Four weeks at number one from 5th April 1986
After four successive indie number ones from bands who had never graced the top spot before, here we are, back with the big boys on terra firma, gazing with wonder at their luxurious Peter Savile sleeves. Right from the start of this blog, New Order have had a dominant presence, scoring the eighth number one with “Everything’s Gone Green” then afterwards failing to reach the top (with a non-import release) only once.
Both they and Depeche Mode have been the two constant presences throughout, and that throws us a distinct challenge; whereas Depeche grew up in public and reacted against their earliest material in some interesting – and very occasionally misguided – ways, New Order eventually became (and indeed remain) comparatively staid fellows on vinyl. Dressing up games and intense, friendly interviews with the media were not their thing; the group’s lack of tolerance for the latter was summed up neatly when Peter Hook roared with laughter at an innocent business question following the collapse of Factory, then said “You journalists. You think you know it all”.
What that leaves us with is the recorded evidence and its gentle, unforced evolution (yeah, I know - the fiends) and also the reaction from outside their fanbase, which tended to vary from bowled over (“Blue Monday”) to frankly indifferent – their previous single “Sub-Culture” failed to even get inside the National Top 60.
“Shellshock” marks something of an about-turn in their declining commercial performance. Possibly helped by its appearance in the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack and the fact that it wasn’t available on any other album, the single returned them to the Sunday chart rundown with a number 28 peak. Perhaps mindful of the fact that they’d pushed the twitch and groove of modern club music into the background of their more recent singles, they collaborated with producer John Robie whose 1983 club hit “One More Shot” they had admired.
It subsequently becomes the basis for “Shellshock” without a single riff being wholly lifted; but its ghost is there in that jerky, propulsive beat, in the continued sense of peril and danger (though it eschews the broken glass noises, which perhaps felt as if they were tempting fate on the dancefloor). The cries of “One! More! Shot!” get replaced by the blare of “Shellshock!” and the track stammers into life, introducing the symphonic touches New Order were always compelled to use when they were at their most ambitious. Picked strings meet autumnal, world-weary melodies, thrashed guitars, a stuttering drum machine and one of their most powerful and purposeful choruses in a long time. While I prefer the “Substance” edit of the 12 inch for taking the correct decision to cut the most hesitant verse and leave it on the studio floor, ten minutes doesn’t necessarily feel too long for this track. It has enough drama and enough of a groove to hold its own.
What it also has throughout is a noticeable itchiness and irritation. New Order singles were very often led by Sumner sulking about life’s personal disappointments like a moping child – a tendency some critics were keen to mock. “Shellshock” positively bristles, though, with Sumner discovering he can actually growl. Listen to the almost Jon Bon Jovi-esque snarl of “Another day goes by and ALL I do is cry”, or the finger-stabbing delivery of “All I get from YOU is Shellshock”. This isn’t an insolent, murmured objection behind the privacy of a closed bedroom door. It’s the sound of a tin can being hurled down the street, a young adult man’s stomp loud enough to get the neighbour’s curtains twitching.
It’s not just the broadening of Sumner’s pallette that makes “Shellshock” work so well, though. It’s the way that, without saying anything profound, it speaks for everyone’s hopes, doubts and fears about romance. “The deeper you get/ the sweeter the pain” the chorus warns (sounding frighteningly like Martin Gore just fleetingly) before following it up with “Don’t give up the game/ until your heart stops beating”. It’s the romantic equivalent of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”, then – melodically and lyrically caught in the crossfire of the pain of one disappointing relationship, then the urge and desire for the next.
There probably are numerous other successful examples out there of records which summon this mood – Motown in particular were strong at producing singles with powerful mixed emotions – but it takes skill to stretch it this far without becoming overdramatic, overstated or boring. New Order manage to turn into your best friends in the bar, slapping you on the back, pulling you to your feet, and ultimately on to the dancefloor. It’s another spectacular record, and one I wish had managed to do a lot better; a number 28 position seems needlessly paltry under the circumstances.
New Entries Elsewhere In The Charts
Week One
24. 23 Skidoo - F.U.G.I./ 400 Blows - American Epilog (Saderal) – split single
Peak position: 24
26. Hawkwind - Zarozinia (Flicknife)
Peak position: 26
Low budget atmospheric prog is the order of the day here. An extra few thousand on the budget and the guitar being pushed up higher in the mix would have left this sounding like a David Gilmour penned filler on one of Pink Floyd’s later albums – unimpressive, but closer to being palatable.
As it stands, “Zarozinia” is a baffling zero of a single; like the sound of Hawkind’s trademark psychedelic whoosh slowed down to a gentle hum while some mystical claptrap is howled over the top. In fact, it veers dangerously close to being a bad comedian’s parody of prog. A very hard pass from me.
