The Cult

Memories of Guns N’ Roses

Posted on by edwardlayland

So, I went to see the excellent Oasis documentary Don’t Look Back in Anger the other day and really enjoyed it. It was surprisingly profound, with Liam demonstrating a deep understanding of not only what Oasis means to people but also what life is all about. It was interesting to see just how much of an impact the band has had on different generations and just how much their music has meant to people over the years. There’s a whole bunch of stories of people being “saved” and finding a sense of belonging. It is fair to say that Oasis provided the soundtrack for a generation and their reunion and tour was overwhelming for band and fans alike. However, Oasis are not exactly the only band in the world that have had this kind of impact on people, I mean, there are bands from the same era that have had equally momentous reunions. Anyway, all this got me thinking…which bands have had that kind of impact on me? Which bands have I been deeply obsessed by? Which bands kept me in my bedroom, repeatedly playing their music and poring over the lyrics, the art and everything else? Which bands kept me awake at night on the eve of a new release or concert tickets going on sale?

Fuckin Guns N’ Fuckin’ Roses.

Picture the scene. It’s 1988. No internet, no digital on demand TV, no Spotify, and no 24/7 bombardment of information or sensory overload at our fingertips. When it came to entertainment channels, we simply did not have access to or control over what we heard and when we heard it, which made certain things essential to the lives of music loving teenagers, especially if your interests were outside the pop mainstream. So, when the Saturday morning Chart Show on ITV was showing the Rock Chart, it was unmissable. One such Saturday would change my life forever. Fifteen year old me was hungry for all things rock and metal, so when a video clip with five dudes swaggering around a studio playing what would become one of the most iconic songs in rock history hit my screen that day, by the time Slash had finished the most incredible guitar solo I’d ever heard, I was hooked. Guns N’ Roses were my new favourite band.

Then came the buzz. Having played three sold out nights at the Marquee in 87, and already labelled as the greatest rock n roll band in the world, excitement had actually been brewing in the UK for some time, but was at fever pitch prior to their slot at Donington 88, which would end so tragically and lead to a revolution in festival safety. The rhetoric was such that they were set to “become to the next decade what Aerosmith were to the seventies and the Rolling Stones to the sixties“. They were already massive in the US by this time with over 3 million in album sales and their magnetism and raw power was starting to sweep through the UK. Sweet Child O Mine would hit the top thirty the first time around (later making the top ten in 89), as would Welcome to the Jungle. By the end of the year, Appetite for Destruction with its infamous rape scene cover had already spent 17 weeks on the UK album chart and was no longer enough to satisfy the growing legion of die-hard fans.

The thing was that although a ton of bands were trying to sound like them, GnR didn’t sound like anyone else. They were fresh; they were exciting; there was a punk edge to their rough and ready sound and despite being spawned by the LA scene, they had little in common with the hair metal bands of the time and we wanted more of it. The hunger for more Guns N’ Roses product meant the Live! Like a Suicide EP was trading for stupid money and a Japanese import featuring five other live tracks from their Marquee shows, and including AC/DC‘s Whole Lotta Rosie, was also costing an arm and a leg.

So Geffen Records cashed in and released GnR Lies as a stop-gap. It featured the four tracks from Live! Like a Suicide on the A-side and four acoustic numbers on the B-side – the now classic Patience, the tounge-in-cheek Used to Love Her, a sublime version of You’re Crazy from Appetite and the ill-judged, controversial One in a Million. It would hit the shelves in time for Christmas 1988. My mum was not a happy bunny in the early evening of that December 25th when she heard the first words of the album blaring from my bedroom record player – Hey fuckers! Fucking Guns n’ Fucking Roses!

Things would really go mental in 89 though; with their charismatic swagger and ever-present hint of danger, two albums out and plenty of singles to be released, Gn’R went stratospheric in the UK. The naggingly familiar Paradise City with its massive hook, would go top ten, peaking at number 6. The re-release of Sweet Child O Mine would hit the same position. Patience would come a month later and also go top ten, with Nightrain later going top twenty. Appetite spent 48 weeks of 1989 on the album chart with half of those weeks inside the top twenty, while Lies spent a more modest 36 weeks on the album chart. And I was mad for it all – buying the 12″ versions of the singles, waiting anxiously for the videos on Top of The Pops and the Chart Show, listening to Slash being interviewed on the Friday Rock Show, and seriously wondering if I could pull off a bandana. I couldn’t. I was sixteen years old and Guns N’ Roses were my religion.

Little did we know that there was already trouble in paradise city. There had been a divisive trip to Chicago, at Axl’s behest, to try and galvanize the band and write and rehearse songs for the next record. But Axl turned up weeks late and things got ugly. Although Izzy was desperately trying to get sober, drug use in the rest of the band was gradually getting out of control, as was Axl’s volatility and the frustration at his behaviour. According to Duff: “The harsh reality was that the old us-against-the-world mentality had waned this year for sure. Steven was fully strung out and babbling incoherently much of the time. Slash had one foot out of the band as a result of feeling betrayed. Izzy had all but checked out. The techs, I soon found out, were secretly looking for other gigs. And to top it all off, we had an expensive bill to pay for the rehearsal space and apartments, the plane trips back and forth, and all the destruction Axl had inflicted on the apartments.”

The heady mix of Axl’s megalomania and a potentially lethal cocktail of powders, pills, crack rocks and booze were tearing the band apart. In these pre-internet days, the news that was filtering across the Atlantic wasn’t exactly good, but as Guns was the most dangerous band in the world, we took it for the usual tales of rock n roll debauchery. For instance, when GnR supported the Rolling Stones and Axl dropped the following bombshell – “unless certain people in this band get their shit together, these will be the last Guns N’ Roses shows you’ll fucking ever see. ‘Cause I’m tired of too many people in this organization dancing with Mr. Goddamn Brownstone” – it was just another headline, a consequence of the band’s success and an affirmation of their reputation. However, for Duff, even though it was still only 1989 and Guns were basically the hottest ticket in the world, the incident rang serious alarm bells: “Once Axl took his concerns public, the times of being a gang—us against the world—were over. We played the rest of the show, but it was a halfhearted effort at best. Afterward, and really for the remainder of our career, we just went our separate ways. That night officially rang the bell for the end of an era in GN’R.”

In the meantime, they were shifting units like proverbial hotcakes, with Appetite for Destruction going on to sell over 24 million copies, becoming the fifth best selling album and the most successful debut album release of the 1980s, but there was no new product in 1990. Even so, their popularity was such that the promise of activity in 1991 meant that they still graced the cover of Raw Magazine‘s 1990 yearbook, which included a candid interview with Slash.

