Love and violence, suicide and murder… just a normal day in the office for OMD and it always has been!
Having released their best album for 30 years with ‘English Electric’ in April, OMD continue the promotional campaign with one of its key tracks ‘Night Café’.
Originally demoed under the working title of ‘Hopper’ after the American realist painter Edward Hopper, the track lyrically references a number of his works in a song which despite its major key template and beautiful melody, resonates with some darker themes.
Reflecting this is the controversial accompanying video which takes a subversively macabre approach. Like Edward Hopper directing ‘South Park’, the adult themes which include casual sex, cross-species coitus, suicide, gang violence and murder have provoked a plethora of complaints. One comment just went “Rubbish video. Created by juveniles for juveniles”.
But paradoxically on its suitability for viewing by minors, one observer argued “when I sit down to watch South Park of an evening, I’m expecting a sick and tasteless cartoon. When I sit down to watch an OMD video with my 5 year old on a Friday morning, I’m not” while another said “Being an animation doesn’t make the content any less ‘disturbing’ (though I’d use the word tasteless instead) than live action. I guess it’s fine for people who think South Park, Beavis & Butthead, Keith Lemon etc are suitable for a mass audience including younger folk. I don’t find any of them funny, mainly because toilet humour isn’t clever. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a bit naff and not worthy of OMD”.
Many of these comments are surprising; OMD’s music has always explored the not necessarily pleasant side of the human condition. Indeed, on ‘International’ from 1983’s ‘Dazzle Ships’, the emotive track began with a news broadcast that announced: “The Youth Anti-Imperialist Tribune was also addressed by a young girl from Nicaragua whose hands had been cut off at the wrists by the former Somoza guards…”
Meanwhile, other lyrical gists in OMD songs between 1980-1993 have included the suicide of a charismatic musician, the suicide of a woman who worked as a stripper because she had no other means of supporting herself, the racially motivated massacre of five innocent demonstrators by the Ku Klux Klan, the death of over 100,000 people by nuclear attack and most notably on two hit singles, the brutal execution of a teenage girl!
In support of the video, VILE ELECTRODES’ Martin Swan said: “It reminds me of some of my favourite animations (ie Monkey Dust) and captures the darker undercurrent of the lyrics that some people seem to completely miss… ‘a voyeur in a high window…’, ‘dying like I used to do…’ etc”.
In response to the negative criticisms, Swan also retorted: “Fine, if you don’t like it, you’re entitled to your opinion, but some people seem to find it extremely disturbing because it’s an animation exploring adult themes. In what century do you live? Why are you complaining it’s not suitable for your kids? IT’S NOT MEANT FOR YOUR KIDS! It’s not f**king CBeebies!”.
Meanwhile, VILE ELECTRODES themselves have been the target of many a vented spleen, courtesy of their unsettling ‘B-Side The C-side’ reworking of ‘Night Café’.
A very alternative take on the song, it was inspired by OMD’s inventive experimental B-sides of the past such as ‘Navigation’, ‘Annex’ and ‘I Betray My Friends’.
VILE ELECTRODES were invited to support OMD on their German tour after Andy McCluskey spotted them on ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK; but the ‘Night Café’ remix roll of honour features not one, or even two but THREE acts that have been championed by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK
Finnish duo SIN COS TAN, who recorded one of the best songs of 2012 in ‘Trust’, have provided a Nordic electro disco reinterpretation of ‘Night Café’while fresh from the success of their ‘Metroland’ remix, the appropriately named Belgian duo METROLAND have been invited back to work their crisp mechanised magic on the Nighthawks Remix.
Also featuring on the EP are previously issued B-sides ‘The Great White Silence’ and ‘No Man’s Land’ which both premiere in physical CD format plus the unreleased McCluskey/Humphreys duet ‘Kill Me’.
All intended for ‘English Electric’ and structured in slow waltz time with particularly emotionally raw vocals by Andy McCluskey on ‘No Man’s Land’, their inclusion on the album would have almost certainly brought a halt to the seamless journey so painstakingly crafted by Paul Humphreys. This also would have made ‘English Electric’ far too long but despite pressure from within, Mr Humphreys stood his ground and told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK that in the end, “quality over quantity” won through.
More interesting though as bonuses are ‘Time Burns’ and ‘Frontline’ the former initially appeared on the limited edition ‘The Future Will Be Silent’ 10 inch picture disc, while the latter was from the flip of the ‘Our System’ 7 inch electric blue vinyl single included in the ‘English Electric’ luxury tin boxed set.
Musically, both are sample based collage experiments inspired by world events and very much in keeping with the ‘English Electric’ original vision of “what does the future sound like?”
But as the duo found with ‘Dazzle Ships’, too many abstract tracks on what, to all intents and purposes, is a pop record can confuse listeners. However, ‘Time Burns’ would have made a fitting alternative to ‘Decimal’ and the intense artistic soul searching that must have gone on when the final tracklisting was decided upon can only be imagined.
B-sides and bonus songs are always an interesting appendix to envisage the possible directions an album could have taken. It is a testament to Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey that while approaching their mid-50s, they both had the creative drive and emotional resolve to pool such an embarrassment of riches to fully realise ‘English Electric’.
The ‘Night Café’ 10 track EP featuring remixes by VILE ELECTRODES, METROLAND and SIN COS TAN plus the ‘English Electric’ B-sides is released on 16th September 2013 as a CD and download by BMG Records
In 2013, it would appear electronic pop music is as popular as ever with classic acts such as OMD and PET SHOP BOYS producing some of their best work since their heyday. And with them come many new acts who have been inspired by the innovators.
But one comment often keeps being repeated whenever ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK discusses particularly the new all-male synth acts on the scene with its colleagues and friends: “They’re not MIRRORS!”
Founded by James New (lead vocals and synthesizer) and Ally Young (synthesizer and backing vocals) in 2008, the pair were soon joined by James ‘Tate’ Arguile (synthesizer) and then Josef Page (electronic percussion) a few months later.
New and Arguile had actually been members of one-time indie hopefuls MUMM-RA who were signed to Columbia Records and had supported THE KILLERS in 2007; their best known song ‘She’s Got You High’ was used in a Waitrose advert and an episode of ‘The Inbetweeners’.
In 2009, MIRRORS released two self-produced singles ‘Look At Me’ and ‘Into The Heart’ which showcased an updated post-punk electronic sound. With New’s majestic vocals over their surreal, cinematic atmospheres, MIRRORS designated their music pop noir. After a few false starts image wise, MIRRORS settled on a look based around 20th Century European Modernism.
James New told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “We were fed up with how everything looked around us and we were definitely fed up with this celebration of scruffy indie rock music”. Relocating to Brighton, they impressed with their live shows locally and were eventually signed by FAT BOY SLIM’s label Skint Records with a tour supporting DELPHIC following not long after.
