"Do You Call That Singing?"
Not if I can help it...
This week, a programme I recorded months ago finally surfaced on Radio 4. If I tell you it was a delight to listen to, I hope you don’t think I’m bragging. My producer Helen Lennard did most of the heavy lifting during a period when I was trying to finish off my book, complete an episode of File on 4 Investigates and juggle my usual podcast commitments.
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002nbp8)
The genesis of the programme lies in my own epic failure to become an indie star in the 1980s. You can judge how close (or not) I came to stardom by listening to ‘Batteries Not Included’ a track I recorded with my band Lowdown International, which featured on the ‘Un-Scene’ compilation of Birmingham post-punk bands.
My Johnny Rotten - then and now - was Robert Lloyd of The Nightingales who assumes a mean baritone these days but who, back then, intoned sardonically over a clatter of drums and guitars. Alongside Robert, I was moved by Mark E Smith, Wire, Mark Perry, David Byrne, Patti Smith and numerous other luminaries of the “77 or thereabouts” music scene. There were certainly some great punk vocalists, but just as the movement eschewed fancy guitar solos, so it mistrusted singers who put virtuosity before meaning.
As a kid, I’d also inhaled Dylan and Leonard Cohen from my brother’s record collection and while I also loved soul music, as a performer I could never hope to come to close to Otis or Aretha, so determined to make a virtue of necessity with my own performances.
When I started making music again a couple of years ago, the likes of Dry Cleaning, Wet Leg and the wonderful Big Special had given ‘speak singing’ a contemporary twist, meaning that - once again - it was cool to be a non-singing singer.
But then, as I discovered during the making of the programme, it always was…