 US tour. On the live album, Iggy lets rip on Stooges eruptions I Wanna Be Your Dog,
I Got A Right and T.V. Eye and it includes searing renditions of tracks from The Idiot and Lust For
Life. Too hot to handle? Luckily, they also come in a limited-edition Iggy tote bag.
SPARKS − NO 1
IN HEAVEN
On their eighth album, now in
celestial blue vinyl, Ron and Russell
Mael took a turn for the electronic, teaming
up with Donna Summer’s producer Giorgio
Moroder at Musicland Studios, West Germany,
based on a love of his 1977 landmark of
throbbing spacetronica, I Feel Love. Suddenly
Sparks – big stars of the late-glam era on the
back of monstrously quirky hits like This
Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us –
enjoyed a second lease of commercial life
following disappointingly lukewarm reactions
IAN DURY − THE VINYL COLLECTION to Big Beat (1976) and Introducing Sparks
This 2014 boxset, from Edsel Records, is currently being made available at a bargain price of under 50 nicker, to employ the (1977). Of the four singles from 1979’s No.1
parlance of the cockney reject himself. That’s not too shabby for an eight-LP vinyl box from one of the most strikingly unusual In Heaven, none reached the titular pole
characters to emerge at the height of punk and new wave. It covers Dury’s entire career, starting with 1977’s wonderful debut New Boots position but The Number One Song In Heaven
And Panties!! (No.2 in the NME critics’ end of year albums poll, one place ahead of Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True and just one behind did become their first hit since 1975’s Looks,
Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, doncha know), through Do It Yourself (1979), Laughter (1980), Lord Upminster (1981), 4,000 Weeks’ Holiday (1984), Looks, Looks, reaching No.14 in the UK,
Apples (1989), The Bus Driver’s Prayer & Other Stories (1992), and Mr. Love Pants (1998) – the latter was released two years before while follow-up Beat The Clock fared even
Dury’s death. All of the releases are on heavyweight 180g vinyl. better, peaking inside the Top 10.
100
CP30.LLV.indd.indd 100 07/06/2017 17:46

