Roadrunner 4(1) February 1981

VOL 4 No7l. Feb. ’81.

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P.O. Box 90, Eastwood S.A. 5063.

EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Donald Robertson ADVERTISING Lyn Saunders (08) 42 3040 OFFICE Giles Barrow SYDNEY EDITOR: Stuart Coupe (02) 569 8964 MELBOURNE EDITOR: Adrian Ryan (03) 347 3991 BRISBANE: David Pestorius PERTH: Kim Williams LONDON: Keith Shadwick, Larry Buttrose, Chris Salew icz CONTRIBUTORS: Stan Coulter, Goose, Tyrone Flex, Span Hanna, David Langsam, Adrian M iller, Sue Wylie, Craig N. Pearce.

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DISTRIBUTION: Gordon & Gotch for Australia and New Zealand PRINTER: Bridge Press, Seventh St., Murray Bridge, S.A. 5253 Ph: (085) 3 2 1 7 4 4 .

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Ph.: (08) 42 3040.

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ROADRUNNER Page 2

Dear Editor, ROADRUNNER has the reputation fo r being A ustralia's most intelligent rock journal. Pre­ sum ing you enjoy this reputation, w h y did you decide to publish 'D octor Gonzo's' singularly unintelligent vie w o f the Adelaide M usic Scene in 1980?

The article is clum sy, heavy handed and lacks any clear, critical thought. The standard of journalism is dire ("...stu ff all has happened this yea r", and cliches such as "severe s lu m p", "step in the right d irectio n", "w ith the excep­ tion o f a fe w isolated h ig h lig h ts" and "th e y do n 't always deliver the goods.")

'D o c to r G o n zo ' a lso g ra p p le s w ith an idealogical fram ew ork fo r the article that is blusteringly sim plistic.

"A huge conservative backlash is on, and like it or not, it affects peoples' cultural attitudes" And w hat does "A d e la id e is in th e g rip o f b lu e -rin s e paranoia" mean?

There is no attem pt in the article to analyse musical trends and influences as one could reasonably expect. On the rise o f Heavy Metal Music, the 'D octor' recom m ends Euthanasia.

W hat makes the author really angry, he says, is the fact tha t one to ta lly insignificant com m er­ cial nightclub band is making more money than another of the same category. I fail to see w hy this kind of discussion should take up room in a new music magazine.

And w h at about the "n e w music explosion" as he/she put it. W ell, that's sim ply dismissed as fo u r or five bands that happen to feature on radio station 5MMM-FM and th e ir gigs. There­ fore, your w rite r concludes (w ith a bitterness that arouses some suspicion), that nepotism runs rife at 5M M M and that through the station, this group perpetuates its own existence and the m yth o f the New Music. It's a great conspiracy theory except that New Music, so-called is a w id e r phenomena than, the Adelaide environs. W ould s/he accuse John Peel or BAD fo r that m atter of nepotism fo r playing one track in favo ur o f another?

In fact the general attack on Adelaide's new public radio 5M M M , is odious and destructive.

Firstly, the 'D octor' ^alks m oralistically about its volunteer program m ers lacking a 'profes­ sional attitude'. S/he says nothing of its brave attem pt to make radio a com m u nity activity.

Next to M elbourne's SCR, 5M M M is the most accessible participatory radio in Australia.

The second point 'D octor Gonzo' makes, is tha t the station doesn't play a broad enough blend of 'progressive' music. In my capacity as a b ro a d c a s te r and h a v in g ju s t tra v e lle d through the United States and speaking now from London, I have been amazed at the b re ad th and p ro g re ssive n e ss o f B M M M 's playlist. It is far m ore m usically progressive than its A m erican counterparts and v irtu a lly as up to date as BBC Radio 1 in contem porary music and small label and local releases.

Added to this, 5M M M has a large am ount of airtim e given over to specialist m usic prog­ rams (jazz etc): so much so that the diversity creates problem s in establishing a station "so u n d ".

'Dr Gonzo' then goes on to bitch about the choice o f local music the station plays— but doesn't even acknowledge its dedication to the principle o f playing local music.

For a station the 'D octor' rubbishes, he/she spends an awful lot of tim e discussing its pivotal position. 5M M M has provided Adelaide m usic w ith a centre, a platform , a netw ork and a cred ib ility Not on ly does it play local demo tapes as a m atter o f course, but it has taken a most adm irable financial gam ble w hich it can ill afford, to produce a com pilation album of Adelaide bands. To this all you r tw isted w rite r has to say is, "H ope fully it w ill be more representative of bands than some o f its previous entrep­ reneurial efforts".

S/he doesn't m ention the "ROCK OFF"—a com petition in w hich over seventy Adelaide bands entered and six came out w ith prizes of studio recording tim e.

And w hat of the "entrepreneurial e ffo rts" tha t our good doctor mentions. By this does he/she mean the TIVOLI and the GOVERNOR HINDMARSH hotel—^thetwo liveliest and m ost im p ortan t city Rock venues we have for local bands? Neither venue is discussed.

Finally there is the m atter o f the pseudonym 'DOCTOR GONZO'. A t the end o f this worthless article is a self im portant gesture tow ards fairness and good faith.

The 'D octor' says of him or herself, "A n yon e w ho sets themselves up as a self appointed arbiter o f taste m ust be able to ride w ith the punches".

—a m agnanim ous th o u g h t only the s n iv e lin g illiterate hasn't even given us his real name.

I'm sick of reading hardhitting truths by gutless nobodies. But I suppose that's w hy 'D octor Gonzo' opted fo r som eone elses name anyway.

Suffice it to say, the article reflects very badly on your newspaper, and its attem pts to surface as a credible and inte llige nt journal on Rock and Roll.

Yours, Mandy Salomon London, England.

I'm sorry if not everybody shares Mandy Salom an's m yopic vie w o f Adelaide rock'n'roll.

A ctually, she seems m ore concerned w ith correcting my (lack of) style than logical rebuttal. Her main beef w o uld appear to be that I'm not sycophantically in love w ith certain aspects of 5-M M M 's adm inistration. I hate to destroy her illusions, but I'm far from alone in th is view. Further, the station is m entioned tw ice in the course o f an 800-word article. She has interpreted this as a brutal tirade against everything 5-M M M stands for. Her defence of said station borders on rabid paranoia. She seems to have missed m y point, nam ely that certain resources at 5-M M M are being abused by individuals not dissociated from certain bands, and closely associated w ith the station.

I'm sorry if M andy is upset by m y use of a pseudonym. As a staunch defender o f 5-M M M policy, she m ight like to id en tify random factor, Clive & Carlos Casual, Michael Liferaft, Auto Function and Suzy Ramone fo r me.

I doubt if Mandy understand.s the difficulties associated w ith keeping a band together in a city w ith the lim ited resources of Adelaide.

Expenses are horrendous, fees are generally paltry, and Adelaide audiences are notorious fo r sitting on the ir hands. Added to this we have bands succeeding on the grounds of shameless pretension rather then actual m usi­ cal value.

W ith reference to "N O ATTEMPT . . . TO ANALYSE MUSICAL TRENDS . . ." The rele­ vance of "The Boys", "B o ltz ", et al, is that the y're taken more seriously by m ost media and audiences than any m usically honest band. To brand them as irrelevant is incurably elitist. I wish that M andy and her colleagues w o uld spend m ore tim e increasing the acces­ sib ility of th e ir product than reacting vio len tly to criticism of any kind.

A nyone w h o preaches literary excellence and can't fathom the meaning o f 'Blue Rinse Paranoia' is in m ore trouble than I thought. Isn't it obvious? Adelaide has always harboured a great deal o f latent conservatism. Look w hat they did to Christopher Hunt. In a rock'n'roll context, the same applies. Exciting, fresh, original bands are relegated to the fringes of Adelaide nightlife.

M andy im plies in her letter that any view other than her ow n is the voice o f a "sn ive llin g illiterate". M y criticism of Adelaide was made on a professional, not personal basis. Refer­ ences to "e utha nasia" and being "s h o t at sunrise" were attem pts at savage hum our not uncom m on in rock journalism . If you're fa m il­ iar w ith the likes o f N.M.E., I'm sure you recognize the style. There is no place fo r name-calling in any reasoned debate, however strongly the parties diffe r - it's infantile and pointless.

I hope w e've seen the end of this correspon­ dence. I d o n 't wish to become involved in a gratuitous paper war. Roadrunner's space is better occupied w ith features on deserving Adelaide bands. They're far m ore im portant than you or I, Mandy.

I remain unrepentantly yours.

Doctor GONZO Dear Sir, Referring to you r article in Roadrunner (vol. 3 No's 11 & 12 Dec-Jan), 'Epitaph fo r a w orking class hero' by Donald Robertson. It refers to a book: Lennon Remembers—The Rolling Stone

Interviews' by Jann W enner, I w o uld like very much to know as to w here this book m ig ht be found in Sydney and w h o published it.

I w ill be very eagerly aw aiting you r reply.

Y o u rsT a ith fu lly, John Catts, Penhurst, N.S.W. Dear Roadrunner, A com m ent on an article penned by Goose & Paul Koff in Vol. 3. Nos. 11 & 12.

Dec.-Jan.) A ltho ug h I agree w ith some of Goose's and Paul Koff's notes on the Sydney M usic Scene in 1980, there were several bands that they chose to ignore (or maybe d id n 't know about). If we are going to talk about Sydney bands then M en ta l As A n yth in g and The Num bers m ust surely rate a m ention. They are still draw ing in the big crow ds and The M ental's have recently released th e ir version of Romeo & Juliet, w hich deserves to chart everywhere. Of the not-sow ell-know n bands The Riptides (orig. Bris­ bane) m ust now be one of Sydney's favourite bands.

They have been playing here fo r about a y e a r, and R e g u la r R ecords have w is e ly scooped them up w ith the offer of a recording contract. The Riptides provide dance music at its danciest, and when you see them , happy tim es are certainly to be had. The Introverts are another top dance band, and are now adding some sparkling originals to a list of snappy covers. Fast Cars play The Sussex every Tuesday, and should gain w id e r recognition in 1981. A great fem ale vocalist/guitarist is a positive fo r the group. Finally, The Sunny Boys are a hot tip fo r 1981. They're a pow erful young band w ho sure know how to d e live rth e goods!

I thin k that the lead vocalist sounds like Jim M orrison (or Iggy Pop) w h ile one friend described the band as a cross between The Doors and The Sex Pisto!s\ They haven't been around for tha t long, but at The San M iguel the other night they certainly packed it out.

Since Goose and Paul w rote the ir article. The Flam ing Hands have split, Scapa F low are on an extended holiday. Laughing Clowns, after releasing a beaut. E.P., are resting again (when aren't they?). M o ving Parts have re-arranged the ir line-up and are perform ing all new m aterial, etc. etc. S urprisingly and sadly. The Rock Garden has been closed. Is another city venue to bite the dust?

I disagree w ith Goose and Paul's closing com m ent - "The new bands prom ised but disappointed". I saw many Sydney bands in 1980, and m ost tim es the prom ises were fulfilled . I w ould just like to know how often Goose and Paul frequent the Sydney and suburban venues? Because I can't see how any frequent band punter could fail to notice the bands I m entioned (and I really doubt th e irtaste when they m ention The Eyes UGH).

They're only forgiven fo r m entioning The Singles.

If the City of Sydney acquires new venues in 1981 I can see a happier future fo r our bands. If not, then it's out to conquer the dark sleeping suburbs. I reckon that if it's good y o u 'll go a fair w ay to see it. And it's good.

Yours critically, Shayne Collier.

Chatswood, N.S.W. Thank you Shayne. P.S. Wanna job?

ONE LIFE IN THE DAY OF NEW YEAR’S EVE. New year's ever. Cleanse the year's sins. Happy happy all the time.

Yeah.

The alarm fails in the m orning. Therefore no work. No pay. No money. No beer. I do get woken up though, at eleven o'clock, by fou r police officers w ith a search warrant. They w ant to tear up m y vegetable garden and search m y house. I'm cooperative, so they do n 't take me away and beat me up. But they do take m y favourite vegetable.

I suppose even a cop wants some fun on new year's eve.

In the evening the five m ile w alk to the gig I prom ised to cover feels like hell. And I leave halfway through anyway. It's hard to put up w ith absolute rubbish on a term inal hangover in a m ood that makes Hitler seem a reasonable chap.

Jesus?.. . W hat, w hat w ould you do? Proph­ esy? Y'know, a couple o f quick one liners.

Yeah, I could use a few yuks, not to m ention drinks.

Oh, yes, the review. The Young Hom ebuyers w ould rate a few w ords if I d id n 't value m y life.

The Distressed Innocents fin a lly have one good song. When Nuvo Bloc start up w ith th e ir usual toneless excretions I start looking fo r a lift to a party.

Right, this is the party to be at. Tw o thousand hippies in a closed o ff street, ah passing out from alcohol poisoning as some gizzled old bat squawks Auld Langsyne. M ind you there's no escape. Despite having both feet and m ost of her body already in the grave, this seventythree year old (antique?) to rtu re instrum ent is bellow ing tunelessly through a P.A. at incred­ ible volum e. They're handing out sheets w ith the w ords on, and obviously expect us to sing.

Quick Jeeves, bring me m y elephant gun.

Hey, wanna go to another party? Thank God. Saved from an im pending hom icide, perhaps genocide.

We w alk in and they play Joy Divisions 'N ovelty' on the record player, and I feel some slight vindication. The Lounge take to the verandah, and play some not unreasonable rockn roll. I acceptthe op po rtu nity n o tto ta lk to anyone. Then it's sit on the lawn w ith a w arm beer 'til a lift home (where I should have stayed) presents itself.

Fitting end to a year when everything that could be shitty was. The bad bands got big, and the good ones g ot rare (and broke). The cost of everything w ent up, and the standard w ent down. The pigs in pow er got fat.

I do n 't thin k anybody won. We ju st lost.

JOHN DOE

T H

Check out the ads. C.B.S. Records have acquired the distribution rights for Virgin Records and they’re very pleased. And with good reason. Without ever being a regular chart-topper the label has a gilt-edged reputation for signing musically adventurous acts - in fact its first release was Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells’, an album that was rejected by every major record company in the U.K. and which has now sold more than nine million copies throughout the world.

The label’s present roster includes the Sex Pistols (deceased) as well as Public Image Ltd., and Steve Jones and Paul Cook’s new outfit, the Professionals; recent Australian tourists XTC and Magazine, two of the most exciting synthesizer bands in the world, the Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, as well as two of the pioneers of the form in Tangerine Dream and Mike Oldfield. Then there’s Scottish poppers Fingerprintz, Scottish rockers, The Skids, Cana­ dian’s Martha and the Muffins, even our very own Mental As Anything for awhile.

As well as the main Virgin label, there are two subsidiary labels, the reggae Frontline label, with artists such as the Mighty Diamonds and Culture, and Dindisc for ‘new’ music although the distinc­ tion is a difficult one to make.

But the record label is only one facet of Virgin founder Richard Branson’s music empire. Virgin Records com prises two first rate recording studios, one of which, the Manor in rural Oxford­ shire, is almost a legend in it’s own right, the Venue

ORCMCSmAL M A N O EU VR ES

John lyoon/ k o t t b N — one of London’s top nightspots, interests in films (The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle got that cab off the rank),book publishing and music publishing and believe it or not, an actual island in the Virgin Islands group on which another recording studio is planned.

All this and the Virgin Record stores chain, which sells around 25% of every major album released in the U.K., too!

It's no wonder that his rivals estimate that after Paul McCartney, Richard Branson is the richest man in the British music business.

Branson’s personal story is probably even more interesting than the story of Virgin. But considering the first includes the second that’s not surprising.

He first came to the public eye at the age of 17 with a national publication called ‘Student’. Although it never made a profit, it ran for three years and sold between 50,000 and 110,000 copies per issue.

Concurrent with this and involving the same group of friends who were putting out the magazine, Branson was running a Student Advisory Centre, which dealt with student problems such as pregnancy, contraception, drugs, V.D. It filled a gap that was later taken over by organisations such as RELEASE. Branson was always behind the eight ball (financially) in those days, with the magazine turning money over but never getting ahead. One of the schemes devised to bring in funds was a mail-order record service called Virgin. Like just about all Branson’s ventures it was started without any financial backing.

The reason it succeeded was that Virgin was the first company to sell albums at a discount — the abolition of retail price maintenance in the U.K. made this possible, although Branson claims that in their innocence he and his friends were not even

aware of it’s existence.

The mail order business continued until 1974, although the British postal strike of 1971 nearly killed it off. To counteract the strike Virgin moved into shop retailing, carrying the policy of ‘we only stock what we like, hope you like it too’ from the mail order side.

It’s been said that buying a record from a Virgin shop in the early seventies was a bit like scoring dope, and with the counterculture’ still peaking things went well, although it was a long way from the efficient Virgin ‘record supermarkets’ of today, where as well as buying albums and singles you can take your pick of magazines, badges, concert tickets etc. etc.

By mid ’72 with the shops and mail order both going well, Branson and his cousin Simon Draper were in a position to launch a record company.

They’d already acquired the Manor and built a studio there, so when Mike Oldfield came back to them after all his rejections (he’d contacted them earlier, but they weren’t in any position to help him) he was signed up on the spot and went to live and work at the Manor. A year later ‘Tubular Bells’ was released and another of Branson’s gambles had paid off.

The label’s early signings were as diverse as they were original. Gong, Faust, Tangerine Dream, Kevin Coyne, Robert Wyatt . . . Virgin represented a real alternative to the formula music of the time, and while not all the acts .were commercially successful they were certainly put­ ting out some interesting sounds, and the records still sell to this day.

In 1977, after they’d gotten their marching orders from EMI and A&M, the Sex Pistols signed

SUMMER SEARCH Adelaide commercial FM station 5SSA held the final of it’s Summer Search rock band talent quest at Adelaide’s Festival theatre on Feb. 10th.

One hundred and twenty Adelaide bands entered the competition by send­ ing a demo tape to the station and the six who played off for the $5,000 cash and $3,000 worth of recording time were, in order of appearance. The Sensational Bodgies, Safari Set, Vertical Hold, Last Resort, the Dagoes and No Fixed Address.

Tickets to the ‘Grand Final’ were free and all 2,000 were snapped up within six hours of being available.

The judges, who included Swanee and program Director of 3EON-FM, Chris Maxwell, have the nod to<>Safari Set, a three piece comprising Rob O’Connor (bass), Linz Norris (guitar) and (drums).

The band were as surprised as a lot of the audience at the decision. In fact vocalist O’Connor said to the crowd as he came back on stage that he felt they had no chance and had consumed half a bottle of bourbon between the end of their 15 min. set and the announcement of the winner. It showed.

Best crowd reaction and brief favourite for the prizes seemed to be last band on, No Fixed Address. However the standard of music was very high and both the Dagoes and the Sensational Bodgies played extremely well.

FILLING A GAP A new record company called GAP will be releasing the small British labels.

Factory and Rough Trade in Australia this month.

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Previously records on these labels have only been available through import stores. The initial

with Virgin. Although Johnny Rotten sneered and labelled the company as ‘poxy old hippies’, Virgin really entered into the spirit of things by rush releasing ‘God Save The Queen’ in time for the Queen’s 25th Jubilee. The single was banned from airplay, but still reached No. 1 on the N.M.E. charts (dark stories circulated about the BBC chart being rigged so that Rod Stewart got the numero uno that week) due to an innovative and yes, emotive press campaign from Virgin. Branson kept a close eye on the Pistols and sometimes it was hard to tell who was the most wily manipulator, Branson or manager Malcolm McLaren. Although the band stayed together for only seven months after signing with the label. Virgin recouped their losses by some brazen faced compilations and dregs from beyond the crypt (e.g. the abysmal ‘Sid Sings’. Still the company has in it’s catalogue the best initial burst of singles from ANY band, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Pretty Vacant’, ‘Holidays In The Sun’, and on the ever Mind The Bollocks album, ‘Anarchy In The U.K.’. And of course Virgin still have Public Image Ltd. and the Professionals.

