Once again, this is the part of the series where I consult one of my reference books and find some new 45s which didn’t sell in enough numbers in March 1979 to bother the chart compilers.
I’m starting things off with The Distractions. The Great Indie Discography, written back in 1999 and updated in 2003 by Martin C. Strong (from now on in referred to as ‘The Big Red Indie-Bible’) tells us this:-
“Consisting of founder-members Mike Finney (vocals) and Steve Perrin- Brown (guitar), together with Adrian Wright (guitar), Pip Nicholls (bass) and Alec Sidebottom (drums), this Manchester-based outfit had a hectic touring schedule supporting the likes of Magazine, Buzzcocks and just about every Mancunian New Wave act around at the time.”
They signed to TJM Records, a label that had been launched by Tony Davidson, the owner of TJ Davidson Rehearsal Studios in Little Peter Street, Manchester, the location from whom which many a band launched a career, particularly Joy Division.
The debut release was the You’re Not Going Out Dressed Like That EP, from which this was the lead track:-
mp3: The Distractions – It Doesn’t Bother Me
The group would release another single before the year was out, this time on Factory Records. I’ll highlight that later in the year.
Staying with the letter ‘D’
mp3 : Doll by Doll – The Palace Of Love
Doll by Doll was formed by Kirkcaldy-born Jackie Leven, who, having started out as a folk musician, was another to be smitten by the advent of punk/new wave. The band, which also had Jo Shaw, Robin Spreafico and David McIntosh as members, signed to Automatic Records, an off-shoot of Warners. Whoever pulled together the wiki page got this right:-
“They came to prominence during the new wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time – their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time”.
There were a few performers/bands who despised the new wave scene, particularly in New York. This led to what was termed ‘No Wave’, and I’ll again turn to wiki:-
No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene which emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock’s recycling of rock and roll clichés, no wave musicians instead experimented with noise, dissonance, and atonality, as well as non-rock genres like free jazz, funk, and disco. The scene often reflected an abrasive, confrontational, and nihilistic world view.
One of the leading proponents of the no wave scene was Lydia Lunch. Her band, Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, released a single in March 1979:-
mp3: Teenage Jesus & The Jerks – Baby Doll
I’ve a feeling most of you will be pleased it’s all over and done with in just over 90 seconds.
And now for something completely different:-
mp3: Tubeway Army – Down In The Park
They had started out as a guitar-based new wave band, Mean Street, but the dawn of 1978 saw a change of name to Tubeway Army, albeit the new wave element was still to the fore (they supported The Skids at gigs in the summer of ’78). By the end of the year, a debut album had been released, with the lead singer changing his name from Gary Webb to Gary Numan, and looking to incorporate synths into the group. The album sold modestly, but there was enough interest at Beggars Banquet to fund a follow-up for planned release in mid-1979, and Down In The Park was seen as being the advance single. It didn’t sell very well, but things were about to change….as will be seen later in the series.
mp3: The Pop Group – She Is Beyond Good and Evil
I’m not someone who has ever been fully enamoured by The Pop Group, which is why they haven’t previously featured on the blog, but there’s no denying that they are so often cited as being a huge influence on the way music would shape and form in subsequent decades. The debut single was released in March 1979.
It was also the month in which the final 45 from the original line-up of this lot was released before the frontman went solo:-
mp3: Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Lydia
Having started off things off in Manchester, I think it’s appropriate to finish with the lead track from another EP released on the TJM label in March 79.
mp3: Slaughter and The Dogs – It’s Alright
Hmmmm…….on this evidence, it’s easy to see why this lot never really got much attention beyond that provided by a local fan base.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 