The guitarist addresses their treatment by the media, the fascination people have for the band, the (drug) problems they’d been through, and the uncerimonious firing of Steven Adler. For a group of very heavy drug users and drinkers to fire someone for excessive use meant that Adler must have been really screwing up, and according to Slash: “there came a time when I had to grow up sufficiently to realise that he was a lost cause. It was hard to accept this, but for the sake of the band I had to. Guns n’ Roses had to go forward and with Steven in his condition then we couldn’t do this. So we have now got in Matt Sorum and we are recording again.” Despite the clear implications of chaos within the band over the last couple of years, it seemed that things were settling down and the promise of not one, but two double albums had me chomping at the bit. As such, 1991 would edge into dreams come true territory.

After two hours of frantic redialling – yes actually dialling, not pressing redial – we had tickets for the headline show at Wembley Stadium at the end of August. With Skid Row at their peak and a then unknown Nine Inch Nails in tow (Axl showing great insight into the coming changes in the world of rock – he later tried to get Nirvana to tour with GnR) the Wembley show was the culmination of my teenage Guns N’ Roses obsession.

Prior to the Wembley show, in the absence of the yet to be mixed Use Your Illusion albums and to avoid doubling down on the never ending stream of scandal and controversy, Raw magazine opted to do a feature on the cover versions that frequently popped up in the band’s catalogue. Sure, there was also an interview with Sebastian Bach of Skid Row and a piece on Nine Inch Nails (But, are they Metal?), but with Axl and the band basically avoiding any media, and possibly with the timing of the issue (it ran on a two-weekly cycle) there was little else to talk about. However, it is noteworthy that despite the issue featuring a review of one of the most awesome Monsters of Rock line-ups in history – The Black Crowes, Queensrÿche, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, and AC/DC – it was Guns N’ Roses that graced the cover. Given that this was their first gig in England since their own ill-fated appearance at Donington back in 88, it is no wonder that the HR/HM scene in the UK was boiling over with excitement.

After Nine Inch Nails’ energetic opening set, an on-form Skid Row, with a very excited Sebastian Bach, won over the crowd and disappointed Brent Council by playing Get the Fuck Out. It was all bluster though. We were their to see Gn’R and they did not disappoint. With You Could Be Mine, backed with Civil War, having been released some months earlier, they were already familiar and much loved, so the peppering of new material amongst the songs from Appetite, Lies and assorted covers went down well. To be honest, my memory of the show is a little hazy – it was 35 years ago – but the YouTube videos show that all the swagger was there along with that hint of volatility bubbling just under the surface.

The short tour around Europe that culminated in the trip to Wembley had been difficult to say the least. In the wake of sparking a riot at the Riverport Amphitheatre in early July, the band had skiddaddled to Europe and Axl had been increasingly flexible with his timekeeping, while the other band members, except Izzy, had been increasingly liberal with their intake of toxins. At times, things were at breaking point and the Wembley gig would prove to be Izzy Stradlin’s last as a full time member of the band. Nevertheless, according to Duff:

“Izzy didn’t walk away and force the cancellation of the Wembley show. he stayed and played one last gig to draw the curtains on this leg of the tour—the last show before the release of the albums we were ostensibly touring.

Axl arrived on time.

We played spectacularly well, as fierce and inspired and together as ever before. If not for the additional people and gear onstage, it could have been mistaken for one of our club shows.“

After a short break and the hiring of new guitarist Gilby Clarke, the Guns train kept on rolling for endless months of touring. Less than a year after the triumphant Wembley show, they were back for three more UK dates including another jam at the capital’s biggest stadium. My memory of the day is less positive as I remember there being a slightly nasty vibe as things got a bit heated near the front during Faith No More‘s cracking set, the usual, friendly mosh pit vibe absent in the heat.

Even so, despite certain band members not even remembering being in some of the cities on the tour, Guns were a pretty well-oiled machine by this time and Axl’s volatile brand of frontman fury was delivering the spectacle we all wanted. According to the Guardian: “Where the band used to be chaotic and unfocused, now they’ve learned to harness their strengths around Rose’s anarchic energy. Without him, they’d be an old-fashioned hard rock group, obsessed with Zeppelin, Hendrix and the Stones. But Rose is an alchemising presence, a suspect device, able to invest the dullest clichés with menace. Axl just doesn’t look right singing piano ballads like November Rain, but when the Gunners rock, Rose rattles your fillings.” Throw in a guest appearance from Brian May in the encores for Tie Your Mother Down and We Will Rock You and a good time was had by all. However, these were exciting times for the alternative rock scene and there was a lot more going on in the world besides Guns N’ Roses.

Precisely one week before the Guns gig at Wembley I had been to see The Cult at Finsbury Park for their one-day, UK version of their Gathering of the Tribes festival, which featured a diverse mix of alternative rock bands from Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Mega City Four to L7 and Pearl Jam. A couple of months later I would see Nirvana, Mudhoney, L7 and the Beastie Boys at Reading. Then, in October, I went to see Suicidal Tendencies at the T&C in Kentish Town to be totally blown away by the support act, Rage Against the Machine, during their first ever UK performance. Things were changing on the music scene and in my life. Basically, I’d seen that there was more to life than the Hard Rock Heavy Metal scene and was slowly diversifying my tastes; Indie and Grunge bands were broadening my horizons and I was going to clubs like the Venue in New Cross to see bands like Swervedriver and Zodiac Mindwarp and get an early look at Pulp before they hit the big time. Jarvis threw Old Spice over the audience.

So, when Gn’R decided to come back to the UK for two nights at the Milton Keynes Bowl less than a year after the second Wembley gig, to be honest, I just wasn’t that excited by the idea. My mates were all going but I wasn’t really up for it, then The Cult were added to the bill and it was suddenly irresistible – Blind Melon, Soul Asylum, The Cult and Guns N’ Roses – a cracking day out was now on the cards. I’m so glad that I went; the planets aligned to make it an absolutely magnificent day and it ended up being one of the best gigs I have ever been to.

First up, MKB is a natural amphitheater that lends itself to big shows. Then there was my first experience of a VIP section, whereby the front area was separated from the main crowd, but instead of paying a premium, the wristbands were seemingly distributed at security’s discretion. The girl who was with us politely asked the dude at the entrance to the area to be let in, then asked if her 4 brothers could come in too! That was it…we were in!

And Guns did not disappoint. Despite the band being deep into a never-ending tour and their fraught dynamic getting ever more tense, they delivered in spades. The show was something of a stripped down affair, just the band, no backing singers, percussionists etc; it featured a half-hour acoustic set complete with sofas on stage; Ronnie Wood came out to play an encore of the Rolling Stones’ Honky Tonk Women along with Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks, who also sang on Knockin on Heaven’s Door; but best of all Izzy Stradlin was back, filling in for the injured Gilby Clarke. It would be Izzy’s final show but his mere presence took the band to another level. As Duff says: “In our case, Izzy was probably the most significant force—without his initial vision and his songwriting cues, there would have been no Guns N’ Roses.”

