My pathetic whining about Coldplay yesterday prompted a short discussion between Kev and myself as to whether his former band (the redoubtable Stump) would have been getting column inches in the music press if they were around today. Kev made the point that they were, in fact, a really, really good band with a big live following. But nevertheless, would their music have found a niche in 2005?
I've not always been excited merely by the jazz-tinged West Coast sounds of Steely Dan. In 1986, the things that got me into music were the bands of the shortlived and financially unastute Ron Johnson label. John Peel adored them, played them constantly, and I heard in them a frustration and energy I've not come across since, despite many bands attempting to copy them (including my own). It was like they were striving for the unattainable.
Big Flame were my favourites. Between 1984 and 1986 they released five 7″EPs and an anomalous 12″ on a German label. They did four Peel Sessions. They were lauded in the press, appeared on the NME C86 cassette, and frequently scaled the indie top 10.
Big Flame – 3 On Baffled Island
Bogshed are jokily mentioned whenever anyone wants to refer to the scratchier bands of the mid-80s. There are a few laughs, granted, but people miss the point – they were ferociously inventive, and across 2 albums and 3 or 4 singles there's barely a duff tune. They were also on the NME C86 cassette, they played a load of prestigious supports to the big indie bands of the time, did 4 Peel Sessions and remained one of Peel's favourite bands until they split in 1987.
The Ex were squatting Dutch anarchists, and probably still are, although I think they now own their villa outside Wormer, north of Amsterdam. They're probably one of the top 3 live bands I've ever seen, and throughout the 80s and 90s the music press would frequently attest to their brilliance. The records were never quite as good, but in 1986 their double 7″and book which documented the 1936 Spanish Revolution was voted single of the year by the indie label's trade mag, The Catalogue. Thousands upon thousands of them were sold (at a considerable loss.)
Stump's history is documented on Kev's site linked to above, but they signed to a major label, appeared on The Tube a couple of times, were PAID a WAGE to be Stump, and were featured across all the music papers in glowing terms. Kev probably doesn't think the track below is properly representative of them, sorry Kev.
All 4 of these tracks make me shiver or weep, to some extent. But my point is that the bands above, the ones that thrilled me to pieces when I was a teenager, were gawky, awkward, wilful, didn't play the traditional game, but nevertheless achieved success. Not huge success, not tours of the States, not massive bank balances – but, at the very least, a recognition that what they were doing was special. But if they started up today, none of them would break past 3rd on the bill the Bull & Gate. And it's when I realise this that I get annoyed. I don't know if it's a yearning for my youth, or a genuine grievance. I suppose I'm sensitive to the corporate sheen I see on virtually every single band I come across. All desperate to make it, all terrified of rocking the boat. Loosen up, all of you. Enjoy yourselves a bit more. Please.
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