==THE HISTORY OF | Wi. 42 Cc rN espa LY TRIP THROUGH iC’S GOLDEN YEARS BOTS 7k Mai Pat DS OC eae Be iL oma t=] Ke) |>)/ 3 JOY DIVISION Bisco ¥ 5 ) TOM WAITS LONE 3-30) |elcome to1979 /HEREARETHOSE who thinkthat the death of Sid Vieiousin [New York of a heroin overdose at the start ofthe year also sighals the death of punk. Perhaps ie was a passing fad, as rock nol itself was once thought tobe. Tnmany ways, however, punk continues to proliferate. There are tawdry elements to this ~the faintly sleazy exploitation industryaroundSdandthe Pistols; the McLaren/Lydon litigation, tonametwo -butthereis also evidence of more positive activity. New self determined music's beingmadeby bandslike Joy ivisionandThe Human League both emboldened by new liberties and new technologies. Elsewhere, the likes of Blondie, The Undertones, the Pretenders and The Jam turn theirrevolutioninto pop. tourby wo bands, The Specialsand Madness, meanwhile effortesslybrings acharmed culturalharmony othemix. Thisisthe world of he History OfRock,amonthly magazine that followseach turn ofthe rock revolution, Whether in sleazy dive or huge arena, passionate andinereasingly stylish contemporary reporters were thereto chronicle events. This publication reaps the benefits of their understanding for the reader decades ater, one year aa time. Missed one? You can find out how to rectify thatonpage 114 In the pages ofthis 15th edition, dedicated to 1979, you will ind verbatim articles from frontlinestafers, ied fromthe thickoftheaction,whereverit may be. Watching Lou Reed slapping David Bowiearound the head ina restaurant Lookingonastonishedas Jerry Dammersattempts toplacateafuriousfeminist byinvitinghertoaparty. Witnessingthe domesticupheavalsofKeithRichards ndAnitaPallenberg “sid thinks he donc itjust because he woke up with the knife in his hand, saysKeithofpunk’slead story Sillyboy: sthekind hard-won wisdom that mightkeep aman liveforawhileyet.Ck cious RIP, Rod Stewart Issued, several times. The BeeGeesplan theirretuen, Introducinganew band from Crawley TheCure ‘The Jamrecotdanew album, and debatetherelevanceot theirevolving music, andof punk. ‘Onceyouireover20,”saysPaul Welle. “You'vehadt, mate shut up, darling’. An amusingaudiencewithahardly penitentKeith Richards—and rariousinterruptionsfrom AnicaPallenberg, SidVieious Asilyboy Anideologleal discussion fandgig) with theBristolavant-gatdists, ontents Salutingthemagicofthe Prevenders.Alsoappearinglive: The CureandGenerationX. Insidethedominant retailoutletofpunk. But there'smoreafootwithinGeot Travis burgeoningempireof dynamicconfusion Malcolm McLarenemerges fromidingin France odiscuss hisconsiderablelegalwoes. Ameetingwiththe Sheffieldband, workingonaset ‘ofelectronictorch songs Astealthmissionto Sweden toobservethereturningRoxy "Don'tell Bryan you'rehere Oneofthemoreart: minded andoddballscions ‘fpunkstatetheit postion. ‘Wssoctal music theyexplain JES GIANTS pe Sivan. mars bess PRETENDERS TheDerryband announcetheirarrival ‘with songsabouttheir Tives-and not about the roublesin Northern Ireland Athome with Debbie Harryand CheisStein.Chels doesthebusiness, Debbieseestothe roast dinner. TheCanadian governmentisstill notfinished with Keith Richards, Introducing MERICANS, [Nemaune TheSpecials.The ao Clashplayabenetit showExBonzoVivStanshallto | futuristichits.tHismumeuts rmakea fii hishair.youknow Aringside eat foroncofthe David Bowie's Ladgergiven ‘ddesthustupsinrockhistory. | the once-over,tackby track. LouReedattacksDavidBowiein Londonrestaurant.AllanJones Istheretorepor TheGeorgianband write ‘nonsensesongs’theyelaim butarewinningovercrowds Aspiritedtripro fromNewYorktoLondon, Scandinavia withthedeadbeat poet. Rffsonbeatcultureas ‘Waitsbidsforabreakthrough. The Jamcontinus missioninthe United States, Ahardbattleagainstlongodds ThedisarmingGaryNuman | yildssomerewards revealshisinspirationsand hismagpietalent formaking ThedemiseofSid Vicious, MADNESS farewellSandyDennyandother Ps valedictionsfrom themailbag. Heavy rock heavy manners... Knebworthproves contentious. RIP Lowell George. DylanwantsCapitalRadiotodo afavour: Whatails Chaz ake?vviaNewYorkandafrica,under Youwantanarchy? theauspicesofrian Eno, FightingtalkintheUSA fromthe reconsttutedoriginal punkband Ameetingywiththe ‘earnest Manchesterbandas Onanoceasionally theyrecardnewwork “Each time revelatorytourwiththecountey’s | wegoonestep forward,” says hottestnewband, gullaeist Bernard Albrecht, ThenewLedZeppelin lanDuryandKeithand album getsaroughride Ronnies New Barbariansperform Visions ofhowwe UzcometoLondon, willliveinthefuturefromchiet | Richard Branson defends Head David Byme.InParis, posthumous Pistols releases hheWhoto ccontinuetheie Stour despitea rageds Anenjoyablemeeting withastarwhohasretainedher ddown-to-eartheandour Post Quadrophe (chefilen), TheWhoplay Beighto thelrspiitualhome Ariotouscountrywide tripwith TheSpecials, Madness andtheoccasional skinhead. Jor DIVISION-FACTORY-JULY Pi. deliver Metal Box GangOtFour's under close examination, Thebandenjoy the triumph ot London Calling Final thoughtsfeom thisyear'smallbag. Time Inc. (UK) Lid, 3d Floor, Blue Fin Building, 10 Southwark St, London SEI OSU | EDITOR John Mulvey, whose favourite song from 1979 is She ls Beyond Good And Evil by The Pop G PRODUCTION EDITOR Mike Johnson The Message by Punishment OF Lux nip DEPUTY EDITOR John Robinson in Rut by The Ruts ART EDITOR Loa Findlay Outdoor Miner by Wire ry ART DIRECTOR Marc Jones Transmission by Joy Division DESIGNER Becky Redman My Sharonaby The Knack PICTURE EDITOR George Jacobs Since You've Been Gone by Rainbow COVERPHOTO JanetteBeckman Getty (UK); Michael Putlana / Getty (USA) THANKS TO Helen Spivak, James Hanman MARKETING Charlotte Teadaway SUBSCRIPTIONS Letitia Barry (GENERAL MANAGER jo Staley GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR Pail Chal COVERS AND TEXT PRINTED BY Wyrdehatn Group| WWW.UNCUT.CO.UK TimelInc. sn:anand — WARCH gy KEITH RICHARDS, 1979 , THE HUMAN LEAGUE, JAM, ~ UNDERTONES AND MOREA Jekyll and Hyde personality iclous, died in ekafter aking anoverdose ofheroinatapartyheldto rat a oo bail pendingh charge of murderinghis girlfriend, NaneyS} efourmonths arty washeldat the lat ofSidscu Michelle Robinsoo,andamon sncampaigningforhisreleasesincethe ngendeath, ollowinghisarrestfor murder, Sid eterna, wnassid WhileinprisonSid the"tolerance’ evenid’snarmaldosewaspotentialy fatal recisecireumstancesofthelethal doseare notksiown. Whats evident isthat around midnight Sidwasivenheroin atthe party and that short fterwardshecollapsedand wentinto aseizure,his Skinandlipsakingon thelue geey Unge ciated with eroin overdos Hewascovered with blanketsand hispulse checked until some40minuteslaterhe revived Guestsspokeofseeinghimwalkingarounda this point. Around3amthe party finishedandSidand Michelleetited o bed. Mrs Beverley stayed the nighton thecouehiin the rontroom, The following morningshewentintothebedroom towakethecoupleanddiscoveredherson de nakedandiyingoutside thecoverswhilehis gitlfriendslepton the bedbesidehim,unawareo sewerecalled. Patrolman Robert e.discoveredasyringe,a Later, DrMichael Baden, who autopsy saidthatSid “died muc person. Therewasanaccumil lungscharactersticofheroin admittedinanintervi Daily Espresth ddeathshehadbeen holdinghis heroinstpply butclaimeedthatatter theseizureSid"didn thaveany wuselhad the She did agree, however, thatthe heroinhehiadtakenbad been ‘unusuallypure:"Heknsmackwaspureandstrongandtookalotless thanustal” Theviewheldbysome peoplesthatSidhad sanothersourceofheroinand:mayhave taken ‘anadditional doseafterhismotherand “Michelle Robinson wereaslep.thiswas indeed thecase.thenthe overdasemayhave been tantamount iosuicide Theproduct ofa broken home, London's East Endand Clissold ParkSchool,Sidstartedhis rockntolicareerwiththesexPistols. Asa formercrony offohnnyRotten-thetwowere atafarthereducationcollegetogether-he \wasoneothesmallfaithfulcoterieofiriends! fanswhofollowed thePistos'early gigsfrom late'7Sonwards, ‘wasduringthistimethatheacquired the ‘name Si Vicious, apparentlyinheritedfrom Rotten'spethamster.Laterhewastodeclare thathehated thename,butatthesametime didlitdetoshakeitoff, Hewasfondofcarrying bike chainasaweaponand wassometimes Inevidenceattheoccasionaleruptionsot violence ateariy punkgigs Sid wasnotahardman’ -notconstantiy ordeterminediyaggressive—buttherewas aviolentstzeak inhim, Sometimesthiswas turned gainstotherpeopleandattimes ‘againsthimselfinfisofseli:mutilation, Friends andassociatesspokeofaJekyil/Hyde disposition. “Heseemed tohavealotof demons inhishead, saidone."Hewastormented. ‘Whatever thenamestuck Sidsfirstpublicperformance wasatthe PunkFestivalat London's 100Clubin September'76, whenheplayeddrumsfor thehurriodivarranged debut gigof Siouxsie And The Harshees Laterhetookupbassand bhopedtoplay withthe Banshees, butthiseame tonothing, Following Glen Matlock’ departureinspring 77heJoinedthePistolsasbassmanintimeto signwith A&M Recordsandfacethe soundand furythataccompanied the eventualreleaseof "God Save The Queen” inthe Jubilee summer. Hisplayingwasstrictlyrudimentarybuthe seemed tplearnandpractise.AllthePistols agree thatforatimehis playinggotbette ‘Amajorchange in Sidslifetookplace when bhemet NancySpungen,a20-year-oldNNow Yorkgroupiewhohad followed Jerry Nolan of The Hearthreakerstothiscountryand scemeddeterminedto"pull”oncofthe Pistols. She gotSi, Allagree that Spungen wasa bad, ino disastrous influeneeonhim. Hisweak character waseasy prey forheraggressive, ‘vampish ways.She instigated dissent between himandtheotherPistols.andmore Importantly introduced him aheroin, ‘Nonetheless the couple hadan obviousliking foreach other andwhen Nancy was threatened, withdeporcation, Sidfalselytestried thatthey \weremarriedtogainheravisaextension, ‘Once Sid became involved with herainhis self:destructivenessandselfmautlation gained momentum andbythetimeofthe Pistols tourofAmericaatthebeginningol'7 hhewastakingthe stage with historsocovered inselfinflictedlacerations, Healsoindulgedin some ulyscuffieswiththe Pistols’ American, audiences, kickingand Usinghisbassasa cudgel Hewasalsotaking increasinglylargeamounts ofthedrug. alienating himselffromtherestofthe band andeontributingto, theirdeeisiontosplit, Followingthe Pistls'finalgiginsan Franciscohe had to berushed trom New York airporttohospitalforemergeney treatment followingan overdose. ‘Backin London things did not improve. He andNaney were emanded for possession of amphetamines, butthecasewasneverheard Attemptstostarthisown bandwiththe remainderof TheHeartbreakers-eitheras TheFlowersOfRomance or, more brutally ‘TheJunkies-wereafailure Thecouplethen moved New York, where Sidhopedhewouldfindanewcareer (hefelt hisex-Pistolsstatusgave him morecredibility there), buthenevergotfurtherthanthe ‘methadoneclinicanda fewabortivegigsat CCBGBWithald friendshelpingout. Shorllyafterthe CBGBgigseame Nancy Spungen's death, chegrisly secrets of which willprobablyfollow Sidintothe grave. Whether Viciouskilled herornot,onceshehad gone t seemed onlyamatteroftime beforeSid followed. Even before the Pistols UStour he Ten days after Nancy’s slaying, Sid slashed his wrists in an apparent suicide attempt hadtalkedto NME's NickKentabout premonitionsothisdeath Talkofanexplicit“suicidepact”atthetimeof Nancy'sdeathmayhavebeenexaggerated but theres litle doubtthat,viathelemutual fascination forharddrugs.knivesandviolence, thetwowrereona “death trip" together. There could beanlyone outcome Tendaysaftertheslaying,Sidslashedhis armsand wristin anapparentsuicideattempt, andwas treatedinhospital-Then camethe disco attackandhe wasbackin custody. Inevitably willbe repercussions from Sid death, andalready thereistalkofwhowas responsible" frit, Malcolm MeLareo, Sid's rmanagerhas-withsomejustification laid theblame directly onwhoevergavesidthe herainatthe party Otherswill doubtless attributethe responsibilty toMcLarenhimselfasthe progenitor ofthe punkrole Sidaetedout. Othersstillwillblamethe ‘wholeethicof punkrock andseektodrawmoral ‘conelusionsaboutthe musicasa wince from Sid's tragedy. Again, some pointafingeratthe mediathat played upand florified the Pistolsandid—whichmust include the musiepressand NME -claiming thathisdeathisthe inevitable outcome of elevatinganabody toundeserved heights Some mightalso pointtothelateNancy Spungenasthepersonwho gaveSidhisfatal fascination forheroinintherirstplace. Probably thereisanelementoftruthinallot these accusations, but thesimplefaetremains thatitwasheroin hatkilledSid Viious;adrug andnotaperson,adrugthathetoakofhisown freewill.Thatls,inasmuchasjunkiescan be saidtohaveatreewil CertainiyonthenightofhisdeathSid Vicious wasnotunder any compulsion romphysical addictiontotakemoreofthedrug;his detoxifiationis heguarantee ofthat Finally. hisdeathismostlyawarningabout thofutilityandultimatefataltyofheroin diction, and theresponsibilityforthat cannot belaidat he daorofpunkrock just asthedeath ofCharlieParkercannothe blamedonjazzorthedeathoflanislopli ‘on 60sr0ck. Infact, therearefar, fartewerhard-drug usersin punkrackeiteles-atleastin this, country--thanamongtheechelonsofrock’s socalled "oldguard UlkimatelySidsdeathhasfarmoretodo Wwithorganisedinternationalctimeandits ‘tafficinherointhanrock'noll,Whatrock ‘mustnotdoistopropagateheroinaddietion somethingwhich, alongside acclaimed radical literatilike William Burroughs, ithas sometimesbeenguiltyofinthe pas. Theequation thatHeroin=Death has beenenacted enouightimesforitwobe obvious all. NelSpenceray would like to play” Ayear on from Saturday Night Fever, newly mitad megastars the Bee Gees plan a return to UK stages. aseriesofUKshows|aterin the year indhallslike Hammersmith Odeon an that willmark the brothers’ first professionalzetur to Britain since their super star renaissance follow Night Fever. No definitedat and theband's ‘ordcompany,RSO, is Jee areworkingonplansfor | concentrate on themajortownth slasgow Apollo, Inthemeantime,thenewBee Gee bu, Spirits Having inBritainonFebruary9, Therecord producedbythe Bee KariRichards AlbhyGaluten, and oup'sfirst standardstudioalbum ren Of The Worldin 1977 Inbetween prothersbi beingeageyaboutany preeiseplans,buta pokesman did say, "Iis ped thatthe Bee Gees willtour Europe atsome intthisyear, Weknow they wouldlikeco playin onsoundira BuropeandtheUKlaterintheyear.Iewould | Saturday ver which sertainiybethelatterhalfoftheyear rather 16millioncopiesworldwidesin before summer. in November 1977, and Sgt IuisunderstoodthatwhentheBeeGees Hearts Club Band, Asingletaken fromthe finalisetheirplanstheywilltryandavoid __nevalbum, "Tragedy" backed by Until thehugeUKvenueslikeWembleyArenaand | isreleasedonthesameday. They will try to avoid huge venues like Wembley Arena Relaunch with lasers MM MAR 31 Pekar endl anewalbum aroundnestS: ‘The band are currentlyrecording tracksin tudiosin ri ‘andonthe Continent, and.as Roger Waters spent most of theyhave enough material for adouble album. ‘OnMonday, Har rds, the Floyd's label told the MMi"We haven'theard any of me stufFthat wae done tation involvinga ‘reaons,andasare Reactivated Floyd writing itis said Woodstock II Ten way Pail Preuee vere Drrereitenes ere es, Peraraereebourn ry eset omar ear Sar parent erioetl ey ise ere Pee eleeiiapairievnier Lo iabioereaive ieienoe ii i venir pbereane ean Foran ennai) eetrercunnaltst peel onerrer reve ara ee ts becereretenent ae hin Ree rr meer) rraebrcsrinsratatestot Peeps rescore ean epee ere 1 oe Feborbeoenty sorcery Rr Kasra ea Peete eteoteeeeerttr eebieniicarierertiy oy raptppruanaterererv tay Beitr acme ein op Fesey rs peer