One of those bands whose name I was vaguely familiar with and then read a bit about long before I heard. Can’t remember what it was that prompted me to seek them out a few years ago, think it was a passing mention in an article, but downloaded a compilation, sort of liked it and then, in that horrible way of streaming, etc, didn’t really stick with it. No sense of ownership.
Then, a year or so later I was listening to Paul Simpson (Wild Swans) being interviewed on a podcast. Can’t remember which one now, he did a fair few when his book came out (but it may have been Misadventures In Music, thinking about it). He played this and I just thought “fucking hell, that’s great”.
I still really don’t know much about them, they were Mancunian, part of the very early Factory scene. I think this came out in 1978, but it sounds like it belongs in the early 80s, ZE records, Mudd Club more than Russell Club. I love the vocals, the energy, the guitars. Someone did a sort of dubby jazz version with the sax much more to the fore (it’s on Bandcamp) and it just sounds shite, really. But this is perfect.
The compilation Northern Stories, is a collection of singles and other bits. Not sure they ever got beyond that stage. Some of it is a bit hit-and-miss, but loads of ideas in there.
The link is John Robb. Almost cheating, because you could probably link him to bloody everything these days, but he was a big fan and regularly cited them as an influence. And The Membranes had an album out on Creation Records, occasional home to House of Love.
Pin back your ears, play it loud…