The Umbrella (1985)

When in October 1981 Gareth Hancock and Jono 'Kumo' Podmore left Alvin The Aardvark & The Fuzzy Ants, the remaining three members − Norman 'Noko' Fisher-Jones (guitars, later Cure, Dynamo Futurista, Luxuria, Maximum Roach, Th’Ends, Apollo 440), James Gardner (keyboards, later, Luxuria, Apollo 440), and Howard Gray (later Apollo 440)− moved to London and formed what was to become the Umbrella. In London Gardner played and programmed keyboards and synthesizers for a variety of artists. In the meantime, Gray started working as a tape operator and sound engineer for Richard Branson’s Virgin, first at Manor Studio (Oxford) and then at Townhouse Studios in London, working with producers like Steve Lillywhite and artists such as Public Image, Stranglers, and fellow scousers OMD. In the same period, around 1983, Norman 'Noko' Fisher-Jones briefly joined the Cure on bass for some European and UK live-TV dates and started putting together another band, Dynamo Futurista.

At this point Fisher-Jones and Gardner decided to make things happen, and with a the inclusion of new personnel − Simon Hoare (drums), Mark Sanderson (bass), Alex & Julia on backing vocals − they recorded the material written so far, which was released as an EP called ‘Make Hell (For The Beautiful People)’.

Make Hell (For The Beautiful People) (1985)

- Make Hell (For The Beautiful People)

- William Brel

- The Persuaders (J. Barry)

The songs bear some audible influence of 60s pop à la John Barry, played through overlaid postpunk guitar and organ.

The EP can be found here and here .

(thanks to our friend Fantod under Glass. Band picture by Donald Lush)

Alvin The Aardvark & The Fuzzy Ants (1979-1981)

Five-piece avantgarde-experimental group formed in late 1979 by Howard Gray (later Apollo 440) − and originally his brother Trevor Gray − and fellow schoolfriends Jono 'Kumo' Podmore (guitars, later Kumo), James Gardner (keyboards, later Umbrella, Luxuria, Apollo 440), Norman 'Noko' Fisher-Jones (guitars, later Umbrella, Cure, Dynamo Futurista, Luxuria, Maximum Roach, Th’Ends, Apollo 440) and Gary Hancock (tape operator). Noko recalls:

‘[As] a teenager, I was messing around with reel-to-reel tape recorders and building fuzz-box circuits before I ever learned any actual chords.
Even though we only started @440 in 1990 (a number of years after I’d been making music for a living), it still feels like my first band, as Howard, Trevor and original founder member James Gardner were all schoolmates @ Old Hall High School, Maghull, L31. My actual first band was Alvin The Aardvark & The Fuzzy Ants and our first gig was on Granada TV’s “After All That…This” late-night arts magazine show in 1980 and was completely live and broadcast just the once! […] Our second was supporting Cabaret Voltaire at Plato’s Ballroom in Liverpool, a radical avant-garde nightclub/art-happening organised by Nathan McGough that was way ahead of it’s time. New Order played their very first UK ‘post-Joy Division’ gig there a few weeks earlier.
A.T.A.A.T.F.A sadly never made a record, although we’d recorded a single @ Liverpool’s seminal Open Eye Studios in 1981 that never saw the light of day. John Peel was a fan though, and one of my most exciting moments as a teenager was my mum handing me the phone and saying “It’s John Peel for you son”’. (http://www.apollo440.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=94)

Named after a children’s toy the band created a original mix of avant-garde and jazz rock which materialized in 1981 on some tracks which appeared on the tapezine Merseysound Vol.2 (namely the oddly tilted ‘23across the Impresario 5 Letters 4 Letters’ − apparently a homage to Radio Merseyside Roger Hill − ‘Pip’s Tune’ and ‘Chumakin Dust’). Six other tracks have been recorded for a cassette EP (‘6 Audio Events’, July 1981), other 6 live tracks recorded at Plato’s Ballroom (25 February 1981) appeared on the tape ‘New’, and the band also recorded what should have been their first vinyl release (namely the single ‘Pip’s Tune’) at Open Eye Studios but they disbanded before the end of the year, and the single was not released.

