Category: Article 58

Last time around, I featured Appendix Out, courtesy of a song on one side of a split 7″ released back in 1997 on Creeping Bent Records.  The label, which is still on to go today, was the brainchild of Douglas Macintyre, who must be up there as one of the hardest working individuals within the creative industries in Scotland, and whose recording debut just happens to now be scheduled for inclusion in this very long-running series (Part 1 was as far back as February 2015).

If you don’t mind, I’ll crib from the previous occasion in October 2018, when Article 58 featured on this blog.

The band’s name cropped up in the Simon Goddard book, Simply Thrilled : The Preposterous Story of Postcard Records, in the appendix ‘Related Releases – A Selection of supplementary titles recorded during the years Postcard was active’.   The name did ring a bell, and on checking the hard drive, I found that their sole single, Event To Come, had been included on a compilation album released by the Hamburg-based, Marina Records, a label with which Douglas MacIntyre has close connections.

Event To Come was originally issued by the Edinburgh-based Rational Records in 1981, a label owned and run by Allan Campbell, the manager of Josef K. The band were from Hamilton (a town some 10 miles south-east of Glasgow), and the single was recorded in a studio in the nearby village of Strathaven.

Production duties were credited to Alan Horne (founder of Postcard Records) and Malcolm Ross, the only man to have been, at some point in time, a member of Josef K, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera, and later to release a number of solo records.

mp3: Article 58 – Event To Come

The sleeve pictured above is not from the 1981 release, but was the one used by Optic Nerve Records when the single was reissued, on red vinyl, in 2022.  The PR blurb to accompany that particular release, offered up some more info:-

Article 58, named after the Soviet classification for counter-revolutionaries, were formed in Scotland by Gerri McLaughlin (vocals), Douglas MacIntyre (guitars) and Ewan MacLennan (bass), with Stephen Lironi (drums) on these recordings. The group existed for a short period of time, burning brightly before burning out.  Article 58 were the opening group on many bills in Scotland, including support slots circa 1981 with A Certain Ratio, Scars, Josef K, Delmontes, Bauhaus, Restricted Code, among others. Josef K invited Article 58 to support them on some dates in England to promote their only album, ’The Only Fun In Town’, after which Article 58 recorded tracks for an as-yet unreleased album.

One track, ‘Reflection’, did surface on a cassette/ zine product (‘Irrational’) released by Rational Records. However, the teenage tension and strain of all that accompanies being in a group proved too much, and Article 58 split up at the end of 1981. ‘Event To Come’ was to be the only single released by Article 58. The B side, ‘Icon’, is a previously unreleased recording. Both tracks are presented in a brand-new sleeve designed by The Creeping Bent Organisation for release on the Optic Nerve label.

And given that the October 2018 posting offered up the two original b-sides, I thought it would be worthwhile to give you a chance to listen to the track that was rescued for the Optic Nerve b-side:-

mp3: Article 58 – Icon

As I said back in 2018, the a-side  is a fast and frantic sounding piece of music, which certainly gives a nod to Josef K.  Icon, having been picked up from what is a demo tape, is far rougher sounding, with a vocal that seems influenced by Vic Godard. It’s all great fun, and I reckon a great wee listen for fans of that early 80s post-punk guitar sound.

JC

I was checking something up in the Simon Goddard book when my eye was drawn to something he’s included in one of the appendices, ‘Related Releases – A Selection of supplementary titles recorded during the years Postcard was active’

It was his reference to a single by a band whose name vaguely rang a bell.

ARTICLE 58 – ‘Event To Come’ b/w ‘Echoes’/’Lost & Found’ (1981)

Bouncy single by Hamilton band released on Josef K manager Allan Campbell’s label. The only non-Postcard release to credit Alan Horne, here ‘co-producer’ with Malcolm Ross. Recorded at Emblem Sound, Strathaven (B-side ‘Echoes; recorded by Wilf Smarties). Article 58’s drummer was Steve Lironi*, later to join Altered Images

*and later to break my heart by marrying Clare Grogan.

Anyways, as I said Article 58 rang a bell and it turns out that I actually have a copy of the song that was the a-side, courtesy of its inclusion on a compilation album issued some 15 years ago by German based Marina Records.  It’s my mistake in not picking up they were Scottish as they would have featured many moons ago on a Saturday.

mp3 : Article 58 – Event To Come

A fast and frantic sounding piece of music with great guitar work from the emerging Douglas MacIntyre who, almost 40 years later remains a mainstay of the Glasgow music scene thanks to his playing with many bands and his running of Creeping Bent Records.  He’s been responsible for one of my favourite records of 2018

Going back to Article 58, the a-side of the single certainly gives a nod to Josef K……

The back of the sleeve provides a fair bit of detail.

Event To Come and Lost & Found were recorded at the same session with Ross and Horne given credit for production. The band consisted of Gerry McLaughlin (vocals), Douglas McIntyre (guitar), Ewan McLennan (bass) and Stephen Lironi (drums), although Robert McCormack is credited as the drummer on Echoes, which presumably was an earlier demo track recorded at the Edinburgh studio of Wilf Smarties  (who himself would go on to have a very successful career in writing and production in later years)

It got my interest piqued and after a bit of effort, I’ve tracked down the b-sides:-

mp3 : Article 58 – Echoes
mp3 : Article 58 – Lost & Found

Both well worth a listen, with a touch of the guitar sounds of PiL/Magazine in there; once again it’s an example of a band forming for one single before dissolving, although in this instance two of its members would go onto achieve much elsewhere.

JC