The ripple felt around the globe in 1977 from New York to London, The Ramones to The Sex Pistols, the aggression and angers built in the youth culture could not be contained any longer and the last remnants of the hippy dream was extinguished with a flamethrower of angst.
The Radiators From Space landed at the right time and the right city, cut with a blade of stinging guitar into the right audience.
They had inspiration, the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland, the lack of jobs in the cities, the depressive atmosphere was finally given a voice, an album, suddenly an anthem grew from the littered streets. The album, 'TV Tube Heart' is an unequivocal masterpiece, make no mistake, and they did on this recording, the perfection lies in the imperfect delivery.
Not well honed or soaked with perfection, but then again neither is life. This is what the album mirrored in a time capsule of angst, Dublin- in -1977 and the atmospheric, downtrodden mood of the inner city.
The album opens with the distorted screech of feedback but nobody cared about the delivery as they got caught up in the speeding juggernaut of free speech.
Up until this point we were subject mainly to the lush sounds of progressive rock, organ and keyboard driven music with complex structure and melodies, when this album arrived it dragged away that format from the streets of the capital and replaced it with simplicity, of two guitars, one set of drums, one singer and one bass player, the only organ to be had been held back behind a ripped, dirty pair of jeans.
This was music so basic it could easily be repeated when young kids picked up instruments and so its influence spanned across a generation of musicians, not to put together a punk band but to play an instrument and in turn finding another type of escapism. This was the cause and reaction in its most direct form held together with the glue of; Philip Chevron, Pete Holidai, Steve Rapid, Jimmy Crashe and Mark Megaray.
The signing to the UK Label Chiswick in 1977 was a turning point and meant distribution outside of the island, within the island however the debut single 'Television Screen' became the first and one of the few true punk releases to break the Irish top twenty, proving their arrival was well-received, not just by critics but the actual buying public, heightened by their support of fellow Irish man Phil Lynott and his band Thin Lizzy on their Bad Reputation tour across the UK.
Then there is the follow-up, sometimes they do not match the intensity of the debut album, they lack at times the hunger, in this case however it is the opposite. With the departure of forming member Steve Rapid, which only led to a shortening of the name to simply the Radiators and under the watchful eye of Bowie supremo Tony Visconti the now four piece reconvened to record the staggeringly brilliant 'Ghostown'.
A concept album of sorts, drenched with heavy theme of society, force-fed paranoia and the isolation felt through the working classes; 'Who Are The Strangers', ‘Walking Home Alone Again', every note licked the grime from the streets of Dublin in the 1970s and was immediately hailed as one of the most important releases of the era. An importance not translating In sales and the band dissolved shortly afterwards after a relocation to London in an attempt to heighten the public attitude towards the band.
The following is a brief Question and Answer session with Pete Holidai, guitarist with The Radiators From Space and The Trouble Pilgrims.
What drove you as a person to the punk style of music? Was there a particular event you witnessed, a band or even a particular song?
PH;”My first real Interest in music was the Glam-Rock era of the early seventies T. Rex, Bowie, Roxy Music in particular-guitar music that was full of energy was always a style I was drawn to although like most 'Punks' we like the occasional tearjerker”.
Do you feel that The Radiators debut album ‘TV Tube Heart’ is more so a result of the environment than any outside musical influences?
“It was recognized by the UK press as an Irish version of Punk where our anger was focused at our reality...the church, the politician, the guard and the other so called pillars of society..we needed to be free from their shackles of emotional oppression”.
What do you think is the high-point in the career of The Radiators?
”All of it. The very fact we created and lead the scene in Ireland before leaving these shores to seek our fortune just like those before us..’TVTH’, ‘Ghostown, ‘Trouble Pilgrim’ and ‘Sound City Beat’ is our legacy”.
Looking back do you feel The Radiators achieved what they set out to do?
”Yes we did, we helped kick this God-forsaken island into the 21st century”.
Why do you think that a band who brought out an album of such a high quality as ‘Ghostown’ did not make it bigger?
”The reality is you need major financial backing to reach the bigger audience via marketing etc...however we were released in all the major territories via licensing deals”.
The sensational release by the Trouble Pilgrims ‘Dark Shadows And Rust’ is available on Vinyl and CD for their website.
http://www.thetroublepilgrims.com/
Kevin Burke - February 2019
Cut from the same cloth as U2, the Virgin Prunes were anything but a replica, to the the photograph U2 presented the Virgin Prunes were the negative, a dark cloud of invention against the dense fog of rock which hung thick in the late 70s.