Reviewing the A.T.A.A.T.F.A. last gig, (in October 1981) Breakout Magazine wrote:

‘The Ants have become almost a legendary cult band on Merseyside. With their select random non-promoted gigs and unique equipment and sound. If you have not seen The Ants then you have missed out on a unique and wondrous set. They would be an excellent soundtrack to a weird dream. The Ants are very committed to what they do, sometimes too committed. One shall always strive to be an artist. I’ve a feeling the ants think they are artists, a dangerous position. Nevertheless, what did we have here tonight. Five musicians putting noises together to create a feeling more than a sound. The Ants biggest problem is not being taken seriously by the audience, a pity as I find them listenable above all else. […] There is not a more extravagant band on Merseyside. […] I hope this is not the last we hear of the Ants. Merseyside need them badly’ (Breakthrough Magazine #3, October 1981).

The same month Hancock and Padmore left, and the Ants split.

(see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Gray ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gardner_%28musician%29 ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Fisher-Jones )

Alien Heat (1979-1980)

Birkenehead band formed in 1979 by David Hughes (guitar), Ian Powell (bass) (later Oklamotif, 11:59), Neill Buckley (keyboards), and Dave Hughes (drums), as a jazz-prog rock-oriented act. In 1980, after recruiting vocalist Paula Molyneux and under the guidance of manager Andy ‘Mally’ Jones (of Pink Moon record shop), the band changes their style towards a more pop-oriented sound. They only released one single (on their own label Alien Heat Record) in 1980, produced by Richard Brobyn:

Was it Love? (1980)

a. Was it Love?

b. Colours

The single reflects the two souls of Alien Heat, Colours being the space-jazz type of number the band used to write before Molyneux joined, and Was It Love? pointing to mainstream pop territories.

alien heat

Mutants - 1977-78 Recordings [Re-Up]

Birkenhead band formed straight from school in the summer of ’76 by Keith Wilson (aka Keith 'Kid' Steele, on guitar, later of Geisha Girls) and Paul Codman (aka Paul Pleasant, on drums, later in Egypt for Now and Geisha Girls) inspired by the pub rock of Eddie and the Hot Rods and by raw approach of the Stooges and MC5. After several changes the official line-up included, besides Keith 'Kid' Steele and Paul Pleasant, Sweet William on vocals, Al Sation (aka Paul Brady later Crawl, Ulterior Motive) on bass, and Roddie Rodent (aka Roddie Gilliard, later Muffin Man) on guitar.

The Mutants played their first ever gig at Mr. Digby’s in Birkenhead (with Slaughter and the Dogs) and quickly established themselves as an easy target for music criticism: they were too spikey, fast and ‘punky’ for a rock audience and too ‘rocky’ for a punk audience. For this reason they were banned from the premier new wave venue Eric’s due to their ‘unsuitability’. (Apparently, they responded by covering the entire club exterior, doors and all, with hundreds of posters for their upcoming gigs at the Havanna. And later, Eric’s would attempt to book the band at double their usual fee but the band at this point refused the offer). Their London debut was at the Roxy in Covent Garden, supporting The Police.

The Mutants released their first single in 1977:

Bos sman (1977)

- Boss Man

- Backyard Boys’

The single got some favourable reviews and even peaked at number six in the ‘Sounds’ new wave chart in October ’77, even though the band were disappointed, as the record failed to capture the raw energy and excitement of their live sound. The band continue touring extensively through the North, but when the time came to go back into the studio, the lack of commitment from a major label and the subconscious awareness of their inability to realise that ‘mass-market break’ took its toll. Keith Wilson, left just before the band released their second single:

Schoolteacher (1978)

- Schoolteacher

- Lady

- Hard Time

After the release of the single the band continued for several months, but due to the diminishing enthusiasm the Mutants split in late summer ’78.

mutants

(see also http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/mutants.htm
and http://whycontrol1977.blogspot.com/2008/03/bombsite-fanzine-1977-mutants.html thanks why control)

The Last Chant - Run of the Dove (1981)