The quartet had a distinct vision and after aborted sessions with noted producers Richard X and Ed Bueller, their debut album was recorded and self-produced in a rural Sussex farmhouse before being mixed in New York by Jonathan Kreinik of DFA fame.
The resultant long player ‘Lights & Offerings’ was a wonderfully cohesive, seamless body of work that expressed the hopes and fears of young manhood. Following the philosophy of the Bauhaus movement’s founder Walter Gropius in uniting art and technology, the album crucially possessed an intelligent balance between precise electronic beats and emotive vintage synthesizer melodies.
James New had certainly kept his promise when he described the album as a collection of “really great pop songs” that contained “very densely produced, heavily layered, emotional, soulful electronic music”. Epic tracks such as ‘Fear Of Drowning’, ‘Somewhere Strange’ and the sub-11 minute ‘Secrets’ showed depth and ambition while there was accessible but cerebral synthpop in ‘Searching In The Wilderness’, ‘Hide & Seek’ and ‘Ways To An End’. And to show off their versatility, there was the beautiful electro cover of cult Country & Western number ‘Something On Your Mind’.
Despite delivering a fine debut album, MIRRORS didn’t get the recognition they deserved. There were several possible reasons for this. By the start of 2011, there appeared to be a synthpop backlash following the success of LA ROUX, LITTLE BOOTS and even LADY GAGA during 2009-2010.
Certainly the music press only seemed to embrace bands with a rogue electronic element if there was an obvious guitar backdrop (see THE KILLERS, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and WHITE LIES). But ultimately, they wanted combos with beards, guitars and preferably no synthesizers at all (see KINGS OF LEON and MUMFORD & SONS!)
It would be fair to say that MIRRORS probably also suffered from being compared to HURTS, particularly in Germany, the one market where MIRRORS were expected to prosper and the only country where the quartet undertook a full headline tour.
HURTS’ ‘Wonderful Life’ had been a No2 hit there and while the arthouse monochromatics of both acts indicated they each had a common goal to subvert the perception that bands needed to wear jeans and be hairy in order to attain any kind of credibility, musically the two acts were kilometres apart.
HURTS were more TAKE THAT and SAVAGE GARDEN cleverly dressed as ULTRAVOX, while MIRRORS really were the illegitimate offspring of OMD and DEPECHE MODE! But even the European public didn’t quite see it like that and certainly HURTS were able to attain more promotional momentum thanks to the weight of the Sony Corporation behind them!
While it could be expected that the real music brigade would be resistant to MIRRORS and their thoughtful aspirations, there was a surprising refusal to accept them within the electronic community itself. Electronic music didn’t die post-grunge but had mutated into numerous sub-genres and cottage industries.
But there was many a petty jealously embroiling as this band seemingly appeared out of nowhere and picked up on the distinctly European legacy that had been left behind back in the day to satisfy the synthobic territory of the USA with the advent of MTV. Comments like “Synth Britannia throwbacks”, “credit crunch KRAFTWERK” and “OMD tribute act” were among those banded about.
Photo by David Ellis
Then there was OMD’s drummer Mal Holmes’ amusing quip that “MIRRORS do OMD better than OMD do OMD…” – although complimentary, the comment may have inadvertently had an adverse effect. It was known to have got up the backs of several OMD fans who felt that OMD could do no wrong, despite them delivering a disappointing comeback album in ‘History Of Modern’! Ultimately, it was as if some wanted MIRRORS to fail.
Of course, OMD were one of MIRRORS many influences. The invitation to support the band on their 2010 European tour proved to be a blessing and a curse. While opening for OMD put MIRRORS firmly in front of an audience who were most likely to embrace them, it also drew comparisons due to the shared musical and sartorial roots of both bands.
The tour was a great success and enabled MIRRORS to undertake a headlining sojourn of Deutschland but the decisions to accept invitations to open for OMD in June and September of 2011 may have been ill-advised in hindsight.
With MIRRORS also playing events such as Back To The Future – Tomorrow Is Today with Gary Numan and John Foxx plus Godiva Festival with HEAVEN 17 and BLANCMANGE as well, MIRRORS were now being perceived as a Synth Britannia support act! James New later admitted: “I think we’ve made without realising it, maybe a record that was slightly more derivative than we hoped to make. We can be honest about that!”
This must have been preying on the band’s mind because prior to the Autumn batch of OMD dates and a slot at Bestival sharing the bill with SANTIGOLD and ONETWO, MIRRORS cancelled their appearances to “write new material”. Many followers of the band sensed all was not well and this was confirmed in a statement a few weeks later when Ally Young announced he was leaving.
The reason appeared to be good old fashioned musical differences; “We were coming to the point where writing the second record had begun. I felt like I’d taken it as far as I could perhaps emotionally as I wanted to” Young said in December 2012, “we were writing things that were good but I didn’t feel like I wanted to be part of it anymore. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the point but I did know it wasn’t that!”
MIRRORS parted ways with Skint Records although a belated remix album ‘Deconstructed’ was issued before Christmas 2011. But it appeared as though MIRRORS were done and dusted.
Then at the start of 2012, the remaining threesome announced the release of an EP ‘This Year, Next Year, Sometime…?’ which featured two newly recorded songs ‘Dust’ and ‘Shooting Stars’; the remaining songs were various works-in-progress or demos.
While it appeared to be nothing more than a stop-gap, it showed that Messrs New, Arguile and Page were still determined to pursue their artistic ideals just as DEPECHE MODE had with ‘A Broken Frame’ back in 1982 after Vince Clarke left. Using a wider palette of possibilities including more prominent guitar and conventional bass, the sparser direction still retained their essential melodic components. It proved if nothing, that MIRRORS were in still business although between premises and working from home.
Meanwhile after producing an aborted second album for Britpop influenced rockers VIVA BROTHER, Ally Young teamed up with their singer Lee Newell to form LOVELIFE and uprooted to New York. While still very much synth and sample led, the duo developed a sound based more around R’n’B grooves which were very much influenced by their new urban surroundings. Appropriately enough, they toured North America supporting THE NEIGHBOURHOOD while their first two EPs ‘El Regreso’ and ‘The Fourth Floor’ were well received; from the former, the HARD-FI meets OMD template of ‘Brave Face’ was a particular highlight.
On the MIRRORS front, things have been slightly less clear. Although a single ‘Hourglass’ backed with the superb ‘Between Four Walls’ was issued via Bandcamp in Summer 2012, New and Arguile reformed MUMM-RA for a one-off show later that Autumn. Fast forward to April 2013 and MUMM-RA have released a new download only EP. Other than a low-key gig in the Czech Republic at the FIS Ski Flying World Cup in February 2013, MIRRORS have remained silent. However, it is understood the band’s management have been answering enquiries for live bookings from various parties in 2013, although none of these have actually come to fruition.
