Artificial Life #2 by Al Symers

AffiIFICIAL sor.,e

rHN6 MArrERr ,',n.2rrroz

LIFE

only

sop

YOUR CAPTAIN IS DEAD

STOP PRESS : SOUTIIE RN DEATH CULT

Well, werve made it to issue Z: Sales of issue 1 went quite well, but the (Ietters, etc) wasntt exactly . feedback

The new single 'rFatman / Moya,t will be released in October, probably on the bandrs own label but definltety not on Burning Rome. Look,>ut for the single as itts going to be excellent j

overwhelming -- apathetic bunchj Werd like to thank everyone in the music business who promised to ring us and who didntt, It just confirms our belief that the music biz is run by money grabbe

KEEP TIIE FAITHJ

rs.

One of the criticisms of ARTIFICIAL LIFE has been the lack of views put

forward by us. Well the fanzine is about music and the groupts viewpoints and not whether we think punk is alive or dead etc.

fte

of the most annoying things while selling the fanzine has been the people

who wear T-shirts and badges of bands featured ard wontt buy a fanzine. It seems there are more people into posing than being interested in the muslc.

Hopefully this issue provides a variety of bands so that people who like one type of music wiil blcome aware of other types of rnusic. Just because itf s not thipt doesntt mean to say you cantt like itl

\t e \,r)

a \ q

Thanks to the bands that offer hope.

ARTIFICIAL LIFE: SEPT. BASE MENT FLAT 37A HILLDROP ROAD

l-{

1982

REC0(D ftgVret.ls I

LONDON, N7 OJE

Some copies of issue 1 still available featuriltg .. . , THEATITE OF HATE, . . SOUTHERN DEATH CULT.. . GENE LO\MS JE ZEFjFL. . . . MARINE GIRLS. . . . PINSKI ZOO.. . TI{E ALARM. )CENA ZEROX. .. . and MORE (50p including postage & packing)

C*lll: "t:i:',i i,tinea T-e

f 1:- :e )

cc Oi C:.:...:C'ri. -l:itc girl r,riti: e i:l .c': vo j.c.. r::d_ ninima,l bacl:ing is fina11;' put oi.l a nini si:: 'fracl: albun refailin,1. .

?n oo rL-.

)t /'

tnfrd.effr:.-1.

V,-l.i

r-..',

- fhose of you ',;,1,r l:.1,.','e e::pcr-i;:1cc' her at:lospheric performances r.rill be pleased by the albun r.{rich incluc:"es her stage favourites;,iTri.cl:s of m:/ Tea.rsr, rsugar DadCy' and. e live vers ion of I Storm I recorc'! err.' at

Ilammersnith Palais. If youf re tlnfanriliar r-'iil': Car:rel thetr this record is a goo,,' intrcc',lictii-, 'l;,: oiie 'ite11 cf e singerl

,i,l',;:sil-iLc (Jamn,ing) ----'-l'leLl this is half a revier.r as the record reached rnerbrol:en irr hr.Lf. Apocal";'pse incLrr_rle tl-c hyperactivc Ton; Fletcher of Jarnming f anzlne 1.,'ho should. be aJr inspirat ion to all fanzines. He r...rorks hard and f tn sure the recorC isn t t half bad. . . ft r s procluced b.y PauL l.Iellerrnhich isn ?t half badris it?

"T ;

A[,: 'y{hat

s the reasoning behind releasing the different mixes?

NEvv

t{EW

ORDER

0RD0R: There are marly d.ifferent reasons but the main one is that we like to do it.

you think so man.\r people want to sec you and" yet you manage to keep out of the public eye?

&1.,i i,Ihy d.o

NEI'I OilDrIR:

Out of the ashes of Joy Division cane l{ew Order who from the open i nEi bars of I Ceremon;r t to the end of tTemptation r have continuec'_ with their magical music to surprise and inspire many people. They were always geat but now stand close to being brilliant! Ry refusing to give interveiws to the music press the band have remained rnysteri.ous , which has resul ted in the likes of the Ni.lil r s paul Horley nanting on in his self-indulgent style of writing about the band. However by the end. of the day he is never sure so he re-asseses them b;'vlriting again and. again. . . iJell l solno of us have never

great they are ! Artificial Life decid.ed. to send the band a questionnaire, the results of which appearetl several months later. AL: ias it difficult to carry on after d.oubted how

Joy Division? Do you ttrint< people expected too rnuch of you?

l'lEi,{ ORIJER:

No.. .No. . .

AL: Gillianrwhat did you do before the band. ?

GILLIAI'I: School

college.

AL: Wene you alvrays there ? GII 1 141,1: Yes. . . f rve always been here. AL:

Some

people seen to have expectgd the album;i{ere .you

more frorn

happ.',' with NdlJ ORD.,IR: ile.

lrere. b.qppy with the songs but notqll @{ wrth the prod.uction. ALI YoU seem to play at randorn and usuall.y at obscure venues; -low importa^nt do you consi,der gigs to be?

i'iJil

ORDIII?: l"Je

AL:

How much

think playing concerts is important as long as it d.oesn r t becone boring.

planning goes into the artwork?fs it a policy of I'irctory? ilEl'l 0llDr:lrt: iljuite a lot of thought goos into the s l eeves a.nd Factory l iire to do nice sleeves too.

i,uck.

AL: t?eryptation' went quite high in the charts, , .Do you stud;' the char-bs? N;tri'l ORD.Iit: Yes we Look at the c,,arts i.i, but donrt place t o much irnportance on them.

AL: f Tenrptation seemed_ to be e ckia.nge of direction and more comrnercial. I.Ias this intent ional ? N'il'l ORDXR.: I,lo. t Temptation I is just another son6.

: llh;r did '-ou produce rTenptation' yourselves?

i,iE ORj)fll; l.le think we carr get the sound lre wa.nt better o::rselves. ril: ilill you use jirartin llannet as

prod.ucer aSain ? NitlJ ORDil,t: l.tho knows':'

do you avoid talking to the music press? UEi't ORDilit: Some of us IiI<e doing interveitrsc o.some of us donrt.. .Reasons vary. AL: l'fhy

AL: iihere d.o you see New ( rd.er qoing f ron here'r i-iJ,J OilDlrt

Cont

inuing?

Alt

'fhe pulsating reggae rhl'1L,n" of Arni.zulu ca'' cumently be experiencerl and. enjoyed around London clubs a^nd. other parts of the country via support slots with band.s such as the Clash. However, 'the band wonrt be playing the clubs for long as already the rlcord. companies are interested in signing the six piece female band. who seem destined for big things. Althougir regf,ae might not be the

original of musicrAmazulu are tr;;'ing to bring it to a much wid.er most

audience, which has perhaps never reall.y been achieved.. The line-up consists of Rose on vocals, Lesley on sa:caphone, Clare on bass, llargo on guitar, Sharon on percuss ion a^nd. d.rtrmmer Debbie.

'Artif icial Life'talked. to

}iargo

to f ind out more about the band...... .. ,l

At the

moment you I re vrithout i mana€fer. . . fs that right? IIIARCO: Yesl Sharon was our manager but AL:

she started playing percussion in our practices so she became a menber of the €iroup. At the nonnent ne have to make d.ecisions on hor.l the group should. function, sometimes very quickly because since our third or fourth gig werve had record. connpanies interesteci, in lls. AL: Do you intend. to have e nanager? IiiArtct' : Yes, f ilrinl: vre need one Iu it is too much having to pla:l the music and run the band da-y to da;;, negotiating recorcl contracts etc. Also the band consists of sirong ind.ividuals and sometimes j,ou need eJl arbitrator.