L O N G L I V E V I N Y L
RADIOHEAD − VARIOUS ARTISTS − VARIOUS ARTISTS − DAVID BOWIE −

OK COMPUTER T2 TRAINSPOTTING DISCO ANTHEMS HUNKY DORY AND
Interesting that the two biggest, most The soundtrack to Danny Boyle’s This is available exclusively in ZIGGY STARDUST
significant rock albums from 1997 1996 adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s gatefold, 180g heavyweight triple LP Doubtless many Classic Pop readers
were at the opposite extremes of the indie/ novel Trainspotting was not only one of the form only, and features 18 classic disco tracks already own versions of Hunky Dory
alternative spectrum, with the one − Oasis’ very best of the 90s, it apparently remains – part of Demon Music’s Anthems series – and The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust
Be Here Now – being mired in rock’n’roll’s one of the best-selling soundtracks on vinyl each of them the original extended 12” And The Spiders From Mars (the latter
past, the other – Radiohead’s OK Computer in HMV stores to this day. And now here is the mixes. Some of the greatest songs in history celebrated its 45th birthday in June). But
– being a signpost to the future. Two decades soundtrack to the follow-up on vinyl, all the are disco singles, and many of them appear on gold vinyl? Exactly. Just as well, then,
later, the band have reopened the vaults for better to enjoy the retro likes of Blondie here. Disc 1 starts with The Jacksons’ Shake that Parlophone are issuing them in said
this remastered and expanded version. It is (Dreaming), Queen (Radio Ga Ga), The Clash Your Body (Down To The Ground), and shade, although only very strictly limited
a 3LP vinyl edition in a gatefold sleeve ([White Man] In Hammersmith Palais, their proceeds with McFadden & Whitehead’s edition, mind, so be warned and available
containing three 180g black 12” vinyl finest moment) and Frankie Goes To glorious Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now, Earth, only in ‘bricks and mortar’ stores and not
records containing the original 12-track Hollywood (Relax), alongside newer Wind & Fire’s Boogie Wonderland and from yucky horrible online-only retailers.
album, three unreleased tracks (Lift, Man contributions from Young Fathers, High Heatwave’s Boogie Nights. Disc 2 opens with These two new editions are the latest legacy
Of War and I Promise, all of which were Contrast, Wolf Alice and Fat White Family, a forgotten 12”, one dismissed as overly Bowie discs to appear, with releases for
recorded during the OK Computer sessions among many others. There is, in addition, the poppy at the time but sounds today like a Labyrinth, No Plan, Cracked Actor and more
but appear here for the first time) and eight inevitable reappearance of Underworld’s lost classic: Patrick Juvet’s I Love America. already in the works this year. There is also
B-sides. All are newly remastered from the Born Slippy, in a slightly different guise, and Elsewhere, there’s Frantique’s Strut Your a special 40th anniversary 7” picture disc
original analogue tapes. The sleeve includes a a Prodigy remix of Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life. Funky Stuff and Cheryl Lynn’s Got To Be Real of Bowie’s Be My Wife (the second and final
download card for a 320k MP3 or 16-bit WAV In all, the soundtrack for T2 Trainspotting is while Disc 3 is all Cerrone, Andrea True single from 1977’s Low) currently doing
download of the 23-track album. every bit as essential as its predecessor. Connection and Vicki Sue Robinson. the rounds.
NEW ORDER – NOMC15 FLEETWOOD MAC − SAINT ETIENNE − ELTON JOHN − SONGS
This is a new live album from the REMASTERS HOME COUNTIES FROM THE WEST COAST
electronic pop pioneers recorded at The 2017 remaster of Fleetwood Just when Saint Etienne thought their Like David Bowie, Elton John suffers
Brixton Academy in 2015, in the wake of the Mac’s Tango In The Night and last month couldn’t get any better, from “best since” syndrome. Every
release of their most recent studio LP Music year’s Mirage remaster have just been issued appearing over six pages in this very issue Bowie release was greeted by critics as “his
Complete. It features tracks from that as standalone vinyl pressings. That’s their two of Classic Pop, now here they are being best since...” − usually Scary Monsters or
album, as well as numbers from the vaults albums of the 80s in one fell swoop. They’re featured on the coveted Long Live Vinyl Lodger. Same goes for Elton. Like most of
alongside Joy Division classics. The release arguably their two most underrated records, spread. Home Counties is their ninth his long-players, this 2001 album was met
coincides with the reworking of their too, unless you count 2003’s Say You Will, long-player since their inception 27 years with accolades of the “best since Captain
catalogue on 29 June at the Manchester which we at Classic Pop believe you should ago, and is every bit as good – that is to say, Fantastic/ Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
International Festival with a 12-member – count it, that is, because it’s a flipping shinily electronic and prettily tuneful, with variety – a return to his core piano-ballad
synthesizer ensemble. There, they will be overlooked beauty. Anyway, Mirage is often nods both to the past and to what journalist values and virtues. It is now being made
“deconstructing, rethinking and rebuilding a dismissed because it came after Tusk and Simon Reynolds once termed “the beatgeist” available in 2LP vinyl form. It was produced
wealth of material from throughout their critics had lost interest by then, but it was a – as the eight previous ones. Home Counties by Patrick Leonard. The first single, I Want
career”. NOMC15 affirms their commitment bit of a stealth success, inveigling its way into is almost like a prequel to 1991 debut album Love, was accompanied by a video starring
to future-facing music, with the likes of homes via singles Hold Me, Gypsy and Oh Foxbase Alpha – where that album captured Robert Downey Jnr and directed by Sam
Ceremony, Bizarre Love Triangle, The Perfect Diane. Tango In The Night didn’t need to a band in love with the capital, this one finds Taylor-Wood, which undoubtedly helped the
Kiss, True Faith, Temptation and Blue inveigle – it was a blockbuster, impacting them mooning around the suburbs. Over song reach the Top 10 in the UK and Canada,
Monday, as well as single B-sides (Lonesome immediately, hitting hard via the singles Big 19 tracks, they lionise an area that pop while the album itself got to No.2 in the
Tonight), album tracks old (Your Silent Face) Love, Little Lies, Seven Wonders, Everywhere, groups have historically dreamed of leaving. UK and No.15 in the US. While not quite
and new (Plastic), and JD beauties Family Man, Tango In The Night and Isn’t It But, as Stanley says, “Suburbia’s anonymity peak-Elton positions, it was not bad for the
(Atmosphere, Love Will Tear Us Apart). Midnight. The MOR Thriller, anyone? is exactly why it’s a source of inspiration”. then-54-year-old.
101
CP30.LLV.indd.indd 101 07/06/2017 17:46

