Compiled #3: Now That's Disgusting Music

Back in 1990, it seemed as though the British were basking in the blissed out E'd up vibes of Madchester while the Americans were the angry, noisy voices of the disillusioned. In truth, there was plenty of noise in the UK, you just had to dig a bit deeper to find it. In northwest London, a tiny venue called The White Horse hosted The Sausage Machine every Saturday night. Very loud bands would play and make a fantastic racket. Two such nights were recorded and out of it came a landmark record.

'Now That's Disgusting Music - Live At The Sausage Machine' was the first ever release on Too Pure Records, a label that would very quickly become one of the most noted and highly respected indie labels in the country. It contained 12 songs by 8 bands, including the very first recording ever released by Peel favourites Th' Faith Healers.

• Jesus Freak [live] - Th' Faith Healers (from 'Now That's Disgusting Music')

They would become Too Pure's first signings with their debut single released shortly after. I can't believe this is also the first time I've ever posted a Th' Faith Healers track here. Must try harder. I have, however, waxed lyrical about Silverfish a couple of times before. They had two songs on this record, the double-whammy of Weird Shit/Don't Fuck, the originals of which featured on their debut EP the previous year.

• Weird Shit/Don't Fuck [live] - Silverfish (from 'Now That's Disgusting Music')

The Heart Throbs were the first live band I ever saw, being as they were the support to The Wedding Present in 1988. By now they were about to release their debut album which featured studio takes of the two songs on 'Now That's Disgusting Music', I See Danger, and this one:

• Big Commotion [live] - The Heart Throbs (from 'Now That's Disgusting Music')

l-r: Th' Faith Healers; Silverfish; The Heart Throbs; Snuff; Mega City 4

The headline acts on the nights captured were both relative veterans compared to the other bands on the bills in that they had already released albums. Snuff's debut album came out the previous year and to this date boasts the best title for any record released ever. EVER! 'Snuffsaidbutgorblimeyguvstonemeifhedidn'tthrowawobblerchachachachachachachachachachachayou'regoinghomeinacosmicambience'. It included a version of this Specials cover:

• Do Nothing [live] - Snuff (from 'Now That's Disgusting Music')

Mega City Four probably went on to become the biggest band on this comp. They had, like, Top 40 hits and everything. At this point however they were still establishing themselves, their second album would be released within six months, but it wouldn't be until their third that they would trouble the charts. So this blast through their second single is a fine document of a fine band at a relatively early stage in their existence.

• Clear Blues Skies [live] - Mega City Four (from 'Now That's Disgusting Music')

I still love this record. It's a snarling beast, yet loveable and comforting at the same time. It's a piece of vinyl I've kept since the day I bought it some 27 years ago. I don't intend to part with it any time soon.

"Are you afraid of me?"

One of my fave bands of the early 90s was Silverfish who totally shredded my ears on the two occasions I caught them live (both of which I've written about) - once as a support act, the other as headliner. They were wonderfully nasty, committing an aural assault so vicious I left each show with bruises.

I'm still a huge fan of their debut album 'Fat Axl' and am wondering why it's not in my final '50 albums to take to my grave' list. Their first two EPs weren't too shabby either - T.F.A. has become a track that I could scream to more than 50% of people I know (a number of them being managers in the NHS...)



Then came Big Bad Baby Pig Squeal, the Riot Grrrl anthem that led the 'Fuckin' Drivin' Or What?' EP, even though Silverfish were never actually part of the Riot Grrrl scene. I once nearly bought a Hips Tits Lips Power t-shirt. In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't. Nevertheless - WHAT. A. TUNE. THIS. IS!!! (Tip: skip the first 32 seconds of the clip below to get to the actual video...)



While the next album 'Organ Fan' had its share of decent tracks, it didn't sit with me as well as 'Fat Axl'. The final two EPs disappointed me, although Vitriola from 'Silverfish With Scrambled Eggs' was a corker.



Hard to believe that after Silverfish split, the gravelly-voiced Lesley Rankine would go on to do this:




Soundtrack:

• T.F.A. - Silverfish (from 'Cockeye')
• Vitriola - Silverfish (from 'Silverfish With Scrambled Eggs' EP)
• Paraffin - Ruby (from 'Salt Peter')

Memories of a thousand* gigs #28, #29 & #30

(* probably not actually that many, but who’s counting?)