The Virgin Australian connection is quite in­ teresting too. The company’s awareness of Australia is perfectly demonstrated by their efforts to ‘break’ XTC in this country by means of tour support and sympathetic media push. Ex-pats Laurie Dunn and Ross Stapleton (who once wrote for this rag, and who is the most eyed Angels fan in the universe) both hold significant positions in the company’s London office and both naturally are very aware of this country’s music.

In best Virgin tradition, we have a goody to give to you to introduce/re-introduce you to this wonderful label. It’s called ‘Vinyl Virgins’, and if you turn to P.23 . . .

releases are Joy Division’s magnificent ‘Closer’ album and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ single (Factory) and an album by the Fall on Rough Trade.

GAP has been formed by the editor of Rolling Stone Australia, Paul Gardiner and one of the paper’s writers, Andrew Penhallow. and they plan to release 14 albums in the first six months of this year. They have secured distribution through one of the majors, EMI. €M I will also being distributing the Larrikin catalogue this year, and that includes Stuart Coupe (lovely boy, nice book too) and Roger Greirson's Green Records whose marvellous debut release, the Tactic’s album (see P.23) is making critics swoon everywhere.

STARSTRUCK One of Australia’s internationally acclaimed directors — Gillian Armstrong — is to direct Australia’s first major rock musical film — Starstruck.

The one-and-three-quarter million dollar pro­ duction is a joint venture of Palm Beach Pictures and the Australian Film Commission.

It is a comedy about a 14-year-old boy who manipulates the media in an attempt to turn his 18-year-old barmaid cousin into a singing star.

Gillian Armstrong says she turned down scores of offers in favour of Starstruck because she wants to do a truly Australian story that focusses on the modern big-city life of young people.

Her debut as a director came with the film My Brilliant Career, which last week received a Golden Globe nomination in the United States as Best Foreign Picture. ^ Starstruck is being produced by David Elfick and Richard Brennan, who first joined forces on the hit feature Newsfront.

The Australian Film Commission has invested half-a-million dollars in the production.

Hoyts Distribution will release the picture throughout Australia next summer.

DONALD ROBERTSON

w

Stuart Coupe was there with headlining act, Split Enz. Life on the road. Rock’n’Roil Festivals. New Zealand bands . . . and more . . .

I could tell you about the all night drug binges, the groupies, the.decadence and all the other activities people tend to associate with being 'on the road' with a rock'n'roll band.

But this wasn't Cold Chisel, The Dannned, Ted Nugent, The Radiators or any of those other legendary 'road' bands.

I was travelling to New Zealand with Split Enz. 'T h e last guy w ho w rote a story about us had to make a big deal about Tim Rolling a jo in t because there's nothing much else to w rite about life on the road w ith Split Enz. Hardly any groupies, drugs and all that s tu ff" Neil Finn tells me one night over a steak and pavlova at an Auckland restaurant during a break from rehearsals.

Split Enz are in New Zealand to appear w ith Roxy Music and a zillion other bands atthe Sweetwater Music Festival, held for the past three years at Ngaruawahia, a spacious, green area situated about 80 kilometres from Auckland.

"Three days maaaaaan". Tis just like W oodstock. "I someone offers you a trip, take it" jokes Tim Finn as we drive tow ards the festival site on Saturday.

B u tc lo s e rto th e New Zealand coast the real hippies festival, Nambassa, is grooving away am idst the heavy rain. Nambassa was billed as a "C elebration of arts and crafts, music theatre, culture and alternative lifestyles".

Jim Cairns was there. So was Ram Dass. And John Mayall.

And Charlie Daniels. And Borich and Tilders. And lots and lots and lots of dem onstrations, speaches and consciousness raising. You too could hear Stephen Gaskin, w inner of the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' and Helen Brew, producer of the 'renow ned' NZ film Birth W ith R.D. Laing.

And Dizzy Gillespie was there.

M idnight Oil cancelled.

I'm sure it was all very w orth w h ile and it did separate the heady side of the counter culture from the rock'n'roll side.

Not surprisingly the urban street gangs and bike gangs from around Auckland like the KC's, the Storm troopers, the Headhunters, and the Boot Boys decided the ir heads were better suited to Sweetwater.

Sweetwater this year presented 37 New Zealand bands, the first beginning on Friday night, the last at about 2 o'clock the next Tuesday m orning. Three fu ll days and a couple of extra nights.

Besides the locals there were New Zealand's international tourists. Split Enz and Mi-Sex, the big OS stars, Roxy Music, and what everyone started referring to as the "Australian Invasion" - The Flowers, Cold Chisel, The Reels, and Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons. InXs were also advertised to appear but cancelled late in the piece. Som ething to do w ith the cost of getting here. Airfares to N.Z. ain't cheap.

Let's go back to the beginning. Split Enz manager, Nathan Brenner, rings up: "You wanna go to New Zealand for Sweetwater?"

Having nothing better to do yours tru ly agrees. Gee, this is taking on the proportions of a New Musical Express tour report already. Only 11,457 w ords to go and I'll qualify as a ju nio r Paul Morley.

Turns out that, because of some doubtful financial organisation, I'm travelling as Neil Finn. Hm m m m m .

Due to an even more doubtful organisational manoeuvre the Vic M orrow of Australian rock'n'roll journalism misses the plane in Melbourne but gets on a Pan-Am flig h t soon after, meeting the rest of the Enz at Auckland airport after ju stifying the appearance of sleeping tablets in his baggage to an officious, m oralising customs officer barely older than he :s.

OK, life on the road is REALLY exciting. Dig this. We drive from the airport to Auckland, then to the W hitacker Lodge, these unit style rooms where you can cook baked beans and make coffee. Mess up w ith the bookings. Seven people in the one bed is only fun if you're m entally prepared . . . well, it w asn't quite that bad.

Sit around in the living room, talk to Mike Chunn (form er Enz bass player, m em ber of The Crocodiles, ow ner of N.Z's first new wave independent label. Ripper Records and manager of N.Z.'s next big thing. Pop Mechanix).

Rooms are sorted out. I get to share w ith Noel Crombie w ho's grow ing a beard.

Then life on the road takes an exciting turn . . . we drive fo r a ham burger and hot chips. W ild.

This is Tuesday night. W ednesday, Thursday and a little of Friday are spent rehearsing. This is the Enz's first perform ance in New Zealand fo r tw elve m onths and there's a degree of apprehension. They're also incorporating some new songS (from the forthcom ing album) into the set and these have to be worked out.

Rehearsals are in a w onderful old theatre in the centre of Auckland. The band spend tim e working through the old and new songs ending up each session w ith a free form jam when they swap instrum ents and bash away fo r up to an hour.

A typical scene was Noel Crombie playing bass, Tim Finn drum m ing, someone else playing percussion, and various other com binations.

The Enz are a versatile bunch and are all involved in solo activities, be it making records of their own or playing at each others sessions. D rum m er M alcolm Green has a single.

Follow Me, released by M ushroom , Eddie Reyner is working on a solo record along w ith producing sessions fo r Pop Mex and The Models, and at the tim e of w ritin g Tim Finn is at the Music Farm starting w ork on his solo album.

W h ilsta ll this isg oin g on Nathan Brenner attends to the day to day running of S plit Enz's business affairs. There's discussions w ith the prom oter of the forthcom ing New Zealand tour. Schedules. Halls. Provisions for outdoor shows.

Plans fo r the album release. W hat'll it be called. A cover design. Telexes to America, England, phone calls. Advance hotel bookings near the Festival site: "W hich is the best room . . .you m ust have a favo urite. . . M r Coupe and I w ill have that one". Arranging transport.

M eanw hile the road crew that the band consider the best they've ever had get gear organised and Raewyn Turner, w ho painted the cover o f Frenzy and has done the Enz lights and effects fo r the past five years, makes sure the lights w ill arrive at the Festival on tim e and arranges setting them up, and all the other thousands of things necessary to pull off a successful 90 m inutes on stage.

Then there's the news that Frenzy has been sold overseas.

Nathan thinks it'll be a w inner - after a re-mix and the addition and subtraction of some tracks.

A band meeting. Business includes a request from a com puter com pany to do a short film /com m ercial de­ m onstrating a particular brand of computers. There's little enthusiasm. "A sk fo r $100,000 and w e'll do it" says Tim Finn.

More rehearsals. It's about th is tim e that it becomes pretty obvious that being in a band isn't all that exciting and, in fact, becomes tirin g , hard w ork very quickly. M alcolm talks about the problem s of touring life, w hat it does to your psyche, the feeling of having no roots, a stream of hotel rooms.

Novy this may all be pretty old stuff to you folks w ho've had years in the music biz but this is the first tim e I've spent more than tw o hours w ith a band. The first tim e I've travelled w ith one. Watched them rehearse. Shared their cars, conditions, etc.

And I figure there's lots of rock'n'roll fans who have a vastly different idea of w hat it must be like in a rock'n'roll band to the actual reality of w hat goes on.

So if you're getting pretty bored reading this then I'm being successful in capturing w hat happens.

Comes Friday night at 11 o'clock. Four cars carrying Split Enz head for what Neil describes as "a weekend of total excess fo r New Zealanders".

The idea of leaving late was to miss the traffic on the roads to the festival. This was part successful but still there's cars banked up fo r miles, kids drinking and talking and lounging around asthey w a itfo rth e q u e u e to move forwards. Rumours say that there's already about 10,000 people camped out.

It seems im possible to drive down to the festival site so the band stays a tth e Country Club Motel, about 10 kilometres from the festival road. Raewyn goes down on the back of a bike to check the light settings and gets stranded fo r the night.

There's so many cars driving in it's not feasible to drive out.

And the W oodstock jokes continue . . . and take on an air of reality on Saturday m orning. The roads are still blocked and there's talk of flyin g the band into the festival site in helicopters . . . but the traffic eventually thins out.

Saturday m orning. Swim in the pool, jum p on the tram poline, sit in the sun, eat breakfast/lunch in Hamilton, the closest tow n to Sweetwater.

About 4 o'clock we arrive. The Enz are due onstage at 10 o'clock. Crocodiles are onstage. There's a crow d gathered that estimates put at som ething between 40,000 and 50,000.

There's tents surrounding the general stage area and a huge hill that becomes a sw arm ing mass of people as the night progresses. Behind the stage there's tents, trucks, caravans, cars, etc. belonging to bands, record companies, radio stations, newspapers, and general hangers on.

Backstage the security is tight. Stalls, tents fo r each band, free space invaders and surprisingly few people — all looking like they have a reason to be there and doing whatever it is.

There's a big stage which Crocodiles handle well. They've got a female lead singer and have had some association w ith Kim Fowley resulting in the release of an album. Standouts included N ew G irl On The Beat and See Ya Later Alligator.

A b re a kfo rte a and then probably the w orst band I saw atthe Festival, General Public, who gained a p rim espo t because of a doubtful connection w ith the festival's promoter. They play XTC songs. Police songs, a few originals and a horrible, horrible tribute to John Lennon. It's all plodding mid Seventies heavy metal new w avified — very much like The Eyes in Sydney.

Next on are one of my favourite NZ bands, Techtones, who play poppy rock'n'roll of the Knack, Romantics variety. They move well, w rite m ostly original songs and provide m y first real feelings of festival excitement.

All three front guys sing and the Techtones dress in Reels like matching costumes. Reels singer David Mason comes out to watch them, remarking that the matching gear is 'a little too close fo r com fort". Standouts in their set are Magazine, Love, in A Window, Johnny G etO ut O f It, and the m arvellous Tear — a song about soap operas on TV "D octor tells me she's got term inal cancer". W onderful stuff. Jangling guitars, harmonies, hook lines. Excellent.

W hilst Split Enz don their latest creations from The Houee of Crombie and plaster make-up on, the surprise successes of Sweetwater take the stage. Pop Mechanix, w ith a lead singer w ho jum ps like the stage is a tram poline, turn on a blistering set of rock'n'roll that earns them the most enthusiastic reaction of the weekend. They're expected in Australia soon.

Talking Heads' Remain in Light plays over the PA as a nervous Enz continue preparations. M r and Mrs Finn have arrived to see the boys in action.

There's been a few spots of rain and there's apprehension about a heavier d o w n p o u r. . . but the roadie running across the backstage area yelling 'no rain, no rain' seems to have things under control.

Bryan Ferry and Phil Manzanera turn up in a lim ousine to see how the com petition w ork out.

Show tim e chaps. The caravan door opens and tw en ty seconds later they're onstage. Tim bows to the audience like a demented rabbi. Instruments picked up. The crowd yelling and they're into a sedate instrum ental from the new efpeeee.

Then Poor Boy and the fabulously catchy Hard A ct To F ollow w hich I think should be the next single. / W ouldn't Dream O f I t . .. Tim and Neil seem to dom inate the stage more than I've noticed before. Neil looks like an im pish Angus Young. Both have that schoolboy look (although Angus knows a bit more about the w orld) and Neil has taken to the swaying backwards and forw ards that's very much Angus' trademark.

Tim dances to a girl standing on someone's shoulders and races frantically around the stage. "This is Neil's forw ard thinking 1981 song". It's One Step Ahead.

Both Finns play guitar on M issing Person, the rest of the band doing all the things they're supposed to but seeming just that little bit overshadowed by the brothers.

Dry ice tim e and the clouds b illo w around the band. A new song. " . . . a girl w ho's not really there at a ll". Ghost G irl, a slow m oody num ber w ith pleading vocals from Tim. And Noel bashes the gong.

"Y ou make the m ost of w hat you've got. That's the moral of this song."

This one's called Clumsy which, at the tim e, I tho ugh t was a bit boring and turgid. M id-way through there's a collision between Tim and Noel, ending w ith Noel sprawled out on the stage floor. Now, I thought it looked pretty convincing and found out later that the severity of their collision hadn't been intended. Noel plays a harmonica solo and Eddie does some nice bits.

Tim introduces Noel: "W ellin gton , this is your boy".

And into M y Mistake where Noel actually sings . . . and takes a percussion solo.

"It's all very w ell to cheer but . . . Nobody Takes Me Seriously". Interestingly enough everyone I spoke to before the concert - the manager, Tim and Neil's parents, sister Judy w ho runs Friends Of The Enz, the bands fan club - all m entioned N obody . . . as Tim 's statem ent on all the years when the Enz were struggling, dismissed as clowns w ho could sing, and generally . .. not taken very seriously. / D o n't Want To Dance, a new song, follow ed by / Hope / Never, / Got You, What's The M atter . . . and that's it . . . spotlights across the cheering crow d . . . the mandatory encore . . . "here's where we get d o w n " . . . a song by Noel Crombies g ra n d fa th e r. . .a ll the band a tth e fro n t of the stage

. . . You Can Lead A Horse To W ater But You Can't Make Him Drink . . . a spoons solo from Noel . . . then a new song Tistory Never Repeats . . . and / See Red . . . that's i t . . . the land walk to their caravan . . . the crowd doesn't let up . . . it's ,)bvio u sth a tth e re 'sa n o th e re n co re to d o . . . back on stage. . . re n z y .. . and Charlie . . . g o o d n ig h t. . .

Back in the caravan there's a feeling that things were OK but :ould have been better. The crowd didn 't notice but the band aren't satisfied. How did the new songs sound? W hich ones did you like? There w asn't really a clim ax feeling was there?

Drinks. More discussion . . . more drinks . . . more discussion . . . drinks . . . discussion . . . hangers one . . . drinks . . . discussion . . .

I go to see w hat impression Jo Jo and The Falcons make.

They've flow n in that day and fly out early the next m orning fo r the Myer Music Bowl show.

They start well but the crow d's not showing much reaction.

It's obvious that the Falcons are going to have to work very hard . . . they do, turning in a blistering set, one of the best performances I've seen from them in ages . . . and the crowd warm s to them, and given the tim e of night, the wet air, the cold, the num ber of bands they've watched, etc. The Falcons get a pretty neat reception. They keep people's attention at 2 in the m orning. No mean feat.

Back in the Enz caravan . . . drinks . . . discussion . . . partying . . . Tim suggests an interview/discussion (see next issue) . . . this progresses well till W ilbur W ilde wanders in, grabs the whiskey bottle and ends all possibility of a sensible conversation . . . but I wander off w ith Tim through the littered, em pty space where 45,000 kids had earlier gathered . . . now there's a few scattered around in sleeping bags . . . fires . . . most are over the hill in tents and caravans . . . and I could tell you about the conversation but the reason I w o n 't comes from a letter from my friend Keri Phillips, w riting on rock'n'roll journalists: . . . "b u t as fo r the rest of those wets, w ho care w hat they felt or thought w h ile they were standing in the foyer w aiting to interview X. The bloody English writers have picked it up from the Americans and carried it to its extreme w ith w im ps like Ian Penman and Paul Morley, who use their NME space to debate w ith themselves ("W hy am I doing this?") and ask whether they should be a rock w riter. I mean, make the decision first and then either become a bus conductor or get back to w ritin g the article . . . " But should I go on . . . (shut up Stuart - ed). Go home. Next day it's back to the Festival late in the afternoon . . . Mi-Sex and Roxy are the headliners.

Mi-Sex are actually talking to the journalist w ho said the only difference between Space Race and Dr W ho was that Space Race was funnier. They're on the end of their latest tour and are soon to begin w ork on a new album w hich w o n 't be produced by Peter Dawkins.

The tea interm ission is over and Pink Flamingos are about to go on stage. They're an excellent band w ith a fine debut album on Polygram which, hopefully, w ill be released in Australia soon. They're led by ex-Hello Sailor member Dave McArtney, and feature ex- (New Zealand is full of 'ex' bands) Dragon keyboards player Paul Hewson, who also works as a soloist in bars around Auckland. He's actually about to leave the Flamingos.

The Flamingos w ork well on the big stage. Tough, urban rock'n'roll w ith a very Dragonish feel. M ostly original material highlighted by the excellent single Virginia, Chevrolet, The Party, and H ungry N ig h t - all w ritten by McArtney.

Considering the brilliance of Hewson's w ritin g fo r Dragon the Flamingos do surprisingly few of his songs, the only mem orable one being the smack anthem, / Need A H it . . . which Hewson also sings. There's also a slight reggae tinge to much of w hat they do.

Like half the bands in New Zealand The Flamingos cover tw o Neil Young songs. I honestly th o u g h tth a ttw o out of three bands I saw did Young covers. "N eil Young is like New Zealand's national hero" M cArtney joked after the Flamingos finished.

All up Pink Flamingos were one of the m ost impressive bands appearing at the festival.

Cout D'Etat are next. They also play a good bracket of poppy, catchy songs w ith ample use Of reggae rhythms.

They're also signed to Polygram and have released a num ber of singles. Closer com parison is to the Dugites, possibly because of the presence of a fem ale lead singer/keyboard player.

Mi-Sex take the stage. I do n 't see them , being too busy walking and slipping over people w ith A nthony O'Grady (media co-ordinator fo r Roxy) as we try and clim b to the top of the hill and get an idea of the m agnitude of the crowd.

A nthony tells me this a in't as big as Sunbury.

According to Kevin Stanton Mi-Sex are playing seven new songs to n ig h t w hich represent Mi-Sex's new musical direc­ tion maaaaan. Me, I do n't notice any difference. Nor could anyone else I was w ith. But the crowd goes beserk and the space invaders in black leather get one of th e weekends most enthusiastic reactions.

