Although I don't recall much in detail, for me that gig remains
one of the
most significant that I ever went to (and I've been to plenty over
the
years). I'd travelled down alone from my home town of Derby (2.5+
hours by
train in those days). Standing out on Camden High Street queueing
to go in,
there was a real buzz of expectation in the air from everyone
around me -
one of those rare moments when you just knew you were at the
coolest place
on the planet for a few hours.
Scritti Politti were a new band to me that night - and almost
everyone else
there as well I think - but they were interesting enough that I
later bought
all their early records as a result. I've still got them too I'm
pleased to
say. They were fashionably skanky - I remember that their drummer
was a
white guy with dreadlocks, which was a real novelty at the time!
After them came the Monochrome Set they were the least interesting
band in
that night's line-up; after more than 20 years, my memories of the
evening are
rather hazy, but I remember nothing about them at all - I dare say
I went to the
bar pretty soon after they came on!
I was almost as keen to see A Certain Ratio as Joy Division (if
ACR hadn't
been playing that night, I doubt I would have travelled down) but
I don't
reckon many others in the crowd that night shared my enthusiasm
for them. I
seem to remember they were all wearing baggy military-style
shorts, which
was really at odds with the post-punk style at the time, but was
at least
appropriate attire for the heat inside the venue. ACR were ahead
of their
time with that dour whiteboy funk sound (but they appealed to me
as I'd been
a soulboy before I got into punk) and I thought it was really
refreshing to
see and hear a band using instruments such as trumpets like they
did, which
no-one else was doing at the time. As I said, not many other
people seemed
to appreciate them, but I thought they were great.
I'd bought 'Unknown Pleasures' on the day it was released and had
played it
to death, along with the 'Transmission/Novelty' single (one of the
gretest
singles ever made if you ask me). As I'd never seen them live
before, I
think I'd built up such a level of expectation about JD that they
couldn't
possibly live up to it. Sure, I knew plenty about them in advance,
but I
think I was almost expecting to see four Nietzschean Ubermensch
rather than
four working class young men from Manchester. Not surprisingly,
this did not
turn out to be the awesome quasi-religious experience I might have
been
expecting, and I remember feeling rather disappointed by the
quality of
their performance musically - I struggled to recognise some of
those awesome
moments I loved so much on record. But it made me appreciate even
more what
a huge achievement 'Unknown Pleasures' was (Martin Hannet was
definitely as
important as any of the 'real' members of the band), and it simply
invited
failure to try to recapture its brilliance live. At the same time
it was a
great feeling to be watching the group at last, like it was a
privilege, and
you knew you were witnessing something special. Despite the fact
that I
can't remember anything outstanding that they did that night, they
were a
captivating force nontheless. Curtis on stage was electric and
mesmerising.
Although a little disappointed, I actually came away admiring them
even more
for even trying to live up to their own standards. Inevitably they
fell
short, but the 'warts n all' experience of Joy Division on this
night
endeared them to me all the more.
Reviewed by Steven
Pares March 2000
