The Mid 90s,
and London was cited most happening city for some reason. A year after the Shampoo/Kinky Machine gig the 100 Club was again the venue where waves were being made.
"It can all be traced back to late 1993. One night that November a friend who
works for music promotions company invited me to the 100 Club on Oxford Street, where a
set of new bands were playing. Referring to their (ahem) concept as (ahem) "New Art
Riot", she advanced the attractive sales pitch that they were to make pop music that
came out of being young in modern Britain, as opposed to neurotic and in therapy, like the
then dominant American grunge acts." (Richard Benson, ex-editor of The
Face, London Evening Standard Newspaper, Aug-96).
He was referring to a cold and truly
miserable winter night, (Philip Hall one of the of greatest influences on 90s music, was buried
that day) December 1993... But downstairs, at 100 Oxford Street London it was hot, sweaty
and steamy (and Philip was there in spirit). Windmills and scissor kicks ahoy, The 100
Club hosted The New Art Riot. And folks, that was the original name of the club held that
night but the label "New Wave Of New Wave" was already a standard
music-media-establishment cliché, so the four guitar bands were conveniently filed into
that drawer. They themselves though, referred to it as Collisionpop, having drawn on
many styles. (A good example of Collisionpop would be to have Public Enemy and Guns’n’Roses as your influences!). Collide-A-Scope a.k.a. S.W.A.N.K. DJs (and Radio Tip
Top's Punk Boy) documented the evening for their videozine. Musical styles colliding is a
treasure of 90s music.
The Manics worked with dance music from day one. In more recent times acts like Chemical Brothers and
The Prodigy have also blurred the distinction. You can headbang to Rap and git-down
funky style to Rock.
At the end of the 90s, diverse new sounds are still possible, just when "retro
retro!" had become a battle cry against new acts.
Techno rooted rock acts like Super Furry Animals and
Radiohead released future sounding albums that took the genre into the next century.
The New Art Riot bill was less a nod to punk than to glamour, politics, ferocious
adrenalised energy and powerful anthems aired that night like "The Chosen Few" (Flamingos), "Real Surreal" (S*M*A*S*H - the next "keeper of the m*a*s*h stars" was Manic
stalwart zine R*E*P*E*A*T and recently the club, T*R*A*S*H), "Give Her A Gun" (Echobelly) and "Speeed
King" (These Animal Men). Part of this
vanguard were The GoodMood Brothers/Fierce Panda posse (Paul Moody,
Simon Williams, John Harris and Martyn Goodacre).
The Brat Bus was initiated "to save the guitar". (That has gone on to become the
Miller NME Channel 4 Brat Bus now a regular event on the rock’n’roll calendar).
They lit another fuse. It didn’t take long to save the guitar after that. Paul M is now a
member of koolbeat outfit Regular Fries.
2002: the brat bus is now sponsored, multi
media, glittering back-slappery redeemed by including a wide range of music.
"celebrity" is the new royalty and qualification right now.
Street style followed stage style. The
combat/army look of S*M*A*S*H, the glossy, fake fur, pretty boy look of Flamingos and the
Old Skool clothing of These Animal Men would all become fashion within months and in that
time, (apart from Flamingos) this unknown band bill would make the Top 40 charts and
appear on TOTP. The Manics were often quoted as a reference point for NWONW. Before it
died a death, the god awful mouthful of a "scene" took music to 'the kids'. Riot
Grrrl, Elastica and Sleeper put Girl Power into action.
UK wide, venues played host to bands
trawling towns off the beaten track and, with sell-out gigs saving some of the
industry’s life blood, the new band circuit. S*M*A*S*H received genuine
thanks from some of the promoters for saving their venue from closure, and from 60ft Dolls and Supergrass among
others, personal thanks for inspiration. These Animal Men were the
subject of media and political disgust on many occasions, a mini manics scenario with
major fallout. At one gig in Plymouth (a town they were banned from, the council put 29
names on the guest list including local constabulary and two guard dogs! to effect an
arrest if they played that venue!) While S*M*A*S*H got to rant "Shame on this government" on
Top Of The Pops. Guitars were saved. New bands sprang up from all over Ireland and The UK
and have spent the 90s entering the Top 40 like planes entering the sky from a runway.
Many of them staying up for a long haul!
2002 : the provincial scene is kicking up again,
whitehaven, welwyn garden city, lincoln and rocklands are all unfashionable parts
(according to london bound media) where a scene is gathering momentum via the alternative
underground network.
Having fulfilled their plan to get kids off
computer games and back to guitars, S*M*A*S*H imploded. Hi-Rise, the label behind S*M*A*S*H and These Animal Men was
run By David Boyd at Hut who was not only responsible for the success of Smashing Pumpkins but
nowadays has The Verve on his hands, among much else. There were many sparklers around, but the
Hi-Rise bands were the bangers in the firework box. The fire lit by the Manics is still
burning.
PESSIMISM IS REALISM . La tristesse durera.
