New Musical Express, May 11, 1985: Difference between revisions
(formatting) |
(formatting / +emphasis / fix OCR errors & paragraph breaks) |
||
(7 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
Albert who? | Albert who? | ||
"No, no. Not Albert, Elvis..." | "No, no. Not Albert, ''Elvis''..." | ||
Whoops. My first conversation with the bespectacled boss of IMP records had not got off to a flying start. | Whoops. My first conversation with the bespectacled boss of IMP records had not got off to a flying start. | ||
My second conversation with the colourful vinyl supremo found him tired and tetchy, squeezing in an hour's lunchtime interview in Soho's busiest cafe before rushing off with Pogues bassist | My second conversation with the colourful vinyl supremo found him tired and tetchy, squeezing in an hour's lunchtime interview in Soho's busiest cafe before rushing off with Pogues bassist Cott O'Riordan to the studio where the boys (and girl) from County Hell are recording their second album, with Elvis at the controls. | ||
"You know my new slogan for IMP?" he enquired between forkfuls, eyes narrowing pointedly behind Dr Strangelove dark-glasses. "'Music is the opium of the pencil: IMP isn't'." | "You know my new slogan for IMP?" he enquired between forkfuls, eyes narrowing pointedly behind Dr Strangelove dark-glasses. "'Music is the opium of the pencil: IMP isn't'." | ||
Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
"I came up to her in the middle of a very fraught rehearsal of the play she was directing and said my name is Johnny Duke, and I'm a pop journalist and a record producer and a pop star, and please can I interview you? She was surrounded by aghast actors — who is this geezer? I must have been 15, 16 at the time, spotty, absolutely ridiculous. | "I came up to her in the middle of a very fraught rehearsal of the play she was directing and said my name is Johnny Duke, and I'm a pop journalist and a record producer and a pop star, and please can I interview you? She was surrounded by aghast actors — who is this geezer? I must have been 15, 16 at the time, spotty, absolutely ridiculous. | ||
"I'd seen her before the radio show, in the RTE production of Brecht On Brecht in which she played the Lotte Lenya part. I'd started getting into Brecht and Weill, and couldn't believe that RTE of all people were doing Brecht. Agnes stood out a mile from the cast, she was splendid . Because of their limited budget RTE shot it all with one camera; it was very Brectian, ha ha! And I was converted. | "I'd seen her before the radio show, in the RTE production of ''Brecht On Brecht'' in which she played the Lotte Lenya part. I'd started getting into Brecht and Weill, and couldn't believe that RTE of all people were doing Brecht. Agnes stood out a mile from the cast, she was ''splendid''. Because of their limited budget RTE shot it all with one camera; it was very ''Brectian'', ha ha! And I was converted..." | ||
Bertold Brecht's achievements as a playwright, drama theorist and novelist are too considerable to list here. But as a lyricist — | Bertold Brecht's achievements as a playwright, drama theorist and novelist are too considerable to list here. But as a lyricist — partnering musicians Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler — Brecht seems now to typify the sardonic humour and lowlife romance of Germany's Weimar Republic in such numbers as "Mack The Knife," "The Alabama Whiskey Song," "The Bilbao Song" and "Surabaya Johnny." | ||
Many of these are available sung by Agnes Bernelle on a 1976 Irish-release LP titled 'Bernelle On Brecht And... | Many of these are available sung by Agnes Bernelle on a 1976 Irish-release LP titled ''Bernelle On Brecht And...'' compiled by the 19-year-old Philip Chevron. | ||
Subsequently Philip formed Dublin's premier punk band The Radiators (From Space), releasing two excellent LPs, ''TV Tube Heart'' ('77) and ''Ghostown'' ('79). And as a soloist Philip recorded a mini-LP of Brecht-Weill songs in 1981, ''Songs From Bill's Dancehall'', followed two years later by his version of Irish playwright Brendan Behan's | Subsequently Philip formed Dublin's premier punk band The Radiators (From Space), releasing two excellent LPs, ''TV Tube Heart'' ('77) and ''Ghostown'' ('79). And as a soloist Philip recorded a mini-LP of Brecht-Weill songs in 1981, ''Songs From Bill's Dancehall'', followed two years later by his version of Irish playwright Brendan Behan's "The Captains And The Kings." | ||
That tremendous single was produced by Elvis Costello, and furthermore released on Elvis' IMP label, created some months before to release "Pills And Soap" to time with the June '83 General Election when Elvis was temporarily without a major label record deal. | |||
Now, lavishly produced by Philip, Agnes Bernelle's '' | Meanwhile Philip had not lost contact with Agnes, despite his moving to London. Philip had brought to Elvis' attention The Men They Couldn't Hang: their Chevron-produced "Green Fields Of France" became IMP's second single proper last year, to wide acclaim. Thus encouraged, Philip played Elvis a demo tape of songs written by a variety of obscurish, long-dead Germans and sung by a Dublin-based Berliner in her 60s. Was he out of his mind? | ||
