Category: Members

B-52s, Buzzcocks, Human League, Mekons, Members, Monochrome Set, Scritti Politti, Teenage Filmstars

SHAKEDOWN, 1979 (September, part two)

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I’ve given this one a bit of a build-up…..I hope it’s justified as I open the pages of the big book of Indie music to get help in recalling what memorable non-chart singles were released in September 1979.

mp3: The B-52’s – 6060-842

Rock Lobster, the debut single, had been a hit, but it’s follow-up, also to be found on the self-titled debut album, didn’t breach the Top 75.

mp3: Buzzcocks – You Say You Don’t Love Me

The previous seven singles had been hits, as had the recent re-release of the debut Spiral Scratch EP.  You Say You Don’t Love Me was every bit as good as what had gone before, but the music press and daytime radio had turned their backs on Buzzcocks and this went nowhere.

mp3: Human League – Empire State Human

Pop with synths was beginning to make inroads as far as the charts were concerned. Everyone at Virgin Records must have been rubbing their hands in glee when this emerged from the studio, as it surely had ‘HIT’ stamped all over it.  Nope.

Fun fact: June 1980 saw the release of the single Only After Dark.  Virgin Records took advantage of this by adding in the now surplus copies of Empire State Human as a free 7″ giveaway with Only After Dark.

mp3 : The Mekons – Work All Week

The Mekons and Human League were two of the band who first came to prominence via the Edinburgh-based label, Fast Product.  Both ended up on Virgin Records, but while the electronic popsters would stay there for years to come (making millions in the process), the post-punk sounds of The Mekons didn’t make any inroads, and they were soon dropped and back in the land of indie-labels from where they carved out an extensive career, with Jon Langford still very much going strong all these years later.

mp3: The Members – Killing Time

Yet another 45 that was issued by Virgin Records.   The Members had tasted chart success with their first two singles – Sounds Of The Suburbs and Offshore Banking Business – but the debut album, At The Chelsea Nightclub, hadn’t sold all that well.  Hopes were pinned on the new material.  Killing Time, along with two later singles and the sophomore album, failed dismally.  Lead singer Nicky Tesco quit in mid-1980, and although the others soldiered on for a bit, everything ended by late 1983.

mp3: The Monochrome Set – The Monochrome Set

The band’s third single on Rough Trade Records. The band’s third indie-hit.  But the chart success they really deserved continued to elude them.

mp3: Scritti Politti – Doubt Beat

Another one issued by Rough Trade.  The self-released Skank Blog Bologna in late 1978 had piqued the interest of John Peel and a few indies reached out to Scritti Politti with offers.  They went with Rough Trade, and a four-track 12″ EP became their first release on their new label in September 1979.  It’s a long long way removed (and that’s an understatement) from the sort of polished soul/indie/pop that would be recorded for the 1982 debut album.

mp3: Teenage Filmstars – (There’s A) Cloud Over Liverpool

The Television Personalities, consisting of Dan Treacy (vocals), Ed Ball (keyboards), Joe Foster (guitar), John Bennett (bass) and Gerard Bennett (drums) had, in November 1978, been responsible for Part Time Punks, one of the greatest and most-enduring songs to capture the era.  They had been rather quiet ever since.

Teenage Filmstars, consisting of Ed Ball (vocals, organ), Joe Foster (guitar), Dan Treacy (bass) and Paul Damien (drums), emerged in September 1979 with this 45 issued on Clockwork Records, which had been founded by the afore-mentioned Ed Ball. Two more singles would follow over the course of the next 12 months before Ed and Dan would get really busy with The Television Personalities and Ed with his own band, Times.

I hope this has all, for readers of a certain vintage, stirred some happy memories, while maybe a few more of you will be happy to have maybe discover something ‘new’ to enjoy.

JC

Members

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #060

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#060: The Members– ‘Solitary Confinement’ (Virgin Records ’79)

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Good morning friends,

another trip into nostalgia, this time we accompany The Members. ‘Whom?’, you youngsters might be wondering – but fear not: it’s rather typical that you’ve not heard a great deal about them.

