— Mark Ellen
So, the likes of the great Mark Ellen were weary of the same old punk nonsense three years on (those old reliable fossils The UK Subs have a new release in this issue!) but what of "new" wave and post-punk? If those noisy old one-chord wonders had become tired by 1980 what about all those gloomy five-piece groups with a deadpan vocalist, rumbling guitar and bass and admittedly quite wonderful drumming who cut records that all sounded the same? In such a bleak landscape, is it any wonder the New Pop revolution couldn't have come fast enough?
"Mr. X" was a single recorded by former punk Pauline Murray alongside supergroup adjacent The Invisible Girls (notably, an all-male outfit: I suppose those "girls" would not have been easy to spot). It bears many of the hallmarks of that familiar post-punk sound but has enough little tweaks that it is able to stand out. First, as Ellen suggests, there's Murray's voice: if not quite expressive then certainly not flat either, grounded and one that suggests that it's not far off from the way she speaks as well. With so few genuinely outstanding singers during this period, I am glad that Ellen is able to spot one.
A Manchester-area band that had previously backed the legendary cult figure John Cooper Clarke, The Invisible Girls was a sort of Warehouse city equivalent to Merseyside's Big in Japan with virtually everyone involved being of some importance musically. Factory Records producer Martin Hannett, keyboardist Steve Hopkins and guitarist Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column were the group's backbone and they were joined by Buzzcocks drummer John Maher on the album Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls. (Bernard Sumner and future Mission frontman Wayne Hussey also appear though not on "Mr. X") While the industrial grime of Joy Division is clearly an influence, there's enough musical diversity going on that it fails to end up conveniently slotted into a category.
Hannett's role is especially crucial. His production on Joy Division's groundbreaking albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer had been a key to the group's short-lived acclaim and success and it's why they remain such potent records to this day. Ian Curtis' suicide put all that to an abrupt end — for the moment anyway — but working with Murray gave him a greater opportunity to utilize synthesizers in his recordings, which would come in handy when the surviving members of Joy Division reconvened the following year as New Order. But this is no mere stepping stone: "Mr. X" has a surprisingly full sound and whoever had the idea to add bongos to the mix is to be commended.
Despite the high quality of the finished product, "Mr. X" failed to chart in a year that may not have been ready for it. Manchester in its post-punk boom period had a lot of time for genuinely charismatic lead singers (Ian Curtis, Howard Devoto, even Mark E. Smith in his own unique fashion) but it, and the country in general, may not have been quite as prepared for such a flamboyant song. A shift would gradually take place with a new generation of Mancunian vocalists who combined the stage presence of their forefathers with a new found pop audacity. Morrissey, Bernard Sumner, Ian Brown and Shaun Ryder would be at the centre of a movement that would make the city a musical flagship. I hope they thanked the singer from Newcastle, and not just the renowned group of musicians she'd been working with, for pushing them forward.
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Also Reviewed This Fortnight
The Attractions: "Arms Race"
"Arms Race", huh? Sounds like a track that had been left off of Armed Forces; did the Attractions "borrow" it from their boss Elvis Costello? Apparently not. Some of the selections this fortnight are the result of extracurricular projects with XTC's rhythm section masking as The Colonel on "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" and Blockhead veteran Chas Jankel with something called "Ai No Corrida" and this is also where Steve Nieve, Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas fit in without their famous leader. As probably the best backing band in the business along with the E-Street Band, one would expect some distinguished playing but the apparent desire to distance themselves from their day job results in "Arms Race" being a triumph in production effects while not quite working as an overall tune. I wasn't aware that something so fresh and unusual could also be so forgettable. Nevertheless, they also happened to be at work on Trust, the superlative 1981 Costello album that would really give this group of musicians a chance to shine properly.
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