The Milton Keynes show ended up being a fitting farewell for me. I can vividly remember being arms outstretched and spinning round and round in a joyous state of abandon! It was a lovely last hurrah before I moved on. They released the Spaghetti Incident later that year, but it held little appeal. The cover of the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil the following year was also far from a return to form. Despite the MKB shows reminding us how great they could be, it was short lived and the writing was clearly on the wall for the band with Izzy only back for a handful of dates and the never-ending tour grinding on and on.

Axl would then blindside the other members into signing over the rights to the Guns N’ Roses name, although he denies that it ever happened. But if there is any element of truth to it, Axl was shrewdly looking towards the future as what was left of the original band clearly had a limited lifespan—they were already doing everything separately on tour anyway. “Perhaps the simplest explanation for what was going on with Guns N’ Roses was that the band had stopped needing one another. […] we no longer needed one another to write ourselves out of poverty through our songs. Guns didn’t start out about money, but once we all had houses and cars, we just needed one another less. […] On the last European leg of the tour, we sometimes weren’t all together in the same city except for the performance itself. On a few occasions we weren’t even in the same country.“

And so it would prove. Slash left in October 1996, Matt Sorum would follow in April 1997 and Duff would be the final nail in the coffin in August of the same year. By this time, I was no longer abreast of the comings and goings, scandals and controversies. Essentially, I had grown up. I was listening to Nine Inch Nails, The Beastie Boys, Portishead and anything and everything else that was around back then – the nineties were vibrant times! If you look through my ample CD collection, the overwhelming majority of it is from the nineties and it goes way beyond Britpop and Grunge.

Guns N’ Roses had been the band of my teenage years. They were like a first love—an all consuming obsession that you can’t get enough of until some cracks start to show, the passion fades, and you eventually move on. Still, you always hold a soft spot and every now and then a bit of memory lane is a welcome reminder, especially as you get older. The timing of discovering Guns N’ Roses was essentially what made it so special for me. We make powerful memories and have strong connections to the music from our teens; we may move on, but the songs from that time will always have the power to move us like they did the first time.

“A global study of nearly 2,000 people across 84 countries found something remarkably consistent: the music that people remember as most personally meaningful was often released when they were around 17 years old. Psychologists call this the reminiscence bump. And it isn’t simply nostalgia playing tricks on you. Adolescence is a period when the brain is developing rapidly, social identity is taking shape, and emotional experiences can become deeply encoded in memory. Music happens to be there for all of it. That’s why a three-minute song can sometimes transport you decades into the past in just a few seconds.”

I would go on to see them again at Rock in Rio in 2001 as Axl Rose plus backing band, but it was not the greatest show I have ever seen. To be honest, I actually went that day to see Oasis, but having some memory lane thrown in was worth the ticket price. Subsequent television appearances and the eventual release of Chinese Democracy did little to reignite my teenage love for the band. It was like running into that first love years later and wondering what you had been thinking.

So, when the reunion with Duff and Slash was on the cards, I was not enthusiastic: “Looking back at what this band once was and what made them great just turns the whole circus surrounding this comeback all the more disappointing. Think I’ll stick with the memories.” But I did of course change my mind. I went to see them on the Not in This Lifetime tour in 2016 and again in 2022. I have to say that I may have been fully embracing the nostalgia of it all, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself on both occasions. In my review of the 2016 show I reflected: “Is it all just shameless nostalgia? Sure, of course, but when you are this good and the material still cuts it, then why the hell not?”

Moreover, in 2018, in a preview of the Download Festival for Already Heard I went on to say: “Since Slash and Duff McKagan returned to the Guns N’ Roses fold, Axl Rose has been somewhat rejuvenated; recovering a level of enthusiasm (and singing ability apparently) that had been largely missing for the previous twenty years since the original line-up imploded. Axl has been transformed from appearing to not really give a fuck into someone visibly enjoying his work again. Sure, a few of the higher notes are now out of reach and he doesn’t scamper about the stage with quite the same verve as the angry twenty something he once was, but GnR proved good value on their Not in This Lifetime nostalgia fest, regularly putting in performances pushing close to the three hour mark. And lets face it, when you have a bulging back catalogue of classics like theirs, they could play all damn night.”

The Guns N’ Roses train is still rolling. They are still doing three-hour-a-night shows and, given the chance, I would go and see them again. I love listening to their songs again – the power of that teenage obsession is still a thing! However, I am under no illusions; I know they can never be what they once were. Effectively, they were never going to be the same after Steven Adler was fired and they lost his groove; or after Izzy called time on his presence in the band and they lost that swagger; or after the videos, the production and the image became as important as the music itself. In those early years, they were something else though; they were truly exciting and everything teenage me loved about heavy music. Appetite for Destruction remains one of the greatest rock records in history. Although I have had other favourite bands, I have been to other incredible shows, and there is plenty of other music that moves me, few bands or songs would have the impact of that Saturday morning back in 1988.

Original artwork based on Robert Williams’ painting depicting a robotic rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger.
Original back cover.
Original Inner Sleeve.
Side G – for Guns – drugs and hard life in the big city.
Side R – for Roses – Love, sex and relationships.

Author’s notes: This started out as a piece on the nostalgia aspect of the music industry I pitched to Sêan Reid, my editor at Already Heard, back in 2018. I couldn’t quite get my ideas together at the time, but that memory from ’88 kept nagging at me so I decided to pick it up again recently. It was meant to be a little walk down memory lane, but once I realised how much stuff I had and how important it had been to me, it took on epic proportions. The following is a list of references that I used in the article in addition to the photos of issues of Raw Magazine and Kerrang Magazine featured in the various galleries. All the galleries contain original photos of items that I actually own, be it the magazines, the CDs, the concert tickets or flyers.

https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/15737/guns-and-roses

https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/17763#google_vignette

30 Years Ago: Chaos Reigns as Guns N’ Roses Open for the Stones

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/15/guns-n-roses-review-wembley-1992-archive

https://knowlegic.com/articles/why-the-music-from-your-teenage-years-never-really-leaves-you

Duff Mckagan It’s So Easy and Other Lies

https://alreadyheard.com/festival-preview-download-festival-2018

https://hardpressed.com.br/2016/11/19/guns-n-roses-live-in-rio-review/

Metallica Memorabilia

Posted on by edwardlayland

As described in my piece on Memorabilia (see here) collecting records was an experience in itself. However, it went much deeper than the joy of buying and owning a product, it was actually like a kind of feedback loop. You bought a collector’s edition of a single, 12″, boxed set or whatever because you were a fan, and buying it made you even more of a fan. Nothing can come close to my collection of records by The Cult (that’ll be an epic gallery), but my Metallica collection is also pretty damn cool!