AL: ltrho vl.rites the sonrTs in I{ARGO: :iell I rrite sorne of

the ba.nd? the scn...s a:rd Rose d.oesl the rest of the group are not{ starting to rrite. A lot of the sonfis LIe do in the sSare covers of obscure regtae recorcls. 'Ihe id.ea of the band. is to vrork on existing son{Ts and basslines so that vre carr learn ' about playing by d.ra.r.,ing from tradtion. Even' band. starts in the same way and a lot of reggae is based on the salne basslines, ftts certainl;' given me a bett,er unders ta^:d ing a^nri i ve found rn3, own interpretation of reggae. AL: Hil f "-/ou at some po int use a} 1 r

AL:

How

did the

band form?

MARGO: It starteri with Rose a^nd Lesley r.rho wcre. playing ri.th sone othcr.

peoplelrnrhich d.iti.nrt rrot:lc ol:t.

ft last Christmas that Les1ey had the idea of playing authentic reggae with "or"itiig" lifferent ott-Iop and "riirrtjyd.ifferent vocal style arra pllyed byan aLl girl banrl . ft was through various contacts that the rest of us joined. a.nd we ptayed o""-ii"ii gig at the Hope and Anchor in Maroh. It was the first time many of the girls ha.d played live and with the f ee l ings of panic a^nd innocence it sounded good a^nd the wasr arorurd

audience 1iked. us.

AL: Hhere did. the from?

name 'Amazu1u, cone

I believe it calne fron the combination of Amazon a.nd Zulu. They thought it meant something else but it actually mea.ns the land of the Zulu. '

IttAltGO:

your olm material?

MARGC:Yesr w€ would like to io more of our or.m nnaterial, as it r s more satisfying writing and

amanging your olm songs. Also there r s more money to be made from p'rblishing.

AL:'Jhat musical influences

d.o you

have ?

ItlA'tfr,:;:e11, mlr record. collection is quite diverse. . . pop music 1 jazz 1 Latin American, classical rncttr-lrave,ethnic music etc. l like

the idea of our band. trying tc }:ring p6 c f &€ t,, an audience that don I t normal ly l ike reggae.

AL: Dontt I'ou think t-:t

itrs been tried. before':' i'iARCO : Jt t s been tri eC- but nobod.;r has gpt it right. The Police trieri but their bass arrd d.rums r.reren t t reggae enough. l'li r C l asir are not melod.ious enough. . . The.y d.on t t ha.ve the harmonie s a^rru soul .

AL: i'lhat do you think of the British ?eggae scene?

MARGO:

Latel.y it s ept kind of stale. t

t'he only ba^nd I{ve enjoyecl lately has been Ricors band

and

d'o ing bluebeal s iazn I B which rlasn t t strictly reggee I don|t rea}ly like the tstoned out of it| attitude but I admire people who play with conviction and pass--+ Lon. lllrere is a danger in reggae of once you get the conf id enco to pla,l' it ryou get into a slick sound , f think we have a slightly punk feel which makes us different frorn straight ahead reggae.

AL: The songs that you write seern to be politicaL l in the sense of politics of every day life . . o

: We 11 we d.on t t try to preach , but some of our songs have come out like that. . . For instance, the song tAmazulu I is about the role of wornen playing reggae and- that rnore vromen should get into it. There's also aJr element of humour in it and we d o try to l:alance humour and being d.olrn to ilarth. I,le rve f,pt one song called. I Tonto I which is a vriLd vrest song d.one to

l'lARGO

reflgae.

in the song I Brixton t ? ftfs tal}:ing about the situa.tion that went on last year a.:rd hor.r

I{ARGO:

. tirc;r' were R

AL: I'lhat are the sentinnents expressed

situa.tron has been allor,red. to develop. Itts not trying to present any nolutjons bui asking

s to be done about it. AL: How do you feel you rre treateci- ir.s; what

)rourre a female

bancl-?

f think attitud es have changed" over the la,st couplc of years. lle?re all strong intelli6ient wonen and. yie|re not young so is able to get the better of llsr l,trhen we are nlayin5 live, people are curious for the first couple of minutes but then they just ret into the music.

ITIARGO:

AL: Final ly, what are Ama.zulu tr;,'ingl to achieve through their niusic?

l{e're trying to 5;ain recoFnition for reggae which is a form of music that could be enjoyed by everyboc).y. I'ietre also tr-.'irr- to

MJIRGC):

achieve our or.rn personi.l j-der'l and vlhat constitutes good musicianship. lle would l ike to mal:e a living from itl

seems geareci to be e hit record-Horr much planning froes into each scng? ST$/E: i,'hether our sonfls se1l well or not isnrt really up to llsr All we do is make records that we aJPe proud of arrd bel i eve in .

AL: I4ach single

Every rearler r.rill be e.were of the success ofSheff ield. based ABC r but not everJrone wil l appreciate the craf t and vrork put into the four singles a":ld. debut album. Each single is g:earerl toward. being a I hit I due to the great production of Trevor llorrr (except I Tears ' vrhich was produced by Steve Rronn ) anrl perfection in sound of each instrunent.

fne result is that the singles are a cJass above the usual dross filling the charts. The present line-up consists of i[arti:r Fry on vocaf s I Siteve lSingleton on sa:caphone rl'iark ;lhite on guitar and lJave Palmer on drums. Artificial Life asiiecL $teve Singleton, r'ilrose sa)c p1a;'ing is essenti-al to the sound of AllC rsome cuestions. . ..

: C oulcl you te 1 I us a bi t about the histor.v of the band? STETIO: I met I'iark in the Crazy r)aisy disco Ln L9'(7 and formed. a short lived group with two other people.

,ie then formed V ice-V ersa in '78 and r.rere iniervieweci by liartin llry r or his magasine, which resultecl

in his joining. !tre g?evr tired of purely electronic music r so in 1'.':'C formecl j-]l0 and met David" in 'B:l ,

AL: Do you vrite as a group or es inoivldual e ? ST ':VE : i'le vrri t e as ind. ivid ual s I then pool ideas, rough d.raf ts etc to nake up songs as a band.

AL: The llmics of

ABC son,Ts tend. to be geared toward love and reIationships etc. Are these l.1':rics inspired, by experiences or just attitud.es and feelings? STllIi,i: All the lyrics are from our experiences anci are our att itud.es and feelings about our experieilcâ&#x201A;Źso

hL: i,lhat influences do the ba$d have, rmrsi cal or otherrrise? STEVII : Magaairâ&#x201A;Źs I books, memorabi 1ia1 people rfunny Dada situatiorsl musical alrd. lyrical ideas;T.V.1 fi lms , Photos , toys, girl s , food, trinkets, love of life I love of love and at this moment the new Oranrge

Juice s ingle

AL: ttry did the g3oup decide to

use

Trevor Horn as producer? SfINVE: Trevor is our Eood frienrl understa.nd.s

something

the

need-

thatrs not

and

second. trest.

AL: !l ave you got any pla;is to play live 1' STEVE: lr,e are embarking on a five month world

l.lovern,^'er

tour starting in

trat d"o you think of the mus ic notl in the charts? STEVU: Itlost mu,.;ic in the charts is rubhish ! I hate it : There e.re gooci records but I think that 90 nercent of the recorcls are nrb'l:ish a-nc:- lC percent or maybe 1essl ?.re good.

AL:

l': i trat

pl ane do you have f or

eutron

Records ItdS

STEltrll: Hea.vy

profits

ohe sta.ge onlil.

anC recoror-s

J.'e

Al,:l'lhat do you feel you are trying to achieve through ]rour music? S','L'VE:

Respect.