Backstage Roxy are getting ready. I'm shoved in to Ferry's caravan fo r a brief discussion where the debonair one expresses a slight trepidation at playing an outdoor concert to this num ber of people. Seems it's only the second or third tim e Roxy have played outdoors. "I'm really quite an amatuer in this situa tion " Ferry says.

He says that Roxy do n 't play any of the stuff from his solo albums. It's a m atter of politics. "B u t there's a few I'd like to do like Can't Let Go and Sign O f The T im es".

Roxy play virtua lly the same set they played everywhere in Australia. They're good but do n't quite click. Lights aren't good and none of the Venetian blind lights are used.

Audience reaction is again enthusiastic.

Hammond Gamble Band come on but I've about had enough. The Reels follow ed them and from all reports went down pretty well b u tth e crowd was starting to get pretty thin.

Back to the motel. Next day I'm slightly swayed towards staying to see Flowers but everyone tells me that by 10 o'clock on the last night there's more people backstage than out the front. This is evidenced by the zillions of people dotting the roads as we drive tow ards Auckland later that day. Two days maaan . . . that's my lot.

To the airport. A flig h t to Sydney. Gee, Hunter S. Thompson w ould have made this whole episode sound much more exciting w o u ld n 't he???? Tim is off to the Music Farm to start w ork on a solo album. Nigel isg oin g to help. M alcolm is taking a few days break before starting to prom ote his solo single.

Neil is going to see his parents. Likewise fo r Noel. Eddie is producing Pop Mechanix.

They'll all meet in M elbourne in a few weeks to rehearse for the New Zealsnd/Australian tour.

"It's a lot to go through for that hour on stage isn't it" Nigel says as we walk onto the plane.

You're telling me.

STUART COUPE

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M

Even over 12,000 miles of tele­ phone cable, you can almost picture the resigned, philosophical shrug of world-weary shoulders.

Mind you, he's had plenty of prac­ tice at sounding tired and emotional.

For the man we're talking to, heart to heart, Adelaide to Birmingham, is none other than romantic crooner Bryan Ferry, 34, once and future bandleader of Roxy Music, one of 70's rock's most intriguing influences.

Part pose, part provocative musical passion, the 1972 Roxy was at least four or five years ahead of its time. Several new wave figures copped their licks and attitudes from the charismatic Ferry and his cohorts.

Okay, okay. Bearing in m ind the cost of newsprint, let's get this interview o ff the ground. First: Ferry's image as dilettante, fop, fashion horse. It has been bu ilt up over so many years by so many different people, not least of all himself, that he w ill never shake it.

So, Bryan, that picture of you as the slum m ing artiste paddling in the rock pool - does it bother you?

"It gets kind of confusing. I do n 't know . . .

Sometimes it makes it difficu lt to talk to new people. Say, doing interviews, people are usually very surprised. They come along w ith a preconceived idea of how I w ill be, based on what they have read, and they generally say: 'You are com pletely different from how I imagined you.'T hen I think, well I w onder w hat sort of monster they expected."

"The thing they put over gives the im pres­ sion I don't w ork that much. In fact nearly all the tim e I am doing my work, either in the studio, or on the road, or preparation, w riting the next album. It's like an iceberg - all the w ork underneath that's not seen, that takes the most time.

"The last album we spent six m onths in the studio. If people think I am out partying, they are getting the w rong idea a b o u tth e w a y I live.

"I tend to lead quite a private life when I'm not working. On the other hand, I do like to go out and live and laugh as well. I haven't actually become a herm it yet."

Ferry seems a nice, earnest chap. You feel like a kid kicking a kitten when you bring up all the old descriptions/accusations: "M r Super­ cool, the most stylish man in rock," "The Laurence Flarvey of rock," "suave and sophis­ ticated superstar."

Surely the barb that pierces deepest is "d ile tta n te ." When one is serious about w hat one does that m ust be a bitter word.

Ferry describes his com m itm ent to his music as "to ta l . . . at the m om ent."

Does that mean he sees a tim e when he w ill stop w riting, making records, touring?

"I've had vague notions about trying to do some acting, or som ething in movies, because I have always liked tha t medium, but I think it's very difficult to make the transition from music into that sphere. A lot o f people have tried that and come a cropper."

For the moment, however, music, specifi­ cally Roxy, occupies centre stage in his life.

Roxy Music Mk 1was form ed in late 1970. The first solid line-up com prised Ferry on vocals and iv o rie s , A n d y M ackay (sax), Paul Thompson (drums), Graham Simpson (bass), Phil Manzanera (guitar) and self-indulgent old f... I mean deep and m eaningful electronics wizard Brian Eno. Over the follow ing five years, this flexible cast included a variety of musicians and produced six albums, as well as several solo Boy Looked projects. In their rock obituary, at Johnny, Julie Burchill and lo n y Parsons described the first tw o Roxy LPs, Roxy Music and f o r Your Pleasure as the only timeless rock music made. Utterly untrue, of course, and a heavy albatross on anyone's shoulders.

In 1976, follow ing rumors of bad vibes in the Roxy camp, the group took an extended sabbatical. The idea was for various members to work on their ow n projects outside the confines of the band. Ferry, it was obvious, wanted to pursue a solo career. Initially, he was quite successful and it seemed unlikely the group w ould ever record together again.

This separation lasted three years. In Feb­ ruary 1979 a comeback album. M anifesto, was released, follow ed by last year's Flesh and Blood. Both gave Ferry and the others the commercial success that had eluded them as individuals.

But it was a different Roxy that returned to the public eye. The group touring Australia in February comprises Ferry, Mackay, Manzan­ era, guitarist Neil Flubbard, bassist Gary Tibbs, drum m er Michael Dawe and David Skinner on keyboards.

Ferry says Roxy's second Australian tou r w ill feature a lot of material from the tw o most recent albums, plus a selection of "Roxy through the ages." There's a wealth of golden oldies to choose from . A lthough the first album appeared in 1972, the music hasn't dated in any im portant way. Ferry concedes the modern Roxy is an "establishm ent" group, if only by dint of its age, but doesn't believe this necessarily consigns them to dinosaur status.

"W e don't feel we are just churning things out for the sake of it by any means, but we realise there are many groups much more in vogue w ith the rock press, and there's nothing I can do to change tha t," he says.

As for the internal workings of the new Roxy Music, he hints that the present line-up is not all that stable and could be subject to change. I don't think there is much doubt who would instigate the changes. From the outset, the band has been a vehicle fo r Ferry.

"You know how tem peram ental musicians are," he says breezily. "It's em otional work.

Egos get knocked and bruised, people w ant to go play w ith somebody else. I am very open about the thing (but) I am not reailvriooking for any particular change in personnel. The band is sounding pretty good at the moment, espe­ cially live."

Speaking of egoes, what about Ferry's own?

"I have come across much bigger ones," he laughs. "It's normal for the job. I veer between having been very insecure and being very sure

8

Julian Stuart gets the word on the new Roxy Music of w hat I am doing. I am a Libra (the scales). I think I have a state of even keel at the m om ent."

This personal equilibrium may have some­ thing to do with bank balances. The last tw o albums, plus several hit singles, have given Roxy its greatest success to date. Sales, though, have not been matched by critical acclaim.

"I am very happy about the m ," says Ferry about M anifesto and Flesh and Blood. "The general concensus from the critics I respect is that they are the tw o strongest albums we have done and at least stand beside anything I have done inside or outside of Roxy. They are much more crafted albums (but), I d o n 'tth in k they are too sophisticated or polished.

"I realise there are some people w ho would like us to churn o u t the first Roxy album every year. Maybe they do n't like the direction it's gone in, but I haven't really tim e fo r those sort of people. I think it is the w orst kind of narrow-mindedness.

"There have been a lot of songs we have done in the last tw o years I think some of the audience we had originally w o u ld n 't have been into. But if I w rite a song I like, we're going to play it. You can't just sit down to please everybody all the tim e, it isn't like that. You do w hat you feel like doing yourself. That's the only honest thing you can do."

Now, fo r the 15,000th tim e, watch Bryan Ferry recount the Roxy Reformation (if not Renaissance). Much of it has been said before, but some of his comments m ight surprise you. " It was alia natural thing. I had been away for over a year from England. When I got back, I had done a solo tour, tw o solo albums. I just felt like doing a Roxy album again, I suppose. The other people in the band were very keen to do one. It was a case of I had w ritten the songs, let's go into the studio and see w hat happens."

(Note his use of the first person singular.

There is no doubt Ferry was the instigator of the reunion and w ith ou t him, there w ould be

no Roxy M usic today.)

"W e liked playing together again and w ent on to make the albu m ," Ferry continues. "I suppose it had to be a fairly strong album.

O bviously you do n't think so," he adds, a reference to my critical approach to the interview. No, I assure him weakly. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate.

"The title track of the album. M anifesto, to me is one o f the strongest pieces we have done. I tho ugh t it was a very interesting thing to do at the tim e. It was a personal artistic manifesto. It d id n 't have any political implica tions at all."

W ouldn't it have been more honestto call the remade, remodelled Roxy som ething else? It also would have avoided direct comparisons w ith the old group.

"Three of the original members were in the band. It w ould have been ridiculous to call it anything else." He pauses, then reflects that perhaps it m ig ht not have been so ridiculous. " think it w ould be nice to call yourself a different name every year, ju st fo r the hell of it, but it w ould have been a bit confusing."

Something like Bryan and the Ferries m ight have been appropriate, in view of Mackay and Manzanera's public image as sidemen to thei lead singer.

"It sounds slightly unfair to th e m ," Ferry m urm urs, w ith o u t denying anything.

Ah-ha! Are you being diplom atic or modest?

"S om ew here between diplom atic and mod e s t!" he laughs. "There are lots o f very good players around, and I enjoy playing w ith them (Mackay and Manzanera) are great soloists, in my opinion. Som etim es it's just good to play w ith people you know every well and w ho are sympathetic.

"You say w h y did n 't I just do it w ith the other players. Good question. There was a lot of interest, at the tim e we did M anifesto, in the band. A lot o f new bands in England were very much influenced by some of the things we'd done earlier - that was obvious.

"W e could see there was a lot of interest in the idea of a Roxy album. So, to be honest, w ould say that was partly to do w ith it. Instead of calling the group Arm chair or som ething (Something? Catchy, that). I knew if a Roxy album came out, people w ould be very interested, and they w ere."

That's the first tim e I've seen or heard Ferry adm it there was a reason fo r reform ing Roxy beside the other, more im portant one, of making good music together again.

He has always denied that the failure of his own solo career, or financial considerations played any part in the decision.

Of course, talk o f new English bands inevit­ ably leads to his thoughts on punk. Ferry describes it as "a very interesting social phenom enon." He found little of great musical m erit, though. Two songs, 'Sign of the Times' and 'Trash', were w ritten about punk, but "I do n't think there's anything new enough to be an influence."

W hat about the energy and anger? "I think there's a fair bit of that in early Roxy, like Remake Remodel - very frantic numbers. I d id n 't see we were that much different."

Did he feel at all threatened by this, er, phenomenon? "N o t really. I was living in LA when it was really happening. I only got faint ripples where I was. I d o n 'tth in k y o u have to be 17 or whatever to play ro c k 'n ' roll. I do n't think it's down to physical age as such . . . he said! I saw Jerry Lee Lewis. He's like 40-something, he gives out as much energy as any punk band I have seen or heard."

For the record, I found Bryan Ferry a pleasant, straightforw ard bloke. If he was shovelling bullshit, it w asn't apparent. In fact, at tim es his sincerity was alm ost maudlin. If you w ant a personal opinion, based solely on w hat I have read and heard, he's probably a shy person, like so many others in the public eye.

Easily wounded, he has developed a veneer to allow him to remain on display w ith ou t cracking up. Not at all the affected pseud he has been portrayed as.

But the response Ferry inspires in other w riters is one of hositility bordering on hatred; vitrio l that not even deserving targets like dagger have encountered. W hy this aggressive antipathy?

"I'm not really sure. I've never had that w ith anybody in my everyday life, so to speak. But I'm quite glad you noticed it. I sometimes think I was the only one that could see it. I used to think I was becoming a paranoic. I do n't know . . . I can only put it down to a basic sort of reason, like envy. They are envying som ething they imagine I am ."

My own theory, fo r what it is w orth, is that the music press hates Ferry because he is the son of a Durham m iner who found fame and fortune peddling w hat his PR dubs "so p h isti­ cated decadence". There are accusations that he has tried to erase ail trace of his proletarian roots, in everything from his clothes to his accent; suspicious that Ferry has pretentions and ridiculous aspiration.

"I have done interviews before w ith the music press: I w ould sit there and be polite, they would be polite, then go away and w rite something com pletely different. One becomes afraid of the whole interview process, very wary. It's sad really.

"O ne of my problems, is I like to be liked. I am not really fond of being despised like that.

That's w hy T try not to read the things very much. The artist is usually fairly sensitive," he waxes lyrically.

W ell, okay let's not get too sloppy. Are you happy?

"I don't know ," he replies after a short silence. "I guess I am one of those people who do n't show it very m uch."

Another pause. "I am happy when I am working. That's when I really feel most at peace w ith m yself."

All right. It's been 40 minutes and Patti Mostyn's first half profits for 1981 have probably been wiped out by this phone call. We both must be making tracks. One final ques­ tion: Are you optim istic enough to believe your best creative moments are not behind you?

"I really think so. I do hope so. I firm ly believe that, and I w ould be very disappointed if they are. I feel if I ever start doing bad work, I w ill have the urge to stop and do som ething else."

, . yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full of the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way:” cc

LADY MACBETH from MACBETH by Wm. Shakespeare

In other words, “I’m a lazy sod,” confesses Red Symons. and gradually Red was drawn in. His early contributions were m ainly restricted to helping out w ith musical parts. (In BOMcB he plays guitar, and the role o f Grahame Bond's son, S. S. Shakespeare).

According to the BOMcB program , he also found tim e to com plete his Bachelor o f Science degree (Pure Maths and Com puter ProgramYeah, well those days and that Red seem a ^ ming) and apparently be charged w ith "18 long tim e ago. It's a different, quieter, older — counts of forging and utterin g". The program an "in cre d ib ly w ell preserved" 31 — Symons does not record w hether he was convicted. w ho returned to Adelaide fo r a sell-out fourIn 1972 was a busy year. Red was involved week season of Boy's Own McBeth, w ritten by w ith three m ajor productions — The Ride Jim Burnett and Grahame ("A u n ty Jack") Across Lake Constance, A frica, and A n ig h t in Bond.

Rio and Other Bum m ers. He was also playing in And w ith o u t w ishing to psychoanalyse Sy­ a band. In one of those believe-it-or-not mons, or w rite him a reference, I'd hazard a coincidences that Mr. Ripley built a career on, guess and say he's a happier, more selfhe pulled out of an evening university gig to do assured, less arrogant and probably more a performance of Lake Constance. His band likeable chap than five years ago. Certainly he took the afternoon shift and the group slated put up w ith a little pissing about to accom m o­ fo r the afternoon show took the evening spot. date the interviews that com prise this story.

The other group's name? Skyhooks. Am ong We had tw o chats. The first was on opening those w ho saw their act that night was a hugely night, a couple of hours before the show. We impressed Ross W ilson, later to product the sat at the back entrance of the Opera Theatre, Living in the 70's. Ego is n o t a D irty W ord and where BOMcB played to capacity audiences S traight in a Gay, Gay W orld albums. and adoring critics. Two weeks later photo­ S hortly after, Symons joined Skyhooks. The grapher Steve Keough and I made him late fo r a rest, so m y schoolteacher used to say, is s o u n d ch e ck. S ym o n s p ro n o u n c e d m y history: singles that put the hit back into hit m inim alist haircut "d a g g y " (vernacular used parade; the most successful local album ever; by someone w ho was young in the 70's — the brief, untouchable peak of 1975; the decline Translator's note) but apart from that was and final soggy collapse in June last year. polite as pie and tw ice as clever.

But by early 1977 Symons had seen the He was relaxed, articulate answered ques­ iceberg in the distance and jum ped ship before tions w ith o u t vaccilating, and said im portant anyone else realised it was sinking. There were things in a non-pom pous way. It probably isn't several reasons fo r his departure. He saw the giving away the rest of this story to tell you that decline in sales of the second album , £g^o is no t our conversations fell into three categories: a D irty Word, compared w ith the Living in the Skyhooks, theatre. Red's plans.

70's debut, and a further slip when the third LP, Sym ons' introduction to the theatre was in S traight in a Gay, Gay W orld was released.

1968, when he lived in a house in M elbourne, And he was bored: "It w asn't fun playing w ith "700 longJiaired people w ho took drugs 'H orror M ovie' every night fo r fou r years". In all n ig h t." A couple of these corrupting in flu ­ quitting the band, Symons also rpade plain his ences happened to be in the collective that distaste fo r the grind of playing live. founded the Pram Factory theatre company.

But the principal destructive force was the

Aw come on, you remember Red Symons.

You know - makeup, funny clothes, used to play guitar with his teeth or so m e th in g in th e Skyhooks pop group.

te n s io n be tw e e n h im and b a ssist Greg Macainsh over "w heth er or not it was going to be a dem ocracy".

"H e always wanted to be the leader and I always told him to get fucked, basically," Symons said sim ply. "W e were all disparate personalities. Shirley Strachan is a great guy to w ork w ith .. . and not m y cup o f tea at a ll."

Red also recounts problem s stem m ing from a "clerical erro r", w hich resulted in M ushroom Records not picking up its option on Skyhooks' contract. The band reached through this legal loophole to start negotiating a lease deal w ith RCA. At the tim e, however, they were still c o n tra c te d to head M u s h ro o m M ich a e l Gudinski, w ho managed the band.

An unhealthy, ultim ately fatal six-seek im ­ passe set in.

"S om ething drastic had to happen in order that the band could change their minds, so I le ft," Red says. My ears prick up. Er, has any of this been, ah, revealed before, I enquire quietly.

"Relax kid, it's the sco o p !" he reassures me.

"G reg's decision was to leave M ushroom . I think when he realised that w asn't going to work, he encouraged dispute w ith me in such a way that when I left, the issue of which record company we were going to go to was very m inor, compared w ith the issue of my leav­ in g."

Symons says thq creative — and commercial — dearth of Skyhooks was inevitable. The ideas dried up as the band toured and toured to keep its popularity at a consistent peak.

Material fo r the first tw o album s had been w ritten before the y made it big. They had tw o weeks to rehearse fo r the third.

"W hen you're w ritin g in a void, there's an enormous m otivation to attract people's atten­ tio n ," Symons says. "O nce you have their attention you are put into the syndrom e where you say 'shit, I did som ething right, how can I maintain it?' The Skyhooks were a classic example of a band that attracted m axim um attention at the start and got diluted as it w ent

along."

When he left the 'Hooks, Red didn 't know where his future lay, except it would be somewhere in live entertainm ent and record ing studios. "I w ill be doing Hamlets fo rth e re s t of my life — one man on centre stage," he was quoted as saying at the time.

He played one date w ith the original line-up of Paul Kelly and the Dots, then known as the High Rise Bombers. But it was so sham bolic that he decided to quit live rock for theatre where productions are carefully rehearsed and nurtured before being unveiled to public and critical scrutiny.

All this makes even more risible the 1976 press release in which he lists his desires as "Ego-fam e fortune, to be a big popstar, likes the clap and cheers of the fans. . .Tall, dark and beautifully made up."