27. Mighty Mighty - Everybody Knows The Monkey (Girlie)
Peak position: 20
In direct contrast, the indie chart debut for Birmingham’s Mighty Mighty starts out as they obviously intended to continue. Orange Juice jangles meet mournful Morrisey-esque vocal yawns and shuffling rhythms. Of all the indiepop artists, Mighty Mighty often felt like one of the grooviest, eschewing the frequently apologetic pitter-patter of the other acts for something punchier.
Peak position: 20
In direct contrast, the indie chart debut for Birmingham’s Mighty Mighty starts out as they obviously intended to continue. Orange Juice jangles meet mournful Morrisey-esque vocal yawns and shuffling rhythms. Of all the indiepop artists, Mighty Mighty often felt like one of the grooviest, eschewing the frequently apologetic pitter-patter of the other acts for something punchier.
Week Two
15. Terry & Gerry - Reservation (In Tape)
Peak position: 8
The skiffling novelty of Terry & Gerry was beginning to wear thin by 1986, but “Reservation” is one of their more nakedly political tracks, marrying their lo-fi knocking, brushing and strumming to an open critique of the USA.
19. The Blue Aeroplanes - Lover & Confidante (Fire)
Peak position: 19
By this point the Bristol collective (it seems wrong to call them a “band” or “group”) had been releasing records for two years, but none had registered far beyond a local audience. “Lover And Confidante” sees them bringing their art rock closer towards something approaching orderly indiepop – Gerard Langley’s softly spoken beat poetry still dominates, but the anchoring chorus line couldn’t be more appealing to the twee kids. Who among the infatuated men in that tribe hadn’t at some point thought “If I can’t talk to her, I’d like to talk about her?”
It would mark the start of a career for the group which wasn’t exactly monumental, but certainly saw them gain a select, devoted following.
Peak position: 8
The skiffling novelty of Terry & Gerry was beginning to wear thin by 1986, but “Reservation” is one of their more nakedly political tracks, marrying their lo-fi knocking, brushing and strumming to an open critique of the USA.
19. The Blue Aeroplanes - Lover & Confidante (Fire)
Peak position: 19
By this point the Bristol collective (it seems wrong to call them a “band” or “group”) had been releasing records for two years, but none had registered far beyond a local audience. “Lover And Confidante” sees them bringing their art rock closer towards something approaching orderly indiepop – Gerard Langley’s softly spoken beat poetry still dominates, but the anchoring chorus line couldn’t be more appealing to the twee kids. Who among the infatuated men in that tribe hadn’t at some point thought “If I can’t talk to her, I’d like to talk about her?”
It would mark the start of a career for the group which wasn’t exactly monumental, but certainly saw them gain a select, devoted following.
22. The Three Johns - Sold Down The River (Abstract)
Peak position: 9
The Three Johns tottering, heavy-handed post punk has been a presence in the indie charts long past the point where most of their fellow travellers had packed up and gone home. The tough, brittle “Sold Down The River” shows how effective they had become through perseverance – it’s almost, but not quite, an anthem. They would continue to cut a confident path through the indie charts, even though they almost seemed like anomalies by this point.
23. Raymonde - Raymonde (Desire)
Peak position: 16
The much hyped Raymonde never achieved the potential the music press led us to believe they had. Their debt to The Smiths was obvious, but besides that dominant influence there was also a loud rocket of a racket behind them – a furious, flaying cacophony which just about set them apart from other imitators.
Like a number of other promising artists before them, they quickly inked a deal with the Chrysalis affiliated label Blue Guitar, at which point everything fell to pieces. Morrissey loved their work enough to invite lead singer James Maker to record an album for his Attack record label in 2004, however.
Week Three
12. The Janitors - Good To Be The King (In Tape)
Peak position: 8
17. The Godfathers - This Damn Nation (Corporate Image)
Peak position: 10
23. Biff Bang Pow! - Love's Going Out of Fashion (Creation)
Peak position: 23
You could never accuse Alan McGee of over-hyping his own group Biff Bang Pow! Their singles on Creation seldom entered the indie top 30, and the music press were largely indifferent to their charms. By 1986, he was beginning to tire of touring grotty pub and bar backrooms with them and they were rapidly turning into an expensive hobby; a distraction from the business of running Creation rather than an ambitious group in their own right.
“Love’s Going Out Of Fashion” obviously caused enough ears to prick up to get the group over the line in 1986, though by this point their chart position may have been bolstered by the growing number of Creation collectors rather than actual fans. It’s certainly not their finest work – the harmonica wheezes as the song breezes through what sounds like a lost Nick Heyward melody, albeit an inconclusive and messy one, then before you feel you’ve got acquainted it’s all over.
26. Hula - Freeze Out (Red Rhino)
Peak position: 24
Sheffield’s Hula were operating in a similar sphere to their home city’s fellow art-funkers, but with slightly less success. The promo video for “Freeze Out” benefited from an appearance on Channel 4’s The Chart Show and slightly bolstered their fortunes, but the song itself is the usual fare – paranoid, hysterical, glitchy but funky. Strangely, it's possible to hear elements of early Happy Mondays in this, though I don't recall Ryder and the boys ever mentioning Hula as an influence.