The Last Chant (originally The Offenders) formed in 1981 by gathering friends from Liverpool Bluecoat School, namely David ‘Dix’ Dickie (vocals, guitar, later Black), Andrew Hussey (guitars), Brian Ashcroft (bass, vocals), Tim Blanthorn (violin), Richard Evans (percussion), Colin Billinge (drums, later Heaven Tonight). This line-up released the band’s first single in October 1981:

Run of the Dove (1981)

- Run of the Dove

- Strength Alone

- Tradition

As to who/what inspired himself and the band, Hussey concedes: ‘the Velvet Underground, Sex Pistols, Doors, Fela Kuti, Burning Spear, Edith Piaf, Joy Division […] The Sex Pistols were great… they believed in absolutely nothing… what always annoyed me about Punk was the way the Sex Pistols were always lumped together with all those mediocre groups who signified some kind of political or sociological protest such as the Clash… really boring political things. Politics is irrelevant… […] The Sex Pistols were just a magnificent nihilistic force… the prevalent attitude today is the importance of technical competence. When we play live the most frequent criticism is that we are not tight enough… what isn’t realised is that half of what we play is improvised. Of course this means we are frequently erratic, but also that we retain a certain tension. What matters is not play well, but to play with authority.’ (Bobeye Magazine, March 1982)

In 1982 the line-up changed drastically, with only Ashcroft remaining as a stable member from the original band, while Dikie joined Black and Hussey left to go the Manchester University and then moved to Paris. Ashcroft was joined by Colin McCornick (drums) and Dikie Rude (bass, vocals), and much later on by Dan Evan on guitars, Ronnie Williams (sax). By 1985 McCornick left for No Exit (see relevant post) and was replaced by some Karl. The band provided a song (Indifferent Blood) for the Two Points to Tonka cassette-compilation, after which Rude started collaborating with Wah! And Williams joined the Paradine Express.

last chant

(see also http://soundcloud.com/mickpuck/run-of-the-dove )

Care - Singles (1983-1984) [Re-Up]

Care formed in Liverpool, England, in 1983, when, after the split of the Wild Swans (with original members Jem Kelly and Ged Quinn forming the Lotus Eaters with Peter Coyle), singer Paul Simpson (also ex-keyboardist for the Teardrop Explodes) teamed up with guitarist Ian Broudie (previously of Big in Japan and Original Mirrors). The first single release came out in June 1983

My Boyish Days (Drink To Me) (1983)
- My Boyish Days (Drink To Me) (12" Version)
- An Evening In The Ray
- A Sad Day For England

The single well-represented the style of the band: shimmery guitar riffs and gleaming synthesizers (though ‘poppier’ and less elaborated then Kelly’s and Quinn’s) accompanying Simpson's dreamy and heartbroken crooning. Two more singles were to follow the first in October 1983, the second one in March 1984:

Flaming Sword (1983)
- Flaming Sword (12" Version)
- Misericorde
- White Cloud (alternative versions of the original ‘On The White Cloud’)

Whatever Possessed You (1984)
- Whatever Possessed You
- Besides (One And Two)

The duo was working on demos in view of an album (mainly with Ian Broudie on guitars, production and keyboards, with Paul Simpson on the keyboards and guitars, collaborating with Paul Sangster – formerly of Send No Flower together with Alan Wills and Ian Asbury – and Tony Wikelan), to be possibly titled Love Crowns and Crucifies, when divergences in the musical views of the two members – Broudie's taste for gleeful commercial pop vs. Simpson's penchant for darker more serious fare – caused the band to split. Simpson then re-formed the Wild Swans (with Jeremy Kelly and Alan Wills), while Broudie, some time later, would create the Lightning Seeds.

singles

(sse also http://www.flamingsword.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.lightning-seeds.co.uk/Care/history.htm )

La La Bam Bam (1982-85)

The band formed around 1982, under a name that was supposed to be perfectly appropriate for a band “who delighted and revelled in playing incessant melodious pop tunes” (Interview with James Scanlon 1988). The band featured Jeff Skellon (bass), Mark Kemp (vocals, later Empire), Mick Bulger (guitars, later Christians), Clive Gee (keyboards), and Mark Edmundson (drums, former Nadsad Fashion, Feathers & The Fire, Visual Aids, Royal Family, later Flock of Seagulls), soon replaced by John McQueen. The band recorded one single in October 1984:

