Depeche Mode Singles (Melody Maker, 1983)

[demoderus]

Singles
[Melody Maker, 26th February 1983, Words: Dave Gahan, Andrew Fletcher. Pictures: Uncredited.]

Unusual item in which Dave and Fletch review the week's single releases. Dave warms to the task a little more than Fletch and while they begin optimistically enough, they soon become discouraged by the standard of the songs, making a brave effort at finding positive remarks. Nonetheless the different angle of the piece gives us an insight we wouldn't otherwise have had into the band's preferences.
" ...it’s awful. It’s non-inventive, it’s like a million other things, it’s nothing. I’m gonna smash it. "
Summary: Unusual item in which Dave and Fletch review the week's single releases. Dave warms to the task a little more than Fletch and while they begin optimistically enough, they soon become discouraged by the standard of the songs, making a brave effort at finding positive remarks. Nonetheless the different angle of the piece gives us an insight we wouldn't otherwise have had into the band's preferences. [2113 words]

SINGLES

Dave Gahan and Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode were nervous and apprehensive about passing judgement on their fellow artists. Their shock at discovering just how much dross gets churned out by record companies quickly loosened their tongues, however, and they retreated to Basildon severely disillusioned by the state of the record industry.

The The: “Perfect” (Some Bizzare).

Dave: Lou Reed! Great voice though, great voice. It has a harmonica sound like the Feelgoods and it mixes a lot of styles brilliantly. Very impressive the way it merges harmonica with electronics – an exceptionally clever record. It has Lou Reed written all over it but that doesn’t matter – Matt Johnson sings it superbly, and it has a really catchy chorus. There’s a Sixties feel about it but it’s brought right up to date by the electronics. Matt Johnson’s done a lot of good stuff before, but this is the best.

Robert Gorl: “Mit Dir” (Mute).

D: This is a German man, ex-DAF. We’ll probably be accused of being biased because it’s on Mute, but we genuinely think it’s a great record.

A: Brilliant. One of my all-time favourites. We have heard it before of course. I played it about ten times before I came out.

D: “Mit Dir” means “with you” – it’s a German love song. That’s the only thing against it – it’s sung in German, so obviously people here won’t understand the lyrics, and the lyrics are quite important to us. But then Robert Gorl doesn’t need to put English lyrics to it because DAF are so big in Germany.

A: A very simple song, but it has this warmth. A lot of atmosphere. I’d like to think the English radio stations will play it but I doubt if they will simply because it’s sung in German.


Bow Wow Wow: “Do You Wanna Hold Me?” (RCA).

D: Ha! For a band who slagged us off for being wimps, this isn’t very tough at all. One of them’s got a big mouth, but after this I can’t see how he can call us wimps. They’ve definitely been sweetened up since “I Want Candy” – Mike Chapman’s producing them now and he’s obviously been told to do it that way. The cover’s awful as well.

A: It’s terrible. I liked some of their other stuff, but this is so sweet and weak. It’s a shame because Annabella’s got a really good voice.

D: It’s quite a good pop song, though, and it stands up on that basis alone. It would have been a good follow-up to “I Want Candy”.

Wall Of Voodoo: “Mexican Radio” (Illegal).

A: A mess.

D: Sounds as if the singer’s trying to be Lou Reed or Iggy Pop – like a lot of bands around now it’s a total rip-off of Lou Reed or Iggy. The lyrics mean nothing – I’ve never even heard Mexican radio. It’s a non-thing to sing about. And it has a lot of gimmicky things – yee-haws and stuff – in the middle. The name gets me a bit as well. With a name like that I thought it was going to be very dark and gloomy – they should change their name if they wanna go for commercial success.

Crown Of Thorns: “Kingdom Come” (Illegal).

D: There’s a lot of holes in the song which they’re trying to fill up with a string sound going through the whole thing. The singer sounds like Simon Le Bon. This group is supposed to be mean but there’s nothing mean about that. The only mean thing I’ve heard recently is the Birthday Party and that is mean. I’m sure all these groups would like to be poppy and on “Top Of The Pops”, but they’re also trying to keep their cult reputation.