Fee boone aan oat ee Cpsseriovee neti eLearn erie eer ce area Se erates ieeereetopersbenntinti ire eran ort ey Mesa eerstty sitar) Rison nalartravreet (ea battens lia imtct tic eee Peoiee regener ti eto aan eae Se Pie ieee eters Fete Karate aa re eeu raeetens preeenaaresretievesennalot of people” LR a LL Se Fass s DISAPPOINTING. LIKE we Joxpectedthe MMofficetobe animpressiveedificeanditisnt.It'saNissen hut" The worst-kept secratinthe worldhas finally been exposed ‘Tho Cure reacttomost things with thiskind coflighteyniciam. They may onlybe nudging into theirtwenties, butexperience has already made themvry and wary. Aftor ‘succession of nameswhichranged from Malice to Easy Cure, the band started in ‘arnestinlato’76,Robert Smith (vocals/ guitar) and Mike Dempsey bass)hadjust finished school, while drummer Lol Tolhurst ‘gave uptryingtobeachemist Forthwiththey entered atalent-search competition organisedby thenewly burgeoning Ariola-Hansalabel, and won ‘recording contract -which proved, however, tobe more ofa millstone than anopendoorto stardom. Lol" They'dgive usthe money tododemos and suggest couple of things forustodo- theysuggestedwedoacouple of Bowie tunes, forinatance. We'ddo that, andput onabout four er five songs of our ownas well. They d get pastthe rst oneand say, Thisis horrible - roteven peoplein prison wouldlike this! Then ‘wawouldn’thearfromthem agai. S01977turnedintoa year of bonevolont neglect. Onthe positiveside,thetrio Scoredanew PA, lived offareasonable retainer andlearned aboutthe ‘machinations ofthe ‘music biz. Theyalzo finalisedtheirlineup, vwhichhad yo-youd betweenathree-,four- andfive-piece.Onthe negative side, they nes 10) sto oF noc 0 aH actually managedto release any product. Theclashof interests wae so great that tho five-year contract was mutually terminated at the endof 77. There followed sporadic gigs around Crawley their home town, and. mi importantly. aloan from an oldmate that allowed them to.cutzome demozof their own tongs. Twenty tapes wore duly maledoutto the record companies,buttheonly favourable reaction came from Chris Parry, thenPolydor's A&Rman. Parry was about to leavePolydortoset uphisownlabel Fiction, andwas sufficintlyimpressedtomakethe band hisfirst signing “Atthe momenthe'sactingaa their godfather, handling everything frompressto cartingthe equipment aroundand mixing the live show. Healso setup one-off single deal with Small Wonder. Thebandhadbegunto play London datesand,tohelpwhip upsome Interest, they released“Killng An Arab’? "0:15 Saturday Night” through thsinterim arrangement. The strategy worked:not only didthe single get glowingreviews, but the house-fullsignsstarted going up. Inevitably, Arab" haslicited the ‘odd misguided charge of racism, ‘The group knew that this could happer.andatone stage toyedwiththeidea of putting ‘disclaimer onthe picture cover, butintheond they didn't. Mike: There'snoreasonwhy weshouldhaveto.|fpeoplearen't botheredtolistentoit properly, we don't really care about them anyway Infactthesongtakesanincidentfrom Camut novel The Stranger and ists with surprisingly evocative compactness, The general effectis eerily atmospheric, fromthe taut bassline to the brittle guitar slaps. As"Hong Kong Garden useda simple Oriental-styledrifftostriking effect, 50 "Arab" conjures up edainess througha Moorish-favoured guitar pattern. Thiskindofinventive economy Characterisestheir whole approach, They dor'tsee being three-piece, anywaylimiting Robert. That broadens rather than limits us. Youeando muchmore withless instruments. That's why the single sounds. different. Ifsomeone else had done’ they would probablyhave thoughtit needed akeyboardor arhythm guitar playing along with the bass. Because thasr't got that, itmakos people think, Ah, there's something abitwrongbecauseit sounds slightly unbalanced.” Dempsey invariably playsmore leadsolosonhisbase than Smith does onhis guitar. Robert add: not thet dislike playinglead, but t's vreryhard todo things that aren't cliched. Playing eadon the bassis asyet relatively unexplor Mike tookup the point:"The reason play bass andhe plays oadis, thathe knew more chords than did. always ‘approached the bass fromthe angle ofthe leador rhythm guitarist so tendo play the melody and allowthe linehe's singing.” ‘Their practical popismatched by adistinct discomfortwiththe notion ofimage. The stage ectispareddowntoabsolute essentials, which can give puntersafew qualms, They once supported Generation X onafew dates and,the contrast was marked. Gen Xwereallcarefully cued drama, while The Cure sottledfor the natural stagelighting. Robert smirked "Weused tojust walk on, whichunnervedalotof peopleinthe ‘audience. They wouldimmediatelytake ‘stand ogeinat ua” Mike drawsa distinction between pretence and presentation: "Pratenceispresenting youtselFinaway that you don’ tke, or that ‘youfind overthe top. Presentation, on the otherhand, isjut the way youare. like to thinkthot we have little more integrity Fttlemorehonesty to present ourselvesthe ‘way wo are rather than present animage. We'reour only yardtick” ‘The banddon’treject the past, butborrow shrowaly From the traditions of 60s pop-rock, They aren'ttryingtoreactivate'77 punk thrash, butdorespondtoitshome-brewed drive andcomplete control. They aren't slippinginte the current trap of ersatz modernity (he shambolic bleeps and burps thatarefastbecomingcliches),butare ‘experimenting with sounds and structures, ‘The Cure won't change your world, but they shouldkeep you smiling..despitethat cynicism. enBirehOD STEWARTANDiscompans Foie everest imine oats Sto group lppery Dear ping ton ong more fot ae Pee comply fata Stewart Sera ere ec peioe oma ecto tate ee cayan dale Thagiup shad enetieveanaytrand Uieepatatyonedievengny | comparonmadeethetworongsbyarnsspecait thegtttheongleUMcer, | DelSlchnSimpsoneadleyhaeakriaias andarenegotiatingfora settlement Rivahavealsoresisted theclaims from Slippery Dick, and havenowssidthatifthe group continuetheirallegationsthat StewartorGraingerheardademo tape and‘itisStewartsattiuideto | overthelastyeat,buteannotaffordthecostofacourt resistany claim inorderto casero esttheirclaims against Stewartand Grainger fensurethatthencedychildren | Rivatold.MMthey considerthe group tobeoutfor oftheworkdarenotdeprived publicity, andthatany suggestion thatStewarthad olthegenerousofferhemade _ copiedtheirsongwas totally denied, "IfRodwantstouse bbydonatingthissong Ssomeaneelse'ssong, as hehasdone occasionallyinthe TtisRivasunderstandingthat | past, heusesitandereditsthem, Ithisgroupeontinie Benandhispublishersarehaving | withtheirallegations wewillsue themforserious secondthoughtsaboutthecase, | defamatianagainstRodandGary.” “An element of control MM ‘3id Jamie Reid, assistant for MaleolmMeLaren, the Pistols former manager. McLaren il be returning for theilm’s showing from Paris, where hehas been recordingand producing. The MM understand thathe has produceda Frenchwomansinging “The Lambeth Walk" Heis due tobe fon The Russell Harty Show, whi startsanew series thie weekend, PaulCookand Steve Jones, the remaining Pistols, are continuing their association with Virgin,itseems. This week they arerecordingasingle at Wessex Studioetabereleased withinthe ext six wooke. Records, the Pistols label, and lawyersfor Johnny Ratten, who wonhiscasetogetareceiver appointed, willalsobe present ‘The moviestillneeds anther £150,000 tabe completed, andRichard Brancon, the hoad oF Viegin,is one oF several potentialbackers. "Welvebeenaskedifwe'd putthemoneyupandwe're consideringit" Branson told the MMon Monday. Glitterbest, the Pistols ‘management company, say that the flim requires afurther twoor three weeksaf editing although Uncertain oftheir own future, Glittorbest employeesare Aconmansctng seapromoterhae hoodwinked 200 TonDuryfansints| spending £8000" teketaforahoax coneertatstings ‘Thefakepromoter swaeprofesional ‘noghtocomince themanagementof theHastings Pie Pavionthat head Duryaralblefors concertonMarch9, ‘dthePavilonhed Aethow downass! frmbooking The “promoter then dstibwteds umber eftichetsto Geri Hastingserea.and ‘onWedesdoylast, ‘weekwrentround theshoprcalcting thomenoyfor Aicatesold-onbya Jochalrabetre thepolicerumbled Wi thes recortysignedby Iland Records are Haricarelt “iMeardi Tough ‘TheGrapevine’ at Ridge FormStudos inDorking Dennis “Blackboard” Bovell whorecenthy producedThe Pop ‘Group'sistalbum ‘dL ten re publishing des! ‘ithViegintusie iedaresattoplny ‘esconoF British ‘igsinFebeusry. Srshovingther muse offeredto ‘lvenaker ath roundtrackcoroe inmind Viginfes! thebands talent coudbewed ‘fectvelyinthe Filmer MM sry oak ra |4 AIVCauchsc meen “standards | higher”== EU MIete tes en Pee EU COL CMe Deere oe USC Aaa says. “That’s a deception.”ye) rm — MELODY MAKER JANUARY 20 — TLINALL, icwasteally quite apaintessoperation, The moody’ “dificult” Paul Wellrisin approachable form, willingevento volunteer thethemeof The Jam's tentative new singe “Like. knowallthis stu that's goin’ onnowrabout FOsaithatT'aveone of erlanain' on Earth takin’ ‘Nquicklookabouttheplacear’ getting fast” Hepausesforasecondl ‘Chis canyoublame en ‘Thestoryreects Welle'snewfound imtllctualaspiration.Hehashefees, srownoutofteenageanthems (“Time For “rut "In TheStreet Today, Standards). I soundsabsurd buat 20-heagontnesoverthe passingofteens-Wellethinkshe's too dl RAK tudo, oddlsedinthemiddleot aHampsteadestatescurrenty The ams favourite, Thisiswheretheyeecorded Al Mod Conswhichhassoidover 10 0copies, qualfyingtorSivenanditswherethey're soingtoputdown threeorournevesongs, one which they hope) willeomeoutasasinglein mid-February. Strange Town’ theonethey're ‘workingontovestherfirtchiee cansmellgold already, producerVieSmith deciaresasPulWelleremeresfrom the recording booth havingputdowesguitartrackAstheband hhavebarelyfinishedthebackingtrack oneean onlystandbackinaweotSmichsspectaculae senseofsmell. Thelamuncoowincinglyassertterthat they're nottooconcernedwith itsngls Drummer ick Bucklertesthe partylineandannouncesthathe doesn hink hey ouldlikea No single. “Oneeyougeta No! whatdoyoudonexthe plainivelyengures. The answerseems simple tnough:trytogetanother"Youendupwritinglor thepublicatlarge*erequeststhat!speaktoPaul outta ‘Wolleupholds Buckle view: He'd much atherba (Wiouldntthey al "Tdon'areaboutsingles,heshrugs Theteisacertainamountofapprehensionaboutmy presence; apparently The anflthat the Melody Makerhadbeensanctioning ‘gainstthem. Alanghistoryof downers, infact Wewerethe paper hich slammed AlliadConswhen everybody else was proclaiming iLacontemporarymasterpiece.AndwhileAll Mod Consfeatured highly incites favourtealoursfor'78inthe other papers (NMEplacedit ‘No2behind Bruce Springsteen's DarknessOn Te Ege Of Town), only Simon Fithandyourstruly.outo!27 people, pickeditasoneof ou 1. Theyhad grounds, then, forsupposingthat they weren texaetly the daringsof AM Theattitude wasfurtherilluminated recently when Wellerteviewed hesinglestorus.addinginabritnotetotheedior:"Whenareyou bastardsgonnadoaproperseious feature onus” Yousoonfindthat Wellerhasamaniaaboutbeingtaken seriously, Gama Managerand dad (" Course! call'im'Dad*) John Wellerisscooting about the studio attemptingto finda ocation for our interview, eventually securingan upstairs office. Tosavetime,hesuggests that it ight bewise to talkwith Bucklerand bass player Bruce Foxton while Paulisworkingon guitaroverdubs. Thebriefencounter with Bueklerand Foxtonserves only toemphasise thenotionthatTheJamisalmostentirely PaulWelle'sbaligame, although Faxton hasrisen tochallenge Weller'sauthorityoecastonaly Hewrotetwosongs on ThisIs The Modern World "London Traffic” and ‘Don't Tell Them You'reSane"butfailed comakeAll Modons, although acoupleofhistuneswererecorded. “When we played themback. they were pretty boring, pluswe'veselour standardshighernow. [wasabieputout, but Irealiseditwasforthe benefitfthe group.” Foxtonadmitstonotbeingyery prolific. ‘There sageneral view of Bucklerand Foxtonas thefun-lovingpalrin ‘thegroup,asopposedo themoreintrovert Weller, who etreas, after 14) sro oF noc “You can’t suppress a progression. I wouldn't, ‘cos it’s pointless” aay) aNcsaenil sigstohishotelandgirlfiend. The image. theymaintain,isatrifle exaggerated, althoughessentially accurate. “People started sayin thingslike,‘Areyou separated?’..andTsuppose \weare-we'vegonemoreourownwaysrecently-butitworksouteven, better” Foxtonsays."Thereisaseparationsocilly,butthere'sno separationonstage, where tall works. John Wellermercifullyinterruptsthe conversationtoannouncethat Paulhasfinished, andcouldhehavethesetwodowntothestudioto ddosomework? Bucklerand Foxtonarerelieved thattheirbitofthe interview hasbeenabbreviated. Waller, been told, issomethingofan unpredictable character recentiynotgiven to talkingmuch, Whenhe did, he scemed prone tothe occasional pretentiousbanality like referringto The jam’smusicas"popart” ‘readsomethingonsomeotthe pop artists,“ heexplains."ewasvery similarto \whatweare doin’ They were just takin’ ‘every things. ikewashingmachines, fan tirninitintoart. Thatisjust basally ‘what feelthatt'm doin’ really thesameas Poly Styrene, akin’ asituationlikea ube station "Down In The Tube Station Ac Midnight"|-takin’an everyday experience sndturnin itintoart.” Thereisaratherdramaticlinein TheModern World: *Tve earned olive hateandfeariismy inspiration drive"Taskhimm how true thats, “Iwastalkin’aboutthementalbatethataloua peoplesufferatschoo,"hesays. “The only thing earnedatschoolwastohateppeoplean'bereally biterwith people, liketeachers. An’ the morebitter youate,theeasiritisto write Isitstillaninspiration? “Nah. Now suppose Thaveco takeamore open view ofthings. mtryin’nottofeedoffthatinitalthing, ‘cos'djustbewritin' thesame oldsongsoveran’ ‘overagnin. My inspiration nowisjustbylookin’ out thewindow everyday.” Inthestudioa couple ofminutes ater, PaulWeller makes adramaticentrance,and~asilcoassert hissuperioritypositions /himselfcasually on desk, chewinggumand draggnga ag. Bucklerand Foxtonsit meekly sidebysideon asetteeacross the room. A fraught looking Wellerimmediatelylauncheshimselfintoconversation- Shy? Youmustbekidding “The troubleisthat this llMod Conshas proved tobe... dunno proved tobe abitofanalbatrossroundour necks, typaling {get paranoid ‘now when Iwritesongs,cosT think, ‘Thar’snotup to standard, sol throw thesongaway. Tome, ike, thestandardofsongson thatalbumis sohigh thatIthrowacouple ofsongsaway that maybe wouldbe OK Everyone's praisin'usandsaying.‘Greatalbum, butean they ollowit?-soldotend {ogetparanoid about it, “thinkthebestthingforusistog back ‘odoin’ somethingreally simple,even more simplisticthan we've ddoneinthe past towards theold R&Brootsofthe stuffwewasdoin Bucwhygoback@tfthe progressionisnatural, shouldn'tithefollowea? “Wellcome, takin’areally objective view AllMod Cons, twouldsay that our nextstepistoadvanceeven rmore,youknow, which couldbeabitsiliyrealy Wecouldendupsound: likeGenesisorsomebody inthreeyears time. Iwanna keep itsimpleailthetime. Butyou'reright, too. Youcantsuppressprogression.lwouldn'tsuppressnothin, cosit’spointoss: [mention he obvious progressionson llMod Consandhowitwas practically aconceptallum, Weller agrees, nformingmethattherewas se ideatastringall the songstogether but seeingas The Who didit Quadrophenia be rather ome up withsomething original Teliketodoa conceptalbum. Theterm hasanawfulsortasoundtoi. It ‘makes youthinkooffethro Tullanthat, but liketodosemethingin that direction. 