Ian McCulloch : King Of Cool

I read this book, all 201 pages of it in 4 days, for me (an agonisingly slow reader) that is record. At the moment I am reading the Austin Osman Spare biog. by Phil Baker, but I popped in to Oxfam (St. Marychurch division) last weekend and saw this book sitting on the shelf for a couple of quid - I couldn't resist, besides I wasn't too keen on taking the Spare book to read at work, grubby fingers etc....So, either it was a slow week at work last week, or the McCulloch biog. is gripping and unputdownable. I hate slow weeks at work - time drags....
I read this book in the manner it was written - or at least "put together" as Ian McCulloch isn't interviewed for the book, the author, Mick Middles, has put together a story from previous Echo & The Bunnymen interviews from Mojo Magazine, Sounds and a couple of books already written about Echo & The Bunnymen and the history of Liverpudlian music in the late 1970's - with haste. Information is given in a scant manner and not meant to be dwelled on here. The level of word ship is for a reader of (say) "Smash Hits" or "Loaded". The book was published in 1998, just in time for the Echo & The Bunnymen reformation, and Ian McCulloch's collaboration with The Spice Girls.

I will point out here that I am not a "fan" of Ian McCulloch or Echo & The Bunnymen. I do not now nor ever have owned a record / track by them. I don't hate them, just see them as a "take it or leave it" type of band and I'll rather "leave it". I saw them live back in 1981 at the "Days Of Futures Past" festival in Leeds. I was there for The Cramps and (don't laugh) Thompson Twins. Whilst Altered Images were on (I know you're laughing now) I managed to buy the LP "Talk Like A Whelk" by Shoes For Industry from a merch' stall at the back of the room, (regains "cool") so I spent the rest of the day with an LP under my arm trying not to be jostled or touched by a thousand or so "indie kids". Were they any good live? No. But I am interested in the history of punk / new wave (call it what thou wilt) music and knowing that the early days of Echo & The Bunnymen would be covered, I bought and read.

I finished the book ending up not liking Ian McCulloch at all - rather like the Nikki Sudden book, but then again the book is a compilation of press cuttings and press interviews so the "real" Ian McCulloch is not included here - just his press persona. Infact, the book should really have been called "The Echo & The Bunnymen" story, because Ian's personal life and life after leaving the band hardly ever touches the pages. The 8 pages of photographs included also have page size pictures of the rest of The Bunnymen and a picture of Echo & The Bunnymen when McCulloch wasn't their singer, no pictures of his childhood, wife, back stage moments etc.... A book very much for record company approval.
The interesting part (then) for me was the late 1970's and Eric's Records, Eric's Club, Probe Records etc, the story of which is told far more eruditely in Alex Ogg's "Independence Days". All too brief mentions of The Crucial Three here, but I did not know that Ian McCulloch & Julian Cope were both "roadies" for The Fall. Whilst reading the book I started to think about the "Liverpool" bands that surfaced in the late 1970's...and how I didn't like many of them. I had a soft spot for Deaf School (Liverpool's answer to Burlesque - The Band), Pink Military Stand Alone and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (the early years). I used to love the song "Mantovani's Hits" by The Yachts too but that is about all. I would lumpen Echo & The Bunnymen in with Teardrop Explodes, A Flock Of Seagulls and China Crisis. Scouse pop.

As mentioned before the book is written by Mick Middles. I remember him from when I used to read "Sounds" back in the day. He rather proudly mentions in this book that it was he who started "The movement with no name". A genre to parallel the other "movements" that were being pushed by the press at the time, like Oi, or mod or power-pop or N.W.O.B.H.M. or goth rock and such-like. I remembered this faux-phrase. It made me laugh then and it makes me laugh now.
I am glad I have the book, it fits in nicely with my collection of music biogs.


Just as an aside - Tamsin (the present Mrs. Cammack) subscribes to a magazine called "The Knitter", and every month that it comes through the letterbox we both sing "Spare us The Knitter" to the tune of "The Cutter". There y'go.

Dieter Muh #16

It was after reading the Idwal Fisher blogspot review of Hyster Tapes where he mentions the Hyster Tapes release "Doin' It Dresden Style" by Dieter Muh as a top notch Muh release that I thought I must dig that tape out and give it a listen.
I think it was circumstances of memory that never fully made me enjoy the recording / release but now 11 years after I felt brave enough to slip the recording (I have a CDR of the evening) into the hi-fi, turn it up to eleven and give it an ear or two.