AL: i''lhat are. your immeCiate plans for the future? STEVtr: Desig3ing the stage set a"nd reiiea,rsin,q for the tour. >

"r'.

s tLx- 6 A!(6

gTLllTfrB T&iE!(

The Sex G.ng Children are another

of the new bands taking london by storm vri th the ir r..w , powerful mus ic ful l of intensity and ag6Tession. TheIband. r'rarnt people to think for themseLves and thus be individuals-llhrough their rnusic; the Sex Gang Child.ren are nalcing

people aware! The line-up consiste of Andy lialrHrard. on vocals I Terry Mackay on gritar, Dave Roberts on bass a^nd. dnrmmer RoBcrt Stroud. Artificial

L'ife talked to ihe band. before their set at the ZigZag cLub supporting

U. K.Decay.

lltre band. vrere friend.ly,

talkative and interesting.

.lL: Horv did. the group forrn? AIIIY: Wel l , Robert and. I were in Panic Button a^nd. vre for:nd the group : were too easy-going and. too normaL.

tr..

It had become we1l-rryorn and tame. The nalne I Panic r was just a punl:

cliche. Irre decided to form a nevl band so advertised in Irtelody Maker resulting in Dave ani Terry jolning.

AL: !.lhy the name r sex Gang Chi ld ren ' ? fiIDY: ftre name con jures up wild youth nrnning through the streets ,,ita

and proud t T;RRY: ft|s a very proud narne! ^A-I{DY: ft makes you ieet good! TERITY: It gives us an identity like gang screaming at each other.

AL: Are therq any bands who influence your r+riting? /ffDY: No, it just comes naturally. Ue donrt write words for the sake of it. . . Our influences a:re natural, Although when I heard. U.K.Decay I realised. that we were similar to them. U.K.Decay wsre the forefront of a movement but they never gpt recognised..

AL: Do you feel that there I s sornething

happening at the moment in Lond.on? DAVE: Iesrthere are lots of nev., banols around" waiting to burs;t gpen. Ttrese band s r like us r a:re part of a new movement . . . Ritual l Actif ed and Dance Society.. .A few others.

AI,: Do tuly of the bif;Fer bancis hrve any influence?

!tre1lrf like l.iiou:-sie and the Benshers for what thev put into tlrej.r solgs brit I ccrild never be thc s-me as them. LYricalIY lrm closer to l,r:onard Cohen. /,.L: Llon f t you f ind his songs d.epress

AI'IDY:

- ing? AI{DY: I'lo,

I find him veqf uplifting. I se.'.,: hir,r r,lhen I wac' aboi.t f iftecn . .

Iie oozes energ;yrhc d.oesnrt spurt it . His lyricSre quite optimist ic and sarcastic but Peonle' don r t

realise it. IIis mtrsic is

srci'tizo musicJ Our musie ha,s been conparcct to earl:t i.rlarn a"nd the Ants, llut our music

DAVII:

isn

t ree"lIy like tha.t.

AI,: lil:rat d.o )'or1 thinl: of i punk" banrJ s such as tire Anti-llowhere I ,e;,E1tre ?

terrible. . .Tlteir a.lburn covers ere iust like heaqy-meta,l

i)AV;il: Tire;"'rre

AL: i{avenf t you just si,qnecl to Illunrinated ltecorcl l and ere 'i:rir.-- * in,g out a 12" s i ngle ? fJiDY: Yesrtre nanted to bri:':g orr-t :multi-track recorrl but d-'' cin rt tl:r:rl' thin!: vetd be a.i;le to clc it, 'le r:ere rea.lly pleased r*.en fllunin 'Ler suggested-

AL: If the choice aro:'e, would. -.:or.r. r:i5:r to e na.jor or r';or-rld ]'ou sta;',' ind enend.rnt ? /JIDY: f rd lil;e to stay vrith Illuni:rrl;ctl .s itf s a. much closer rel.atio:r:hip. AL: lihat are Jroi-r irneciiate pla.:rl? R0Ti: ;ellelrerve jus:t goi ?. nuhlisl:i:r.T dea.l . :;: l':ant to do lots of ,li{s... evell c. tour but it r,'ould be a selective one and in or-i.r ot..'ri 'bi: el lle 1i}:e to maire ever:/' Sit ai-!, cvc::t. T,-lii lY: lihe:r I go tc see a banrl I i:;::'1; to see them put ever;.-t1iin,': inio

their perfornarncc. iou ce--.f t (-jr' it when .you t re pl ayin; @V€ r.-ir n i ii:t u.rl and. d.or,nr tire cou.ntry'. Grouls ilc nO goOcl triren. tile.'tre too tir',;d. olon col:cl Therefore rre i:'.,uLrlr:tt i:o

alburn covers !

AL: As 1on6 as people ig3rore ttrerr and concentrate on the real bands t ' thin,lc r'lilf iet l.ietter. :lOX: ?eali. . . they

en.lrmore.

T'ire neonle n'lto like tl-e$ Conf t lcnor.-r t:-"e r'1'hernative. i;: ;DT i The:,' rerd. about Punll in ?he f"iun an(' ti:,.etr fc to the fiEt tire-"tre

tolC to Ao to J I rrt.s rerdin5; al1 r,rticle that said tlre: i.nti-j.o','Il ere I ea.[1re rnrrie tl.e Sltr- l'istols lool; lille o1d ,qra.nniest het e terrible thing tcl sa;yt.The Pistols t'Iere so ri.u but a,t tl,e $ane time the lyric t,rere a.rticulate r:nlike fTotrps like 'tte lDrnloitecl.

lil : i)o you consider yolirselves to tre,a punl: bar,nd ?

TlillltY: Yes...irt the true sense of the o ld. cl ays , but we I re ta1:ing our ovrt d.irection. AI{IY: ile t rc punk t s iras,tard off snr.;.ngt .',L: You recentl:l releaser; e. cassette tilaked I rilricft seems quite nonular and is selling rvell. llot,' rnan.1,r have you soLrl? it0it: i. couple of hund.recl.

AI,: Itts Ver;'r harci to i:et. nt.i: ,itcr;'body salfs thr:t, thcre : tlanlt lef't I "LtAi,r,ri:

r,ren

Before I.Ie can prod.uce arly rnore to be pairl blr Rou -h 'frad.e '

I'Ie need

a lengthl' tour as r,re want to iive onc hund.red. perce:rt ever"r si.'l

re not f i11in5 places

'l i;iltY:

it.

AI: .lhz,.t, do the liex Can; CirilCre:r ain . to acirie',.'e? i,illlY: 'Ii-.ere are fc:: irends takin; ri-sl':s. ,Je ofi'er e.rl a}-lenrat,ive -r,o tirc so-c: Iled al lernetive. *

Ftf'rf, Buqgg ,2' SrrAi W tela(i1loJ I siilere Fe,qtra,.uq Fc,rrrE R *X p$lr :. fftt-c- T <1-C - BsrrS'g3 carU;.,,'EaL OL[€{lrruE! OF euJ€ urrsirlerr;gG ff ev+rtcg afl69 AT yCr{R $'fcP

k4t-r

(lli/[SS Some PeoPle

should play a gig, If one person feels strongly then it will be dropped...but the general feeling ie to trust others One of the things we get is people ringing up and wanting to know the gigs rverre doing for the next year.. which is ridiculous but one of the traps that other bands have fallen into. You become the reeord company$ product and they promise you wealth a.nd fortune. What theytbnrt tell you is that you vronrt be able to put out t0 percent of what you wart and that you end up paying back all the

love them; othore hate

theyrtl uhile a loi oi poopte Just.wish are not sotns to 8o well,cftnss ;-;;"J. the i""y.,-'fl'"yrre hero to confront reocietyr' Crago whole of our eo-calletl and make p""""n" people into thinklng ln vhioh they socletv tr't of ;l;t aware 1lve.

