Sock Free Hideaway

SONGS THEY NEVER PLAY ON THE RADIO

23. Nick Sanderson : Shrunken Head, Massive Head

PART 1

I DISLIKE drummers; they came back to mine and talked up Queen. They snidely slagged off my big hooter and formed the Foo Fighters.

I like Nick though, unless his cheeriness stood in my way of talking to World Of Twist frontman extraordinaire Tony. He has been the much loved antihero of at least four books I've read, so has become an obsession of sorts. Hence, this retro-glance back at his career highlights. In descending order; train driver, boarder, Earl Brutus co frontman, WOT, Mary Chain, Freeheat, Gun Club and Clock DVA drummer.

Would love to drive the Brighton to London train. All those tired empty faces of a Monday morning heading away from a weekend's pleasure. Not so good on a Friday teatime mind. I had fantasies about boarding school and a different life. Genesis fan Nick breaking into Peter Gabriel's house suggests it would've been a waste on me. That he had the audacity to go back there trying to find the touches to make an album that was both brilliant and commercial, and beat his host at table tennis is an anecdote for most of us but a mere footnote for Nick.

Surprised he wasn't driving the underground tube trains though, as he was a bit of a hex on the overground majors. The Mary Chain got dropped by WEA after his sole contribution to their arsenal. Circa dropped WOT after they handed in insanely rushed demos for a follow-up album. Polydor dropped Clock DVA after his sole contribution to their arsenal and Island dropped Earl Brutus after their sophomore album tanked. Not that anybody ever held it against him.

Wish he'd fronted WOT with Tony slinking into the background, but after commercial failure, the band got dropped and simply fizzled away. His time in the Gun Club, which bookmarked his time with WOT, coincides with the music of theirs I found more accessible. Lupita Screams is fantastic in anybody's book. It must've taken an enormous amount of patience and fortitude to help Jeffrey Lee Pierce realize his musical vision. Almost as much as helping Tony realize his. Little wonder he needed to exhale.

I've been blasting out Earl Brutus all Christmas. Their resonant slogans and glam leanings are as festive as I've felt, and I have been getting some funny looks in the supermarket where I work chanting their catchiest tunes. I needed a survival strategy. Where most acts drip their inner selves into songs, they resist that as if they were creating an art installation and not a song. It possibly explains why I only started getting into them once I understood the Chapman Brothers.

PART 2

MASSIVE KUDOS to Icerink for releasing Earl Brutus's skull-fuck of a glittery stomper, Life's Too Long, on the label. Not least because it is. They saw the remnants of World of Twist and If? and had their own minds blown and so kindly blew ours. Twinned on a good sound-system with The Fall at their deranged best, people would go insane. And I mean insane. That they surpassed all expectations was down to Nick's energy and soul. Few people can shout 'shrunken head, massive head' and make it sound earnest.

Following on from WOT, whose live shows were events Earl Brutus has attracted the anti-terrorist squad and, following Nick actually pissing on the stage, got signed. (Only in the nineties.) Predictably, I never saw them live. Possibly because I felt they'd wronged Tony, but more than likely because Gordon never once let on despite being in the same pubs and clubs. We hide the truth. Pretty sure my pal Jeff was into them back then.

Again, following on from WOT who conceived of the idea that writing the worst lyrics in pop's history would be their golden ticket, Earl Brutus conceived of the idea that infusing the energy and inane banter emanating from telly pages and gritty northern taprooms would be theirs. Alas, only art students think subverting the mainstream with highly convincing parody is a good idea. Their second album was no better than the first, despite major backing on account of their debut being so strong. Quality is quality, I guess. That said, Universal Mind should've been a smash hit.

And again following on from WOT, whose in joking held them back, Earl Brutus set themselves apart from their contemporaries. Seeing most of them as shoddy revivalists. Nick famously called his most famous fan Noel Gallagher, John Noakes, and withdrew consent for their inclusion on the Trainspotting soundtrack on account of Ewan McGregor sounding too posh. It was these acts of self-sabotage that made both acts great but came at a great cost. 

Freeheat; what happened before the Mary Chain reformed and while Earl Brutus waited for another label to sign them, was more an exercise in fun. That said, the Chemical Brothers sampled the riff from The Two of Us. Sadly, the last time Nick's wife and bandmate Romi duetted with Jim was in tribute to him following his untimely death. Tragic a life lived so richly needed a fundraiser. 

As I was ending this piece, Man United's beleaguered ten men had forced a penalty shootout. I thought of Nick, a massive fan and, for the first time in my life, actually wanted them to win. Unthinkable an hour ago.