It seems to be an anti-nuclear song from the lyrics, but I don’t agree with that either. There’s a lot of groups trying to jump on that bandwagon. I believe it’s an important issue but I don’t see that these sort of bands really believe in it themselves. If you asked them a lot of detailed questions on the subject they wouldn’t know what the hell they were talking about, and that’s what annoys me. This just sounds like another pop band who haven’t got a very good song.

Samson: “Red Skies” (Polydor).

A: Our favourite magazine is Kerrang! We really like heavy metal – we think it’s funny. When we’re in a studio we often buy Kerrang! and pin up pictures of Ozzy Osbourne because it’s so comical. [1] They have a page where one of them talks about his most memorable solo and stuff like that.

D: This is disappointing because basically it just isn’t heavy metal. It sounds more like the Eagles. It’s too serious. Heavy metal shouldn’t be taken seriously. They seem to be going for an MOR market with this.

Lurkers: “Frankenstein Again” (Clay).

D: Early Lurkers stuff was really good – I used to be quite a fan, I got my free gold vinyl flexi-disc and everything. But this is weak compared to their early stuff. It’s a naff song – I mean, who sings about Frankenstein? A lot of punks will like it, but what they were doing four or five years ago was much rawer. I’ve just got that Birthday Party EP and to me that’s real raw energy. All the young punks around now just don’t know what punk is. Punk now is just re-hashes.

Gardening By Moonlight: “Strange News” (Imperial).

D: One of the better singles of the week. It’s not aimed at being a hit, but they’ve put a lot of work into the recording and the cover, and they’ve come up with quite an unusual sound. It’s well produced and there’s a lot of interesting things being done with the stereo – it’s a shame but I just can’t see it getting airplay because it’s so different. Peel and Jensen will play it obviously but they must know themselves that they’re not heading for a commercial market.


Annabel Lamb: “Once Bitten” (A&M).

D: There’s a riff in it that’s a total rip-off of Eddy Grant’s “Living On The Front Line”. The cover’s better than the record – I don’t like it at all. Good cover, rotten record.

A: I quite like the voice actually. They have put her in a studio with all the right modern sounds but it’s lacking in… power.

 

[demoderus]

Wide Boy Awake: “Bona Venture” (RCA).

D: If it gets the airplay it could easily be a hit because this group have got a look, and that seems to control a lot of what goes in the charts and what doesn’t.

A: It’s an attempt at a modern type of country sound.

D: They’re going for the Malcolm McLaren thing, and it’ll do well in that area. Don’t know what it’s all about though – what does “Bona Venture” mean? It’s quite different to their last single which was based round African rhythms – it sounds as if they’re trying to cash in now on the new Malcolm McLaren sound.

Landscape: “So Good So Pure So Kind” (RCA).

A: It reminds me of Barclay James Harvest. Which isn’t a slag-off. When I was younger I used to listen to Barclay James Harvest a lot, and this has the same sort of atmosphere. It’s the sort of record you listen to sitting in the middle of the room with the lights off. Totally different to what Landscape have done before; there are none of the usual Landscape electronics.

D: Very MOR, but if that’s what they’re going for now, fair enough. They do it quite well. I can see it being a hit.

Johnny Briggs: “Warm” (MVM).

D: A song for Deirdre! I can imagine Johnny Briggs being a boy soprano. I’m a big fan of “Coronation Street”, actually – I watch it every night. And this is Mike Baldwin, who’s having an affair with Deirdre. It’s a trash record, but he’s singing it for Deirdre and if his heart’s in it that’s okay. Ken Barlow should get a record out quickly because otherwise Johnny’s going to steal Deirdre’s heart with that one. Other than that it’s trash.


Marine Girls: “Don’t Come Back” / “You Must Be Mad” (Cherry Red).

