Urgh!

 

Yesterday's post has tempted me to once again Urgh! A Music War, a film from the eighties. Director Derek Burbridge's concept is simple in principle: go to concerts in London, New York and elsewhere and film the current punk, wave and reggae scene.

The result is a fantastic overview of this music from both sides of the Atlantic. I can still remember having to drive to the next bigger city with some friends to see this film. Some of the artists were known to us by name, but very few of them performed in southern Germany at the time. 

After this film, each of the three of us had a band that we particularly liked and bought a record from them as quickly as possible. For me, it was Echo and the Bunnymen and Gang of Four, who I have followed faithfully ever since.

What also makes the compilation of concert recordings special is that it features musicians who were far removed from the normal clichés of punk, such as John Cooper Clarke and Klaus Nomi.

While the British bands are still holding back, The Cramps and Dead Kennedys show us the true and raw energy that characterized punk.

And finally, some film documents of bands that have unfortunately been forgotten, such as Au Pairs and Alley Cats and bands like Magazine and XTC, who played a major role in shaping new wave and punk.

Funky Friday

I know, this tune is not really funky but the main idea behind this series was to post some songs that have a funky sound in itself or have a bass-line that impressed me much in the early 80s. Today's song is from the Au Pairs, a band formed in the late 70s and were successful with their first record Playing With A Different Sex a real post punk classic. This record was on heavy rotation in these days and I still like the sarcasm in this song. I listen to this record still from time to time and I have to say it is an underrated classic from this time.

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Indie Scene 1981

1981 was the year independent music changed his face. During the last years a lot of bands became highly rinsed playing short guitar based songs with a lot of verve. Now it seems that pop and the spirit of singer/songwriter get a foot in the door of new music. Fantastic bands like Haircut 100, Aztec Camera appeared on the scene as well as acts like Flock of Seagulls or Hazel O'Conner. I don't want to wail - it was a very good thing that happened to new music - they enriched us with their music. Now I could spread my musical spectrum to even this music.

In my hometown the first so called 'punk bands' showed up in some locations. Absolutely a few years too late but they had the power and the spirit in it. I remember a few concerts where there was for one hour totally weirdness listening to some young fellows playing mostly cover versions of their heroes. Still in 1981 the mainstream ruled my little town. The jazz purists refused to listen to this kind of music, the Deadheads were still smoking pot and the rest was listening to Phil Collins, Journey or Pat Benatar but the scene grew the more we outdistanced from them. I remember one of the first concerts by Fido and the Insects (one of the first local punk bands) in a very small club playing in front of 80 people watching them. Listening to them crudely sound wasn't fun at all but we loved their power and enthusiasm. A few month ago I watched them after more than 30 years when they played a reunion gig. Everyone's got older (and maybe wiser), the dudes learned how to play their instruments and the crowd was happy for another evening to remember these days.

Au Pairs - Inconvience
Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters
Birthday Party - Release the Bats
Clock DVA - 4 Hours
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin - It's my Party
Pigbag - Papa's got a brand new pigbag
Southern Death Cult - Fatman
The db's - Big Brown Eyes
Toyah - I want to be free

More of stuff like these you will find in an older post of mine.

It's Obvious

Finally, I have the complete Internet access in my flat again. It has lasted long and has cost me many nerves and time. As usual, a small cause has generated big effect. It was simply due to the fact that the first engineer has laid the connection with the wrong port. I would not like to complain too much of this what was happened the last week separate look forwards. Now that I am technically able to continue blogging you will get more comments to the posts you do.

In the 'old' days Saturday was reserved for many weeks to a series about old TV-series. I will continue but today I would like to feature a band from the days of post-punk. Birmingham gave us the Au Pairs, a band that often was compared to Gang Of Four and the Young Marble Giants. Of course, they played that kind of funk GOF did and they had female lead vocals like YMG. The Au Pairs had only a small output on records in the time they existed but most of them was superb. I bought their first album Playing with Different Sex in the early 80s and it had a heavy rotation on my turntable. I liked their sound with a leading bass, stoic drums and thrifty guitar licks combined with lyrics that played with a blinky look at gender relations.

Have a good weekend, mates.

Au Pairs - It's Obvious