Now, lavishly produced by Philip, Agnes Bernelle's ''Father's Lying Dead On The Ironing Board'' is to be the first LP made for IMP records. And with their track record of every release some sort of classic, that fact alone demands you listen. | |||
But first, some history. | But first, some history. | ||
Line 62: | Line 63: | ||
"My father left first, and he came to London. Of course, he wasn't allowed to take any money out so he brought out a gold cigarette case which he pawned and lived off for a year until he got into the film business. | "My father left first, and he came to London. Of course, he wasn't allowed to take any money out so he brought out a gold cigarette case which he pawned and lived off for a year until he got into the film business. | ||
"He would never have left actually if I hadn't have decided to go onstage, which was lucky. He had also written a lot of plays and musicals, for instance the libretto of The Chocolate Soldier which was then very popular. He got the royalties although they took his name off, so there was no financial hardship. So I suppose he would never have left — or too late. He was Jewish, although my mother wasn't. | |||
"He would never have left actually if I hadn't have decided to go onstage, which was lucky. He had also written a lot of plays and musicals, for instance the libretto of ''The Chocolate Soldier'' which was then very popular. He got the royalties although they took his name off, so there was no financial hardship. So I suppose he would never have left — or too late. He was Jewish, although my mother wasn't. | |||
"I went to him and said, Look, I'm going to be an actress but, being half-Jewish, they won't allow me to work in Germany. So he decided to come to England and I came over a year later. | "I went to him and said, Look, I'm going to be an actress but, being half-Jewish, they won't allow me to work in Germany. So he decided to come to England and I came over a year later. | ||
Line 70: | Line 72: | ||
Every night I listened to all these lovely cabaret performers doing all these lovely cabaret songs. I learnt it there, here in London as a teenager." | Every night I listened to all these lovely cabaret performers doing all these lovely cabaret songs. I learnt it there, here in London as a teenager." | ||
Agnes' wartime story is told in Philip's excellent sleevenotes to her new LP | Agnes' wartime story is told in Philip's excellent sleevenotes to her new LP. | ||
"Agnes also joined the American OSS and, as 'Vicky', became a jazz singer and announcer on the 'black radio' station Radio Atlantik. 'Vicky' was popular with the German Forces, and her counter-propaganda between songs made a significant contribution to the war effort. | "Agnes also joined the American OSS and, as 'Vicky', became a jazz singer and announcer on the 'black radio' station Radio Atlantik. 'Vicky' was popular with the German Forces, and her counter-propaganda between songs made a significant contribution to the war effort. | ||
"She was, for example, directly responsible for the surrender of a U-boat commander (she played a request for him, congratulating him on the birth of his son — the unfortunate man hadn't been home for two years and in his confusion he gave himself up), And on one occasion Agnes caused havoc in the German postal system by announcing that the Fuehrer had requested all good citizens to send urine samples to the Ministry of Health in Berlin." | "She was, for example, directly responsible for the surrender of a U-boat commander (she played a request for him, congratulating him on the birth of his son — the unfortunate man hadn't been home for two years and in his confusion he gave himself up), And on one occasion Agnes caused havoc in the German postal system by announcing that the Fuehrer had requested all good citizens to send urine samples to the Ministry of Health in Berlin." | ||
After the war Agnes found her cabaret repertoire was not in demand, but she remained in England and secured a successful acting career. (In the title role of Oscar Wilde's Salome, Agnes broke the Lord Chamberlain's censorship rule by becoming the first non-stationary nude on the West End stage.) | After the war Agnes found her cabaret repertoire was not in demand, but she remained in England and secured a successful acting career. (In the title role of Oscar Wilde's ''Salome'', Agnes broke the Lord Chamberlain's censorship rule by becoming the first non-stationary nude on the West End stage.) | ||
Meanwhile, though her Berlin cabaret repertoire was lying dormant, Agnes was modifying its inspiration to her new situation. | Meanwhile, though her Berlin cabaret repertoire was lying dormant, Agnes was modifying its inspiration to her new situation. | ||