In late 1982 the Virgin Prunes dived headfirst into a world of insanity, sculpting a vision of madness to enslave their new-found audience in ‘Hérésie’. The most adventurous band to rise out of the post-punk era struck gold very early on in their career, the Virgin Prunes are the anomaly in music, avant-garde, anti-commercial, hard to replicate and highly original.
To coincide with the debut album, “....If I Die, I Die”, the Virgin Prunes were commissioned by Yann Farcy to record an album for release through his label; L’Invitation Au Suicide, this dark work of experimental music would push the barrier of mainstream sound over a cliff with a celebration of disturbing gothic mastery.
The resulting album was to become ‘Hérésie’, a double ep set, one side a studio recording from their home at Windmill Lane Studios Dublin, Ireland, the other side a live recording taken from a performance at the Rex Club in Paris in June of that year.
Although primarily released and promoted for the French market the album found a much wider appeal originally as an import and towards the end of the nineties it finally found a release through Mute in the US and UK.
It is though an album of sublime anarchy and immense art, never replicated again by the band, a stretch too far into the abyss that it may have started to stare back at Gavin Friday and the rest of the Prunes.
The music contained within however is devastatingly good, interesting and surprisingly at times addictive, for example the track “Rhetoric” a mixture of Faust meets Bowie in a playground of weirdness;
“Spit into his eye,
Seeker Save His Soul.
Crawling in Pain”.
The music is not as powerful as on the debut and the standards recorded worked much better onstage with the visuals of Guggi and Friday bringing the theatrics to the music.
Here though, there is a low-point with the accordion driven “Down The Memory Lane” which is out of place slightly against others such as the sublimely macabre of “Loved One”;
“Sitting on the carpet
Playing with a gun”.
There is a train of thought that the extremity of the live shows did not translate to the studio, those slight touches of magic were lost which is why the second disc is so crucial here.
For the live recording the Prunes deprived themselves of sleep by some reports in a way to bring themselves to the point of madness or rather the right frame of mind to create a recording such as this, wether that is folklore or not this is the better side of the set by far as it pushes the audience and no doubt the listener to the brink of insanity.
The stage performance was always crucial to the Virgin Prunes, it was here that the creature finally sprang to life in a well-honed show, the influences of Joy Division, PiL and even Krautrock comes to the surface. With dolls heads and dead animals which would not look out of place at an Alice Cooper show, this though was in the name of art more so than shock.
The mastery of Dik Evans guitar work is critical in galvanizing their live sound against the thundering bass playing of Strongman (Trevor Rowan brother of second vocalist Guggi) which make the versions of “Pagan Lovesong” and “Theme For Thought” overtly raw and delivered with the intensity the band became famous for.
The “Walls Of Jericho” is blistering with Evan’s guitar chiming throughout, here Virgin Prunes cut-loose in full, sonic attack.
If there is anyone who is unfamiliar with the Virgin Prunes this is not the place to start, think of easing yourself in gently with one of there more accessible studio works, however, if you start to discover the Prunes this is where your journey will inevitably lead as this is a band hitting an abstract style of brilliance seldom seen within the modern music spectrum.
Kevin Burke.
On 16 March 1987, Siouxsie and the Banshees released their cover version of Iggy Pop's 'The Passenger', it was recorded for their 1987 all-cover-versions album Through the Looking Glass. The band revamped the song by adding brass arrangements. Released as the second single from that album, it peaked at number 41 in the UK singles charts.
Iggy Pop later praised their version and stated: "She sings it well and she threw a little note in when she sings it, that I wish I had thought of, it's kind of improved it [...]. Also the horn thing is good."
It was released as 7" and 12" vinyl by Polydor.
The Passenger - 7" - Tracklist
A. The Passenger 4:06
B. She's Cuckoo 4:16
The Passenger - 12 " - Tracklist
A. The Passenger (Llllloco-motion Mix) 8:00
B1. She's Cuckoo 4:15
B2. Something Blue 3:54
Today, 35 years ago, Siousxie And The Banshees released the single Swimming Horses!