CRASS

dontt

neecl

the muslc lndustry

as they brtng out records themgelveaehowa cheaper than any other-Iabel1nfrloh by io"-i""rt profit" companlee are making

The new ttt""gi"g Lxtortionate prices' b";d eft oontaining a dlouble album' . a poster rurcl tw"ntylefeht nye booklet the.{""t is the moet egsential recordf'lof for lt' pay tho shonlcl and everyone to raw ls trnrnk'whlch Thelr mueic . eo many p"opte ls loud and aggrealvet ' oug6esta Cra"sa are agftreaslve.peoplc" reaaon- that thc Hell, theyrre n ttTh; way because t"uii ie played that Tne le reason the li"";t" o'ruix band' a way sentinrento are erpreesecl ln.such faerlns ;;";;;;;"e ureY nave a genulne *a "ornP*ssion'about the aubJects covered in thelr Bonge' to f lntl Arti flciai- lif "' declcled' lnvltedl to was and out more auoul-crass nore about thelr out meet them antl flntl Ldeas.

thero Al,: At the tlme the band forrned simtla.r ulth of lot PeoPle wer€ a ideas"'How tlld the ba^nd come

' t tbgother?

CRASS:

, '

There wero a lot of PeoPle

that eaying 'ao-lt-yourself ' a'ntl we. thought it" do can anyon€ 'Bo can if the Clash can ilo it then w€ of

faot do it uelier' AIso the of what aetuallY rejectine all

society was naytn![aRPeafed tolnsome of us whoralthougtr ttad-been the chanoc

it,Ji t"ro"tthad;'t had thia wayl oi .'oi"ittg ttt"f" opinione it haPPened was reallY which "ili exciting' with AL: Do You think You otnrted simirar ir'iuttirott" of other bands euoh ae the Clash?

CRASS:

It le hard to aay,

advance money. The record cornpany mal:e your image a.nd tell you

$re asguned^

Tha Claah were sanying slnilar thin6p to ue but nobody knows

will

what to sin51 about.

what they wers really thinkin6. The Claeh may have been 6;enuine

wlth their feelings but the mueic induatry Le ver.y heavy a.nd temptations aro greatrreeulting ln bands belng watered down by the e.ystem. lt from watohing the other punk slgn to maJor rocorrl companies that you were able to stay olear ? CRASS: Norwefre mroh older a.nd most of us had lprked ln publicatlone a.nd shows before ptuk. l{e knew nhat we wantegA,ntt more to the point what we didnf t wa,ntrwhich was the muuic acens. hrtth the thtnga we aay lre oould.n|t be on a najor label...Itra a contradictlont you can't aay we d.onf t uant a bonb lf you aupport a record compeJry thatts produci.ng AL:

AL: I'lhen do you decide you want to play gigs

our news-shect r.:e asked pe^ple that if there ie somevrhere they feel is suitable to play near themrto contact us and then werll see'if vre ca^n set it up. iJe select a time for gi6rs then try and set up a coherent

Wns

bands

AL:

A lot of ue ln the banil have been throughthe htppy era of the 6O's and. knew the pitfalla from a long way off. Fbr inetance therets no polnt in dolng an intervlew wlth a maJor musio papor as thereto no way theyt alrc go,ing to let you say what you lrant.,'and leave lt at that. All the people ln the music buslnees are money

torrr. Wh.y

donrt

.you pla.y london ar;rmore? canrt! In london we'd 1!00 people or more ancl you

CRASS: Recause we

attract canrt get a venue t',at holds that many people that isn't held u- by a comnercial concernrfor example the !;,'ceumrJn nost large towns there is at least one council ha]l which isnt nrn by a conmercial concern where we ceur pla;,t, but in l-,ondon there are too many reetrictions on such ha]ls. At Xmas we played a lot of smal1 gr,gs under a different narne.

0116.

Just interested ln

CRASS: On

rather than

people reaultlng in many young peopl.e belng done by tt and atill they contl.nue to do so. Obviouely lt'a a pgeet temptatiorr.ooB couple of thousand poundseeapacially if yourvc

AL: Donft you think itts a shame playing und.er a different narne as people mi6ht miss you? CRASS: Yee in a way but the Xmas gigs htere equally

if not more effective.

I'y playing smaller venuea it gives ue the Bpace to move beyond what's expected of us which is pla._rring

larger venuesrwhich we dontt really Iike doing as ,you donrt get a chance to meet people. By meeting people

nover had moncy or a job before. llany peopls don,t aae the trepe of

the rmrslc buelneae whlle othere feel, they oan beat the eyetem from belng lneide the eystem but you ca^ntt! ALI Do you cv6r have a.n.'/ dtaappeemente over whloh poltoles to follow? CRASS: tle donrt have any fhed policles. He have dlfferences of optnlons btrt

ffi##ffi:l

wc have a oommon g-rouhd to work on whlch meana lf somethlng turns up we tllecuss tf ;Fbr example whethor we ,

f:if,kiffi;;:r'"i,,"I

uB thoy reBll6e and them meeting li that our," ign,t "fisreesive-aJrd sne1y' ancr an

tmt ;l;i";;-'1o""" compassior"l"_:i;: tt was just When ue starte'

AL:

What, io the basis for releaslng by other bands on your label ....-_l""o"ds 0RASI;:We

didtntt atta ?f ". l:-i or dirl wtrat trae-cxPected oonfronted by toit"t no ttere oeople tot" visual it",nt "o we tntrolo""a us' now erpectoil of r" l'i"it-"ni"n out oheaP recorde Also Puttling an exPectation so weuhlch le ;;;;; eet

aR I'ro

;ffi;J'ti"'cl-torea rocotrdt exPensive Craes the most

of puohln6 ao now lttg a queetion ln our g15e and ourselvee furtner

::i'.:i#in,. t"Yr" sf o"' EverYthins-::

01""""r"*t"_"^:l irnc confronting

e :::f;l:",11#i;"*"" "ii and th' -selves ao

to tt.

AL: t{hat are Your Prosent

Pla.ns?

CRASS: V{erve got eome 6igs coming up ln Scotland, IrelandlHales and the South l{est snd werre P1a^nnln6 what wetre going to do on those dates. Werre doing a single whlch werll be recording ln a oouPle of weeks. ftte all a questlon of '

An end t^

AL:

How d.o

.^1,

ti';:1o,,,.1,1""r"., 28 i;o " .,;;' "rt''i'113 li:.[ g:g l;"

out records. The one_off thln6 on fCrase, oen glve people a small arnount of money and lrrowled6e ao that they can do what they want, for exarnple rFlux of plnk IndiansI formed their own label. We also have another label which sti,xted up for ba.nds to produoo ahd. do their or.rn artwork. 0n ,Crasef records we help to.produce the rocords but on tcorpua christi' lre juot act as a distribution a.nd the fina"nce. Itrs malnly for people who have had experience tut wno feel they were not able to eay what thay wa.nted. They will have freed.on to say what the.y wa^nt eo long as it lsntt serletrraclet or violent.

bJ;';"' ;.F" wear,:i:.::";; ll: ;i"oli;,ntnllotn""

;;;;;;

tntoGt

uce ilre Crass label al facility to show people how ato put

,)*

you feel about the

merchiurdiain6l

of T_shlrts etc of Craslr? CRASS: l^Je donf t care! If people are prepared to go and epend 14 on lushlrt or armhand then they don ait understa.nd what werre sayint. We uslng the

narne

nq.tt.YslQ.'llJ\o

_K*\i$.$i l'ilxi\:t9 ) rl$

as\

^ushlng ourselves and doin6 eomâ&#x201A;Źjl

.rii:\

thing which lsnrt expected"Peoplc tend to become contented' PeoPle wilt go to a gig ancl eee the shlt kicl<ed out of aomeoneryet r*onrt do anYthing as moet Sige are channollerl to that reaPonse but ln one of our gige their would be a confrontation with such an lncldent. Out Problem as a band le not to be just confronting in' terms of information but to break the idea of chennelled respollfts' lhe chaturelled response to what we do is to cate6oriee' l'le arc the r0raso narne ba.nd ln the category type bandsrlconaisting of people wittt Crass tYPe lnte6SltY who

'i***trii'lh:ii dld at one tlme lnvestl8ate the ot trvinsl t" -"i.p"it, ff:"r'ltl:t{-iarsely a cottase l:^*.,1:_l-" Tl::-r'y. "na orisinatly ""iy we'a-tr;;=;;'

il;;;ff;u. ;*"

who rran aesis;s

::::lTl:eers. g:It1E^-tnem the proper rteoigns

";;'f,:,* iij il:1, ll:':r;;;=;, *: ;J; il.';,;;:;ff" l*-:_:n1:1", Crass

plaY muoic about f Craas t;Pe eubjecto | .

