Scouse Pop

Paul Skillen [+–]

University of Chester

Paul Skillen works as Programme Leader in Education Studies at University of Chester. He has recently published a chapter in Social Theory and Educational Research (Routledge, April 2013). Alongside working in Education, Paul has also maintained a passion for Liverpool music. In the late seventies and early eighties Paul wrote articles for the fanzine Merseysound edited by Radio Merseyside’s Roger Hill. He reviewed and interviewed many local bands. Paul developed an in-depth knowledge of the local music scene during this time and saw the rise of many of the local bands to national and international success. The knowledge came to good use when in 1985 he travelled to Frankfurt to help Klaus Schwartze compile the legendary two-volume ‘Scouse Phenomenon’ a book of family trees which outlined the incestuous web of musicians who were the Liverpool music scene of the time and archived their reviews and releases.

Paul was also involved in his own recording career with his band This Final Frame, releasing records in UK and Europe as well as achieving great popularity in the Philippines where This Final Frame still release albums on Universal Records. This Final Frame receives national and international radio play and have made television appearances.

Scouse Pop is a journey into the personalities and music of the successful pioneering Liverpool pop bands of the late seventies and eighties. It examines their motivations, their uniqueness and the routes to success which made them into enduring musical innovators. It looks at the reasons why art-pop bands such as OMD, China Crisis, Echo and the Bunnymen, Black and Frankie Goes to Hollywood managed to combine art and commerce with such spectacular success. The bands experienced their own ‘revolutions in the head,’ internal revolutions than eventually made many of them household names.

The development of these suburban romantics from Liverpool represented a period of intensive creativity and musical romanticism that still resonates today. The spirit of (internal) revolution at the heart of these bands retains a strong fascination for those interested in artistic creation and popular culture. Given the bleak and uninspiring context within which the bands surfaced, how did these musicians achieve great success? Scouse Pop explores this question in detail, and examines the factors that facilitated the transformation of Liverpool teenage dreams into commercial and cultural impact. The music industry, radio and DJs, producers and engineers, the record-buying public and the bands themselves comprise the heart of this account.

Series: Popular Music History

Preliminaries

Foreword [+–] vii-viii

Paul Du Noyer

Author and Music Journalist

Liverpool-born, Paul Du Noyer was a staff writer on the NME, became the editor of Q magazine and was the founding editor of MOJO. His books include a definitive history of his home town’s music, Liverpool: Wondrous Place, and the story of London’s popular music, In The City. His latest book is Conversations With McCartney, based on 30 years of encounters with the former Beatle.

Scouse Pop is a journey into the personalities and music of the successful pioneering Liverpool pop bands of the late seventies and eighties. It examines their motivations, their uniqueness and the routes to success which made them into enduring musical innovators. It looks at the reasons why art-pop bands such as OMD, China Crisis, Echo and the Bunnymen, Black and Frankie Goes to Hollywood managed to combine art and commerce with such spectacular success. The bands experienced their own ‘revolutions in the head,’ internal revolutions than eventually made many of them household names. The development of these suburban romantics from Liverpool represented a period of intensive creativity and musical romanticism that still resonates today. The spirit of (internal) revolution at the heart of these bands retains a strong fascination for those interested in artistic creation and popular culture. Given the bleak and uninspiring context within which the bands surfaced, how did these musicians achieve great success? Scouse Pop explores this question in detail, and examines the factors that facilitated the transformation of Liverpool teenage dreams into commercial and cultural impact. The music industry, radio and DJs, producers and engineers, the record-buying public and the bands themselves comprise the heart of this account.

Preface [+–] ix-x

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Acknowledgements [+–] xi-xii

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Chapter 1

A Sense of Place [+–] 1-28

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

The purpose of this chapter is to document the influence of the city on its bands. Liverpool in the 1970s was a city in decline, industries such as international trade, shipbuilding and manufacturing hit heavily by successive recessions in the 1970s. The context was not helped by the rise of Thatcherism in the same period, an ideological revolution that placed austerity, privatisation and tough love at the centre of public policy, policy that petered down to the local communities that shaped the ambitions and dreams of teenagers. As Gary from China Crisis indicates, ‘Kirkby was like a social experiment’, a social experiment that followed on from the recent social experiment of slum clearances. In this sense Liverpool was no different from other port cities on the Irish Sea – places such as Dublin and Glasgow suffering similar effects to varying degrees. It may also be the case that Liverpool shares with these cities a sense of detachment and uniqueness from their surroundings, while also encouraging romantic notions of self- connected to an outward looking sense of otherness. It has been well documented that Liverpudlians have a strong sense of place, a sense of place that often gets mistaken for arrogance and conceit. But this sense of uniqueness can make for great art, art that, when combined with ambition, could lead to commercially successful enterprises. The interviews with the bands document in various ways how the city and its troubles influenced their ambitions, careers and even their sound. This chapter describes this influence, putting the narrative of the band members at the heart of the story. Included in the stories are how the city impacted on the bands via factors such as: • Immigration • Internationalisation • A culture of self-sufficiency and do-it-yourself • A large unemployed and underemployed teenage suburban population • A relatively small and self-sustained music community that developed in isolation from other cities While the meeting of musical art and commerce was a process repeated across Northern cities – The Smiths and New Order in Manchester, the Human League and Heaven 17 in Sheffield, Postcard in Glasgow – it was particularly noticeable in the City of Liverpool, a city living in the shadow of the Beatles, and arguably worst-hit by economic mismanagement and the soon-to-come Thatcherite revolution. The chapter should shed some light on the ways in which the city shaped and ultimately formed its set of musical auteurs.