"Eee, 'e were a clever boy even then," Mrs Symons recalled. "H is Dad and me always 'oped 'e'd go far. Eventually 'e took the 'in t and left 'om e."

Symons seems to have found him self a cosy niche in a show like BOMcB, which doesn' over-extend his thespian or musical abilities He doesn't seem too keen to venutre into areas like serious theatre.

"It interests me, but having worked w ith serious actors, I think it w ould take me a lot longer to achieve the same standards. In order to be successful in that field, you have to make yourself very vulnerable. It's the same in any environm ent. Grahame Bond in this context (BOMcB) bears aH of it. He's the one w ho has to be neurotic in order for the show to work, because someone has to care. I do n't particu­ larly relish that role. You are required fo r the theatre to relinquish yourself in a way you are not in rock 'n ' roll. The classic example is som ebody like Peter Sellers, who was sup­ posed to have no personality at all."

Sym ons' attitude towards rock is am biva­ lent. "The w hole thing is a dangerous narcicism ," he says. "Particularly in rock — not so much in the theatre — people confuse them ­ selves w ith their role. All those people kill themselves because they can't separate them ­ selves from their role. It's so easy to think it's you up there, not the 40,000 watts of PA and the 700 posters they put up the m orning before.

"I think it's like heroin addiction. (He'stesting to see whether I nod knowingly.) The more you do it, the more you need it. People get into rock 'n ' roll for a whole lot of unarticulated reasons.

When I was 2 5 ,1was lucky enough to get to be the person I wanted to be when I was 15.

"The truth of the matter is there are a m illion bands in the w orld. Four of them — the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks, som ebody else — managed to survive 20 years. The other 999,000 (ignore his mathematics, even BSc graduates make mistakes) m ight have had one hit record and lasted six m onths."

"It's hard to describe my involvem ent.

People ask me w hat records I listen to. I do n't actually listen to any records except things people I know are m aking."

But he w ould never com pletely sever his connections w ith music. Symons continued songw riting after leaving Skyhooks, most of his efforts were everyday pop/rock tunes, but he expresses a desire to explore areas beyond those traditional lim its. George Gershwin pro­ vided inspiration at one stage. Symons bought a book of his lyrics, w ith the w rite r's comments on his own songs. For a while Red knocked out a few 1930's-flavored numbers.

He's a lazy sod, though. He doesn't seem to care whether he or anyone else records them : "I no longer succumb to the vanity of selfexpression," he declares. "I don't think my perceptions are necessarily particularly useful to people."

I press the matter. He just laughs. "You fail to take into account m y stunning lack of am bi­ tio n ." You believe him when he describes his drive and ego as "M ild ".

And he doesn't mind w ho knows it. He does not bother hiding, either, his frank assessment of his own acting, singing and guitar-picking talents, whereas in Skyhooks he felt obliged to maintain his image as Star and G uitar Hero.

He was very conscious " o f giving the correct impression of w hat one was doing and o f one's skills. I suppose that's the main difference now: I couldn't give a shit."

So six months out of 12 he w ill act, do session dates, w rite, record jingles, pay the rent, occasionally paddling in the mainstream, as on last year's national tou r w ith the Sports.

(That tour, incidentally, has special sig n ifi­ cance fo r him because it allowed people to see and hear his "o rd in a ry sort o f" guitar-playing and singing outside Skyhooks.) The other half of a Red Symons year is spend in Carlton cafes, im bibing his favorite drugs. Tannin and Caf­ feine.

"I do n't pursue m yca re e rte rrib ly much. I just w ait fo r it to happen," he confesses w ith o u t trace of shame. "I hate doing anything too much. I get bored very easily. I do n 't get bored as long as I can keep changing, do different stuff. I could not possibly imagine being only an actor fo r the rest of my life, so to that extent I am a dilettante. I like my life to be a lot of entrees, rather than one just one big main course," he says, knowing it w ill look good in print.

"I can be w h olly com m itted to rehearsing for a m onth and doing a play fo r tw o months. But I don't wish to be w h o lly com m itted to playing a role, as one does in a band, fo r three or four years. Rock 'n ' roll . . . there's no other field in which people play the same role for 20 years.

He pauses, reflects. "There may come a tim e when I go fo r it, when I say 'this is my tim e, this is when I should be me, the Famous Per­ form er.' But m ost of the tim e I'm too lazy to take the risk. I think I have a lot of lim itations as a performer. I am too much of a jack of all trades, master of none. I'm a great person to have in a band, because I can do almost anything, but I honestly have doubts about whether I could pull it off, actually having to do one of those things.

"There are other things I w ould like to do . . . film s, TV. But when I say that I fee! a bit like a playboy centrefold who says 'well I've done a bit of m odelling, and I'd like to get into some serious acting J u lia n S tU a H

rHREE DAYS IN

W e landed in San Francisco one b alm y November night. We met up with some wild kids, and decided to hit the scene together. There was some word spreading round town of crazy bop going down Ocean Beach way, so we cruised on down past the "Hungry I", a hangout where Lenny Bruce used to perform, and a clatter of strip clubs, gay clubs, rock clubs, communist book­ shops, the City Lights, The "Vesuvius" coffee shop, massage parlours and vendors of occult accoutrements, to "Bimbo's", a fash rock club.

We told the guards with guns at the door that we were from "Roadrunner", a hip rock magazine Down Under. They said "that's crazy, brother", and waved us and our entourage right on through. We were coming right on despite the jet lag, and things were beginning to happen. We'd got our hungry, thirsty band of cobbers into the most flash party in San Fran that night — the private birthday party being thrown by a rich hairdresser. THAT'S RIGHT, YOU HEARD ME. A rich hairdresser. Chic. And, of course, politically committed.

Mandy and the head of our American henchmen, Sam, hussled us a table and drinks. I checked out the scene.

Definitely Ya Ya a la Sam Fran, w ith B-52 hair-do's and a cultural 'feel' in general dating around mid-Costello. Quite "u p to date" fo r America. Green hair, blue hair, beige hair, all professionally styled. Clothes to match. Needless to add, of course, fuckwits to the last one. We started stealing things.

Punk rock is still som ething in America. I mean, it is an entity, unlike in other countries. But, of course, America is a record which did not get stuck in a groove in 1977. That event happened som etim e around the Korean W ar (when Ronald Reagan was President of the Screen Actors Guild), and has remained pretty well true to tune w ith m inor variations ever since. No, punk is punk. There are punks. In America, everyone is one thing, and one thing only. They are punks, businessm en, housew ives, students, cops, sm art-arses, anti-Semites, crims or fnord figure skaters. They are not more than one thing. Also, punk rock is not played on AM, nor most FM. Even the fam ous Berkeley public radio station KPFA only devotes 2% of its air tim e to new wave music, the rest being reserved fo r the New Riders of the Purple Sage, John Cage and Balinese classical. S urprisingly enough, it has few young listeners. Those w ho do listen, and do care, recently accused the station o f being "a n ti-p u n k", and "eating its you ng ". KPFA is still stuck back in that blim p in the Korean groove, som etim e around '67. Dull. One dim ensional as America itself.

In the meantime, as I so mused, our gang was tearing the place apart. Fallen cigarette butts, drinks half drunk and deserted by the Californian Blitz Kids — nothing was safe.

Someone was talking about stealing cars. Itw a s a ll getting too much. Everything was being videoed. There was a fashion parade "perform an ce" of punk hairdos on the catwalk, and we were getting desperate fo r more to happen. Someone was yelling about "startin g som ething". But then, fortunately, the music started. Then things really quietened. From tables.

ID

hundreds of them, all around this velvet-lined "B im b o 's", these hairdressers watched a ska band called "The O ffs", and got videoed.

"The O ffs", despite im p loring looks from our friends, did not cut much. They were pretty pissweak in fact. You'd see better at a church fete in N etting Hill attended by Conservative Party youth. They tried a w fu lly hard. They were follow ed by a band called "The M utants". Every city on earth m ust have a "M u ta n ts". This bunch were w ild. They could play. W e'd seen them before the gig, and Eric had chatted to one small, middle-aged one w ho looked like a Polish refugee w ith a cleaner's job. He was the lead singer. His name is Fritz Fox. The band are like a disease. Jum ping all around the stage, over everything like a running sore. They were uncocordinated, had no idea o f dance, fluidity. They were really good. Fritz shares the stage w ith tw o wom en singers, Sally W ebster and Sue W hite (sound like Aussies, do n't they). I can't rem em ber the ir music, but I'm sure you get the picture. Our gang w ent nuts. That night we all w ent home and did things together. A t 7am the party was still bopping, someone called the cops and there was a shoot out down the street. Mandy flaked at 8, saying she wished w e'd had a few more seats to ourselves on the w ay over. Someone brought back a dozen pizzas.

I w ent out to a shop called "R ough Trade" (a m inor m ultinational, as the cogniscenti among you doubtless realize) and looked over some rekids w ith a Noo Joisy punk called Tim. He runs the 2% on KPFA and is fighting the battle to the end, a holy war. I got a copy of "D am age", about New Wave and Punk in America. It seems to be stuck in a groove around February, 1977. We d id n 't get to see the "Dead Kennedy's" whose album had just come out. They were in England, apparently celebrating in anticipation of their incredible success in the "R oadrunner" yearly poll. I'm told Biafra kills/is killed by his audiences regularly. But we missed him. A t 9.30 I got back to the party, we had some pizza, I wokeup Mandy, and we got a driveaway car (delivery) and started driving fo r Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at 105MPA. She fell asleep again at El Paso, Texas, and d id n 't wake up until w e'd passed the Louisiana line. We hit Baton Rouge at Sam, dumped the shell of the 1979 Transam w ith the Okie owner, some redneck called Jethro, and made fo r the centre of town. A young, soulful doe-eyed conceptual sculptor named Claudette gave us a lift in her Lincoln, and stonkered on piss we roared into New Orleans at 5am, and started hitting the jazz bars in the French Quarter. Mandy disappeared w ith a sad-eyed junkie around day-break, so Claudette and I w ent on to "T y le r's ", the most fam ous jazz club in town. As she told me about her fam ily tragedy, w ith her father being conned into producing bacteriological weapons by a treacherous grand­ aunt in Brussels, I dived into the delicious oysters, only $1.50 a dozen, and grooved to the hottest band in the South. They're called the James Rivers Movement. James Rivers is a middle-aged black man w ho takes it all right back to Africa w ith one sweet note on his flute. Beautiful, man. The band were a knockout. Blues, jazz, rock. I felt Claudette's hand resting on my upper thigh. The place looked crazy from our table, w ith black men jiving and wom en screaming out "Jam es, Jam es". This, I said to myself, is New Orleans. I was transfigured (possiblv from 2 days sleep deprivation). I "k n e w " about rock. I "k n e w " about the blues. I had a warm feeling, shivering all through m y body. Hallelujah!

When I came out of it, the club was a mess, and empty.

Claudette was gone. The warm feeling had come because she'd had to get inside m y pants to get m y money. Poor girl. If only she'd known I do n't carry it when travelling. I hailed a taxi on credit, and found Mandy, asleep, herfeatures angelic in the m orning light over the Mississippi. The junky had told her he had an audition w ith Blondie in New York the follow ibg week.

He'd robbed her, of course. He'd taken 57-cenrts. We caught a bus into tow n, got a driveaway (with the first tank of free gas) and wheeled on north, pushing some rich bastard's black El Dorado. We wanted to be there by nightfall. Where? New York. Where else is there? We wanted to eat, and so there was no point stopping after w e'd left New Orleans until we got to New York. We checked out a club in "D am age", and decided the junky w ould make fo r there. Fifty-seven cents is a lot of money when you haven't got a dime.

We roared into the Big Apple, and dum ped the car. We got a place to stay near Harlem on the Upper West Side. Mandy ran off to find some friends of friends, and I spent the early evening drinking Budweiser, some pissweak beer they sell everywhere. I'd just got through the first dozen tinnies when Mandy was on the phone. Said she was w ith a gang ripping apart some unfash place called "CeeBee JeeBees" or som ething like that. My knowledge of New York nightlife d id n 't extend beyond Margaret Trudeau at S tudio 54, so I just said "O h, fin e ". She said someone said we should watch a TV show called "Television Party" on public TV. She got a cab back, and we watched it at m idnight. It was a party, on TV, alright. No frills. But pretentious as all hell. These unidim ensionals were "N e w York artists", of the same ilk as W arhol and all the others whose artistic untalents the American art media machine had prom oted so successfully all these years. We wanted to savage the screen, but watched on, bad tempered after three days in America. "A n d here", said the pinhead on the screen w ho was trying to look like a w im p, "is Chris S tein". Shot of Chris Stein, "b e in g " "C hris S tein" (Debby's boyfriend, someone whispered just loudly enough at "Television Party"). Then there was some sem i-literate talking about his "n e w wave film s". I was w aiting fo r someone to show the ir "N e w W ave" fingernails, or "N ew W ave" attitude to fox hunting. Total rubbish, the whole thing, of course. Mandy grew increasingly agitated, as we had run out of beer. She switched it on to "M id n ig h t Blue" on a cable TV channel, and we watched some people who looked like P o litics D e p a rtm e n t academ ics fu ckin g on emerald-covered plastic grass — or trying tb, if you catch my drift.

We watched TV fo r a few more hours, and had a nap. Then we hitched to Kennedy, and bought tickets fo r London. Credit.

Only 170 dollars. I made a call to Australia, discussed the "D octor Gonzo A ffa ir" w ith Robertson, abused the bastard, and resigned my Am erican posting. We got on the plane, and sta rte d d rin k in g B lo o d y M a ry 's fo r bre akfast. I'd to ld Robertson I was going to Lima, but really never intended to do it. I wanted to hear some music. (In the airport lounge, someone had one of those huge transistors, playing it loud.

He had a punk rock haircut and trendy New Wave (or should I say post New Wave — he w as a trendy) clothes and the radio blared Barry M anilow , follow e d by Barry Gibb and Barbra Streisand, follow ed by Crystal Gayle.) On that note, we bade America farewell. Pity, though. We really quite liked the place.

I made a mental note to drop that junky a few lines sometime.

Maybe he'll buy us a beer on our next trip.

Larry Buttrose

ASIA ROCK REPORT (PART ONE OF A CONTIHUIHG SERIES) by contm versial DAVID L LAMGSAH/1

BANGKOK As a review of the live rock bands in Krung Thep ('City of Angels — as the Thai refer to Bangkok) this page should be left blank.

I hereby withdraw all negative criticisms of Australian rock bands in my last contribution.

Even Sherbet would be an improvement on what is available in this town. Disco is still king, along with Barbra Streisand, Elvis (Pretzel, not the little one with the oversized glasses), Leo Soyer (sic), Glenn Miller, John Paul Young and The Knack.

Give me Flowers, give me The Angels, Sports, Serious Young Insects, X-L Capris, Ross W ilson, Brod. Sm ith, Street Angel or No Fixed Address. You've got to 'Send som e bo dy'!

I searched the red light district fo r the rough boys of Bangkok, but found an Australian-led Jazz band, a Filipino Jazz band and a lot of 'soft-rock'.

The Roxy Bar is one of the m ost happening places in Patpong Road, the heart of Sin City. They have rock videos on their 26 inch television, but the D.J. plays records indepen­ dently to the video clips. You listen to Blondie and watch Abba. Last night, the D.J. played the latest New Wave that I could find in his collection — 'Street Fighting Man', 'S ym pathy For The Devil', 'Cocaine', 'Em otional Rescue' and 'Message In A Bottle'. .

Frustrated to depression, I begged a guitarist (folk) to let me play his instrum ent. My fifteen golden m ouldies were the closest this tow n has heard to w hat you may loosely label 'm usic'. (Yes, thank you that reader that said that I'm n o fth a t bad — but the fact is, that you've never heard me. I even make John(ny) Young look bearable).

The bar-girls danced a little and clapped politely, and I was accused of playing 'hard' rock. Anyw ay, the boss said that anytim e that I feel like I w ant to play his guitar, I'm welcome.

Your favourite journalist (W orst selling E.P. in the history of .Missing Link distribution) is now considered a rock megaster, by more than five people. If any real band came here, w ith Thai/English posters (say, 2 weeks in advance — I have a friend that runs an advertising agency here — labour costs are insignificant, Michael) they w ould clean up. There is a young middle-class, that are just w aiting to spend their parents' hard-earned bucks, on Oz rock.

That's about it, on the music scene.

The food is great, but give yourself a few days to become accustomed to it. Start in European food, clean restaurants, progress to clean Thai restaurants (like Mizu's) and after a few more days, graduate to the Thai street stalls. Lord, how my belly aches. I rushed the process — thought I was tough . . . wrong!

Buddah Sticks cost 20 baht (80c), but you m ig ht have to pay an extra 10 baht (40c) if the girl you score from has to run around fo r you. Like I said, labour is cheap. A lthough I don't take drugs myself, I have been assured, by those that are 'in the know', that these sticks can w ipe you right off your face in under three paragraphs.

Hotels are expensive — 250 baht ($10) a night the Swan Hotel, was the best that I could find. Kiki, the manager, is extrem ely kind to tourists that go to the bother of learning a few w ords jn his language and do n't act like ockers. When I found m y apartment, he advised me that $150 fo r a m onth was better value than his own hotel. He apologized that he could only give a 10% discount if I stayed a w hole month. He even helped me w ith my baggage — very unusual treatm ent fo r a departing customer.

The best hotel is the Oriental. However at $75-$500, it was a shade above my Roadrunner Travelling Expenses Allowance. (. . . I h a te to a s k in p u b lico ra n yth in g ,D o n a ld , but. . . er. . . do you th in k y o u could . . . um . . . slug a te n n e rto a poor boy in a lonely room in Bangkok?)

I also had a look at Chon Buri refugee camp. A lthough not quite the Oriental standard, it w asn't anywhere near as bad as I expected it to be. It is m ainly a transit camp. It holds 16,000 Vietnamese, Khmer, Laotians, and H'M ong (Laotian hilltribes). The border camps hold over 100,000 people each.

There are more than half a m illio n refugees in Thailand.

Actually, I taped some traditional Khmer m u s ic — it's a lot better than the crap in the bars.

I wrote, last time, about the bands that I didn't like, so I guess, to be fair, I should name the ten cassettes that I believed to be worth their weight in pleasure.

For a one or two year journey, I have: 1. Love You Live - Stones 2. W ho's NextIThe Who By N um bers 3. Sports: D o n 't Throw StonesIThe S tranglers IV 4. Bowie: L o w & Heroes 5. Springsteen: B orn To RunIDarkness On The Edge O f Town 6. Saints: E te rn a lly YoursIC\as\w The Clash 7. Springsteen: /./Ve/Eno: Taking Tiger M o u n ta in By S trategy 8. Clash: London C a llin g llh e Jam: S etting S onslO nly Ones 9. Neil Young: Z./Ve/?tyst 10. Lou Reed: Rock 'n ' R o ll A n im a llJa \k\n g Heads: '77

There are at least ten other cassettes I w ould like to have taken (like Man & Machine, High Rise Bombers, Jo Jo Zep, John Lennon, M att Finish, Costello, Dury and Parker), but like they say, "W hat you can't carry yourself, no one's goirig to carry fo r you ."

Musical instrum ents are very expensive. Yamaha copies of Strats and Gibsons are around $500 and I've only seen one original — a Fender bass, in bad condition. There are, however, a few Fender and Gibson am plifiers. I haven't seen any Marshall or even Music Man amps, nor have I seen a single synthesizer. The big thing is the drum machine. Every bar that has a musician has a drum machine. There are a couple of drum m ers in tow n, but the Thais seem to think that you do n 't need a man drawing wages, if he/she can be replaced by a well-behaved box of wires and circuits.

