Inspired by Colin H’s recent post about the Last Days/Fag End of Punk I thought I’d post about a complementary obsession of mine – What the original first cohort of punk/new wave bands started to do in the early 80’s as they were left out of fashion with their original audience fading away.
Generally it seemed to involve up in New Romantic threads (UK Subs) or a zoot suit (Rankin Roger) for a half-hearted opportunistic photo shoot and recording one last album featuring a more poppy souly direction with backing singers/horn section (Gang of Four, Undertones) before quitting. And then to to reform a decade later and tour the old hits ad nauseum to a balding audience until members start dying.
However I believe this period contains some overlooked gems forgotten by time and the public and wish to bring your attention to two albums worthy of your interest/consideration.
The Members – Go West. Recorded in 1981 but unreleased in the UK until 1983 this album shows their new funky direction which plays to their strengths and makes a much better album their two patchy rather too punk rama lama previous albums. Strong, hook ladenn dance chants and featuring the two hit singles that never were – Radio and Working Girl. How galling to create your best work when the public interest has moved on.
The Orange Juice – what is essentially an Edwyn Collins solo album as all the original members are long gone. A more mature, considered direction. More soulful and laidback songs, superb songwriting and Edwyn’s singing at it’s finest. Why it didn’t become a coffee table /dinner party staple and rival Sade I will never know.
Also for the record, although I may have appeared to knock their strategies above the Gang of Four’s 1982 Songs of the Free and the Undertones 1983 Sin or Pride, rise above the dodgy career-ism and contain enough of these bands’ original genius that I still enjoy them today.
And, what about you? Any records from this period that you think are under appreciated and would like to bring to our attention.
Colin H says
Splendid stuff, Stan! I’ll give it some thought. I can recall seeing a fascinating promo vid on YouTube ages back of a last-ditch early 80s Sham 69 which was basically Jimmy Pursey in a colourful shell suit and an awkward poppy sort of sound. I’ll see if I can find it again.
yorkio says
Just the thought of that is enough to send a shiver down my spine.
And then repost this…
Barry Blue says
That’s a great call re The Members, Stan. Working Girl is particularly good and, like you say, wrong time etc. Band aside, the video features the sort of people who went to the Embassy Club in London in the early 80s, neither New Romantic nor post-punk, but highly likely to have been in nightclub features in Penthouse magazine. Or so I’ve been led to believe. Bands like Chiefs Of Relief, The Professionals and indeed any other combo featuring Paul Cook, were always to be found at the Embassy.
Alias says
One of the few benefits of the lock down is getting back in touch with old friends via Facetime or Whatsapp video. I was chatting with an old mate who like me was really into early hip hop and electro. This inspired me to start looking through my record collection and I found a 12″ by J Walter Negro and Nicky Tesco called Cost Of Living. Quite a departure from the Members. Unfortunately I cannot find it on Youtube.
Barry Blue says
Can’t find it either. Good excuse for this gem, though but….
Vincent says
Ah yes, the “we’ve always had a funk (reggae/ soul/ salsa ) element to out music” trope. I remember some berk trying to make out The Big Country had a reggae dimension because they had Tony Butler, a bass player who happened to be black.
Gary says
Though I think The Members did always have a reggae element to their music. A jolly good one at that. Offshore Banking Business was rather splendid, and I’ve always been very fond of this ditty from the second album:
Sniffity says
Surprised to hear that the Members LP was never released in the UK – “Radio” was a top 10 hit in Australia.
Black Celebration says
BBC Radio 1 morning DJ Mike Read played Radio to death – he really liked it. There was even a special jingle recorded for his show. I thought at the time it was a rather blatant attempt at having a hit single.
Carl says
The original title was, I think, Uprhythm, Downbeat, and was available on import at extortionate prices before being renamed Going West.
I think there was some variation in track listing between the US and UK releases.
Rigid Digit says
I listened to The Undertones Sin Of Pride recently.
Their first two are superb, Positive Touch was a bit meh. By the time of this one I think the band had lost a bit of unity, and a lump of their audience moved on.
But this one is a damn fine collection.
Stan Deely says
Although initially disappointed when I bought Positive Touch at the age of 17, I now think it’s their classic. I was one of the deserters, so I never heard Sin of Pride in its entirety, just the odd track released as a single or John Peel session track, until fairly recently, and I think it stands up very well.