T-shirtsl

The way werrâ&#x201A;Ź talking sorurd perfect butnweirl makes us ,ril nut -rr"iru"ir"n through our

rve 6pt to try and pueh thinga as it would be sosAny to eay we created an ima.ga and we coulcl make a lot

of money and aell a lot of rocords. Well, $6're not fucking intereeted in that aS vre fre not intoreeted in settlinr down and being a good bend and making a 11of0s{ional Iiving irom records. If tho record busineso collapsed it rmuldnrt make a.ny difference to us, it would be moro difflcult but werd camy on doing it whether we sold. one record or a million. {trererB no reacon for ue to be tempted by top ten sales as vre live ln a way which euite ue arrd we prt out stuff which is actually saying eomething

beller"

rlpped_off

I for mue_ic papers

l'rle

"*Lii"'irin

*n"

did ir,i"t-rr" could do aomethine t";-nlru"r*," out of everybody,l ,iia."6", we

three weeks" ;;;:^:-"':Ll:-""3" every up_offeri,;. H" terrns ao lrerd talk io-in"i'on 'phone...The. nert yaek ii wouratrru Ue printed in the ,""i"-oro""J""" *

i::i'i";:*i,;':f

exclusivel

ALI

dld ,vou write to tounds;the f"lt-iiriwu Why

cRASi;: That was

to try *u nlll-l:"t-attenpt" u""".1" i"Tf!. "* etreets "; #:::ll,l", uv-n """oi"a people ;o:l;=;"'ln" "i"ri,,ino l*. Iaet"oJtt chance I

don't;;";"i:. l1

rra aoeli tr' l1q: He oan,t

.'r?T ruckeakel

;:;ii:""ki, :"Hffll]"t'

tittle

punk

the etreet.

"""ii""-in"*,.ll mtsh;-;;-"; ;oll ,"

about whloh ls abou.

"i.',r"i"r:j;r:?l;;3tff"",

th"l i;-,;";l#il;':i;';;:'"o 4-sktns their

He hadnrt even heand ;";-;riiii,. it and lt"t.,Ining result_ in a s?oup or rskrn;-elal uo at a si* *a pty"i;;rr; uur'

and

threatenlni r": Heive eoi"notrrrng arqainst ol banderlh"y ;; ;;;;" and lf they want-to

io-Jr"iii;* "" with us then thar ,oria"i.=""j"r. rt'a Just a total ri[ii""ii;,;"t"

+ }A vu rr\ vc

$l -

the people who heve eent them to warr ftrs eany to convince the people who donrt go to war horr herolc it ia and the aoldlerg who are out there and maybe scared have to cto lt a.nd they believe theyrre flghttng for freedom. The countr.y ls corrtrpt a.nd controlledt a fasclet state which everybody knows but wonft admlt because they need the atarnp of authorlty. The idea of stepplng outside of authority and soclety... It I e easier to give ln! Most peopla are enclosetl by the media and preaented vith normallty ao to atep out of llne arrd to flnd your own values Ls

aupposedly wrongl You get people who go on CND marches who tlren 6p home to slt and watch lllltwithout saying a,nythlng and eating meat...llhey donf t connect

Forthe chop one day

that what theyrre doingrsuoh as eatlng meate ia oontrlbuting to the bomb and represents ell that agg,reseion. Hhat we try and do lg to brlng that ima6er.y top;ehter with words a,nd connect them so that people oa^n have a better understand-

one person who got out of hand. It didn rt rrork...['hey made three weeks copy out of one letter oo that theY

could sell

shitty

20rOO0 copios

of their

rrqq!

lL:

thlnk that Crass are opening people's eyes to what they should

Do you

of the crisis? We'll never admit or deny it aa the authorities srre tco lnterested. ttre , Falklands crisic seems to have been forgotten but at the tlme of tho cri$is the aetual fear and horror of thi.s country waa 6normou8.

CRASS:

So marry people were r"ound uP and scr,,red as they knew that lt could have been the beginning of the

thirtl world war. Any international confllct couldrve been the etart ae

America, Russla and China have 2Pt interestn throughout the world a.nd you canrt do a^nything without

You can

{

economY

VEEAH'11

hapnened. . .lle rve had letters f rom PeoPle in the army who canrt get

out but society has its limits I its creating sPa.ce-if PeoPle <' didntt have neoplc like us a^nd others there wouldnrt be an;r alternatives or people questioning thir,gs. We hope that peoPle identlfY with it ald that we 6ive strength to people by saying what we saY' Al,: You tre ma}:ing people aware. gven if they donrt aâ&#x201A;Źree theY will think about it...Don't You a.gree? CRASS: It provokes them to think. It doer have a.n effect.For instance over the last eighteen months I people have been desPsrate for us not to sell out. Itre naive but now itts obvious that we're not going to and therefs no longer a fear by people of what has 'happened' to so many other bands will haPPen to ua.

oua. The Falkland felandst ltere atrrgg-

ling on a death llne

-t;!i

ilo that by being really extreme,..which w6 are. tle supported CNII I years afp and we were laughed at for havin6 a CND banner at our gif,s...They dld.nrt even krrow what the symbol meantl tle gave them a lot of support when nobody elee did but we harrenrt had muclr to do with the l,ondon CND elnce lt became big. Tlicre a.re some ar6aa werro worklng in whlch will become cornmonplaee in 3 or { years. You can t t expect someone tsho for exarnple le gotng to the Falkla.nd Islruxie to give up because lt ls wrong, although slmilar things have

CRASSI:

cutting througSh their lnterests and sltuatione like thgt are oo dangeru

'rE=:-_

thlnk or the alternatives open to them?

AL: Did you actually brtn6 out the Falklanct flexi and what drd you think

il)

tng.

a^lrd

then this country saye the Falklands are ours. It is estimatetl that to keep a ganison consi$ting of 3 tlme the r'opulation to be f,I.B btllton

which is enough to give each Peroon on the isrland Gl milIiort...EJtd

thatrs Just ln economio torms.... Tt rs inaanel It cost I rOOO llves and then You hear the comments from the Falkland islartders. ..'l.lell rthey took mY false teeth" or 'rThe.y Put mud on my carpet"...That's thetr lmage of I the wrrr. ()f cour.qe people won't learn from itrmaybe the people of tho Falklands realised the barbarity of the situation. The Foreign. Office wonrt release the fi6gre6 aa to how manY people were actually crippled or affected mentallyl fire fighting men arenrt flghting for the aame rea.66ns as tho Dower.

ff&w

The Room are one of the most exciting bands to come out of Liverpool since the days of Echo & the Bunnyrnen and The Teardrop Explodes. The line up consists of Robyn Odlum on guitar, Clive Thomas on drums, Becky Stringer on bass and vocalist Dave Jackson.

After two singbs and a cassette album tfBitter Reactiontt on the Liverpool based Box, they were signed by Dave Kitsonrs Red Flame Records resulting in a single rrThings Have Learnt To Walk That Ought To Crawl'r and an album ttlndoor Fireworkstt.

