Chart entered : 19 February 1983
Chart peak : 47 ( 18 on reissue later in the year )
Number of hits : 11
Like The The, Aztec Camera were another "group" that was essentially a vehicle for just the one singer-songwriter but the similarities end there.
When Postcard Records proclaimed themselves "The Sound of Young Scotland" they weren't kidding in Aztec Camera's case as main man Roddy Frame hadn't turned 17 when their first single came out. Roddy was born in East Kilbride and learned to play the guitar at an early age. Inspired by Bowie and punk, his first band was called Neutral Blue. Aztec Camera started out as a trio with the other members being bassist Campbell Owens and drummer Dave Mulholland. They were featured on a cassette of unsigned Glasgow bands before coming to the attention of Postcard Records.
They released their first single "Just Like Gold" in January 1981. Peelie and the N.M.E. received it rapturously but I'm not a great fan. The words are vaguely romantic but strung together without much wit or cohesion and the melody seems to be going somewhere different with each line. The recording is also fairly ramshackle with the final verse at least twice as loud as the first.
Their second single "Mattress of Wire" in May 1981 turned out to be the label's last . It's a much more coherent song than their debut addressed to someone enduring some form of self-denial through religion with a proper verse /chorus structure but it's marred by Mulholland completely losing the tempo halfway through, making it sound a bit like the record's jumping.
As Postcard imploded , Rough Trade moved in to snap up the band. Mulholland was ousted in favour of Dave Ruffy , a somewhat unlikely candidate for a largely acoustic band. Dave was a record shop manager who first played in the funk band Hit and Run. They released a disco cover of "Woolly Bully" in 1978. By that time Dave and guitarist Paul Fox had already quit to form The Ruts with the latter's old school friend Malcolm Owen.
Although late to the party, The Ruts gave punk a shot in the arm with their ferociously tight playing and political commitment ,releasing a strong debut album "The Crack " and a string of incendiary singles. "Babylon's Burning" made the Top 10 in the summer of 1979. As well as Owen sounding like Joe Strummer they also matched The Clash for experimenting with reggae and dub. Alas they were reduced to a footnote by Owen's death, drowning in a bath after taking heroin, in July 1980. After a cobbled together second LP the band continued as Ruts DC for a couple of albums but there was to be no New Order -style resurrection and the band split up in 1982.
At the same time as Dave producer Bernie Clarke joined the line up as keyboard player. The first single for Rough Trade was "Pillar To Post" in the autumn of 1982. David Jensen gave it a few spins and I actually prefer it to "Oblivious ". It sets a slightly sour regretful lyric to a tuneful rush of a chorus with the keyboards and backing vocals filling up the sound and making it less brittle.
"Oblivious " came next and was Roddy's deliberate attempt at writing a hit single. It's set to a flamenco rhythm and there are references to mountains, fountains and ballrooms in the lyric to enhance its slightly exotic feel. Roddy's blunt vocals ponder the mysteries of love in opaque fashion before the joyous chorus. It's a little too jazzy for my tastes but I can see why it was successful. Rough Trade gave it another shot later in the year and were rewarded with a bigger hit although Bernie had left the band by then and future Smith Craig Gannon had joined.
I remember hearing this song when I was around the same as Frame was when he wrote it, and being insanely jealous. Bit harsh on myself, as I'd only just taken up playing music while he had put the years in!
ReplyDeleteI guess "High Land High Rain" is a counter to The The's "Soul Mining". Both great albums, but Frame takes on a more romantic stance with barking drum machines and synths replaced by the acoustics - though the personal lyrics on both still hit home.