I make no apologies (again) for going into the archives over at the old blog for today’s piece. It was one I stumbled across when searching for Dick Van Dyke’s adventures that were recounted just the other week. This is from another of my old Sunday Correspondents gang who goes by the name of Cullen Skink. He didn’t half select some banging tunes……….
If there’s a city outside Scotland whose impact is recurrently felt on The Vinyl Villain, it must be Manchester with its Magazine, Morrissey, New Order…
I lived there as a student in the late 80s and early 90s, a period when Manchester gained its reputation for being the centre of the music world.
I was certainly enthralled by the musical heritage. My all-time favourite bands were Buzzcocks and The Fall. Joy Division/New Order too – though I eschewed The Smiths. And I was intoxicated by the contemporary scene: a huge Happy Mondays fan, I followed the Inspiral Carpets for a while, though wasn’t arsed about the Stone Roses…
But you can hear all those bands any time, so here are some others that I loved around that time – bands that deserve to be glorified not forgotten. As behoves a VV Sunday Correspondent, let me turn once more to ye olde vinyl…
The Bodines made glorious, glimmering pop music, the pinnacle of 80s indie before syncopated funky-drummer beats took over. There’s a good case to be made for Therese (1987) as the greatest single ever. Certainly it should be on heavy rotation on all music radio.
mp3 : The Bodines – Therese
Laugh‘s funky swagger jumps out of this fantastic single from 1988. It drags you onto the dancefloor and shouts in your ear. They missed the Madchester bus, until they regrouped in time for the second wave as Intastella.
mp3 : Laugh – Time To Lose It
A forgotten music of the time is that loose agglomeration of ugly noiseniks that pointed sharpened sticks at earnest ears. I thought Dub Sex were Manchester’s best, though I wonder if anybody else did…
mp3 : Dub Sex – Swerve
As the Madchester phenomenon peaked, bands were chewed up and spat out as the media trendsetters moved on – to grunge or whatever the next big thing was. But of these second-wave bands, the New Fast Automatic Daffodils meant the world to me, and Big might be my most loved record of the time. As far as I was concerned it was indie-dance crossover on a par with Loaded or Fools Gold.
mp3 : New Fast Automatic Daffodils – Big
To my eternal chagrin I never saw The World Of Twist, though their concerts have become the stuff of legend. I just never imagined it’d be over so quickly – a couple of miraculous singles, a disappointing album, then nothing (and their frontman Tony Ogden died far too young in 2006).
mp3 : World Of Twist – Sons Of The Stage
Oh and while I’m in this mood, we’d better have some Mondays after all…
mp3 : Happy Mondays – Freaky Dancin’ (live)
Don’t sit down……
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 