Rumours

Rip It Up, Issue 101, 1 December 1985, Page 8

Rumours

Gerald Dwyer

UK & USA The Clash have split again. Guitarists Nick Sheppard and Vince White and drummer Peter Howard have departed "amicably” from the group, leaving once again the nucleus of Strummer and Simonon. Former Clash members Mick Jones and Topper Headon have their own musical bags at present, so any reformation rumours seem groundless... Siouxsie has been doing her concerts sitting on a chair, after dislocating her patella (kneecap) on stage. The injury is apparently particularly painful, but she was back up on the boards the night after she did it... Spandau Ballet lost out on their bid to have four directors of their company Chrysalis Records put in jail. The company reportedly broke an injunction won by the band to stop any TV advertising for the new Spandau compilation. The Singles Collection. The group are unhappy with the standard of presentation of the record and didn't want it released. But they lost out and the TV injunction has since been quashed too ... New Order have become the first major UK group to play a benefit gig for AIDS research ... Linton Kwesi Johnson has announced that he has given up music in order to concentrate on his work in

the community. But he's leaving something to remember him by in a double live LP to be released on Rough Trade ... the new Yoko Ono LP, Starpeace, is produced by Bill Laswell and features the talents of Sly & Robbie Nona Hendryx and Bernie Worrell, as well as a vocal from Sean Ono Lennon at time of writing Jerry Lee Lewis was in hospital recovering from surgery on a perforated stomach and was not at all a well man ... the Strawbs are reforming... Malcolm McLaren has landed a contract to work as a producer with CBS films. First two projects are a film version of Fans and a weird 'Bos surf movie. His new LP, Swamp Thing, is mainly composed of olf stuff recorded at the same time as Duck Rock and even he doesn't seem very interested in it ... the Jesus and Mary Chain debut LP is Psychocandy, it contains all three singles so far and, yes, it will be released in NZ thru WEA ... New Model Army have been refused entry to the USA on the grounds that they are "of no artistic merit” Fine Young Cannibals. Depeche Mode, Alison Moyet and Echo & the Bunnymen are among the artists who will contribute to a 90-min documentary on international ecology and the politics surrounding it, currently being prepared by the BBC's Green on the Screen show ... former Television guitarist Richard Lloyd is back after dealing with drug and alcohol

problems and has a new LP, Field of Fire ... Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Marianne Faithfull and Richard Butler are among contributors to Lost In the Stars , an LP paying tribute to composer Kurt Weill... the first Art of Noise offering since leaving ZTT is a single called 'Legs'... former NME editor Neil Spencer has stepped in at the helm of The Face while Nick Logan has a wee rest... and CBS extend still further the limits of making money out of a bunch of songs with a new box set, the Born In the USA 12" Single Collection. The 70-minute package contains extended, remixed, dub and live versions of the songs y’all know and lurve. Albums: Pere Übu Terminal Tower: An Archival Collection ('bout time), Robert Wyatt Old Rottenhat, Joni Mitchell Dog Eat Dog, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Easy Pieces, Dead Kennedys Frankenchrist, Twisted Sister Come Out and Play, Al Green He Is the Light, Replacements Tim, Pete Townshend White City (film soundtrack), Alan Mega Just A Million Dreams, Rain Parade Crashing Dream, Lydia Lunch The Drowning of Lucy Hamilton, the Alarm Strength, Johnny Winter Serious Business, Johnny Thunders Que Sera Sera (with Stiv Bators and Wilko Johnson guesting), Paul Haig The Warp of Pure Fun, Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel Nail, Don Dixon Most of the Girls Like To Dance, Brian Eno Thursday Afternoon (compact disc

only), Dead Can Dance Spleen and Ideal, Shannon Do You Wanna Get Away, Clarence Clemons Hero. Singles: Associates Take Me to the Girl', Cramps 'Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?’, Peter Murphy 'Final Solution' (a cover of the Pere Übu classic), China Crisis 'The Highest High', Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers ‘Sho Yuh Right'. Auckland The Chills played their farewell English gig on the 10th at Dingwalls, scene of their sellout first gig. A couple of the band return home for Christmas while the others stay on into January. 'Oncoming Day’ and Leather Jacket’ have been recorded for a single and should be released here early next year. Plans are firming up for a return visit in May to record an album and stya for as long as six months. Press reaction seems to have been overwhelmingly positive, with the NME running a laudatory, if slightly confused, review ( Came A Hot Friday was also warmly received in the films reviews of the same issue) and Melody Maker's reviewer charging off into rave territory. We’ll be able to see more when film shot by expatriates over the past six weeks is put together into a documentary. Meanwhile back home, The Lost EP has finished up number 20 in the overall singles chart for 1985 ... further developments on the UK front involve the Expendables. Venus