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CARL MAGNUS PALM STEVE PARKE
ABBA: THE COMPLETE PICTURING PRINCE:
RECORDING SESSIONS A N I N T I M AT E P O R T R A I T
(REVISED AND OCTOPUS BOOKS
E X PA N D E D E D I T I O N )
CMP TEXT (which he wasn’t called at that
time but we’ll stick to it here)
released his Emancipation, The
every song and studio session, Rainbow Children and Rave
ensuring ABBA’s studio time is Un2 The Joy Fantastic albums.
documented in comprehensive Mostly unseen, the images
fashion, not only including are posed portraits of Prince
dates that songs were recorded, around his Paisley Park
but dates that individual parts complex and, while offering an
of tracks were recorded. With intimate look at him, he remains
unlimited access to previously pristinely made-up throughout
unheard studio sessions, – the most “off-duty” Prince
outtakes and scrapped songs as Whenever an artist beloved appears is when he has kicked
well as having conducted brand to millions dies, an inevitable off his trademark high heels.
new interviews with Benny, influx of product ensues, It is in Steve’s warm
Having previously written the Bjorn and countless session many of questionable quality. commentary and countless
superb biography Bright Lights musicians, Carl has produced Thankfully, Picturing Prince..., anecdotes that offer up a more
Dark Shadows – The Real Story the ultimate ABBA artefact. a collection of images by humanised picture of the star,
Of ABBA as well as the liner Illustrated throughout with photographer Steve Parke who discussing, among other things,
notes of their album reissues, the original studio track sheets worked with Prince for 13 his musical tastes, dietary
produced documentaries and (which are complete with notes years, part of which was as requirements, favourite pastimes
worked on the ABBA museum in and amends from the group), art director at Paisley Park, is and famous friends – all while
Stockholm, Carl Magnus Palm’s record sleeves and press ads, a beautiful tribute. respecting Prince’s notorious
knowledge on the Swedish this is as close as it gets to being Offering an intimate look at need for privacy. Stunning
supergroup is undeniable. in the studio with Sweden’s the enigmatic icon, the book photography, beautifully
Over the course of 450 fab four as their classics were focuses on the mid- to late-90s presented, this is one for the
fact-packed pages he dissects created. Mark Lindores period, during which Prince fans to treasure. ML
VIRGINIA WOLFGANG FLÜR

HANLON GROHL KRAFTWERK:
F R O M C R A D L E T O S TA G E I WA S A R O B O T
CORONET OMNIBUS PRESS
and the Beastie Boys’ Mike conflicted, one minute