Meanwhile, New has contributed vocals to two songs with production duo FOTONOVELA, best known for their work with MARSHEAUX and co-writing the OMD song ‘Helen Of Troy’. The vibrant first song from the sessions was ‘Romeo & Juliet’ while the magnificent second number ‘Sorrow’ is still to be aired publically. Whatever happens, MIRRORS are greatly missed and one wonders what the reaction to ‘Lights & Offerings’ might have been had it been released in the more sympathetic climate of 2013, a year which has seen KRAFTWERK headline Latitude and synthpop trio CHVRCHES get signed to Virgin Records.
Photo by David Ellis
After two and half years, what remains is the music and it is only after some distance that there can be an objective reassessment. Thus ‘Lights & Offerings’, with its associated bonuses, remains an impressive body of work. OMD’s Andy McCluskey once said MIRRORS had the potential to become “the DURAN DURAN of modern synthpop”. Even if that prospect is to remain unfulfilled, it really would be shame if there was to be no more great music from MIRRORS.
Although the label is now owned by the Universal Music Group, its colourful history is forever associated with the championing of new and unconventional music forms during its fledgling years. Virgin founder Richard Branson started his empire in 1970 with nothing more than a mail order outlet, selling discounted records.
The name Virgin came from the fact that Branson and his team of directors were all new to business. There then came a small record shop in London’s Oxford Street a year later. Not not long after, a residential recording complex in an Oxfordshire mansion which became the now-famous Manor Studios was established. Further shops opened so with the success of the retail arm and studio, a record label was launched in 1973.
Recognising he had no real working knowledge of music, Branson appointed his second cousin Simon Draper (who had been Virgin’s buyer) as Managing Director to seek out new talent for the new A&R led company. Beginning with Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ and the catalogue number V2001, progressive acts such as GONG along with cosmic Germans FAUST and TANGERINE DREAM soon followed, all with varying degrees of success.
But with the advent of punk and keen to shake off its hippy image, Virgin gained notoriety by signing THE SEX PISTOLS in 1977 and releasing ‘God Save The Queen’ in the process. The label courted further controversy when they issued the album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ to great fanfare. Virgin ended up in the dock under the 1899 Indecent Advertising Act over a poster in their Nottingham record shop.
But Branson and defending QC John Mortimer had an ace up their sleeve; Reverend James Kingsley, a professor of English Studies at Nottingham University was called as a witness. Under questioning, Kingsley was asked for the derivation of the word “bollocks”. Apparently, it was used in the 19th century as a nickname for clergymen who were known to talk rubbish and the word later developed into meaning “of nonsense”.
Wearing his clerical collar in court, Kingsley confirmed: “They became known for talking a great deal of bollocks, just as old balls or baloney also come to mean testicles, so it has twin uses in the dictionary”. The case was thrown out by the judge… after that, the label reinvented itself as a centre of post-punk and new wave creativity, signing bands such as THE RUTS, XTC, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED, MAGAZINE, THE SKIDS, DEVO and PENETRATION.
When David Bowie declared THE HUMAN LEAGUE as “the future of pop music” after seeing them at the Nashville in 1978, Virgin Records were quick to snap them up. Meanwhile, OMD were initially signed to Virgin’s Factory styled subsidiary Dindisc Records under the directorship of Carol Wilson; but their success had been an embarrassment to Richard Branson, particularly in 1980 when following the international success of ‘Enola Gay’, OMD had outsold every act in the parent group!
Despite massive sales of ‘Architecture & Morality’ in 1981, Dindisc ran into difficulties and was closed by Branson with OMD gleefully absorbed into the Virgin fold. The label threw in its lot with the synthesizer revolution and gave homes to SPARKS, JAPAN, SIMPLE MINDS, HEAVEN 17 and CHINA CRISIS as well as more conventional acts of the period such as Phil Collins and Bryan Ferry.
In 1982, on the back of ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ having been a No 1 in the UK and USA, Virgin had made a profit of £2 million but by 1983, this had leaped to £11 million, largely attributed by the worldwide success of CULTURE CLUB. Virgin Records was sold by Branson to Thorn EMI in 1992 reportedly for around £560 million to fund Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Under new management, the label became less visionary and more corporate with SPICE GIRLS and THE ROLLING STONES, along with Lenny Kravitz, Meat Loaf and Janet Jackson being examples of the brand’s continued global success, while many of the innovative acts who had helped build the label were surplus to requirements. Despite this, Virgin Records still maintains a tremendous back catalogue.
Over the years, Virgin Records have been in the fortunate position of having a critically acclaimed act on its roster at each key stage of electronic music’s development and its electronic legacy continues today with the recent signing of Glaswegian synth trio CHVRCHES.
So here are twenty albums from the iconic label which ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK considers significant in the development of electronic music. Restricted to one album per artist moniker and featuring only UK releases initially issued on or licensed to the Virgin label, they are presented in chronological order…
TANGERINE DREAM Rubycon (1975)
‘Phaedra’ may have been the breakthrough but ‘Rubycon’ consolidated TANGERINE DREAM’s position as leaders in the field of meditative electronic music. Featuring the classic line-up of Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann and Chris Franke, the hypnotic noodles of VCS3 and Moogs dominated proceedings while Mellotrons and organic lines added to the trancey impressionism with the trio sounding like they were trapped inside a transistor radio.
Guitarist Manuel Göttsching had been a member of ASH RA TEMPEL but looking to explore more progressive voxless territory on ‘New Age Of Earth’, he armed himself with an Eko Rhythm Computer, ARP Odyssey and his signature Farfisa Synthorchestra. An exponent of a more transient soloing style, he used the guitar for texture as much as for melody in this beautiful treasure trove of an album, as on the wonderful 20 minute ‘Nightdust’
Already an established member of the Virgin family as a member of GONG, solo artist and in-house producer, Hillage had a love of German experimental music and ventured into ambient with long standing partner Miquette Giraudy. Recorded for the Rainbow Dome at the ‘Festival for Mind-Body-Spirit’ at Olympia, these two lengthy Moog and ARP assisted tracks each had a beautifully spacey vibe to induce total relaxation.
Following the success of ‘I Feel Love’, its producer Giorgio Moroder teamed with SPARKS. The resultant album saw Russell Mael’s flamboyant falsetto fitting well with the electronic disco template. ‘The No1 Song In Heaven’ hit the UK charts before TUBEWAY ARMY’s ‘Are Friends Electric?’ while ‘Beat The Clock’ actually got into the Top 10 but the album itself was overshadowed by the success of Gary Numan.
“I want to be a machine” snarled John Foxx on the eponymous ULTRAVOX! debut and after he left the band in 1979, he virtually went the full electronic hog with the JG Ballard inspired ‘Metamatic’. ‘Underpass’ and ‘No-One Driving’ were surprising hit singles that underlined the dystopian nature of Foxx’s mindset while the fabulous ‘A New Kind Of Man’, the deviant ‘He’s A Liquid’ and stark opener ‘Plaza’ were pure unadulterated Sci-Fi.