So where do you stand on the Finger’s Go For It and Now Then? albums
Malc says
Go For It remains my favourite SLF album. Now Then is fine, with the added bonus of Jake Burns actually singing rather than growling some of the time.
Rigid Digit says
Jake Burns said when Fingers split that he thought Now Then was the best album the band had made.
Sales suggested otherwise which was part of the reason for the split.
In retrospect he was probably right, and it stands up now.
Nick L says
The Sin Of Pride is a great album. But as Rigid seems to suggest, it certainly isn’t going to appease fans of “Jimmy Jimmy” even though that too is excellent. I love The Sin Of Pride. If you take it as what it is, a band who wanted to try something different, then it’s probably less of a surprise to get your head around. Reading Micky Bradley’s excellent autobiography a couple of years ago it sounded like Feargal Sharkey was growing restless and some of the band weren’t overkeen on the production and arrangements, but to this fan it sounded great.
Black Celebration says
I may have written the odd thing about Siouxsie and the Banshees before because they were a pre-teen obsession of mine. Once the first flush of punk faded, they changed with it. Thiswas a band strongly associated with punk – trying to survive and also remaining relevant/keeping the attention of ver kids. They achieved it during this period and continued to produce some remarkable songs.
This one – Arabian Nights – was a minor hit and, actually, it’s a bit of a dirge to begin with but once it kicks in, at about 2 minutes, the song becomes a mighty thing and worth the build up.
Looking at the video again – it’s *really* shit . At the time I think I only saw it once and thought it was cutting edge Ashes to Ashes-type high art. Luckily for them, Siouxsie is such a presence that they get away with it.
Barry Blue says
Siouxsie, on the cover of The Face in Feb ’82, captured the punks-survivng/adapting perfectly: clothes all from Kensington Market, no doubt.
Slug says
Agreed it sounds a bit a dirge-y here but the sound quality of this video is absolutely shocking – like listening while they perform it from inside a tin can. The standard recording is far better and succeeds in giving the song some interesting atmosphere.
Bamber says
It also featured my favourite ever B-side, their take on Ben E. King’s “Supernatural Thing”. The drumbeat intro itself is a wonderful thing. It’s on Spotify. Gothfunk!
Slug says
The last high quality single The Clash released, early ’82, just before they hit the “we need some catchy hits for American radio” button.
Rigid Digit says
The last properly great Clash track was This Is England, lifted from the Bernie Rhodes ego trip that was Cut The Crap.
Mick Jones tried (and failed) to get The Clash down a different musical route.
The first couple of BAD albums are worthy of revisiting.
Joe Strummer eventually saw the error by tracking Mick down in the Caribbean and co-writing and co-producing the second album.
He also (apparently) said to Mick “You were right about Bernie”
Slug says
I’ve never much enjoyed This is England, even though the critics seem to harp on about it being their last song of any real worth. It’s ok but it gets lost in the mire of the rest of that dreadful last album, and on it’s own I don’t think it stands up.
Much of BAD’s work has not aged well and now sounds a bit tinny, but you’re right, their best stuff is still very listenable.
Gary says
My ha’penny worth: I always hated Know Your Rights. The lyrics seem really childish and lacking in any subtlety. This Is England, on the other hand, is a great track. B.A.D. were good. Spiffing, in fact. The Globe is a particular favourite, one that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Combat Rock. Have a skim through the first 30 or so comments on YouTube. Quite funny for YouTube commenters, I thought:
Slug says
Ah, but I’d contend The Clash were at their very best when they were being unsubtle and childish. It’s the “their first album was better than anything they did subsequently” argument.
Freddy Steady says
Ah no. Their shiny FM Rock second album was their best.
Obvs!
Rigid Digit says
Yes it was
Carl says
One of my favourites from this period – and I don’t know any more than this single – was Breaking Point by Bourgie Bourgie (which was a rubbish band name).
Barry Blue says
..featuring the almost legendary Paul Quinn! They liked their post-punk new directions, did the scots…
Carl says
That’s a song and band that passed me by.
It’s very much of its time and I’d have really dug it back then.
Colin H says
This seems to be what the Stiffs were up to in the mid 80s – Jake had traded in that leather jacket for an 80s shirt, buttoned up to the neck.
Rigid Digit says
This comes for their 1991 reformation album Flags & Emblems.