The sadness did, indeed continue. The quote from Van Gogh’s suicide note is as valid
today. The 21st Century already sucks. Depression, war, refugees, war, Aids, starvation,
rising fascism and all kinds of other "isms", homophobia, suicide, rape, abuse,
corruption, hypocrisy, fat cats and, always, money above humanity. The Holy Bible was
one soundtrack of recession. The chance to show music's positive and humanitarian
influence on culture was wasted while the establishment insisted there was nothing special
happening. The number of "Pop Stars" from the Rock N Roll isles grew, producing
timeless classics, addressing issues and becoming a success story not of overpaid business
men in suits but of bedroom day dreamers, idealists and talent. If they'd shone at sports
they've have been front page news.
The New Art Riot - nothing more complicated
than a riot of new art. NOT A "SCENE". It's a rally to disregard them, take a
step back and accept music as it is presented. Nothing wrong with Scenes, how exciting for
young gig music fans to feel so involved with what is happening at the time. Just that
some acts outlive six months of fame. The number of unfilables grows. Along with acts
already mentioned, outfits like Leftfield,
Cornershop, Mansun are also "a problem to
file" and will hopefully remain so. A richness of diversity. Something for every
music lover...
A non-scene will not do so, Ta! Da!...
"Britpop" is born - not an all embracing scene considering the parallel
successes of the dance and teen side of pop - along with the phrase "White Boy
Rock". (At the time that music journalists were using this phrase, the Berlin Wall
had come down and apartheid had already been abolished). Possibly "Britpop"
would have been called New Wave Of New Wave Of New Wave if anybody could be bothered to
type it. In the initial announcement that Britpop had "arrived", the Manics weren’t
included. Too narrow a scene for the width of variety in 90s music it served it's purpose
swiftly and is now dissed as much as ("__________" fill in current build-knock
trend) will be in six months.
2002 : Britpop turned out to be so crap an idea
that it has luckily stopped the labelling of scenes. For that, I salute it.
In '96, reminiscent of MSPs '92 appearance
on Ireland’s IRMA Awards (played then trashed the set), Jarvis steals the show at The
Brits during Michael Jackson’s self coronation, the media and vote-seeking
politicians are up in arms/charms about pop stars. Now out of their easy to handle jingly
jangly anorak&cardigan phase as The House Of Windsor vies with The House Of Gallagher
and The House Of Spice for column inches. In 98 Blur, Chumbawamba and NME are among
music's political voice speaking out. Like punk HAPPENED!
2002: pop stars are manufactured on telly and
crave fame and celebrity. NME speaks for so few people that it's sales are falling and The
Brits are the nice and cosy face of back slappery. Bawring!
June 96, the original generation terrorists,
The Sex Pistols stage their comeback press conference at the 100 Club. Having not lost the
sharp articulation with which to mock the media, it is an old art riot!. This is the first
time the "it's a punk revival" headlines don’t appear. It would
appear that the 1990s scene-free-scene is populated by yer average/not so average teenage
boy / girl / 40-year-old boy / girl next door. Anti-heroes are the saviours of "The
Common People". How fitting that along with "A
Design For Life" it should be one of that
year’s anthems and that the Manics should sweep the End of ‘96/early ‘97
polls for Band and Album Of The Year.
It wasn't all vindication. Early after Richey's
disappearance, there were malicious suggestions of a friend’s depression and
disappearance being mere press scams (one NME journalist called Manic Street Preachers "a
band that has thrived on the publicity surrounding the disappearance of Richey
Edwards"). Most people though, just felt both for Richey and the remaining band
members. Everything Must Go is an epic rock standard. It's music made Manic Street Preachers a household name but so did Richey's disappearance. The Manics are tinged with the tragedy.
Tragedy is a fact of the life of every single human being on this earth, and always will
be. Most people realise that, and simply praised MSP for excellent songs and spectacular
live shows. The nation have taken "the Manics" to their heart.
From reviled to revered, that manifesto
isn't a day dream now. Pop stars are as common to the media as Royalty, Sports/TV stars.
"School-play-punk" is adored. Wales is "cool", retaining the crown
"Land Of Song" and Blackwood is on the Rock And Roll world map. Image is back on
the agenda - dressing up for gigs obviously follows. The Prodigy are Collisionpop
personified. Kylie has recorded with the Manics. There’s at least one
"alternative" act on Top Of The Pops every week and 'alternative' is main
stream. Black music’s influence is recognised a major factor of a 90’s where
"black" or "white" music is hard to define by skin colour. In this
explosion of unity, stadium rock, glitz, androgyny, raving, screaming fans - the
excitement, if not the 60s/70s innocence, is back on the pop agenda.
Manic Street Preachers remain ahead of their time. They won't take but will soon get
credit for their influence on the 1990s. They have given the 90’s Attitude, Stardom,
Intelligence, Style Excitement, Glamour and Working Class Pride in Education even though
Culture Alienation, Boredom and Despair will still take many people into the next century.
The 90’s are not to be watched in the
future with nostalgia but to be lived now. Pop 2000 (i.e. Whirlpool) was inspired by
all this(as was a current music publication editor’s college band, Manic Fruit
Corners!)
2002 : and tough fucking tits to everybody that
missed the end of the century party while they were busy theorising over it. thankfully
the attitude is here to stay hence the tapestry of networks woven at this and many other
forms of alternative media. This page won't be changed again, but keep an eye on what
Manic Street Preachers fans are up to.
Maybe things can change. Maybe putting
people, fun and love in front of money and weapons really could become the world's Design For Life. |
