520 Hello The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene

Chart  entered : 1  March  1986

Chart  peak  : 12

Number  of  hits  : 10

These  lot  were  no  overnight  sensations  and  were  pretty  lucky  to  still  be  putting  out  singles  on  RCA  after  five  previous  flops.

The  Blow  Monkeys  were  founded  in  1981  when   singer  Robert  Howard   ( born  Haddington  1961  )  returned  to  Scotland  after  spending  his  teenage  years  in  Australia. He  recruited  the  rest  of  the  band  from  an  ad  in  Melody  Maker , picking  up  bassist  Mick  Anker , saxophonist  Neville  Henry  and  drummer  Tony  Kiley.  They  were  all  born  within  six  months  of  each  other  and  had  no  previous  bands  of  note. With  Robert  playing  guitar  and  keyboards  as   well  as  writing  the  songs  ( with  occasional  assistance  from  Mick )  he  was  very  clearly, the  main  man.

In  1982  they  scraped  enough  money  together  to  issue  their  first  single  "Live  Today  Love Tomorrow" on  the  small  Parasol  label. With  a  murky  production  it  sounds  very  early  80s indie with  a  marked  similarity  to  23  Skidoo's  debut  single  "Ethics". Robert's  singing  voice  sounds very  nasal  and  weedy  but  there  is  something  there  in  the  song  with  a  pre-Morrissey questioning  of  gender  roles  and  a  yearning  chorus  which  hits  home  once  one  of  the  other guys  starts  harmonising  with  him. On  the  sleeve  Robert  referred  to  himself  as  "Dr  Robert " in a  jokey  Beatles  reference  but  the  name  stuck.

The  single  made  few  waves  but  when  the  band  got  a  residency  at  a  club  in  West  Hampstead  the  majors  took  an  interest  and  they  signed  for  RCA  in  1983.

The  band  released  four singles  from  their  debut  LP  "Limping  for  a  Generation".  The  first  one "Go  Public"  from  March  1984  sounds  like  a  hangover  from  their  indie  days  merging  lurching  Bunnymen  rock  in  the  verses  with  Factory  funk  tunelessness  in  what  I  guess  to  be  the  chorus.  It's  rubbish  frankly  and  unsurprisingly  it  was  left  off  their  1989  compilation. Next  came  "The  Man  From  Russia"  in  June  , one  of  the  songs  where  Mick  gets  a  co-writer's  credit. It's  much  more  indicative  of  what  was  to  come  with  a  lush  production  from Peter  Wilson  emphasising  Neville's  horn  work  to  the extent  it  reminds  you  of  Dexy's. Robert was  a  massive  T  Rex  fan  and  you  can  hear  perhaps  traces  of  the  Bolan  quaver  in  his sonorous  voice  although  to  me  he  sounds  more  like  Pete  Burns. The  song  itself  is  fairly slight  although  the  snake  charmer's  sax  solo  in  the  middle  eight  startles, Robert  not  being afraid  to  mix  and  match  his  influences  in  surprising  ways.

Therefore  the  third  single  "Atomic  Lullaby"  in  October  1984  is  an  oblique  anti-nuclear   ditty set  to  a  bossa  nova  rhythm   which  suddenly  gallops  into  military  tattooing  and  a  Stax  rush of  horns  in  the  middle  eight. The  band  made  their  first  video  for  this  one  in  which  Robert seems  to  be  auditioning  for  a  Stars  In  Their  Eyes  performance  as  Morrissey   while  Mick eternally  looks  a  pillock  in  his  bowler  hat / comedy  sideburns  combo.

There's  a  clear  Smiths  influence  on  the  fourth  single  "Wildflower "  which  sounds  like  Johnny Marr is  guesting  on  guitar  and  has  lines  like  "You  can  bury  me  alive  and  jump  on  my head". By  contrast  the  "Do  Do  Do"  chorus  is  clearly  influenced  by  Walk  On  The  Wild  Side .  It's not a  particularly  memorable  song  but  scores  over  its  predecessors  in  having  more  than  one verse . Nevertheless  the  accusation  of  "style  over  substance "  could  fairly  be  laid  at  their  door at this  point. Neither  the  album  nor  the  singles  charted  and  RCA  could  have  been  forgiven  for doubting  the  wisdom  of  their  investment  at  this  point.

They  were  given  the  breathing  space   to  continue  and  released  a  new  single  "Forbidden  Fruit "  in  September  1985.  This  ode  to  an  unattainable  girl  is  even  more  Smithsian  ( plus  a  touch  of  Lloyd  Cole  in  the  vocals ) with  lashings  of  brass  to  try  and  disguise  the  underlying  similarity  to  How  Soon  Is  Now  ?  It's  a  good  single  in  a  borrowed  sort  of  way.

At  long  last   the  group  hauled  themselves  out  of  obscurity  with  this  one  which  always  reminds  me  of  the  harsh  winter  of  1986.  "Digging  Your  Scene"  was  written  in  response  to  Donna  Summer's  notorious  remark  about  AIDS  being  divine  punishment  and  although  not  gay  himself,  Robert  wanted  to  express  his  admiration  for  the  gay  club  scene.  The  music  is  a  blend  of  pop, funk  and  jazz, in  a  similar  vein  to  The  Style  Council  though  arguably  smoother  than  they  ever  managed.  With  Neville's  jazzy  horn  work, strings  and  soulful  backing  vocals  complimenting  Robert's  feline  vocal  it's  a  very  lush  sound  and  the  tune's  strong  enough  to  support  the  structure. They  would  improve  on  its  chart  position  a  year  later with  a  pretty  similar  sounding  song  but  this  is  the  one  people  remember.