D. While the creative paths recounting warm tales of the
of those women’s children group as they revelled in their
have taken various directions, success, the next condemning
from the fulfilling to the tragic, the times and his relationship
From Cradle To Stage is an with his former bandmates.
enlightening account of the Examining the backgrounds
pride, concern, surprise and of all the band members
often, grief, that come with and citing their differences
the job of being a rock star’s as the main catalyst for the
mother. As well as being dysfunction within the group
a biographical account of Dave is an interesting viewpoint, as
and her relationship with him, are the stories of the creation of
As the mother of Dave, Virginia the book highlights that almost Originally published in the band’s iconic tracks (which
Hanlon Grohl is something of all of those featured in the Germany in 1999 amid never veer into OTT techie
an authority on the subject of book began their musical his acrimonious split from mode) and tales of behind-the-
raising a rock star. endeavours at around the Kraftwerk, Wolfgang Flür’s scenes debauchery involving
Even so, in order to formulate age of 12 years old, often tell-all book about his time as orgies and wild nights in
a concise picture of the gamut at the cost of their academic percussionist of the electro Germany’s notorious nightclubs.
of emotions evoked when achievements. This revelation pioneers has been expanded Despite the relationships
your child chooses a career forms the basis of the manual at a fruitful time for fans of the between Wolfgang and his
in music, she has spent the side of the book, which offers band, coming amid a major former bandmates being more
past few years conducting a guide to anyone whose reissue campaign of their LPs harmonious than when the
interviews with the mothers of child is favouring aspirations and ahead of a new tour. book was first published, this
some of music’s biggest names, of a life in music, yet that in Billed as the ultimate amended version still retains an
including Pharrell Williams, no way diminishes the demystification of the men undercurrent of bitterness that
Amy Winehouse, Dr Dre, the entertaining and emotional behind the machines, Kraftwerk: suggests Wolfgang regrets how
HAIM sisters, Michael Stipe stories of the subjects. ML I Was A Robot is very much things transpired. ML
104
CP30.Reviews Books.print.indd 104 08/06/2017 16:33

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L I V E & E V E N T S
Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and

Rowetta bring a little rock’n’roll
chaos to Let’s Rock Bristol
Music fans at Ashton Court

witnessed great sets from
Heaven 17, Gloria Gaynor
and The Lightning Seeds
A contender for set of the first day was

Heaven 17 who absolutely smashed it.
Temptation was extraordinary – a huge
moment of grin-inducing sonic overload.
popular) chantalong songs of The slick hour of hits and soul classics Back on the main stage, festival monitors. Out front, you would
Village People and a Howard to end Day One on a high. veterans Stereo MCs had to work never have known as they
Jones set that failed to capture There was a heavier flavour hard to get the crowd moving but served up one perfectly formed
the imagination of the crowd, to Day Two as Let’s Rock delved highlights from their Connected power pop nugget after another.
Kim Wilde was in full-on studded into the 90s. After Damage and album, including Fade Away, a Marvellous lived up to its title
leather jacket rock chick mode. Toploader eased us into Sunday, reworked Step It Up and the title with a cracking coda and the
Her band looked like they wanted we’re given much more of a jolt track, built momentum nicely. MC evergreen Lucky You and Life of
to be in Metallica, and amped with a sweary smash and grab Rob Birch pulled out all the stops Riley never fail to disappoint.
up the rock elements of Wilde’s set from EMF. The knee-length to urge the crowd ever onwards It’s been four years since I
sound impressively on Never shorts were still present and with some fine assistance from last caught the reunited original
Trust a Stranger, The Second correct as was the brattish energy. backing singers Cath Coffey and line-up of Happy Mondays. Back
Time (Go For It) and a fantastic Lies packed a real punch and Aina Roxx. then they were remarkably slick
Kids in America. the glorious Unbelievable and An early evening set from ‘The (yes, really). Here, they were a
Gloria Gaynor’s headline set I Believe remain fantastic. La’s lite’ Cast proved what an glorious mess − at times, Shaun
was something of a revelation. A torrential downpour underrated and unfairly maligned Ryder didn’t seem quite at the
The legend herself was on great threatened to derail Republica’s Britpop outfit they are. John races and the band felt a little
form but equally magnetic was set but Drop Dead Gorgeous Power rattled through the hits under-rehearsed. We can, of
her premier league backing and Ready To Go just about got in muscular fashion (Finetime/ course, count on Bez’s Tiggerish
group. Essentially an old school things back on track. Meanwhile, Alright, Guiding Star), every charm as well as the always on-
soul review band with three-piece it’s time for a quick jog up the hill now and again stretching the point Rowetta. There was plenty
horn section and backing singers to catch some old school rave disciplined songwriting into more to love musically; Gaz Whelan’s
stealing the show, they made the anthems with a live PA from SL2. expansive terrain (Free Me). The kicking drums and Paul Ryder’s
very best of what is already a With a tent packed to the rafters slowie Walk Away (can we call subterranean bassline elevated
cracking back catalogue. Hats of former ravers experiencing that a Power Ballad?) was a Hallelujah and the setlist shoe-ins
off to the spell-binding Jon Arons Ecstasy flashbacks (can you highpoint alongside the very of Kinky Afro, Loose Fit, and Step
on trombone, terrific throughout, have an E flashback?), their La’s-like Live the Dream. On hit the mark. It was also nice
for his mid-set cover of Pharrell 30-minute sprint through There was more Scouse to hear a deeper cut like Clap
Williams’ Happy. some of dance music’s songcraft, too, from The Your Hands getting an airing.
I Am What I Am got the classics left us grinning Lightning Seeds. Ian Timing’s never been their strong
crowd onside early and blended and gurning in equal Broudie’s band now point and they pass through
seamlessly with another disco measure. Way In boasts former Zuton the curfew with Wrote For Luck
classic Never Can Say Goodbye. My Brain and Abi Harding on before they can play 24 Hour
There was a hat tip to Barry especially On A keyboards and Party People. Shaun offered to
White on You’re The First, My Ragga Tip − the sax and son sing it a capella when the rest
Last, My Everything while Stop In latter boasting an Riley on second of the band refuse to come back
The Name of Love was given a impressive d&b guitar. For the on and the whole thing fell apart
radical overhaul. makeover − were first half of the amid a flurry of c-bombs and
Gaynor’s vocals were particularly fine. set, Broudie chaos. The Mondays may have
wonderful on Killing Me Softly Snr seemed embraced the nostalgia circuit
and the extended version of I Will to be having but they still can’t help but bring
Kim Wilde was in full-on
Survive was as close to glitterball studded leather jacket
a nightmare a little rock’n’roll chaos along for
perfection as you can get – a rock chick mode with his the ride, too.
109
CP30.Reviews_LetsRock.print.indd 109 09/06/2017 16:08