When Metallica became a significant element of my musical life in the late 1980s, around the release of …And Justice for All, owning their products became a badge of honour among the metal tribe I was a part of. Essentially, it was cool to listen to heavier and heavier music; it was cool to like Metallica; it was cool to own all the albums; it was cool to have limited edition releases. Like the band’s own ethos, more was more – the more Metallica you were, the cooler you were. As a fifteen year old, heavily into metal, wanting more than anything to be cool, I bought into it and consumed as many of my favourite band’s products as I could, be it the Cult, Metallica, Guns n Roses, or whoever I’d got into. Also, I had grown up in a single-parent family with little in the way of luxury, but birthday money, Christmas money and what I could spare from my paper round and then my Saturday job went on an endless merry-go-round of first and second-hand vinyl and cassettes. The fact that I paid for these things myself gave them even more value.

Obviously, the culmination of all this investing in my favourite bands came as I grew up a little and had the chance to see them live. Monsters of Rock at Donington in 1991 just after the release of the Black Album was quite simply prime Metallica, and I have included some shots in the gallery of reviews and pictures from the magazines of the day that I still have. The fact that I made a scrap book probably tells you that I was maybe not quite the cool metal kid I had aspired to be, but I no longer worry about these things. Milton Keynes Bowl in 1993 with Megadeth guesting, with The Almighty, who supported everyone back then (I saw them a bunch of times) and Diamond Head, should have been the peak moment in my love for the band. However, too much drinking and chaos took the shine off that day. Still got my ticket though (see below).

I’ll admit that I am no longer in possession of everything I have ever owned by Metallica – a few odds and bits got sold at a record fair recently and other items got lost in the mists of time (VHS Tapes of A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica) – but I still have some significant, meaningful items that will no doubt end up being inherited! Featured in the gallery below are: the US edition 7″ of One; the crate edition of Live Shit: Binge and Purge; the six and a half year anniversary 12″ collection – The Good, The Bad & The Live (what was Metallica’s thing with half years?!); the cassette single of Eye of the Beholder; the cassette of The $5:98 EP Garage Days Re-Revisited; Limited Edition 12″ singles of Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman; and the Master of Puppets aniversary book, Back to The Front.

These are all just things, I know, but together they tell a story and represent the impact music can have on how we choose to live our lives. These memories represent moments of joy, disappointment, discovery and regret, and looking back now, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Good times!

The Cult – November 24th, 1989

Posted on by edwardlayland

On November 24th, 1989, as a surly sixteen year old, I saw my first “proper” live concert. I’d seen unknown bands on other occasions, like free amusement park shows on holiday in California or holiday camp cabaret at Pontins in the UK, but nothing that really counted. The Cult at Wembley Arena on the Sonic Temple tour was my first gig as a paying customer. I shelled out the princely sum of 10 pounds (today that would be £26.71, but a show at the same venue now actually costs around £70, depending on the band) and got myself to London (don’t remember how) to meet my brother, aunt and uncle to begin what would become a lifelong passion. 

I suppose the first proper band I saw was Claytown Troupe as they were the support band, but I was only there for the Cult…and I was blown away. They burst onto the stage and launched into the underrated New York City and I was immediately in awe of how larger than life it all seemed. This was the Cult in their prime; Sonic Temple had gone top 10 in the US (selling over a million in the process) and top 3 in the UK, the classic line-up was in place and they’d finally rocked up for the UK leg of the tour after a series of US dates supporting Metallica and a a handful of European shows opening for Aerosmith. Basically, they were now primed for big arenas and riding the wave of big-time rock n roll. Anyway, they ran through a set of classics mixed with most of Sonic Temple – which had been out since April, so no debuting new songs – with the album’s filler tracks taking on a whole new dimension in the live arena.  

OK, I’ll admit it, I don’t “remember” just how great it was, but half the songs from the show are on the Sonic Temple 30th anniversary reissue, so that jogged my memory a tad. I do remember how I felt however, which was ecstatic! I was seeing my favourite band, in the flesh, playing all their best songs!!! I headbanged my way through the entire set and went back to my uncle and aunt’s in Selhurst with an aching neck, a ringing in my ears and high on the excitement of the whole thing. The next day I was treated to a vegetarian lasagne (!) and a tour of Croydon’s finest record stores – Beano’s, HR Cloakes, 101 Records – before somehow getting back to Southampton (again, don’t remember how – probably involved a train). 

Anyway, the point here is not to review the show, but to take a look at the memorabilia, as besides still having the original ticket (see above), I also have the absolutely spectacular concert programme. Even back in the 80s the humble programme was generally considered a bit of a ripoff as souvenirs go and has been gradually disappearing ever since…do they even still exist? But, this particular programme was a rarity, as it was much more than the standard array of glossy photos that was par for the course. Here you get features on all the band members with a couple of pages for everyone; a discography with a list of single and album releases; a family tree showing how the band formed and all the connections to other bands (Billy Duffy used to be in a band with Morrissey!); in addition to a fold out band poster in the middle. It’s beautifully packaged, the photography is superb and it’s packed with information; talk about getting your money’s worth. It makes for a fine memento of an important occasion in my life and still looks the business 36 years later. Check it out below. 

The Best Records of 2016 – Part 1

Posted on by edwardlayland

If there is one dead cert in the world of music writing, it’s the end of year list – the golden opportunity to wax lyrical about all the uber cool shit we’ve been listening to through the year that we totally believe every other fucker should also be listening to. I’m just as guilty as the next pensmith; I mean, I’ve already done two – one for Already Heard ( http://alreadyheard.com/post/154430616852/record-of-the-year-2016-staff-lists), another exclusively on thrash metal albums, although in fairness it was a retrospective article analyzing the genre with a top 5 attached (https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/thrashback-best-of-2016/)

But lets face it, here in the blogosphere it’s basically a totally subjective list and isn’t really worth shit, unlike the top ten we came up with at AH (http://alreadyheard.com/post/154422480446/already-heards-record-of-the-year-2016) which involves several contributors. So, the final list is a kind of representation of the site’s view of the world of alternative rock, and therefore a pretty useful piece of retrospection. Anyway, my top ten is there, along with the site’s top ten, but I have to say that probably wouldn’t be a definitive list, nor would another one that I might write tomorrow. So what’s the point?