Bangkok is a city of sights and smells. Food, refuse, vehicle exhaust, roaring two-stroke engines, construction sites and people. Temples are everywhere, as are street stalls, selling anything and everything — shoes, brass candlesticks, c lo th in g , cig a re tte s . A lc o h o l seem s to be a va ila b le everywhere, all day. In the bars, it's expensive — lounge bar prices — $1.50/shot, but the local Mehkong whiskey is only $1.50 for a 26 ounce bottle. It tastes like a cross between Southern Comfort, Jim Beam and a hint of brandy, but it is very drinkable. I haven't seen any aggressive drunks so far, indicating that the Thai people either do n't drink to excess or that they are very good at handling it.

Next stop is Burma fo r one week, follow ed by India. I'll stay a few days in Calcutta, before heading south. Stay tuned for the Roadrunner Asia Rock Report.

P.S. Please send a jar of Vegemite and tw o pairs of socks.

I I

MALE VOCALIST 1. Iva Davies (Flowers) 2. D oc Neeson (Angels) 3. Nick Cave (Birthday Party) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Jimmy Bames (Cold Chisel) Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil) Steve Cummings (Sports) Sean Kelly (M odels) James Freud Chris Bailey (Saints) Dave Mason (Reels)

FEMALE VOCALIST 1. Annalise Morrow (Numbers) 2. Linda Nutter (Dugites) 3. Julie Mostyn (Flaming Hands) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Renee Geyer Anne Cessna (Essendon Airport) Christie Allen Sharon O’Neill Kim Hart Robyn Archer Jade D ’Adrenalin (Bad Poets)

GROUP 1. Flowers 2. Angels 3. The Birthday Party 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Cold Chisel M odels The Riptides The Saints Split Enz Laughing Clowns The Reels

MALE VOCALIST 1. David Bowie 2. Ian Curtis (Joy Division) 3. Paul Weller (The Jam) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Elvis Costello Sting Andy Partridge (X T C ) John Lydon John Lennon Gary Numan Joe Strummer (The Clash)

FEMALE VOCALIST 1. Kate Bush 2. Siouxsie Sioux 3. Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Pauline Murray Marianne Faithful Poly Styrene Lene Lovich Pauline Black (Selecter) Alison Stratton (Young Marble Giants) 10. Fay Fife (Revillos)

GROUP 1. X T C 2. The Jam 3. The Police 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

IZ

Joy Division The Clash Magazine Buzzcocks Dexy’s Midnight Runners PiL Boomtown Rats

ALBUM 1. ‘Icehouse’— Flowers 2. ‘AlphaBravoCharlieDeltaE choFoxtrotG olf— Models 3. = ‘East’— Cold Chisel = ‘True Colours’— Split Enz 5. ‘The Birthday Party’— The Birthday Party 6. ‘Boys Light U p’— Australian Crawl 7. ‘Laughing Clowns’— Laughing Clowns 8. ‘Expresso Bongo’— Mental As Anything 9. ‘Dark Room ’— Angels 10. ‘Absolute Anthology’— The Easybeats

SINGLE 1. ‘I Got You’— Split Enz 2. ^Mancini Shuffle’— Matt Finish 3. ‘ Modern Girl’—^James Freud & Berlin 4. = ‘Mr. Clarinet’— The Birthday Party = ‘N o Secrets’— The Angels 6. ‘ Five Letter W ord’— The Numbers 7. ‘ Can’t Help M y self— Flowers 8. ‘ Stop The Baby Talking’— Sport!

9. ‘After the News’— The Reels 10. ‘We Can Get T ogether’— Flowers

LIVE 1. The Angels 2. Midnight Oil 3. The Models 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Cold Chisel The Riptides Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons Sports Flaming Hands The Saints Mental As An3rthing

SONGWRITER 1. Iva Davies (Flowers) 2. Don Walker (Cold Chisel) 3. Brewster-Neeson-Brewster (The Angels) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

TIP 1.

2.

3.

Ed Kuepper (Laughing Clowns) Paul Kelly (The Dots) Tim Finn (Split Enz ) Mark Callaghan (The Riptides) James Reyne (Australian Crawl) Sean Kelly (Models) Greg McCainsh

FOR 1981 The Riptides Models The Numbers

4. Flowers 5. Sunny Boys

T .V . SHOW 1. Nightmoves 2. Countdown 3. Dr. Who 4. Fawlty Towers 5. Simon Townsend’s Wonderworld

ALBUM 1. ‘ Black Sea’— X T C 2. ‘ Correct Use Of Soap’— Magazine 3. ‘ London Calling’— The Clash 4.

5.

6.

7.

‘Closer’—^Joy Division ‘ 17 Seconds’— The Cure ‘ Setting Sons’— The Jam ‘ Searching For the Young Soul Rebels’— Dexy’ s 8. ‘ Get Happy’— Elvis Costello 9. ‘ Scary Monsters’— David Bowie 10. ‘Broken English’— Marianne Faithful

SINGLE 1. ‘ Generals and Majors’— X T C 2. ‘ Love Will Tear Us Apart’—^Joy Division 3. ‘ Going Underground’— The Jam 4. ‘ London Calling’— The Clash 5. ‘Ashes T o Ashes’— David Bowie 6. ‘Enola Gay’— Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 7. I Wanna Be Straight’— Ian Dury 8. ‘A Forest’— The Cure 9. ‘ Geno’— Dexy’s Midnight Runners 10. ‘ Smash It Up’— The Damned

TOU R 1. X T C 2. Magazine 3. The Cure 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Dr. Feelgood The Police Gary Numan Wreckless Eric Elton John Boomtown Rats The Tourists

SONGWRITER 1. Paul Weller (The Jam) 2. Elvis Costello 3. David Bowie 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Andy Partridge (X T C ) Peter Gabriel Graham Parker Kate Bush Mick ‘n’ K eef Colin Moulding (X T C ) Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks)

TIP FOR 1981 1. The Cure 2. UB40 3. The Jam 4. Madness 5. The Chords

1

MALE VOCALIST 1. David Bowie 2. Paul Weller (The Jam) 3. Elvis Costello 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

/

D oc Neeson (The Angels) David Byme (Talking Heads) Bruce Springsteen Sting John Lennon Joey Ramone John Lydon

FEMALE VOCALIST 1. Deborah Harry (Blondie) 2. Siouxsie Sioux 3. Marianne Faithful 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Martha Davis (The Motels) Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) Kate Bush Pat Benatar Joan Armatrading Diana Ross Pauline Murray

GROUP 1. The Jam 2. Talking Heads 3. AC/DC 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

The Police The Angels XTC Split Enz Magazine Flowers Joy Division

SONGWRITER ALBUM 1. Paul Weller (The Jam) 1. ^Remain In Light’— Talking 2. David Bowie Heads 3. Bruce Springsteen 2. ‘ Setting Sons’— The Jam 4. Elvis Costello 3. ‘ Searching For the Young 5. David Byme (Talking Heads) Soul Rebels’-—Dexy’s 6. Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

‘Icehouse’— Flowers ‘Back In Black’— AC/DC ‘The River’— Bruce Springsteen ‘ Black Sea’— X T C ‘ Closer’—^Joy Division ‘ Scary Monsters’— David Bowie ‘ Correct Use O f Soap’— Magazine

SINGLE 1. ‘Holiday In Cambodia’— Dead Kennedys 2. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’—^Joy Division 3. ‘Ashes T o Ashes’— David Bowie 4. ‘Going Underground’— The Jam 5. ‘No Secrets’— The Angels 6. Echo Beach’— Martha & the Muffins 7. ‘You Shook M e ...’— AC/DC 8. ‘Mirror In The Bathroom’— The Beat 9. ‘New Amsterdam’— Elvis Costello 10. ‘ Geno’— Deity’s Midnight Runners

7. Brewster-Neeson-Brewster (The Angels) 8. Andy Partridge (X TC ) 9. Tom Waits 10. Peter Gabriel

TIP FOR 1981 1. Dead Kennedys 2. Talking Heads 3. James Blood Ulmer 4. Fleshtones 5. Residents

TIP 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

FOR 1981 Flowers The Jam The Birthday Party Split Enz Talking Heads UB40 Dead Kennedys The Cure The Reels Models

WORLD SECTION

V

U.S. SECTION MALE VOCALIST 1. == Bruce Springsteen = David Byrne 3. Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Joey Ramone Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) Iggy Pop Tom Petty Neil Young Tom Waits Southside Jonny

FEMALE VOCALIST 1. Deborah Harry 2. Pat Benatar 3. = Kate Pierson = Cindy Wilson (B-52’s) 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Martha Davis (Motels) Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) Patti Smith Suzy Quatro Ronnie Spector Michael Jackson

GROUP 1. Talking Heads 2. Ramones 3. Dead Kennedys 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Blondie B-52’ s Devo Cheap Trick Motels The Residents T om Petty and the Heartbreakers

ALBUM 1. ‘The River’— Bruce Springsteen 2. ‘Remain In Light’— Talking Heads 3. ‘End Of the Century’— Ramones 4. ‘ Freedom O f Choice’— Devo 5. ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’— Dead Kennedys 6. ‘Wild Planet’— B52’s 7. ‘ Commercial Album’— The Residents 8. ‘Crimes O f Passion’— Pat Benatar 9. ‘ Careful’— The Motels 10. ‘ Hotter Than July’— Stevie Wonder

SINGLE 1. ‘Holiday In Cambodia’— Dead Kennedys 2. ‘Total Control’— The Motels 3. ‘ Freedom Of Choice’— Devo 4. ‘What I Like About You’— The Romantics 5. ‘Masterblaster’— Stevie Wonder 6. ‘Tide Is High’— Blondie 7. ‘Hungry Heart’— Bruce Springsteen 8. ‘Time Warp’— Rocky Horror 9. ‘ R o c k ’n Roll High School’— Ramones 10. ‘Private Idaho’— B-52’ s

SONGWRITER 1. Bruce Springsteen 2. David Byrne 3. Jello Biafra 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Tom Petty The Ramones Patti Smith Tom Waites Martha Davis Stevie Wonder Chris Stein

TOUR 1. The Ramones 2. The B-52’s 3. The Motels 4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 5. Kiss 6. Hall & Oats 7. Romantics 8. Fleetwood Mac

WOT? MORE A M ental As Anything Encounter Here we go folks, the latest instalment of the zany M ental as A n y - , thing story. Are these guys tru ly loony?

W o u ld J o n ath o n Coleman recom m end them a section 8? Will to n ig h t be -the straw th a t breaks m y ever weakening grip on san­ ity?

A s s u m in g th a t the answers to these are reason­ ably obvious. I head fo r the Arkaba Hotel in an enthusias­ tic, though sadly unprepared state of mind.

First up, The U nits give the ir usual scathing perfor­ mance to an interested, but undem onstrative crowd. The place begins hotting up dur­ ing The second set, and their v e rs io n o f Ray B ro w n 's "Fool, fool, fo o l," causes a m ild flu rry o f e xcite m en t, esp ecially in the M en ta ls' camp.

It's w a ll to w a ll p e op le when Mental as A nythging take to th e stage. These people are out fo r a good time, and get it. The set is tig h t, p ro fe s s io n a l and energetic, played w ith ob vi­ ous enthusiasm, and full of the genuine and spontane­ ous h u m o u r th a t is th e ir hallmark. To this, the many legged beast q u ite sim p ly goes nuts. Lines of people dance on tables, and an air of mayhem prevails.

Although it is logical, I still feel a little disappointed that 'The Nips are getting Bigger' draws greatest response. It w o u ld be plea sing to see some othe songs receiving sim ilar attention. But its only degrees of hysteria.

Later, a rm e d w ith tap e m achine, and an u n fo rtu ­ nately addled brain, I m um ­ ble a few nervous questions to M a rtin Plaza and Reg M om bassa. The band are playing in Sydney the fo llo w ­ ing afternoon (Sunday), and A d e la id e ag ain th e sam e evening. This means waking up at around 5 or 6 the next m orning, and the rest of the band are sleeping by the tim e I go looking fo r them.

I ask M a rtin a b o u t th e m e d ia 's o b s e s s io n w ith painting them as happy luna­ tics.

"Yeah, they want us to say silly things and stand on our heads and all that sorta shit.

It's a hard thing to live up to, like someone interviewed on M ich a e l P a rkin so n , a hum orist, and people turn it on and w ant him to be funny.

W e're kind of in the same bag, people w ant us to be funny all the tim e ."

There's no trace of bitter­ ness or vindictiveness in his tone, it's just an observation of a fact. As is obvious, they CAN be fu n n y , and e n jo y doing so, but also make it clear that they w ant to be a band rather than a sideshow.

Plaza continues, "A lot of things I do are kind of a parody of w hat rock stars do. I hope people see it that way, when I do solos on my knees and stuff like that. I do that as a kind of send up, because that's the only w ay I can, sort of handle it. But Greedy has a fresh kind of at­ titude to the whole thing, you know , he ju s t does it any way. I find it difficult to settle on any kind of approach to playing live. That's my d i­ lem m a."

They've caught the other sid e o f th e co in w h e n it com es to stag e h u m o u r.

S o m e tim e s p e o p le d o n 't w ant to laugh all that much.

"I'm som etim es a bit em ­ barrassed ab ou t being on stage" M artin admits. "It's such a rid icu lo u s pre dica­ m ent, when people expect you to be like, cock rock or som ething."

Playing about six nights a week, it seems the y've re­ ceived varied reactions from tim e to time.

"Yeah, like last night (Fri­ day), they were turning away p e o p le w ith je an s on, or t-shirts or sandshoes. . . The ridiculous thing was though, we got up, did the bracket, and no-one was dancing they were all w atching, very attentive and everything, and we went o ff thinking 'bunch o f . . . ' (laughs) you know.

And we'd been o ff fo r a few m inutes, w e 're all g e ttin g changed, and then they all start clapping and screaming fo r more. It was very w e ird."

The M ental's usually man­ age a few weeks off between tours, most o f w hich is used up doing demos and so on.

Shortages of tim e and sleep are ju s t "o c c u p a tio n a l hazards." They explain that m aintaining the same road crew , w h o kno w ho w the show w o rks, m ust go on.

even if the band are n e tw o rk ­ ing: " . . . so we can't really afford to stay o ff the road very long, it's as sim ple as th a t."

As well as showing a de­ cided fla ir fo r w ritin g the ir o w n spe cia l ty p e o f pop m u sic, th e M e n ta ls have n e ve r m in d e d c o v e rin g songs, and have always used those covers to good effect.

M artin expands, "M y attitude is that a lot of young bands have got this p re o c c u p a tio n w ith do in g originals. I do n 't really un­ derstand the logic behind it, b u t I reckon it's be tte r to chuck in a few covers than to do a whole lot of rank original songs."

Reg, "D o in g covers is a good w ay of learning how to w rite your own songs."

Plaza "Yeah, sure, that's how we learnt to w rite songs.

Like if a band just starts play­ in g, and th e y 'v e g o t th is thing about 'Oh, we've gotta do all originals.' they've got no knowledge of just a fo r­ m a t fo r w r itin g songs. If th e y're really good maybe they can do som ething to ­ tally original, but that's very rare. W e've drawn largely on things we've liked when we were kids. That's how we've developed our sound."

I ask h o w th e y th in k they've changed or progres­ sed over the years.

"I think w e've got better, w e're getting better at w rit­ ing songs." says Reg. "In a sense it gets harder tho ugh ."

"Yeah, in a way. Som e­ tim es I think I've w ritten all th e son gs I'm g o in g to w rite ." Reg concludes.

A rou nd ab ou t th is p o in t the co n ve rsa tio n w anders dangerously o ff the record, and I turn the tape off. Little do I know when I turn it back on that the plug's been pul­ led out to plug in another tape player. On this machine is playing a rough tape o f the next Mental as Anything al­ bum.

Earlier on I'd asked about the last album , relative to the first.

"Let me ju st say that the n e xt a lb u m 's g o in g to be heaps better. The last one was a bit rushed."

If the tape now playing is any indication, it w ill be a very good album indeed.

JOHN DOE

The December-January issue of Roadrunner was incomplete. It lacked a summary of the last 12 months in Brisbane, which contrary to the im­ pression young Scotty M atheson may have given in RR Vol. 3 No. 10 were rather eventful.

1980 saw the unprecedented appearance (short though it may have been!) of an independent rock newspaper in Queensland. In the three issues of BACKSTAGE published we saw an am bitious attem pt by editor Graham Aisthorpe to keep the paper entirely indepen­ dent w ith o u t bowing to non-professionalism.

Debts to typesetters and numerous friends resulted in the paper folding just when things were starting to look good. C'est la vie.

Brisbane bands seemed to come and go throughout the year but there are some that reaily deserve mention. Early last February local prom oters the Pirahna Bros, secured as venues a couple of the sleaziest night clubs in tow n, the Silver D ollar and Pinochio's. The latter, although only hosting some half a dozen gigs before closure, witnessed some great shows by the Swell Guys. The Swell Guys subsequently released an impressive E.P. on Flat Records then m ysteriously disappeared to Sydney. As a musical entity they created a lot of energy in a set of diversity featuring some surfie instrum entals as well as covers from Talking Heads and Pere Ubu. I miss 'em.

Zero (or Xerox as they have now become) are another band that played regularly at these small venues. This band's transition throu gh­ out 1980-1981 has been nothing short of rerharkable. They have gone from doing m ostly covers (Gang of F o u r. . . Talking Heads . . . G ruppo . . . Sportivo . . . etc.) to a set of all originals that have matured enorm ously w ith a change in line-up. The three members of Xerox take turns at playing a variety of instruments, always making for a new and interesting performance. If you're up this way Xerox are well w orth looking out for.

Speaking of w orth looking out for. The Lemmings have been gathering a lot of attention lately. W ith a repertoire of prom ising

It

originals (very much in the X.T.C. vein, to be unfair) and some well selected covers from the O nly Ones, Modern Lovers and Magazine, the Lemmings are one of the tightest bands in town.

The Gasmen, although no longer together, played about six gigs creating quite a nostalgic sensation. Their reincarnation of The Ventures, The Shadows and a wide selection of little known sixties pop songs was much ap­ preciated by one and all.

The band that has m ost impressed me in the last year (and that goes fo r interstate acts as w e ll!) are called Mute-44. This band plays some of the best original music you 'll hear anywhere. Their non-pretentious approach and im aginative songw riting defy any real categorization, and the ir sole cover 'U nder the Boardwalk' is not a definite indication of their direction. I wish they'd play more often.

Then how can you forget the Riptides, although one w ould be forgiven fo r thinking they came from Sydney. If there is one Brisbane band that deserves to make it it's the Riptides. Their am bitious solidarity seems to have paid o ff w ith Regular Records com ing to the party late last year. A lthough the Riptides do n't attem pt to push their music in any new directions (this is not to say that they are overtly derivative), they are building a large fo llo w in g in the south w ith their own brand of catchy pop songs. We eagerly await the release of an album. Good luck fellas.

A nother band to kick (out the jam s . . .) around Brisso of late has been the Fun Things.

Before splitting in various directions the Fun Things released an excellent Detroit/Birdman (tautology?) influenced E.P. The story goes that Phantom Records in Sydney sell vast quan­ tities of the record - it really is good.

There's also been The Shakers, FX, The 31st, The End and the Humans. All were capable of turning in a good night's entertainm ent, but tended to disband before their full potential was realized.

Now the band you've all been w aiting f o r . . .

THE GOBETWEENS. The nucleus of the band, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, arrived back in Brisbane in May after six months abroad. W ith a single on up and com ing Glasgow label Postcard Records the future looked prom ising. A hastily assembled four piece Gobetweens played one gig in mid June

then split, leaving the nucleus once again drum m erless. When Zero changed its line-up in August, Lindy M orrison became the logical replacement, and her inclusion has been instrum ental in diversifying the band's sound.