D: It’s better than the Gymslips. The singer has a very good feel to her voice, but it could do with some drums.

A: I think it’s quite good that they don’t use drums.

D: Yeah, but this needs drums. If it was a song purely going for a vocal sound it wouldn’t need drums, but this isn’t. It just chops along like loads of edits put together and it’s a bit blank. Sounds empty.

Peter Godwin: “Emotional Disguise” (Polymer).

D: It’s very short. Good production and quite a nice song, but what lets it down is his voice. It’s very stylish and sounds like Japan and Roxy Music, which ruins it. As soon as he starts singing you think “Oh blimey, another one of those.” There are a lot of Heaven 17 overtones, and even a bit of ourselves and Yazoo.

I don’t mind him ripping us off… as long as it’s not a hit!

Kids From Fame: “Friday Night” (RCA).

D: This is the sort of thing that clutters up English music. English music is the best music and this is the kind of record that ruins it. It’ll be a hit simply because it’s the Kids From Fame, but it’s awful. It’s non-inventive, it’s like a million other things, it’s nothing. I’m gonna smash it. I don’t think anyone who reads a music paper would go out and buy that. If they did they should get their head seen to.

Dionne Warwick: “Yours” (Arista).

D: You can’t knock somebody with a voice like that – it’s a great voice – but the music means nothing. Produced by Barry Gibb, and the backing and everything else is terrible… they should just put her voice on and leave it at that. It’ll be a big hit, though, no doubt about that.

Shriekback: “Lined Up” (Y Records).

D: This is the band that features Barry Andrews, who used to be in XTC. A 12-inch disco mix, by Dick O’Dell.

A: There’s a lot of Talking Heads in it. The vocal isn’t as pronounced as David Byrne, but it has the same sort of feel – the arrangement and so on. According to the promo stuff that’s come with it, this is the band that the Daily Mirror and The Sun have picked out as stars of the future. I hate to disagree with them, but I can’t see it. Not with this single.

Matchbox with Kirsty McColl: “I Want Out” (Magnet).

A: Matchbox have just come back from a sell-out tour of Yugoslavia, apparently, so there must be something good about them. Don’t know what it is though. Don’t know what Kirsty McColl is doing on there either – I don’t think it’s the type of thing that she’s really into.


Roman Holliday: “Stand By” (Jive).

D: Glenn Miller speeded up with modern drums. Maybe there’s going to be a revival of swing – Animal Nightlife are doing quite well, and the Stargazers. We played with the Stargazers a few times before we were known and they were really into it – they lived the Fifties. Then CBS signed them, put them in a big studio and did a lot of publicity on them, and I think they lost the sound that they really wanted.

I’m not so sure about this lot. If there is a revival, then these look like being the first to jump in on it. It’s the usual single hype job. They don’t even look the part.

Pete Shelley: “Telephone Operator” (Genetic).

A: Produced by Martin Rushent. It sounds like the Ruts. I was always a big fan of the Buzzcocks, but I don’t think any of Pete Shelley’s solo stuff has been very inspired. This isn’t any improvement. A very ordinary song – production is the best thing about it.


Scarlet Party – “Eyes Of Ice” (EMI).

A: Terrible. Rubbish. Pure Beatles copy, but badly done. It’s so awful I can’t bring myself to say any more about it. There’s a lot of bad records about aren’t there? I thought the charts were bad, but when you listen to what actually gets put out you realise the charts are actually the best.


Rock Goddess: “My Angel” (A&M).

A: We’ve always wanted to meet this group, we’re big fans. This is more like it. Samson were a big let down, but Rock Goddess have redeemed the heavy metal fraternity. We’ll look forward to reading about Rock Goddess in Kerrang!. The real question is does Jody Turner have a bigger tongue than Gene Simmons?

[1] - Obviously I could always be wrong, but I just can't see this somehow. I'd take it with a big pinch of salt if I was you.