The Clash are generally cited when a debate comes up about who first blended Reggae with Punk. Sometimes The Ruts are being mentioned as well, but let’s be honest – that’s about it, isn’t it. Quite why nobody ever mentions the magnificent Members in this context has always remained a mystery to me. I mean, as much as I adore The Clash (and God knows I do): The Members certainly deserve to share the top of the Punk/Reggae-pedestal with them.

The Members came from Surrey, they formed in 1976 and released their first single on Stiff Records in 1978: ‘Solitary Confinement’. You might – or might not – know the follow-up to this, ‘The Sound Of The Suburbs’. To my understanding, the latter is the only tune people can think of when it comes to The Members. But this is not correct – their first album is a corker, it might not entirely have stood the test of time, but it is still great if you ask me. It also contains this single, but the album version is two minutes or so longer and thus a little bit boring. That should be one reason to click the link below: perhaps you’ve never heard the original version, who knows?

And finally: the eagle-eyed amongst you might be wondering why the title reads ‘Virgin Records’ and ‘1979’. Well, that’s an objective of cheap, really: I have the song on the backside of the band’s third single – they moved from Stiff to Virgin in ’78- and as far as I can tell there is no difference to the original first single, apart from the fact that it’s about five times cheaper than the original these days:

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mp3:  The Members – Solitary Confinement

Members of The Members dismembered The Members (sorry, couldn’t resist) in the early 80s because they fled to join other bands, Icehouse and King in fact. But don’t let this put you off: this one here is another killer tune, for your pleasure!

Hope you enjoy it,

Dirk

Damned, M, Members, Police, Sex Pistols, Sparks, Undertones, X-Ray Spex

SHAKEDOWN, 1979 (April)

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I trust that the first three months of this series has helped to convince any of you who happened to be non-believers that 1979 was very much the greatest year for hit singles in the UK.  So, what did April shower upon us??

While I wasn’t overly keen on the Sex Pistols singles on which Sid Vicious took on the duty of lead vocals, (which is why Something Else was left out previously and C’Mon Everybody will not appear in future), the cash-in this month did hold some appeal.

mp3: Sex Pistols – Silly Thing

Virgin Records really didn’t care too much about facts when it came to Sex Pistols.   The info attached to the 45 states that it’s from the album The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, when in fact it’s a totally different version.  The album track has Paul Cook on lead vocals and had been recorded in mid-1978.  The single version has Steve Jones on lead vocals, and had been recorded in March 1979, with Bill Price on production duties.

It entered the charts in the first week of April 1979 at #24, and in due course climbed up to #6 as part of what proved to be an eight-week stay in the Top 75.

mp3: The Members – Offshore Banking Business

The wonderful follow-up to Sound of The Suburbs was a reggae-tinged attack on white-collar crime.  Sadly, things have only got worse with the passing of time.

Offshore Banking Business was, in comparison to ‘Suburbs’, a minor hit, only reaching #31, and it would prove to be the last time that The Members troubled the chart compilers.

mp3: M- Pop Muzik

Some folk will argue that this was a novelty number and a bit of an annoyance.   I’ll accept that it did become over-exposed somewhat back in the day and became a bit of an irritant, but the passage of time has more than convinced me that it’s a bona-fide pop classic.

M was the recording name taken by Robin Scott, a man with a fascinating backstory in that he’d been in and around the creative industries for much of the 70s as a singer, recording artist and record producer, as well as being a friend of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. He also worked with the then emerging film director Julian Temple.

Pop Muzik came into the charts at #53, and would go on to spend 14 weeks in the Top 75, peaking at #2.  It was also a huge hit in many other countries, and probably sold enough copies that ensured its composer would never again have to have any financial concerns, and enabled him to indulge in various creative projects over the next forty-plus years.

mp3: Sparks – The Number One Song In Heaven

I’ve previously written at length about this song, back in December 2016. I summed it up by saying that it was where prog met glam met disco met film soundtrack on one piece of 7″ black vinyl. I also declared it as the celestial song which cleared the decks for the likes of Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, Human League and Heaven 17 (as well as many other inferior versions of electro-pop) to come along in the 80s and make a fortune.  The one difference from 2016 and now is that I have since picked up a second-hand copy of the 45, having been without one for more than 30 years.  This one entered the charts at #60 on 21 April 1979.  It peaked at #14 in June 1979 while spending a total of 12 weeks in the Top 75.