'vebeenthinkin'of doin a4, youknow...conceptsingle hhavin'an-sideat thentumitoverto thellsideandhave Down InTheTube Station At Midnight ‘concept single ewas morelike altleplay really Thewordstoitwere know. writealotta stuffapartfrom actualsonglyrics. Thatwasapoem, and Tputittomusie. When \wefirststarted don i Iwasthinkin’ about ‘makin itlikeaTV theme likea Sweeney: was gin’ tomakeit Intalikeavinyl play Farewell to Mingus (p. 17) There werealotofcharactersonAllMod Cons,peoplelike“David Watts” and"Billy Hunt” Thesituations you portrayinsongsaremore complexnow. ‘Yeah, butit’sjust that! thinkmy songs avebeen takin’ moreot ageneralview.Imean, [ean'twriteany morekids'anthemsnow, cos 1'm20yearsoldand youcan'tgoondoin’ that. But20isnttold, persist. Weller'sretortisuncharacteristicallyemotional, “Ivistome,man, fuckin’ ll. Once you'reover20,mate, you vhadit. Iean'tgoon writin those typeof songs. Tha'djustbelyin’ Doyoureally believe hat “Yeah, mean. flrthe change, youknowe just fltso much alder. You'renotakidanymore.Allthe Uimeyouwwere under20, ike you \were oneofthekidsan’i'sgrat...butonehastofaceup othese ‘ings. thinkthat everybody must feel that, butthey ustdon'twant toadmitit. doesn’ trealybotherme. Nottoo much, Butnow!'vegottotakea moze general view, youknow.Ieealy ike youth songs, tealy old classic youth songs, but mean, 'sjustalietocareyon wet em, That, supposed, wasthe main difference between This The Modern Woridsnd.ll Mod Cons. Modern Worl was ful ofblatant statements “That "The Modern World| wasa misunderstoodsonganyway, and alotoftheothersongswere very personal. Thisone AllMod Cons] is verymuch more general. Ithinkyoucanget differentage groupsrelating Misunderstood? Thatwholesongwasaboutall thesesortacreepswhosaidthat TheJam were derivativeand not partofthecontemporaryscene'an'allthatshit, soit'sjustastatement sayin you know; We'ejustasmuchentrenchedin the'7Osasanyoneelse.” E Thatbroughtustoasubject!wasintendingtoralse:1ts1973,alweady, = ‘andThe Jamarestillhoughtofasa 60sqroup, »1979 ETT ee “Twa off that the which pleased more important thanany frontWorl [don't wannabea sgreatesthits band. That's deception. Our songsare tillgonna berepresentative, and thereatealottafansthatarestil gonnarelateto'em, ikeeveryone ‘elatedto TubeStation, but those early songsarenowdown, ‘onplastiforthatperod, like lttlevinylphotographs, and hopefully we'lThaveother sreatesthitscomingalongto taketheiplace ‘mention the early Jamimage: thesuits the Union ackonstage, the occasional ‘umblingsofeonservatismand monarchy ‘combined togivethemarightwingidentity ‘Nah t wasnt right-wing, [never thought it wasrightaving” That wastheimpression, Lf thatimpression cameacross,itwasn't ‘meantto,'cosI'vegotnoallegiance toany fuckin patty. hateallof em. made thatsilly ‘commentabouvorin’ Conservative, right,and that was quite funny. ewasallabitofajoke. was veryannoyed, costheresalotiakidswho hangontoyour every word, soyyou'reinfluencing ‘em-an’that'sabadthing, so wouldntmake thattypeofstatementagain, “Iwasjustpissedofftharthe other bands wereinto thiscosythingof, youknowstrictsortalet wingan‘allthatbullshit. wantedtocause abit bf ttoublebetween ourselvesandotherbands, An’ did. Wereceived ‘elegramsan’ that Tha'sllwe doneitfor,cogetuptheirnose “Theonlyreasonthe Union Jackwasinvolvedwas'cositlooksgreaton stage. Thatsthe onlyeason{ putitup there.Thecolours.You'vegotall, theblackand white, very negative, an thenyou've gatthisflashofeolour.” Influenceisapowerthatisinevitable whenabandisinanelevated position. "Yea, butalll'msayin'isthat would usethatpowermore wisely now. Ithinkmoreaboutwhatgottasay.Idon'treallywannacram things down peope'sthroats. "Themainreason that someonepicksup aguitarisnottogetacross political message. Idon'teverbelieve that. Tha'salie.Youcan doit, but snot theprimemotive.Themainreason youpickupagultaristhat you wakeup onemorningand youdon'twannago nd workinapoxyfactory.An'youcan pick ‘upmorebirds fyouplayinagroup. Thatsthe realtruthofthematter.Anyonewhosaysany differentisaliar. “Nougetalotofthese bandswhomoanabout everything, butIregardmyselfinalucky position, youknow. ’dhatetobestuckina factory roms. a04il5.30,Thissoundscorny, but thinkit’sgood thatkidswho'estuckin thatpositionhavegotsomereleasewithaband likeus~orany otherband, became fed up withall those new brave people endlessly moaningand preaching butofteringnosolid alternative “Well, wedlonea lotofthataswell which was really stupidlookin’ back, btehin’aboutslly litte things. Iwas thinkin’ aboutthisheother ay, youknow..allthebandsthatstarted of, once the competition thingstarted, slaggin' eachother off. Wedoneit-Fmnotsayin' wediin'~an' really ifallthebandshad stucktogether,itcouldn't 5; (could vet] beenso much biggerandso much more Important. Everybody’stalkingnowabout...what [teens quickly is it stil an im “The new wave died as soon as all the bands got signed up” mod THe st isie..ohyeah,the‘demise’ofthenew ‘waveyan’insomewaysitdiedassoonas allehebandsgotsigned up, twasdead ‘rom thatmomentonwards. Tewas inevitable thatthey wouldbe signed up. Butdid thenewwavehavetadio asaresult? “Idon'thinkitihadtohappen, but that’s whenitdiddie. The moment youstickyour namedownon the contrac, thewhole {hing’sblown anyway. Everyone wastryin’ toliean’say,"We'renotgonnagetsucked in, butthat'snotthepoint. “Even now, thingscouldbealot better IMallthebands got togetherand said, putsome bread inand youputsomebread Inan'wellstartaclub, we'lstartalabel ~butinstead ofthat, everyonejustwants toboosttheircreditabilitybysayin' Look, ve done thisfirst.Look, kids, I'vestuck omy word \whiehis bullshit, Thar snot whatitsabout Wsabout unity.” Wouldyoube willingiodo somethinglike that? ‘Yeah. do tomorrow. fStrummeror someone cameup and said, Yeah, let's do this, TAdoit.Fdlove todoit, Thatwouldmakeitso ‘much moremeaningful.Butnoone'sprepared todothat Whatsortofthingwouldyouenvisaget “Well agoodclub wouldmakea difference, youknow. There'snowherereally.Oragood ‘rehearsal room forbands.'liketodoalottathings, but ain't gotenough bbreadtodoitonmeawn,That'swhatitshould've been about, “There were oomany egos, suppose Texperiencedthat myself, when \wemadeourfirstrecord. Therewascompetition togetrecordsincothe charts an'whensomebodylikethe Buzzcocks orSham wentinyou ‘thought, 'Youbastards’ Thats the reason why people slagoffother bands, costhey'rescaredof'em. They rescared ofeompetiton, “isl downto prestige-Irememberwhen itallstartedoff everybody was pluggin'everybodyelse. remember when wewastryingto getadeal With EM abouttwo yearsago, 1wassayin'to the bloke, ‘Youshould oan’ see The Clash, when wewas there uyin' togetadeal.dvelovedhimto sign TheClashan’signusan’signallthebands. Tha'sthesortofthing ['mtalkin’about,butwe all went toseparatecompaniesan’ starteddoin’ ‘ourownthing Allthisamountstoaconfession fromThe Jam, aswellasanindictment falltheotherbandswhofailedtoliveup othenew.wavespiti. "Ymnotexcludin us. 1 vealwayssaid that hope ‘thatnew-bandscomeupandgiveasahardtime, buttheresalackofbands... rrather there'sloads ofbandsgoin’aroundiouttherecord companies ‘aretooscaredtotaketheplingeanymore, cos theytealisetheycan'tmake anymoremoney ‘outofpromoti’ bands as punkrock: They'e ‘waitin’ forthe next bigchingan’ they've gotalong fuckin’ wai "There'ssomegreatbandsabout butnobody'I takeachaneeonthem, like TheNippleErectors an’ the GangOfFouran'TheVipers.lallstems from thecompaniesan us, hetop bands, doin’ nnothin'for'em, notmakin’ enough roomfor'em. sounds asifyou'refedupwiththeroutine. “Met¥Fed Up?Nah,1'veneverenjoyeditmore. ‘ThelasttourwasthefitsttimeT'veenjoyed playin’ sincethe 100Cluband Red Cov days;thefirst ‘Umer vereally gotachargeotplayin The only ‘thingI'mpissedoffaboutisthatiteould'vebeen somuchbetter.mnotrealy talkin’ about The Jam, cos!'meallyhappy with The Jam, butjust generally. Imean, wecouldecome the biggest bandin the world, butitwon't mean mucheally ‘Therecould've been somethingmuch more purposefulthanthat.” HarryDotarty spin? Nah aso oF cK 17 spicat reer “I dont regret nothing”a 5 — MELODY MAKER JANUARY 15 — PATTHERitz Hotelin Piccadilly, theairof loth-century opulenceand grandeur extends to the elevators, which are panelled inpolished wood. On the surface ofthe iftthat carried me othe fourth floor, someone had seratched "Rolling MOSS!" It wasa petty piece of vandalism which hintedatthe {darkconspiracies that stillseem to surround the Rolling Stones. ‘Who,onthis{reezing january night, would know that oneothelastflk heroes ofrock'ntoll wasinresidence? Whowouldinscribestrange ‘messages forhim-friendorloe? Outside thedoubledoorsofKcith’ssuite,onecouldhearthetamiliar soundofarockbandinoccupation ofexpensive erritory:phones ining, tape machinerelayinginsidious reggae, islish cris, repeatedclamoursforroomservce. suddenly occurred to me that hadntinterviewed Keith Richards since 1966, Andthatwasinahotelroom too, ith Mick agger talking aout Between The Buttons. Theweird thingwas, Keithseemedto thinkit hhadbeenonly yesterday. Keith, notlongreedbyaCanadiancourtondrugcharges, aone-time heroin addictwho nowkeepslifeatbay widshearty draughts ofvodka, is anextraordinarilycharmingman, possessinginfinite patience. While hisspeech andthoughtsaresometimesheldin checkby heflowof soporificsandstimulantsholding theirown press conferenceinside his head, hisacerbicwitandhard-bitten worldly wisdom remain ntact, Toamingthe suite were BarbaraCharone, the American journalist just ‘ompletingher forthcoming book onKeithslife, and theremarkable ‘AnicaPallenberg, Keith lady, who isdescribed in Anthony Scaduto's bookon Jaggeras"avery wickedlady,nothuman,extra-hurman’. Thad atasteofthealloged wickedness when Anitasetaboutsystematically Sestroyingthe interview. Buteven Anita, athermostirrtating, wasoften very funny and the dialoguebetweenthe pairwasoften moreilluminatingthan the polite recordofintentions, Anothermemberof thisstrangelitl circle wes, ‘Marion Keithand Anit'snine veatoldson, abright, good-looking kid \who seemed more together than any of us. Hellmakeafine tourmanager foneday Despite the inroadsonhisstaminamadebythevodka, Keithwaskeen totalkaboutanything Itwasnot untilafeve hourshadelapsed thatonerealisedthathe bhadbeen packingaway enough iquortofell afsirsizedox. Idon'twant notea, orcofee,"hetold Barbaraatonepoint."justwantthisbotte KEITH: Allright leaveme oit you'veheard leallbetore ANITA: Ibaven'thearditallbofore, MM:Canweturnthemusie downalittlebit? KEITH:Sure! (Dheconverstion begins but thereisaflow ofinterruption fromAnita,asweralkcursorly ‘ahoutlastyenrsAmerican tour Eventually Keith betrays Impatience, asPallenberganswers Jetanotherquestionforhim,) KEITH: Look das pleaseshutup! ing. willyou (Hisremenstrancehastsleetfect ‘andshekeepsupaheavy barrage of Anglo-German mautterings) KEITH:Backtomytainot thought Thatwasareally good ‘our especiallythesmall theatres, Wedidn'tknowhalfot 20 | ren oF noo We themexisted,ThePalladiamin New Yorkwasgreat. That wasthelast playingwe did, apartfroma thingatthe BottomLinewith NickLowe, \which was ocelebratemy freedom, What mdoinghereistakingalook atthe oldcountry.1's two yearssincel vebeen here, andicoulda tstand theldeaofhavinganother American Christmas... You know, there’ nnothingmoredlsturbingthan wo chicks whispering each other. (Keith looked erosty towards Barbaraand Anita, ensconced nthe couch ‘and igang) ANITA:Oh,Justthrov meout.Don'tmindit.tmean ‘aboutthe Palladium, that SOLD stu. yknow..althat _MM:Wewerejustreeapping. ANITA: Keith-he'sgotfture plans tellyou, MM:r'msurewe'llgettothat. KEITH: Now!'vegottathinkofsomething ANITA: Throwmeoutifyou wantto. (She cltagsfirmiy rothesofa) KEITH: Idon'twantittogetthatfarIwassaying, Icamehometo see my folks, which haven'tdoneyet. [still haveahouse here, atRedlands, but dduetothequirks ofthe RS [Inland RevenueService},Tmnotallowed to stayinit Leanlookaverthe ence, andsay, “Oh what anice house, 1 wish Teouldgointhere."'mallowed 90 daysayearinthecountry Ithoughtit Yyoustayed away wo yearsyoucouldhave 160daysthe thrd year, butt ‘oesn'tworklike that ‘Mf Whathave youmissedabout England? KEITH: missed the sarcasticcoppes...'mprobablyalittleoutoftouch with the musichere, but mostofthestuffthatshappeningherehaslost touch withitselfanyway-l’sbackto ads. Oneminuteit’sBay City Roles, theni’spunkrock, then i’spowerpop ornewwave,then that’s finished..Peoplearebackiostickinglabelson things. ElvisCostllo.'ve ‘eardhisstuf,dsoonersechim live, that salllcareabout. don teare boutalbum production ikelan Duty, he'sdawn tothebone. Aslongas there's somethinghappeninghere, that sallthat really matters. “Where they went weongiwith the punkehingwasthey were eying to ‘make four-trackrecordsona2-track Weweretryingtodothesame hing inaway. We ried tomake96t soundlike 1956, which wasn{tpossible either. But wedidend up with somethingthatwasourown. The gap between 7Band’B2,asfarasrecording technology wasconcemed, as toobig. think punkrock was great theatre, anditwasntall ‘rap. Butatthebeginningtsaw the exPistolsonTV trying to thinkofa fewextraswearwordsin frontofGrundy, and ‘thoughttheirvocabulary wasrather limited. But'wenodoubt they'velearntafewwordssincethen. Themusicwasall, incidental, ikebackground music Youjusthad oseeit, ANITA: Mumble, mumble, KEITH:Look, darling who'sdoingthisinterview? ANITA:Lam!| KEITH: Theproblemis iftwo peopletalkatonce, youdon't hhear anything. Anita snoisydemands that ‘theconversationshouldturn oflaureplanswerenow {impossible ignore) ‘MME: Areyouplanning. asoloalbum? KEITH:Iejustsobappens that Tvemetafewpeopleduringthe pastyearorso,andwe'vegot togetherandputsomestuffon tape. That sasfarasitgoes,and \whetheritcomesoutornotis another thing They've puta singleoutintheStatesor"Run, un Rudolph with "The Harder TheyCome’,and,,.er..noone likesit.sthefirstimeveputa recordout,anditwascutat Island Hammersmith woyearsago. thasn'tbeenteleasedhere; we're lettingthe Americans suffer fist.ANITA: Ifind that verysignificant KEITH Jollygood. MM: Butareyouhoping togetasoloalbumout? ANITA-Yes. KEITH:No...certain executivesare.Idon'tgive ashit.'vegotsomestull, bbucldon'tknawifroots rogge is what people vwanttohear from me. That’smostofthestulf T'vedonewhile playing, with Tosh’sbandin, Kingston. Eitherleut somemoretomake ‘enough foranalbumor! leaveitinthewarehouse Tdunno-Ican'think aboutanalbumuntill've y gotthewholethingin frontofme. Theonlythingthatstopsmeisthat ANITA:Theonly thingthatstopsmeisthatIneed thewholethingin frontofme, KEITH: Look, goand read yourscripts. When 'vegotanalbum’sworth ffmaterialin rontofme,then1llthinkaboutit.'vegot Robbie Shakespeare on bas, Sly Dunbaron drums, plustwo percussion men, Ansel Collins on organ, Robert Lynn an planoand BigMfao ongultat MM: oyougetthesamesatisfaction fromregguethatyou got from RABbackinthe'60s? KEITH. Yeah, Ifind hatT’mdrawn witforthesamereasons,andbecause there's nothinighappening nblackAmericanmusi. There's probably ‘morehappeninginWwhite American musicatthemoment. They'regoing through the formula iscophase, and ofcourseit'svery popular soit’s ‘nowonderpeopleare drawn tot. Thetemptationtomake thoserecords issostong. MM:DoRastafariansacceptyou, asawhite musician playingregguet KEITH: AsfarasI'mconcerned,T'mnotwhiteand they renotblack. Wsjustsomethingyoudon'tthinkabout. Theymakemofeelvery comfortablewhent'mon their urfand Ido the besttomake them fel thesame. MM:Doyouhavetoadaptyourstyle much toplayreggae? KEITH: Not much, 'webeengoingto Jamaica or over l0years.Sixty-sevenwasthefirstvisitjand ln'72welivedthereforawholeyear.Eversince thent'vehadahousethere. Welived onthe beach foralongwhilebeforewerealisedit'sthe ‘dumb thingvo do Everything goesrusty from thesalt from yourguitarstringsto theRange