The Colour of Your Eyes (1984)

- The Colour of Your Eyes

- I’m in Love with You

- Smiling

The Catalogue #20 wrote: ‘There’s something oddly attractive about The Colour of Your Eyes […]. Another 2 track 12” touching several bases with some nice details. One to watch, as they say’ (October 1984)

The band also performed on a Janice Long session, for her Saturday evening program on Radio One, playing The Colour of Your Eyes, Poisoned Umbrellas, Wearing Your Skin. The reaction to it was positive, and the session got repeated. LaLaBamBam also did a couple of sessions for the Radio Merseyside programme Streetlife.

In 1985 they provided the track Is it? For the compilation LP Blush on Black. Around the same time they played at a 36-hour gig at the Royal Court, a drug awareness gig. Perry Leach remembers:

‘In 85ish I remember being involved with Joey Musker and the drum marathon - a 36 hour gig at the Royal Court where the drumbeat couldn’t stop for 36 hours. All the top Liverpool bands played - Bunnymen, Pale Fountains, Icicle Works. It was a drugs awareness gig, although you needed to be aware of drugs to get you through 36 hours of drumming. I played with a host of bands as a second drummer which meant you had to keep a hi-hat beat between the bands’ songs; hence the 36 hours non-stop drumming. I did play a proper set at the show for La La Bam Bam with Jeff Skellon and Mark Kemp, who later I was to join up with on the People Get Ready project a few years later. I still keep in touch with Jeff who’s a fellow merchandiser with the same company.’

(http://noexit-thevow.co.uk/book/export/html/158 )

By the mid-eighties the members of the band went their separate ways, Kemp joining Empire, Bulger the Christians and Edmundson A Flock of Seagulls.

More of/by the band can be found here

Apologies for Innocence (1981-87)

Formby rock band formed in 1981 by Rob Jackson (aka Robin Jackson, vocals, synths), Graeme Lodge (bass, synths), and Richard Watts (guitars) and Mat Thomas (drums). This line-up recorded and release the fist and only band’s single in May 1982

Across the Wire (1982)

- Across the Wire (extended)

- Days Alone

- Is This Heaven?

In 1983 Watts left and was replaced first by Mark Caulfiled and, in 1984, by Paul Geraghty. In 1986 the band were still active and contributed the song Surrender for the Twist and Samba compilation.

The single can be found here (thanks to our friend Vinyl Obscurity)

(see also: http://www.myspace.com/apologiesforinnocence )

The Whiskey Priests - Live in Studio Demo (1986)

Four piece punk band formed in late 1985 by Peter Hurst (guitars, former Marshmallow Overcoat), Paul Scott (bass, former Marshmallow Overcoat, Western Diplomats), Pete Pulford (bass, vocals and tapes), Jon Sharples (drums). They released a self-named 6 track demo in 1986. They played in the Liverpool area (about ten gigs, supporting such acts like Crikey it’s the Cromptons and Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus). After a gig Faith in Pleasure Magazine (1986) commented: ‘There is the singer Pete, the guitarist Pete, a bass player playing his bass with his back to the audience and a drummer who kicks fuck out of his drums. […] the racket is harsh & angry & kicks you on the knees. William Burroughs provides a running commentary cut up throughout. […] The racket though is very, very good. […] They did seem very self destructive.’ Here is how the band sounds:

Live in the Studio Demo (ca. 1986)

- My God Is My Gun

- Ghost Rooms

- Smokestack Lightning

- Cigarette Movies

- Forget It All

Before splitting in Summer 1986 they offered the track Forget It All (a cover of a Hoi Polloi song) for the compilation Bugs On The Wire (1987, see relevant post).

wp – studio live

(Major thanks to Pete Hurst himself, who made this post possible!)

Pete Hurst (pre-Whiskey Priests)

After the split of Dementia, Pete Hurst (the drummer with the band, formerly with Dance Ritual, Green Cube, Patterns, Marshmallow Overcoat) spent some time with Mr. Toad and The Naughty Majorcans. During his time with the band Hurts worked on some solo material, which saw the light of day on the Compilation Ways to Wear Coats (the numbers Through The Binoculars Of The People and End (with, Brian N. Smithers) see relevant post). In the same period Hurts worked with Pete Pulford on some demos.