Dropped by Ariola Hansa despite their third album ‘Quiet Life’ being palatable with the emerging New Romantic scene, JAPAN found a refuge at Virgin. ‘Swing’ succeeded in out Roxy-ing ROXY MUSIC while the haunting ‘Nightporter’ was the ultimate Erik Satie tribute. An interest in Japanese technopop saw Sylvian collaborate with YMO’s Ryuichi Sakamoto on the splendid closer ‘Taking Islands In Africa’.
BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION Music For Stowaways (1981)
When they left THE HUMAN LEAGUE in Autumn 1980, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh formed BEF, releasing ‘Music For Stowaways’, an instrumental album only available on cassette to accessorise Sony’s brand new Stowaway portable tape player. However, the name of the new device was changed to Walkman! With economic recession decimating the industrial heartland of Sheffield and the spectre of imminent nuclear holocaust, the chilling ambience on ‘The Decline Of The West’, the futurist horror of ’Music To Kill Your Parents By’ and the doomy fallout of ‘Uptown Apocalypse’ certainly connected with the album’s concept of a walking soundtrack.
After ‘Reproduction’ and ‘Travelogue’ failed to set the world alight, manager Bob Last played a game of divide and rule on the original line-up. Vocalist Philip Oakey and Director of Visuals Adrian Wright would recruit Ian Burden, Jo Callis, Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall to record the now classic ‘Dare’ album under the auspices of producer Martin Rushent sounding ike KRAFTWERK meeting ABBA, especially on ‘Darkness’ and ‘Don’t You Want Me’.
HEAVEN 17’s debut ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ combined electronic pop and disco while adding witty sociopolitical commentary about yuppie aspiration and mutually assured destruction. The ‘Pavement’ side was a showcase of hybrid funk driven by the Linn Drum and embellished by the guitar and bass of John Wilson while the ‘Penthouse’ side was more like an extension of THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Travelogue’.
“You want to be with Virgin so bad that you’ll sign anyway” said Richard Branson to SIMPLE MINDS; signing after the promise of US tour support, the band lost their intensity and recorded a great album filled with pretty synthesized melodies, textural guitar and driving lead bass runs. Big titles like ‘Someone Somewhere In Summertime’, ‘Colours Fly & Catherine Wheel’ and ‘Hunter & The Hunted’ made investigation essential.
By 1982, DEVO had become much more of a synth based act with programmed percussion to boot. Their sound moved away from the guitar dominated art rock of their Eno produced debut ‘Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!’ As quirky as ever, the album’s concept was a response to criticism from the press about their imagery… thus they asked temselves “what would an album by fascist clowns sound like?”
OMD’s first album for Virgin after the demise of Dindisc, ‘Dazzle Ships’ was a brave sonic exploration of Cold War tensions and economic corruption. Although it featured some of the band’s best work like ‘The Romance Of The Telescope’, ‘International’ and ‘Radio Waves’, ‘Dazzle Ships’ sold poorly on its inital release. The band were never the same again, but this fractured nautical journey has since been vindicated as an experimental landmark.
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983)
Being the best looking member of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, it was almost inevitable that Sakamoto San would turn to acting. His first role was alongside David Bowie in ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’ and with it came his soundtrack. The main title theme resonated with emotion and traditional melody while the drama of ‘The Seed & the Sower’ was also a highlight. A chilling synthesized rendition of the hymn ‘23rd Psalm’ sung by the cast brought a tear to the eye!
CHINA CRISIS Working With Fire & Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume 2 (1983)
Produced by Mike Howlett, ‘Working With Fire & Steel’ allowed CHINA CRISIS to deliver a more cohesive album following the four producers who steered their debut. Best known for the brilliant Emulator laced hit single ‘Wishful Thinking’, the album is much more than that with melancholic synth melodies and woodwind counterpoints over a combination of real and programmed rhythm sections.
By 1984, Sylvian had a lucrative solo deal that gave him total artistic control. Side one of his debut solo offering opened with echoes of JAPAN in the funky ‘Pulling Punches’ but then adopted more of a laid back jazz feel. Meanwhile the second side had synthetic Fourth World overtones with avant garde trumpetist Jon Hassell and sound painter Holger Czukay as willing conspirators, and the emotive ‘Weathered Wall’.
With new music technology come new compositional concepts so when CD was launched, Brian Eno asked: “what can be done now that could not be done before?”. ‘Thursday Afternoon’ was a 61 minute ambient journey and the lack of surface noise meant it could be very quiet. Using a Yamaha DX7 and minimal sustained piano, it soundtracked video paintings of the model Christine Alicino in vertical portrait format, so the TV had to be turned on its side to view it!
PHILIP OAKEY & GIORGIO MORODER Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder (1985)
‘Together in Electric Dreams’ did better than any singles from THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s lukewarm ‘Hysteria’ album. So Virgin swiftly dispatched Oakey to record an album with Moroder. The segued first side was a total delight from the off, featuring the rousing ‘Why Must The Show Go On?’ while the Donna Summer aping ‘Brand New Love (Take A Chance)’ was another highlight, as was the stupendous ‘Now’ on side two.
Whenever THE BLUE NILE are mentioned, it’s their 1983 album ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ that is always discussed in breathless awe. But the follow-up ‘Hats’ is the trio’s crowning glory. Both licensed to Virgin through a deal with Linn, the high quality Hi-Fi manufacturer. With hopeless romanticism and rainy drama, the glorious centrepieces were ‘Headlights On The Parade’ and ‘The Downtown Lights’.
THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON became flag bearers of avant garde electronic music and seen as successors to TANGERINE DREAM and Eno. Signing to Virgin in 1992, the duo invested in some Akai S9000 samplers and given free rein to experiment in their sonic playground, resulting in the complex sweeps and downtempo collages of ‘Lifeforms’ with the influence of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop looming heavy in the sonic playground.
Despite relations being at an all-time low, MASSIVE ATTACK produced some of their finest work on ‘Mezzanine’. With dark undercurrents and eerie atmospherics, the sample heavy album’s highpoints featured the vocals of Elizabeth Fraser on the hit single ‘Teardrop’ and the spy drama magnificence of ‘Black Milk’, although the band were sued for the unauthorised use of MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND’s ‘Tribute’ on the latter
1972’s ‘Popcorn’ could arguably be seen as Europe’s first electronic pop hit.
Made famous by HOT BUTTER, they were actually a combo of session players led by Stan Free who had been a member of FIRST MOOG QUARTET with ‘Popcorn’ composer Gershon Kingsley. It was largely considered a novelty record but it inspired many cover versions throughout the world including France where it was a No1.