Today, 35 years ago, Siousxie And The Banshees released the single Swimming Horses (16.03.1984) which was taken from the band's sixth studio album Hyaena. The song was co-written by Steven Severin and Robert Smith (The Cure)
The 7" B-side featured Let’s Go while the 12" version also feartured a third song called The Humming Wires.
Upon release Siousxie explained to British music magazine Melody Maker what events inspired her to write this song:
“This song is based on a programme I saw about a female version of Amnesty, called 'Les Sentinelles'. They rescue women who are trapped in certain religious climates in the Middle East, religions that view any kind of pre-marital sexual aspersion as punishable by death – either by the hand of the eldest brother in the family, or by public stoning. And there was this instance of a woman whose daughter had developed a tumour, and, of course, gossip abounded that she was pregnant. The doctor who removed the tumour allowed her to take it back to the village to prove that, no, it wasn't a baby – but they wouldn't believe her. The woman knew her daughter would have to be stoned to death so she poisoned her, out of kindness, to save her from a worse fate. Now this organization has all these escape routes for women like her, mainly through the elder brother who pretends to have killed them. But once they've been saved, they can never go back. So the song starts, "Kinder than with poison..." I also used the imagery of "He gives birth to swimming horses", from the fact that male sea horses give birth to the children, so they're the only species that have a maternal feel for the young. It was, I suppose, an abstract way of linking it all together without being sensationalist. I remember just being really moved by that programme, and wanting to get the sorrow out of me.“
Swimming Horses - Lyrics
Falling in your, falling in your arms
Fish on a line, learns to live on dry land
Thrown back again to drown
Kinder with poison
Than pushed down a well - or a face burnt to hell
Feel the cruel stones breaking her bones
Dead before born
Words fall in ruins - but no sound
She's dying of your shame - she maimed by your paw
He gives birth to swimming horses
Fish on a line, walking on dry land
But, back in the water to drown we drown
Floating in sky
He gives birth to swimming horses
Take a ride on the tide with the assassin at your side
The weightlessness under water -- forgets in slow motion
And washes pointless tortures
He gives birth to swimming horses
Floating in sky like fishes can fly through your arms
Songwriters: Robert Smith / Siouxsie Sioux / Steven Severin
Formed in August 1991 by Simon Treen, Neil Ash, Simon Manning and Pete Finemore and taking their name from a song by The March Violets, The Stun debuted at ‘The Crypt’, Hastings shortly after recording their first demo tape 'Elegance'. Later appearing in Mick Mercer's second Gothic Rock book which boosted their popularity and gained them some much needed publicity.
After recording ‘Elegance’ Treen left the band and the group moved towards the use of a drum machine.
The band supported the popular goth rock bands Nosferatu & Rosetta Stone on their UK tours and released demo tapes 'Choices', 'Monochrome I' and 'Monochrome II' using the profits to release a self financed 12” single, 'Hollow'. The group secured a recording contract with Cleopatra Records and in 1994 released their first album “Tourniquets of Love's Desire”.
After a break of 17 years, Children on Stun played a surprise sell-out reunion gig at the O2 Academy2 in London on 15th May 2015 and announced the band would be reforming to write new material.
On the 4th of July 2015 Simon Manning sadly passed away in his sleep.
After their tragic loss the band played two charity events for heart disease research in memory of Simon, both held on his birthday. Long term friend and Simon's previous band-mate, Stuart Harper, filled in on guitar. A signed limited edition CD ‘ Dancing with Mr Punch’ is released and the following year ‘This Sideshow Burlesque’ to further raise funds. Following Stuart's departure from the band, Gordon Young (Dream Disciples, Seraphin Twin), stepped in to play guitar.
Today the group is signed to the label ‘Armalyte Industries’, home of Cubanate, Chris Connelly [RevCo, Ministry].
Their brand new EP Echoes is released today 15th March 2019. A series of live dates have been announced to coincide, including the legendary 100 Club in London with Nosferatu.
Echoes Tour
Leeds 16/3 @ Carpe Noctum with Nosferatu & Momento Mori
London 17/3 @ 100 Club with Nosferatu
Berlin 23/3 @ Dark Spring Festival
Edinburgh 20/4 @ Bannermans with Berlin Black
Nottingham 21/4 @ Chameleon Arts Cafe with Glass House museum & Rain children
We have 5 copies of Echoes to give away amonst our readers! Go here to enter the raffle competition!
