Steven Wells R.I.P.
June 25, 2009
I’ll leave it to his contemporaries to write the perceptive, insightful, emotional stuff.
ET has collected a list of tributes here.
There’s also the ever brilliant WSC forum too.
In James Brown’s piece he says “Anything loud or unhip became his domain” which seems particularly astute in the context of the few measly scraps I can offer.
Carter USM, Jesus Jones and finally, perhaps fittingly, Snuff.
Snuff said.
Indeed.
Steven Wells interviews Carter USM, 19th November 1994. Photos Roger Sargent & Derek Ridgers
Steven Wells interviews Jesus Jones, 1st July 1989. Photo Lawrence Watson.
Steven Wells reviews Snuff Said by Snuff, 18th November 1989
Dave Simpson reviews Lush and The Pale Saints live at The Warehouse, Leeds, 9th December 1989
June 19, 2009
Dave Simpson reviews Lush and The Pale Saints live at The Warehouse, Leeds, 9th December 1989.
A 4AD love in – and just look at that perfect indie moptop in the picture! This had me rushing straight to Spotify to listen to Pale Saints debut, The Comforts of Madness, which I hadn’t listened to in 15+ years. Apart from Sight of You seeming to me to be a carbon copy of a bombastic era U2 record (admittedly with a *much* feyer vocal) as a whole it stands up pretty well. But then maybe my ears just enjoyed hearing some old, familiar tunes. You decide – here’s the Spotify link
Andrew Mueller reviews The Ramones live at the Enmore Theatre Sydney, 9th December 1989
June 17, 2009
One has to assume that Mueller got these Australian review gigs as a result of having already flown back home at his own expense rather than IPC whisking him on a first class flight to Sydney to review The Ramones and The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, a band with a name worst than Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts. But then Stephen Sweet took the picture so perhaps IPC did splash the cash afterall.
So this retrospectively posted on 17th June in honour of meeting Mr. Andrew Mueller in person on that very date.
And when I say met, I suppose you could read ‘mugged’ or ‘door-stopped’ or whatever the word is when you recognise someone in the street and shout “Andrew!” before you’ve really thought through what you’re going to follow your opening salutation with. God bless the jet-lagged Mueller for not telling a rambling drunken stranger to fuck off.
Ted Mico reviews The Pixies live in Boston and Caren Myers reviews The Sugarcubes live in Yugoslavia, 9th December 1989
June 14, 2009
Ted Mico reviews The Pixies live in Boston and Caren Myers reviews The Sugarcubes live in Yugoslavia, 9th December 1989. Pixies photo Mike Morton.
Black Francis with hair. Read the review and tell me you’re not jealous that you weren’t there.
And The Sugarcubes in the former Yugoslavia. Various rumours and reports that Einar’s off-key yelping at this gig was a major factor in the break up of the former Yugoslavia still persist to this day.
A prize for anyone that can tell me in the comments who or what the black butterfly was a teaser ad for.
Jonh Wilde interviews The Stone Roses, 9th December 1989
June 13, 2009
Jonh Wilde interviews The Stone Roses part 1, 9th December 1989. Photos by Paul Rider
This for Steven who runs www.thestoneroses.co.uk to make into another cute little pdf book thing.
I know I’ve been lax again recently with the blog but I’ve had a break through at home with the dark art of wi-fi configuration so hopefully that’ll encourage me to post on a more regular basis.
Simon Price reviews Mudhoney and Nirvana live at the Astoria, 9th December 1989. Photos by Stephen Sweet.
Excellent early review here of (third on the bill) Nirvana, Tad and Mudhoney. I particularly liked the Mr. Men shtick. And I think Price calls Nirvana (still waiting on the real tunes to turn up) with remarkable clarity, “The singer guitarist is pretty graceful in a long haired kinda way…but the frog legged bassist will have to go”
By the time Mudhoney take to the stage there are “…bodies apparently flying out of thin air. At one point they’re actually colliding mid-dive. It’s hard to believe that such a volatile, earth-eating, shit-kicking noise could emanate from these four bambi-like figures”