However, there is surely some value in celebrating some of the seriously cool records that have had an impact on me this year. It doesn’t need to be a top ten. They don’t need ranking. It’s enough to say that this is cool as fuck and you could do a lot worse than give it a whirl, you might discover something you love – it’s what Spotify is for, for fuck’s sake. So, here come a bunch of records I’ve been listening to pretty solidly this year and intend to keep spinning well into the future.

David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’ I was deeply moved by the death of David Bowie and wrote about it at length here:https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/303/ Listening to Blackstar is inextricably linked to the loss of this musical giant and was always going to be an emotional experience, but having gone back to it again and again since its release, I have to say that it really is quality and holds up well. ‘Lazarus’ is undeniably superb and the artistic merit of the record as a whole is unquestionable. Great record – excellent way to punctuate such an incredible cultural footprint.

I only got round to listening to Michael Kiwanuka – ‘Love & Hate’ a couple of weeks ago, but have had it on very heavy rotation ever since. Damn, what a great, honest record this is. Michael lays bare his conflicting emotions on this sublime collection that neatly combines a kinda classic seventies soul groove with a more contemporary feel and some achingly good guitar work. The title track is unbeatable.

Lisa Hannigan – ‘At Swim’ Great songs, cool vibe, lovely voice, excellent record – I keep going back for more.

Lonely the Brave – Things Will Matter is a good solid sophomore record from the Cambridgeshire boys and continues their climb up industry ladders. There are some quite spectacular moments, like the massive ‘Black Mire’, the excellent ‘Diamond Days’ and ‘Jaws of Hell’ that hint at a very bright future for British alternative rock.

Slowcoaches – ‘Nothing Gives’ came out about a week ago and I had the immense pleasure of five outta fiving it for Already Heard. The most exciting garage punk record in years, it has an energy comparable with The Strokes debut and rocks from beginning to end as it tackles issues like loss and anxiety. Heather Perkins is punk rock personified, making their brand of angry optimism instantly relatable – this band deserve to be massive.

The Cult – ‘Hidden City’ There’s nothing like your favourite band hitting good form again. Ok, it’s not ‘Love’ or ‘Sonic Temple’, but it’s creatively vibrant, still pushing boundaries and features some killer tracks. Ian Astbury‘s raw vocal on ‘Birds of Paradise’ and the killer hook of ‘No Love Lost’ find The Cult at the top of their game.

Another return to form from an eighties icon came on The Mission – Another Fall From Grace. Wayne Hussey took a conscious decision to dust off his twelve string and write an album bridging the gap between Sisters of Mercy and The Mission. According to the front man it was a painfully cathartic experience, but the vocalist can be justifiably proud of his band’s finest record since their peak. Sure, it’s as overblown and pretentious as you might expect, but Mish fans wouldn’t have it any other way. The title track is prime example of Wayne’s songwriting prowess and ‘Tyranny of Secrets’ shows they can still deliver a good old Goth rock banger.

Black Foxxes – ‘I’m Not Well’ is quite simply one of the best records I’ve heard in years. It’s rawness imbues it with power, energy and emotion at a level few bands come close to. Stone cold killer from beginning to end – album of the year by far.

What’s Hot In My House – March

Posted on by edwardlayland

Since the release of The Cult‘s largely awesome ‘Hidden City’ I have been streaming the shit out of it, the album having become my default option for pretty much any and every time of day. Even so, there has still been plenty of room for other aural delights, what with the stack of awesome new music http://www.alreadyheard.com have been making me review; twisting my arm until I give in and put fingers to keyboard. Then there’s all the interesting new releases outside of AH’s remit; 2016 shaping up to be a damn fine year for new music. However, given the subject matter of some of my recent posts I’ve also been doing more than a little memory lane, so check out the diverse selection of listening pleasures that have been riding my personal air waves of late….

The Mission
The Mish are a band I tend to listen to fairly regularly anyway, but one of the most recent things that I have written is a look at their 30 year career with a definitive top 10. As such, in the name of research I went trawling through their catalogue, agonising over what to include, so there’s been days when they were the only band ringing in my ears. Here’s a classic performance on British TV:


https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/30-years-of-the-mission/

Aztec Camera
I always had a bit of a soft spot for Roddy Frame when I was a kid, he came up with a handful of really good tunes, which have actually stood the test of time. I was reminded of AC while reading the tome that is ‘How Soon Is Now’, on the mavericks behind 80s indie, and was thus inspired to write about the vibrant Scottish scene which spawned so much of the music that sound tracked the UK during the 1980s, including Aztec Camera. Anyway, I tracked the greatest hits down on Deezer and was pleasantly surprised by the enduring quality of the songs, ‘Working in a Goldmine’ being a personal favourite as its a lesson to any budding songwriter in how to nail a good hook.


https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/postcards-from-glasgow/

Noise – Heck and So Pitted
The DIY ethic around the music business right now and the whole indie punk vibe afforded by the internet is leading to some really exciting new music. Seattle’s So Pitted are a recent discovery, their sound being really quite horribly awesome. They have an air of disquiet about their heavy bruising brand of alternative rock, soaked in flurries of feedback, and their debut album, ‘Neo’, makes for a brilliant but disconcerting listen. https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/so-pitted-neo-review/


On the opposite side of the Atlantic, but equally noisy, are the chaotic Heck. There is something refreshingly free about the wrecking ball sound of debut album ‘Instructions’ and I’ve had it on heavy rotation since giving it a 5/5 over at AH. http://alreadyheard.com/post/140796180606/album-review-heck-instructions

The Cult
Which brings me back to The Cult. I make no secret of the fact that this is my favourite band and have written about them a lot. Most recently I did a retrospective review of their supremely underrated self-titled album, as I believe that there are a number of seriously good tunes getting seriously overlooked. Check out ‘Gone’ here:


https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/the-cult-the-cult/

30 Years of The Mission

Posted on by edwardlayland

MissionThis year, British Goth rockers The Mission are set to celebrate 30 turbulent years in the industry by doing precisely what they do best – touring extensively and reliving former and more recent successes.

Once upon a time the Mish ruled; achieving an enviable level of commercial success with multiple top 40 singles and top ten albums, as well as being one of only a handful of bands to have headlined the Reading festival on more than one occasion. Their first headline slot is testament to the quality of their early releases as it came a little over a year after Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams had said goodbye to the Sisters of Mercy to form first The Sisterhood and subsequently The Mission.

Their debut album, ‘Gods Own Medicine’, and the amalgamation of their early EPs, The First Chapter, had struck a chord and catapulted the band to early success; tracks like ‘Wasteland’, ‘Garden of Delight’ and cover versions of ‘Like a Hurricane’ and ‘Dancing Barefoot’ were indicative of their growing reputation and a lot of hard work on the road, supporting the likes of The Cult, The Psychedelic Furs and a still credible U2, as well as on their own, soon expanded their hard core of fervent fans – ‘The Eskimos’.

