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Bass Heroes of Post-Punk

#21
20db pad said:
The period of time in which Gang of Four was up and running qualifies Sara Lee as a notable figure. I'd guess it's not part of the punk ideal to mention that I always liked her past and current work with the B-52s the most, but I'll say it anyway. :)
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The B-52s were part and parcel of the post-punk movement. Who's gonna show up for the revolution if there won't be dancing? ;) Their original guitarist (whose name escapes me...Ricky something) was an American analogue to Andy Gill or Bernard Sumner.

Irony: Sara Lee got the Gang of Four gig because Andy Gill liked her work with the League of Gentlemen, an instrumental New Wave-disco band led by none other than supposed progmeister Robert Fripp. Of course, Fripp himself was a bit of a fellow traveler with the post-punk movement, as evidenced by his (godly) guitar work on Bowie's Heroes and Scary Monsters (and the obvious Fripp tribute by Magazine guitarist John McGeoch on that band's strange cover of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)").
 
#22
Peter McFerrin said:
Irony: Sara Lee got the Gang of Four gig because Andy Gill liked her work with the League of Gentlemen, an instrumental New Wave-disco band led by none other than supposed progmeister Robert Fripp. Of course, Fripp himself was a bit of a fellow traveler with the post-punk movement, as evidenced by his (godly) guitar work on Bowie's Heroes and Scary Monsters (and the obvious Fripp tribute by Magazine guitarist John McGeoch on that band's strange cover of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)").
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It's not strange - it's great and is obviously Barry Adamson's tribute to one of his heroes/influences - Larry Graham! :)

As to Sara Lee - I saw "the League of Gentlemen" at Sussex University in the early 80s and it was a long way post punk - what I remember about the gig was how the band had to walk through the audience to get to the stage and Robert Fripp, walked a few inches away from me, guitar under his arm - but what struck me was how short he was - I was looking down on one of my great musical heroes!! :D

I also saw Gang of Four with Sara Lee at Brighton University and they were so much better with her - so much funkier and her sound was great !!
 
#23
You think? I guess it's hard to judge Sara's contributions to Gang of Four because she joined after Gill and Jon King had shot their collective wad on songwriting. I could listen to Entertainment every day and Solid Gold almost as often, but I don't spin Songs of the Free more than once or twice a year--and let's not even start on Hard. :rollno:
 
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#24
I meant the live show I saw - where they only played songs from the first two albums!

I hate the recorded sound on those albums - the bass tone is very dull and lifeless and the drums sound like cardboard boxes!!

But live, they were totally different - realy exciting - with wonderful bass tone and very funky - totally unlike any other band at the time!

I would love to have a recording of that gig - as it sounded so much better than the albums - presumably the band felt the same way, as they re-recorded them recently!! :)
 
#25
The re-recordings had more to do with money than anything else. Evidently, EMI's treatment of the band has been something less than honorable with respect to the issue of royalty payments, and so the band re-recorded many of their best songs in order to provide a product that young Gang of Four fans (such as myself) could purchase in lieu of reissues of the original albums. I'm surprised that more bands don't do this.

Whatever the case, Dave Allen's bass does sound a lot better on the "re-record" (Return the Gift) than on the original albums. He was using a P with flats and a pick on the first two albums, if memory serves, but now uses a Stingray with rounds and has a delightfully bouncy, grindy sound that is far preferable to the sustain-free thud of Entertainment! (and, to a lesser extent, Solid Gold).
 
#28
It is weird to be talking about something that happened a quarter of a century ago!!

My musical tastes have moved on several times since then!!

I was listening to BBC radio over the weekend and they talking about an anniversary week of special broadcasts on Punk - the 30th Anniversary!! :eek:

1976 - 2006 - the Summer of punk!!

But one of the DJs on their digital station BBC6 - said how it seems perfectly reasonable that the radio audience today can listen and be interested in 30-year-old music - however, like me, she actually remembered that time and said how the same thing would have been unthinkable then!! :hmm:

So there's no way a Radio DJ in 1976, would have played the popular music of 1946 ....or if they had, no-one would have listened to it! ;)
 
#29
Peter McFerrin said:
The B-52s were part and parcel of the post-punk movement. Who's gonna show up for the revolution if there won't be dancing?
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Agreed - with the case of Sara Lee, I was referencing her work with the B-52s when "Love Shack" and "Roam" were true mainstream radio/video hits. These pop confections remain delightful guilty pleasures for me. This was years after "Rock Lobster", during the time in which the band didn't even have a bass player.
 
#32
I am partial to some of that music.
I've always loved Hooky's playing and sound, from the JD days to roughly the end of the 80s. I haven't been impressed lately although "Get Ready" isn't too bad and has some moments.

Some others that must be mentioned:

Tim Wright - DNA, Pere Ubu, and some recordings by Essential Logic

I'm fairly certain he was an influence on Hooky. JD were probably in attendance when Ubu played Manchester, at the Factory, and they were known to have been fans of the first Ubu album. Hooky's style is similar to the bass on certain tracks of that album.

Gina Birch - Raincoats, Red Crayola

Tessa Pollitt - The Slits

Simon Underwood - The Pop Group

Holger Czukay, since "Delay" (by Can) is basically post punk (and some of the best ever) although recorded in '68, and also for his work on the Phew album

George Scott III - Eight Eyed Spy, which is clearly post punk; he was also in some crucial no wave bands

Kim Gordon

and obviously Jah Wobble of Public Image
 
#34
I think it's high time to start a club for Post-punk/New wave bassists. Who is onboard?


Two of my favorites
Steve Severin - Siouxsie & The Banshees

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Steve Kilbey - The Church

273861413_ba9b42e8c3.jpg
 
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