The story (if there is one) of the evening is very hard to tell. Mainly because there are four protagonists involved and two of those no longer speak to me, so it would be a tad unfair of me to relate the whole story.
Background:
Dresden AZ Conni was to be gig number seven of a 12 date European tour organised by myself and Steve Underwood featuring Dieter Muh & Putrefier, it ended up being gig number three of a 4 date tour that could have been 5, but we gave Belgium a wide berth and headed back home to England! Not my idea at the time...but like I mentioned I will not go into the whole story.
It was back in late 1999 that Steve and myself cooked up a plan for Dieter Muh and Putrefier to take Scandinavia & Mainland Europe by storm...Steve's theory that Putrefier didn't have a "European Market", but with Dieter Muh we could give Mark an audience. We organised the tour via Fax and letters - this was all pre-E Mails, mobile phone texting and Internet Forums. Old School.
Before Dresden we had spent three days and nights in Berlin. Previously to Berlin we had spent two days travelling from Eastern Finland, through Sweden by train to get to Germany's capital. Two sleepless nights with Steve on the top of a cruise-liner (between Helsinki + Stockholm) and in a train carriage sat shoulder to shoulder with the unarmed faction of the Mujaheddin (between Stockholm + Malmo) whilst the other two found comfortable sleeping accommodation. (It was on this particular train journey that I discovered that Steve knows the catalogue number for every Small Wonder Records release and what is written in the run out groove of every Small Wonder record...it was a long 8 hours). In Berlin we were the guests of Daniel Lowenbruck and Jurgen Eckloff and sleeping on a floor. (I am not complaining here .. I was 100% as happy as a pig in shit)!

So. Dresden. The gig was organised by Markus Koehring (I think that is a correct spelling). I was very excited by the venue, both Troum and Soviet France had played there. The venue itself was a little like the 1in12 Club in Bradford. Live venue, meeting place, restaurant, bar, left-wing / anarchist bookshop all included and the venue came with the added bonus of having a room for bands to stay over so for the first time in five days...I had a bed! There was a shower and washing machine, it was nirvana. We arrived two days before the gig and spent most of the time drinking. Our appearance coincided with the Dresden Beer Festival, either immaculate or bad timing. The weather was glorious and the venue had a garden where we could smoke, drink and relax, and relax we did. It is strange that I was the only one to bring along a camera (which was on its' last legs and taking shitty blurry pictures) to document the tour - most of the tour was documented on my dictaphone. I still have the tapes and Mark Durgan doing his impressions of John Cleese and (especially) Ronnie Corbett in the AZ Conni garden. They always raise a titter. But to the gig - was it any good? After a first play in bloody years I can only agree with Idwal Fisher that "Doin' It Dresden Style" is one of Muhs' better releases.

French artist Ultra Milkmaids were added to the evening. Excellent line-up.

Dresden performance holds bad memories for me because it was the gig where I found out that 50% of my equipment had broken. My CD Player and Effects Box. I still had a tape machine, CD Player and mini-mixer to work with...but not really what I wanted. Bummer. I had to share effects with Dave through his mixing desk. Our set was mixed live by Y:Ann of Ultra Milkmaids and witnessed by around 15 people. After our last gig (in Mantsala, Finland with STROM e.c. and Grunt) we decided to be more "ambient" and did a 40 minute "improvised" set. It all begins very quietly with shortwave radio and tapes. I left a microphone at the front of the stage to pick up conversation from the audience before Dave attacked with a metallic rhythm and we both played with white noise. After 15 minutes we performed "Sea Sick With Sand", an old piece from the mid 1980's, with myself just adding minimal voice loops. Then Dave brought in an electronic pattern of random bleeps and waves - a sound sample of medical equipment / devices he had lifted from either "New York Ripper" or "Cannibal Ferox", he was mutating the sound through a multitude of effects..I tried adding some untreated voice but it wasn't working so I left it all alone. 25 minutes in and we do a live version of "Dumhome" from the "Eponymous" album (on Naninani Records). I found myself doing some strange Q+A type noise bursts against Dave's constructing until he cut all sound to play the sample; "you play with yourself, you play with yourself and then suddenly come". I fucked up big time here and so pissed off was I...I walked off stage to stand at the back. It was a break in the rhythm we had agreed on, but I messed it up. DAMN. Steve Underwood convinced me to go back and carry on but Dave was building a cacophony and it all ended with Dave declaring; "I like sex, I really do like sex and no man can please me".
It truly is a great journey and a listen I had not enjoyed before. Memory has obviously healed.
Mark played a blinder too, jumping on members of the audience who were sat (comfortably) on a leather sofa in front of the stage. I don't remember much of the Ultra Milkmaids set, I was most likely sat out in the garden smoking fags and drinking beer. He did have a bunk underneath Dave for which (if he is reading this) I belatedly apologise.
The next day we headed for Leipzig and gig number 4 of the tour......