mp3: X-Ray Spex – Highly Inflammable

Highly Inflammable was the first new song from X-Ray Spex since the release of the debut album Germ Free Adolescents at the end of the previous year.  It turned out to be their last piece of music for almost 16 years, as the group came to an end when lead singer Poly Styrene announced her departure shortly afterwards.  They would reform for live shows in 1991 and a second and final album would appear in 1995.  Highly Inflammable was their fourth chart 45, but where each of The Day The World Turned Dayglo, Identity and Germ Free Adolescents had all hit at least the Top 30, the final single stalled at #45.

mp3: The Police – Roxanne

Yup, it’s now 45 years since Sting & co. first tasted fame.    If they had had their way, it would have been a full year earlier, as Roxanne was initially released in April 1978 to great indifference.  But America went nuts for the song in early 79 and this led to A&M Records giving it a re-release over here.  The rest, as you might say, is history.

Roxanne came into the charts at #42 on 22 April.   It hung around for 9 weeks and peaked at #12.  I bought the re-released version of the single and that same time, having convinced my parents that going to new wave/post-punk gigs at the Glasgow Apollo wasn’t as dangerous as some tabloid papers would have you believe, I bought a ticket for my first ever live show.

The Police.  Thursday 31 May 1979.  There were two support acts.  Bobby Henry, followed by The Cramps.   I haven’t kept count, but I reckon I’ve been to over 1,000 gigs all-told now.  I still very much remember the first time.

mp3: The Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy

Get Over You had been a flop, so there was quite a lot riding on the next single from Derry’s finest.  Thankfully, the radio stations and record-buying public really took to Jimmy Jimmy over the spring and summer of 79.  It came in at #57, spent 10 weeks in the chart, and peaked at #16.    For all that it’s such an upbeat and anthemic number, it really is a very sad lyric.  One of the band’s finest three minutes, if you don’t mind me saying.

mp3: David Bowie – Boys Keep Swinging

I wasn’t quite at the stage where I was acquainting myself with David Bowie albums.  For now, I was more than happy to make do with the singles.   I had liked most of what I heard on daytime radio, but had never actually bought anything of his until Boys Keep Swinging.  It’s one of those that I can’t quite really put my finger on exactly why this really appealed to the then 15-year-old me, but there’s no denying that seeing it performed on the Kenny Everett TV show proved to be what would now be described as a water-cooler moment, albeit in may case it was in a school playground the next day when a fair bit of homophobic language was involved.  Little did we know the official video would create even more of a buzz.

Boys Keep Swinging came in at #31 on 29 April.  It climbed all the way to #7, and in doing so, gave Bowie his first Top 10 hit since Sound and Vision some two years previously.

mp3: The Damned – Love Song

Another of the new entries on 29 April.  This was the sixth single by The Damned, but proved to be the first time they hit the charts, and is all the evidence you need that the post-punk/new wave sounds had really become part of the mainstream.  It came in at #44, and before too long it had cracked the Top 20.

As I said earlier, and the whole point of this series, 1979 was a great year for singles (albeit the really big sellers were dreadful).

JC

Blondie, Lurkers, Members, Undertones, Wire

SHAKEDOWN, 1979 (January, part two)

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If you need to know what this is all about, here’s a link back to part one of the post.

mp3: Blondie – Heart of Glass

The third single to be lifted from Parallel Lines entered the charts at #6 on 21 January 1979.  The following week, it went to #1, where it stayed for four weeks.  It didn’t leave the Top 75 until mid-April.   The thing is, Parallel Lines had already been in the album chart for 21 weeks, so all Blondie fans would already have the song.  The fact that the single went on to sell over a million copies shows just how big it became – indeed, its release was a huge factor in the album climbing back up the charts to #1 and what would prove to be a 96-week stay in the Top 75. It really is an astonishing stat……as is that one which reveals that for 35 of the 36 weeks between 14 January and 22 September 1979, Parallel Lines was always in the Top 10 selling albums.