"In the war, whenever I read in the paper that Berlin had been bombed, I said Good! I was delighted. I never mentioned the fact that I was German, I never admitted it to anybody. | "In the war, whenever I read in the paper that Berlin had been bombed, I said ''Good!'' I was delighted. I never mentioned the fact that I was German, I never admitted it to anybody. | ||
"And then, soon after the war, I went over to Berlin for a day or two with a girlfriend who had a play. She insisted that I came back; I didn't want to. When I got to Berlin it was very badly destroyed. And it did something terrible to me — I cried for three hours nonstop. | "And then, soon after the war, I went over to Berlin for a day or two with a girlfriend who had a play. She insisted that I came back; I didn't want to. When I got to Berlin it was very badly destroyed. And it did something terrible to me — I cried for three hours nonstop. | ||
"It was then that I realised my roots were there, and you cannot live and cut yourself off from your roots. And you certainly can't work. Your work is meaningless, like a tree cut off from the earth. | "It was then that I realised my roots were there, and you cannot live and cut yourself off from your roots. And you certainly can't ''work''. Your work is meaningless, like a tree cut off from the earth. | ||
"So when I came back from that very illuminating trip, I started to work again. I had the background but l am now English. And I can translate this into the language and culture l am now working in. | "So when I came back from that very illuminating trip, I started to work again. I had the background but l am now English. And I can translate this into the language and culture l am now working in. | ||
"It's recognising that basically in every culture there are the same social and human problems, and you can translate them if you know both well enough. An adaptation." | "It's recognising that basically in every culture there are the same social and human problems, and you can translate them if you know both well enough. An ''adaptation''." | ||
The absurdity, surrealism and cocksnooking of German cabaret was eventually to find its counterpart in Britain. With the advent of the Satire Boom in 1960-1, Agnes Bernelle started a one-woman show of Brecht-Weill songs titled Savagery And Delight at Beyond The Fringe star Peter Cook's Establishment club. Though she landed her original Sunday evening slot through a combination of recklessness and experiment, Agnes developed the show, constantly introducing new material, and was rewarded by widening popularity. | The absurdity, surrealism and cocksnooking of German cabaret was eventually to find its counterpart in Britain. With the advent of the Satire Boom in 1960-1, Agnes Bernelle started a one-woman show of Brecht-Weill songs titled ''Savagery And Delight'' at ''Beyond The Fringe'' star Peter Cook's Establishment club. Though she landed her original Sunday evening slot through a combination of recklessness and experiment, Agnes developed the show, constantly introducing new material, and was rewarded by widening popularity. | ||
Crucially for us, though, it was in this period that Agnes Bernelle met a fellow ex-Berliner also living in London. Michael Dress was a classically trained composer who for some time had been setting to music the poems of Joachim Ringelnatz, born Hans Boetticher in 1883... | Crucially for us, though, it was in this period that Agnes Bernelle met a fellow ex-Berliner also living in London. Michael Dress was a classically trained composer who for some time had been setting to music the poems of Joachim Ringelnatz, born Hans Boetticher in 1883... | ||
Line 102: | Line 105: | ||
Of the 11 songs on ''Father's Lying Dead On The Ironing Board'', eight are from poems by Ringelnatz. "Tootsies," the A-side of the 45-from-the-33, is by Klabund (born Alfred Henschke, 1890-1928), poet, novelist, playwright and friend of Brecht. | Of the 11 songs on ''Father's Lying Dead On The Ironing Board'', eight are from poems by Ringelnatz. "Tootsies," the A-side of the 45-from-the-33, is by Klabund (born Alfred Henschke, 1890-1928), poet, novelist, playwright and friend of Brecht. | ||
"The Ballad Of The Poor Child" was written a century ago by Frank Wedekind (1864—1918), hugely influential on Brecht and best known as playwright of ''Lulu'', ''Spring Awakening'', ''Franziska'' and ''Der Marquis Von Keith''. The third non-Ringelnatz song is "The Hurdy Gurdy" by French poet Jacques Prévert, renowned for the song " | "The Ballad Of The Poor Child" was written a century ago by Frank Wedekind (1864—1918), hugely influential on Brecht and best known as playwright of ''Lulu'', ''Spring Awakening'', ''Franziska'' and ''Der Marquis Von Keith''. The third non-Ringelnatz song is "The Hurdy Gurdy" by French poet Jacques Prévert, renowned for the song "Autumn Leaves" and as film director Marcel Came's script-collaborator on such as ''Les Enfants Du Paradis'', ''LeJourSe Leve'' and ''Drôle De Drame''. | ||
