MUSIC LIST
Edinburgh
0 The Pastels and The Vaselines Speed 3. The Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. Doors open 7.30pm. See paneL
o The Wes McGhee Band and The Prairie Dogs St Brides Community Centre. Orwell Terrace. Haymarket. 8pm. £3.50 (£2.50). Actually from Leicestershire. Wes is arguably this country‘s leading exponent of ‘new wave‘ country music. building from a base ofTexan country-rock and mixing in R&B. Tex-Mex. Western Swing and rock ‘n‘ roll. A good time should be had. 0 Bald Cormorant Lord Darnley. West Port. 229 4341. 3pm. Free. 60s‘ R&B. country-rock. jam atmosphere.
0 Alter Eight Mince Negociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free. Pleasant and proficient jazz-funk combo.
o Toto and The Bostons and Blueiinger Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. As usual. Toto struts his stuff between 2 and 4pm. but to see Bluefinger will set you back a quid after 9.30pm.
0 Savage Circle Blues Basement. Broughton Street. 9pm. Free. Loud and gritty post-punk sound.
0 The Real Sounds oi Airica Ross Bandstand. Princes Street Gardens. 1pm. £2 (£1). One onimbabwe‘s top groups. a l2-piece band. whose biggest seller to date was a tribute to their favourite football teams. Live sets are brilliant. and ifthe cost puts you off. just lie in the gardens and listen.
SUNDAY 12 Glasgow
0 Wet Wet Wet/No Great shakes Pavilion Theatre. Renfield Street. 332 1846. 7.30pm. £5. Wet Wet Wet Release their second single. ‘Sweet Little Mystery‘ this week, a potential summer top tenner. ifyou ask me. No Great Shakes are at a much earlier stage of development. but have some good songs under their belt already.
0 Happy Mondays Rooftops. Sauchiehall Street. 332 5883. 10.30pm.
0 That Swing Thang Bar Luxembourg. Pitt Street. 1pm. Free. Lunchtime music at new bar— to be found under the Cardinal Folly.
0 Straight Men Briggs Bar. Bishopbriggs. 772 2508. 8pm. Free. New residency for a halfdecent pub band.
0 Punch (to be confirmed) Bad Ass Club. Clyde Place. 429 4422. 9pm. Free.
0 Scheme McKinlays Place. Annick Street. Shettleston. 778 1000. 2pm. Afternoon gig marking a return to regular work for Scheme. after recent events have kept them quiet.
Edinburgh
0 Edwin Starr The Amphitheatre.
Lothian Road. 226 7670. 10pm—3am.
£2.50. Halfprice before 11pm. No doubt livening up the usual disco night immeasureably. a personal appearance by the man who not only brought a smile to our faces with
Anoraks are de P rigeurclothlng 0 about town these days, and The
' Pastels are being
. cited leit, right
and centre as a
huge inlluence on the current independent scene as their progeny have gone iorth and multiplied, but the band still remain a whipping post to all but the converted, and remain little known outside oi late-night radio shows.
Since their iirst release in 1982, Heavens Above! (now availabe again on Cherry Red Seeds compilations oi lost classics), The Pastels' progress has been erratic, resembling a series oi ialse starts, but only, singer/guitarist and founder Stephen Pastel insists, it you look at it in a careerist way. When he lormed the group with guitarist Brian, itwas intended to be the opposite oi the extremely hip Glasgow scene, and generally, the band have been uniairly dismissed ever since, despite a stream oi trash-sounding independent singles and building up a dedicated iollowing. Unlike so many at their contemporaries, The Pastels would rather enjoy what they’re doing than iall into the album-tour-album slog.
They have released one LP so tar, Up For A Bit With The Pastels, a surprisingly rich and varied package, showing that as a band they have many more iacets than their detractors, still hung up on Stephen’s sulky stage
presence, gave them credit ior. Non-musicians, having learnt irom scratch, the band have more than once described themselves as ‘punk rock“, which may seem a puzzling description when listening to a track like I’m Alright With You, but it’s the attitude, not the thrash at ’77, that survives (‘By 1982 I’d listened to The Buzzcocks as much as I ever wanted to listen to them,’ says Stephen. ‘Literally loved them to death.') and it’s the attitude at The Pastels that Stephen leels has iniluenced their successors (like The Jesus And Mary Chain and the Shop Assistants) rather than their sound. Their uniqueness lies in the mixture at the bittersweet na'iveté at their songs and the cynicism, or coolness, oi their
delivery. It’s a diiiicult balancing act,
and now that the band have ‘grown into iashlon’, they are seeing a lot at bands trying it and getting it completely wrong. ‘A group’s got to know what they want to do. It’s not enough to re-create yourlavourite records. Bands like The Primitives and The Soup Dragons keep making their iirst single over and over again.’
