“To me, pop and the whole notion of pleasure, sex, entertainment and leisure is political,” says SCRITTI POLITTI’s GREEN GARTSIDE. “So Dead Or Alive with their swirling clothes have as much political resonance as Billy Bragg.” Charming as he is, Gartside’s work doesn’t please everyone.
The two singers, a tall fresh-faced welshman and a soft-spoken bleary-eyed Mancunian, felt trapped. try as he might to plot a path out of the complexities of art, language, politics and even music – all abiding concerns of his group scritti Politti – the welshman always ended up fronting an improvised racket. he wanted to break down the ideological barriers, his self-imposed stasis. Joy Division, the Mancunian’s group, had reached a ferocious, inexorable peak and for him further elevation seemed impossible. Long into the night they sat talking on the stage of an empty electric Ballroom, feeling depressed and distanced – unable to offer solace for each other’s problems. no resolutions or solutions came out of their discussion, just a mutual confirmation of boredom and restlessness. the two, ian Curtis and green gartside, never met again. within a week, Curtis was dead.
Soon after, gartside returned to wales to recover from illness and reconsider his strategy, as a post-Marxist agnostic materialist, in the pop marketplace.
Thus encumbered, he naturally found himself with a bit of a reputation.
“I think that’s a lot of bollocks actually, the reputation. I learned a bit too late how you get reputations. For a while i did try to deny my interests, but i can’t deny them, they are as with me as any other formal experiences would inform anyone else’s writing.
“It’s very much part and parcel of how you look at the world. i don’t think you can be impressed by Marx or Freud and then forget the whole concept of class or conscience, never let them impinge on your perspective. it will sometimes surface – for better or worse, i might add.”
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av The History of Rock.
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Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av The History of Rock.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Music With a Capital 'M'
The prolific HÜSKER DÜ have escaped the strictures of hardcore, to make truly remarkable music. “There’s nothing incredibly new about it,” says BOB MOULD. “We’re just doing what we do the best we can.”
All Pop is Political
“To me, pop and the whole notion of pleasure, sex, entertainment and leisure is political,” says SCRITTI POLITTI’s GREEN GARTSIDE. “So Dead Or Alive with their swirling clothes have as much political resonance as Billy Bragg.” Charming as he is, Gartside’s work doesn’t please everyone.
I Think I Hold My Ground
NME OCT 5 Introducing a product of NYC coffee society… Suzanne Vega.
It's Better To Burn Hard Than To Rot
With his reputation on a high, a tangential interview reveals a lot about the unique worldview and oddball technique of TOM WAITS. On the release of Rain Dogs, Tom talks white socks, neuroscience and his new guitarist, Keith Richards. “We met in a woman’s lingerie shop…”
Business is Booming
In a university dorm room, a rap dynasty is emerging. NME travels to New York to interview wordsmiths RuN DMC, along the way meeting producers Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons – the brains behind Def Jam. “The street wants something specific,” says Simmons.
I Don't Think Keith Was Pleased
MICK JAGGER makes a solo album. In Paris, the singer talks dodging paparazzi, the outrageous young Rolling Stones, and the miners’ strike. He even touches on his solo prospects. “You can’t expect to get No 1s all the time,” he says, “and if you do you’re a cunt.”
I'm Prepared to Go Down With the Ship
On behalf of THE SMITHS, Morrissey meets the fanzine press. He faces questions about love, Band Aid, the Moors Murderers and the band’s own unique position in the world. “There are people I admire,” he says, “but ultimately we are alone.”
Ambition. Greed. Money
Most of these are missing from THE POGUES as they stagger across Europe on tour. “Even if I drink myself to death doing this,” says SHANE MACGOWAN, “I’d still prefer that to the boring, horrible jobs I had to do before this band.”
Pandemonium
MM July 13 Bruce Springsteen seduces the masses.