Strikingly, all three exceptions seem to fit the Ringelnatz rule. In his review of "Tootsies"/"Chansonette" Barney Hoskyns referred to '20s German artist of bourgeois grotesquerie George Grosz. He might also have mentioned the Brothers Grimm, or Hogarth or Mervyn Peake or... | Strikingly, all three exceptions seem to fit the Ringelnatz rule. In his review of "Tootsies"/"Chansonette" Barney Hoskyns referred to '20s German artist of bourgeois grotesquerie George Grosz. He might also have mentioned the Brothers Grimm, or Hogarth or Mervyn Peake or... | ||
Line 131: | Line 134: | ||
Says I: Who? | Says I: Who? | ||
Sings Elvis: "Buddy, can you spare me a di-i-i-ime???' | Sings Elvis: ''"Buddy, can you spare me a di-i-i-ime???"'' | ||
No, Elvis Costello doesn't have much in common with, say, Richard Branson. For one thing, I bet you wouldn't find the bearded teenage tycoon enjoying a magnificent £3 lunch at IPC's expense to promote the hot new waxing by Simple Minds. Nor would you catch the youthful publican, publisher and airline-prop being so undiplomatic as to describe RCA records as "a bunch of fucking bastards'. | No, Elvis Costello doesn't have much in common with, say, Richard Branson. For one thing, I bet you wouldn't find the bearded teenage tycoon enjoying a magnificent £3 lunch at IPC's expense to promote the hot new waxing by Simple Minds. Nor would you catch the youthful publican, publisher and airline-prop being so undiplomatic as to describe RCA records as "a bunch of fucking bastards'. | ||
Flash back to " | Flash back to "Peace In Our Time," Elvis' single released last year on the Imposter label, appropriately enough a front for RCA... | ||
"It was too complicated with the length of time. I just wanted it out, the same sort of thing as "Pills And Soap," I just wanted it out quickly. | "It was too complicated with the length of time. I just wanted it out, the same sort of thing as "Pills And Soap," I just wanted it out quickly. | ||
Line 149: | Line 152: | ||
So there is an ideology to IMP? | So there is an ideology to IMP? | ||
"No, not really, no. There is a sense of rightness, a personal feeling, you know. There's no ideological blanket thrown over everything, that's why I can afford to sign my press releases to the BBC or something El Presidente or the Pope of Pop, simply because it's sarcastic. It's just the opposite of the dictatorial attitude of the majors and even some of the well-intentioned but I think misguided, over-zealous types who have their own record labels, not mentioning any names | "No, not really, no. There is a sense of ''rightness'', a personal feeling, you know. There's no ideological blanket thrown over everything, that's why I can afford to sign my press releases to the BBC or something El Presidente or the Pope of Pop, simply because it's sarcastic. It's just the opposite of the dictatorial attitude of the majors and even some of the well-intentioned but I think misguided, over-zealous types who have their own record labels, not mentioning any names | ||
The | The cappuccinos arrive but Elvis brushes aside a name I happen to mention, Paul Weller... | ||
"He's sincere about it and I don't think he deserves people like me sniping at him when there are people who are much less sincere doing it on a scale of grand larceny. He might make mistakes, but how else would you learn?" | "He's sincere about it and I don't think he deserves people like me sniping at him when there are people who are much less sincere doing it on a scale of grand larceny. He might make mistakes, but how else would you learn?" | ||
Line 157: | Line 160: | ||
No, Elvis is right. IMP is no ordinary record label, nor is it a rock star's pet project. And the practical difference is money. Though Philip Chevron is the "unofficial, unspoken" A&R man, IMP has no staff or premises. With no regular overheads, IMP has no need to release any records at all. And when it does, it's Demon records that handles the practicalities. | No, Elvis is right. IMP is no ordinary record label, nor is it a rock star's pet project. And the practical difference is money. Though Philip Chevron is the "unofficial, unspoken" A&R man, IMP has no staff or premises. With no regular overheads, IMP has no need to release any records at all. And when it does, it's Demon records that handles the practicalities. | ||
As Elvis says of IMP: "It's just there. It's like a photo-copier or inflatable doll: you just get it out when you need it. | As Elvis says of IMP: "It's just ''there''. It's like a photo-copier or inflatable doll: you just get it out when you need it. | ||
"I had a vague idea it might be there to use again as an identity for things I might want to do aside from with the band. I had no idea what else might happen on it. One is surprised and blushes at some of the things that I refused to put out on IMP... | "I had a vague idea it might be there to use again as an identity for things I might want to do aside from with the band. I had no idea what else might happen on it. One is surprised and blushes at some of the things that I refused to put out on IMP... | ||
Line 173: | Line 176: | ||
