I’d gone a long time since pulling this one down from the shelf and giving it a spin on the turntable. It’s not that I don’t love the song, but it, along with many others, has fallen victim to me having too much vinyl and not enough time in my life to listen to all the good stuff.
I’d picked it out after looking at the i-phone with its near 50,000 tunes and finding out that, for whatever reason, but entirely down to human error, I had either never actually made an mp3 copy of Crash to transfer on to any portable device, or had managed somehow to delete the file. Either way, I couldn’t listen to it on this particular journey.
Do any of you disagree with the statement ‘Crash is one of the great indie-pop tunes of any era thanks to its two-and-a-half minutes of perfection’
It’s one that found favour far beyond the indie-cognoscenti, going all the way to #5 in March 1988, easily outperforming all the bands The Primitives were being lumped in with. Sadly, for all concerned, that was as bright as the stars ever shone for, and while it is the case that the band is still on the go today, having reformed in 2009 after what had been an 18-year hiatus, they are more or less just known for the majesty of their big hit.
mp3: The Primitives – Crash
The 12″ comes with three other tracks
mp3 : The Primitives – I’ll Stick With You
mp3 : The Primitives – Crash (demo version)
mp3 : The Primitives – Things Get In Your Way
The two other songs kind of highlight that much of the material just didn’t match the brilliance of Crash. The demo version dates from October 1985. The signs are there that something pretty special is being worked up, but there is no question that all the bits which came together in the studio, such as the backing/additional vocals, are what took it to the great heights.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
The Primitives are one of those bands that I’m happy to hear their songs suddenly get played in movies or series (I don’t know if that’s ever happened). Or in monthly mixes.
My favourite: ‘Spin-O-Rama’
I don’t disagree with that statement about Crash, and still love the Primitives. While that exhilarating debut album was never bettered by them, there’splenty to love on all their records.
A shame they are so terrible live. I’ve seen them twice since their reformation. The first time Tracey was off-key a few times, but I put it down to a bad night. The second time, just last year, we saw them again and left after only half a dozen songs when it became clear that she had lost the ability to hit a single correct note. The rest of the band weren’t exactly blistering either, but Tracey (and it really pains me to say this) was awful.
That was me above btw. Don’t know why it randomly published my comment before I’d filled in all the fields…
That was me above, btw. It published randomly before I[d finished entering my details. ironically, my first attempt at writing this bit seemed not to publish even after i[‘d entered everything…
Funny — I know the song but it sounds totally different than I remember it. Another version perhaps?
A fantastic A-side with a corking sleeve to match. I do like the other songs, especially I’ll Stick With You. A Peel session around this time was my introduction to the Primitives. Nice post, JC.
Having posted almost nothing for a few months I posted about this at almost exactly the same time on the same day – my recollection is that the Primitives were one of the bands from around my working way (Babylon Zoo, Carina Round, Mighty Lemon Drops) but that was one of those things I knew I knew that was wrong.