Chapter 2

To be Somebody: Ambition and the Desire to be Different [+–] 29-94

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate how the individuals who dominated the music scene in Liverpool were determined to bring something new and innovative to pop music. The desire to be different would separate the individuals from the bland derivative groups of the day who dominated the charts. The stories of how the bands became auteurs and established themselves as ‘Somebody’ took several routes. Colin Vearncombe of Black comments that We were all in our late teens and thought that we knew what to do despite the fact that we were all foot-shooters. When you are young you can only see the thing that you are aiming for and the road that you are on. It didn’t matter about our circumstances we were going for it. Ian McNabb of The Icicle works comments that People just laughed at anyone considering a career in music at the time. After The Bunnymen the ground became more fertile. Everyone in our band had their own style and we did what we wanted to do. Liverpool at the time had so many bands and the competition to stand out became the main focus for many. Strong personalities were being formed to stand out and attract attention in whatever ways they could. The likes of Pete Burns, Paul Simpson and a Flock of Seagulls developed their music along with a distinctive look which would distinguish them from all others. Ali Score from A Flock of Seagulls recalls the efforts they made to stand out from the crowd: Liverpool was a hotbed of music and all the bands were different. It was an exciting time. If you wanted to do anything or be anybody you had to be in music. Mike had a hairdressers and Frank worked for him. Music and weird hairstyles was on way of being different. The hair was a big part. People need something to focus on. Our fashion was a factor. Other individuals such as Julian Cope and Henry Priestman arrived in Liverpool from outside the city to discover their own personality and be part of a scene. In a city of many bands with fierce competition for success, doing something different was a necessity and being different was essential. As Henry Priestman explains about his early days at Art School in Liverpool “I had no idea what to do with my life. I couldn’t write, so what type of band was I going to be in. I wanted to do something new and different.”

Chapter 3

Rainy Day Music: Art Pop and the Scouse Romantic [+–] 95-110

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

A major reason, if not THE reason, why bands such as Echo and the Bunnymen became commercially successful, was down to the appeal of the music itself. Many of the bands were regularly in the charts, not just in the UK, but elsewhere in Europe, the US and other countries such as Japan, Philippines and Australia. They had broad-based appeal, the combination of voice and musicianship finding favour among vast swathes of teenagers and young adults. Given many of the bands’ cult-like and obscure beginnings, this level of success could be viewed as surprising. But when looked at more closely, one could see that the bands shared certain musical characteristics that may have meant their chances of commercial success were increased. These shared characteristics included, for example: • The dominance of minor-key chords • Their commitment to song-driven musicianship, art and sound • An emphasis on melody • The distinctive role of the lead vocal In particular, they shared a romantic and artistic vision of what music and musicianship should be. Even at their most outré and cult-like (Half Man Half Biscuit, Frankie), cynicism ever only managed to briefly cloak the latent romanticism at the heart of their music. The bands’ songs were intended to strike emotional chords in the heart of their listeners, and appeal to everyday feelings such as longing and hope that meant their songs were destined for popularity. At the same time, it was never the case that the bands set out with visions of crass commercialism in mind. In many cases, this was never envisioned, bands such as OMD hoping to play to their friends at best and yet Tony Wilson describing them as ‘The future of pop music’ It was also the case that the bands, while sharing these vital characteristics, in many cases went out of their way to be as distinct as possible from other local and national bands. This combination of sameness and difference lies at the heart of their appeal – strange but familiar. The chapter details the accounts of the bands and their efforts to come up with these strange but familiar sounds, and their efforts to write music that appealed to both the head and the heart. The chapter also details the musical origins, and how groups such as China Crisis built on the music of their idols such as Bowie and Roxy music to construct (sometimes inadvertently), to construct their own unique set of sounds.

