MUSIC LIST
teensy exorbitant? Oh well. at least this is one sinking ship Simon‘s stayed on. In the way ofconstructive criticism it has to be pointed out that Le Bon‘s dubious arty pretensions marred even the most pleasant Duran singles. And I won‘t even mention Arcadia ifyou don‘t. okay? 0 Double Trouble The Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free.
0 Hungry Years The Cavern. Cowgale. 226 5641.
WEDNESDAY 29 Glasgow
0 Chicane Bowlers. 1()()Tu|lis Street. Bridgeton. 9pm. Free.
Edinburgh
0 Duran Duran Playhouse Theatre. Greenside Place, 557 2590. 7.30pm. £1 1 . £9.
0 Jamie Wednesday The Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. Doors open 7pm. Somewhat fey Liverpool band. possibly even boasting an anorak among their number.
0 Crocodiles In Cream The Cavern. Cowgate. 226 5641. A long time since we had a name of the week award. and this beats all comers. Heard recommendations to check them out as well.
0 Billy Jones The Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free. See Sun 19.
0 Leo Acka Bop Boston Bean Co. St James Centre. 556 ()1 11. 9pm. Free. See Wed 22.
O Ammo Lord Darnley. West Port. 229 4341. 9pm. Free. Hard rock.
THURSDAY 30 Glasgow
0 Weather Prophets Fury Murry’s, Maxwell Street. 221 651 1. 10.30pm. £3. Having never really liked the Weather Prophets. but never hated them either. I think I‘ll resist comment on this one.
o The Carmichaels Halt Bar. Woodlands Road. 9pm. Free.
0 We Free Kings2 The Mucky Duck. Shotts. (Shotts)2(l644. 9pm.
0 Reioin the Party Angels Hotel. Main Street. Uddingston.
Edinburgh
0 Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction and The Battish Boys Coasters. West Tollcross. ‘Back to quench this nation‘s thirst for their sex-drenched mutant rock ‘n‘ roll‘ COMES ‘StarMarshall Mindwarp and his trusty. thrusty posse’. so its says here. However. we more unflappable types on Planet Square recognise it as souped-up Led Zep meeting slowed-down Motorhead tarted up in OTT American biker imagery. It‘ll be a lot of fun being into this stuff. y‘know?
O Hungry Years Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9pm.
0 Billy Jones Lord Damley. West Port. 229 4241. 9pm. Free. See Sun 19.
0 Easy Pickin's The Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free.
0 Ammo Clowns. High Street. 9pm. Free. Hard rock.
0 Union Street The Cavern. Cowgate. 226 5641.
0 BAD ACOUSTICS and unenthuslastic audiences put the damper on the AIDS Gala Party at the Assembly Rooms on 2 April, and one or the longest laces backstage was that oi the normally magnllique Billy McKenzie (making a one-oil appearance with three quarters oi Aberdeen’s top psychedeilsts The Shamen) who, tor the ilrst time in the whoopin’ and hollerin' singer’s memory, tailed to get an encore. To be lair, it had been a long night, McKenzie being pushed on close on 3am because at delays, and a particularly long and gruelling night tor Win tans-said band not appearing at the Usher Hall, despite being billed, thanks to the ever-punctlilous Waterboys leaving no time tor Scotland’s new pop sensation to soundcheck. Best reception at the Party was saved tor the Iabulous Proclaimers in the packed downstairs Supper Room, and lurther good news is that the Reid twins' album, apparently recorded within ten minutes at their signatures appearing on the Chrysalis contract, is almost ready tor release.
0 APOLOGIES to Deal Heights Cajun Aces who, due to a misunderstanding, were reported in the issue betore last as being connected with new company Random Promotions. The band would like to emphasise that Cosmos is their sole agency. Nor, as may have been implied, are they having any trouble llnding gigs. Sorry, guys.
0 THE BIG TIME LOOMS tor blisstul pure pop group The Soup Dragons, who are scheduled to support The Bangles on their lorthcoming tour. Alter hitting the top slot with the Prince-penned Manic Monday, could we now see the Calllomla Girls taking a cover version oi the Soups’ Whole Wide World to Number One?
.91“. .J
h A‘ fi
GAVIN EWANS
Martin Netcalte or Goodbye Mr Mackenzie
e ALSO PLAYING THE SUPPORT SLOT are Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, on the way up, set to open tor The Blow Monkeys, coming down equally last.
0 UNBEATABLE ARTICLE IN NME last week, wherein excitable tanzine scribbler, NME hack and pop star ol
dubious talentThe Legend! exposed the post-Shop Assistants ‘Edinburgh scene' to the cold light oi media exposure. ‘We're dellnitely a Manchester band,’ quoth Rote Kapelle, who’ve been an established iixture in the capital since The Legend was in nappies. Well, I know what they mean, anyway. i think . . .
