One week at number one on 12th December 1981
The thirteenth number one of 1981, and indeed of the NME Indie Charts in general, is The Damned’s “Friday the 13th EP” – a neat coincidence, or perhaps a case of demonic interference?
It’s certainly a rare victory for punk’s old guard whether Satan’s stinking finger nudged them to the top or not. The indie charts of 81 were generally dominated by Gary Bushell approved second wave acts, with the old school 70s bands with new homes on small labels clinging on in the foothills; if punk wasn’t exactly dead, it certainly seemed as if some of its original proponents were living in less assured circumstances.
Of all those groups, The Damned couldn’t be more “first wave” if they tried – they were the first UK band to issue a punk rock single in the form of “New Rose” and the first to push an album out. Unlike many of the more serious-minded acts who quickly usurped them, The Damned were cartoonish rogues, a hammer horror Ramones offering scuffed-up hyper garage rock. None of their songs offered clear manifestos or pushed ideologies, even for effect, unless of course “Can a man be a mystery man/ can a doll be a baby doll” is code for something I don’t fully understand. I suppose you could even argue that “Problem Child” off the second LP “Music For Pleasure” is a punk throwback to Cilla Black’s “Liverpool Lullaby”, but let’s forget I even thought of that idea.
The second album was a huge problem child in its own right, though. The Damned’s love of sixties psychedelia led them to approach Syd Barrett to produce the record, which inevitably came to nought. Pink Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason took on the job instead as a consolation prize, and produced a negatively reviewed and poorly selling record in “Music For Pleasure”. So underwhelmed were critics and fans alike by the disc that it contributed to the group’s split afterwards.
Perhaps understanding that they had handled a typical case of second album syndrome too hastily, the group reformed without the original guitarist Brian James for the “Machine Gun Etiquette” album in 1979, which charted (unlike its predecessor) then pushed out “The Black Album” in 1980 which saw them broadening their palette and gradually moving away from their original punk sound. While goth wasn’t yet popularly understood as a musical genre in 1980, Dave Vanian’s vocals became deeper and eerier while the clanging of bells could occasionally be heard beneath the group’s toughened up (and incredibly well performed) R&B sounds – on some moments like the superb opening track “Wait For the Blackout”, it’s possible to visualise the group as The Pretty Things or The Downliners Sect with Lord Sutch on guest vocals after having had some valuable singing lessons.
Of all the punk groups, The Damned were generally the most open about their previous influences and also closer to the musos punk meant to replace. Captain Sensible once expressed outrage that The Pistols stole the Damned’s thunder, commenting that he bought a copy of “Anarchy In The UK”, desperate to hear what “our rivals” had produced, and feeling aghast when he heard “Old Man Steptoe singing”. They may have been fast, raucous, chaotic and even extremely daft, but they were probably always closer to their pub rock cousins than most of the emerging set; good musicians with sixties influences creating an exhilarating noise. They were therefore assured a longevity that a lot of the earliest 100 Club and Roxy hopefuls were never going to achieve.
Despite being somewhat unexpectedly produced by New Musik's Tony Mansfield, the “Friday the 13th EP” is really a sharp dose of more of the same, with lead track “Disco Man” pulling up water from the same well; those vocal harmonies, sharp guitar riffs and thumping backbeats don’t lie. “Limit Club” even combines gothic atmospheres with sixties psychedelia, proving that punk didn’t necessarily eliminate the hippies – it absorbed ideas from them too (the crossover between the hippy underground press and the fanzines also proved that the breaks weren’t as clean as everybody suggested).
As if to underline the point that there was no such thing as a “year zero”, the EP concludes with a dramatic take on The Rolling Stones “Citadel”. The first punk group to be immortalised in wax were probably the keenest to claw back to the past as soon as the opportunity presented itself, but very few of their contemporaries managed to do it with such style.
The earliest part of the eighties saw the group deadlocked outside the national Top 40, perhaps seen by those outside their fanbase as something of an anachronism, but once their metamorphosis was complete they became a far bigger musical force than anyone could have predicted.
A fair weight of new entries this week, which is odd so close to Christmas – did 4AD, Factory, Rough Trade and, erm, Crass Records really think they were going to compete for shelf space against the big boys? A future number one emerges at 11, but not far behind at 16 is “Eddie’s Out” by Cabaret Voltaire; nearly ten minutes of challenging avant electronics with surprisingly urban samples poking out of the mix.
Reggae act Talisman enter at number 19 with the brilliantly moody “Run Come Girl”, a superb single which deserved better. The Bristol group managed support slots with The Clash and The Rolling Stones, but never really moved far from cultdom – this single, though, is proof that better things could have happened if the wind had been blowing in the right direction on the right day.