Pre-Whiskey Priests Demo (ca. 1985)

- Witchcraft and Communism

- Woman in Red 24

Soon after came the Whiskey Priests.

demo

(Major thanks to Pete Hurst himself, who made this post possible!)

Dementia (1983-85)

This punk act originated in late 1983 when Jimmy McVeigh (vocals, former Reiner Chaos) and Tudor (guitar, vocals, former Public Disgrace, later Gone to Earth, Mr. Toad & the Naught Majorcans, Suicide Stars) − both from Das Reiner − were joined by Pete Hurst (drums, former Dance Ritual, Green Cube, Patterns, later Mr. Toad & the Naught Majorcans) and Mike Poole (bass, later Suicide Stars).

Here is how Breakthrough Magazine described the band:

‘Whilst all four members of the band share the standard punk philosophy, they are by no means the standard band playing 1-2-3-4 Thrash, thrash, thrash. […]. In late ’83 Dementia (named after the 50’s slasher movie DEMENTIA VIII) experimented with two drummers to achieve that wonderful, full heavy drum sound made famous by Gary Glitter but they soon found that Hursty could provide the required sound on his own. As well as Gary Glitter, Dementia are influenced by the New York Dolls, and even pay homage with their own version of ‘Mystery Girls’. […] Dementia hope to be a force to be reckoned with in their own area of music − not just punk, but rock as well. In fact, punk-rock.’

‘Live Dementia provide a visual good show […] The songs are meaty and played well by all the band members.’ (March 1985)

In March 1985 the band released their first and only official record, an eponymous Mini-Lp on Skysaw.

Dementia (1985)

Side A.

- Easy Way Out - Fear - I’m Gonna

Side B.

- Written in Blood - Embarkation - Basic Feelings - Back in the States

Later the same year Skysaw released a tape (also called Dementia) containing all the tracks of the Mini-Lp plus three extra tracks. By early 1986, Dementia were no more: after having sessioned for the folk-punk act Gone to Earth in 1985, Tudor joined them for good; Poole (and later Tudor) joined Suicide Star; Hurst spent some time (again with Tudor ) in Mr. Toad & The Naughy Majorcans.

Dementia

(Major thanks to Pete Hurst himself, who made this post possible!)

(see also http://uk82.150m.com/bands/dementia.html )

Das Reiner - Demo (1982)

Das Reiner came about when Tudor (guitar, vocals) left Public Disgrace, the first Liverpool hardocre punk act (see relevant post), to join Reiner Chaos. This was a punk band (originally called Great British Mistake Part 2) formed in 1982 and consisting of Chris Dollar (vocals), Chris McGuire (guitar), Dave Hughes (guitar, vocals, later Danse Macabre), Jimmy McVeigh (bass, also later Danse Macabre), Oz (aka Ozzy, guitar), and Dave Bellamy (drums). As to their beginnings the band recalls: ‘The first gig we’ve ever done was at the Everyman Bistro and we were known as the Great British Mistake Part 2, and we were asked to leave after 3 minutes. It was a fun gig and it was our start in life’. As to their recorded material Oz concedes: ‘‘The best thing we ever had was a cassette recording made in my living room in early 1982, I think, which was accidentally recorded over late one night by an out of brain Dave H and was never heard again. Shame coz it was really rather good.’ Towards the end of the year Hughes quit and was replaced by Tudor (later Dementia, Gone To Earth, Mr Toad & The Naughty Majorcans), this line-up changed their name to Das Reiner and released their demo in late 1982.

Demo (1982)

- Funny Farm
- Problem in My Head
- Love for Sale

demo

OMD - Live at Leigh Open Air Pop Festival (1979)

On August 27^th 1979, around the same time of their first Peel session, OMITD played at the infamous Leigh Open Air Pop Festival. To an audience of less than a hundred people Paul Humphreys, Andy McCluskey and the drum machine Winston performed songs that appeared on the band first single (Electricity, Almost) and would later be included in the band first LP.