Three very noisy gigs hosted by the Cavern in Exeter, possibly my favourite ever venue.

#28: Silverfish
The Cavern, Exeter - c. 1992 (cannot find a date for this anywhere! Any offers?)
Also present: Steve B

A year after they blew My Bloody Valentine into the middle of the following week, I saw Silverfish headline on their ‘Organ Fan’ tour. It was a sweaty and über-raucous affair, as you might expect; memorable in part because vocalist Leslie trod on my hand. The Cavern, being such a small and intimate venue, has no barrier between audience and stage. As usual I was at the front. There was a surge from behind me, I fell forward, and put my hand on the stage to break the fall. At that precise moment, and completely by accident, Lesley Rankine, in full flow, unwittingly stomped her Doc Martin down onto my fingers. Sweat, bruises and broken fingers – that’s rock ‘n’ roll!

Soundtrack:

• This Bug – Silverfish (from ‘Organ Fan’)

#29: UK Subs
The Cavern, Exeter - 12th May 1995
Also present: Tim, Strimmer & Midget

Charlie Harper at the Cavern
pic by TheRobster

Pre-dating Tim's episode at the Bis gig by a year or so, here's another Tim story: He drank far too much and during the show was set upon by a young lady who he was repeatedly falling onto. This resulted in her inflicting a sizable scratch down his cheek that bled long into the night. How a girl of her diminutive stature managed to inflict such a wound on the six-foot plus frame of Tim is a mystery, but impressive nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Strimmer had a chat with his hero, Subs frontman Charlie Harper, which made him a very happy bloke. What a performer Harper was too. At 50+ years of age, he still had more energy, attitude and rock and roll grit than any of the numerous young pretenders half his age in so-called punk bands at the time.

Soundtrack:

• Young Criminals – UK Subs (from ‘Another Kind Of Blues’)

#30: Blaggers ITA/Naked i
The Cavern, Exeter - 7th April 1995

Another great Naked i support slot, this was also one of their last gigs – they split a year or so later, but didn't get out too much after this show. A shame as they were on blinding form and showed off a clutch of new songs. They also released the Kite Flyer single around this time, so it's even more unfortunate they didn't make more of it. I think I may have done their lights for them at this show. 

The Blaggers set was mental. Rapper Christie hurled himself into the audience on a few occasions, while vocalist Matty was quite literally dragged into the crowd, mic still in hand, performance completely unaffected. It was the second time I'd seen Blaggers ITA and their popularity had exploded by now. You don't get gigs as raucous and energetic as this anymore; there are too many passive hipsters with silly hairstyles that might get a bit ruffled if anyone dared jump into them. But then, there aren't many bands like Naked i and Blaggers ITA around these days either, more's the pity.


Soundtrack:

• Kite Flyer – Naked i (from ‘Kite Flyer’ 7")
• Mantrap - Blaggers ITA (from ‘Bad Karma’)

Memories of a thousand* gigs #2

(* probably not actually that many, but who’s counting?)

#2: My Bloody Valentine
Exeter University Great Hall – 3rd December 1991
Support: Silverfish
Also in attendance: Paul & Kev

In 2013, David Bowie made the greatest comeback in music history – by secretly releasing a single on iTunes on his birthday after 10 silent years with no build up, no hype, no fuss. Just doing it and having people find out gave ‘Our Dave who art in Manhattan’ as much publicity as any artist could ever have wished for. An act of genius, frankly.

A couple months later, another surprise comeback occurred. A similar method – a secret album release on the internet – was employed by My Bloody Valentine for ‘MBV’, their first record in 22 years, twice as long as Bowie’s absence. There was similar swooning, fawning and awestruck delight among hipsters, journos and 40-something former shoegazers around the world at the event.

But while I was still in raptures over Lord David’s return, I couldn’t have been more indifferent about the second coming of Kevin Shields and his cacophonous miserablists. While Bowie sounded fresh, exciting and more importantly relevant, My Bloody Valentine simply sounded like they’d rehashed the same record they went out on in 1991. It was, to be blunt, bloody terrible.