The reformed SLF have now been going 25 years longer longer than the first incarnation
Colin H says
Similar to the reformed Focus, then 😀
Rigid Digit says
As the Sex Pistols fell apart and ground to a halt, the future of John Lydon (supported by tVirgin Records) was assured in December 78 with the release of PiL’s debut, and then further bolstered a year later with Second Issue.
The Pistols Part 2 they were not – John was now able to pull influence from his favourite records that he had been forbidden to mention.
Steve Jones and Paul Cook on the other hand – it was pretty much business as usual, with The Professionals delivering meat and potatoes rock that 1978 Pistols singles like Silly Thing had hinted at.
Their first album – due December 1980 – was delayed/cancelled due to legal issues with bass player Andy Allan.
When the debut did come – in re-recorded form (and re-titled I Didn’t See It Coming), it was more than competent. But by November 1981, there moment had passed, and didn’t even grace the lower reaches of the album chart. Some very good stuff in there.
Colin H says
I noticed Cook was promoting a new Professionals album recently. Not sure the world was crying out for it, but why not…
Rigid Digit says
The world may not have been crying out for it, but it was a fine thing
(featuring a contact book full of guitar guests: Steve Jones, Mick Jones, Marco Pirroni, Phil Collen, Duff McKagan, Billy Duffy, and Chris McCormack (who’s now got the job full-time)
Barry Blue says
And who’s supporting SLF on their re-scheduled 2020 tour, culminating at the Roundhouse? Only The Professionals.
Rigid Digit says
When Buzzcocks spit in 1981, Pete Shelley spurned guitar-based angst in favour of a dabble with 80s electronica
(although the voice is unmistakably Shelley)
Black Celebration says
Love that song.
Black Celebration says
As punk as on the way out, The Stranglers started to move into more reflective, atmospheric territory. They hit the big time with Golden Brown of course but there was a smattering of very good singles that came in that period. I am not sure what the running order was on TOTP on this day – but I dare say that this was probably by far the best song on it, even though I don’t think it went that high in the charts.
EDIT – I just checked. It did get to no 9 which isn’t bad. However, I see Always the Sun only got to number 30.
Tiggerlion says
Aural Sculpture must qualify. It’s The Stranglers’ gone-soft 1984 album. Acoustic guitars, a horn section, sweet melodies, Hugh Cornwell cooing. It’s rather good.
Rigid Digit says
An example of “change of record company change of sound”.
In fairness, La Folie – their last for Liberty Records * – was heading in a softer direction. That album housed Golden Brown (although how a song about heroin got all over Radio 1 without Mike Read blowing a valve is anyone’s guess).
Epic obviously wanted more in this vein, and The Stranglers duly obliged.
Skin Deep and Always The Sun – there’s two more very fine Strangling moments
Rigid Digit says
* Liberty and United Artists were, I think, the same company. Bought out in 1979 by EMI.
The Stranglers last single on Liberty was Strange Little Girl. The song demo that was rejected in 1974 … by EMI.
Freddy Steady says
@tiggerlion
This is where me and the Stranglers parted company. JJ’s aggressive bass a long gone memory, no nastiness, nothing memorable for me I’m afraid.
Pre-edit. I’ve just checked the track listing and Skin Deep was ok.
Colin H says
Sorry, Black, to me that’s so wispy as to almost not exist. I recall seeing the TOTP re-run of this on BBC4 and being baffled that such a flimsy thing ever got airplay. All the other songs that Rigid mentioned are terrific melodies… but there’s just nothing there in that one, to my ears.
Black Celebration says
Fair enough Colin, but I think there’s plenty in there – the haunting keyboard line seemingly having a conversation with the flamenco-style acoustic guitar. The whispered vocal adds to the sense of secrecy, unease and menace. I think it’s a masterpiece.
Mrbellows says
Seconded.
Black Celebration says
Here’s Skin Deep. This hasn’t dated at all.
Billybob Dylan says
The Members released two albums after ‘At the Chelsea Nightclub’? Blimey, who knew? I s’pose Stan Deely did! I will have to check them out.
As for ‘The Orange Juice’ I’m very familiar with that. I love all their stuff.
Stan Deely says
Thanks for all your entries guys. I’m afraid that they and my subsequent musings have lead me to the following conclusions.
1 – That there are very few or none late classic albums released by the school of 77 – 79. By 83 or 84 most of the most exciting bands had lost their way, shot their load and lost their audience.