Getty Images
© Photoshot
ADAM ANT
BRIGHTON CENTRE
18 MAY
THE POP PIRATE PLUNDERS HIS HIT-LADEN BACK CATALOGUE FOR A BOUNTIFUL
HAUL OF TREASURE, ALL PRESENTED WITH A FAMILIAR PANTOMIME FLOURISH
T
he colourfully mixed recent ambitious live reputation dignity appropriate for a man greeted warmly enough, but
audience for Adam’s were soon dismissed. now in his early 60s. it was the canon of megahits
Anthems Tour sums it up The show exploded into life Back in the day, where that inevitably had the crowd
nicely. Elderly punks, from the first song with Beat he followed the pack − roaring along in support.
the achingly hip of all My Guest – also the first track the successful but largely The on-stage small-talk
ages and middle-aged Adam & The Ants performed forgettable Room At The Top, was kept to a minimum, but
mums out on a night out back in 1977 – and the energy for example – the magic was Adam’s obvious delight in the
with their former pin-up didn’t let up across the next 24. dimmed. The same is true collective singalong to Stand
nearly packed out this All the hits – with the notable tonight where oddball classics And Deliver suggests the star
seaside date of his UK exception of the largely- like Young Parisians offered is touched by the affection in
– and soon US – trek. In 1981, airbrushed-from-history Ant Rap the highest peaks, but which he is held. It offered the
Adam and his four Ants were and 1982’s Deutscher Girls in truth there were few troughs. night’s loveliest moment.
Britain’s biggest pop property – were here and Adam’s band The stripped-back Wonderful The British love a good
and his appeal stretched provided solid support to his was Adam’s last significant eccentric and the joyous timing
from Saturday morning kids’ charismatic delivery. chart success and here of pop’s imperial phase and
TV to the pages of the punk Never the world’s strongest showcased its conventional this charming chancer is a reign
fanzines that had established vocalist, the channelling of his but melodic triumph. hard to imagine in today’s less
his reputation. inner Captain Jack Sparrow Slower moments like that colourful chart landscape.
The frontman’s triumphant meant that Adam could lend exposed a rawer vocal than Prince Charming, pantomime
return to better health was a heightened theatricality you’ll remember, but only legend or dandy highwayman
again evident here in a lithe and showmanship to his back added to the poignancy: his – this chameleon has many
physicality – and any fears catalogue, allowing him the more troubled recent story a costumes, but it’s clear they
the set would be a predictable platform to carry off 1983’s lingering afterthought. all shine brightest under that
footnote to the showman’s faintly ridiculous Strip with a The lesser-known cuts were stage light. Mark Elliott
110
CP30.Live_Reviews_p110_113.print.indd 110 08/06/2017 11:11

