One week at number one on w/e 1st September 1984
On the previous entry, we focused on The March Violets, a goth-leaning post-punk band who used a drum machine to closely ape the patterns of a live drummer, resulting in a precise, leaden sound. It’s an interesting twist of fate that the following number one should be from someone from much the same background taking a totally different approach.
The Senate were a duo formed by Kirk Brandon (ex-Theatre of Hate) and Rusty Egan (ex-Rich Kids and Visage) ostensibly – so far as I can gather – to record this one single before both parties moved on to other things. For Brandon in particular, it probably acted as a safe space away from his recently collapsed Theatre to dabble creatively in a less volatile short-term environment.
"Original Sin" was Theatre of Hate's debut single in 1980, but this version veers away from the brief and desperate three minute approach of that version and embraces the Theatre of Hate's later love of dramatic sprawls. With wails and howls, the single begins and lingers for two-and-a-half minutes on his voice and Egan’s keyboards. It’s a barren and moody and initially almost overly desolate start.
Past that point, the track suddenly crashes into 1984 with orchestral stabs, ambitious evolving and rumbling drum machine patterns, and keyboard lines which aren’t a million miles from the kind of work Trevor Horn was delivering elsewhere. It lacks the production gloss or sure-footedness, or the sense that it’s the product of three months worth of studio work, but maintains a rough and ready ambition alongside a very nagging percussive drive. This is the first goth-adjacent single I’ve heard since starting this blog which actually sounds danceable, and is using its drama and sense of momentum to engage feet as well as some slightly macabre minds – dammit, it obviously is possible.
In common with a lot of Brandon’s work, I also don’t think it’s perfect. The lingering on moody atmospherics for the first few minutes feels overstretched, and there’s a slight sense in places that this is a cut and shut assembly of Egan and Brandon’s separate ideas; the way the track evolves and resolves itself doesn’t feel as clean as it might be. Nonetheless, there’s a sense once again that Brandon wasn’t ever going to settle on the “growl a few mysterious and dramatic lyrics over some second hand Joy Division riffs” stand-by so commonly heard elsewhere in these charts. “Original Sin” may not be a knockout single, but it’s a very surprising and enjoyable one, and its slow climb to the top of the NME Indie Chart is understandable.
Of course, it was technically a double A side with a re-release of Theatre of Hate’s “Westworld”, which we’ve already covered. It’s not clear why that was tucked away as part of the package, except perhaps to remind more casual fans of who was behind the record – I suspect a record billed as The Senate alone might have struggled to get as far as this one did.
It’s with a dash of regret that I also have to say that this is the last time we’ll be discussing Brandon’s work. Following The Senate, Spear of Destiny were formed and he finally left the world of independent distribution and own-label pressings behind to take CBS’s money. He benefited by entering the mainstream Top 40 on a number of occasions, not least with his biggest hit “Never Take Me Alive”, without ever sustaining himself as a constant presence. He still performs today and has a loyal fanbase, but there’s a lingering impression that something somewhere didn’t click into place the way that it should; the sales of these early independent singles hinted he was ripe for a huge Cure or Bunnymen shaped leap into musical history.
Past that point, the track suddenly crashes into 1984 with orchestral stabs, ambitious evolving and rumbling drum machine patterns, and keyboard lines which aren’t a million miles from the kind of work Trevor Horn was delivering elsewhere. It lacks the production gloss or sure-footedness, or the sense that it’s the product of three months worth of studio work, but maintains a rough and ready ambition alongside a very nagging percussive drive. This is the first goth-adjacent single I’ve heard since starting this blog which actually sounds danceable, and is using its drama and sense of momentum to engage feet as well as some slightly macabre minds – dammit, it obviously is possible.
In common with a lot of Brandon’s work, I also don’t think it’s perfect. The lingering on moody atmospherics for the first few minutes feels overstretched, and there’s a slight sense in places that this is a cut and shut assembly of Egan and Brandon’s separate ideas; the way the track evolves and resolves itself doesn’t feel as clean as it might be. Nonetheless, there’s a sense once again that Brandon wasn’t ever going to settle on the “growl a few mysterious and dramatic lyrics over some second hand Joy Division riffs” stand-by so commonly heard elsewhere in these charts. “Original Sin” may not be a knockout single, but it’s a very surprising and enjoyable one, and its slow climb to the top of the NME Indie Chart is understandable.
Of course, it was technically a double A side with a re-release of Theatre of Hate’s “Westworld”, which we’ve already covered. It’s not clear why that was tucked away as part of the package, except perhaps to remind more casual fans of who was behind the record – I suspect a record billed as The Senate alone might have struggled to get as far as this one did.
It’s with a dash of regret that I also have to say that this is the last time we’ll be discussing Brandon’s work. Following The Senate, Spear of Destiny were formed and he finally left the world of independent distribution and own-label pressings behind to take CBS’s money. He benefited by entering the mainstream Top 40 on a number of occasions, not least with his biggest hit “Never Take Me Alive”, without ever sustaining himself as a constant presence. He still performs today and has a loyal fanbase, but there’s a lingering impression that something somewhere didn’t click into place the way that it should; the sales of these early independent singles hinted he was ripe for a huge Cure or Bunnymen shaped leap into musical history.