Records, a label owned by Rough Trade's export manager, have expressed much interest in the band and have asked for a compilation album for UK release ... and it seems that the next band to travel to Blighty will be the Bats, who are due to leave in March. The recent Zulu Records contracts for Hello Sailor, Dance Exponents and Roy Phillips could get a nudge from the government if recent statements by Trevor De Cleene are to be believed. He expressed concern at "special partnerships" set up principally for tax avoidance in the musical sphere, now that the government had tightened up on such deals in the film industry... meanwhile, Sailor have begun work on their new album with English producer Liam Henshall and Dance Exponents begin theirs early next year. At Harlequin of course ... Netherworld Dancing Toys Painted Years LP has just gone gold. Shades of Hawaii (formerly Hip In A Cathedral) are now the Rollmops. If you didn’t know, a rollmop is a pickled herring. Deep, man ... and Rollmops’ guitarist Adam is currently doing some solo recording at Fetus productions’ inner-city home studio ... Otis Mace releases a four-track EP on Ode Records early next year, two tracks with the Psychic Pet Healers and two with the New Society Band ... and the Pet Healers’ Siamese sibling (joined at the rhythm section, surgery not feasi-

ble), the Frocks have a four-song cassette on release (see ad in this issue). Steve Roach and Ben Hayman (ex Sporting Life) debuted as Selwyn Toogood (true!) at Campus Radio’s bye-bye party at the Uni Cafe recently ... stylists Guava Groove plan a series of outdoor concerts at beaches and parks over the summer ... new ? Fog guitarist is Stephen Bolton, formerly of K 4. Former guitarist Blaise is concentrating his energies on establishing an alternative venue in Wellington ... Eight Living Legs are alive and rockin' in Europe, with former Exploding Budgies drummer James Murray have replaced Bryn on guitar. Gigs in Holland, arranged by buddies IF (former Flak people) were apparently most successful. So much so, in fact, that more gigs have been booked for Feb. Both the 'Legs’ and IF will be recording around that time, so they will probably collaborate in the studio. Production will be by a German called Dolf, who also works with a most respected German band called the Ex and did the most recent IF single, 'ln Formation’. IF also have a track on the EMMA (a huge squat in Amsterdam) double compilation LP. All pretty impressive, no? ... poet David Eggleton recently returned home to NZ after gigs with all the big names of UK performance poetry (Cooper Clarke, Attila the Stockbroker, etc). During his time

there he received the London 'Street Entertainer of the Year' award for poetry at the Covent Garden Festival and was filmed for a TV documentary. He also performed in the USA and Europe. Now that he's back, his first book, People of the Land is due out soon.

Maiden China have split after hassles within the band and with management ... new hard-rock four-piece is Fallen Angel ... R&B kings the Furys have temporarily replaced guitarist Steve Hubbard (who is recovering from a

motorcyle accident) with pianist Dave Curtis (not the one with 'Wheel of Fortune'). They play a Christmas season at the Westward Ho Tavern in Kelston, ending on New Year's Eve ... Desire are looking for backing musicians to do live gigs. Ph Gary on 478-9436.

And Bevan Sweeney would very much like to hear from anyone who knows about a Tama snare stand and a Gretsch tom stalk borrowed/stolen from the Windsor after a Not Really Anything gig the kit is useless without the stalk. Ph 396-988. Russell Brown

Wellington Coming your way from Jayrem for the year of 86 are Confessor

with their metallic 'First Sin' ... Stutz have a four-track EP out soon and are also contemplating a name change ... John Niland has an album almost ready ... Stormbringer have a new LP due and it is rumoured to be the hot metal album of the year. Secrets of the Estranged, the new Flesh D-Vice album is finally out after several delays ... the Hulamen have a new EP of unreleased material tumbling our way ... Strikemaster have been busy touring and have also recroded new material at Marmalade ... Blitz have a new single ... Lionheart have been busy at Frontier... the Paras are gearing up for an assault on the Wellington area and if all goes well the North Island as we 11... the Spines

are switching labels from Jayrem to Flying Nun and they hope to be recording in the new year. Watch out for Flying Kiwi 'B6 in March, which amongst other things will include a night of New Zealand music video. If you have a contribution (whether it has been screened or not), please contact Merlene on Wellington 850-241. The Flying Kiwi 'B6 is part of the Fringe Festival running alongside the International Festival of the Arts and will also include the most ambitious rock extravaganza ever staged in Wellington. On December 21 the Wellington Performers’ Collective and Eye-Time present the End of Years Musical Awards. It will take place at the Sunset Cafe in Macara from mid-day on, kicking off with acoustic music and working through to bands such as Jungle Mice, the Sheets and Flesh D-Vice as well as several others from all around the country. It has been described by organisers Matt Nisbet and Merlene Chambers as "a reaction to the commercial streamling of New Zealand music."