© Naomi Dryden-Smith Getty Images

J U L Y 2 0 1 7
CLASSIC
BEST LIVE SHOW

SIMPLE MINDS
L O N D O N PA L L A D I U M
27 MAY
THE SCOTTISH POMP ROCK LEGENDS STRIP DOWN AND GO ACOUSTIC FOR A
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE PALLADIUM SPECIAL AND SOUND LIKE... WELL... SIMPLE MINDS
I
t’s hard to know who Longtime drummer Mel unique as Marr, Clapton or as ever. The tough Stand By
started this fashion Gaynor might be absent, but the Edge, with his distinctive Love is somehow reminiscent
for proving your back the phenomenal percussionist pose of holding it like a of Tom Jones, while they pull
catalogue via acoustic Cherisse Osei does the work of dance partner to tease out unknown funk from Someone
treatment. Perhaps it 20 drum machines. unforgettable stadium riffs. Somewhere In Summertime,
was the MTV Unplugged Like a ninja choreographing It might be acoustic, but it’s which follows a blissfully
albums of the 90s, or Future Islands, Jim Kerr has classic Simple Minds. melancholic Big Sleep.
the contrived informality already grabbed a fan’s phone The only song that really They’re as kind to Don’t
of Mumford & Sons, but for a selfie, upheld his mic misses the synthesizers is classic You (Forget About Me) as it
everyone’s at it, even A-ha stand, and walked through the closer Alive And Kicking, has been to them. Their cover
next year. At this rate we can auditorium before set opener, which adopts its football chant of Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old
anticipate Kraftwerk’s Electric the evergreen New Gold defiance nonetheless. Town is diverting enough, but
Café on mandolin and bongos. Dream (81–82–83–84), has Tellingly, there are no tracks they return for several encores
However, Jim Kerr mentions even finished. beyond their imperial period to allow Kerr to show off his
Simple Minds’ reluctance to With entertaining stories of the 80s, only what Kerr new jackets and reinvented
sound like hippies halfway between songs, Kerr’s the shamelessly describes as arrangements of Waterfront
through this West End show, definitive frontman, attacking ‘these classic songs’, but their and Promised you a Miracle.
by which point they’ve already every track like it’s the encore. pompous reputation is ruined He’s grinning to the last, as
proven that their idea of Charlie Burchill’s spent 40 here by effortless passion and is the crowd, as though high
acoustic is akin to sharing years watching his mate’s playfulness, with the sound on knowing they’ve made a
a hanger with a jet plane gleeful dad-dancing, although quality more crystal than the superfluous acoustic album
taking off. After all, this is a there are less scissor kicks huge chandelier above the an essential live experience.
band whose last album was these days. Yet Burchill’s stage. Glittering Prize certainly They’re extraordinary.
called Big Music. reflective guitar playing is as chimes as majestically perfect Tom Hocknell
111