Pictures:
1: The AZ CONNI, Dresden.
2: Gig flyer.
3: "Doin' It Dresden Style". Myself, Mark Durgan + Dave Uden in a Dresden bar.
4: Markus.
5: Dave relaxing in the AZ CONNI garden.
6: "Terminal" listings magazine that promoted the gig.

Force Mental : rvstd

If the gimp room in Hartop Towers had a coffee table then this book would take pride of place. A collection of Force Mental magazines from 1982 through to 2005 all in one book. I was surprised the magazine ran up to 2005, but there y'go.
Force Mental "rvstd" provides as document the works of mail artists, performance artists, aktionists, literary terrorists, noise musicians and avant-garde thinkers for this 23 year period. Fascinating stuff. Groups and artists from my distant memory keep popping up (such as Seven Horns Da Ho and Ashenden) along with a couple of issues I remember because I used to own them. (Bought from Birthbiter). The works of Club Moral (naturally) feature as well as Produktion Hair, Con-Dom, Whitehouse, Victor/im, Coup De Grace, Metgumnerbone, Bourbonese Qualk, Giancarlo Toniutti - it's a veritable mine of fascination + information...great to dip into whilst spinning the discs / rolling the decks etc.
Produced by Club Moral and available from www.clubmoral.com. As essential as ALAP!

Now has anybody thought of compiling old issues of "Just Glittering" & "Idwal Fisher" into one hefty tome? I'd buy it.

Astral Social Club #4

On Monday a package arrived from darkest Mirfield, or Wakefield 14 as I like to call it, and its contents have not been out of the hi-fi system since.
I was reading the blog of Idwal Fisher at the weekend (for those not aware of the work and writing of Idwal please go to www.idwalfisher.blogspot.com) where he mentioned the releases of Hyster Tapes and how he loves it when artists release what is probably their best material on independent labels and in very limited quantities. He brought up Dieter Muh's "Doin' It Dresden Style" tape which was limited to 50 copies and Hyster Tapes first release. I agree with Idwal - about the fine gems being released and almost immediately destined for the obscurity vaults not about "Doin' It Dresden Style" being one of my "better" releases...good, but there is better. (It serves nice as document). Last year Astral Social Club released the C30 cassette "Capitals Collapsed" on the American Neon Blossom label. Limited to 50 copies it is one of my favourite ASC releases and certainly one of his best.
This month sees the release of "Ach/Och" a C30 cassette on the (I imagine) Astral Social Club label. Packaged like a 7" single, there is no catalogue number - there is no information. (A trend I hope soon to end)! Produced to be sold at some upcoming Astral Social Club live shows, but also available through the ASC web page - http://astralsocialclub.wordpress.com/ - priced at £3.00.
"Ach" is a 15 minute piece that cuts straight in - very fast, highly rhythmic and pulsalamic (I just made that word up) it sounds like Eddie "Fingers" Froese, Focus and Didier Marouani all cut up and spliced through various effects before a Chris Carter sequencer takes over and independent head movement becomes a must. Fine Astral Social Club. "Och" has more of an easy listening "vibe" to it - maybe Neil is sampling James Last or Walter Carlos? Moments remind me of Putrefier circa "Simulated Vapours".
This tape (or Cassingle as Neil calls it) is limited to 37 only. Buy now to avoid disappointment.

Also in the package was the CD "Your Song, My Foot" where artists such as Steve Roden, Doo-Dooettes, If. Bwana, Volcano & The Bear, Jowe Head and Astral Social Club amongst others cover songs they loved in their youth. It is an amazing album. Steve Roden performing Bauhaus's "Bela Lugosi's Dead" on banjo, and Volcano & The Bear producing a nightmare out of Ultravox's "Vienna" are compulsive as they are works of bloody genius. I don't think I can listen to Bauhaus's original again. Simon Joyner sings "After The Gold Rush" with such passion and heart it supercedes the original like Devo did to the Stone's "Satisfaction". Astral Social Club provide a Dead C song called "Sky", but I am none the wiser being a Dead C virgin. Ashtray Navigation's "Ride A White Swan" that follows though is another gem! To own a copy of (probably) the best (album) release of the year so far go to www.wfmu.org

Pictures:
1: "Ach/Och" Sleeve.
2: "Ach/Och" Reverse Sleeve.
3: "Your Song, My Foot" CD Sleeve.