The band’s penchant for the theatrical, Hussey’s resonant baritone and Simon Hinkler‘s intricate guitar work, meant that the Celtic rhythms and rich melodies to their particular brand of atmospherically dark pop could do no wrong. In the period from early 86 to the end of 1990, successive releases saw the band grow in stature and confidence, the John Paul Jones produced ‘Children’ peaking at number 2 in the UK, while the first single from ‘Carved in Sand’, ‘Butterfly on a Wheel’, just missed out on the top ten. As Wayne says:

“Our record label were making us a ‘worldwide priority'” … “We were a band on the cusp of being very successful internationally. It was something that we collectively really wanted at that time.”

However, behind the scenes the excesses of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle were beginning to take their toll and the wheels were starting to come off. Internal conflicts and record company input meant that ‘Carved in Sand’ never did quite as well as it deserved, Wayne having been forced to compromise the track listing; in the words of the man himself:

“I have to say that the only true professional regret I have to this day is that I allowed the final track listing for ‘Carved in Sand’ to be chosen by committee rather than the usual practice of yours truly stamping my feet until I got my own way. I think at this point in time we the band and, more regretfully so, myself were more than willing to allow other people to make important decisions for us. We relinquished control and responsibility and unfortunately I think ‘Carved In Sand’, as an album, suffered as a result.”

The subsequent tour was also wrought with difficulties ranging from illness and staggering levels of debauchery to conflict and walk outs, with Hinkler taking his leave mid-tour.

Wayne:“With the release of ‘Carved in Sand’ (which, almost ironically, actually went on to become our biggest selling album) we were set up to go and conquer the world but instead within the space of a few short months in early 1990 after its release we internally combusted and our trajectory was set downward for the first time since our beginning in late 1985. We were never to recover.”

Nevertheless, that five year period to the end of 1990 had produced five albums worth of genre defining material and makes for an impressive achievement. Such prolific production documents the sound of a band that had hit a rich vein and were peaking in more ways than one. Their early catalogue of releases has certainly stood the test of time and is packed with classic tracks that comprise a fine record of Hussey and co’s songwriting talent.

Although the following record ‘Masque’ had its moments and there was the occasional hidden gem in subsequent albums, The Mission’s material post 1991 has offered little to compare to their peak period. The notable exception being 2013’s ‘The Brightest Light’, which saw Hussey reunite with Hinkler and fellow founder, bassist Craig Adams. This was the sound of a band reformed and reinvigorated and although it owes more to hard rock than Goth, it sounds fresh and honest. Hussey’s voice is a little more gravelly with age but no less powerful, and it sounds as if Hinkler had been given the chance to throw off the shackles a little to let rip on the guitar.

The intervening years had also seen a whole batch of re-issues, compilations and live albums, as well as (far too many to mention here) line-up changes, hiatuses and solo projects. Yet every time they hit the road there was always a faithful army helping to recapture the essence that makes the Mission such an enduring prospect; recent shows on the Blood Brothers tour with Fields of the Nephilim proving a resounding success. So this year’s anniversary tour is sure to be greeted with the adulation it will no doubt deserve, can’t help but wonder if there’s another album in the pipeline…..

In the meantime here’s my Mission top 10, which might raise the odd eyebrow amongst the faithful.

10. Amelia
Probably the bravest song Wayne has ever written, yet it is something he is rightly proud of, given the difficult subject matter of child abuse. Lyrically, it is cleverly constructed and the urgency to the instrumentation compliments it perfectly.

9. Severina
It’s theatrical, it’s magical, it’s a superb slice of Goth rock fantasia – “She’s dancing by the light of the moon”

8. Beyond The Pale
‘Children’ saw The Mission take a more measured approach with a strong nod in the direction of the grandiose; as such Beyond the Pale perfectly captures where they were at the time. There’s plenty of substance to this epic song, yet it’s a great example of their pop tropes, boasting a series of killer hooks in the chorus.

7. Swan Song
Of the tracks on ‘Brightest Light’ this is the most Goth influenced and stands tall alongside the early material. There’s some superbly atmospheric guitar work from the underrated Hinkler that builds to a climax on a fine solo, while Wayne delivers the killer hook and intense finale in fine style.

6. ‘Sacrilege’
There’s a wonderful dark energy here as the arrangement ebbs and flows with subtle time changes and chord progressions. It’s a superbly constructed song and is a fine example of Goth rock at its intriguing best.

5. Bird of Paradise
If Wayne had got his way this epic piano ballad would’ve been the closing track to Carved in Sand and a sublime way to close the album. Darkly atmospheric with a beautiful melody and beautiful lyrics, quality.

4. Wasteland
The opening track on their debut album was a killer cut to kick off with and indicative of the leverage that had secured a seven album record deal. One of their most enduring songs; there’s the evocative opening riff, the barren landscape of the verses and the battle cry chorus, all easily translating to the biggest stages; great start to a great album.

3. Like a Hurricane
If you’re gonna cover Neil Young you gotta do it right and here The Mission do not disappoint. There is sufficient tribute to the original, yet they succeed in making it their own. IMHO this is Hussey’s finest vocal performance at the helm of The Mission, where Young’s original is almost plaintive, live versions showcase Wayne’s voice as powerful, rousing and nothing short of brilliant.

2. Butterfly on A Wheel
The Mission always had a gift for melody and this beautifully atmospheric cut is one of their finest moments. It is a wonderfully evocative song featuring genuinely spine tingling moments; the time change after the second chorus and the ever building intensity sublime to say the least.

1. Deliverance
For me, this is the perfect Mission track, including every weapon in the band’s extensive armoury – from the atmospheric opening, through the driving bass, to the hook riddled chorus and hard rocking guitar parts – yet still shrouded in the Goth feel – I can never play this song loud enough.

For tour dates etc check out the official site:http://www.themissionuk.com/wp/

The Cult – The Cult

Posted on by edwardlayland

The_Cult_(ovelha_negra)_coverThe recent success of ‘Hidden City’, the excellent new album by The Cult, has prompted a revisit to their back catalogue for the second in the series of Overlooked or Underrated. Most of The Cult’s work has got the treatment and reviews that it deserved, but their self-titled sixth studio album, also known as the ‘Black Sheep’ album due to the cover art, is the one from their back catalogue that is constantly overlooked, even by the band themselves. Only two songs, ‘Gone’ and ‘Star’ have been featured with any regularity in their live set and only the much maligned ‘Ceremony’ album has been ignored on a similar scale. ‘The Cult’ was released to almost universal indifference back in October 1994, so what went wrong?