There, one came courtesy of a young musician named Jean-Michel Jarre who recorded ‘Popcorn’ under the moniker of THE POPCORN ORCHESTRA. While working on his first proper full length electronic album in 1976, Jarre adapted a melodic phrase from ‘Popcorn’ as the main theme of what was to become the project’s lead single. That composition was ‘Oxygène IV’ and the rest is history.
After ‘Oxygène IV’ became a Top 5 hit in the Autumn of 1977, the synth instrumental became a popular medium, even spawning budget covers albums such as ‘Synthesizer Hits’ and ‘Synthesizer Gold’.
But coinciding with accessibility of affordable synthesizers, instrumentals were seen by some as a cop out for a B-side or album filler. A bridge between pop and experimentation, these tracks were actually an artform of their own and many would become cult favourites among enthusiasts who understood that music did not necessarily need words to convey an emotive atmosphere or make people dance.
However today, it does appear to be a dying art with some musicians not understanding that formless noodling, club racketfests or tracks in which the vocalist appears to have forgotten to sing don’t quite cut it. So here are twenty five other instrumentals from the classic era when the synth went mainstream and discerning listeners looked forward to an imaginative wordless wonder.
This chronological by year, then alphabetical list however has a restriction of one track per artist and features no tracks that use a repeated vocal phrase as a topline, thus excluding most recordings by KRAFTWERK! And if you’re wondering where GIORGIO MORODER is, his work was covered recently in his own Beginner’s Guide to him…
NEU! Isi (1975)
By 1975, NEU! had broken into two artistic factions with Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger unable to agree a direction for their new album. So they divided its space with the manic Dinger piloting his rambling proto-punk of side two and the more sedate and thoughtful Rother directing the less jarring first side. ‘Isi’ was a wonderful synthesizer and piano instrumental that was still driven by a motorik beat but less dominantly Apache.
Available on the album ‘Neu! 75’ via Gronland Records
Effectively the closing track on KRAFTWERK’s iconic ‘Trans Europe Express’ album, this neo-classical piece was eerily emotive with its combination of Vako Orchestron string ensemble over some gentle Synthanorma Sequenzer pulsing. The haunting elegance of ‘Franz Schubert’ was like Ralf Hütter had been possessed by the ghost of the great German composer, reflecting the art of his melodic and harmonic intuition.
Available on the album ‘Trans Europe Express’ on EMI Records
SPACE was the brainchild of Didier Marouani who went under the pseudonym Ecama and formed the collective with Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top. With compatriot Jean-Michel Jarre and a certain Giorgio Moroder also in the charts, the space disco of the iconic ‘Magic Fly’ heralded the start of a new European electronic sound within the mainstream. With its catchy melody and lush, accessible futurism, ‘Magic Fly’ sold millions all over the world.
Available on the album ‘Magic Fly’ via Virgin France
Inspired by the grim Roman Polanski film, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.
Available on the album ‘Obscure Alternatives’ via Sony BMG Records
For anyone who first became a fan of electronic pop during the Synth Britannia era, ‘Airlane’ was a key moment. As the opening track of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and its subsequent concert tour, it was the calling card that literally announced “GARY NUMAN IS IN THE BUILDING”! Yes, Numan had done instrumentals before, but with its sparkling Polymoog riffs, ‘Airlane’ provoked excitement and anticipation.
Available on the album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ via Beggars Banquet
With their eponymous debut under their belt, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA fully found their technopop sound on ‘Solid State Survivor’. Written by drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, ‘Rydeen’ was a percussively colourful pentatonic tune filled with optimism and flair. This was the trio at their best as the later ‘Technodelic’ was a quite doomy, while their swansong ‘Naughty Boys’ was overtly mainstream.
Available on the album ‘Solid State Survivor’ via Sony Music
Armed with an ARP Odyssey, Elka string machine and Roland Compurhythm, John Foxx’s ‘Mr No’ was like a futuristic Bond theme or a signature tune for some space gangster. The mechanical giro was menacingly snake-like while the swirling chill invaded the speakers to prompt some almost funky robot dancing. The ‘Metamatic’ era track originally surfaced on the ‘No-One Driving’ double single pack with aother instrumental, the more sedate ‘Gilmmer’.
Available on the album ‘Metamatic’ via Edsel Records
Written by Jeff Wayne for a cinema advert, THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s cover of ‘Gordon’s Gin’ kicks in like an commercial for Moloko Plus being sold at the Korova Milk Bar. Glorious and euphoric with futuristic sounds that weighed more than Saturn, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left the band shortly after to form a project named after an imaginary group from a scene in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ discussed by anti-hero Alex with a couple of devotchkas at the disc-bootick!
Available on the album ‘Travelogue’ via Virgin/EMI Records
Of ‘Astradyne’, Billy Currie said: “Midge started with that strong melody, Chris’ bass was also a very strong feature. I played a piano counter melody behind. The track was so strong that we felt at ease to lengthen it with a long textural piano bit that is sort of bell-like with the metronomic bass drum beats and the violin tremolo solo… Midge came up with that final section lift taking it out of the long ARP solo. I double it! It is a very good strong keyboard part. It is very celebratory at the end…”
Available on the album ‘Vienna’ via Chrysalis/EMI Records
One of two Martin Gore compositions on the Vince Clarke dominated DEPECHE MODE debut ‘Speak & Spell’, ‘Big Muff’ was a fabulous highlight on the album’s more superior second side. Highly danceable and enjoyably riff laden, this futuristic romp was named after an effects pedal made by Electro-Harmonix who later branched into portable synths. It allowed many a synth obsessed teenager to declare “I like big muff” without embarrassment!
Available on the album ‘Speak & Spell’ via Mute Records
Even with the advent of the free download era, ‘Theme for Great Cities’ is one of the greatest freebies of all time having initially been part of ‘Sister Feelings Call’, a 7-track EP given gratis to early purchasers of SIMPLE MINDS’ fourth album ‘Sons & Fascination’. Starting with some haunting vox humana before a combination of CAN and TANGERINE DREAM takes hold, the rhythm section covered in dub echo drives what is possibly one of the greatest instrumental signatures ever!
Available on the album ‘Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call’ via Virgin/EMI Records
Not actually written as an instrumental, the original was the B-side of VISAGE’s first single ‘Tar’ and much faster paced, featuring Steve Strange rambling about not very much. For its dance mix, ‘Frequency 7’ was slowed down and Strange’s vocal removed. The result was a masterclass in Barry Adamson’s bass counterpointing with Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey bursts of screaming aggression and Rusty Egan’s metronomic electronic beats for a creepy robotic aesthetic.
There are two versions of this cult classic; a mutant countrified ambient piece based around the bassline of Brian Eno’s ‘The Fat Lady Of Limbourg’ from the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ and the lively Mike Oldfield inspired album version from ‘Happy Families’. Each has its merits but the percussively jaunty re-recording just wins over with its synthesized wallows, chiming guitars and crashing Simmons drums.