In at number 22 it’s Damned member Captain Sensible on the Crass label (really) with the “This Is Your Captain Speaking” EP, consisting of tracks the group apparently thought were too poppy to see the light of day under the Damned moniker. Penny Rimbauld of Crass is on drums, and the opening track “(What D’Ya Give) The Man Who’s Gotten Everything?” is borderline Christmassy, but ultimately shows that even away from the mothership and with different collaborators, the Captain could still do that psych garage sound adeptly. The record eventually climbed to number 2 where it stayed for two weeks, encouraging A&M records to offer him a solo record deal - which led right on to you-know-Wot (and yes, that other single as well).
The second album was a huge problem child in its own right, though. The Damned’s love of sixties psychedelia led them to approach Syd Barrett to produce the record, which inevitably came to nought. Pink Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason took on the job instead as a consolation prize, and produced a negatively reviewed and poorly selling record in “Music For Pleasure”. So underwhelmed were critics and fans alike by the disc that it contributed to the group’s split afterwards.
Perhaps understanding that they had handled a typical case of second album syndrome too hastily, the group reformed without the original guitarist Brian James for the “Machine Gun Etiquette” album in 1979, which charted (unlike its predecessor) then pushed out “The Black Album” in 1980 which saw them broadening their palette and gradually moving away from their original punk sound. While goth wasn’t yet popularly understood as a musical genre in 1980, Dave Vanian’s vocals became deeper and eerier while the clanging of bells could occasionally be heard beneath the group’s toughened up (and incredibly well performed) R&B sounds – on some moments like the superb opening track “Wait For the Blackout”, it’s possible to visualise the group as The Pretty Things or The Downliners Sect with Lord Sutch on guest vocals after having had some valuable singing lessons.
Of all the punk groups, The Damned were generally the most open about their previous influences and also closer to the musos punk meant to replace. Captain Sensible once expressed outrage that The Pistols stole the Damned’s thunder, commenting that he bought a copy of “Anarchy In The UK”, desperate to hear what “our rivals” had produced, and feeling aghast when he heard “Old Man Steptoe singing”. They may have been fast, raucous, chaotic and even extremely daft, but they were probably always closer to their pub rock cousins than most of the emerging set; good musicians with sixties influences creating an exhilarating noise. They were therefore assured a longevity that a lot of the earliest 100 Club and Roxy hopefuls were never going to achieve.
Despite being somewhat unexpectedly produced by New Musik's Tony Mansfield, the “Friday the 13th EP” is really a sharp dose of more of the same, with lead track “Disco Man” pulling up water from the same well; those vocal harmonies, sharp guitar riffs and thumping backbeats don’t lie. “Limit Club” even combines gothic atmospheres with sixties psychedelia, proving that punk didn’t necessarily eliminate the hippies – it absorbed ideas from them too (the crossover between the hippy underground press and the fanzines also proved that the breaks weren’t as clean as everybody suggested).
As if to underline the point that there was no such thing as a “year zero”, the EP concludes with a dramatic take on The Rolling Stones “Citadel”. The first punk group to be immortalised in wax were probably the keenest to claw back to the past as soon as the opportunity presented itself, but very few of their contemporaries managed to do it with such style.
The earliest part of the eighties saw the group deadlocked outside the national Top 40, perhaps seen by those outside their fanbase as something of an anachronism, but once their metamorphosis was complete they became a far bigger musical force than anyone could have predicted.
Away From The Number One Spot
Reggae act Talisman enter at number 19 with the brilliantly moody “Run Come Girl”, a superb single which deserved better. The Bristol group managed support slots with The Clash and The Rolling Stones, but never really moved far from cultdom – this single, though, is proof that better things could have happened if the wind had been blowing in the right direction on the right day.
In at number 22 it’s Damned member Captain Sensible on the Crass label (really) with the “This Is Your Captain Speaking” EP, consisting of tracks the group apparently thought were too poppy to see the light of day under the Damned moniker. Penny Rimbauld of Crass is on drums, and the opening track “(What D’Ya Give) The Man Who’s Gotten Everything?” is borderline Christmassy, but ultimately shows that even away from the mothership and with different collaborators, the Captain could still do that psych garage sound adeptly. The record eventually climbed to number 2 where it stayed for two weeks, encouraging A&M records to offer him a solo record deal - which led right on to you-know-Wot (and yes, that other single as well).
On a personal level, the Captain's stay at Crass's squat while working on this record had a lasting impact on his life, inspiring him to become vegetarian and a vocal campaigner against animal cruelty, as well as adopt some more radical political beliefs.
The barren, eerie funk of A Certain Ratio enters one space lower down with “Waterline”. Yes, you can dance to this stuff, but it’s a tall order.
The barren, eerie funk of A Certain Ratio enters one space lower down with “Waterline”. Yes, you can dance to this stuff, but it’s a tall order.
The full charts for this week are available on the UKMix Forums
Number One In The National Charts This Week
The Human League - Don't You Want Me (Virgin)
No comments:
Post a Comment