The relative failure and black sheep status of the album can be summed up in two words – Grunge and Britpop, which is pretty ironic considering their oft cited influence on grunge. Even so, Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury had never really fit into a scene, though they’d garnered their audience from the Goth rock crowd and had achieved notable success with their own brand of hard rock; total album sales running into the millions. However, with the reshaped musical landscape they basically became a band adrift, their sound not really striking a chord with anyone outside of their own fanbase and their creative direction moving away from more traditional rock influences not being well received by die-hard fans. They weren’t grunge, they definitely weren’t Britpop and now they weren’t even metal anymore, but when you listen back to the album it really does rock and there is a lot of really accomplished work on offer, it just didn’t exactly fit the time. It is telling that Hidden City probably has more in common with this record than any other releases in the Cult’s extensive catalogue, being that both find the band writing meaningful songs that push them out of their musical comfort zone.

The songs on ‘The Cult’ are among the most personal the duo has ever penned, covering issues like Astbury’s experience of sexual abuse, the death of their contemporaries and sobriety. Lyrically speaking, they are at their most sincere and their most offensive, so, maybe, way back in 1994, it was just not the right climate for the record. It seems strange, however, that the band should distance themselves so much from such a brutally honest record – there are several quality tracks here that have never been played live. Ok, it is by no means a perfect album, but there is plenty of quality material and repeated listens reveal it to be a record of depth and intensity with some genuinely killer moments; Bob Rock‘s crisp production as impeccable as ever.

‘Gone’ opens the album to a bass riff and touches of piano, before exploding in uncharacteristically angry fashion, immediately showing a different side to the band. Damn this song burns! Surely rating among their finest, it is the one track still getting regular live outings. The following track, ‘Coming Down’, is much more disposable but it’s got groove and a killer hook to the tambourine fueled chorus. It is in similar vein to ‘Star’, a track left unfinished from the ‘Sonic Temple’ sessions, which also explores an industrial dance groove, a sound they’d flirted with on ‘The Witch’ on ‘Pure Cult’, but never quite managed to fit. Nevertheless, it’s a good tune with a wonderfully rough edged vocal and is the only other song on the album to have graced repeated set lists.

The first half of the album is probably the stronger, the seriously underrated ‘Real Grrrl’ boasting an emotionally charged performance from Astbury, while the guitar lines have more than a taste of early era Cult. Then there’s the brooding ‘Black Sun’ and the slick bass groove to ‘Naturally High’ featuring some lovely understated guitar from Duffy. It is ‘Joy’ however, which ranks as one of The Cult’s most criminally overlooked songs. It has a dark energy in the abrasive riffing and a powerful intensity to the bridge/chorus, while the organ riff lends an air of modern day Doors; killer.

The second half features some of the more throwaway songs, like the straight up rock n roll of ‘Be Free, which doesn’t really fit with the vibe of the record, and the grungy ‘Universal You’, co-written with The Mission‘s Craig Adams to the loud-quiet-loud formula, though not quite nailing it. It’s not that either of these tracks are bad, they just fall a little short and maybe could’ve been saved for b-sides.‘Emperor’s New Horse’ is another that starts out not really firing on all cylinders, but it’s saved by a killer hook and works within the context of the record.

‘Sacred Life’ and ‘The Saints Are Down’ however, count among Astbury/Duffy’s most atmospherically reflective work. The former, is a sincere tribute to souls the world has lost, and is easy on the ear, while the latter is a slow burning ballad with a heavy dose of hard rock intensity. I love tracks like these and at a different time and in a different context they could’ve become Cult classics.

All told ‘The Cult’ is a vastly underrated album, which today would easily be an eight out of ten and even the band themselves should maybe give a second chance. Astbury is on fine vocal form throughout, stretching his voice way beyond the norm, while Duffy`s guitar playing is sublime as he shows off the versatility that gives them so much depth. There is more than enough killer material on this record to keep any fan of quality rock happy; definitely worth another listen.

What’s Hot In My House – February

Posted on by edwardlayland

With Carnaval and the accompanying break – damn the Brazilian government for making us have more time off work – I have had more family time and less music time than usual. Even so, I have managed to squeeze in some quality listening during the hours of endless relaxation and sun soaked ennui, albeit somewhat restricted to stuff I’m writing about for one reason or another. David Bowie has obviously continued to feature quite heavily, ‘Blackstar’ not being an album you can get to the bottom of in a couple of listens, but have also discovered some lovely new music besides revisiting some old favourites. I’m actually putting together a Hard Pressed mixtape/playlist of lesser known artists that I have featured here on the site, so the likes of Luna Sol, Haybaby and Blind Wives have all been getting a spin, along with a remix of Tairrie B. by Nina Mediatrix, who was gracious enough to grant me an interview a couple of weeks back that is well worth a read. Inescapably though, it is stuff I’ve been reviewing, or had thought about reviewing but just couldn’t find the words for, that has been most dominant; so here’s what’s been titillating my eardrums over the last month or so.

MONEY – Suicide Songs
I really wanted to review this stunning album by the British indie trio, but just couldn’t seem to do it justice. It is beautiful, hypnotic, uplifting and melancholic in equal measure and makes for an elegant, yet emotionally brutal record of poetically crafted songs worth languishing in for a while. Treat yourself to some catharsis, you know you need it.

Two songs which featured in stuff I reviewed last month, and were two of the first tracks that I earmarked for Mixtape Vol.1, are ‘Scars’ by Danish power trio Forever Still and the wonderfully titled ‘Placebo Button’ from the Italian grunge rockers Noam Bleen. The former is a powerful blast of fresh sounding heavy rock with an epic emotional chorus and a cracking vocal from front woman Maja Shining. Noam Bleen, meanwhile, offer up an intricate slice of 90s tinged alternative rock that shows off the band’s love of heavy tube distortion, but also finds them exploring their melodic side with a fine instrumental section; promising stuff from both bands.

The Cult – Hidden City
Isn’t it gratifying when your favourite band come back to top form and produce their most interesting record in over twenty years? What a pleasant surprise this album has turned out to be, there are a lot of really good moments and the quality is high throughout. The Cult maintain their signature sound, that tambourine is shaking away beneath the surface, but they also really explore creatively. Sure, Billy Duffy is on fire and there are riffs a plenty, but Ian Astbury also delivers some emotionally raw vocals and the songs are some of the most stylistically diverse of their career. Killer record.