Although The Gobetweens played -only tw o nights up here around Xmas (supporting the Birthday Party) they appear to have lived up to expectations, and it w asn't surprising that Keith Glass from Missing Link has the band booked to do some recording. It is highly unlikely that the Gobetweens w ill fo llo w the Riptides to Sydney, but there has been talk of going back to England w ith the Birthday Party.

That remains to be seen.

You may rem em ber a band called the Apartm ents w ho had an E.P. released on the Able label late in 1979. The guitarists in the band, Michael O'Connell and Peter Walsh, w ent on to newer pastures in 1980 w ith O'Connell serving tim e in Zero until August.

Walsh, although not having perfomed since the Apartm ents has apparently been reading up on John Coltrane . . . you can w ork out where he's at yourselves!

The venue situation in Brisbane has never been all that stable, but this year confirm ed suspicions about pressure from 'above'. The num ber of venues that have opened and closed in the last tw elve rhonths amounts to nothing more than a joke. Places like Romeo's, The Silver Dollar and Pinochio's (while they lasted) were all successful small venues not dissim ilar to places like the Herritage in Sydney.

Local public broadcasters 4ZZZ-FM in their attem pts to keep the station financial and to furthe r live music persevered w ith J oint Efforts at Queensland U niversity (most notably The Cure, Laughing Clowns and Zero). The station in the later quarter of 1980 secured the National Hotel fo r live music but had the venue inglo rio usly taken over by the Hotel Manage­ m ent just when Triple-Z had built up a sizeable clientele. The National has now become just another straight cabaret venue showing little im agination in the type of bands being booked.

If you th in k th e presentsituation in Queensland is grim , you're pretty right, but do n't fret, there are strong rum ours around tow n that the ensuing weeks w ill see a cpuple of new alternative venues open. It w o n 't be too soon.

David Pestorius

SINGLES w peJ

U iim THE CHAMPIONS A DAM AND THE ANTS: 'Antmusic' (CBS) PEL MEL: 'No W ord From China' (Primate) JOY DIVISION: 'Love W ill Tear Us Apart' (Factory) Three singles of the m onth (maybe more later as I wade through the grand-sized pile of accumulated 7 inch vinyl). Both the Ants and Joy Division are U.K. mass cult bands, throw n up from that country's morass of cult bands by the extrem ity of the ir message, rather than the content. They are poles apart and yet really rather close. 'A ntm usic' the newer of the tw o and current UK No. 1, is a brash and swagger­ ing anthem to the band themselves. 'Unplug the jukebox/Do yourself a favour', goes the chorus, 'That music's lost its taste/Try another flavour/Antm usic, yeah' They've already been sneeringly dismissed as glam -rock revivalists (and there's more than a grain of truth in that) but apart from the heavily fuzzed guitar and straight 4/4 bass beat that conjures up the ghost of Gary G litter (waaaaahhh!) there's a great walking cane percussion m o tif than snaps and crackles, a sharp guitar solo, Adam 's voice (and looks — check out the flip clip) and not least — the image. High style/Red Indian (the album 's called 'Kings of the W ild Frontier' and is also No. 1 in the U.K.). Glam Rock. Like Marc Bolan's 'Ride A W hite Swan', 'A ntm usic' doesn't do anything more (or less) than celebrate itself. And like Bolan and the best of glam, it's great dance music.

Joy Division's 'Love W ill Tear Us A part' was released in the U.K. around the m iddle of last year and in the wake of lead singer Ian Curtis' suicide became an unlikely British hit. Deser­ vedly so, I hasten to add. It's a m agnificent song, breathtaking in scope, a high-gothic mood of blanket resignation. As a death song I can think of few better (perhaps some Scottish laments w ould top it.) It's an extraordinary piece of music. I've been listening to it for months and it still moves me. It's now available on local release.

Pel Mel's self financed vinyl debut is startl­ ingly good. The band sent me a note w ith the record, but I've lost it and so can't tell you much about them ('cept they're from Sydney). But I can tell you about 'No W ord From China'.

Intricate (w ithout being overly complex), insis­ tent (w ithout banging your head against the w all) and, um . . . intriguing. Clippidy clop percussion, bass just the right side of thudding, dextrous and efficient guitars, punchy drums and great singing from Jane & Judy — all welded and crafted together to make a more than satisfying song. M m m . . . im aginative, intense ... . IMPORTANT. As Adam A nt would say . . . 'Do yourself a favour'.

FLOWERS WALLS b/w

ALL THE WAY

around December 1980. Both have since been su p erse ded by N ew G la m /A n tm a n ia (see above).

But fashion is only skin deep as the sages say, and taken out o f the ir tribal/token context these singles DO stand up on musical m erit alone.

'Rescue' has been around fo r some tim e now and seems to have deviously managed to slip past m ost people's aars. W hich is a pity. The Bunnymen are fronted by Ian McCullough w ho has one of those deep rich sensual rock voices (com m only called 'sounds like Jim M orrison').

A nd once again, as w ith the Ants, the act of m ining the past to create in the present can be observed at work. But it's w hat you do w ith your materials that counts and the Bunnymen weave a web of sparse but strong rhythm s from w hich McCullough's voice bounces w ith adm irable majesty.

Spandau Ballet wear kilts — no not all the tim e, like a gim m ick — ju st some of the tim e, like a fashion. W hich is just fine w ith me. They also play a boppy synthesized pop music w ith a strong beat. If you can im agine some m utant hybrid of Gary Numan and the B-52's wearing kilts then you're probably close. Or have I misunderstood som ething and they're really the future of rock'n'roll? No, they can't be. It's the Ants this m onth.

And Flowers. Still in bloom — not yet cut down by critical scythes as is the unhappy fate o f th e ir B ritis h c o n te m p o ra rie s . A nd s till bloom ing good too. 'W alls' is from 'Icehouse' and I've heard it a lot, but w o n 't m ind hearing it on the radio, although come to think of it I've heard 'it' on the radio a lot too. Anyw ay there is a NEW song on the flipside, and it's a w orthy addition to the catalogue. 'AJI the W ay' is a sim ple effective love song, the band sounding smooth and relaxed w ith Iva's oboe playing giving the song a vaguely haunting edge. The young maestro adds another string to his bow.

LIMITED EDITION

The Teenage Film Stars are new and British and also dabble in the ska poo! w ith some great cracking tom -tom s the musical highlights and they do n 't fake Carrib accents (Praise be) instead treat the vocals and manage a success­ ful m erger o f style and substance. The odd man out indeed.

s H n im

ROB STONER: W hat R ound is This (MCA) From the same general source comes this first solo effort from ex-Dylan sideman Stoner.

I can im agine people like Robert Gordon, Link W ray, and Southside Johnny doing this music fo r years and years and never getting tired of it.

Stoner a in 't perhaps as ROOTSY but carries it o ff w ith conviction.

ELVIS COSTELLO: C lubland (F-Beat)

SUNNY BOYS: £.P. (Phantom) SHY IMPOSTERS: A t The B a rrie r (Phantom) The voice of the Sydney underground, which on the evidence of these tw o, and the Pel Mel single reviewed earlier, seems to be in excep­ tion ally good voice. The Sunny Boys are current kings of the push, and w ith their not TOO to u g h lo ve son gs, (echoes o f th e Easybeats/Masters flick in and out) it's under­ standable. Jerem y Oxley w rites and sings w ith style and confidence and the band back him w ith rough enthusiasm (particularly on 'The Seeker'). If you reckon the Easybeats and the Masters were the best Australian bands of the sixties then you 'll enjoy this. And if you don't . . . w hat's w rong widya?

Tougher sound from the Shy Imposters — thick chords, heavy bass & drum s and a classic Detroit speedrush to the hole in the centre. The flip, 'Seein' Double' is pretty frenetic too w ith guitarist Richard Burgman letting rip a scream­ ing solo a la Hendrix. U nfortunatley the song as a whole is rather messy.

SPANDAU BALLET: To Cut a Long S to ry Short. (Chrysalis) FLOWERS: AU the W aylW al/s (Regular) ECHO AND THE BUNNYM EN: Rescue (WEA) Two examples of the fast changing British 'fashion' music stakes — file Echo and the Bunnymen in 'N ew Psychedelic' circa Sep­ tem ber 1980 (With cross referencing to the 'N ew Liverpool Sound'), and put Spandau in New Romantics (crossreference: Blitz scene)

Ah, those nasal, straining tones! How we have missed them. Or have we? 'Get Happy' seemed like a blur of images, a sort of 'Home Thoughts from Abroad'. 'Clubland' from the new L.P. 'Trust' is more developed than anything Costello's done fo r a w hile — at 3 mins. 40 it's longer than anything on 'Get Happy'. No temperance of the man's sharp tongue, deliciously jum bled images or 'riff nicking' (no doubt«the latter carried out with help from cohort Nick Lowe) is in evidence. The target this tim e out is clubs, pubs and discos and the stolen riff is 'On Broadway', and on hearing this, yes, I have missed him. Two songs on the flip, of which 'Hoover Factory' is a , sentimental gem of industrial romanticism.

SWANNEE: M a th e w (WEA) A surprisingly tender ballad about childbirth fro m th e grizzle d o ld S c o ttis h te a ra w a y.

Superb string arrangem ent all soaring and that, and Swanee showing that he has the range and feeling to carry off the big produc­ tion. The lyrics steer well clear of soppiness (always a danger in efforts like this) and have the ring of honesty about them.

HEROES: The S tar a n d the S laughte r (Alberts)

SOLID PERFORMERS THE SWINGERS: C ounting the Beat (Mushroom) THE UNITS: Baby You F lirt (Brainbuster) GEN X: D ancing W/f/? M /s e /f (Chrysalis) U-2: / W ill F o llo w (Island) Pop rock of various degrees of sophistica­ tion. 'The Swingers', (a three piece fronted by ex-Enzer Phil Judd) song has a very Enzy chorus, but then Judd was half of the original Enz w riting team. Good sim ple beaty stuff w ith Judd's, er, UNUSUAL singing grabbing the attention early on. The Units' 'Baby You Flirt' does more than flirt w ith pop. It's got that three-quarters guitar/quarter bass -i- drums balance (not a m illion miles removed from the mid sixties powerpop harm ony type thingy) and is perform ed w ith verve and gusto.

Gen X, the new stripped down in tim e fo r the glam rock revival Generation X (but w e re n 't they doing it three years ago?) beat out an uptem po popper peppered w ith powerchords and pum ping bass and Billy Idol chorussing out loud and clear. It's even got a w ild guitar solo! Swoon!

U-2 can be young and Irish and lyrical. And in fact they are. 'I W ill Follow ' starts w ith lovely clean ringing guitar and the band come across as a less intense Skids as the song develops. As the heading says, solid first offering, one to keep an eye on.

As has been already noted, Heroe plough the sam e m u sica l fu rro u g h as M id n ig h t O il, straight ahead driving rock. The song topic on this, their second single is rather interesting though. A VERY w arlike account/look back at the Star Hotel riot in Newcastle complete w ith news com m entary (local colour) at the start and end. 'W e'll take no hostage/Give no quarter/They w ill remember the night of the Star and the Slaughter', coupled w ith talk of burning buildings and fighting in the streets make this one of the most fo rth rig h t calls for direct action I've ever heard on a single. If it sounds naive, then probably m ost of the people at the Star were. If not as powerful as Chisel's 'Star Hotel' it's still an interesting offering.

THE

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REDGUM: The Long R unlLittleh am pton (Epic) Track from the 'Virgin G round' album which does som ething to loosen the affectionately applied 'W om bats of W oe' tag. A song of hope for better days — but you're gonna have to fig h t fo r them , they say. Too true. The flip, 'Littleham pton' is a close to the bone tale of 'starting life again in the Lofty Ranges', a sad and in the end, unsuccessful, experim ent in alternative lifestyles. Guaranteed to be big in Nimbin.

DONALD ROBERTSON

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STRAY CATS: R unaw ay Boys (Arista) Ah, this is better. Hard rockin' rockabilly presented in exaggeratedly authentic setting (courtesy o f the Welsh wizard himself, Dave E d m u n d s) and e x u d in g m o re g o o d o l' fashioned funtim es than a boatload of bongoes. The Stray Cats are in fact what the title says, having fled suburban Long Island, New Y o rkto the receptive London pub circuit, where they have definitely landed on the ir feet. Great stuff.

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BAD MANNERS: S pecial B re w (Magnet) BOOMTOW N RATS: Banana R epublic (Mercury) BLACK SLATE: Am/gro (Ensign) TEENAGE FILM STARS: The O dd M an O ut (Blueprint)

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH . . .

a washout too. Bad Manners are cheery and chirpy and trem endously inane. Catchiness is not en ou gh! A t least Black Slate d o n 't come o ff as slum m ers — they sound as if they BELIEVE in the style, and conviction does count fo r something. That said, 'A m ig o ' strikes out in the passion departm ent, com ing across in the lightw e ig ht division. Still, not unpleasant.

Make Up your m inds lads! Nothing start­ lingly original from either of these debuts.

Some m ildly interesting guitar w ork on the Little Heroes 'A ' side, but nothing can save w hat is basically a sloppy song. The Church inspire little faith in the ir future progress w ith a m ild mannered m ix of solid beat and w affley keyboards.

LITTLE HEROES: She SaysIC om ing H om e (L'i'l Re­ cords) Ah that old black magic/Got me in it's spell!

THE CHURCH: Soft core reggae. The Rats go quasi-political and it doesn't really work — the m usic's a bit of She N ever N e ve r S aid (Parlophone)

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BEEFHEART BLOWS IT! CAPTAIN BEEFHEART The Venue, London

For anyone who still remembers him. Captain Beefheart played the Venue, in London's Victoria (S.W.I. to those in the know) towards the end of everybody's favourite bad-taste joke, 1980. As you might've guessed, it didn't end up as straightforward as that might sound. For a start, I had the misfortune to see the midnight extra concert added as an afterthought to a highly successful short British stint, which in itself doesn't imply prob­ lems, but then someone at Virgin managed to make it highly unpleas­ ant by totally cocking uptheticketand seating "arrangements". For a start, there were no advanced bookings possible, so everyone had to queue.

This being part of every Britisher's lifestyle, no one really expected any­ thing else, but they expected some­ thing better than one person actually selling tickets to a crowd which was over the 1,000 mark. It took an average of, say, 45 minutes to buy a ticket. Even freebies like myself had to line up to collect, which slowed everything down immeasureably, as lists of names had to be perused each time a new freebie got to the box office window.

W ell—^that problem surm ounted, we actually got inside, to be told by the usherette— “ grab any seat". This seemed o.k., till people started arguing about seat numbers on some tickets, no numbers on others. An increasingly sour mood was overtaking the crow d before even a note had been played. This was also made possible by the fact tha t the concert, which was scheduled to begin at m idnight, actually got under way at about 1.30 am. During this tim e, dulled and angry voices were constantly overheard w hispering about the disgusting attitude evinced by V irgin in trying to cram as many people as possible, under the w orst conditions possible, and at not exactly cheap prices, to see the additional gig. The glorious smell of money wafted continuously through the air.

Ok— enough of all that atm ospheric bit. The concert. Yes— he did actually perform, after all this. The Captain arrived onstage carrying a Union Jack carrierbag fu ll of erroneous in­ strum ents and made a brief announcement after an opening bass guitar solo: "th a t's to do . a deal w ith the bad vibes in the au d ito riu m ." At fram ew ork of the concert, as the next piece was least he could feel it. The fu ll band opened up a guitar solo from "D o c". Everyone took this w ith a Beefheart classic, from The S po tlig ht K id op po rtu nity to leave the stage and take a break, "W hen It Blows It Stacks", and played the only to return quickly to do a rendering of "H er original, note-for-note^, w ith real spirit, the Eyes Are a Blue M illio n M iles" which was drum m er in particular im m ediately showing us sabotaged by some very strange m ixing on the w hat he was macfe o f (stern stuff, actually). The guitar mikes. Beefheart also sang it w ith o u t a c ro w e d cheered. C o n tin u in g th is lin e o f trace of the tenderness fo r w hich he's so well thought, next up was a Clear Spot classic known. By this stage, things had gone so far (they're all fucking classics—what's the point off-course tha t even the song titles took on an of detailing each one like this? I do n't know). ironic undertone, w ith the next, a solo, being "N owadays a W om an's Got To Hit a M an", the "Lick My Decals O ff" song, "O ne Red Rose where Don Van V. dem onstrated to all present That I Mean". It was sort of nice tha t he meant it that he still has That Voice, totally intact, even if som etim e or another. The guitarist, however he looks old and tired (well, he did that night did a very good job o f playing a bloody hard anyway). The band had it down perfectly— piece of music w hich is also incredibly beauti­ even the guitar solo was note-for-note o ff the ful. He was alone on the stage. record. Strange, really, when you think on it...

Next up was perhaps the m ost bizarre part of It didn 't seem to interrupt the energy flo w the evening, as well as the m ost revealing. One much anyway. The crow d were happy, the of Beefheart's supporting m inions read a long group very tig h t and very good, and proved untitled poem of the Captain's, com pletely their mettle quickly on tw o songs off the latest unaccompanied, and it came off terribly. The Beefheart opus, "Doc at the Radar S tatio n", w ord-plays were weak, the jokes half-cocked, w ith quite memorable interplay in particular on th e s e n tim e n ts s im p lis tic . One s u d d e n ly "D irty Blue Jene" The Captain was, however, realised that: a) it's only when Beefheart reads having troubles. He was unhappy w ith his his own w ork that the fu ll subtleties and slivers m icrophone ("I've had evil m icrophones on of meanings and jokes are revealed, and b) that this whole tou r"), and, true, it was very hard to he d id n 't read it him self because he was too hear the lyrics unless you already knew them. pissed off and alienated to feel like it. A strange So, things w eren't going all that well. non-sequitor of an event. You only have to Bee heart was hardly talking at all between re-listen to "G olden B irdies" on Clear S pot to nur bers, hardly m oving, just concentrating on realise w hat it should sound like. singing hard and accurately. The mood was By this stage, most people in the audience definitely not too promising. One could alm ost had realised that the whole thing was a bit of a delieve that The Man was ill, or something. He bum m er and that Beefheart, fo r reasons best just d id n 't seem too interested in the fact that known to himself, was in a foul m ood, however he had an audience, or that his songs are always filled w ith his wonderful sense of . well the band played or he him self was singing.

The rapport was just not there and he never humour. ' Safe As M ilk", for example, came really attempted to establish it, th o ' it w ould've across desperate and w ild and strangely taken so little to w in this crow d over, w ho were .«it'FOv«rtv->..thoogh- it- b u ilt weH in the larger

all desperate to r the concert to work, m ore or less in spite of itself. Still, the m usic continued to be riveting, and the next piece, "D octor Dark", was perhaps the high point of the evening (morning?). It literally catapaulted itself onto the crowd, the Captain spitting out the lyrics and images like he actually meant it; "M am a mama mama here comes Doctor Dark/Horse clickin' clackin', those hooves makin' sparks". I fo r one could feel the excitem ent w elling up in m y belly as the piece caterwauled itself to a conclusion, the* Captain donning a neat pair of shades in w hat I guess m ust've been some literal translation of the title. When the song ended there was a sort o f stunned applause— it'd been so pow erful. I'm not sure everyone had been able to take it all in im m ediately, and so people tended to sort of clap, rather than cheer w ildly. This fina lly tipped the balance fo r Beefheart, w ho up till then hadn't really taken a stance on ew ay or the other tow ards his audience. He stood squareon, facing the crowd, and spoke angrily— "Clap, man: I'm getting bored. It's better than that— I'm better than th a t". The crowd, apart from a couple of howls of anguished reassur­ ance from down the front, were silent. The Magic Band slipped o ff into "O ld Fart At Play", from Trout Mask Replica, to fill in the rather embarrassing gap. Things were getting frayed, and the last straw was the Captain's gaffe in "D ropo ut Boogie", one of his oldest and most enduring 60's anthems, w here he got the lyrics and the tim in g w rong at the end and got very pissed off w ith himself. Feeling even more paranoid, even though the audience response to the song had been very strong, he snapped into the mike "W ell it's alright if I get periodically mad, isn't it?" He could've said bad; either w ord w o uld 've been appropriate.

