Cuttings

Without doubt, one of the finest albums of 1983 was R.E.M.’s debut ‘Murmur’. Surprisingly sucessful in their American homeland (going top 40), it eventually picked up some worthy attention here when the band visited these shores in November. With a name standing for Rapid Eye Movement (the effect of dreaming) it is not surprising to find their music warm and emotional, a trance-like collection of hidden moments and memories. Using the simplicity of jangling guitars,a bright piano and Michael Stripe’s almost Morrison-esque voice, R.E.M. managed to put together an album that grows on the listener like no other I’ve ever encountered - on first hearing it’s good, but by the fifty-first it’s a classic. Lucky enough to be witness to all three of their British performances (The Tube, Dingwalls and The Marquee), I became even more of a convert, and before R.E.M. returned home I found myself locked in an A&M office with Michael and guitarist Peter Buck (bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill B...

Most of this feature is the same as this Record Mirror interview. Below are the additional parts... PART 1 BERNARD SUMNER: WORKING WITH ONE ARM AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS persuading New Order’s manager, Rob Gretton, to give us a firm date for this interview, he agreed to let us confront his charges prior to their one-off appearance at the Brixton Academy in early December. As could possibly be expected, events didn't occur exactly as planned, and so we waited over two hours before finally being admitted into the Academy. We were then directed into New Order's dressing room, where we found a heavy fog of herbal smoke and an extremely relaxed Rob Gretton. I was at long last introduced to a very friendly and honest Bernard Sumner (alias Albrecht, alias Dickens), and we immediately started talking about New Order’s recent happenings . . . What have you been doing for the past six months, because not much has been heard of you around here? Well, for the first half of those six months, we ...

 

BARNEY RUMBLES AND SCENIC RAMBLES New Order main man Bernard ‘Barney’ Albrecht scrapes the sleepy dust from his eyelids and spins a long yarn. Mick Middles takes another swig of the magic potion, leans back and falls over. Photos by Steve Wright. Preamble . "I wanna tell you about maa two dogs, 'cos, 'cos they are luvlee." Beer breath exploded in my face. I step away from the bar in careful avoidance of the unsteady arm which I know is about to extend round my shoulders. If there is one thing I detest more than a violent drunken slob, it’s a friendly drunken slob. Unfortunately, this latter category are the only humans stupid enough to brave the terrifying frost on this most unromantic of Stockport evenings. On nights like this, all the cloth cap cliches you may wish to throw at the life of a northern town . . . will be gratefully accepted. They are all true, tonight. Like our football team, we have no defence. I’m not in here for drunken conversation. Merely for a mo...

THE SMITHS Let me begin my dream, and let's be abrupt, not only for the moment. Can music reach the stillness? How much is worth all the fuss, the dressing up and the expectations? To consider the highest and the best here is to weigh up, in all seriousness, our favourite moments, transports of delight and the glory of melody sweeping in upon our daze, opening us to the prospects of a new thrill, transition and the winds of change. Surely nothing less? And therefore. Between the quality of the pop single that gleefully disrupts the balance of our days and the merit of the three minutes that entertains but leaves us unaffected lies the genius of the great pop record. We could hover just there, believing that the imagination must dance... what is sure? Last year, amidst the mass of music that was all too much of a muchness, too tolerant and unobjectionable, there was The Smiths, thank Christ. Their second release of '83, "This Charming Man," the follow-up to ...