The Cult – Hidden City Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

The-Cult-Hidden-CityThe prospect of a new record from my favourite band can be a worrying prospect, because as much as I love The Cult, I am the first to admit that they don’t always hit the spot. Not that they make bad records, just that some material, despite its apparent quality, has left me cold – ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ being prime example. “Hallelujah” and “Praise the Lord” then for ‘Hidden City’, the follow up to 2012’s largely quality effort ‘Choice of Weapon’.

There must be something in the air, because like so many of their rock peers that have stayed the course, there seems to be a feeling of reinvigoration about Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy that has enthused the album with a dynamic reminiscent of their glory days. Maybe it’s down to the difficult times in which we live or as a reaction to the puerile aspects of social media that have so invaded everyday life, who knows? Suffice to say that many bands that have been going through the motions for so many years are now turning out work that stands up alongside their best – The Cult included.

‘Dark Energy’ is a no nonsense starter; it doesn’t get more basic than this, the upbeat drumming and straightforward insistent riffing, as Astbury comes into his own vocally, are meat and potatoes, but sure taste good. ‘No Love Lost’ then starts out with a slow burning riff that suddenly bursts into life, rocking in classic cult fashion – killer hook, killer track.

This is one of the most varied Cult records I have ever heard. We get dark atmospheric numbers, like the classy ‘In Blood’, its piano melody, light orchestration and brooding guitars underpinning a powerful song with a wonderful arrangement. In contrast there’s a track like ‘G O A T’, Greatest Of All Time, which is a down n dirty rocker that gives Billy Duffy the chance to let rip – man this record is rocking.

There are one or two tracks like ‘Dance The Night’ and ‘Avalanche Of Light’ which are fairly disposable, but their upbeat pop/rock is pleasant enough. Their blandness is more than compensated by the last two pre-release teasers. ‘Hinterland’ has that classic cult feel to the rhythm, and what a hook! It is stylishly executed rock with an up-to-date feel, great track – The Cult are on fire – especially Billy Duffy with a superb variety of guitar sounds, both to the riffs and in the soloing. ‘Deeply Ordered Chaos’ written in reaction to the Charlie Hebdo shootings, is similarly high quality, this tale of Euro empathy slow boiling in brooding fashion, with touches of orchestration adding drama beneath the clashing guitar sound as Astbury’s familiar baritone croons “I’m a European, blood for holy water/I’m a European Africa my mother”. Duffy is on top form with some lovely touches on lingering notes in the solo as the track gathers urgency on the highly charged finale.

Even so, there are still more high points on ‘Hidden City’, the synth fueled ‘Birds of Paradise’ featuring one of the most heartfelt vocal performances I’ve ever heard from Ian, while ‘Lilies’ is an unexpected gem with its touches of Spanish guitar; it’s totally different to what you might expect, but sounds fresh and highly accomplished. There is even more surprise on closing track ‘Sound and Fury’ which is an intense piano croon with a theatrical feel that rambles to an enigmatic close; inspired.

This is surely one of the most artistically diverse Cult albums; there’s a fearless edge here that has added a freshness to their sound and it’s great to see such a fine band pushing their creative boundaries on what is their tenth studio album. Bravo!

9/10

http://thecult.us/HIDDEN_CITY/

Eight Killer Placebo Moments

Posted on by edwardlayland

Placebo were formed in 1994 after a chance meeting on a London tube platform between Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, who had both previously attended the American International School in Luxembourg. Their first album was released in 1996 and in celebration of its twentieth anniversary the boys are doing a number of retrospective projects including the recent MTV Unplugged set of primarily early material. As such, it seems like as good a time as any to celebrate the work of one of my favourite alternative rock bands.

Born in the midst of Britpop and inaccurately labelled as such, Placebo have always trodden their own path, often in the face of senseless criticism, and have succeeded in amassing a consistently high quality body of work. Placebo albums are a bit like Denzil Washington‘s films, never bad.

Although ostensibly a British band, Brian was born in Belgium to an itinerant Scottish Mother and American Father, while Stefan, despite being born to Swedish parents in Sweden, also moved around a fair bit before settling in London. For me, this is one of the principal reasons for Placebo never quite fitting in, they have a multi-cultural background and a kind of rootlessness that enables them to play by their own rules.

Their sound is very much their own, not only down to Brian’s distinctive vocal, but also instrumentally; their hard edged alt rock sound, owing as much to Wedding Present as to Marc Bolan, never plays it safe and they are also not afraid to explore more atmospheric airs, regularly incorporating piano and strings. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them live just the once, at Reading in 2000, and although they put in a great performance, I had the distinct impression that headliners, the Stereophonics, were worried and made sure their volume was turned down.

Anyway, here’s a handful of songs celebrating the awesomeness of this criminally underrated band of outsiders who despite bucking trends and media hostility have managed to sell in excess of eleven million records – count em!

‘Nancy Boy’ was the first Placebo song I ever heard and in the post grunge comfort zone of overblown Britpop it was refreshingly loud and crunchy, yet had just enough pop sensibility to nag its way into my unconscious. Love the guitar sound on this version from Later with Jools.

Placebo were unaffected by “difficult second album” syndrome; following up the top 5 success of their debut with a dark brooding slab of hard edged intensity. The title track of ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ (see below), ‘Pure Morning’ and ‘Every You, Every Me’ are the obvious killer cuts from the album, but ‘Brick Shithouse’ is as hard as it’s title and ‘Scared of Girls’ has a groove vaguely reminiscent of early Cult. Check out this badass version of ‘Scared of Girls’ from their debut headline show at Brixton Academy back in 98. The action starts at about 3’50.

‘Without You I’m Nothing’ is an epically dark ballad that is superbly intense in it’s own right, but as a duet with David Bowie could not have had a better compliment paid to it.

‘Plasticine’ – love it. Rocks hard from start to finish. “Don’t forget to be the way you are.”

‘Protect me/Protege Moi’ finds Brian at his wonderfully pretentious best.

‘Battle for the Sun’ is one of the more unusual Placebo tracks, but the building intensity and insistent vocal give it a defiant urgency.

Back in December of 2008 Placebo played a unique semi acoustic set at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia at the beginning of the ‘Battle for the Sun’ tour. The 40m showcase is really something special with its atmospheric vibe; check out this mesmerizing version of Meds with a superb performance from the new boy on drums at the time, Steve Forrest.

Placebo has never shied away from doing a cover and ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’ saw them bring an album’s worth of B-sides and one offs together for a bonus disc that included songs by artists as diverse as Kate Bush and Darts. Their version of Where Is My Mind by the Pixies is so damn good that even Black Francis (A.K.A Frank Black) came out at the legendary Paris show to play on it. I actually get goosebumps from head to toe when I watch this.

Check out the trailer for the MTV Unplugged show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVGrqoOxT4o