© Getty Images
CHARLOTTE CHURCH’S
L AT E N I G H T P O P D U N G E O N
BIRMINGHAM PRIDE
28 MAY
THE WELSH SONGSTRESS PRESENTS A MIXTAPE OF GUILTY (AND NOT SO GUILTY) PLEASURES
I
t’s a bright, sunny Sunday expertly curated celebration of In A Northern Town, before have a bun in the oven!” she
afternoon at a covered several decades of top pop. heading off into another declared to the crowd before
car park in the centre With only an hour to fill stylistic maze. There’s Destiny’s heading into Diamonds and
of Birmingham, and – there’s Jamelia, Gabrielle, Child’s Survivor and later Pearls. “Grab your partner,
Charlotte Church is ready Boney M and Sophie Ellis- Bootylicious, but also There Are grab a partner – obviously
to party! A surprise hit at Bextor to follow – the Dungeon Worse Things I Could Do (from consensually – and let’s bash
several festivals last year, Diva makes every second Grease), Rage Against The out a slow dance!” We get,
Charlotte’s Late Night Pop count, as hits slide and collide Machine’s Killing In The Name, Ultra Nate’s You’re Free as
Dungeon sees the angelic into other hits, songs morphing even an operatic ET: The Extra- a rocking lurcher, Wham’s
voiced million-selling and genres jumping. The Terrestrial! Yes, John Williams’ Freedom, and so much more
former teen classical star turned monster 30-plus setlist opens movie theme! that by the end of the set you
chat show host, TV judge and with a storming barge through At times, the pace is so can barely remember what
gawd-knows-what-else delve Prince’s Gett Off, Missy Elliott’s frenetic that before you can ID you’ve heard. Did she do
deep into her favourite CDs and Get Ur Freak On and Black one track – was that Charlotte’s Britney and Jack White? Or
retro playlists. Sabbath’s War Pigs, before own Call My Name and Crazy did you just imagine it?
If that whiffs of karaoke hell, turning up the heat with Nelly’s Chick? – she’s off elsewhere, For those who embraced
fear not, as in the hands of the Hot In Here, a cry from hip-hop dropping a slick R’n’B anthem the concept, it was a ride
self-confessed “dank dungeon classic The Roof Is On Fire and like En Vogue’s Don’t Let Go like no other: a bold, cheeky,
bitch,” and backed by an Talking Heads’ Burning Down or mashing Fatboy Slim’s sassy, joyous and occasionally
airtight band who look like The House. big beat Millennium blinder silly celebration of pop
a cross between Funkadelic, Elsewhere, Fleetwood Mac’s Right Here, Right Now with from someone who clearly
Hawkwind and a stag/hen Everywhere suddenly drops Snap!’s Rhythm Is A Dancer. understands, and loves, music.
night, the concept becomes an into Dream Academy’s Life “I’d be out there with you, but I Dave Freak
112