(Oddly, this track has absolutely no Spotify presence at the moment, so you'll have to make do with YouTube)
11. Alien Sex Fiend - Dead and Buried (Anagram)
Peak position: 5
“Dead and Buried” acts as a high water mark commercially for Alien Sex Fiend, climbing to that all-important number 91 position in the official UK charts, something they would never beat or match again. Honestly though, given the contents, that’s one hell of an achievement. The single is a grinding, chopping, wailing concoction of ever shifting ideas, incorporating twittering, gurgling synths, echoing, stammering vocal lines, metallic clattering and virtually no concessions to commerciality at all.
It’s hard to imagine another period where a record like this, particularly one released on an indie label, would even have nosed gently against the underbelly of the mainstream.
13. Depeche Mode - Master And Servant (Mute)
Peak position: 2
“Master and Servant” climbed to number nine in the national charts, making it one of Depeche Mode’s biggest UK hits. This occurred when they were being supported by a casual pop audience as well as an increasingly fanatical fanbase, during a period where their singles weren’t peaking on the first or second week of sale (this one managed a convincing and graceful 24-12-11-9 climb).
Staggeringly though, it couldn’t quite get to the top of the NME Indie Charts, meaning we won’t be covering it in depth. Suffice to say that it captures the group at their commercial zenith, picking up the flashes, bangs, slaps and sexual undercurrents of 1984 generally (a weird period filled with tight leather and suggestive lyricism) and creating a record which I’ve always found to be more effective and lovable than “People Are People”. If that track sounded a little innocent and naive at times, “Master And Servant” grabs hold of the arrangement firmly and actually taunts the listener with sexual titillation and political observation – “Domination’s the name of the game/ in bed or in life – they’re both just the same” Gahan almost sneers, no questions asked, before following it up with “Except with one you’re fulfilled at the end of the day”. Ouch (possibly literally).
Rumour has it that at the time, this was one of Freddie Mercury’s favourite songs to dance to. If that doesn’t generate an image in your mind’s eye of the man drenched in sweat while gnashing furiously and making appropriate aggressive gestures to the whip sounds, you’re a stronger person than I. Vince Clarke later commented that he felt dismayed that neither Erasure nor Depeche Mode were invited to perform at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert given how much the man apparently loved both bands, but the organisers obviously didn’t want any synths bunging up the rock and roll lovefest.
New Entries Elsewhere In The Charts
11. Alien Sex Fiend - Dead and Buried (Anagram)
Peak position: 5
“Dead and Buried” acts as a high water mark commercially for Alien Sex Fiend, climbing to that all-important number 91 position in the official UK charts, something they would never beat or match again. Honestly though, given the contents, that’s one hell of an achievement. The single is a grinding, chopping, wailing concoction of ever shifting ideas, incorporating twittering, gurgling synths, echoing, stammering vocal lines, metallic clattering and virtually no concessions to commerciality at all.
It’s hard to imagine another period where a record like this, particularly one released on an indie label, would even have nosed gently against the underbelly of the mainstream.
13. Depeche Mode - Master And Servant (Mute)
Peak position: 2
“Master and Servant” climbed to number nine in the national charts, making it one of Depeche Mode’s biggest UK hits. This occurred when they were being supported by a casual pop audience as well as an increasingly fanatical fanbase, during a period where their singles weren’t peaking on the first or second week of sale (this one managed a convincing and graceful 24-12-11-9 climb).
Staggeringly though, it couldn’t quite get to the top of the NME Indie Charts, meaning we won’t be covering it in depth. Suffice to say that it captures the group at their commercial zenith, picking up the flashes, bangs, slaps and sexual undercurrents of 1984 generally (a weird period filled with tight leather and suggestive lyricism) and creating a record which I’ve always found to be more effective and lovable than “People Are People”. If that track sounded a little innocent and naive at times, “Master And Servant” grabs hold of the arrangement firmly and actually taunts the listener with sexual titillation and political observation – “Domination’s the name of the game/ in bed or in life – they’re both just the same” Gahan almost sneers, no questions asked, before following it up with “Except with one you’re fulfilled at the end of the day”. Ouch (possibly literally).
Rumour has it that at the time, this was one of Freddie Mercury’s favourite songs to dance to. If that doesn’t generate an image in your mind’s eye of the man drenched in sweat while gnashing furiously and making appropriate aggressive gestures to the whip sounds, you’re a stronger person than I. Vince Clarke later commented that he felt dismayed that neither Erasure nor Depeche Mode were invited to perform at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert given how much the man apparently loved both bands, but the organisers obviously didn’t want any synths bunging up the rock and roll lovefest.
For the full charts, please go to the UKMix Forums.
Number One In The Official Charts
George Michael - "Careless Whisper" (Epic)
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