Chapter 4

Some Aspects of the Music Industry in Liverpool [+–] 111-149

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

This chapter deals with how the diverse ideas produced by the musical auteurs of Liverpool became the successful singles and albums of the eighties. The effect of the music industry through record labels and tour promoters as well as the support from the DJs in both local and national radio stations in promoting Liverpool’s new crop of bands reveals how the music became the soundtrack to the eighties. The journey taken by the bands to achieve the success is revealed in a mixture of hard work, stubborn personalities, genuine talent along with a sprinkling of good luck, opportunism and timing. The bands arrived at their success through a variety of routes. With A Flock of Seagulls, Ali Score describes how their tour management were pivotal to their worldwide success and how this made huge demands on the band. The biggest thing was that we worked hard. We played every night. We played 120 shows in a row in the States, night after night. We were determined that they were going to like us whether they wanted to or not. It was sheer hard work and bloody mindedness. The chapter will also examine how other bands such as China Crisis, OMD and The Christians were not prolific performers in their early days and used the record companies to promote their early tracks to become the classics of the eighties. Henry Priest man explains When we signed to Island Records, it was just me playing guitar, backing tracks on a porta studio and the lads singing in my flat in Liverpool. Gary kept forgetting some of the words so we wrote them in the dust on the mirror in the bedroom where we auditioned. Still in the suburban bedrooms of Merseyside, China Crisis recollect how initially they used the power of the radio stations rather than a live band to achieve their success. Even before some bands had a live act they were able to record, sign record deals and receive widespread radio play. Eddie Lundon remembers how DJ Janice Long made suggestions on selecting a single from the album which resulted in their first hit. “Janice Long at the time was always saying that Christian has got to be the single. It did us the world of good. The single and then the album went massive.”

Chapter 5

The Audience Respond [+–] 150-169

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Alongside the importance of the city, the personalities, the music and the industry, another core reason why Scouse pop was so successful was the record-buying public themselves. Many of the bands proved to be extremely popular even at any early stage; for example the album Working with fire and steel by China Crisis sold 2 and a half million copies in 1983 (this was before the ambiguous benefits of online downloading). The bands’ popularity has also endured, not just with those who grew up with the bands but also with new generations of fans who hear in the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen a musical attitude that, while different from the norm, is still comfortably close enough to it. The bands’ enduring popularity has also meant that the likes of Black have influenced more recent bands such as Coldplay. And there was certainly some truth in the famous quote from Tony Wilson that OMD were ‘the future of pop music’. Their legacy therefore lives on in the influence on other musicians and also in the everyday lives of fans that still go to their gigs, buy their music and watch their videos on You Tube. It is important, then, to document the impact of Scouse pop on those who loved their music in the first place. In order to do this, the authors of Scouse pop are in the process of establishing a website scousepop.com and using it as a vehicle to gather the opinions and attitudes of the fans towards their favourite Liverpool musicians. Via the use of Facebook, Twitter, other social media platforms and also marketing via local and national DJs, fans will be encouraged to detail their memories of seeing and hearing the bands for the first time, and also what these musical auteurs meant to them growing up. The website will also include details of the book, while also providing pictorial representations of the bands in their prime. An important feature of the website will be the use of short digital audio recordings of the interviews with band members (with appropriate permissions), so that visitors to the website can get a true flavour of the band members and their understandings of the era. The recordings will also highlight the humour and entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of so many of these Scouse auteurs.

End Matter

Appendix 1: List of interviews [+–] 170

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Appendix 2: Scouse Pop TV [+–] 171

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Notes [+–] 172

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Bibliography [+–] 178-181

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Index [+–] 182-183

Paul Skillen

University of Chester

Reviews

The more that Liverpool was written off, whether for being too stuck in Fab Four nostalgia or too bolshie to accommodate the new economic order, the more its young musicians responded with songs of emotional generosity and visionary breadth. I am pleased that Skillen has documented what they did, in such eloquent detail.
From the Preface by Paul Du Noyer, author of Conversations with McCartney and Liverpool: Wondrous Place

Years of painstaking research have produced an informative labour of love from Dr Skillen (I’m sure I still had hair when he interviewed me for the book!)...excellent stuff. As well as the usual suspects, nice that some of the less trumpeted artists/characters are included; Testi, Davies, Mellina, Lotus Eaters, Black, even a band called Yachts get a look in, making it a fully rounded picture of what was happening in the city, musically.
Henry Priestman, The Christians

A very interesting and worthwhile book.
The Penniless Press

Fascinating study of the Liverpool music scene of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Author Paul Skillen knows the scene inside out—he published the short-lived Merseyside zine, which lasted for a whole 26 issues during the height of Scouse Pop, and he’s got great material to work with, having interviewed nearly everyone who was everyone in Liverpool music.
Spectrum Culture

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

Paul Skillen [+–]

University of Chester

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