A Treasured Tape #3

A treasured tape, one which plays beautifully and holds great memories, the compilation "Porterhouse Blues" (compiled by Tim Bayes) is one such tape.
(The Porterhouse in Retford (or East Retford as it was usually listed in the music press) was a favourite venue of mine back in the late 1970's - early 1980's. Retford is a small market town on the Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire border).

The end of last week and I was getting retro with my listening, I was finishing the book "This Is My Generation" by Tony Beesley, the third and final book in his trilogy about his pre-teen & teenage life in South Yorkshire in the late 1970's - early 1980's. It is not that good a book actually, the first was OK albeit badly composed, the second is about a couple of venues in South Yorkshire and the writing / experiences are of folk older than Tony so it taps more in to my own recollections. I wasn't going to bother with the third book as it covers Tonys life as a mod and that doesn't interest me but I was offered it cheap by the author as thanks for mentioning the first two volumes on this blog. (Phew)!
As the book traipses into the 1980's the venue Retford Porterhouse gets a few mentions. It was a classy venue known locally as "The Slaughterhouse". I dug out the first LP by Dead Fingers Talk and the second LP by The Cure and then remembered this cassette.
The compiler and maker of this tape was an arch tape bootlegger in the day.
Apart from Punishment Of Luxury and Soft Cell I have seen all the bands on the tape live and quite a few of them at The Porterhouse. TDK as Memory. The first time I went there was as part of the band Collide, I had arranged a support slot with The Fall on their "Dragnet" tour. DAF had backed out and they were using local bands as support - I got the call from Kay Carroll.
I think this was Autumn 1979. Whilst Collide were sound checking (I was their "roadie" and newly promoted "agent") I wandered around the venue. The live bands played at the top whilst there was a mezzanine level where DJ's spun chart hits of the day - on the night I was there, new radio 1 DJ Steve Wright was spinning the discs. The Porterhouse had a capacity for about 200, walls were black, small stage that measured about ten feet by four and a six foot ceiling. It was superb! Small, dark, sweaty and always (because of the "straights" disco downstairs) with an aroma of violence.
The tape begins with The Slits in 1978, I have a feeling this is from the Slits/Rich Kids tour, I saw the show in Lincoln. Ari Up complaining about the spit. The sound quality is negotiable but I can put up with badly recorded history! The Punishment Of Luxury track is the opener from their set and is the first gig with Malla Cabbala on guitar. Somewhere in Hartop Towers I have this full gig on tape. The Crispy Ambulance track is a corker and a great sing-a-long. This was my second visit to the Porterhouse. The Crispies were supporting New Order. I was never a big "fan" of New Order in the early 1980's but they always had great support like Minny Pops or Section 25 or A Certain Ratio...hence I saw them a few times. "Power, Corruption And Lies" was the end of our relationship though. The Cramps came to Retford on their "Psychedelic Jungle" tour. Lux at the Porterhouse with The Wrecking Crew brought by their support; The Meteors. I remember being shit scared, same with Fad Gadget and The Birthday Party at the Porterhouse. That is one thing I miss about gigs nowadays, the feeling of being shit scared about what was going to happen. Not the violence brought on by a few twats or skinheads (same thing) in the audience but by what the band were going to do. I have done a few gigs (as Dieter Muh) where I have handed my guitar to folk or simply launched it across the venue just to jolt the audience and remove them from their "comfort zone".
Bill Nelson was a strange gig, previewing his Red Noise material the audience was mainly mulleted rockers shouting "Wally" and "C'Mon Billy...Show Us Yer Willy". The support was the West Yorkshire Actors performing "The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari" - in the Porterhouse!!
23 Skidoo performing a mixture of "Seven Songs" and "Tearing Up The Plans" was probably the best gig I saw at the Porterhouse. Films by TG and Dave Tibet on live mix and trumpet.
By the time I start side two I was going to gigs with Tim Bayes, he had a lovely green Ford Capri. "Thirst" on the car stereo cruising shotgun down the A57, Sean and Bernie in the back seat with the pennies ready for Dunham Bridge toll...ahh the memories. One thing that is noticeable (on side two) is my voice. At the end of most tracks it has me (as I was usually stood next to Tim) clapping and shouting out my fathers name. My father is called Rae.
The tape ends with "Where Were You" by The Mekons. The 7" version (not live)...I never saw The Mekons live - saw The Three Johns loads of bloody times though! This could be the greatest single ever put to vinyl and played loud reduces me to tears (even when sober).

"Porterhouse Blues" as I amusingly christened the tape (amusing to me anyway) is a treasured tape.
Tim also compiled a cassette of live recordings from Nottingham Rock City, I'll have to dig that out now...I think Matt Fretton is on there.