But then to be fair, I’d never had a great relationship with MBV. For in 1991, I caught them on the ‘Loveless’ tour, promoting what would be their last album for more than two decades. They remain the only headline act I’ve ever walked out on, and they’ve never been surpassed as the worst band I’ve ever seen.

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t fussed about seeing them anyway. I only went because Silverfish were supporting, and I was offered a lift to Exeter if I snapped up a spare ticket someone had. So I ended up going with Paul and Kev, two guys I knew from school/college well enough to loosely refer to them as ‘mates’ even if we weren’t like ‘proper mates’. 

What was immediately obvious was that this was not a sellout. Exeter Uni had two main live music venues – the Lemon Grove and the Great Hall.  This show was at the latter and was the larger of the venues by some margin.  There were more people here than the Lemon Grove could accommodate, but it wasn’t full by any means. Most of those in attendance didn’t seem to bother with Silverfish – more fool them; that was who I was there to see. Silverfish came across surprisingly well considering the size of the venue. They really were best suited to smaller places (like the Cavern where I saw them the following year), but even in a two-thirds empty Great Hall they pulled it off.

Perhaps it was that they were loud enough, scuzzy enough, rough enough, or a combination of all three that allowed them to overcome the challenges of playing in a space like that. Maybe they were just a friggin’ brilliant band. Whatever, I loved Silverfish, though I think most people there that night hadn’t much of a clue what was going on. While I lurched like a lunatic to the strains of Dolly Parton, TFA (Total Fucking Asshole) and Big Bad Baby Pig Squeal, pretty much everyone else kept a wide berth. If they weren’t familiar with Silverfish before that night, it’s likely they were pretty freaked out as much by the maniacal snarling of crazy frontwoman Lesley Rankine as the disconcerting, juddering rhythms and dirty, distorted guitars that defined the band’s sound. That’s usually why people don’t get on with Silverfish, at least when I play them some.

Silverfish played one of the best support slots I’ve ever witnessed. So maybe My Bloody Valentine were disadvantaged further by that. That said, no band has ever had the effect on me that MBV did. I did want to see what the appeal was; I wanted to like them, or at the very least appreciate what they did. I had bought their recent ‘Tremolo’ EP which contained the track To Here Knows When which I thought was OK, but little more than that. I hoped the band would come to life in a live setting.

Sadly, all I heard was noise, a thick blanket of sound with no discernable melody or direction. There just didn’t seem to be a point. And it was while I waited for any indication that there just might be a point that it happened – I dozed off. Yes, I fell asleep at a My Bloody Valentine show. WTF? Don’t ask me how it happened or how long I was out for, but the band obviously failed to hold my attention and off I went. It had never happened before and it has never happened since. When I awoke, everything seemed rather hazy. The band was still making a right racket on stage, but there seemed to be a lot more space to move around in. It was as if half the audience had left. I decided some refreshment was in order so moseyed off downstairs for a pint. I clearly wasn’t the only one who’d had that idea. My initial hunch that there were fewer people watching the band when I woke up than before my slumber proved to be correct – the bar was doing a roaring trade. Why? Overhearing some of the other former audience members explained things somewhat. “Boring”, “shite”, “awful” were just a few words that were used to describe what was going on upstairs. I felt heartened that I was not alone, that plenty of others shared my less-than-flattering view of My Bloody Valentine and sought solace in beer.

You could argue that Silverfish didn’t have much of a crowd either. Except they were the support band, of course. My Bloody Valentine were the main draw, the band people paid money to see. They were hugely acclaimed and becoming increasingly influential. Kevin Shields was (and still is to some) revered as being some kind of other-worldly creature on whom the future of music depended. Or something. But no one (that I could hear) was slagging off Silverfish.

Paul and Kev loved it however and couldn’t understand why so many defected to the foyer and the bar. Each to their own. For me, Silverfish stole the show and 22 years on, I’d still rather slap ‘Fat Axl’ on at a ridiculously high volume than endure the tortuous tones of ‘MBV’.

Soundtrack:

• TFA – Silverfish (from ‘Cockeye’)
• Big Bad Baby Pig Squeal – Silverfish (from ‘Fuckin’ Drivin’ or What’ EP)
• To Here Knows When – My Bloody Valentine (from ‘Tremolo’ EP)