Their music is intense and exciting, working with rather than

in,

conventional

forms, with soaring stuttering guitar, looping deceptive bass, crisp sharp

drumming over which Dave Jackson sings fractured, emotional and passionate

lyrics.

AL:

How does the new album stand in comparison to the cassette frBitter Reactionrr? Dave Jackson: Itrs totally different j Itrs much better. We donrt play anything off the cassette now. You have to keep changing to keep your

interest in it.

AL: Is your interest more important than the publics ? Dave:It goes hand in hand. The public

are going to be more interested in seeing people who are excited by 'ivhat theyrre doing and continually trying to get something off it, i" rather than someone running through a tired routineo

AL: A lot of bands seem to be running

through a tired routine ? Dave:There are too many bands. The good stuff gets swamped. Therets so much crap that youf re fighting against. The independent scene has fallen as there are so many shitty bands on small labels.

AL: At the moment, something new and

exciting is needed. How could you see yourselves fitting into something different with bass, guitar and

drums

}I[

THE ROOII

Dave: Werre plaru:ing on using another instrument such as a piano. We dontt want to expand the sound but just change it around so that it becomes more exciting AL:

At the moment The Room are independe-nt label and able to

guard their independence, but do you want to be pafi of the rock n roll mythology ?

Dave: Not particularly,

No j

AL:

What happens if you have a hit single or album and this tour resulting in a vicious circle. How can you break out of it ? Dave: The industry is geared towards singles, LPts and tours, etc. If youtre in a band, your,re too involved in playing the music to try and breakdown the business si de . A lot of b and s st art off with good intentions but writing the music is a full time job..... I mean very few attempts to breakdown the single s/ albums things has worked, even Malcolm Mclaren ts cassette ttPettf didntt

really take offi

The release of rrlndoor Fireworkstt represents a milestone for The Room with the band moving away from the sparser and lyrically bleaker songs of 'fBitter Reactionttto a fuller deeper sound. The angst and neurosis of forme r release s i s still the re, in the sombre brooding "h Sickness And In Healthtt and rrRewindrt but they have undergone a subtle change.

;

AL:

What are the 'new songs about ? Dave: Itts hard to put them down, to say what theyrre about. Theytre more hopeful and optimistic h,ut have the same sort of atmosphere as the older material.

AL:

Do you have any musical influence s ? Dave:The bands I like donrt necessarily have arly relation to what we PlaY.

I like Tom Waits,

DexYs Midnight Runners and The

Fall. . . .

You donrt try and emulate anybody ? Dave: I dontt see the point. Itts a four way thing with each member writing their own part. If anybody had a particularly strong influence, it would be diluted by the others. With me it comes down to emotion and passion rather than atmosphere. I like pop songs. If you could combine that with a more experimental attitude, I think we are a very accessible band. I want to use a proper producer because itfs the producer who makes the music accessible.

AL:

AL: A producer might

make you lightweight and subsequently a "pop" band in the eyes of the music press ? Dave: I donft think that matters so long as itts good and comes frorn. . . .

AL: The heart

?,1

Dave:Yeah, the heart, that clich6 or whatever, but it doe snf t matte r' what type of music it is, to a certain degree, the heavier aspect is becoming a blt tedious and is as much a clich6 as a lightweight pop song.

The Room are above lightweight pop songs, they possess that certlin -edge that places them above the run of the mill rornanticism or pure new pop. On stage Dave Jackson kindle s e motion and nervous energy into his lyrics, !T*"0 by the near-static Betky and Rob;rn, a strong steady beat or,6r1ard by careering melodic guitar.

Last year The Room took their music to the U. S. A.

AL:

Ifor,v did the

go? Dave:It was o.

tour of the West Coast

k. We did sixteen days supporting 'lhe Fall and then headlined clubs the size of the Rock Garden. We played four nights in Vancouver, in this hoie run by gangsters who had a strip joint downstairs and bands upstiirs.

AL: Ho;r did you go down with audiences ! Dave: The American audiences were quite receptive.

AL:

How do they compare to London audiences ? Dave: They dance more and at-e not very self conscious.

AL: In places such as The Venue the audience, to a certain degree, are there to pose and drink

cocktails, unlike Liverpool.

Dave: I think you get it more in Liverpool as the audience are usually in bands themselves. Itts hard to get any enthusiasm out of them. Wef re just starting to get decent reactions and good crowds in

Liverpool.

AL:

You didntt really play there for a long time did you ? Dave: Itts the only way to do it. If you play too often they consider you as a local band and nothing special, but if you jr.lst play occasionally like Echo & The Bunnymen, then youtre considered special.

At this moment Robyn is asked for his views on the rf rock scenetl Robyn: Itrs going through a bad patch. I get a bit sick to death of this funk/disco thing. It would be nice if someone did something away from it.

AL: It comes down to being concerned with fashion ratlrer than music tt it ? Dave: Fashion to a certain degree is quite exciting if done properly. doe sn

?o e7n IIEST 0lltr

(Rest In

Peace )

Ce:'utral lond"on , 1o et alone Carres,,ing silver pocketed in reflected. stares Shining truris flash by at mid"night, Fliclcering the freezing vrater of sentinel

streets.

Stra^nded.,

niglrt,

the thrills

a^nd

kills of

Saturd.ay

Slid.e d azed into the lingering scent of moisturecl lips.

lights the deserted island.; Malcolmrs lonely shadow descends. For one moment his invisible dew lilaterialises in the Strand. I caJI see him standing vrith the street, Uncontrolled., d.rivintl in al l d.irections Needing' calm1findin6; it in foolish death. Leavingrhis voice d.rinks my f.iver; Ho1low neon

'rlithout the alcoholic haze The romaJrce d.ies witli the d awr1. *A,!P0RTANT. . .To be read with the song tshine 0n Met played. in the background.. Do it and. yout Ll SINSE the d.iffererrceo r. PETJI BEY-}ION.

AL:

Yes U,ul gtaying to show off your new shirt. Robyn:The music that goes with it still got to be good. The it has is you canrt say "nice shiri-- irrg shame about the songrr.

AL:

desperately looking in places for somethi-ng different _of but looking too hard and coming up with all sorts of P_eople. are-

all sorts

rubbi sh. Dave: I dontt suppose therers ever been a period where you can say the music scene is great. The whole creative process come s out of being dissatisfied. If you look at the scene from one view, there are loads of good bands around at the momEnibut if you look at it in more broad terms t"tr yourve got things like

BucksFizz.r..o,.

The Room are one of the good groups around at the moment in tle rrrâ&#x201A;Źlae pseudo-culture gangsters (What Z _ or nO)' .ld synthetic polteis. ffrey will bel should be stars with their frau"ting and biting brand of pop.

ffiATLW,

fiUtllililAih0,'fr trArttA

:ith the ernerflence of ex PoP GrouP members in dance ba^nds such as Rip Rig a.rrd Pruric and Pi gbag ITlEfly peo p1 e have awaited. the return of vocalist ldark Ljtev;art who vtas probably the most essential element cf the â&#x201A;Źroup.'Jel1 you t ll be pleased to know that lilark has Ltt eome new material r a new barrd and is ready to make his l"ong-awaited return' His vocal style is sti.ll the same but the rrtusic seems far more adventurous compared to his Past music. Artificial Life talked to l'lark on a rooftop somewhere in iiingr s Cross to find out about his present activities a.rrd future plans. . . . . .

railr.ray engines, editin; them togethcr into a rhythnn so that instead of a d.rum machine vre could use a road d.ri 1l , resulting in us using every da;' sounds

rather

AL: l'ftat are the sonfis

l.lho exactly is in your nel'; basrd? ldAitli: I'1e11, there ts Bon jo on 5mitar and