Hover. Thehip thingtodoislive onthe otherside oftheroad.on top oftheeliffwhereyou geta breeze evenwhenit'sreallyhot People may say, ‘Oh, nowhe'sdoing hisreggae bit"Ill gothe whole way withitorustrecorditforfunand put itinehovaults until isacceptableto everybody, Fiveyearsagothere ‘were people who said they could never get behind reggae ANITA: ike Keith Richard, KEITH: Thank YOU darling...OK,fuckoff ANITA: Youbaamclaat man MM:WhatDOES thatmeant KEITH: Iwasacloththatthey usedtomopup the blood afterwhipping aslave MM:Good grief. KEITH: Thar’sone interpretation, but every other Rastafarian illcll youanother “T didn't screw Margaret Trudeau. But in that case - who did?” (Theconversaion mysteriously goton o thesubjectof he rootless whores ofkngston, and wementioned hat until recenty Keith had been conspicuousby hisdeficienciesin the molar department) KEITH: Miraculously, duetoabstinenceand prayer, my teeth growback! {think wasjustlatedeveloping Nothingan expensiveoperation couldn'tprolong.Consideringallthethumpingheartsofthelastyear, Ifgelquitegood: But! don’t feelthata great weight hasbeen iftedfrom ‘myrmind. They'veputinanappealin Canada, sowe'rebackto square ‘one. Idon'thave togothroughthewholecase again, butifthe appes judge says the trial judgewaswrong, then Tm backwhereTstarted. But Ineverthoughtmuch aboutitanyway,notuntilI had go 1oCanada andstandin the dock. Iewasveryboringhavingtositthereandlistentoitall. thoughtthe judge was fairandthat the Canadians knew enough to leave welalone Now they've urneditintoa stupid imernalsquabble.It’Canadavsthe RollingStones. The ral judgedid hisbest to please everybody. Idon't hhavetomakeany moreappearances, only inconcertinfrontoftheblind How canyouappear inftontof the bind? Butwhoever haveto play for, theblind, deaforbubonicplague victims, i dowhatI'vealwaysdone anyway. mleavingitalltothe people who setshows up, but guess ‘endupin Maple Leaf Gardens, We'ldoit, probably with the tones, andPeterTosh ANITA:SidViciouswill bethenex., KEITH Sid -yeah, He'sbeenasillyboy.Just because hewokeupwithaknifeinhishands, hethinkshedoneit.thavea feeling he didn't. lewas probably some very sharp New York dealer. Nobody deservesatrialwhetherit'sin (Canadacr NewYork Imeain, [didn screw Margaret Trudeau. Ab hah! Butinthatcase who did? Who rippedtheflimsybathrobe aside? end up feelingthatthaveto payforthe rape ofCanada.Butldida’thavenuthin'todo withit.Andasfaras[couldseethey were ter Trudeau anyway, because you've gotacivlwar brewingthete. Borhsidesweretryingtouseme aspartoftheirinternalconflc. But they rethe bastardsthat make wsall-important.Itsnotasifl,or anybody involved with us,hasever onearoundsaying, "Oh.tsgreatto ‘beondope. Everybodyshoulddoit® Whatever myliestyeis,orwhatever ‘myproblems,1don'tencourageatherstofallowme. Thinkingaboutthebust, whatdisappointed mewasthatnotone of ‘themwas wearinga proper Mounties uniform when theyburstintomy hhotelroom. They were allinanorakswithdroopymoustachesandbald heads. Real WEEDS, the wholelotof em alljustaftertheirpictureinthe paper.Fifteenof'em, roundmebed,tryingtowakeme up. Tdhavewoken Uupalotquickeriffseenthered tun and Smokey Bearhat. twas taken ‘downto the ailand asked themto give meacoupleof grams back,justto tidemeover. » STORY OF Rog | BLMM:Doyoueverregretstartingtotakedrugs? KEITH:No, don't regret nothin’ ust gotbored withit {heroin}. It would take more than dhe Mountiesto turn meotfsomething il really wanted to stayonit. ecausel knowdamnellthatinthose pens [penitentiries},youcangetasmuchasyouwant.Thefirstday InWormwood Scrubs, duringthefirstexercise period, |wastappedon theshoulderand somegeezersaid, "Want somehash? said, "Layo! Iwannagetoutofhere! Thatwasyearsago.Canyouimagine whatitlikenow? Allyou'vegotta doisbendovertwiceorhavetherightamountoftobacco,and you'vegot ‘whatever youwan. tilrememberthatfuckingserewattheScrubs, \when Mickpickedmeupin me Bentley-which wasa bitmuch, he should hhaveusedaminicab -I1emember the screw shoutingatthe gates, "You'l beback,we'llgetyal Youwereln Rome doing Barbarela darlin’ (Kel aldressed Anita stil keeping up her monologue from thesofa),whilelwasdoingtime. ANITA: Na.na,ne,na,na, KEITH Yes, yes yes, yes, yes -wewon'ttalkabout thatany more. Well argueabout hatter MM:Doyoufeelhealthiernow? KEITH: Different. suppose youcouldsayhealthier although Imustsay inallfairnesstothe poppy.thatneveronce did haveacold.t'mgonna blurtitout nov right? The eureto thecommon coldisthere but, of course, they daren'letanybody knowbecause you'd haveanation full ‘fdope addicts. Thiswinter'vwehad two colds, ButIdon'trecommend ‘drugs toanybody. What'sreally wrongis12-yearoldkidsonthe street ‘scoring dope tha'sgotstzychnine thrownin, togiveyou exteaflash for fun, That's wrong, because itretardsyou, Iknowonejunkiein London whostartedat 4, andkicked the habitwrhen hewas20. And then hisvoice broke. Itslows down the metabolism. Theworstthingistheignorance of peopletakingthings withoutknowingwhatthey'redoing. MM: Andyounced theappropriatelifestyle and freedom tobe abletoindulge. KEITH:Idon tknowiit’sthat. Halfthereason lgotdrawn intoitwes becauseldidn'thavealotoflreedomand time olf. IfTdhavehadthe freedomandtime, ould have dragged mysetoffto somevhereremote forthree monthsandcleaned myself up and pulled myselftogether. But Inthisbusiness,you ind here salwayssomethingthathasto bedone, anew tour orwhatever, and before youknowit five yearshas gone 2 ror oF Rock we MM: DidcomingotTdrugsaffecttheway youplay orwrite? KEITH:Iwouldliketosa... hun... actually. after watching tufft've donewhen know! wasoutofmy brain,anddon'tevenrememberthe show dadadurm,,.notreally. mean, Aliketosayitaid, encourage nybodytogetoffit,buttheonly difference, now 'moffit,isl enjoy what |domuch more.Also leanrememberenjoyingi. One show wasjustlike another. ..itwaslikeatunnelthat gotsmallerand smaller Keiuhruledoutthe possbiltyofhis doing shows on hisoxn outside ofthe ‘Stones, and alked about his workingrelasionshipwith MickJagger. KEITH: Forwhat doand forwhat therestoftheband does, Idon't thinkl coulddoitanyhercerelsewhere, nadifferentset-up. Sometimes might dotheodd songalone, and tha'stheway we'vealways worked, Mickmightsay, Yourroughtapehas gotthe beste, why don't youdo ‘thatone?” Butwestil workcloselyonsongs.Weenjoyed making Some Girls cwasthe mostimmediatealbumwe'ddoneinages,andyaucan't ‘argue with seven millionsales,as farasaceeptance goes, Idon'tthinkthere’sthatmuch betweenitand Black And Blueor Goats Head Soup, itsjustthatsuddenlythetimingelicks. Tha'sthe thingin this lark, isthe timing. Itcouldjustaseasly have bombed. "Miss You" wasn't specificallyrecordedasa disco single twas ustanother trackfor Some Girls."Hot Stuff” wasdisco-ish too, andsoweresome others ifyouwant todigdown llthatreally mattersisthatittaokoft attherightperiodin theband evolution, MM: Thebass iffon "Miss ou" hadalottodowithitssuccess. KEITH: Billisleapingahead, Charlie Isso magnificent, you expeethitn togoon gettingbetterandifitdoesn' getbetteratasession yousorta ‘moanathim,“Whyaren'tyoubetterthan lasttime,'cos youalwaysare! billtends ogomore incycls,andinthelast coupleof years Lhaven't seenhimsohappyandplayingso well, Somethinglike"Miss You" provest. (MM: What'stheoriginofthe Glimmer Twinspseudonym foryou ‘and Mick? KKEITH:Glimmer Ivins camefromthelnfamouseruise romisbonto [ioinChristmas'68, with Mickand Marianne, Anitaand myself Wemet thisvery vvaciouswoman. Whenshe gotdrunkallshe would eversay was, Who areyou? Won'tyou giveusaglimmer [justloved theway she saidit,sowebecametheGlimmer Twins,MM: Whateverhappenedto NankerandPhelge? KEITH: That included the wholeband wast" just meand Mick. Phelge ‘was he nameofaguythat lived withusin Edith Groveat Worlds End, who was oneof the most disgustingpeoplethat! wever known.1'¥ve forgotten hisrealname, buthe wasknownasPhelgeandlne was thesort fguy who wouldmeetyouonthestairsofyourslumwithhisstreaked Yfrontsonhishead, andnothingelse,andhe'dsay,"“ThisisPhelge— vwelcomehome. Unfortunately haven't made enough money thisweek ‘ohelpchipin with herent, soinstead’'Ilenterainyouandbeas disgustingas possible forthewhole week,” ‘ewas thesortofguy who would.nal upthejobn while you're inthere andlowera aperecorderinthroughthe windawandcapturethe ‘moment when the victim couldn’ getthedoorapen, Heended up with anwhole eeloftapeand everytime tgottothebitwhere they shed the tolletyou'dheararoarofapplause.Itwas great tape -unfortunately nobody kept [MM:AndNanker,whowashe? KEITH: Oneofirian’sinventions and deservestostaywith him, ANITA: (Censored interruption in which she revealed that Brian Joneshad ‘ancedonesomerhing very peculiartoachicken.) KEITH: Hewasalwaysverygood with hishands ‘MM:DoyoustillenjoyplayingR&B tuneslike"Kingee"® KEITH: [fwehaveasessionsuddeniycomeup,to warmupwedotheold Richmondset,justtogerthechopstogether. Wedo "Route 66" and"King Bee" Idplay youatape ofusjamming, butunforcunatelyitwentupinthe Hollywood fire. Don'taskmewhathappened-Iwasaslep. _MM:Youdo seem tohavealotofdramaticeventsinyourlife.Doyou, .getthefeeling someone sfollowingyouaround? KEITH: Mmmmmm,.notreally'vehadtwo or threchousesburntdown, Redlands burned down once-theroof wentwith the whole top Floor Mat: Thatwastwo fires. What wasthe third? KEITH: Londonderry Hotel, Ishouldhavegotamedalfor thatone. ANITA: Keith! Keith! I'sMarlon, KEITH: Here'smyman,he'stheone who straightened meout-(And nine-year-old Marloncameinarmed with Action Man tys,ansiousthat the mysteriousconferenceshouldcome toanendand that Dad should take him downto Redlands Keithand Marlonembracedand theboyturned ‘awayfrom the photographer) KEITH: Marlon, nowlookatthecamera MARLON: No! (Meanwhile, Anitafixed mewithastely gaze) ANITA: Chris, youareastar Ho,ho, ho. (Shemimics my deprecatory mirth Theconstantbarrageisbecomingunnerving butunfortunateythereareno btuntinstrumentsiohand) MM:AretheStones oingtoplayinEngland thisyear? KEITH: We gotta, Wegottaplay Englandand Europe thisyear.Fuckmovies, There’ nothing concrete and can'tsay whenor where Originally weweregoingtocometoEuropelast year butitwasbigmouthsin Paristhatblewthe whole deal. Weweregoingtoplay the Palace, ‘which likevery much, When youread aboutit theyalwayssayit's Pars’ attemptata Studio‘ InfactitSarealtheatreand holdsabout2,000.ln [NewYorktheyruinedaperfectly good theatre byfillingitwith faggotsinboxingshortswaving champagne bottles in frontofyourface. MM: Thelast timeyouplayedin England yougot criticised because ofthebadsound. KEITH: Wellwhen wewereplayingatEarlsCourtit wasn tuntlthelastnighttheyrealisedthat the baleany therewassolidstel, bebind theplaster,and that'swheretheweirdechowascomingtrom. It helpsabandlikePinkFloyd,when youwantavery spacey ound, butforabandlikeus thatusesalotof ‘midaleand bottom -forgett,there'sno way youcan, “Phelge was the sort who'd nail up the john while you were in there” eH nioAROS sgetthe soundacross.Itjust soundslikeendless feedback. ButIknowwe ‘were playinggoodat EarlsCoust, and mthefitstiosaywhenwe're playing bad, Tiltllya.thavethe ape from Ear!'sCourtand thoseshows ‘were some af the beston the tour, MM:Doyoustillgetakickoutofplaying? KEITH: Look, thisisthesortofband that.ifitdidn'tgetakickoutofit, \wouldretire the next day. There nobodyin this band youean persuade ‘odo something unless they wanted o, Charlie hates goingon the road, Dbuthelikesitenough tostill packhissuitease. He only evercarriesa hholdallwitha change ofclothes init, becausehelkesto pretend he's sgoinghome thenext dey ANITA: Notlike RodStewart. Hissuiteases have gotwheels. KEITH: Rod cancelled that Lyceurnshow,didnthe? Thatwasacheap {tiek, The diplomaticexcusewasthat the bandhad got laryngitis, But hhowmanyshowscan youdo with BillyPeckwithout puking? [MME Ishethatbad, Keith? KEITH:Ob, maybe thatwasabitextreme. Hut listened tothatsingleRod pputout, and Tlookat the peroxide hair andlliketheguy,Talwayshave ‘one, butT eellike saying, "Nowlook, cunt, youdon'tneedit." Twasjust thinkingthereisn'tabandleftfromuhen westarted that hasstllgotthe ‘riginallineup, now that Moonyhaskicked hebucket. Ashestoashes. ANITA: Thatwasthebestcommentof the wholeinterview (Thewavesofverbalstatcfrom Anita increased tosucha ptchat thispoint thar Keith waseventuailygocded intoaskingher tovacatethe premises an invitation she gracefully declined, Meanwhileweewnedto thebarrersin ‘outrage, whic have been fnallysmashed asunder) [MA sitpossiblefortheRollingStonesto shockpeopl ANITA:They cant they’repastit KEITH: Weneverdidanythingconsciouslyroshockpeople. Allweever didwas answerthecallofnature ANITA:Oh, gosh, KEITH: IC true.Ifyou'reconsciouslyryingto shock people, yournight, aswell forgetit. Thecomparison between MaleolmMcLarenandthe Pistols, and Andrew Oldhamand the Stones well, twasjusttoo obvious, ‘Tooobvioustowork.anditdidn't work. msureJohnayRottensussedit was aset-upandwentalong withit, andthe otherscouldn’tthinkof enough swearwordscokeepitgoing “You, you, b-b-bastard ANITA:So, they'd gotaspeech defect,sowhat KEITH: didr/tsay theyhadspoech dofects-Isaid they couldn't ceurse properly. inymoret (Keith discussed further the perilsofSid Vicious, and mentioned that Ieusedostayat the Chelsea Hovelin New York, where the murder of ‘NaneySpungen took place) KEITH: There wasaguy called Zimmerman ‘onthefloorabovemakinga fuckingrowwith ‘aguitarallday, andnextoortherewasthis Nicowithaharmonium, withaholeinher windbag, youletthemaldintocleanyour room, everything wouldbegone. Youhalro beacertfieddealertogetajobas bellboy (Marlon increased hisdemandstoberaken downto Redlands Keith totered towards thetapemachine nd playedsome Stones demosand jams.) MM: What’sthenext Stonesalbumgoing tosoundlike? KEITH: You're talking othevrongman!tlwrteit inthe studio when wegetthere.Thisisallpureblulf Keith disappeared, andforanhourorsowesat listeningtoAnitachattergailyabouthermodelling career, Marlonre-entered theroom, announced that Keithhad gone asleep. oundhimlyingon abed, Marlonkeepingwatch, “Goodinight, Keith,” Iwhispered, christen # Hast OF Km | 28“How its supposed TH o> su? meer TOD at ease between punk and art. Contradictions and violent audiences aside, the question remains. Are they the new Velvet Underground. Or just the next Ultimate Spinach? ‘accomplish whenthe performers YE whe VI CARY 5™ MANCHESTER, UNWERSITY) ae So:arethey Velvet Underground, ormerely spinach? AtthecoreafThe Pop ureallybreakthestage-front enyourperformanceincludes med spotlights, when youput we 25Theywould ike instruments vehi ‘mastery otheirinsteumentsinael ThePop Group Y naosn The Pop Group. An enigmatic name.Not so muchironicasis often claimed, moreplain cheeky. The Pop Group havenethingifnot alotofnerve. They dare toplay akind of ‘music that owesnathing tothe rack mainstream, yetthey'reconvincedthey can appeal to arackmainstream audience. They make no concessions tothe machinery of rocksuccess, but they wouldn't deny that they hopedforahitsingle with"Shels Beyond Good And Evil ‘Arethey brave, noble and foolhardy, or Just pretentious? They're not pretentious inthe arrogant, conceited manner ofthe Banshees, butthey doconstantlyaimhigher thantheyare capable of achieving -making them according tomy dictionary, pretentious. Sobeit. The dangerousthingisthatthey shouldbe judgedon how hightheyhave simedrather thanen what theyactually achieve which hasbeen theirfateinthehands ofthe critics sofar l'sadisservicenotleastta The Pop Group, sinceit might discourage them from actually trying harder and activly encourage their indulgence. ‘Andboy, canthey indulge, Notfrivolously 1s wasthe case withthe