mp3: Wire – Outdoor Miner

A song that had originally been on the 1978 album Chairs Missing, the record label felt it had potential hit single all over it, but at 1:45, was thought to be too short.  The band obliged by adding another verse and chorus, along with a piano solo played by producer Mike Thorne, which took it to #51 on 21 January

Here’s something I didn’t know.  The BBC approached the label and asked if Wire would appear on Top of The Pops if the single continued to rise.  However, the company who compiled the chart, the British Market Research Bureau, felt that the record label was trying to rig the charts and took the decision not to restrict the sales to be counted for the following week, which meant Outdoor Miner, which otherwise would have gone Top 40, dropped down.

mp3: The Members – Sounds Of The Suburbs

If ever a song signified what 1979 was going to hold in store, this was it.  A previously unknown band outside of the London pub scene get picked up by the record industry and given the chance for a brief dalliance with fame.  It was Virgin Records who took a chance on The Members, and it paid off with this fast, frantic tune and lyric about boredom which was an understandable hit with teenagers and adolescents.  It might have dated a wee bit, but it did sound ridiculously fresh in January 1979 as it made its way, eventually, up to #12 in late February/early March.

mp3: The Undertones – Get Over You

Teenage Kicks had been one of the great post-punk anthems of 1978, although surprisingly, it had only reached #31.  Hopes were high for the follow-up, Get Over You, released in January 1979.  With a lyric that wasn’t far removed from what Pete Shelley had been wowing the world over the past couple of years, and a tune which was ridiculously frantic and catchy, this should have been massive. It got no higher than #57.

mp3: The Lurkers- Just Thirteen

Arguably, this London-based outfit were the UK’s answer to The Ramones.  Two singles had gone Top 50 in 1978, while a debut album had reached #57.  They were regularly aired on John Peel’s show, but never quite ever got beyond cult status.  Maybe just a touch too one-dimensional to be really memorable?  A #66 hit in January 1979.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first month of the 45-year look back at the 45s which were hits as much as I’ve enjoyed the trip down the lane of nostalgia. It really is what this blog is most about……

JC

PS : A quick reminder that tomorrow is the closing date if you want to enter the competition to win a copy of the vinyl release of The Decline and Fall of Heavenly.

Members

REMEMBERING THE MEMBERS

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One of my favourite songs back in 1979:-

mp3 : The Members – The Sound Of The Suburbs

At the time, I thought it was a great punk record and I used to play it really loud just to annoy the hell out of my old man. Looking back on it now, it was really nothing more than glorified pub-rock with a cracking shout-a-long chorus. Not all that far removed from the sort of stuff that brought fame and fortune to Sham 69.

But quite clearly, us kids love it cos it spoke to us all about how miserable and bring life was and collectively we dragged into the pop charts where it reached #12 in the spring of 1979.

The follow-up single was one that I bought without ever hearing as that’s what you did with your favourite music and bands when you were 16 years old. At the time I hated it……I had no idea what the hell it was about, and to be honest I didn’t really care. Oh and the tune also annoyed me as it reminded me of the appalling Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc more than anything else. History shows that it was all just ahead of its time…..and by maybe around 1983, I realised that it was a genuine classic:-

mp3 : The Members – Offshore Banking Business/Pennies In The Pound (12″ version)

Trivia facts. The drummer in the band got his brother to produce some of the earliest material recorded by The Members. The drummer was Adrian Lillywhite…his brother’s name was Steve….and he went on to become one of the best-known and biggest-earning producers in the 80s and 90s. Oh and he also married Kirsty MacColl.

Offshore Banking Business was a top 40 hit, and many of the lyrics were courtesy of JC Carroll who had been a trainee merchant banker before joining the band. The band never enjoyed any further chart success with any of their five subsequent singles before they called it a day in 1981.

But like many others of their ilk, the chance to relive it all decades later proved too tempting to turn down and since 2007 the band have been on the road and in the studio making music for a living. I haven’t been tempted….