Charles ilskimo Fox on drums I rvho both ptay in Creation Rebel and lhe Freedorn Fig$ters tr.'ho back a lot of Jarnaican musicians who nlay here such as Dillirrger aJt'l ltanking Drearl. There I s a bass Player l},rer and a horns pla',rer and the Prod.ucer Adri an $hen'rood who is aJl essential

part of the bannd..

out? Al: Ilave you got ?ru,' records coning I f Liberty called get a single litutli: ile ve I coming out in September anC- al1 C ity albuin in December.'

d.id your present music cone together? l,i/utl{: f got disillusionecl with a lot of things I'd d.one before and I sat't Charl i e pla.','ing drumr, for Ranking Dread in Eristol. It was the first time in ages that f'd seen anyone playing an instrument in a' qaY I I iked.. I lorew Adri an Shert"rood and througJh him got in contact with the rest of the band. The music is more reEf,ae based as I got bored with white boys playing disco or vrhatrior.r

OVâ&#x201A;Źf

A[,: The rnusic seems more d-iscipl-ined than in the na$t. MARK: Yes I it I s more cliscipl ined in the kind of music, which is based &t ,und. regflae basslines and dub.lle are also working on thingc like sound. af'fects. Itm interected in pping I round collecting taPes of things liire ro ad 4:'! 1 1s a.nd

e.bout?

tallc about specific songsIThere ts I Liberty Cit3rt r,rh j ch is aborr.t r^lhat happens to people and. how they cope rvith everXrd ay problems. It I s about people becomin$ disillusionecl with what theytre doing and shying &vray from trying to chan.ge thir:gs, instead going for a kino of securitlr, through luxtr;r and coi:lf ort which are escapes. This is a ba.ithing as I thinl: neo pl e should keep on trying: and s ta.y true to their bel ief s even if the;r can t t see en)'thin; happening rather than going for moneyrsecurit-v or hiding ar,raJr in a relationsLip r.rith somebod.y. A 1o*, of people a-.; IE or 19 are reall.y id.ealistic ancl tirini; thel' can do sornething v,'ith their l ives but then thel' come across a. problem and they give in,turning to d"rink or d.rugs vrhi ch the;.r I:nor.: i sn t t go ing to have 2r:,' effect; thelr' lie io thernselves to keep their nridc llp.

MARK: You can

Al,:

t\I.:

tha^n instnrments !

Do you

kind of

I,iARii: f ?ve

thinl: your lyric s off er

?.ny

hope?

gpt hope but not blind- hone I've got hope if people just grab hold of something and never let ro or give in... If neople live a lie and pretend. ther' I re do ing so;nething uhen theytre not then there isn t t going: to be a^n;,' hope. Ther.-' a"re so many intelligent peonle vrith a. lot going for thei,: r.rho are wasting it because the;r can t t see hovr to do sonething with the r:a"l-'i they f eel. They becorne s ide-tracked through music; r^riting or worl:ing a^nd. all their enerrr is put into false goals.

Al,: W writinn about itrdo .',rou thinl: you I re malcing oeool e al.,'are ?

I,iliRK: People e.re e,r,.rare...A1l f t:r d.oing is saying aj:out itrmaybe reassuring then and perhans thel'

*j':'agr*

nnRRSTewaRT:

rell.'le bo it. If people faoe up to things a.nd not turn a blind eye a^nd be involved in a smal I world". . . the ir ovtn world. I

vgry

cerl

F ?

Ilr 3

(t E

.--Lt Do you thinl: the experience of the Pop Groun has taught you? Iiir.R,. : Yes. . . fhere were a lot of

i:appening around

barrd . The final s'brar"r r.ras the Ci[D gig at, Trafal6er Scluare vrhich sone of the bandr dicln I t even r.ran'h to

is disgusting,fu1I of

two-faced.

people who say vrhat they t re thi ",king -F-nd really they t re just 6ett ing the cash f rorn the ir record company. Any ideas that they had jus t go d.ovrn the d rain . Then they ,get into the idea of being musicians which is all'

flFtRNX 'to TlEx TYPtsl5 @no r/rlRDg THrs Fi4ruzrNe

Wrtale

b".,' jur.np:-ng

donrt believe in it or l.ntir it...At least itts

p1ay. The half-lreartecl enthusiasm sho rrx b.y the ba^nd vrh i l e I s pe n ., tvro months organising the music

dressing up. The whole scene in Londoir

"tro..l up and dor.rn in funn.f c lothes listening to Jezz, record.s. ,..r'hai I Iike to irearreven without rnueicl is soneone gettin,"" up and. sa;in,r..'1r a t the;r be 1 i r;ve in , even if I

d.ifferences in that

So,rvhat

AL: l'lhat do you thinlr of the d irection taken b:r ex Pop Groun nenbers ? I.IARK: ft t s nice music but it's not really say' ng an;rthing! f t m not a musicia^n so I d.onrt see the point in getting up on staEe and_ ironl..in.f aroirni ol'1, a sa:cophone. you can I t reall',' turn e,,t?;I frorn vrhat t s

t alter someone else, it I s fnrr:cistic in that what they think is vrhat other people shoulcl think.

possible. The good thing a.bout the inusicians f tm l.roriring r^rith noll is that tirey're old.er, normal and. serious about the music and not concerned. about

efpness.

s the ajlsr.ier. . . Sta;ring as honest as possible and doin5t thing on your own terms? ItlARK: Yes and questionin6; yourself and keepin;r yourself in checlt all the time. I vrouldn t t do a^nything for e while beoause I thought it was a1l fulI of crap. Sometines I thinl: it I s better if you s nend tirne on your oviln to think and plan things. AL:

ca.n t

ps;.'chological adolescent sex problen. . . It na.l:es them want to be somebod-1r rvhictr is as sicl: ar;

but you I ve ,Eot to have sone-

thlr€ fo

AL: There are lots of band.s trying to help people by making thern think and perhaps pushing them into facing up to things. Donrt you think? I'IARK: There are lots of people in bands that say things and that I s rv:rat, therr I d. rea, i 1-;' I i ]-.e r"trt thelt are l iving in a d.ream r.rcrId . J f you I re in ?, ltand and you thi nl'. you are go ing to change neople then that's pretty sicktsomeone

for the event resulted in the band splitti:rg up. f d.id.n t t r.ie.rilt to becorne involver,l- in a ba:rd situatior,lr r.drecsing up in funny clothes and. thinlring Jtm Cod rs gif t ! l^Ihen people becoine involved in a blr.ni] situation they s'b',.r-b thinkingt Itf s like a

r^lelL

you thinlct

?g?e,=

nnai:ing

AL:' I und-erstand that you have sonie plans for playing unusual venues. l'lAitK: Yes d ef inatel,l,r. ' , e I re trying to get e. gi g in a churclr. ! The problern is that wetre a, n€rrr band starti:r.1 out but as soon as tJe r re establislred thingis vri1l be a l-ot

diff erent. rtrhen we r re in a po s it ion where r{e can do as r^re pl ease then it t s g'-', ing: to be he 1l

on earth! Due

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FUTURA MA 82

QUEENS'ERNY NOR1"a WALES

This year Futurama was held on an ice rink in the wilds of Nodh Wales. The local natives looked bemused as the thousands of punks took over the Iittle town of Queensferry, The facilities were terrible with no drink or food in the venue, resulting in the local chip shop and off-Iicence doing a roaring trade - rumour has it the owners have since retiredl The mixture of so called Futuristic bands had thier moments of excitement and boredomt There were so many ordinary bands who were plain boring that theytre not worth ment ioning. On the Saturday The Alarm were the first enjoyable band with their acoustic and electric based protest songs creating a ripple of excitement. Despite the acoustic guitars, the band are very energetic and will continue to improve. There was a great deal of anticipation for Brilliant, Youths new band consisting of drums, keyboards, vocals, two basses and no guitars. The music is dancy with heavy rhythms and powerful vocals from Marcus. Brilliantrs music represents the direction Killing Joke should have taken - it looks as if Youth will have the last Iaughl

)

The melodic guitar style of Durutti Columnrs Vini Reilly is always nice but was not suitable to such a Iarge venue. New Order are of those special bands that continue to surprise and delight people with their music. Live, their performances have always varied but now they seem to have found themselves with Gillian's swirling keyboards, Hookts

pulsating base, the hyperactive drumming of Morris lnaihe subtle guitar and vocals of Albrecht. The crowd loved them and the band even played an encore.

