MUSIC PREVIEW
V LISTEN!
I Pixies Update — a complex legal hoo-hah has erupted following the mid-show cancellation of the Pixies‘ June 21 SECC concert when a safety-barrier collapsed three songs into the set. After two weeks ofdebate between promoters Dance Factory. the SECC. and various insurance companies. nothing has been resolv ed as far as refundingof ticket monies goes (punters should has e by now returned their tickets by post to Dance Factory. 20 Denhead of (iray. Dundee [)22 51X ). Because the Pixies had started the performance. in law there is no obligation for any party to refund ticket money: there is. apparently. considerable legal precedent to this effect. Dance Factory . who insist that they have already lost a 'considerable sum' of
i money over the affair.
commented “At the moment. all we can do is ask the public to be patient. as we are trying our best to obtain some
sort of refund for them.‘
‘1!‘- v f ,
um. in;
IAfter being left ‘up shit creek without a paddle‘
followingtheuntimely
demise of Rough Trade. Grangemouth based Nightshift Records.
. Scotland‘slargcstindie label. have signed a new
manufacturingand
distribution deal with A.
P. T. Limited. Nightshift
svengali. Brian Guthrie. commented: ‘It basically means that we can start
' releasing product again. Rough Trade going bust
meant we lost £9,000 and several master tapes. We've got fourteen international actson our label all raring to go.‘ Listen out for forthcoming Nightshift LP releases from hotly-tipped Liverpudlians Breed and respected Scottish acts llcxology (former Swamptrash’(‘rittcrhillsL The Matter Babies and Lowlife.
L..___ 38 The List 26 .luly — 8 August I991
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' rhythm section.ltinvolves,however,a i
l v CLASSICAL
Cello solo
At a time of year when the classical music world has more or less come to a standstill in Glasgow— and Edinburgh too for that matter with the annual lull before the Festival storm - audiences should throng in droves to what is sure to be one of the highlights of the whole year at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. In his first appearance there, Mstislav Rostropovich gives a solo recital of Bac on
Mstislav Rostropovich
l :
orchestra, no ensemble, not even an . accompanist-just the world’s greatest living cellist with his cello. !
Born into a musical family- his father; and grandfatherwere both distinguished cellists too— . Rostropovich has given countless : unforgettable performances, with l composers such as Britten, i Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Lutoslawski and Bernstein writing and dedicating works specially for him. Now, atthe age of 64, he may not exactly be taking The Beatles’ line, but he is certainly diversifying from being purely a cellist. F As a conductor he has won great critical : acclaim, his British engagements including being Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival and a memorable series of concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra for his 60th birthday. In recognition of the esteem in which he is regarded, he has been awarded a string of Honorary Doctorates from Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews and Sussex and, abroad, from Harvard, Yale, Tel Aviv and Dublin. His Glasgow programme is of Suites Nos 2, 3 and 5 byJ S Bach. (Carol Main)
i Rostropovich Plays Bach, Glasgow l Royal Concert Hall — Monday 29 at 8pm. See Classical listings. {
Stepping In
When Courtney Pine arrives in Glasgow ; to play his fourth Scottish gig since last = December (at The Pavilion on 13 August- see next issue‘s listings), it will be in yet another new format, in front of a high-powered American
tale of two pianists. ; When Courtney went into the studio to I
record the about-to-be-released Within f
The Realms Of Our Dreams album for
Antilles, the pianist was Kenny
Kirkland, who was also announced for
this UK tour with Charnett Moffett and
‘ Marvin ‘Smitty‘ Smith. Saxman David
Sanborn, however, exercised a
j contractural option to keep Kirkland in ' his band, and Geri Allen stepped in at . : short notice to fill the gap. 7
'v complaints about that at all. She and
Since Allen is one of my favourite current piano players, I have no
Courtney have played together before,
- in a slightly uneasy duo in London a i
couple of years ago, which cried out for a good rhythm section. Now they have ,
one. As her own albums (the most recent
of which is The Nurturer on Blue Note) * ' testify, Allen is a deft and more
spacious stylist than many of her peers t 4
who favour a denser approach, and she will bring a very different feel and '
' colouralion to the music than Kenny Kirkland.
She possesses a wide-ranging ‘ musical sensibility which takes in black music from jazz through to James l Brown, rap, and the culture-shuffle of l M-Base. ‘We have such a rich musical |
and cultural experience to draw from,’ she insists, ‘and it‘s all part of who I
am, so I‘ve got a bear-hug around all of it!’ e Geri Allen is back in the UK in 3 November, when she tours with Charlie , Haden and Paul Motian forthe 1 Contemporary Music Network. Sadly ’ though, Leeds is about as far north as i that superb trio will get this time around. (Kenny Mathieson)
\
Geri Allen
The glamour
chase
Like Orson Welles. Martin Fry of ABC has lived his career in reverse. As Alastair Mabbott found out. he thinks he‘s gone full circle as well.
‘We made a few bob over the years. More than I ever made at Batchelors when I used to work there in Sheffield. Probably the reasons Mark White and l are still making records are: l)We‘ve not earned enough to retire on; 2) We've got a lot to prove: and 3) We're enjoying it.‘
Ten years after ABC ushered in a new decade. decisively screwing the lid on post-punk austerity. they still confuse me. Were they submitting with style and guile to the entry of post-modernism into pop music (inevitable after the cynicism galvanised by punk). finding that the! only escape route was irony'.’ Or were they. like Julian Temple. who directed their epoch-making videos I and went on to provide the l starry-eyed vision of the 50s that was i A hsulute Beginners. unsclfconsciously losing themser es in a wonderland of dreams and classic pop moments?
Martin Fry. the swish blonde singer who almost made sex-symbol status. has the benefit of a decade's hindsight.
‘lt was a brave new age. the l beginning of the 80s. When we first started. it was time to reject the values ofall the other groups around. and of Sheffield. where we started. . . Sheffield’s a dour. dour city. You had to create your own entertainment. So we were very interested in the idea ofglamour. { Like anybody in any city on a Friday i night. we used to go out and have a good time. I think one ofthe reasons our first record did so well was that it reflected what people were thinking and wanting. and a lot ofother groups were doing it at the same time.‘
I hit him with the screed about post-modernism and self-referential pop.
‘Aww. no. you’re thinking about Prefab Sprout.‘
‘I think not. It wasn't Paddy McAloon who wrote ‘When Smokev Sings‘. '
‘No.’ he says firmly. ‘lfit was pop-about-pop. we would've run out ofsteam a long time ago.‘
Some would say they had. The ABC manifesto was set out in The Lexicon ()fLm'e. and like a modern-day Orson Welles. Martin