Publiclmage ut determinedly so. They wortlet anything comebetween them, their muse, andthe pure creative expression ofeame. The buggers Thisinsularity on their part-whichhelped the startlingly original soundthey possess-isa potential trap. They ought to Tetsomething come batween them and theirmuse, something called the audience, They can, youknow.Butinereasingly oFlate theyseemtohavebeentakingtheea2y way cutof playing lfficult musie:playingto their camp followers, a converted coteriein onthe angst wantto see The Pap Group support The Members ontour. Thenlwanttosee themeome backand make another album. Because (he sid, removing the kid gloves) this,theirdebutalbum, wllnotsparkthe soul cof anyone who hasn'talready seenthem ve, ‘and willprabably dsheartenmany whahave, Iteoundslikeitwasmade inanhermetically sealed vacuum, with ideas bouncing freely round the fivemembersof The Pop Group ‘and Dennis Bovellat the controls, butnot rebounding off anything outside. actually sounds like twasmadeina cave, Theinstruments wellandringin the cavernous, reverberating mix;they pursue, theysay.fthe audience brought th les pethaps, or percussive devices "There's nothing \weeandothatyoucan'tdo" would seem tobe the message,although Individual members ofThe Pop Grouphaveatained considerable ively shortspaceoftime. (sno aceidentthat neweomerstotheirmusicareinvariabefirstattractedby thosetptempo songs on which therhythm section locks ntoajaged but relentless groovereminiseentofmid-periodJames Brown-agroovethat Primal and electrifying NME APR 28 The Pop Group’s inscrutable debi t. like the folkdovie depictedonthe albums striking cover, their ownimpenetrable thyme andreason. The words scream outwith the weight of conviction, ‘gain, their language is self-contained, inscrutable-lke the primitivehieroglyphies painstakingly carved onto tho eavewall But yourinterpreteris at aloss to decipher themeanings. Hehastoresorttothe printed|yrics, which heisloathe to do,since hefeelsthatasongisasong:meant tobe sungnotread. Thelyricscomeprintedon poster coveredinimages of fight and deprivation. The Clash gotnoend of stick forsomething similar. cheapholiday in other people's misery? The Pap Grouparesincare enaugh, andsometimesso earnest that they seem ppo-faced. They want to point at worldwide =piritualand mental drudgery. Ifthe lyrics aretoonebulousto convey this,thenthe angstridden,tortured tone of the vocals, andiconography of the poster willhave tosuffce, Yotit’sreally the music that putsit across bestat this tage, by simply exemplifying the opposite of drudgerylberation... I's literally bursting with spontaneous free invention, and aften overreaches itself initsenthusiaemy like ahorn player straining for that final perfoctresolution. Imagine acrossbetween Miles Davis’ (On The Corner and Jahn Lennon'sfirsteolo album (goon, try)andyou'llhave someidea of what The Pop Grouphave asharrowingly personal as Plast andnotas iercely wired as Miles’ output, butsimilarl both primaland electrifying. Thatthey'vemissedthemarkisno great disaster, andlet'sjust hope theboyswith the balance sheets weren'tlooking for any quickovernight returns Whatever youfelt about The Pop. Group's "Beyond Good AndEvil™ single wil beamplifed listening to this: Butanyone buying Yonthe strengthof the single willaside fromthe whole of We Are Time” andscattoredmoments elsewhere ‘hen The Pop Group doexplain themselves tothe gropinglistener disappointed. Abcevelailure Exciting but exasperating Why?Z. See what mean? PaulRombel own demandsadegrecofexpertise) Whenconfrontedwiththeargument that plainly theyarecreativeartistswithideas abovetheimaginings of ‘theauaience, whichiswhy people cometosee themratherthan staying, athomemakingtheirown musi, ThePop Group simply deny it There'saseriouscontradiction,too,inthelrscathingattitudeto commercial enterprise. Afterall, don'ttheyhavea ‘contractwith Radar Records, whichis funded and distributed by WEA Records, which sownedby theKinney Corporation, whichisone ofthe ‘multinational pillarsproppingup theedifice ‘ofWestern capitalism’ ‘Well yes theyagree, They'renothappy abouttheiraffiliations.Butittookinthe region of£30,000togettheminshape (equipment, roadiesand soon), andwhereelse vas thatkindofmoney goingtoeomefrom? And, afterall they wanttheirmusictobeheard bythelargestnumberofpeoplepossible,andat thetimetheysigned toRadar, Rough Trade’s labeloperation washardly edged, ‘Theytoldmethattheydan'twanttohaveany copyrighton theirsongs.Theydon'twantto “ow thecompositions—theywouldlike anybodyto beableto"use"thesongsinany way, ‘withoutpaymentsofroyakiesorlicensingfees. Thisisplainly toddswith theattiudeofany ‘commercial record company. Indeed, theman at Radar giggledrathernervously when rmentionedit,andsaidhebada'theardofthe plan. Theyhave, though, alreadybeenin, disputewith Radaraboutonecopyright ‘matter: they wanttoenclosewith healburn alyrie-posterfeaturingvariousphotogeaphs they've collectedaver theyears. Radar pointed ‘outthatclearances wouldhavetobeobtained forthe photographs andes paid;the group havebeenthinkingofgettingaroundthe problembyboatleggingthe poster. So what abouttherightsoftheoriginal photographers?) Rseasytostandback,examinethe arguments, anddemolishthemasso much ‘midalle-classreturn-of the: hippies ive talking. Afterall, he Pop Group'seareeris going wonderfully. Like Roxy Musicintheir earliestdays theboys rom Bristolhavemade alltherightmovestobecome the darlingsof thecontemporaryavant-gardesmartset Isallthisidealismmerelyintendedco establish therightkind oferedentils, along thelinesofFerrys calculated use of no's radical tendencies? Are theyplayingbenefits forAmnesty ntemnationalsimplyto give themselvescosmetictreatment, before effortlessly cashingintheireampaign ‘medalsforroyaltyeheques? Istheiroverwhelmingoptimism unshakeable aslongasit’sintheabstractandwhat willhappen sshen theiridealsarereally puttothetest? Didaneveraparallelingthatof he early"70s, \whenalbumswerethecurrencyandcollege students were theaudience-begin the day The Pop Groupeompromisedandsigned thelr contract withRadar? TT itpcetetetea “The Pop Groupischickenscamehome toroost They were openingashort ‘our organised to celebrate thereleaseot their first single, atthe Locarno, achicken-in: a-basket discotheque embedded inthe side fofamodern shoppingmall. Theaudiencewasoftheheterogencous variety you tend ogotatsucheventsoutside London: thelocalavant-gardemlxedup with backlated White Rioters, confused buteager hippies andafairsprinklingofdon'tknows.A farery indeed, fromtheCavent Garden stylists ‘who urnupattheirLondonappearances. Mark Perry’sAlternative TVonened the evening witha typically courageous, typically“unsuccessful set‘ Perry finds tdifficultcoloeate the targets ofhisderision cheaudience? tsparents? Thegovernment? Its servants?) and finishes up iritatingeverybody, most notably himself He'smorethan willingtoconfronthis ownartisticimpotence, but seeminglyunabletotteatit, ThePop Group, then, took the stage inanatmosphere ofmingled tissensionand expectancy. Theirsetwasprefacedby atape ofAican, érumming, presumably tocreatethe appropriate “riba feeling and, theybeganwith teirsingle, the pop-funk-diseo-dubmixofShels Beyond Good And Evil’ endingneatiyand sweetly on the resounding, {ultar-chord triplets that comprise the song's Top 40hook, and ontinuingthrougharatherperfunctoryversion ofDon'tCall Me ain’ featuting Gareth Sager’ssemi-competent saxophone playing. Followingthat was theirmostproblematic song, “Don'Sell Your roams’ aloose, drawn-out ballad withalyricandamelodramatic elivery which mostclearlybearsthemarkofsingerMarkStewart's alfectionforthe French Romanticpoets. Therestofthesetissohardandsasharpthattheplacementofthis songisvitats meandering structure andimprovised, impressioniste backgroundallows thetensiontodrop,andtheoccasionalquietperiods invitearestiessaudience toassertitsdissatisfation. InPortsmouth, responsewasswift.As the songdraggedon.ayouthin ‘what looked ikea Seditionaries T-shirt tookthestageandhelpedhimselt tothemicrophone Joined by severalothisfriends,incudingacoupleot punkettesheproceeded obellowthrough the PA. “Whataloadoferap!”heshouted"Whataload fcrap!Whataload of crap!" Andthen: ANARCHY! ANARCHY! ANARCHY!” The punksand punkettesdanced,strummed theguitars,and ookover thedrums. Themusicians attitudes were markedly different. Mark Stewartappeared towelcome he intruders, givinguphismicand tencouraging them tobashalongontheinstrurments;bassist Simon ‘Underwood and guitarist John Waddington played alongasbestthey could; Gareth Sager picked uphissaxophone,clarinetandgultarand ‘madeasiftocarrythemto safety: became obviousthattheintrudershadnotarrivedinaspiritof ‘community Theyhadnotbeen moved toparticipationby thenaturcof the music. They simply wanted o interrupt, totakeover,andtoimpose themselveson theoccasion, What they wanted wasatwo-chord/4 thrash: theywouldhave been happywithThe Members, delighted by the Angelic Upstarts, “Eventually gently, they were removed (with theexception ofthe punkettes, who stayed pogo), andthe band resumed theirp toplay"WeAre Time” theirmostdirectsong, witha vivid rack ferocity chatindicated thattheyhad notbeen unmovedbythe experience. Asitended, drummer BruceSmith threw down hissticks Andrushed forthe stage exit followed byhiscolleagues. Thesethadlasted frabout20minutes, including the interruption When twas over thefeelingintheballwasthatnothinghadactually been concluded, When theaudieneehad gone ome, and theroadies were pad thebandfiltered out fromthe dressingroom, A youth helped himself to the mic: “What a load of crap! ANARCHY!” TE POP GROUP Gareth, normally abruptand ironic, appeared shell-shocked. “Idon'teverwancthat tobappen ‘again”hesaid, John Waddingvon, slumped inachair Jookedeven palecthan usual:"Itwaslikea sham 69g” Markstewartseemed tohaveworried himselfintoutterbemusement. Dut Mark, ddon'tyouwantpeopletojoinin? Don'tyou ‘encourage themto participate? "es... butnotlike that.” ‘well howthent "We dida ilmtheother day.foroursingl, andwehadpeopledancingroundthestagr. litlekids,riends..itwasfantastie. That’show i’ssupposedtobe Bur youwereonastage tonight theeefeet ‘nigherthan theaudience, with clever lighting andastageac ofsorts How doyouexpectthe aaudienceto seeyouasanythingotherthan siars?Aren tal thosedevicesputtingyouat distance romtheaudiencet Howeanthey beexpected ocrossthatspaceand meet youintheway youwant, \withouthypingthemselvesup todisruptanddestroy? ‘There'snoanswer. Your avn kind, those whounderstand what you're doingandcan make the correct responsesout fa shared attitude tovards “art”, ThePop Group played StPaul'sChurch, Covent Garden, more usually knownas "TheActors'Church’.Itmayhave been atypically unusual ‘move, butitwaswhere theybelong: inaboherniancommunity which relishesthearcanereference, the frsson oftheavant garde. ‘They played wel, the church’snaturalacoustiesamplifyingtheheavy duib-styleechooftheirown A (particularyonasonguhich very effectively featured nvobass guitars) and werejoined, for“We \reTime” bbyacrowd ofyoungstylists, dancingin varlousmodern modes, "making ‘thescene’. (leven spotted ajunior Baby ane Holzer, manefiving.doing, theFrug’79in frontofaguitarstack) Tewasanelitegigfreitermusi, perfectinalmost every detail just liketheilast London appearance, atthe ElectricBallroomlast October, infrontofasimilaraudience, Teibal'itwas, that salsowbatyoudeall ahuntball Duringthedaysbetween the Portsmouthanedtheovent Garden concerts, encounteredaWEA employee. Wetelltotalkingabout The Pop Group. Heasked mehowIthoughthiscompanyshouldgoabout ‘marketing hegroup. Radarand WEA, hesaid, seemed feel that they hhadamajorgroupontheirhands, butWEAS staffcouldntagreeonhow tohandle them, “Theradio ploggers don't feelthattheycan takethesingleuptothe Radio One producers” hesaid, “and thesalesrepsarentvery happy, Don'tmarket them atall suggested. Afterall andhere enteredinto thecynicismoftheconversation), they haven'tmademany mistakesyer. They veplayed theright gigs andnot too manyoftherthey'vemadethe right fiends; they vehad aeoupleof front pages nthe weeklies; they ve ‘madea emificrecordthey'veorganisedtheirownimaginativeand ppropriateartwork...Why worry? Justletthem be. Hecontinuedto et andi lefthimtoit. ‘The Pop Group'salbumillhereleasednextmonth.ttwilleost £4.39, whichis Radar/WEA'sregularprice, andits label willbear thewords “Copytight onto!” -whichisamethodofprotectingthecomposer’s copyrightofsongswhichare norassigned oapublishingcompany: thas heen produced by The Pap Group incollaboration withthe brilliant Dennis Bovell,and hasbeen created withnocompromises nothinghasbeendonetomake thesongs"accessible"allofthe participants creativityhasbeen expended with greatartsticcourage ‘Thealbumaughttobe recelvedastthefestworko the most fully realised Afterpunkgroup ofthe time, whose potentialis virtually limites. Yotthey deserve betterthanan uncritical response, Litheyhave the courage of theieconvietions they're preparedtostart Jookingforthekeytomakingwhatthey do genninely"tibal” fasopposed ‘oplayingtapesofAfricandrummingbeforetheirsets, and thenacting ‘upset when people ake them literally), they couldmakethenextcouple ofyearsvery interesting, chard Wits © ie ‘SATURDAY, THEanswer turned up. ltssimple:youplay to sry oF ox WT 1271979 PTs oo Poise and confidence MM MARS: EDALSFORBRAVERY shouldbe struckfor Billy Idolandhismatesin Generation X. Would you, lonlke tostandonastage,blindedby spotlights, peer outinto Stygiandarkness, andbe pelted withan endlessstreamofbeer cansand glasses? And, while prancing ike a woundedbear inamedievalbaitingpit, you tre expectedtoretain enthusiasmforthe task ‘ofentertaining your ormentor exuberantrocs I wasastonished 12 upand pay tose band should then want to inflict pain and miliationonthe poor mugbookedto somethingremotely stimulatinginto apparently empty lve Yet, despite those who armed phersin tage), there weremany mace viho just wantedtodance andenjoy themselves:asharpremindortoallwho've attempted to writeoffthebend justhow hugely popularthey have become. The Lyeeurnws packedtooverflowing, and Gen Xblastedinto am evident only ayearago. “Then they were raw youngband, strong on image butweakon dolivery.Now they have that poise achieved through growing confide Mark Laffisone of the best new hard-rock pereussionists;he canleadtheband rom the rear instling explosive pyrotechni tostompers lke "Running With The Bos Billy seemed worried by the tense atmosphere engendered by a mix of punks and skins ntheir ability Billy, to0, hae matured, ooking great, ke young David Bowie inslightly more sober ire than last time around, Naturally enough, he seemed worried by the tense atmosphere, engendered by amixture ofpunksand skins, butitsaysmuch farhis courage and tenacity thathe managed tocalmthings down sith powerfulversion of “Kise Me Deadly Weashame,inmany 3 Generation Khavetolive outtheir youthinthelate’70s, They wouldhave enjoy themelvermoreinthe 160s, the erainwhich their mmuicand tar rooted. Them ‘wouldhave toworry about wwouldhave been alatof screaming and mobbing They would have loved beingon Ready, Steady, inthe days when pop was fun, Infact, what they neednow iss Ready Steady, Go! audience,andthere is ahint of for theminthat direction. Among the n Sunday was Hayley Miloperative stasis, here comes some good news. The subject ofthe bulletinis The Cure, abrand-new three-piece from Crawley. Last Wednesday, Robert Smith guitar vocals), Mike Dempsey bass) and LolTalburs (drums played ‘whatl'mgoing todescribeas moder pop. Don't groan-thisisoneot those