Available on the album ‘Happy Families’ via Edsel Records
The hypnotic B-side to ‘Face on The Wall’ showcased the fusion of the classical, rock and prog elements that were the core talents of Chris Payne, RRussell Bell and CedSharpley who had been the mainstay of the first GARY NUMAN backing band. Not a cover of Edward Elgar’s near-namesake composition ‘Pomp & Circumstance’ , DRAMATIS‘ rousing number would however make a perfect closer for the Last Night Of The Proms in the 22nd Century!
Available on the album ‘For Future Reference’ via Cherry Red Records
Technically, ‘DNA’ is not a really synth instrumental with the hook line being far too guitar oriented. However, it had a key role breaking down barriers for music with a more futuristic bent in synthobic America and snatched a 1983 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. And for that, ‘DNA’ deserves kudos! A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS‘ cultural impact can be measured by leader Mike Score’s iconic hair style being lampooned in ‘The Wedding Singer’ and ‘Friends’.
Available on the album ‘A Flock Of Seagulls’ via Cherry Pop
A solo Dave Ball composition that was on the B-side of ‘What?’, the tall, pensive synthesist created an electronic disco number while Marc Almond was off doing the first MARC & THE MAMBAS’ album that would have done GIORGIO MORODER proud. Reminiscent of the Italian producer’s ‘Chase’, ‘….So’ featured wonderful percolating synths over a fabulously danceable groove and a solid metronomic beat that required no additional vocal histrionics or energetics.
Available on the album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Mercury Records
CARE was a short lived project comprising of soon-to-be main man of THE LIGHTNING SEEDS Ian Broudie and THE WILD SWANS’ vocalist Paul Simpson. Combining acoustic strums with synthesizer melodies, CARE had promise but imploded due to musical differences. ‘On A With Cloud’ was an epic instrumental with thundering percussion, castenets, ringing guitar and heavenly synthetic layers that appeared the 12 inch B-side of the duo’s best 45 ‘Flaming Sword’.
Originally released on the 12 inch single ‘Flaming Sword’ via Arista Records, currently unavailable
CHINA CRISIS recorded a variety of instrumental sketches and the results were often superb. But as the duo of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon only had a couple of hits, most of this material was little heard having been tucked away on B-sides. ‘Dockland’ is a prime example having been the flip of the flop single ‘Working With Fire & Steel’. The sublime nautical transience inspired by Liverpool’s once vibrant docks lying wasted in a period of high unemployment was captivating.
Available on the album ‘Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis’ 2CD edition via Virgin Records
‘Tiger Tiger’ is the best JAPAN instrumental that Sylvian and Co never recorded plus some would consider any DURAN DURAN track without a Simon Le Bon vocal to be a bonus. That aside, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes had more artier aspirations so indulged on this musical tribute to the William Blake poem. Taylor does a superb Mick Karn impersonation on fretless bass while Rhodes adds a great synth melody to proceedings.
Available on the album ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ via EMI Records
Strangely enough, Vince Clarke is not really known for his instrumentals. Co-composed with Eric Radcliffe, ‘Stop/Start’ was effectively Clarke’s first instrumental as DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Any Second Now’ had a ‘(Voices)’ variant while YAZOO’s ‘Chinese Detectives’ was only played live. A Casiotone infused ditty with Linn drums and a cute melody, ‘Stop/Start’ was the B-side to THE ASSEMBLY’s only single ‘Never Never’.
Available on the boxed set ‘Mute: Audio Documents’ via Mute Records
Throwing off his mental chains, Mr Jones took inspiration from his own Buddhist spirituality and the overtures of Vangelis’ 1979 album ‘China’ for this rather beautiful piece which used to open his early shows. Using pentatonic melodies and sweeping chords on ‘Tao Te Ching’ in the style of Tomita and Kitaro, it’s a shame that this aspect of Jones’ quite obvious musical capabilities has never really been explored.
Available on the album ‘The Very Best Of Howard Jones’ via Warner Music
Inspired by a ‘Blade Runner’ sample, ‘Junk Culture’ was a reggae-ish number set to a bizarre time signature and signalled OMD’s move away from Germanic electronica. Still experimenting, only this time with more World Music forms thanks to the advent of sampling technology, the detuned Tijuana brass, deep dub bass and schizo voice snippets recalled the work of Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit.
Available on the album ‘Junk Culture’ via Virgin Records
‘The Marauders’ and ‘Empire Building’ showed TEARS FOR FEARS were adept at instrumentals and their best was ‘Pharaohs’, the B-side of ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’. Launched with a crunchy 6/8 heartbeat, the sedate piano motif and drifting synths gave a distinctly nautical feel, enhanced by sound bites from the BBC shipping forecast. But out of nowhere, the middle eight Emulator voice theme from the A-side introduces its partnering chordial guitar solo!
Available on the album ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ 2CD deluxe edition
This theme was composed in 1988 for the eight part Granada TV series hosted by Factory Records’ supremo Tony Wilson and featured two of Manchester’s most iconic club footballers, George Best and Rodney Marsh. With a great string synth melody, Hooky bass, clubby beats and Italo piano stabs, this prompted the FA to commision NEW ORDER to write ‘World In Motion’ for the 1990 World Cup, while the series allowed ‘Best & Marsh’ to embark on a popular speaking tour.
Available on the album ‘Technique’ 2CD Deluxe edition via London Records
Dramatic, tense and melodic, Vangelis’ closing theme to the acclaimed 1982 Ridley Scott directed Sci-Fi movie ‘Blade Runner’ succeeded in orchestrating a score using just synths and samples to maintain the futuristic unsettlement of the story. However, the glorious track was not actually released until 1989 on the ‘Themes’ compilation, while an actual soundtrack album didn’t actually see the light of day until 1994.
Available on the album ‘Blade Runner’ via Warner Music
When up-and-coming synth duo VILE ELECTRODES were named as OMD’s support for the German leg of the ‘English Electric’ tour, understably, their front woman Anais Neon was in total shock at the news. Prior to confirmation, she said on Facebook “we have received an email of epic proportions but cannot divulge any more information until further notice”.
Meanwhile for her partner Martin Swan, it was the fulfillment of a boyhood dream as OMD had been his first concert experience back in 1986! VILE ELECTRODES had been spotted by OMD’s Andy McCluskey while he was perusing ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK and obviously recognised a kinship via their exquisite songs such as ‘Deep Red’, ‘My Sanctuary’ and ‘The Last Time’. There was a definite magic with this duo who bring a unique twist to the sound of classic synthpop.
Much preparation took place as Team Vile, augmented by technican and roadie Simon Forsyth, tour manager/merchandiser Rob Buxton and for the first part of the trip, merchandiser Graham Caley, readied themselves for life on the road. It was all terribly exciting and there was so much to organise including buying a vehicle worthy of transporting all the equipment and getting them across Europe too! The new van was also swiftly modified so that Anais and Martin could sleep on top of their highly valuable analogue synthesizers.