30. Menticide - Bathroom Ideas Exhibition (Pink Flag)
Peak position: 25
Perplexing one single wonders on their own Pink Flag label, which seems to have been named after the Wire album rather than being a label actually belonging to Wire (as a later iteration was).
Nonetheless, the group wear their Wire influence on their sleeves here, as you’d expect. “Bathroom Ideas Exhibition” has the same vocal sneer, choppy angular riffs and unexpected subject matter. As for who the hell they were, it seems as if they were based in the Deptford/ New Cross area and were a regular feature on the gig circuit at that time, but this was their sole release. If the internet is to be believed then Dave Pierce of The Hawklords and Bevis Frond was involved, but I’m taking that with a pinch of salt. Sharp, edgy single nonetheless.
Week Four
7. Depeche Mode - A Question of Lust (Mute)
Peak position: 4
By the eighties, artists being influenced by Scott Walker had become a common (if initially surprising) sight. Artists taking on the tones of the Walker Brothers at their peak was considerably rarer; but nonetheless, that’s how Depeche Mode come across on their second least successful eighties single – like Scott, John and Gary taking another big ballad, but setting it to a bank of synths rather than getting Simon Raymonde’s dad Ivor to record it in a huge, smoky studio with a full orchestra.
“A Question Of Lust” has the right clanging, chiming chorus, and Martin Gore’s vocals strain in places but are pure and rounded enough to carry off the idea that this is a sixties beat ballad retooled for the modern age. The public were deeply unconvinced by it, however, and yelled a collective “Piss off Granddad” (I’ve always got the sense that commercially, this really could only have gone one way or the other – it would either have been a top ten hit with unusually high levels of Radio Two support, or suffer a total media blackout).
It remains a true anomaly in Mode’s catalogue, the only time they actually sound retro despite using up-to-the-minute technology. It sounds less out of place on their astonishing “Black Celebration” album where strange and almost timeless ballads cuddled up against impersonations of Winston Churchill and late stage capitalism blues. Even there, though, it acts as something of a whirring signal interruption from a Medium Wave oldies station following the doomy clarion call of “Fly On The Windscreen”.
Peak position: 4
By the eighties, artists being influenced by Scott Walker had become a common (if initially surprising) sight. Artists taking on the tones of the Walker Brothers at their peak was considerably rarer; but nonetheless, that’s how Depeche Mode come across on their second least successful eighties single – like Scott, John and Gary taking another big ballad, but setting it to a bank of synths rather than getting Simon Raymonde’s dad Ivor to record it in a huge, smoky studio with a full orchestra.
“A Question Of Lust” has the right clanging, chiming chorus, and Martin Gore’s vocals strain in places but are pure and rounded enough to carry off the idea that this is a sixties beat ballad retooled for the modern age. The public were deeply unconvinced by it, however, and yelled a collective “Piss off Granddad” (I’ve always got the sense that commercially, this really could only have gone one way or the other – it would either have been a top ten hit with unusually high levels of Radio Two support, or suffer a total media blackout).
It remains a true anomaly in Mode’s catalogue, the only time they actually sound retro despite using up-to-the-minute technology. It sounds less out of place on their astonishing “Black Celebration” album where strange and almost timeless ballads cuddled up against impersonations of Winston Churchill and late stage capitalism blues. Even there, though, it acts as something of a whirring signal interruption from a Medium Wave oldies station following the doomy clarion call of “Fly On The Windscreen”.
11. Chumbawamba / A State Of Mind – We Are The World? EP (Agit-Matter)
Peak position: 7
Chumbawamba’s anti-American statement kicks like a bold impersonation of Crass here. “Media distortions censor our minds/ Passive spectators of royalty/ Too diverted to care if we're free/ICI, BP, Thorn EMI” they scream. Of course, by the mid-nineties they would be signed to EMI, once Thorn demerged to become a separate electronics and guided missile components company.
26. The Beloved - A Hundred Words (Flim Flam)
Peak position: 18
27. That Petrol Emotion - It's A Good Thing (Demon)
Peak position: 6
That Petrol Emotion’s previous singles had been relatively harsh rackets, and “It’s A Good Thing” was the first to show the group could fizz and pop too. There are even elements of jangles and Byrdsian vocal harmonies in evidence, however rough around the edges there are, and the chorus radiates a defiant joy.
That matches the lyrics, which make this a uniquely politicised ballad. “While governments gain/ All money can buy/ Trash means cash/ In any country/ But I just want/ To be with you/ Our flesh feels fresh/ And that’s the beauty” they sing, making this a cousin to Depeche Mode’s “Stripped” in a very strange kind of way.
For the complete charts, please go to the UKMix Forums
Number Ones In The Official Charts
Cliff Richard & The Young Ones - "Living Doll" (WEA)
George Michael - "A Different Corner" (Epic)
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