aceasionswhen thehandlefits.llthree members arein theirlateteens,andevincethe kindof apprehensiveexcitementot discovery that makesfor inteestingand oratingsensations, Ofcourse, mnotsaying that they areready-madesaviours. Thereare rouglspatches(anewPA backline causedsomenervymoments),and theyneed toworkon projectingtheir act butdespitethese teething roubles they showed aglorious potential Tollurstissturdy, while Dempseyand smith managetobeboth rhythmically soundand metodicallyinventve Smith’svoiceisalotstrongerthanit appearstobeon their currentsingle ‘on Small Wonder, KillingAn rab (asor‘of distillation ofCamus’ novel TheStranger coupled with 10:15 Saturday Night” (which should have been the topside), ‘Atthemoment, though, thelrreal strengthliesinthematerial whichis generally co-wittenby the rio. The plunderingotclassie'60s pop-rock with post punkeconomyanddrive. Theeffectistight and open-ended, considered butontherightside trough. Takea songlike*BoysDon't Cry’ for cexample:reminiscentinstructureof ‘Beatles’ flipside around 64/65, ks appealingchoppinessandebullient angularitymeetcontemporaryneeds pretty veldeadon, Mixin some imaginativelyriesoftentersely A THE COUNTRY lips into anon: evocativenarratives) and theexperience shouldbefarfrom unpleasant. Don'letthempassyouby, landich Transfixing FEB 10 the group. Although she looks tuF (by Keith Richards outof Veronica Bennett), there's anuncondescending charmabouther introductionsand asides which establishes the performer/audionce rapportata very interesting and constructive pitch ‘She alsohappens tobe thebest new singerinages:razor-phrasingabetsa pushy dolivery.andshe doesn'thave tostop playing whilashesings(er vice versa)-She Can spitout "The Wait” or dravila Lou Red: soundalike song about anonymous phone calls (better than anything Reed's written in years),and she transfixesthelstener bothways ‘Thebandmatchesher extraordinary power, mostnotably on "Married Life”, the only decent whitereggae song ve ever heard, and they cope beoutifully wth the dense pop textures of Ray Davies "Stop Your Sobbing” (the &-side).Some ofthe originalshave quite complex rhythmic substructures: |thinkitwas"|Can't Control Myself" whichhadalternatingbarsof4/aand 7/Binthe verses,attackedvery confidentlyby the rhythm section. “Anyway, the theme of this message's Seo Them Now. Maybe in Northampton tomorrow night (Friday) where the" House Full” notice willdoubtlesegoupearlyagsin.But,protty > oon itwon'tevenbe thateasy. Reha 5Lt BNC Te) worried ~ albbout aes PU 3 SL“Theygoto Rough TradetobuySioussieAnd The Banshees/Theyheard ohn Peolplayedit Justthe other night” (from "Part Time Punks by Television Personalities) \VERYNEWMUSICAL rallying points, Psyehedelia diditin the 6oswithoases ike JOneStop Records, Musicland, Indica Books, Middle Earth, Granny Takes Trp, fohn Peel's Perfumed GardenandtheArtsLab. ‘Punk, ofcourse, snoexception. Throughout ‘ritsblueprintrapidlyemerged. ThePistols, bbecametheband, Malcolm McLarenthe + SEX the boutique, Peel yetagain) theD}, do-it-yourself thestyleand Rough Trade therecordshop. They wereamongthetrstto stuggestalternativestothe mainstream, new solutions oage-old problems. ‘Butas timedirags on astheword spreadsand theranksswell theyrun, theriskofbecominginsttutionsthemselves. Whenthemassmedia begantoadoptMarkPerryasthetoken punkspokesperson,hefledi theavant-gardeandAltemativeTV. Television Personalitesareequally awareof the dangers:"Part Time Punks" sn'tcondemningRough Trade, or theBanshees, or Pee, butt critcisesthekind ofunthinkingacceptancethat peoplecanadopt towards figureheads, And, anyway carly 79seessomeofthese reference pointscollapsing. Somehaverurnedsour-butothershavegone fromstrengthtostrength, Amongthelatteris Rough Trade, BOFPTRAVISAND Ken Davidson opened theirshopin February 76, although Davidson leftafterafewmonthsfor ancwlifeinAmsterdam, The timing turned outto be perfect. Thefitststiringsof punkwere emerginginLondon'sclubland. and Travisloved notonly thenewmusicbutalsotheattitudes that went with I Hisalmwas and stilis)toestablisha placewhieh would notbea retail outlet whererecordsaretreated strictlyasproduct,buta meeting point \whereinformationandideasareexchanged. Hencetheshop. deliberately installed inasiightlyout-of-the-way location, was one ofthefistto stockalthe punkzinesand tohaveakindot selhelp noticeboard that hasbecome awonderfullyhaphazardamalgam fmusicians adsandcurrent playlists ofanyone who wants toconteibute, Tewastheidea that our generation had somethingto calltheirown, where they could goand feel partofitandnotfeelinstantly alienated .10 break down therelationship betweentheconsumersand thosethatwere being consumed. Rough Fradehasthatchanceto providean important ‘midale ground “What youhaveis people who aredoinginteretingthings, making ‘musi sirugglingtobeheardon oneleveland here snotmany places for ‘themtogo. Traditionally theyjust goin thatverysmallfunneltowards stardom. Whatsimportant, obviously isto gotrd of theidea hati’s Importanttobeastar,and to make thefunnelwider,soastoincludeas ‘manypeople andideasaspossible” Suchanotion clearlyinvites many problems Youwanttogive everyoneachance o beheard,youwantto break downthebarriers between the business, theartistsandthe audience. Geoffhadto devise awworkablesolution. Say Yourbest friend writesa novel and you thinkit’sabsoluterubbish, andyousetyourselfupasapublishingeompany. Whatdoyoudo? t's avery difficuk problem, acontinuingrespansibilityof Rough’ Trade tthatwhensomeone comestoyouwithsomethingthat they vedone, you \wanttobeabletoact,tomake surethat whatthey vedoneconcerns ou, 00. Butatthesametimeyouwant tobeabletosay, Wedon thinkthis = <7 grodenough "Theshopwasset uptohaveinicthe kindofrecordsthat \wefeltwere worthwhile-notonlyaesthetically butalsointhe ‘motivation thatlaybehind them. [don'tever wanttosee,orliketosee, ‘musicsimply existingin somekind ofartistic void. I'sakvaysbeento ‘mepartofasocial relation, and wetryto set somethingup which would, ifpossbl, tip thebalance wards what we sawasbeingiworthwhile And, obviously, thathasputusina very dangerous position, butit'sone that wereltwewanted tackle ‘Theresultsofthisattitude havealreadybeen mademanifest. They stoppedsellingStranglersrecordsoverayear andahalfago, notonly because they didn'tlikethemusic, butalsobecause critic Ton Savage was beaten upby ean-TacquesBurne! orwritinga review thatwas ‘completely non-perscnalinitscitcism" Butdoesn'tthisprocessofselection close much-needed doorstomany newbands? Rough Trade again wouldn'stockthefirstsingleby Raped, anditwasthiskineof actionthat, the group claim forcedthemito change theirnameto Cuddly Toys Richard Scott, aformer manager of Third World, who joined Rough ‘Trade 18 monthsago,andhassince hecomeallynchpin, thinksthe crticismisfai. “think the only chance Rough Trade hasisifthereare other people dingthe samekindofthing-allwe'reaskingpeoploistobehonest. lfsomebody callsinand ays, Should buy this? Isitany good? andit \wesayyesand thatrelationship works, wel, thenit'sfine-Ifnot,wehope thatthereare other people hat heycangotoandhavethesamekindof ‘lationship. Oneoftheproblemsatihemomentis that there are 00 few people, inouropinion, doingthistoo: Inthisway theyview the shop aspartofagrowingandnecessary networkofsmall but determined independentunitslike Fast, Small Wonder, Good Vibrations (in Belfast) and Faulty Products Although theirideologiesdon'tpresenta united front Richard wouldn texpectthat,andinavay twouldbeashame ftherewas ‘one’, they do work comfortablytogether and, indeed, Rough Tradehave already eleasedsinglesinconjunctionwith otherlabels. Radar shared the credits on” Hysterie Connective” by Metal Urbain, whileStifLitle Fingers "Alternative Ulster” came courtesy ofRough Tradeandthe ‘band's own Rigid Digitsconcern Isvery tempting, then, to seeRough’Tradein termsfan“alternative system’. Theirsuccess albeitminor in megabuckterms,hasgiven them ‘theopportunityand confidence toexpandanddiversify Infact, itsbeen averylogical progression. A mail-orderservice started because they wore averagingabout20lettersaday requestingrecordsthatjustweren't available inocal stores. Thenthelocalstorescottonedonand, asa result, theysetupawholesaleservice Musicians began sendingin apes, asking Rough Tradetoreleasethem, ‘andthe outcome astheir own abel. When youhavearostrofartst, thenextstageistothinkaboutfindingthem gigs~ promotion, inaword. umane sell many new bands? Rough Trade y new bands? Rough Trade eee” oFAndthisisalreadyunderwaywith a15.datepackagetourthatincludes SuffLttleFingers, TheNormal, Robert Rentaland Essential Logic, ‘manyofwhomaren'tevenon Rough Trade Records. Somanyanglesarebeing covered thatitmightseem that theyhaveset up thatalternative scene. Geoffand Richard don't seeitthatway Goof “Ireallyhadnoidea ofwwhatwwasgoingtohappen, Twvasn'teonsciouslyplannedat all fewasonlyplannedin hat thoughtYddoitforfiveyearsand see whathappened. We vehad threeofthoseyearsnow;we've gottwoofthemtogo.Itmight be hicetagooutoneeveningand throw thekeyaway.tdon'tknow. “What wedonextisacontinual problem, oneweface every week, Do wewantocontinueto try andexpandour listibution cosellasmanyrecordsas Warner Brothers? That's onepoint. How seriously devaluedisthe content ofany workthat isactually bought by that many people? Ist devalued othe point where whatistryingta be conveyed loses nearlyalitsmeaning? Flow importantismmeaninginany kindofculturalartefact? ‘Talwaysargue very vehemently againsttheldea—whichmany,many bandshave--thatthethingtodo istogetinsidethesystemandbecome verybig, and then manipulate. thaven'tseenanybody who haseverdone {hat Isa very fundamentalmistake.lt'sveryashionablealsotosay, don't want anythingtodowith hehippynotionthatwhatweare ttyingto doistosetupan alternative. That'salmosta banned wordin bouclanguageat the moment, so suppose wemustn'tsay i!" ‘What, chen istharmiddlearea hat Rough Traderepresents? “Ivsnotanalternativewhich keepsitselfaliveby avoidingtheoutside \world.1 mean, whathappensinmostalternativesocietesisthatyou createa selF-sficientsituation,andyou pretendat somelevelthatwhat goesonoutsideisnothingtodowithyou, I's leavemealone’ aslongas Yyoudon'tharmanybody else. And! don'tthinkthar'strue. fyouregoingaboutnotharminganybody else, you're usingverylitdle ofyouractualenergyin oingotherpeoplegood, asitwere. And most alternativeculturesareparasticalm saying that wewanttoavoid beingparasiicalandthat wewanttoconfronttherealityfthe outside world. 1'ssomeway ofbeingabletocreatethesystemandset upanew ‘modelanda process ofatrtionof whatexiss,and1thinkitcomesfrom alotofhardwork,That’swhyitsteallyimportanttohavethatmarriage betiveen theoryandwhat you're actually doing Thoorygroundedin practicallhardgraftand to use Richard's words, testing your realty agains! your expectations every day.” Expansion has consequentlybroughtasmany advantagesasobstacles.Forinstance, theyhavea veryambiguous attitude towardstherecordlabe. Geoffexplained:”Wereallydon'tknowhow seriously wewantto bbecomearecordlabelandset ourselves up ina conventionalwaytobuild acareerforaband. Afterall itisimportantthat bandsdohaveacareer ‘andarenot ustanaccessory forsome Rough Trade hobby. I'simportant forthemtoknowthatwecanollowthrough forthem,and wedon'tknow yetochetherornotwearecapable afdealing with that Bob Last (ofFast Records} has the same problem. Hissolutionsto e-acceleratethe output when everyoneese slookingformorerecords, Hedecided thathe didnt really wantto goon justroleasingsinglesand ‘sgoingtodoamail-orderthing,amagazine, with recordsinsideit” Nevertheless with UiffLittleFingersa solutionhasbeen ound. Both parteshiton narrangementwhereby they would work together foraboutsixmonths,aftersthich theSuflswouldsigntoamajorlabel twas tobeSire,butthatlinkupseemstohave dissolved), Geoffand Mayo(Red Crayola) ‘Thompsonhavealreadyeo-produced thegroup’sdebutalbum, whilethesales Sea ear “Tt’s some way of being able to create the system, set up anew model” OUGH TRADE of Alternative Ulster” have topped 35,000. Thelivingwamingofthe argerecordmogulsacts asaconstantreminderofwhatcould happen. ‘Richard: “The worstthingisthat the whole record companybusinessthingisstructuralinsuchaway that sso rapacious ofanything that'goingon. I’sactuallyextremely sophisticated intheway that tswallowsupanythingwhichisa threat. Anykind ofway isjustintherewithmoney. (Oversomethinglikedstributionirssoeasy 10 go tosomebody andsay, ‘Givememoney’ Then you'rebackwiththesameoldproblemslike lack ‘ofcontrolandsoon. “We consciouslydecided that wewouldstay independent even fitmeanttheendofRough Trade. Interestingly, wehaven had many offers. That’sactuallylargely because our attitude, Ivhink.isverywell known. Island triedattheveryoutset."Theywantedour recordcompanybeforewehadarecordout. It wasludicrous" Node Sill financialconsiderations apart, woulds’tadistibution deal with ‘amajormeanthatalotmore people wouldhear worthwhilemusict Richard: "Then thinkofthepressuresonthe band: You can'tuse that sleeve ‘Thatrecordisntfastenough or Radio Oneallsortsofother constraintsandlevelsofcompromisethat goingfurther upmarketis goingtoentail.Isaverycomplicated formula. Andall we'retryingtodo Isbroaden thebase of he kind ofoperation that we canoffer these people, sothatiteanbettersuittheirparticularneeds” Thisatttude, however hasntstopped Woolworthsapproaching Rough Trade witha mind distributing the Sits fortheomingalbum, Richard responded, “Wedon'thave time to deal with peoplelike Woolworths. Wehavebeen lookingfor peoplewhocandothatonour behalf We've notentiely happy thatwe'llind anybodywhocan, butwe don'twantcostartupanother section of Rough Trade promote that areaofthemarket, Wedon'thave hetimeand wedon'twantto expand.” Geoff: "Wehaven tsetupan operation totryandgetaNo I record, and \weseriously don'tknowhowimportantitistosellwhat quantityofwhat record andhow thatwillafeet what wed. Itdoesseem thatwhat hhappensis when people star, they putoutrecordsfuriously because they renotreally worriedaboutthe commercial criteria. Then they get ‘oneortwohitsandtheystarttobuildintothelepsychology whatthey see asanunderstandingof whatissuecessful-and thatisone ofthemost obvious traps.Idon'thinkanyfushavebeentemptedintothat Rough Tradecertainlyhavenatbeen tempted intousingtheit"hipness asasourceofextrasales. ey won'thaveanythingtodo withgimmicks Likecoloured vinyl, 12-Anchers,limitededitionsorwhatever. When Rough Tradesingleappearsinapicturebag,italwaysappearsinapicture ‘bag, Theyloathe tho deaofbeingarbtersof taste. As Richard said,"We're not worriedabout Rough Trade'simageandallthatkind of thing. We SRE Sta 1 UOTESESTT Cael ISTO EN SETEE NIT UAE NI en AEN VET CUT TTS like sitting in pubs...”