Getty Images
© Getty Images
THE GIFT
CENTRO CULTURAL DE BELÉM, LISBON
19 APRIL
PORTUGAL’S FINEST POP MERCHANTS PROVE THEY’RE READY FOR THE WORLD
STAGE, AND THEY’VE GOT BRIAN ENO ON THEIR SIDE, TOO. IT’S SHOWTIME!
A
heavy gold curtain confirmation of something even musicians dressed in colourful, Though less familiar, it’s the
rises as Sónia Tavares more fundamental for The Gift: tasselled shirts. concluding four Altar songs
strolls onto the vast theatre is intrinsic to everything The Gift being The Gift, that impress most: Love Without
stage of Lisbon’s that they do. however, they choose not to Violins, with main songwriter
Centro Cultural De Tonight’s a special night for milk the wild reception. Nunu Gonçalves bouncing
Belém. She’s alone, the Portuguese band, who, Instead, they pace behind his keyboard desk
accompanied only over the past 20+ years, have themselves, easing into the set, like an excitable receptionist;
by backing tracks – earned a reputation as their beneath stained glass windows the gloriously melodramatic
a rippling piano line, homeland’s most successful suspended from the rafters, Lost & Found; the gospel
twitching electronic independent group. with the subdued affection flavoured funk of Malifest;
percussion, soon a swirl of Their latest album, Altar – of Vitral and the romantic and the breathlessly paced
strings – but her resonant produced by Brian Eno – has sweep of Hymn To Her, on Clinic Hope, like a synth-
voice soars, bewitching this just hit the top of the country’s which Tavares’ voice ascends powered Strokes.
stunning theatre’s capacity, charts, and this is the fifth from its renowned, sultry, A 12-minute, quasi-medley
1,450-strong audience. time they’ve headlined this tremulous depths. – the Bowie-does-Bohemian-
Tattoos spilling from her bold, prestigious venue. But a crescendoing You Will Rhapsody of Singles – and
black outfit, she’s a gripping There is, consequently, Be Queen leads to a series of a joyful Big Fish earn them a
presence, part punk rock a sense of celebration in established hits, among them second encore, and they go out
Sally Bowles, part pugnacious the air – albeit a typically the piano-led Primavera, whose as theatrically as they arrived,
Morticia Addams, and her humble one – as the band’s extravagant gestures make with the muted reflection of
solitary arrival for Loved It sharply dressed members it a clear fan favourite, and What If... For those beyond
All is an acknowledgement shuffle on to the stage a few Classico, which lifts the crowd Portugal’s borders, though, the
that she’ll be tonight’s focus minutes later, their line-up from their seats as Tavares belts drama is only just beginning.
of attention. But it’s also expanded by three further out its sentimental chorus. Wyndham Wallace
113

CLASSIC
© Photoshot
MOMENTS
No.30
W H O ’ S T H A T
G I R L T O U R
2 9 A U G U S T 1 9 8 7
In an outfit that Katy Perry would no doubt approve of,
Madonna performs onstage at Parc de Sceaux in Paris during
the Who’s That Girl Tour in 1987. Although the Madge-starring
movie of the same name had proven to be a box office flop,
the soundtrack was a resounding commercial success.
The ensuing 38-date jaunt was Madonna’s first
world tour, taking in North America, Asia and Europe.
The imaginative stage show featured seven costume changes
for the singer and, encouraged by Musical Director
Patrick Leonard, reworkings of her older songs. The tour grossed
an impressive $25 million, making the Who’s That Girl Tour
the second most successful female-fronted live extravaganza
of 1987 – Tina Turner’s Break Every Rule Tour pipped her
to first place. Support acts for the tour comprised Hue and Cry,
Level 42 and Bhundu Boys. Steve Harnell
114
CP30.Pop_moment.print.indd 114 08/06/2017 16:55

E R A SU R E
“AC HI NGLY B E AU T I F U L P O P ” M OJ O
“EF F ORTL E S S E L E C T RO N I C M A J E S T Y ” ELECTRONIC SOUND
NEW ALBUM • OUT NOW

INCLUDES
www.erasureinfo.com
erasure classic POP full page AD.indd 1 03/05/2017 14:07

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What new albums are highlighted in the magazine?

What new albums are highlighted in the magazine?

Which iconic artist is featured on the cover?

Which iconic artist is featured on the cover?

CLASSIC

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© Rob Baker Ashton

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WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DEPECHE MODE SONG? WATERCOOLER

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Rebel yell! More, more,

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up the charts, it‘s not the will of the people.”

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IN THE NAME OF ESSEX

● Pop Voodoo by Black Grape is

selling? bring your mint condition vinyl & CDs to our

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CP30.News.print.indd 13 09/06/2017 11:19

3 Who duetted with Janet

4 Name Goldfrapp’s debut album

7 Name the supergroup featuring

8 Neutron Dance is on the

9 Which iconic 80s singer and

10 Alison Clarkson aka Betty

11 Name Peter Hook’s

12 Which classic Wet Wet Wet

13 Peter Garrett is the lead

14 Who replaced Siobhan Fahey

15 Bjork wrote a hit song

HOW DID YOU DO?

13-15 You don’t need no education

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Lightning strikes again

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when the band tours with Earth,

minutes? Doesn’t she just do I

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