2 – Punk produced no Beatles or Led Zeppelin ie a band who managed to produce constantly evolving work, each album different for about a decade. Best effort, the Clash who provided us with 5 – 6 years of forward motion before the Mark 2/Cut the Crap debacle (I have tried to see the merit in that album and still dig it out about once a month thinking it must be better than I remember it. It’s the Clash. It can’t be that bad but no dice. It remains incomprehensible and indigestible to me save This is England.)
3 – The slightly later post punk generation releasing their first album a little later in 1979 (or in the case of the Banshees late 1978) seemed to fair a bit better and bands such as the Cure, The Banshees, Joy Division/New Order and The Fall did indeed manage to produce a reasonable body of work over the next decade or so however for me personally, (with the exception of the Fall) they all seemed to became a less interesting around album 5 or so when they all seemed to become more formulaic, conventional and a bit boring around album 5 or so.
Any comments? opinions? Anything I am missing?
Black Celebration says
I think this is fair. Out of all the punk acts of 1976/77, very few carried on into the future – changing as they go. The Damned did pretty well, moving well into the 80s. I think that they could have gone full goth and have been seen as pioneers – but they seemed to stop short of that. The Ramones carried on, at least.
And yet some top quality songwriting came from the punk era, if not exactly punk itself. Each one of these would have been somewhat spurred on or inspired by the punk scene. Shane Magowan, Jerry Dammers, Paul Weller, Mick Hucknall, Sting, Elvis C, Edwyn Collins, Difford & Tillbrook, Chrissie Hynde…
Colin H says
I was astounded that UK Subs released at least 26 albums – something I only know because there were two 15 CD box sets recently (!!!) mopping these up, 13 each plus two further discs of extra bits. I find this almost impossible to believe because the only song anyone knows by them is a really crappy two chord thing that they did on TOTP in the 70s which was about 2 minutes long and they STILL couldn’t finish it as a song. Halfway through, the lyrics go ‘1, 2, 3, let’s do it again’ and then they repeat the moronic first verse. Honesty, it was mediocrity on a monstrous scale. And to think they somehow churned enough of that stuff out to fill 26 albums + off-cuts – and that presumably people bought them – is staggering.
Malc says
The only other thing I knew about them was that the each album title starts with a consecutive letter of the alphabet. i.e. Another Kind of Blues, Brand New Age, Crash Course and so on.
Freddy Steady says
But this is a corker @colin-h
Barry Blue says
Warhead was bewildering for many Subs fans. Over 2 mins before the ‘chorus’! Bloody Prog!
Colin H says
Dear me – unlistenable. Sorry, Fred…
Freddy Steady says
@colin-h
@barry-blue
I actually do like the song! Hadn’t noticed it was a bit of an epic though…really surprised you don’t like it Col!
Rigid Digit says
Based on the counting bit of the lyric, I’d suggest this song is Stranglehold – their biggest hit (Number 26 – 4 places higher than Warhead (below).
The most astounding thing about UK Subs is that Charlie Harper is about 20 years older than the rest of his band (it may be more … I think he’s actually 112)
Freddy Steady says
I’ve just checked and he’s 75. 75!!
Barry Blue says
..and he was 35 when the Subs did “Teenage’ on TOTP. Incidentally, the young ‘uns in the crowd larking about during the performance are the Cockney Rejects. They’d been on the show earlier, doing this. Turn away now, Colin….
Colin H says
Dreadful. Here are the Rejects in 2003. Anyone seen their film ‘East End Babylon’?
Rigid Digit says
Unsurprisingly, I have.
Stan Deely says
No I haven’t. But I once spent 2 hours on a blazing hot 30c + summer afternoon in a closed provincial library reading the whole of Jeff aka Stinky Turner’s autobiography ‘Cockney Reject’ Foreword by Morrisey, ghostwritten by Garry Bushell. An ‘interesting’ read.
For the curious, I had just taught an adult education class in there. I noticed the book when I was due to lock up and meant to just have a glance through but got a bit engrossed. Probably also influenced by the heat outside so didn’t fancy the cycle home til it had cooled down.
Colin H says
Let’s see what the chaps are up to currently…
Rigid Digit says
Saw them a couple of years ago. Drummer fell off stage and was replaced by drummer from Angelic Upstarts. Turned out he wasn’t drunk (as we all thought) it was a medical issue.