Live at Leigh Open Air Pop Festival (1979):

- Messages

- Bunker Soldiers

- Julia's Song

- VCBXL

- Almost

- Red Frame White Light

- Mystery Reality

- Electricity

A journalsit said: “Musically they were fine but the sight of two keyboards isn’t exactly the perfect formula for a succesful festival set. But nevertheless, the bouncing, dancing, vibrating sound ofd OMITD stands leagues above the sickly nopise of Numan”

leigh79

OMD - Peel Session 1979

On August 20^th 1979 OMD recorded their first Radio One Peel Session. For the recording Paul Humphreys played keyboards and provided some vocals while Andy McCluskey was on vocals, bass, and drum machine programming. The track list consisted of four numbers:

Peel Session (August 1979)

- Julia'S Song

- Messages

- Red Frame/White Light

- Bunker Soldiers

The session, produced by Tony Wilson and engineered by Dave Dade, was then aired on September 3^rd 1979.

peel79

(see also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1970s/1979/Aug20orchestralmanoeu/ )

OMD - Free Artifacts: The Unreleased ’78 Tapes

Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey decided on a clear muscial direction to give to their new band, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (from the title of on of their earliest compositions), very much inspired by the German elechtonic group Kraftwerk. The duo started collecting electronic instruments and affordable synthesizers (Korg MS20, Elgam Symphony, Korg Micro-Preset, Selmer Pianotron and a Roland CR-78 drum machine), and experimenting with the sounds coming from those machines and from McCluskey’s bass. The songs combined radio waves, noises, excerpts from radio and TV broadcasts, rhythm sections and melodic parts. In october 1978 Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark (at the time acronym-ed ad OMITD) played at Eric’s. Part of the playlist for the gig was the following:

- Introducing Radios

- Distance Fades Between Us

- Progress

- Once When I Was Six

(A bonus 7" EP titled ‘Free Artefact - The Unreleased '78 Tapes’ came with the first 10,000 copies of the band’s second LP, Organisation, released in 1980.) The performance captured Tony Wilson’s attention, who signed the band to his Factory for their fist sngle.

omd 78

A Shallow Madness (Re-Up)

On May 5th 1977, after a gig by The Clash at the legendary Eric’s Club, Julian Cope (later Teardrop Explodes), Ian McCulloch (later Echo & the Bunnymen) and Pete Wylie (later Wah!) met and decided to form a band, Arthur Hostile & The Crucial Three, immediately shortened in The Crucial Three. The group rehearsed only once, wrote only a single – according to McCulloch, very bad – song (possibly titled Salomine Shuffle or Bloody Sure You're On Dope), and disbanded.

After the Crucial Three, Julian Cope and Pete Wylie formed The Nova Mob, recruiting punk friend Griff and future Banshees's drummer Budgie. A short-lived act (just the time for a disastrous performance at Eric's) that folded when Budgie left to join Big in Japan. Julian Cope briefly formed an experimental group called The Hungry Types, and then formed Uh? with Ian McCulloch and McCulloch's school friend Dave Pickett. McCulloch left after the band's first and only gig. Cope and McCulloch formed their last band together, A Shallow Madness in early 1978, along with Paul Simpson on keyboards, Dave Pickett on drums, and occasionally Mick Finkler on guitar. Of the activity of the band only a couple of original rehearsal recordings survived:

- Books (with McCulloch on vocals, then to appear in a different version as a Bunnymen’s and Teardrop’s number)
- Straight Rain (without McCulloch)

At this point A Shallow Madness featured the original Teardrop Explodes line-up of Cope (bass), Paul Simpson (keyboards), Mick Finkler (guitar), plus Ian McCulloch. The latter's non-attendance at rehearsals led to Cope taking over vocals and thus The Teardrop Explodes was born. Simpson will leave the Teardrops in 1979 to form his own band The Wild Swans in 1980.

a shallow madness

The Id (1977-79)

The Id formed in September 1977 and were active between 1977 and the summer 1978 as an eight-piece band, featuring young musicians coming from Wirral-based prog or hard rock and heavy metal acts such as Equinox and Pegasus. The Id consisted of three singers (Andy McCluskey, Julia Kneale (McCluskey's girlfriend), John Floyd), two guitarists (Neill Shenton and Gary Hodgson), bass (Steve Hollas), keyboard player (Paul Humphreys) and drummer (Malcolm Holmes) − a second drummer (Simon Bateman) was asked to join but declined the offer.