The Pastels now number six: Stephen and Brian, Martin (bass), Bernice (drums), Eugene (violin) and Aggi (shrieks). New material, which, I’m iniormed, is a real step lorward ior them is scheduled tor release in September, probably on a live or six-track EP.
‘H.A.P.P.Y. Radio‘. but also wrote the brilliant ‘War'. covered by Frankie and Springsteen.
0 Heart Industry and Friday’s Child (to be confirmed). Soundcheck Rock Club. The Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. 7.30pm. £1.50. Bit ofa departure from their usual hard rock/metal headliners. Heart Industry are from the Simple Minds/Tears For Fears corner of the ring. and are unashamedly commercial. I thoroughly expect their forthcoming single to sound like a hit. if not actually become one. o Tam White and The Dexters Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. £1 after 9pm. What can we say about Edinburgh‘s gravel-voiced bluesman that hasn‘t already been said'.’ Other than perhaps ‘Go and see him‘. not a lot . . .
0 Billy Jones Lord Darnley. West Port. 229 4341 . 9.30pm. Free. The capital‘s favourite singer/songwriter playing old-fashioned acoustic rock ‘n‘ roll numbers from his current LP. and probably more besides.
MONDAY 13 ' Edinburgh
0 Tredegar Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9pm. £1. A treat for regular patrons of the Pres‘s heavy rock night. Tredegar actually hail from south of the border. and include ex-members of Budgie.
0 Big George and The Business The Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. Doors open 7.30pm. Now it looks
like Mondays is going to be a regular R&B night at The Venue. kicking off with Glasgow‘s most popular blues singer and his band.
0 Driving Sideways Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free. Blues/jazz and rock ‘n‘ roll.
0 The Hick Robertson Band Ne’gociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free.
TUESDAY 14
0 Bobby Wishart Halt Bar. Woodlands Road. 9pm. Free. Residency.
O Mariner Riverside Tavern. Gorbals. 9pm. Free. Residency.
Edinburgh
0 Double Trouble The Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free.
0 The Peristalsis Brothers Ne’gociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free. Fifties‘ skiffle and swing. as once seen on the departed Tube.
0 Grey By The Gun Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9pm. Free. High energy rock band formed three years ago in Aberdeen.
WEDNESDAY 15 Glasgow
0 Le Rue Fury Murrys. 96 Maxwell Street. 10pm. £3. A top cajun band from New Mexico. who are described here as ‘a spicy danceable jambalaya ofstyles that defies categorization.‘ Could be
interesting. 0 Naiian Halt Bar. Woodlands Road. 9pm. Free.
Edinburgh
0 Rhythm Method The Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. Doors open 7.30pm. New funky 10-piece band. 0 Billy Jones The Canny Man‘s. Morningside Road. 447 1484. 8.30pm. Free. See Sun 12.
o The Peristalsis Brothers Boston Bean Co. St James Centre. 556 ()1 l 1. 8.30pm. Free. See Tue 14.
THURSDAY 16 Glasgow
0 Talulah Gosh Fury Murrys. Maxwell Street. 10.30pm. £3. The archetypal anorak band: cute. innocent. lovable and musical vacuums. They have a new single out on 53rd & 3rd at the moment. which should convince you one way or another. This is the start of a mini-tour.
0 What’s On Dot’s Walkman? Bad Ass Club. Clyde Place. 9pm. Free. Not an entirely serious band. as you may have gathered from the name. Previous appearances have gone under the name of the Tony Bennett Appreciation Society.
0 Scheme McKinlay‘s Place. Annick Street. Shettleston. 9pm. They‘re back! They‘re back! But don‘t expect them to have changed.
Edinburgh
0 Jesse Garon and The Desperadoes (to be confirmed). The Venue.
The List 10- 23 .luly 29