0 THE MOST HAPPILY WEIRD artist in Scotland has pulled it oil again. Jesse Rae, the man with everybody’s Iavourite pair at knees, is set to lilm his new video tor the song ‘Friendship’ inside and around the launch area at America’s space shuttle. Permission, Jesse says, has been otliciaily granted Irom NASA tor the ltlming, some at which he hopes to do under conditions at zero gravity. Not surprising he is so adventurous- he did climb the outside or The Brooklyn Bridge to get just the right shot tor his first UK video ‘Over The Sea’ but— no gravity- in a kill?
0 JESSE IS ALSO INVOLVED in a benetit gig iorthe striking Caterpillar workers. The brainchild oi Hlpsway, the gig takes place in Motherwell on 17 April and also leatures the McCluskey Brothers and Kick Reaction. Don’t ask the ticket price because I’m sure we can aiiord lt. . . Due tor release in three weeks Is a speedily recorded Tin also in aid at the Caterpillar workers written by Ken McCluskey (lormerly lead singer in The Bluebells) and leaturlng Love And Money, Hue And Cry, The McCluskey Brothers and Htpsway with help from loads oi other musicians and some Caterpillar workers themselves. Good tor them and you should buy it now!
0 LOOK OUT FOR A REMIXED VERSION oi tour songs Irom the sell-contessed ‘only band in Glasgow who aren’t ashamed to admit we’ve got nothing to say’ the totally brilliant and wicked Beat Poets bringing out a 12in titled ‘Glasgow Howard Mlssouri’ soon on 53rd and 3rd . . .
o BILLY MCKENZIE has been tooling about with those Yello boys again and is just back trom recording with them In Switzerland . . . although rumours about Billy singing to ZTT are rite again
(it's been a year since lltrst heard that one) It seems his next solid project will be with Paul Halg recording a single tor Mute subsidiary Transglobal . . .
o THEY‘RE BACK! The scariest, most subversive - boy these guys make Crack look like nice guys - Iooniest band in Scottish Pop! So much tor the big build-up but H20 are back on the scene with a new single called ‘Diamond’ out now . . . oh dear. . .
o GROSS OUT. . . not one but two Scottish acts in Terry Wogan’s mlnd~chliilngly dull presentation and competition tor the British entry Ior A Song For Europe. Ricky Peebles actually winning had me glued to the set remembering when he used to do second-rate Hi-NRG as support to The
Village People . . . We at Listen! do, oi course, wish Ricky all the luck in the world in the linal . . .
0 THE FLORENTINES have a rather darling new record out on El (via Cherry Red) and it you don’t recognise the name don’t worry as it’s the all-new Rutkowskl Sisters. Or should I say all-old Sunset Gun as Dlerdre and Louise seem back to the beginning or their careers as singers doing cover versions lrom the Twenties-Ponies, but doing them beautilully. It is dellnitely worth buying this 12th just Ior their version oi ‘Man or Mlne’.
— ALBUMS
0 Billy Jones: Ou’est-ce que c’est? (Beeiayzus). The debut album Irom Edinburgh’s hardest-gigging singer-songwriter opens badly with an avoidable version oi Byrne/Weymouth/Frantz’s Psycho Killer, conlirming a long-held suspicion that it’s one oi those songs that no one but Talking Heads can attempt and come out at with any credibility. That over with we’re tall with a clutch oi good old acoustic-based rock ’n’ roll bumbers, with bass and drums only occasionally contributing. A law rockers keep the pace up, like Radio Party, a song ol rock ’n’ roll nostalgia The Malestics would have been proud to have written, but the besttracks are those In which Jones tones down the rhythm section so he can get on with a ballad, like Man The Pumps, with its impassioned slide-playing. He’s no Jonathan Richman, but, hell, neither is Rlchman at times.
0 Big Dipper: Boo-Boo/Salem 66: Frequency And Urgency (Homestead). Two releases Irom over the Atlantic now, Massachusetts to be precise. Big Dipper are dellnitely what you could call an Andy Kershaw band, and should appeal to tans at The Replacements, at al. Straightahead rock, it’s quite easy to switch the brain oil to Big Dipper, except tor the psychotically-edged Wrong In The Charts with its megaphone-style vocals. I switched oil
around the line ‘And now I'm doing time in San Ouentin CA’, by the way. Salem 66, however, got the brain back In gear. Their SOs-Influenced garage sound hits just the right note, the one that The Bangles lost. Salem 66 boast two tormldable and intelligent songwriters in Judy Grunwald and Beth Kaplan, who turn out harmony vocals that are at times beautliul, and give the bittersweet songs an air oi timelessness. One to cherish and slap on the turntable when the going gets tough.
— SINGLES
o The Dancing Bears: Got To Get Out
Oi Here (Big Noise). First single Irom the Edinburgh-based three-piece, relying on the barest instrumentation, simplest chord progressions, melody and bassllne. Still, not at all bad, as the energy level is kept up all the way through. Catch them live It you can. The B-slde, She's My Girl, Is a pleasant and intentionally runny 50’s pastiche - at least i hope it’s intentional.
38 The List 17 — 30 April