‘Noone s better than IiIknow Tn justanaverageguy NCEUPONALtime there wasarag-taggangofFineArts studentsat Leeds University. They hutied and they patfed with ayouthfulenthusiasm that wastempered, wisely. by the witsthey keptabout them. But the house theywould teardown was ofa more complex construction than they had anticipated, ts foundations deeper than they couldhaveforeseen, Thetaleaf The Mekonsisn toveryet. Infact, ifmy guessiscorrect, thas barelybegun. But The Mekons'fairytalehascomedowmn tocarthwviththe proverbialthump. Prefacing hispiecewasaquote, admittedly outofcontextfromLittle Stevie Wonder's'60sR&B smash “Uptight (Everything’sAlrigho" which Initsowneloquentway explains what TheMekonsareabout-ofatany ratethe feeling! getirom them -morereadily hananyamountof reasoned, oreven impassioned, polemic. Thereisalsothesmall matterof anunconscious-meaningeffortess spontaneous uncontrived: ‘dance-unesensibilitythatStevieWonder oncehadathisfingertip,and ‘which The Mekons, inasimilarly unconscious wey,canattherighttime andintherightplacedeliver I’sanearthy.naturalpopjoyandyoucanfinditon onesideoftheirsecond Fast Productsingle,"Where Were You?" orgoandsee themlivefor proof proper. Butit'sthatsentimentthatisatthe heartofthe smatter;that expression ofprideand humility that says, "Tmgreat Lean doany thing bum nothing special Youcoulddoanythingteo. liyou'vebeen payingattention youlknowthat therewereanceany numberof Mekonsbut nose therearebasicallysix,andtheybegantheirband lifebyaccident-sneakinginandmakingthe most horrendous dinon their mates equipment while thelatter-GangOfFourasit, FET (AN Z1ALB Al The MEKONS tecabreak Seriousintentionswerethe lastthingon theirminds—if someone had dared tosuggest Inayear'stimethey'dbeamore orlessstableentitywitha second singlethathad sold ‘neatly20,000 copies, The Mekonswouldhavelaughed that person outoftheroom. But lftherewerenorealambitions, therewasstillanunderiying approach, attitude, ideology even, thatverysoon crystallised. Kevin Mekon,whoplaysguitar (abatteredold Burns, theresa ofaselFimposed budget of£10) spellsitoutthus:"Thatanybody could doit thatwe didn'want Cobestars:thattherewasza setgroupassuch anybody could getupandjoininand Instruments would beswapped aroundthattheredbeno distance between theatudience andthe band: that wewere nobody special But they were very quickly shattered" addsbassplayer yMekon, Inevitably, thefirsttogowas theanybody-can-have-a:bash dictum, whichataneatiygig precipitated ahorible prose Dfguitarsolosand impromptu onsof"WhiceRiot 4 ston OF RoCK We “Isjustwasn'tpracticalto dota,” explainsvocalist Andy Mckon “Ife wanted tofosterthatkindofspritin ther people. Basieally wehaveto playsomekind ofmusic that people will actualy pay moneytacomeand ‘See, andwith the best willintheworld, notmany peoplewill paymoney tocomeandsee thingslikethat Alatofthe things we started outsaying,”admitsthe other Mekons guitarist Tom Mekon,~.edidn teverthinkwe'd beina positionof hhavingto rethinkortolive with hem. Wejustsaid themotthetopofour heads. Ifsomeonehad said, Thinkabout the possibiltesofwhatyou ‘might become: Kevin recountsa’ protracted discussion” theyhadwithawrlterwho, aftertiringofaccusingthemofbeing”commies”, wentontoaceuse ‘themofcompromising theiroriginal ideas -compromiseandcommic beingdirty words tohisspeciousbrandofdogma which, curiously stil findsplentyoftimeforThe lash) “Wetriedtoexplaintohim thatit’snotaquestion ofcompromis Allthetimeyouhavenewinformation comingalong, andthats bound tochangettheconclusionsyoumake. Youcan'thave thesesets of {deasthat you put onapedestalTheybecomelikearticlesoffaith, Wwhichisridiculous” Anadmirablyclear-headed analysisofthesituation, Mealismbased ‘ona sound measure of pragmatismisthesurestwaytoavoidgetting caughtin your ownhypocritical trap. Idealshaveto bbe practical otherwise theyaresimplyirrelevant. The Mekons had stuck iotheiroriginalieas, \wewould havebecome ike ATV, playingto20people naield” ‘We wouldn'teven havedonethat, We'dhavejust played onegigand hat wouldhavebeenit There wasatime,” says Tom, "whenpeople ‘thought, orseemedtoimply,that there was somethingwrong withbecominga biggroup: that therewassomesortofmoraldilemmainvolvedin becoming successful ‘There'snothingmorally wrong with becoming aworkingband,comments Jon, TheMekons hard-working drummer, "doingajob of work like playingorentertaining, andactuallygetingenough moneytoliveon outofic "The pointis"—Tomagain. ‘youareinevitably.arastuck ‘would haveit,goingtoget bigger.Andwhen thathappens Idon'tthinkyou should immediatelyturnaround andsay,Right,that'sit.Time toknockitonthehead: The Mekons' approach punk ifyouwanttocallit that-whichisnotexchusive tothembutforsshich they hhavebecomeakindot figurehead, isperfectly commendable, Buttonot follow tthroughwouldbein awayacop-out.Ifyouadopt acertainwayofdoingthings, there¥almostanobligationto sechowfaryoucantakethat ‘wayofdoingthings. ihutifwhatendedup’ arguesMatkMekon, theother halfofthevocalteam, "was agroupthatused whatever Ideaswehad-thewaywe behave onstage, whatwesay here, any ofthe things webold ddear-anditjustbecame his rathertattypiece ofimage theycartedaround... tally rmeaningles... TheMekons LIRAshow,..,Then [thinkweshouldstop-ifithecamejusta selling point rather than the real justification: ‘BucTthink,"says Andy, “thatitwouldbe very hard forustodecidewhen ludid become ike that” think, saysMary,“thatwe'velustreachedastagewherei’s beginning belike that! Andthat,dearreader,istheveryeruxofthe problem, l'salsoarareinsight intotheheattof band, somethingyou'renotlikely ohear ‘admittedsofranklyinalong longyhile The Mekons havecomealltheway tothefale cityofDublinto participateina 24-hourpunk ‘marathon, the inaugural gigoftheProjectArts Centre,avshitewashed warehouse partitioned ffineatwo tage areasandadisco, ‘Handsplaysimultaneously andincessantly throughoutthenight,toomanyandroo diverse ‘otally,tocrowdsthatdon'tseemtogiveahoot about he makeshift organisationand eld-tent toilets. Theypartyanel pogo allthewayintothe rnextmorning.Theshootpunks,don'tthey? Publiclmageand Throbbing Grstlear scheduled. Theformer pulloutbecause their leaderisincourtand they'redrummerless;the latter-sowordhasit-becauseit’stoocold But TheMekonsshovup, bravingiced-overroadsand bitter winds luggingtheirampsanddrumsand {guitars byhandon the iverpool-to-Dublin ferry They rebeingpaldwellforthegig.andneedthe ‘money bring the bandkittybackintheblack, Itdoesn'tmake senso says Mark,aswewhile away the seven-hourfery ide, "but now that \we'eplayingmoregigsand usually gttingpaid ‘moreforthem,weseemtoactually haveless ‘money, don understand, buts true The Mekons, despite persistingrumours,arestillunsigned. They've hhadoffes.andtheinteresthasbeen metbysome exactingdemandson theirpart. They penlyadmittheirperplexityaboutthe"biz’ yet acknowledge that soonerat later one way or another, they willhaveto ‘ometotermswithit Independenceisafine thing The Mekonsare able tobeautonomousat present ecause they iveon thelr studentgrants Mostofthem willbetaking thelrfinalslaterthisyear ‘Sowhy, withallthesefactorsconspiringto corrupt theiroriginal motivation, dathey doit? Seeingthem liveanswersthat question. Theflrsttime! saw them hatedit, Confrontedwith thevastnessof London'sElectric Ballroom, TheMekonsseemed tobe playingforthemselves, projectingnoneofthe warm, amateurish charmthatstheirinfectious trademark, Tttookasocond exposure inmoreamenable circumstancesto unearth the quality oftheirsongs-simple quite irresistible songs, ike "Hong KongGarden"orsome buzzcocks material, music thatinvtesyour surrender. Thetitles:"What Are We Going To Do Tonight, “Lonely And Wet", “LikeSpoons No More’, “Trevira Trousers, “Rosanne”, ‘Dance And eink With The Mekons’ ‘Most ofthe songsare aboutsocallife,” says Mark, who should know sineehe writethe words. “Things ikesittinginppubs...with theemphasis ‘onclothes andbehaviourpaternsand everythingelsethat’ssupposedto ‘makeup the eal you," headdsdisparagingly. The Mekons goon stagein Dublinat’330on Saturday morning. They Dbadsetoutfor thegiga fulldayandabalfearler, butwhateverstrain that ‘mightentailvanishesthemomenttheystartplaying. Theysmileand laughalotanddanceincessantl. Thefuntheyarchavingistangible— they reallycan fosterthatspiritthat Andy mentioned. ‘Vulnerable, saysone onlooker. “Innocent.” saysanother.*Avw,come on" saysathird,"Teoulddothat.” "[wmntcrt™ hasreached the pointwhere theyarejustabouttocrawlout ofthe water. Theirguidingline when faced withadecisionofany material consequenceused tobe giggleand run”. Butnow Markisaskingmeifl “There was no set group as such - anybody could get up and join in” THE MEKONS knowofa reputablelawyer (which, incidentally, don’). Theycomplain, with goodreason, about the lackofellable andavailableinformation about the biz. And howcertain professional lasses protect ther self {nterestby maintaininga mystique about what they do-something found nallstrataofeverydaylife,nolessinthe business of music Jon:Alotofthose early punk bands were puttingacrass amessagethatanybody ould doit ‘Kevin: "That'sthepartthathas beencleaned up thefastestJustread thereviews. Words like' musicianship’ and’ professionalism and'craftsmanship, which weren'taround Aayearorso ago,arecomingbackagain Andthere wasthinkingthevalueofideas andenergyovermeretechniquehadbeen well andtruly established... Onreflection, though, lewasinevitablethatasthe punk bandsplay ‘mote,sotheybecomemoretechnically proficient, wthall the dangersthat hoes Andasthey becomemore famous and more polished, sotheybeeomelessaccessiblethe potential rebellion point foranew generationof ‘malcontents Andy: “Yougo thatroutewhenyoustart puttingyourselfon stage. Wehadtheseideas abouthavingno photographs, nopersonalitie. Wsobviousthatpersonalitiesdostarttoemerge assoonasyou goonstage Itwouldbevery easy {osay we'regolngtobemorehonest,we'regoing tobeourreal selves. That'sabsoluteshit...but wecantry "Andyelanimportantconstituent of pop asics the personalities thatmakeit. There's nogettingaway from that Buttheremustbe ‘away ofpresenting personalities that are ‘complementaryto what wearemuscally,and aren’tinsultingto people’ {ntlligence,aren'tcondescending, Kevin:"Andalsoaren'timplyingtopeople personalitytobe” ‘Andy: That’swhatTmeanbycondescending." Kevin:“Agroupcansuggest waysof acting without beingsooppressive ‘thatyouhaven'tgotanywayofmakingup yourown mindabouthowto dothings. Tom:"Weweresayingtheother day tatitsnicetoseepeopleactually smilingat groups, whichiswhatthey endtodo tous, when they tenot ‘actually pissing themselves laughing! can'tseehow wecouldeverbe olisedinany ay” But they could, ofcourse. Justasthey could neverhaveforeseen Bob Last soffertomakearecora with hemaftertheirfirstgig with theband ‘moreorlessasitisnow, howcanthey foresee the circumstancesthey ‘might find themselvesin,beyonda ew shrewd guesses? Maybeitwould have been better that The Mekonshadealleditquits after that first gig. Maybe twould have been betterifthese pages were leftblank, and hen you, dearreader,couldhave been tue othespirit of The Mekonsand{filled hem inwitha fewwordsaboutyourselfand yourthoughts, Butthereisacertainmomenturm that developsintheseatfairsthatis ‘outsideanyindividual'scontro. Thesixaverage, intelligent good: hhumoured membersofThe Mekons areawareofthedangersoflosing sight of thelr founding goals—which, incase he pointhasbeen missed, {smuchmoreinvolvedthan asimplequestion of whether osignornot ‘osign. Theirawarenessofthese potential taps naturally patsthemin better postionto dealwiththem, ‘Somayiethistimethey~andlby implication you -won'tgetfooled again. Puulambal atthatisa desirable THE GROUP WHO FELL TO EARTH THE MEKONS step down from the f idealism and come face © o> nntth Raok Reality.| “Real punks ey aa not posers ~ Pw rs UTA 0 DESMO Tg ee see eee | 0 fea eesoene in Northern Ireland ig gapulanacelaiy yal the sees EI OTIS TREE clan a “ke : different from #emaniae tnMe nee Feaite Sharkeymeok HE FACTORY RESEMBLES the scene of fully fledged Flot. Smashed bottles and glasseslie strewn acrossthe floor. Worn-outbodiesazeslumpedincorners, searching forthe second wind thatwill ake theminto the nightandhome. group called The Undertonesare the provocateursof thisearnage but remain unaware of theirinfluential role, ‘We keep waitin’ forsomebody from Sire|theirrecord company] 0 come upafterseein’usplayandsay, Whatthe fuckdidwesign youlotfor? You'reusoless, Wedon'tunderstandany ofthisatall” Manchesteris the location forthe second gigof Ihe Undertones’ 12-dateBritish tous. Havingbecomeaccustomedtoplayingperhapsone aigaweekathome (Derry, Nireland) forthe previoustwo years thslittle Jauntaround themainlandassumesmonumental,and-fortheband~ horrific, proportions “Twodovrn,only 1togo. od, that’sanawfullongtimetobeaway, \We'reallfeclin’ kinds homesickatthemoment. Wedontlike ta beaway fromDerry or toolong ‘Thetour opened thenightbeforeat the Norwich Boogie House. twas, byallaccounts,quitean evening amore franticandhysteicalreaction eventhanManchester-which, ite you, akessomedoing Such was ‘theexcitementinNorwich thatonefan sufferedabrokenleg. another couplefaintedintheheat, andthe policewereeventuallycalied bythe ‘management to bringasemblance ofnormality bckto the proceedings. TheFactory-normallyaWestIndian social lub—issetin Manchester's otorious Hulmeestate(highestsuiciderateinGB). The Undertonesare Lnerested inthenewsthathigh-riseatsin theareaareeldup tthe \worldofarchitectureasanexampleofhownot tobuild multi-storey dwellings. They should go tothe Rossville Streetflatsin Derry"The Undertonesobserve, They're fallingapartfarworsethan these” Bythe day, The Undertones-allofthemunder 21-arelivingandlearning, Theirprovincial naivety, sooftenlackingin thepersonalitiesot themoreimage-afflicted Lnglshbands, js morea strength thana weakness Everything they do, rom ¢ravellinginam bustosleepingincheaphotelstoplayingon sage, istouchedby theirbubblingenthusiasm forthenoveltyofitall-anatttude exaggerated evenmorebytheirshelteredhomelife,Thisisso “Days seem longer now. We weren't used to playin’ every night” vastly different fromanything they'veeverexperienced that almost every itleincidentis marked by thelr incredulity Atthesametime they'teno fools, and they reacttothe everyday routine ofgiggingwithaprofessionalism thatshouldbe noted by more established bands. They turn up forsoundcheckson time. When they're tokitoboonstageat lpm, they'llbelaunchingintotheopeningnumber ‘onthedot, andafterwardstheirdressingroomisan open house for aanybodywhowantstopopinand say hello. ‘They haveverylitletime, oo, for fashion turningoutin theirstreet eur Theaudiencelooksmore likestars than they do, butthat sanother partofThe Undertones’ charm, “We'rejustnotused othissortathing.”sayssingerFergalSharkey when \wetalkabout the drasticchangein pace fromone gigaweektoaconstant runof shows, “i'svery different, Wee startin’ to getabitused toitnow. ‘butisnotasgood. Thisreallyknackersusalthoughi'snotastiingasthe ‘ourwedidsupportin TheRezilos. Chis, that wasthe rst wo'dever played threenightsonthetrotlwasrunnin'aroundpermanently asleep.” “Thedaysseemlongernow Bradleyinerjects."Weweren'tusedto playin’ everynight.y know. Thewweeksseemedtoflywhen we layed bonceaweekin Derry. Now, every dayislikea week We'tejust sittin’ aroundall the time. don’ nothin’ The Undertonesaren'ttoo enamouredoflifeon theroad.Theiratitude, ‘infact, contrasts with thatofprobably every other new-waveband. They ddon'tseeanyfunatallin}aulingtheiryoungbodies around the British labeieuitand,atthemoment,certainlydon thaveanyplansto ‘undertake tours that take them away fromhomeformore than two weeks. fwegetthroughit Sharkey cautiously replieswhen the brevityofthis ‘ourispointed out. "Wemight just decidetogoback homeoneday." And youknow henot joking, "Touringlike thistakesthefunoutofitforus, particularlywhenyou'replayin’thesameset hightafternight.Afterfournights, youjuststart thinkin" Herewe goagain Isreallyhardwork tokeepthe thingtiesh. can geta itboring ‘Wenevertouredbetore,sowedidn'tknow whatitwouldbelike, Touringtousisjust. ah, .necessaryevil, suppose” JohnO'Nellisthechiefsongwriterin The Undertones. e'squietand distant. butwhen peakhiscommentsareconeiseand Heisparticularly disenchanted -"l'Saveryserioussituation,"he suggests. “Itsnotactually beingawayfrom home thatgetsus.I'sbeingawayfrom girlfriends Sotheydon'tbelieveinarock'noll lifeofdabooze,broadsand Dbrawis#"That'samyeh,” he