Before the Id, McCluskey was in Pegasus and Humphreys in Equinox, then they were together in Hitlerz Underpantz (with Clived Gee, later Afraid of Mice). When HU dissolved, McCluskey was at Wallasey Art College where he met Julia Kneale. Humphreys was instead at Riversdale College studying electronics and communications with Hodgson and Hollas. Humphreys invited Hogson and Hollas to team up with himself and McCluskey, who, in his turn, asked John Floyd, an old school friend, to join this new band. Holmes was also an acquaintance of McCluskey, and had worked with Dalek I Love You and Margox (with Margi Clark).

Once the line-up was established the Id started to gig around the Merseyside (in church halls rather than pubs!) also making it at Eric’s. At this stage they have started writing their own material (many of these numbers would become OMD classics, such as Radio Waves, Red Frame / White Light, and, most noticeably Electricity.

In 1978 things started to change. First, the line-up shrank down to a solid five-piece, after Shenton (who quit to join The Man From UNCLE, for which also Holmes did some drumming). The group began to gig regularly in the Merseyside area, performing original material mostly written by McCluskey and Humphreys, and developing quite a following on the scene. Second, following Roger Eagle’s suggestion the Id – McCluskey, Humphreys, Holmes, Hodgson and Hollas − decided to record some of their material, and produced a three-track demo at Open Eye (containing the McCluskey-Humphreys penned numbers Electricity and the acoustic Misunderstanding, plus a number with Kneale’s lyrics to it, hence the title Julia’s Song).

Despite having quite a following in the North, in August 1978, as the band was going to pieces, McCluskey quit to (briefly) join Dalek I Love You, whose use of baking tapes would be inspiring to him and influential for OMD musical style. In this period Humphreys was also experimenting with sounds and radio noises (he had been since his time in college), which were now the basic ingredients for the VCLXI, the first, provisional, name (from a detail on the cover of Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity) for a new project that consisted mainly of Humphreys, McCluskey, and ‘Winston’, a synth operated by Paul Collister. The duo continued as such until December 1979, when Holmes rejoined his bandmates and Dave Hughes (former Dalek I Love You) was added to the line-up especially for live performances.

At about the same time when OMD released their first single (a reworked version of the Id Electricity, whose original demo version appeared also on the Unearthed, Liverpool Cult Classics, Volume 3), another Id number (Julia’s Song) appeared on the compilation record Street to Street: A Liverpool Album (August 1979).

The Open Eye demo has been digitalized and made available in 2002.

(see also: http://www.omd-messages.co.uk/omd/?page_id=17 http://www.answers.com/topic/the-id-1 http://www.myspace.com/orchestralmanoeuvresdark )

Some Detergents… (1979-83)

Some Detergents were an electro/synth-pop act put together in 1979 by Chris Shaw (synths, one of the founding members of Dalek I Love You, alongside Alan Gill, Dave Balfe and David Hughes) with schoolfriend Chris Russell (vocals, also in the Games, later Sense of Vision), and, from 1981, Brendan Coyle (synths, also in the Games). Coyle remembers: ‘I met the two Chris’ at Bradys and we thought we had the same musical differences. I ahd my electronic moods and they had their sixties moods – and we though we could combine them. So when the Games split I approached the two Chris and, well it seems to blend’ (Breakout Mag, July 1982). Before Coyle the band went through phases where several musicians were tried out: ‘We’ve had other people who’ve past through, but we always seemed to find that our certain sound – which is for us Some Detergents – was being eroded, so it never really worked out with anyone else’ (Popeye Mag, March 1982).

When it comes to define their musical style they claim: ‘Well, we’re not really a synth band. We use guitars mainly and have synths as backing. We have rhythm units down on tape and mix this with live drums to give a good flavour’ (Breakout Mag, July 1982). The fact of having been in or around such bands as Dalek I Love You influenced a lot the band’s style, in terms of sounds and song structure. Shaw concedes: ‘Although the single is not simple, it’s complex actually, we’re moving towards simplified music. When we got the single and listened to it, we realised it was too complex − too much information in it’ (Breakout Mag, July 1982).