Rigid Digit says
And talking of the Upstarts (as no-one was)
Alias says
35 then and singing “only 13 but oh so sweet”. was that weeks TOTP introduced by Jimmy Savill does anyone know?
count jim moriarty says
Met Charlie a few years ago on a Dover to Calais ferry. I was off to follow the Tour de France, he was on a fishing trip. Lovely fella.
Colin H says
Absolutely godawful, Rij!
dai says
XTC, first album in 1978. They have a very decent body of work over many albums. Also Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Talking Heads etc. All originated in the 77-78 period pretty much.
duco01 says
When Wire released “Pink Flag” in 1977, who on earth thought that they’d still be going, 43 years and 17 albums later (albeit with the odd hiatus)? Remarkable. I believe that one member of the band lives in Uppsala nowadays.
Stan Deely says
Thanks for the interest guys and some good points raised.
To challenge my own theory slightly I’m surprised no-one mentioned XTC. Andy Partridge has recently said that he believes that they are the only band apart from the Beatles who improved with every single release. Would people agree?
Where they differ from the likes of Beatles, Led Zeppelin etc is that for a large part of the middle 80’s they were dead in the water, selling next to nothing and in danger of being dropped by Virgin (even though they were tied into a very dodgy contract). It was only the surprise success of Dear God in the USA (originally an out-take that crept out as a B side) that kept them going).
count jim moriarty says
And then they went on strike for 7 years in an eventually successful effort to get out of the Virgin contract. Not sure that Andy P’s premise quite holds, as for me The Big Express is not as good as its predecessor Mummer, and Apple Venus is better than Wasp Star. All still bloody good albums though.
Sewer Robot says
…and he’s wrong about The Beatles anyway 😉
Billybob Dylan says
I’m not so sure every XTC album was better than the previous one, but there’s not many bands whose last album (and penultimate album) are better than most if not all of their previous releases (I prefer Wasp Star to Apple Venus). I think we generally assume that quality diminishes over time, and it’s almost as though bands have a finite number of tunes in them and they will eventually reach a point when they run out of them.
Tiggerlion says
I regard XTC as a Pop band without a bone of Punk in their body whose best album is Drums And Wires released very early in their career (love the Wilson remix!). Does Mr Partridge normally talk nonesense?
Freddy Steady says
Deffo started as New Wave. Which is nearly Punk. Too clever to be pop.
Tiggerlion says
Pop is lot more clever than Punk.
Diddley Farquar says
After punk bands ended their members did noteworthy things. Like PiL, like BAD, like Style Council. Howard Devoto saw the writing on the wall early on and did great work with Magazine. The ditched what proved to be limiting vehicles. Like all movements a few did lasting work, most were so-so also rans., or worse The usual ratio probably.
Black Celebration says
I don’t think we’ve mentioned Billy Idol yet. Totally dismissed at the time as ridiculous and a bandwagon jumperonnerer but he really was there at the birth of punk. He’s always mentioned in the books – usually as one of the “Bromley contingent”. Generation X were not a great band but they achieved some middling success. I was gobsmacked when I found out that he was becoming massive in the States. What ? Him ? Really !?! It was like finding out that Toto Cohelo had won 6 Grammys and topped the Billboard hot 100 for 6 months.
Rigid Digit says
Generation X got on Top Of The Pops with King Rocker. It was quite the talk of the playground the next day (I was 9).
To be a punk, all you had to do was have spiky hair and sneer a bit – that is pretty much Billy’s career explained.
How he got so big in America is most likely to do with Chrysalis – his record company- being one of the prime suppliers of mareial to MTV. Yes, he put the work in too, but nationwide TV exposure must’ve helped.
Rigid Digit says
MTV trivia note: everyone knows the first video on MTV (Buggles), but what was the second?
You Better Run by Pat Benatar (a Chrysalis Records artist)
Franco says
I know exactly what you mean. A bored and disinterested Billy sneeringly curled his lip and told me to “Faaaack off” when I foolishly requested an autograph just before a sparsely attended, ramshackle Gen X gig at the Unity Hall in Wakefield. The band split up a few weeks later so my outrage at his stinging rebuke was cushioned by the absolute smug confidence that the big headed twat would disappear into a black hole of anonymity and be shat out into non entity oblivion. Of course the rest is early/mid 80s wall to wall MTV history. Bloody typical. And don’t get me started about what happened when I met Warren Cann of Ultravox.
Rigid Digit says
Go on … what happened?
Freddy Steady says
@franco
When did your paths Chris Cross?