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guts and its own identity. Ilelped along by the odd bit of marketing manipulation — the Fuck 0}]. .W('l)()li(l/(/S campaign that accompanied 1980‘s ‘.»\nimal Farm‘ single. the recent threats from Electribe llll's lawyersoyerthe proximityot‘the word ‘tribe' to ‘ 101' on the singles sleeve —r l’ini 'l‘ribe enjoy a current status that goes beyond the anonymity that characterises most of the best floor-filling acts (what do L'tah Saints look like'.’ Bumped into ()ceanic in the street recently'.’ Who the hell knows'.’). 'l‘his innate character. often bizarre and quirky” and long the factor that has kept them on the periphery. is now heading down mainstream way. guided by the helping hand of ‘name’ mixers like Weatherall. (iraham Massie. Steve ()sbourne and Justin Robertson. A turn-around for the previously largely self-contained Edinburgh outfit'.’
We had to let go a little bit of ourselves.’ admits Miller. ‘lt took us
a while to come to that realisation.
but then we took a posili\‘e attitude to it. It‘s a necessary thing: it we want to grow we're gonna have to work
with these people. We don‘t want to
Lind/(m on 2/ October.
be in the ghetto. we want to be out there with everybody else.‘
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um- Lotta bottle
An attempt to address Vincent Furnier by his given name is likely to be met, as it is in this case, with a heartfelt groan. But really, how can you calla gaunt 43-year-old male rock singer ‘Alice’, especially when you‘ve never even been introduced?
Furnier’s habit of referring to Alice Cooper only in the third person is one of his trademarks, but he’s also saddled with an alarming habit of distancing himself from his native vices with phrases like ‘when Alice was an alcoholic‘.
‘What‘s funny about Alice is that when Alice was an alcoholic— during thetime of “School’s Dut", “Billion Dollar Babies", he was in the early stages of alcoholism there — he played more of a victim than a villain. I think any alcholic will naturally take the form of a victim. Alice would get electrocuted and this and this and this . . . Since I stopped drinking, eight or nine years ago, Alice has become much more straight-up villain on stage and he likes the idea of taking charge of the audience, taking them and shaking them. I have much more energy: 100
3
times more energy than I used to have. At the age of 43, I can step on stage and blow away the Alice of when l was 25.‘
How can he offload his faults on to his alter ego with one hand and take credit for his virtues with the other? What about when he gets mad at someone — that's Vincent, isn’t it, notAlice? And which way’s he going to vote in ‘92? But perhaps he‘s sensed all these coming: ‘I gotta run. I got about eight more of these to do today.‘
He would not listen, he's not listening still . . . (AlastairMabboti) Alice Cooper plays the Playhouse, Edinburgh on Tues 8.
V FOLK
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Battlefield Band underlined their enduring popularity with three nights of sell-out concerts at the Queen‘s Hall during the Edinburgh Festival, and used the occasion lorihe official launch of their new video, ‘Battlelield Band’s Highland Hi~Light‘.
Robin Morton, the Band‘s manager and owner of the Temple Records label, sees immense possibilities in the new generation of inexpensive video equipment available to small labels. He opted for shooting the video themselves rather than hiring professional video-makers, and if it has an occasional self-consciously hand-knitted look to it, it works very well as an intimate portrait of an unassuming band, devoid of the kind of posturing we take for granted in rock video.
Shot in Acharacle, it makes use of the rugged West Highland landscape, but concentrates very much on the Band‘s concert, intercut with rather studied
. g 34.) y , XX A
Battlefield Band
individual profiles, accompanied by a commentary from another member of the band. Don’t expect anything too revelatory, though.
lnevitably, they have polished and refined the material (taken from the ‘New Spring' album) in subsequent performances, but it is a highly creditable first effort, and a good showcase for the strengths of the new line-up. The addition of John McCusker and Iain MacDonald alongside founder member Alan Reid and Alistair Russell has taken Battlefield‘s music back into a more traditional idiom, and it is all the better for it. (Kenny Mathieson) “Highland Hi-Light' is available direct from Temple Records pending a distribution deal, while the band play Scottish dates in Wick (1 Oct), Stirling (4), Ballachulish (5), Motherwell (9), Kyle of Lochalsh (1D), Dingwall (11) and Dundee (20), with more to be announced. Phone 0875 30 328 for details.
l
V LISTEN!
(as was) until the end of October. which, funnin enough. is just in time for the Rostov-On-Don rock festival. Formula 9. (Anyone remember the 1989 Rostov festival in Glasgow to celebrate the twinning of the two cities?) Thus, thanks to their mercy dash.The Olives will inadvertently become the first Scottish band to play on Soviet (as was) soil since the coup. There's a mention in Mikhail‘s memoirs for them in this. And togive an even more vivid idea of
what the new world order
will look like. the new Wendys El’, Illisirtu't. comes with threats of forthcoming North American dates. lTeenage Fanclub‘s feverishly awaited gig at the Queen's l lall has had to he moved back two days to Fri 11 ()ct.with the explanation that they were ‘doing something special in the States to celebrate John Lennon‘s birthday". However, their Yankside jaunt actually seems to have the more mundane purpose of
5 doing press in the States. where they've just signed
a deal with Geffen. Still. a quick burst of ‘The Ballad ()f]()hn And Yoko‘ in Strawberry Fields might
not be out of the question. f ‘Theydidsomethingforit ‘ last year.shrugsa
spokesman. ‘so I wouldn‘t
rule it out.‘
I Giveaway time: To tie in with the (irolsch showcases in Saltcoats. (ilasgow and Edinburgh featuring Botany 5. The Orange Grove and new (ilasgow hardcore techno band 'l'l'l-fl we have ten tasteful long-sleeved cotton l-shirts to send to readers. limblazoned with the legend ‘l‘()SlTl\"l'l‘Y‘ on the front. a pic ofa groovy chick in shades repeated four times in dilfcrent colours on the back and a small (irolsch logo on the sleeve. Simply write the name of Happy Mondays' maracas-shakci on a postcard. slap your own name and address on II and send it tol l\lL‘lll .ii the lxdinbuigli etlitoi i.il .ILlLllL‘\\ l’lullto
The List 27 September— ltl()etober NW 31