You might also like

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

  

  From Everand

  The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

  Mark Manson

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (5823)
• The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

  

  From Everand

  The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

  Brené Brown

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1093)
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

  

  From Everand

  Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

  Chris Voss

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (852)
• • Magazines
  • Podcasts
  • Sheet music
• Principles: Life and Work

  

  From Everand

  Principles: Life and Work

  Ray Dalio

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (612)
• The Glass Castle: A Memoir

  

  From Everand

  The Glass Castle: A Memoir

  Jeannette Walls

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (1719)
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  

  From Everand

  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  Angela Duckworth

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (590)
• Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

  Jesmyn Ward

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1105)
• Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

  

  From Everand

  Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

  Margot Lee Shetterly

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (898)
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

  

  From Everand

  Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

  Phil Knight

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (541)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  

  From Everand

  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  Stephen Chbosky

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (2105)
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

  

  From Everand

  The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

  Ben Horowitz

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (349)
• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

  

  From Everand

  Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

  Ashlee Vance

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (474)
• Bad Feminist: Essays

  

  From Everand

  Bad Feminist: Essays

  Roxane Gay

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1025)
• The Outsider: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Outsider: A Novel

  Stephen King

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1867)
• Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

  

  From Everand

  Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

  Carmen Maria Machado

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (823)
• The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

  

  From Everand

  The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

  Viet Thanh Nguyen

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (122)
• The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

  

  From Everand

  The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

  Siddhartha Mukherjee

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (271)
• Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

  

  From Everand

  Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

  Frank McCourt

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (442)
• Brooklyn: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Brooklyn: A Novel

  Colm Tóibín

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (1948)
• The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  

  From Everand

  The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  Meik Wiking

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (403)
• A Man Called Ove: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  A Man Called Ove: A Novel

  Fredrik Backman

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (4771)
• Steve Jobs

  

  From Everand

  Steve Jobs

  Walter Isaacson

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (809)
• The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

  

  From Everand

  The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

  Thomas L. Friedman

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (2259)
• The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

  Garth Stein

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (4208)
• The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)

  

  From Everand

  The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)

  Sarah M. Broom

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (98)
• Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

  

  From Everand

  Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

  Gilbert King

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (266)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  

  From Everand

  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  Betty Smith

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (1929)
• Yes Please

  

  From Everand

  Yes Please

  Amy Poehler

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1903)
• A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story

  

  From Everand

  A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story

  Dave Eggers

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (231)
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

  

  From Everand

  Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

  Doris Kearns Goodwin

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (234)
• The Woman in Cabin 10

  

  From Everand

  The Woman in Cabin 10

  Ruth Ware

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (2523)
• Wolf Hall: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Wolf Hall: A Novel

  Hilary Mantel

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (3973)
• Fear: Trump in the White House

  

  From Everand

  Fear: Trump in the White House

  Bob Woodward

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (738)
• John Adams

  

  From Everand

  John Adams

  David McCullough

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (2409)
• On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

  

  From Everand

  On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

  Naomi Klein

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (74)
• The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

  M.L. Stedman

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (789)
• Manhattan Beach: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Manhattan Beach: A Novel

  Jennifer Egan

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (880)
• The Constant Gardener: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Constant Gardener: A Novel

  John Le Carré

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (104)
• The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

  

  From Everand

  The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

  George Packer

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (45)
• Assaf Gruber Arndt Except The Past 2020

  

  Document17 pages

  Assaf Gruber Arndt Except The Past 2020

  Lotte

  No ratings yet
• The History of Rock #08 - 1972

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #08 - 1972

  pennyman

  100% (4)
• The History of Rock #06 - 1970

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #06 - 1970

  pennyman

  100% (3)
• The History of Rock #03 - 1967 PDF

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #03 - 1967 PDF

  pennyman

  100% (2)
• Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore

  

  From Everand

  Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore

  Jay Sekulow

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (137)
• Little Women

  

  From Everand

  Little Women

  Louisa May Alcott

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (105)
• The History of Rock #18 - 1982

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #18 - 1982

  pennyman

  100% (7)
• The History of Rock #14 - 1978

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #14 - 1978

  pennyman

  100% (2)
• The History of Rock #11 - 1975

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #11 - 1975

  pennyman

  100% (3)
• The History of Rock #07 - 1971

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #07 - 1971

  pennyman

  100% (1)
• The History of Rock #05 - 1969

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #05 - 1969

  pennyman

  100% (2)
• The History of Rock #02 - 1966

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #02 - 1966

  pennyman

  100% (2)
• The History of Rock #04 - 1968

  

  Document148 pages

  The History of Rock #04 - 1968

  pennyman

  100% (2)
• Filipino Worth Dying For

  

  Document1 page

  Filipino Worth Dying For

  Mitch Sivuad II

  No ratings yet
• Traditional Culinary Museums: Samples From Turkey

  

  Document5 pages

  Traditional Culinary Museums: Samples From Turkey

  inventionjournals

  No ratings yet
• Notetaking Bibliography

  

  Document3 pages

  Notetaking Bibliography

  jememe

  No ratings yet
• Urban Society

  

  Document67 pages

  Urban Society

  maravillosouniverso

  No ratings yet
• Is The Quran The Word of God

  

  Document47 pages

  Is The Quran The Word of God

  asadghalib1

  100% (1)
• Reaction Paper

  

  Document7 pages

  Reaction Paper

  Shen Shen

  No ratings yet
• Timeline

  

  Document1 page

  Timeline

  api-286702804

  0% (1)
• Brashier, K - The Spirit of Lord Baishi Mountain

  

  Document74 pages

  Brashier, K - The Spirit of Lord Baishi Mountain

  Ctm3

  No ratings yet
• The Angel of Pergamon

  

  Document19 pages

  The Angel of Pergamon

  Donny Newman

  75% (4)
• 21st Century Literature From The Philippines and The World Syllabus

  

  Document4 pages

  21st Century Literature From The Philippines and The World Syllabus

  Christelle Jean Arellano-Paman

  50% (10)
• K.A Kitchen, Two Donation Stelae

  

  Document14 pages

  K.A Kitchen, Two Donation Stelae

  Perrine Poiron

  No ratings yet
• The Monguors of The Kansu-Tibetan Frontier

  

  Document695 pages

  The Monguors of The Kansu-Tibetan Frontier

  koknor

  No ratings yet
• TJC History 2021 Brochure

  

  Document27 pages

  TJC History 2021 Brochure

  Melissa Teo

  No ratings yet
• David and Solomon and The United Monarchy, Archaeology and The Biblical Narrative

  

  Document4 pages

  David and Solomon and The United Monarchy, Archaeology and The Biblical Narrative

  Chenxi Ding

  No ratings yet
• Understanding Ancient State Societies in The Old World

  

  Document31 pages

  Understanding Ancient State Societies in The Old World

  Lone wolf

  No ratings yet
• Historical Greek Coins - Hill (1906)

  

  Document238 pages

  Historical Greek Coins - Hill (1906)

  Babilonia Cruz

  No ratings yet
• M Sukru Hanioglu Ataturk An Intellectual

  

  Document4 pages

  M Sukru Hanioglu Ataturk An Intellectual

  Milena Grigoryan

  No ratings yet
• History Dance

  

  Document5 pages

  History Dance

  Michael Maquiñana

  No ratings yet
• The Story of Hutton

  

  Document312 pages

  The Story of Hutton

  Sam Hudson

  100% (1)
• LESSON NO: 1 (3hours) Title: Learning History

  

  Document28 pages

  LESSON NO: 1 (3hours) Title: Learning History

  Jeya Plays YT

  100% (1)
• History

  

  Document41 pages

  History

  ckunal55

  No ratings yet
• Ge2 Final Report

  

  Document7 pages

  Ge2 Final Report

  PewDiePie Junior

  0% (1)
• Cecil B. DeMille, Classical Hollywood, and Modern American Mass Culture 1910-1960

  

  Document336 pages

  Cecil B. DeMille, Classical Hollywood, and Modern American Mass Culture 1910-1960

  Olrik77

  100% (1)
• CFP - Dibrugarh University Journal of English Studies (DUJES) Volume 27 (March, 2019) - H-Announce - H-Net

  

  Document2 pages

  CFP - Dibrugarh University Journal of English Studies (DUJES) Volume 27 (March, 2019) - H-Announce - H-Net

  Anonimous Adhikary

  No ratings yet
• Bonifacio Before The Revolution Notes

  

  Document5 pages

  Bonifacio Before The Revolution Notes

  Samantha Jesi Shania Estrada

  No ratings yet
• Discover The World's Research

  

  Document24 pages

  Discover The World's Research

  Juca Flávio

  No ratings yet
• Your Passport To The Human Odyssey: Empires in Africa, Asia, and The Americas - Semester Introduction - Lesson Answer Key

  

  Document2 pages

  Your Passport To The Human Odyssey: Empires in Africa, Asia, and The Americas - Semester Introduction - Lesson Answer Key

  johdl,nd nmcbhk,n

  No ratings yet
• Bibliography For Cotton in The Middle Ages

  

  Document4 pages

  Bibliography For Cotton in The Middle Ages

  Vikas Sood

  No ratings yet
• Narrative Research Skaidrės

  

  Document9 pages

  Narrative Research Skaidrės

  Emilija volunge

  No ratings yet