W ith that, the concert ended, the Captain arguing furio usly w ith someone backstage w h ile the crow d roared fo r an encore. I guess the hall manager was demanding another song and Beefheart d id n 't w ant to do it. They fina lly did one anyway, and even the band was getting pissed off, w ith the drum m er, w ho up until then had been amazingly cool and frigh te ningly impressive, destroying his kit in a fit o f pique, ju st hitting the snare w ith his hands at the end o f the num ber like a frustrated kid. The whole band filed offstage raggedly, looking rather sheepish, w ith the Captain stalking out the quickest. We d id n 't hang about to see what other disasters were to happen. Maybe the place burned bown. I do n 't know. Such a drag.

Reports o f earlier concerts were that he'd been absolutely amazing. I wish I'd been there then. I just do n 't thin k things were right w ith the Captain that night: his music is usually so fu ll of hum our and insight, and there was just a very sour m ood com ing o ff the stage all night.

Still: It was still Beefheart up there, and I'm glad I saw him, even if I did have to go home and play his records again to rem ind m yself of w hat was endearing about the man in the first place. And if he came over again to do some gigs, I'd be the first in the queue, and I'd keep going to see him, because he's w orth it, and probably always w ill be, as long as he keeps trying. After all, it says som ething fo r the man that he can have a public bum m er and adm it it, and not just cover it up w ith slick talk and fake "a ttitu d e s". I still like him. He's still credible, even if he's never even been as relevant as Iggy Pop even. A t least he's got som ething more than just talent. He's got greatness. But then w ho's ever made a fortune out of that forlorn quality?

KEITH SHAOWICK.

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"2JJ—The Final Concert" Parramatta Park, Sydney.

Sydney rock enthusiasts had good reason to reminisce on Sunday the 18th of January. After five years of providing this city with its only real source of musical alternatives, radio 2JJ was closing down. It is succeeded

by FM offshoot 2JJJ, admittedly, but those w ho remember 'the hero of the dial' from its inception must surely have shed a quiet tear especially when you consider that Double-Jays passing has made every AM radio in the city redundant.

In honour of the occasion, and in keeping w ith (when funds were available) normal practise, 2JJ staged its final outdoor concert in the heart of the west, Parramatta Park. Despite sweltering conditions a reported crowd of 40,000 turned out in the best W oodstock tradition to listen to six bands, watch the specially arranged circus in action, and gener­ ally do w hat most people (apart from those at 2JJ) consider to be taboo in Sydney—enjoy themselves. H opefully the distinct absence of violence, death and destruction on a grand scale w ill inspire our civic leaders to change many of their preconceived ideas on the decadent modern generation of youngsters they have bred. But enough of this flim sy m oralising—this the music was w hat they all came to hear.

First up was The Machinations. The absence of a drum m er was the initial thing I noticed about this band, the next was the Numanesque nature of the keyboard w ork— perhaps a little too 'esque' fo r com fort. In all fairness they had been given a d ifficu lt task in trying to warm an already sweating crowd up to their music, but their style ju st d id n 't seem to lend itself to starting an outdoor concert. They provided enough energy to w arrant a few modest rounds of applause, and enough musical interest to make a lot of people w ant to hear them again, yet at best the ir appearance merely provided an introduction to the days proceedings.

Next up was M att Finish. I'd first seen them supporting The B52's a^t the Hordern Pavlova lastye ara nd hadn't been impressed, but things change I'm glad to say. The overly heavy sound I expected was replaced by a tight, generally controlled, hard edged set of well w ritten songs. Apart from the usual outdoor problem s of w ind blow ing the sound around. M att Finish came through to really get the crowd going.

Enough fo r tw o encores, in fact. They've obviously progressed and I'm looking forw ard to seeing where they go from here.

M oving Pictures were next on the bill. Having never seen them before I was interested to see w hether or not they could live up to the am ount of publicity they've been getting around tow n lately. All the ingredients were there, but som ehow they failed to deliver the goods.

M usically they were good, but the songs seemed to lack the conviction needed to carry o ff the ir apparent 'm an from the streets' image.

One person remarked that they sounded too close to Springsteen in an Australian setting, w ith o u t the edge needed to pull it off, w hile another was less than kind in calling them a new wave Cold Chisel. They w eren't ba.d but I noticed quite a restless streak in the crowd before the end of their set.

Next came the undisputed high point of the day— M id nig ht Oil. From the reception the band got it looks as if they are currently Sydney's darlings, and from the performance they gave it looks like they deserve it. Those w ho had retreated to the nearby river came stream ing back to see them go through a d y n a m ic set o f ne w and o ld son gs, spearheaded (no joke intended) by the ubiquit­ ous Peter Garrett. They were as good as they've ever been and despite the still present outdoor sound problem s managed to achieve n e a rly c o m p le te cro w d in v o lv e m e n t. The material off the next album sounded tig h t and as m elodically intresting as anything they have so far done. It seems the band gets better every tim e you see them.

M ondo Rock follow e d—one hesitates to say anticlim actically, but after the Oil's onslaught the ir more subdued style was slow to gain audience reaction. I fo r one w ould have preferred to hear them earlier on in the day. Old soldiers never die, and they put up a creditable perform ance (including hit single and ever­ green 'Eagle Rock'). A hard sp o tto fill, but Ross W ilson in true style had won the crowd back by the end of the set.

Last up came the Western Suburbs own. The Radiators. Every tim e I see this band I imagine how much better the y'll be in six months tim e —the problem is that after each six m onth period they always seem to be at the same point. The energy is there, the playing, the presence—w hat lets them down are the songs.

Certainly the crow d loved them, but it all started to get a little too near the realms of headbanging, where the songs are lost in a wall of pounding noise. They've obviously got the potential and the experience, but it just doesn't seem as if they're using it. The few new songs they did showed a hint of adventure, but there's a lot more of it needed if they're ever going to get out of the little league.

All in all a good day which adequately said goodbye to Double Jay, and revitalised the spirit fo r Triple Jay.

Paul Koff

U-BOMBS G overnor Hindm arsh, Adelaide

YO U N G M O D ER N Enfield Boulevard Hotel, Sydney

It's curious how many people will turn up to see a band if it's been split up for long enough. Looks like the U-Bombs timed itpretty right, and got a full house on a Sunday night.

Maybe their advertisement for'edible supper' helped.

The return of Adelaide's answer to Big Star and The Rasberries? Not exactly. " W e retain ed the nam e 'Young Modern' because it's basi­ cally the same sort of material," explained bassist Andrew Richards, who with guitarist Vic Yates are the only o rig in al m em bers of S tu art Coupe's pet pop band of 1979. New­ com ers are S teven W illin g to n (drums), Peter Hilton (rhythm guitar) and Peter Laverick (vocals) — no John Dowler, but he tries his hardest. The following is a rough summary of their first "comeback" gig.

The Mutes begin the evening w ith m ost of an hour o f the ir own variety of musical practical jokes. Did I say musical? Sorry. But effective it is, nobody can talk. Definitely a cult band.

There m ust be room in this w orld fo r a band that gets on stage and beats the shit out o f a bucket w ith a hammer. Perhaps next week the y'll ham m er their synthesizers to dust.

Next up. The Units play loud and clear, racing through a short set com prising about a quarter of the ir repertoire, and interrupted only by a broken string and some noisy, weak headed Bombay Rock punks.

The Distressed Innocents are third, and sound a hundred tim es betterthan the last tim e I saw them. The audience still flatly refuse to move a muscle. You'd think they could use the exercise.

W ell, fina lly the U-Bombs walk out and start w ith that form er Monkees classic "Hey, Hey, w e're the U-Bom bs" at nine hundred miles an hour and five tim es louder than God. Although pretty loose, the set is frantic, and they enjoy th e m s e lv e s . The m o re th a n p re d ic ta b le Adelaide crowd proceeds to go senile. I proceed to the bar.

The U-Bombs were once kind of w ild, and I'm glad they existed. They were the first band in Adelaide to play such stuff publicly and regularly, but when they split, I think they should have stayed split. They were getting a bit long in the fang anyway.

The 'good doctor' Mark Cornwall has gone on to play bass in The Units, and is doing very nicely, thank you very much. Drum m er Roy Erzinger passes his tim e w ith The Mutes (and form erly Nuvo Bloc), in between being the best m ixer in tow n and general wise guy fo r the extraordinary Bad Poets. Neither has any reason to look back — except maybe fo r some innocent fun.

God knows w hat the crowd were up to, since there were some much better bands in the place this night. Still, nostalgia and the careful building of a legend have been known to cause some amazing scenes. A good night was had by most, the supper WAS edible, and I d id n 't actually hate any of it.

JOHN DOE

'Tis a hot summers evening in Suburban Sydney. Probably everyone in the gathering only came to see newlyfounded superstars 'InXS' and it showed when they all packed the illum inated dance flo o r in between the two bands. Young Modern came on at 8.30 and commenced w ith tw o m edium paced Byrdsish 'poppers', w hich could have sounded great, had the m ixer been paying attention to his job.

Then fo r half an hour, they plodded through some fairly tedious heavy fnetallish things more rem iniscent of early 70's school dance bands, which included awful reworkings of 'I Saw Her Standing There' & The Jam 's 'In The City'. New vocalist Peter Laverick was often mixed down and his Rod Stewart like m ic­ rophone antics and overt coolness d id n 't help either. But these were only m inor problems caused by inexperience w hich can be worked out.

The disappointm ents started fading off by the ninth song, called 'TV' a straight pop number, and by the next piece "It's out of Fashion", the band confirm ed that they were capable of producing decent pop songs with ja ng ly guitars and hooklines (Vic Yates hasn't lost his touch). Hints of the old Young Modern kept com ing as they w ent through the Stones' "Last T im e", Dennis Linde's "Som e Songs" (truly the highlight) and "B ig S tar", an original speaking of hope; "W e do n 't w ant to go down like last tim e . . . but Vic's still a big star" vocalist Peter insisted. They finished off w ith "B ird m a n " one of the few original Y.M. songs in the ir set, but it w asn't anywhere as good as the original. Not a great show, yet despite the bad mix, the band sounded com petent and only made tw o noticeable mistakes. That's very good compared to most of the sloppy inner city "M o d " bands. Yes Adelaide, there's still som ething of your pop consciousness left out there.

TOM CZARNOTA

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ALBUMS

PAULINE MURRAY AND THE INVISIBLE GIRLS Pauline M u rray and the Invisible Girls (Polygram) Normally, Martin Hannet produces such weighty, bass orientated bands such as Joy Division and Magazine.

His ominous, misty type of produc­ tion is closely aligned to both of those bands' sound and to date Joy Divi­ sion's and Magazine's collaborations with Hannet have been successful slices of the modern cake. On this record the production chore is doubly credited to Hannet and Steve Hopkins (who are The Inyisible Girls along with 'special guest' Vini Reilly, John Maher, Dave Rowbottam, Dave Hassel and, au natural, bassist Robert Blamire). Both men arranged the songs.

PAUUKIE MURRAY

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THE JAM SOUND AFFECTS (POLYDOR IMPORT) The Jam are tragically underexposed in Australia. Why? A part from ignorance in the record biz, some w ould argue that they're too English sounding to w in over Australian listen­ ers. Yet U.K. Squeeze and Ian Dury w ent down a storm here w ith singles featuring hard-core cockney accents and specifically English refer­ ences. More im portantly, the Jam aren't sim ply chasing g lo b a l ch a rt a ctio n . T h e y've g o t PLENTY TO SAY. It's obvious that the Jam have matured remarkably as musicians since 'Setting Sons'.

In a September 1980 N.M.E. interview, re­ corded halfway through the 'Sound Affects' sessions, Paul W eller said that he felt 'Going Underground' and other pre-"Sound A ffects", songs were 'Too Safe' on the new album, W eller's tradem ark power-chords are notice­ ably absent on several tracks. The rhythm s em ployed by drum m er Rick Buckler are far more tricky than anything he's attempted previously. T hedrum sound is superb as usual, given extra dim ension by the addition of loads of reverb on the snare. The songs are charac­ terised by an incessant report that grabs you by the m iddle ear and w o n 't go away.

Overall, the production of 'Sound Affects' is more aurally subtlethan previous Jam albums.

The only possible victim of this is bassist Bruce Foxton, whose adm itted role as W eller's second fiddle is m ore subdued than usual. In places, the bass m ix is a little dull, whereas on tracks like 'Pretty Green' the bass reaches out from the speakers, bashing you about the head. Jam aficionados w ill know exactly w hat I'm talking about, and I'm sure, w o n 't com ­ plain.

2 .0 .,

In some places, the music of 'Sound Affects' is se co n d a ry to the s e n tim e n t c o n ta in e d therein. W hile this is not actually a criticism of the Band's m usicianship, I wish that occasion­ ally they'd be a bit more daring in term s of m elody— although the pure excitem ent of the 'Jam sound' largely compensates fo r lack of tonal variety.

W eller's lyrics (Foxton did not contribute any songs to 'Sound Affects') are possibly more didatic than ever, not w ithstanding the 'Love' songs ('but I'm different now', 'M onday') reproduced w ith o u t the music, they occasion­ ally sound laughable, but it must be rem em ­ bered that W eller is appealing to a young audience, many of w hom may have not yet developed political conciousness; witness the final verse of 'Set The Flouse Ablaze'— "It is called indoctrination and it happens on a ll levels b u t it has nothing to do w ith democracy and though it professes to it has nothing to do w ith hum anity it is cold, hard and m echanical".

W eller is as bitterly personal as usual. Flis passion suggests that he's been bottling up a couple o f recent argum ents fo r public analysis.

The final track on side tw o,"Scrape A w a y", is a scathing indictm ent of 'm e generation' thin k­ ing; "Y o u r tw isted cynicism-makes me feel sick you r open disgust fo r ‘idealistic naive' you've given up hope you're ja d e d and ill the trouble is your thoughts a catching disease".

However, W eller is not a hopeless pessimist.

The first verse of 'S ta rt!' (the single, available locally) is an adm irable attem pt at encouraging better com m unication between hitherto hos­ tile strangers; “ It's n o t im p o rta n t fo r you to know m y name n o r / to know yours i f we com m uni­ cate fo r tw o m inutes on ly it w ill be en o u g h !”

In term s of influences, the Jam have bor­ rowed heavily from the Beatles since their second album , 'Start!'. Is a straight steal from George Harrison's 'Taxm an', and three other tracks have a definite 'Revolver' feel to them ; aesthetically speaking at least, if not actual stolen chord progressions.

Paul W eller w ould probably like very much to be regarded as the Percy Bysshe Shelley o f the 1980's — in much the same w ay as dagger im itated Shelley and Blake in the late sixties.

His com m itm ent seems much more honest and persevering than that of a dagger or even perhaps Lennon. He is at once a demagogue and irrevocable rom antic, but speaks w ith an intensity which is undeniably the voice of personal experience.

MARK CORNWALL

This album, though, is not to be lumped w ith 'Closer' or 'The Correct Use o f Soap'. The album 's most poignant clim ax comes w ith the matching of M urray's sensual notes (conjuring up images of traditional fem ininity) w ith the moorish sound collage it works w ithin.

'Shoot You Down' is directly rem iniscent of the power rush that Penetration used to emit, only now urgency has been clothed in delicate lace and infused w ith the scent of rose yet still retaining a m ostdanceable bass line that chugs along beneath the airy cloth.

Even though most of the lyrics paint fairly depressing pictures of hum anity it is in songs such as 'Shoot You Down' where you tend to doubt M urray's belief in her own vocal treat­ ments. An offhand, childish delivery verging on the insidious w ould perhaps come close to describing it. Lyrics such as 'som eone's w a it­ ing to shoot you dow n' are delivered w ith such a nursery rhyme sense of mockery that it leaves a doubt just how serious she is about her assertions and com plaints; I m ust adm it though, considering the results, I w o u ld n 't have it any other way.

Subtle and sym pathetic percussion is the centre piece on which 'D rum m er Boy' revolves.

M urray's voice disengages and drifts off in plaintive tones o f lost determ ination. 'Thundertunes' is another song that could have easily been slotted into Penetration's repertoire save for the lack of heavy guitar chording. Here, thankfully, the song revolves over the cloudy rhythm of bass, drums and synthesizer (which occasionally breaks its steady flo w to match M urray's voice in its sweetness). Often the urgency of the vocals is sacrificed fo r sophisti­ cation and it is here that Hannet and Hopkins sometimes overreach the mark and threaten, but never fu lfil, to transform the artifact into a bland mass of com m ercial viability.

W hilst 'Screaming in the Darkness' romps spaciously w ith in its Gothic portals, 'M r X' goes slo w ly about searching its own con­ clusion in an aching fashion, yet both are constructed w ith the same basic feel in mind.

'M r X' gropes tearfully in the darkness w hilst 'Screaming . . .' sweetly, angrily, and m oodily tries to tear down the boundaries it's wrapped in.

'Sym pathy', 'Time Slipping', and 'When w ill WE Learn' are all sparkling (albeit sometimes tunewise plagiaristic, or perhaps its just the m em ory searching that the barbs of modern pop always trigger off), pieces o f iridescent pop. The songs could succeed w ith even a paltry production as the melodies are so inviting. Tiny guitar lacerations together w ith tinkling piano fills add the final brush strokes to an otherwise untouchable collection of water colours.

'Dream Sequence One' is, of course, the single we all know and love. Fronted by a throaty vocal and follow ed by a soft percussive dream of an arrangm ent that can't help but raise the corners of the mouth. I just wish Pauline w o u ld n 't bare her body and soul so often. Her sweet sexuality is on the verge of being sexist—thereby risking the 'relevant' artist title she has earnt. 'European Eyes' is cloudy rock and roll as defined by Hannet, influenced by modern England and one great bass line.

Hannet and Hopkin's production finds its matching w ith Blamire and M urray's material.

reaching a creative peak on the album 's sign o ff track, 'Judgem ent Day', where M urray's res­ igned voice and the bubbling bass notes of Blamire are perfectly textured w ith in the moaning tear jerking arrangement.

So H a nn et has c o tto n e d o n to a n o th e r w in n e r— c a n 't say he d o e s n 't d e se rve it though. A unique (and unashamedly biased) perspective of Blam ire's and M urray's w ork has been captured perfectly w ith in his epic production style. There is no doubt this is an album of great strength tha t w ill inspire a good deal of new musical directions. A certain doubt arises about w hat w ould have happened to a lot of English talent w ith o u t M artin Hannet, such is the consistent profundity o f his produc­ tion. Personally, I took forw ard to the next albuhn where M urray and Blamire w ill hope­ fu lly break the Hannet hold in the production sp h e re and f u lf il th e m uch p ro p h e s is e d dream-masterpiece that is so very nearly achieved here.

Craig N. Pearce HEROES HEROES (Alberts) Competent musicians (e.g. better than me), competently playing Syd­ ney Rock. A hard album to say anything about, it's what people will term 'allright'. These guys won't be heroes for killing anyone, but they're not real bad.