To follow New Order is an impossible task, but the two man army of Blancmange tried and although their music contiues to improve, Irm not sure -where it will g:et the m.

Of course by Sunday morning yourre feeling unwashed, tired, sick of the smell of greasy chips and piss ridden toilets .. .. but there was music to be heardj

Itts

hard. to-categorise the music of Gene Loves Jezebel which means they,re different and original. The band provide a gwirling musical background for the visual side.., Gene and Jezebel who with their storing welsh voices and stage presence are able

to captivate attention.

The real excitement of the day was the arrival of the sex Gang children along with skeleton. The--band played a storming set oi favourites "Abiyss',, l.flir tilg e.ating rrBeasts'r, trTimes of Our Livestr, etc and certainly livened up the audience. Andi_the singer stalking the stage, Robts off beat drumming, Davers heavy bass and Terryts manic guitar created music loud and proud! i celebrationj The hours ticked by as we waited for southern Death cult whose exciting music continues to improve and delight. The tribal drumming of Aky and Barryrs distinctive bass lay the basis for Buzzrs subtle guitar tayers aira Ianrs strong vocals and. stage movements drove the cult fans into a fienzy. Again the bandts classics 'rApacherr, riFatmanrr, rrTodayrr, etc were played to-perfecition. Fo1lowing the Cult, the bands seemed drab, Dead or Alive were disappointing and The pamled, despite being good on record were just too loud - may be Irm getting old,l The festival proved that there are two bands who mean something at this moment in time Sex Gang Children and Southern Death Cult - Werve got fait[.

xrc This interviett found. iind.y Partridge ( f ea^d. sinier/writer fgrritarist of XTc ) in hi s nelr house wa tchrng an Ind i a^n film on television. l'la"rlier this yee.r the band f s UK tour vras ttrice ca^ncelled due to Partridf,ers recurring illneset -' a^rnid rumours of e. snlit in XTCrs rerrtlcs. To d.iscover r.lhether thes t: rumours t.'€r€ true anrl if XTO rvi 1l ever tour acain. . . AL: In r'rhat

i rec t i

on do you

XTC t s

music 6roing? A]'IDY: 'lhe nexl album will have e lot of piano I cp?.P,'-ieF arranf,ements Il,ov€ sonfls anil more sonf,s a.bout a,bstract emotious. In feneral more towarcl s tfo11'-| stYle rnor,;siblY liouth

Anerican mrrsic. I love it.

AL: You seem to lilte tegveefdub. ilhich clo you feel of the Sroups sonts come closest to sounding lilre ihe genuine a-rt icle ? Al'iDY: I }ike the d"ub process but I

t imitate their style of playing. As f ar as f I m concerned we are another tYPe of genuine article. AL: Bearing in mind Your clislike of fashion because it fd'isPoser of peopl e I 1t+hat is Your favourite item of cl.othing? AI,IDY: Bagg1,' clothes to allow for freedom of movement. Very c Ie an t over-r'Iaslred. c 1o th es are annonpst hope

t^te don

f a.vourites.

AL:

llor',r rl-ici.

you viet'; rumours of

XTC s pl it ':' ANDY: All tarlk

those

of spl it is wrong. l'{aybe vrould like to see us are the ones v,tro talk of

whro

finish it most? Al,:

vlould you expl ain to a person who had never heard XllCrs music wha.t it I s like and what You aim to

Hor,r

achieve through i*?

t is bas icalI.v mus ic and songs in e pop format made by four ind.ividuaLs with verl/ different tastes. l.Ie aim to be rich and aronl/mous and our sonlil loved for vrhert they o-r€.

ANDY:

AL: i'lhat e.?e your vieris on the 19(q I riots, the Fa.lkland s , ca^r drivers a.nd. tsound.s I . ANDY: llhe 19Bl riots?.

..If you heve a bad cpot on your skin it can sometimes become erupt and inflamed.. fhe people rr'ere testinr Ii

. If you act as thougir you have no self respect the"t ts hour other people vrould treat ;rouo the

The Falklands. . . ifir61ernd. shor:s

the world its tatoo. A lot of people die for I seerninf,l:,.'notl--in5. The ner.rs excited me. f folloi;ed it all. I r.rish thev ccluld. he.ve settled it with e football match tl:ough. Car d.rivers...f would. like to see . horse transport come back. -,e caJ:l build cars that run on t:a.ter rrow' but our oil based. econornli would collapse if tre d.ic1. I r.rilI never drive-f think I tras born to be chauffererl-. W""y'oru d.rives turice a.s f ast as th ey ne cd to .

rt read it for anJr of the others. Snash }:its is tire lrest.. rSound.s r .

abou-L

..Haven

a year norv-.:or

{rL: 1J.., you like

s nnusic being to the Re rrt l es ' ? AI{DY: I d.on rt ::i:rd.. ft ts e conpliment but lre clon I t trJ arrd. copJ.' ett;-'b;rili XTC I

compared.

they did.

AL,: tJhat prornpted. you to vrrite rllearly Africa. t and I l/unuclcle Down t ? AMY: tNearly Africar tras e song from

1-97, called. rhimitive Desirer... My desire to W back to simple things-Don I t let techno logy kiclnan you Ar..'ay. I lfttuckle Dor'nr | . . .? plain a.nd simple t let r s have more

you met any of the foll_or,ring people and. if so vrhat d id. you think of them?. . . Steve Strange; John Lyd.on; Boy George ; Richard. Branson I Paul tsurrrett; Betty Page; arrd pete

AL: Have

un(lerstandingt typu of song. I really r,.ranted. to trite a chuggly I song as t

r.re

AL : Ho r.r so

cl-o

you t hink you

able to tour

v;i

11 be

She1ley....

a6ar'n?

AIiDY: rtichard Bra^nson-l,lore money ti:a":r s ense . . . Remind.s me of &rgs Runny a.nd. f'm not sure if I lilce him

I d-ontt see us touring for a L:rn$ timerif et eIl. lle he,ve a lot of 'b l:re for other pro iects. -'^lthough I find" it very exciting touring; is a trap i.â&#x201A;Ź.& chance for many leeches to suck from lls o l^le have broken an

AIIDY:

or not. Betty Pa6e-Nice lass I That 's it. Pete Shelley-A1l I said vlas l{el1o.

old. lvheel.

AL: i'lhat do you think of neople who charge e3 for cO pl"us (Originally f ree with CO2 ) andf,,? . 50 f or 3 D ,tF'? .ANDY: Theytre bed.

AL: ,try did. Bamy Andrews leave aJId d-o

you have anY re'3rets a.bout his e parture ? : I don ' t reg ret him l eaving. .lle fiIriDY felt helcl '.uttler hV mc i'nc1 to some e:r-t c:r b Cr 1in. lle l*rote songs trhich the other tlrree of us thought sub::ta,nde'rd. . . Good lyrics though. c'!

Finally -Are you shoirt or long s ight ed ? ;U'IDY : Sho rt ; f have be en s inc e I was little.

AL:

and

Xrc ".* .!a

l".* *"d't

?Ir

.ri ,t\ .*, +..-

And so vre leave -i,ndy to

nTuse

his

over tl:.e futr:re of

T.r,r. XTC.