Meanwhile, Simon would be following with all his wires and boxes in his faithful truck Nellie. Instruments were carefully chosen and these included Martin’s trusty Korg MS20 and Anais’ Roland RS09 String Machine. This late stage was probably not the time to be introducing a new bit of kit, but Martin being Martin (like a kid in a candy store) couldn’t resist getting his hands dirty on the appropriately named Leipzig that had arrived the day before.
The first night of any tour is daunting but in Hamburg, there was one potentially trouser soiling surprise! “So whose stupid idea was this? Oh, Karl Bartos is here!” announced Anais on Facebook.
The ex-KRAFTWERK percussionist who co-wrote ‘The Model’ and ‘Kissing The Machine’ (one of the highlights on OMD’s new album) had come to catch up with his buddies from The Wirral.
He was already at the venue when VILE ELECTRODES arrived. “He just sat in a corner” a shocked Anais recalled, “I didn’t instantly recognise him but when I did, a wave of cold terror washed over me. Not only would we be performing in front of OMD, but in front of one of the classic line-up of KRAFTWERK?! The stuff of dreams and nightmares! It just felt absurd if I’m honest”
The late sound check finished just twenty minutes before the doors opened and there was just enough time for a light snack sitting alongside Andy and Karl in the catering quarters before dashing off to the dressing room to prepare for opening night. Anais did sound a little nervous, but to the untrained ear, the nerves were undetectable. Local music fan Sony was thrilled to see VILE ELECTRODES live for the first time: “I had listened to some of their songs with much enthusiasm. The crowd greeted VILE ELECTRODES with lots of applause when they entered the large, well-lit stage. The synths were tuned up and then, there was one adventure after another. The crystal clear voice of Anais and the wonderful pure synthesizer sounds gave me goosebumps!!!”
Backstage after the show, “Karl Bartos, Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey were LOVELY” remembered Anais. “They were really happy to chat, which was lucky, as I’d had a drink and was high on adrenaline, so there was no shutting me us! We talked about my outfits and, of course, whether Andy and Paul should consider something similar for their shows! When we said our goodbyes, we expressed delight and honour at having gotten to meet the great KB. His reply? ‘No, no! We are colleagues’… COLLEAGUES OF HERR BARTOS! Amazing!”.
Meanwhile, Martin talked gear: “Paul and I had a few chats whilst I was tidying up the spaghetti of our wires after coming off stage. I said to him ‘I bet you miss this, don’t you?’… of course with OMD, he doesn’t, but he said when he’s working with Claudia Brücken, he has to do all that still! Andy mentioned that they have a Mellotron, but that it would be silly to take stuff like that out live when they can use some really great samples”
First night nerves over with, Bielefeld turned out to be another big success and a sure sign that the rest of the tour was going to go be a blinder.
With the tour moving to Berlin, Anais and Martin were taking everything in their stride and feeling quite calm about performing in front of their next big audience, having already tucked two dates successfully under their belts. After the soundcheck, it was time to everyone to chill down.
Team Vile tucked into the scrumptious delights that had been provided by a local catering company and relaxed alongside OMD’s crew members including Chicky, the chief sound engineer to watch ‘Star Wars – How It Should Have Ended…’ which brought about shrieks of laughter. In the vastness of Berlin’s Tempodrom, VILE ELECTRODES entered the stage, all colour co-ordinated in red and black, to a ripple of applause. Anais’ few words of German were very much appreciated and by the time they had played ‘Drowned Cities’, ‘Empire of Wolves’ and ‘Proximity’, they genuinely had the crowd on their side.
Sony remembered Anais’ apology between the songs: “She said ‘Sorry für mein kleines bisschen Deutsch sprachen’… it was very sweet and likeable. All the people around me were very impressed and cheered”. For a support band, they got a terrific reception from the already packed hall. German OMD enthusiast 7und70 remembered there was lots of positive responses: “people were saying things like ‘love her voice’, ‘love the outfits’ and ‘great music’ while one person remarked VILE ELECTRODES were the only OMD support band he’d really enjoyed since they started again in 2007”
After their set, a handful of the audience came to the merchandise stand to see what was on offer although very few made a purchase. However, after the OMD set, it was a very different story.
The fans returned and the EPs were soon flying off the shelf. Anais and Martin were more than happy to pose for photographs, sign postcards and more importantly, talk to their new fan base.
“There was a big rush at the merch stand where Anais and Martin greeted each new fan with a big welcome” said Sony, “They were just great and marvellous. Now I have gained some new lovely friends who point to my musical tastes perfectly. I’m looking forward to hearing their new album and seeing them soon again”
But not all the crowd had been charmed by VILE ELECTRODES, least of an OMD fan who bizarrely had a dislike of electronic bands as a puzzled 7und70 recollected: “There was this stupid woman who said: ‘I don’t like them, they’re not using real instruments’. So I said to her: ‘erm, you are here watching OMD, a synthpop band which means they make music with synths. VILE ELECTRODES are using those instruments so that’s not a good reason for saying that you don’t like them, what is the difference?’ But she replied: ‘they’re using sequencers… do you know what a sequencer is? Everything is pre-recorded, everything on stage!’”.
It was amusing to see how people could draw strange arbitrary lines to suit their purist stances; maybe she should have listened more closely to OMD songs like ‘Metroland’, ‘Sailing On The Seven Seas’, ‘Locomotion’ and ‘Messages’ in her quest for a sequencer free nirvana?
The following day was Leipzig so it was imperative that images of Martin’s Analogue Solutions Leipzig were captured in front of significant landmarks and prominent signage. Armed with the Leipzig and umbrellas, cameras were set up for the photo opportunity at the Battle of Nations Memorial despite the pouring rain.
“The Leipzig is a crazy-ass mutha of a synth” said Martin, “it’s obviously a modern synth but it’s been designed with all discreet components – no integrated circuits – so it’s more like one of the synths from the 70s than the 80s. As such, it’s not a digitally controlled analogue synth, it’s got real VCOs. Most of the time it behaves but like the synths of old, it can be very sensitive to temperature, to humidity, voltage fluctuation! It’s kind of similar to the SCI Pro-One but it’s definitely the angrier, spikier cousin! It has bass like a mountain and is LOUD! Several people commented that they’ve never heard bass like that at a gig!”
The Haus Auensee in Leipzig is a fabulous venue and has played host to many great names but specifically synth musicians ERASURE, PET SHOP BOYS and of course, the mighty KRAFTWERK. It is located in the heart of a forest, with a lake to the rear and a campsite opposite. From the front, it is a fairly nondescript building.