As to the origin of the name the band recalls: ‘We were all sitting around watching TV discussing a suitable name, when Chrissy [Russell]’s sister – during the adverts –said ‘Some detergents have nice names’ and that was it!’

The band first and only single was released in 1982:

Moderne Problem (1982)

- Colours

- Moderne Problem

- Wake Up

‘We’ve written the songs between us. We don’t make compromises – we’ve got to be one hundred percent sure about every note, sound, lyric. It’s obviously not easy but eventually we arrive at a satisfactory result. Each song is brought about like a kind of collage. Different textures of sounds are put together – the latest electronic sounds with the raw sixties moods, utilising acoustic instruments. The songs take modern problems, social human problems. We present them to the listener but we don’t try to make any particular statement or judgement’ (Popeye Mag, March 1982). As to the rather unusual cover of the single Russell concedes: ‘Well, me and Chris used to work in Hamburg and when we were in supermarkets we noticed the packaging was really nice so when we came home we brought some and because I went to art college I was interested in this and so I designed the cover.’ (Breakout Mag, July 1982)

Thanks to Janice Long (Radio Merseyside, Street Life), John Peel and Peter Powell, who played extensively their single, Some Detergents gained a remarkable reputation even before playing any gig. When they eventually did, they lived up to the expectations: ‘Some Detergents proved that what they were capable of in a studio could be reproduced, note-perfect, in a live situation – over a backing of rhythms, the group played bass, electric and acoustic guitar and synthesiser to create a full rich sound. Their music has, in the past, been described as using 60s moods, perhaps the main reason for this being their enviable ability to write memorable melodies coupled with thoughtful lyrics’ (Merseysound #26, October 1982). Live gigs, although quite infrequent, provided the occasion for playing new material, among which unrecorded songs like Don’t Go Out Tonight, What Romance and the instrumental I Want to Look at Pictures.

In 1983 Some Detergents disbanded, and Shaw and Russell formed Sense Of Vision, with former Games keyboardist Colin Hughes.

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(see also: http://www.nexthomegeneration.com/Chris_Shaw_%28musician%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Shaw_%28musician%29 )

The Games - Some Recordings (1980-82) [Re-Up]

Wirral electronic dance band formed in 1980 by Brendan Coyle (synths, later Some Detergents), Colin Hughes (synths, later Sense of Vision) and Steve Knott (guitar and vocals), deeply influenced by the electronic pop so popular at the start of the decade (Roxy Music, Japan, and especially the Human League, from whom they also got the idea of female dancers for live performances). Their first single was released in 1980:

First Law of Games (1980)
- First Law of Games
- Childsplay

In 1981, the same line-up recorded a couple of songs (Unrest in the Real World and The Song) to be featured on the compilation Street to Street Vol. 2 (see below). In March of the same year a cassette compilation with some of their songs was privately released (that is, impossible to find!) with the title The Bogus Compendium.

In 1982, the line-up expanded with the inclusion of Chris Shaw (synths, former Dalek I Love You, at the time also with Some Detergents, and later with Sense of Vision). The four-piece act recorded and released the band’s second and final single in February 1982.

Dance This Way (1982)
- Dance This Way
- Love Canal

The Games disbanded by the end of the year.
In 1983 Steve Knott resurrected the band for one only gig at Pickwick’s. For the occasion he was joined on stage by Wayne Hussey (on guitar, at the time with Dead or Alive), Bran Jones (on drums, from A Selected Committee, later with Something French), and David Hughes (on keys, previously Dalek I Love You - with former Games’ member Chris Shaw – and later OMD, Godot, Thomas Lang Band).

This is how Merseysound (# 20, December 1981) reviewed one of the Games’ gigs: ‘The Games inhabit that electronic pop world so popular today. The singer lacks the coy sensuality of Ferry, Oakey or Sylvian, the female dancers a la Human League always seem out of time and self conscious, and the sound lacks any of the incisive or arresting qualities which only the very best of this electronic bunch seem able to create’

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