Pictures:
1: The Retford Porterhouse in 2011.
2+3: Cassette Sleeve.

Erdlicht

Just spent a pleasant while listening to the latest release by German project Erdlicht (Earthshine in English). "Urlicht~Erster Kreis" ("Primordial~First Circle"), a limited to 120 copies CDr on Russian based label UFA Muzak.
Erdlicht is one of a number of projects from German artist Mario Lohr. Mario also operates the label Licht Und Stahl and records as N.Strahl.N and Strahlenzentrum. "Urlicht" is a sort of story so far release as it comprises the 2009 album "Morgenrothe/Abendroth" and the 2009 mini-album "Erstes Licht" (which I have and love).
The album kicks off with two unreleased tracks recorded in 2009 and dedicated to Miguel Serrano. I am afraid I had to "google" Miguel to find out he was a Chilean philosopher and author and founder of "Esoteric Hitlerism". Interesting. "Mittnachtsrosr 1" is a heavily synthesized anthemic / nationalistic / militaristic piece. Think (early) Laibach. "Mittnachtsrosr 2" is more minimalistic with a random sequenced frequency creating a rhythm with a harmonious drone. This track builds and drifts and had me thinking (to myself) "This is bloody good music"! "Ertstes Licht" is organ drone is soundtrack music. Points of reference: Philip Glass, Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter..they are all in there. "Die Wilde Jagd" carries on in the same vein, with some excellent looped acoustic guitar coming in the mix...reminded me of Nocturnal Emissions "Stoneface" recordings.
The "Morgenrothe/Abendrothe" tracks could be classified as "Dark Ambient". A journey into subterranean "other" worlds. (A)tonal frequencies meet with bowed and bashed cymbals, small irritable noises creek in stereo, it has the same approach / feel as Lustmord's 1992 album "The Monstrous Soul", it is all very slow, heavy and sonambulistic but then by track 9 and 10 it all gets a bit lost, directionless and kinds of fizzles out into a nothing which is a great shame for an album with such a promising start.

The CDr is luxurious packaged with gatefold sleeve and postcards with pictures of naked ladies taken from a 1950's German edition of "H+E" or stills from a Harrison Marks film. The artwork / packaging bears no resemblance to the sound contained (apart from track 1...maybe), that and the dedication might deter some and disappoint others. A worthy listen though and ideal soundtrack for reading.

Pictures:
1: "Urlicht" Sleeve.
2: "Urlicht" Inner Sleeve artwork.
3: "Urlicht" Sleeve (reverse).

Secondhand Record Shops. #11. Liskeard

"Crossing the border...Changing the menu". (Dome)

The joy of travelling across into Cornwall from Torbay is the chance to cross the River Tamar, either by the ferry at Tor Point or across Brunel's Tamar Bridge, it is a joy. First stop out of Plymouth along the A38 is Liskeard, a small mining / market town with a handful of charity shops, a lovely little licenced cafe called the Fat Frog that does all-day veggie breakfasts and one and a bit secondhand vinyl shops. I say one and a bit because "Dave's Music" on Lower Lux Street isn't really a vinyl shop. Dave sells guitars and amps and plectrums and stuff, and has got so many records he has decorated the wall of his shop with them. Some are for sale if you offer a price (the guy is saving up to move to France) but all I could see was Def Leppard, Anthrax and Iron Maiden picture discs, the Lynyrd Skynyrd LP "Street Survivors" and a picture sleeve copy of Eddie & The Hot Rods "Wooly Bully" 7". Dave is a chatty chap and recommended a visit to "Taurus Vinyl" on Fore Street. The shop sign reads "Taurus Books" but upstairs is the vinyl shop with thousands of records all in boxes, on shelves, on tables, under tables and on the floor. An Aladdin's Cave. All well and good, but the owner has only categorized the "Easy Listening" and "Film/TV Soundtrack" albums and then seemingly got bored - some are alphabetically boxed, but not all. To go through all the vinyl here would take hours! Bonus...all 7"'s are 50p, all 12"'s/LP's are a pound. I bought a copy of Lithops "Uni Umit" 12" on Sonig.

Also went into a junk shop selling furniture, pictures, household items, books, stuffed tigers - house clearance type of thing and bought a mint copy of "Mondo Cane" by Riz Ortolani & Nino Oliviero on United Artists for a pound. Bargain.
If heading South, Liskeard is worth an hour of your time.

Pictures:
1: Dave's Music.
2: Taurus Books with Taurus Vinyl (the window upstairs). Proprietor hovering just inside doorway to get into camera shot!