However, the inside has a very different feel. The upstairs was already overwhelming with its semi-circular stone steps that overlooked the stage and its imposing ornate oval aperture that stood between the bar and viewing area. Due to renovation, only the ground floor was to open to the public so VILE ELECTRODES and OMD wouldn’t be playing to the full 3,500 capacity.
With the merchandise stand set up inside the main hall, Team Vile were very much visible throughout OMD’s performance and could be seen singing and dancing very energetically, particularly to the encore of ‘Electricity’.
After a comfortable night and a decent breakfast, they set off for the very long journey to Cologne with the prospect of a relaxing night off before the final gig of the tour. It rained, then rained some more and just when they thought they could give the wipers a rest, the rain started again.
Stopping off at a little service station, Simon Forsyth’s trusty truck Nellie was topped up too with some transmission fluid. As they rolled out of the car park, Simon made a critical observation: “We don’t appear to have a reverse gear”!
They crawled up the road far enough to establish that the situation was actually a lot worse. The Chevy was not changing gear. Nellie was poorly and needed immediate assistance.
About an hour later they were rescued and found themselves at a dealership in Kassel. Essential equipment was quickly transferred from one wagon to another so that Anais and Martin could continue their journey while Simon would stay with his van until it was repaired. The team was now separated and the rest of Team Vile were left to their own devices to get to Cologne.
Everyone arrived at the venue in plenty of time but there was no sign of Simon. Team Vile were clearly disappointed but the show had to go on and it just meant a re-configuration of duties. With the added news that the venue was going to take a commission on merchandise sales, everyone were all wondering if the last night might have a bit of grey cloud hanging over it.
But during a soundcheck break, Paul Humphreys stopped by to talk to Andy McCluskey so Team Vile took the opportunity offer them both a Vile MS20 T-shirt which had been designed by Rob.
These had been spotted by OMD in Oxford when they both claimed “we want one of those”! Their wish was now granted and Mr McCluskey was later seen performing on German TV with his VILE ELECTRODES T-shirt on! 😉
With Anais now clad in black trousers, under bust corset, sparkly bra and a vivid blue bolero styled jacket (all in latex of course), and Martin dressed as dapper as ever in matching colours, VILE ELECTRODES took to the stage, sounding awesome and delivering every song with total confidence.
Martin was visibly relaxed and in control, even caught on camera singing his heart out with passion. They were on fire and once again the crowd responded favourably.
Anais even threw caution to the wind and spoke again in German: “I studied German at GCSE but can remember very little – one thing happens to be ‘Mein Kaninchen ist tot’… I genuinely did have a rabbit at GCSE time called Creampuff who had died! I mentioned the rabbit thing, and all throughout the tour, Team Vile were encouraging me to say it on stage. The German audiences were wonderful, friendly and enthusiastic, but I really thought that ‘Mein Kaninchen ist tot’ would result in a tumbleweed moment, so I kept deciding not to say it. Basically what made it happen was that Nellie, Simon’s tour bus, broke down on the way to Cologne. It meant he missed our last show so he made me promise to say it, as a tribute to him and Nellie. I plucked up the courage – and it elicited laughter and applause aplenty!! It’s all part of the ‘silly’ human element of our band. We’re (definitely!) not too cool for school. We just try to be just ourselves!”
As it was the final night of the tour, VILE ELECTRODES were granted an additional ten minutes so they could play ‘Deep Red’, the most epically OMD sounding track in their catalogue. Andy McCluskey was watching in the wings and said “It’s great to hear that played live” but after finishing the number, Anais apologised to the crowd as it seemed like her and Martin were at times playing two different songs.
No matter, Cologne was another huge success. Crowds flocked to the merchandise stand again and Anais was even spotted singing ‘Happy Birthday’ into a video camera at one point. It was a moment she seemed to revel in, but not as much joy as when she spotted Simon in among the masses of new fans. “You made it” she shrieked, giving him a huge hug. Simon had unfortunately missed most of the concert but nevertheless his presence was most welcome. Team Vile were back together again.
Cologne and indeed the tour had been a total triumph. Whilst OMD’s crew dismantled the set and packed up for their onward journey, Andy, Paul, drummer Malcolm Holmes and keyboardist Martin Cooper along with VILE ELECTRODES mingled among friends and some special guests. They just happened to be Wolfgang Flür, ex-KRAFTWERK and Ralf Dörper from PROPAGANDA.
“After each of our shows, we helped man our merch stand… a bizarre experience for a small band, having a queue of folk wanting you to sign merch!” Anais recalled, “but it meant we didn’t get to chat to Wolfgang Flür at length, as he was being pulled from pillar to post backstage, plus he was getting ready to leave by the time we made it backstage. He was saying how much he was looking forward to coming to London for Playground Festival (which didn’t happen in the end sadly). So two KW members down and two to go! KRAFTWERK BINGO!”
With a prestigious TV slot on ‘Later With Jools Holland’ performing ‘Dresden’, ‘Enola Gay’ and ‘Kissing The Machine’ to do the following day, the OMD frontmen had to leave the aftershow. “You’ve got my email address now so keep in touch” Andy remarked. “I’ll definitely come and see you when you play London” said Paul.
When the guests had drifted away, only a handful remained with Malcolm and Anais plus the two Martins, Cooper and Swan, congregating in what was Andy McCluskey’s dressing room. The conversation was easy, with the other boys from OMD showing a great deal of interest in how Anais and Martin came to be together to form the band. All too soon, security were ushering everyone out. They stuffed the last of their belongings into holdalls and Team Vile slowly and somewhat reluctantly made their way to the doors.
It was time for one last photo opportunity in the rear car park of E-Werk. Huddled in a circle, Team Vile bowed their heads downwards and with big cheesy grins snapped one last image. Germany was done. It had been a totally and utterly awesome experience for each and every one of them, but especially for Martin and Anais.
Anais summarised it all beautifully. “If I never play another live gig again, I’ll still be a very happy bunny”
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to VILE ELECTRODES, OMD and all their crews
VILE ELECTRODES’ three-track CD EPs ‘Play With Fire’‘The Last Time’ and ‘Re-Emerge’ are available now via their online store at http://vileelectrodes.bigcartel.com/ along with T-shirts etc
The new album ‘The Future Through A Lens’ will be released on digipak CD, limited edition hand-finished mirror steel sleeve CD and download sometime in June 2013 and can be pre-ordered at the store. Please note the nine tracks from the EP Trilogy are exclusive to those releases and will NOT be appearing on the album
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was a wonderfully cohesive, seamless body of work that expressed the hopes and fears of young manhood. Following the philosophy of the Bauhaus movement’s founder Walter Gropius in uniting art and technology, the album crucially possessed an intelligent balance between precise electronic beats and emotive vintage synthesizer melodies.
in the process. The label courted further controversy when they issued the album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ to great fanfare. Virgin ended up in the dock under the 1899 Indecent Advertising Act over a poster in their Nottingham record shop.
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, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.
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