Personally, I reckon they've spent a few bucks on M idnight Oil, and even The Numbers (or whoever they copy). They aren't a touch on The Oils, but it seems they try hard.

The album starts w ith a powerful song called "The Star and the S laughter", a glorifyin g of the Star Hotel thing. I w asn't there, so I'll keep my m outh shut. The rest of the side follow s as medium paced, m ild sort of hard rock that m ust cause the odd nose-bleed at gigs. "Back to the Love', and 'In fo r the Kill' aren't bad, though where this side'd be w ith o u t M idnight Oil and the odd heavy metal god is really anyone's guess.

When I saw 'Baby's Had a Taste' on the T.V. I th o u g h t A u s tra lia 's reg ressio n had snuck through to com pletion w hile no-one was looking, or w hile everyone was turning sum ­ mersaults over The Flowers. There are better tracks on this album, but not by much.

The rest of side tw o bears a fearsome resemblance to The Numbers, The Cars, and other such grotty, souless heavy-rock lig h t­ weights. 'Tonite', despite the triffic spelling, comes up as perhaps the best song on the record.

JOHN DOE

SILICON TEENS . . .

MUSIC FOR PIGEONS (POLYGRAM) "N ow I'm no leader of the militants; But I really think it's criminal; To scare small children and call it religion . . ."

Jade D'Adrenz "Perspiration" A n d R eligion it is - A cco rd in g to the p ro m o tio n sheet I'm sta rin g a t N M E a n d MELODY M AKER have jo in e d the ranks o f the G o o d M en Gone to God. A n d / guess w e 'll soon be b lin d ly fo llo w in g this la te st c o m m a n d m e n t fro m the E nglish Press - The S ilicon Teens.

"In England N.M.E. says the Silicon Teens are the best hope fo r English music in the 80's . . . The other pillar o f English journalism .

M elody Maker shared the tip fo r best musical hope fo r the 80's between Gary Numan, The Police and Silicon Teens". W ell, I guess we'd b e tte r lo o k e lse w h e re fo r th is de cad e's Rock'n'Roll, because the Silicon Teens play w ith the power and passion of a toilet seat.

I w o n 't go through the album song by song and system atically shred their heartless abor­ tions of rock'n'roll classics ("D o you love m e," "J u d y in Disguise", "M e m p h is",) but just im agine the Kinks "Y ou really got m e" being dribbled slow ly through a chorus box by Gary Numan's cancer ridden grandfather accom­ panied by a drum machine and, of course, the ever present synthesizer (the plague of modern music; everybody's got one and no-one knows how to use them).

As fo r the tw o originals on t!ie album — well, they just sound like old songs that w eren't w orth covering in the first place.

The album 's called "M u sic fo r Parties" — MUSIC FOR PARTIES???

Am I supposed to feel sorry fo r these insipid jerks and the sad parties they must frequent?

Sure you can dance to it — just like you can dance to a dripping tap.

To cut it short — The playing stinks of padded gloves and if you really need musical im p o­ tence buy the new K.Tel 20 synthesizer greats instead.

To m isquote Lou Reed from "Take no Prisoners", "D o n 't put fuckin' plastic in your t06ns/^

MICHAEL KAPINSKI

THE REELS 5 GREAT GIFT IDEAS FROM THE REELS. (POLYGRAM) Too often modern' technology and the implications of its trappings over­ come artists in their quests for a new, valid form of entertainment. Take The Buggies for instance, or the cracking laminex that Mi Sex coat their basi­ cally lame heavy rock structures with.

The Reels though, have carefully assimilated and consumed science today and science tom orrow. In re­ turn, they present not a revised past issue or a turgid display of futuristic cliches, but a form of noise, poignant in its sweet attractiveness yet so very real in its political sensibilities and progressive modern day stance.

On the face o f it REELS 5 GREA T GIFT IDEAS released as a Christmas type gim m ick, is much more of a tongue in cheek poke at Western civilisation's acceptance of the garish com ­ mercial packaging and exploitation of Christ­ mas. Karen Ansell and David Mason designed the cover and seem to be the tw o people who are in control of shaping Reels post modern age. The overall effect of the record sleeve is one of sly cynicism — it blatantly m im ics the total sum of the m iddle classes' knowledge (no strike that make it caring) of the w orld at Christmas. It is colourful, gay and featyres both black and w hite children's sm iling faces. Once inside the message becomes clearer. Never being one to trust The Reels or feel safe when dealing w ith th e irto p ics of presentation of their methods I fe lt even more ill at ease when struck w ith the affron t that four of the 5 songs were cover versions and they being basically light songs in content. It seems even The Reels have been affected by the premise of a joyous Christrhas. A t least that's w hat I tho ugh t until hearing the rem aining original song "The Bombs dropped on Christm as".

Its narrative is based on the contents of these letters sent to Santa Claus asking fo r a job, asking fo r sanity to be left w ith the W orld's heads of state, and asking on behalf of all hum anity fo r food and peace on earth. During th e son g S anta is bra n d e d b o th as a businessman's dream and a political scheme w hile all the tim e the tune is punctured by the lim p statement.

"A n d the bombs dropped on Christmas And I watched it on TV" All this philosophising and resigned plead­ ing being shadowed by music intensely op­ posed to the subject matter. A babbling, baubling sound hardly folding w ith the w eight of the world. Still the chin m ust be kept up to face and hopefully to alter the future.

The remaining songs may have once been

upstairs,

condidered banal, but not now. The Reels as always w ith their craftsm an's eye fo r detail, have m ethodically based the songs on a sound rem iniscent o ftu m b lin g , echoing bells beneath the sea. Rhythms on which a dime could be spun yet im possible to m em orise making each listening a fresh discovery.

The Reels seem to w ant to croon the listener w ith a brace of relaxing liltirfg lullabys, yet beneath the bright cloak lies a black insidious sense of hum our. Every naive tw irl o f M ason's voice tells me som ething is laughing snakily behind my back. They transform a typical forced rhym e into a barbed couplet of sarcasm, aimed at nothing in particular, save fo r their standard target of the Australian m iddle clas­ ses' apathy, but still transm itting a w eird sense of foreboding.

Take The Reels, keep them at a safe distance, but take them. For believe it or not. The Reels do entertain and they do it w ith a strong contem porary force.

CRAIG N. PEARCE.

Euro-beatnik tradition.

"S tatue s" sets a calmer stage, leads you to the w ater and floats you dow n ever so gently.

"T he M isunderstanding" starts side tw o on a more eerie note but picks up w ith slappy percussion and cute m arim ba-esque sounds.

"The M ore I See Y ou " is another b rillia n t rendition of an oldie-but-goldie akin to Human League's "Y ou've Lost That Loving Feeling".

"P ro m ises" keeps the swaying pulse up w ith a m edium paced disco beat and Enosque little noises.

"S ta n lo w " w inds the album to a m oody close (Kraftwerk Pastorale).

All synth sounds have depth and sophistica­ tion.

All vocals are strong and w a rm ly sincere.

Paul H u m p h rie s — vo c a ls , syn th e s iz e rs , keyboards, and percussion.

A n d y M cC lu ske y— vo ca ls, s yn th e size rs, keyboards, and percussion.

M alcolm Holmes— Drums and acoustic per­ cussion.

This bunch should go a long way up the banana palm.

and couldn't stand up in crutches next to the rest of the material on this album. It's a damn shame to see (hear) a couple of prom ising singing careers go west at such an early age.

Still, stiff. I mean to say,' Suzi Quatro's 'Rock Hard', also on the album , doesn't do to bad in this company.

'Spic, nigger, faggot, bum.

Your daughter is one.'

And that's the best part.

Not a bad album to tape. Then you can cut out the messy bits. W ear a hat and U.V. cream to the m ovie, ora garbage bag if it's alreadytoo late.

JOHN DOE SIMPLE M M D S E M P ^E S A M D D A M C E

Tyrone Flex

ORGANISATION Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

VARIOUS ARTISTS TIMES SQUARE (SOUNDTRACK) (RSO) It seems, from the blurb, that 'Times Square' is a film. It's about two teenage girls on a suntan tablet binge. They go fu n n y , becom e disco-punks, then one tries to off herself (leaps off a bathmat or some­ thing) and the other goes back to daddy.

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK "O R G A N IZA TIO N " (Din Disc) This re v ie w should have been printed months ago.

The sin g le o ff this album “ Enolagay" should be in our charts (British no. 1 last month) like the first album (but better), this album should have nosed its way into'every pop fan's collection long ago.

The whole album's great, not a sloppy track in sight— bright, full of life and m oods, w ith o u t much stylized posing at all.

"V C L X I" has the finest whispered vocal in current memory.

"M o tio n and Heart" swings in the finest

umb/el|o m u/K

Cnr. Frome and Bundle Sts., City.

A D E L A ID E 'S SECOND­ HAN D RECORD STORE.

We buy your unwanted records and tapes. See us nbw for the best price in town.

Bobby Stigw ood makes all the good film s.

W hat I just listened to is the soundtrack from this film , 'Times Square'. It's a double album, composed m ainly of stuff already on records

by The P re te n d e rs, T a lk in g Heads, Joe Jackson, Roxy Music, Garland Jeffreys, The Cure, Patti Sm ith, Lou Reed, The Ruts, and X.T.C. Not too bad even.

It also contains The Ramones 'I Wanna be Sedated', which should be the soundtrack to all m ovies (except 'M aelstro m ' fo r surf and sub­ marine film s, and p'raps 'S m ith and Wesson Blues' fo r westerns.) Y'see, like 'Vietnamese Baby' may not suit 'Kramer vs Kramer' but 'I Wanna be Sedated' says it all. Perhaps 'Ratfucker' fo r 'The Beatles Story', y'know .

Anyway, w e'll take a little look at the songs perform ed on this gobbler by our darling sun tan ju n k ie s . T h e y 're c a lle d N icky and Pamela. (Of course. I'm going to be em barras­ sed if the film 's good. W haddya expect?) Robin Johnson, who plays Nicky Marotta sings 'Damn Dog' and teams w ith Trini Alvarado (plays Pamela Pearl) to sing 'Your daughter is one'.

These songs sound like they were w ritten by a forty five year old film executive (or a child).

00

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SIMPLE MINDS "EMPIRES A N D D ANC E" (Arista)

I |

And B ritain keeps the furnace | churning— the bands keep frothing, | and the money flows in one ear and i out the other. The traditions are well developed and hybrids are plentiful in the underbrush. As with all bands worth a spit in the wind. Simple Minds are a synthesis of older ele­ ments and fresh ideas. To be specific, the general vein follows on from early Roxy M usic, thru U ltra v o x w ith touches of Bowie circ Berlin '79 to become part of the current pseudoelectronic look.

"Em pires and D ance" is the bands third album , so one can obviously expect a bit of polish, and the polish shines, even when the content stretches thin. The main skinny bits lie in Jim Kerr's (voices) lyrics; often a bit of the ol' syllable fo r syllables' sake to cover the lack of anything much to say. The images are created and the statements made, but as much as I like the sound, songs concerning Constantinople train trips and life flashing backwards at "T h irty

co*Ur. P,23—

FLOWERS WALLS b/w

ALL THE WAY

LARGE STOCK OF IN D E PE N D E N T SINGLES AVAILABLE When in Perth, shop secondhand at ATLAST Records, 2nd Floor, Royal Arcade, City.

21

CHARTS Australian Top 20 Singles \ ^ 1%..^

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) 1(10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) I(16) (17) (18) (19) 1(20)

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Australian Top 20 A lb u m s^

(Just Like) Starting O ver...,.................. Jo h n Lennon (1) Shaddup You Face..........................................Joe Dolce (2) Duncan............ .................................................Slim Dustyl (3) One Step A head............................................. Split Enz (4) Time W a rp ........... ................................. ........Orig. Cast’ (5) State of the Heart...................................... Mondo Rock (6) The Tide is H ig h ...................................................Blondie (7) On and On and O n ...................................................Abba (8) Another One Bites the D ust...............................Queen /inJ Can You Feel It ............. .................. ...... ...The Jacksons 10) Stop the Cavalry........................................................JonaLewie PI Every Woman in the W o rld ...... ..........

Air Supply 12 Don't Stand So CloseTo M e ............ .......... The Police 13) Lady........................................................................... KennyRogers Sic Jesse............................................................................ GariySimon P c Feels Like I'm in Love.................................. Kelly Marie W oman in L o v e ..................................Barbra Streisand Po So L o n g ..............................................................Fischer Z 18) W hy W on't You E xplain......................Karen Knowles (19) Kiss On M y List..................... Daryl Hall & John Oates (20)

Im agine........................................................................JohnLennon

(2 ) A ntm usic........................................... Adam & The Ants

(3) (4) (5) ( 6) (7) (8) (9) ( 10 ) ( 11) ( 12 ) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) ( 20 )

W o m a n ........................................................................John Lennon In The Air Tonight............ ............................ Phll Collins Young Parisians................................Adam & The Ants Do N o th in g ....................................

Specials I Am The Beat................................................... The Look Rapture..................

Blondie Too Nice To Talk T o .........................................The Beat Don't Stop the M u s ic ............ Yarborough & Peoples ^lash..................

Queen I Ain't Gonna Stand For I t .................................. Stevie Wonder Vienna................................................................... Ultravox Runaround S u e ........

Racey Scary Monsters........................................ ..David Bowie Happy Christmas/War is Over ............... .................. .................. John Lennon/Yoko Qno Fade To G rey...........................................................Visage It's M y Turn........................................... ........ Diana Ross Over The Rainbow/You Belong To M e ..... Matchbox Lias.............. ....... ......................................Status Quo

U.S. Singles

Double Fantasy...................... John Lennon/Yoko Onol Zenyatta M o n d a tta .................................... The Police G u ilty......................... ...........................Barbra Streisand Auto American ...........................................

Blondie A lw ays........................................................................w im e Nelson Back in Black........................................

AC/DC Super Tro u p er................. .....ABBA Icehouse.......................................................

Flowers Making M ovies............................................. Dire Straits Rocky Horror Picture S h o w .......Original Soundtrack Hotter Than July.................................... Stevie Wonder Gaucho............................................................ Steely Dan Anne Murray's Greatest H its .................Anne Murray Hits.................................................................. Boz Scaggs |afl'® s i-'''e ......... ......... The Eagles P ® ''® T o f............................................ Elton John Best of Kenny Rogers........................................... KennyRogers Foolish Behaviour.................................. .Rod Stewart Divine M adness.................

Bette Midler

Kings Of The Wild Fron tier........... Adam & The Ants Dr Hook's Greatest H its ................................... Dr Hook The Very Best of David Bowie............... David Bowie Double Fantasy......................John Lennon/Yoko Qno Supertrouper..............

Abba Im agine................ ....................................... John Lennon Guilty.................................. .................... Barbra Steisand M anilow M agic................................... ...Barry Manilow Flash G ordon......................... ................................Queen Rarry............................................................................ BarryManilow Mondo B on go...................................... Boomtown Rats M akin' M o vies..................... ............... Dire Straits Shaved Fish................................................................ John Lennon Zenyatta M o n d a tta ................................................. Police Hotter Than Ju ly..................................................... Stevie Wonder Arc Of A D iver............................... .... Steve Winwood Not The Nine O'Clock N e w s ...................................Cast Paradise Theater..............................

Styx Absolutely........................................................... Madness The Wild, The Willing & The Innocent...................UFQ

U .S. Albums ^

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) I(13) (14) (15) 1(16) (17) (18) 1(19) (20)

The Tide Is H ig h ........................................ ......... B londie (Just Like) Starting O ver........................John Lennon Celebration......................................... Kool & The Gang Passion............ ............................................. Rod S tew art Love On The Rocks............ .................... Neil D iam ond Lady.......... .............................................. Kenny Rogers 9 To 5 ............................................................D olly Parton I Love A Rainy N ig h t... ......................Eddie Rabbitt Every Woman In The W o rld ....................... A ir S upply Same Old Lang Syne............................ Dan Fogelberg Hit M e W ith Your Best S h o t.....................Pat Benatar Keep On Loving You........................Reo Speedw agon Hungry Heart.................................... Bruce Springsteen Hey N in eteen ..... ............Steely Dan G u ilty .................................................... Barbra Streisand Giving It Up For Your Love........... Delbert M cC linton De Do Do Do De Da Da D a.......................... The Police I M ade It Through The Rain................ Barry M a n ilo w Tim e Is Tim e................................................... A n d y Gibb Miss Sun.................. ......................................Boz Scaggs

s

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20)

^ ^

Double Fantasy......................John Lennon/Yoko Qno Greatest Hits................. ...........................Kenny Rogers Crimes of Passion.........................................Pat Benatar The Jazz S in g er.................................... ...Neil D iam ond Guilty............. ..................................... ...Barbra Steisand Hotter Than Ju ly.................................... Stevie W onder Autoam erican.......................................................Blondie Gaucho......................... ....................................Steely Dan Back In Black........................................................... AC/DC The G a m e ..........................................

Queen Zenyatta M o n d a tta ....................................... The Police The R iver...........................................Bruce Springsteen Eagles Live.................. ........ ..........................The Eagles Hi In fidelity....................................... Reo S peedw agon Foolish Behaviour..................................... Rod S tew art Live............ ........................................... ...Fleetw ood Mac Greatest Hits/Live..................................................... Heart Paradise Theater......................................

Styx The Turn O fA Friendly Card .The Alan Parsons Project Christopher Cross.............................C hristopher Cross

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ALBUMS fram es a second" are best left fo r the faded remnants of U ltravox and the ears of those w ho w ant no challenge.

M usically, I like m ost of this alburh, even if some bits are a verse or tw o on the "e xte nd ed" side. Lots o f snappy keyboard and rhythm work along the line of Orchestral Manoeuvres but not quite as moody. Charles Burchill's guitar sound is im pressive as it curls around rhythm s and makes good use o f pitch-shifting and other delay-line effects. The lad also throw s in vio lin and saxaphone to color the already rich tapestry.

Sim ple m inds are getting a lot of support in Northern Europe and were invited to tou r Britain w ith Peter Gabriel, so the three year haul seems to be paying off. The first album "L ife in a day" (April '79) made no. 30 on the BBC Chart and “ Empires and da nce " is now making sim ilar, if not better moves. But as far as we of the Australian public are concerned, I doubt that this record w ill have much effect. At least its on local release and w o rth a listen to those into Euro-pop and the w hole pseudo­ electronics schtick.

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B u t ho blouJ coeVe cjot a. Super oLupe^^ (h)Obdobc^irtxMecL S oriptio^ to <cxck KILLING JOKE "K illin g Jo ke ” (Polygram )

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Ah these passionate lads do tear at -tiu>^souls and ears, and I must c o n f^ l^ l like it. Very blister-guitaring and DM ^-synthesizer w ith tw isted vocals and percussion thunder— a curious mix, but a successful first dip in the pod.

"W ardance" stands out on first listening w ith heavy tw isted phlanging on Youth's voice (also plays a solid bass). The m ix on all songs is clear at strong, a refreshing change. A lso on side one is "B lo o d sp o rt", a b rillia n t jungleland instru­ ment w ith enough edge to cut anything that gets in the way.

A t tim es one could get a little put off by the heavy metallishness of it all but, each tim e Jaz comes to the rescue w ith excellent keyboard sounds that put the bluntness in a different light. Side tw o is not as im pressive as the first but holds its head above w ater in "C om plica­ tio n s " (reminds me of a heavy Cure) and a sparse thing called "$0-36".

I w o u ld n 't call this a com m ercial album but it's got enough to make me hang out fo r the next one.

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