"So I'd rather keep things on a more one-off basis and if the relationship works well, then do something else beyond that. Like, The Men They Couldn't Hang are doing an album for IMP simply because no major will touch them with a bargepole." | "So I'd rather keep things on a more one-off basis and if the relationship works well, then do something else beyond that. Like, The Men They Couldn't Hang are doing an album for IMP simply because no major will touch them with a bargepole." | ||
Philip Chevron is producing that LP, and their next single, "The Iron Masters." Furthermore, the follow-up to Philip's own ''The Captains And The Kings'' is scheduled for later this year. An album of Brendan Behan songs, it will feature "Captains" as well as renditions by Elvis, | Philip Chevron is producing that LP, and their next single, "The Iron Masters." Furthermore, the follow-up to Philip's own ''The Captains And The Kings'' is scheduled for later this year. An album of Brendan Behan songs, it will feature "Captains" as well as renditions by Elvis, The Pogues, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Christy Moore doing "The Auld Triangle," and several other artists currently awaiting their record companies' clearance. | ||
So what have we got? Elvis: a Liverpool Irishman periodically prone to addressing the state of the nation. Philip: a London-based Dubliner whose love of Behan and Brecht has inspired satirical broadsides against both Britain | So what have we got? Elvis: a Liverpool Irishman periodically prone to addressing the state of the nation. Philip: a London-based Dubliner whose love of Behan and Brecht has inspired satirical broadsides against both Britain and Ireland. Agnes: a London and Dublin based Berliner who has adapted German cabaret songs and poems to strike an absurdist chord in British culture. The Men They Couldn't Hang: London-Celts who delve into their folk roots to voice their dissent about Britain today. | ||
Folk. Satire. Dissent. ''Outsiderdom''? | Folk. Satire. Dissent. ''Outsiderdom''? | ||
Line 184: | Line 187: | ||
"In as much as I've never thought of it that way, I'd have to agree with Elvis," says Philip. "It's not a conscious thing, but it is an intriguing theory. It is purely accidental only inasmuch as Elvis and I understand instinctively what is an IMP record. We don't have a policy, we make records because they need to be made. | "In as much as I've never thought of it that way, I'd have to agree with Elvis," says Philip. "It's not a conscious thing, but it is an intriguing theory. It is purely accidental only inasmuch as Elvis and I understand instinctively what is an IMP record. We don't have a policy, we make records because they need to be made. | ||
"It was I think Adrian Thrills, when he reviewed 'The Green Fields Of France', who said that the IMP label represented 'unfettered excellence', and that gave us our tag. | "It was I think Adrian Thrills, when he reviewed ''The Green Fields Of France'', who said that the IMP label represented 'unfettered excellence', and that gave us our tag. | ||
"If we exercise such high quality control, then that's the closest we can get to a policy. We put out records that other people wouldn't touch with a bargepole and in so doing we're tapping a need in a certain constituency of the record-buying public that other people wouldn't understand in a million years." | "If we exercise such high quality control, then that's the closest we can get to a policy. We put out records that other people wouldn't touch with a bargepole and in so doing we're tapping a need in a certain constituency of the record-buying public that other people wouldn't understand in a million years." | ||
Line 194: | Line 197: | ||
{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = New Musical Express, | |prev = New Musical Express, May 4, 1985 | ||
|next = New Musical Express, May 18, 1985 | |next = New Musical Express, May 18, 1985 | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 200: | Line 203: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
Mat Snow interviews EC, [[Philip Chevron]] and [[Agnes Bernelle]]. | Mat Snow interviews EC, [[Philip Chevron]] and [[Agnes Bernelle]]. | ||
---- | |||
''[[The Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello)|The Best Of Elvis Costello]]'' is No. 18 on the album chart <span style="font-size:92%">(page [[:image:1985-05-11 New Musical Express page 04.jpg|4]])</span>. | |||
---- | |||
"[[Green Shirt]]" is No. 42 on the singles chart; a half-page ad for the [[Green Shirt (single)|single]] runs on page 11. | |||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
Line 217: | Line 224: | ||
<small>Photo by [[Derek Ridgers]].</small><br> | <small>Photo by [[Derek Ridgers]].</small><br> | ||
[[image:1985-05-11 New Musical Express photo 01 dr.jpg|380px|border]] | [[image:1985-05-11 New Musical Express photo 01 dr.jpg|380px|border]] | ||
<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> | |||
<small>Advertisement.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1985-05-11 New Musical Express page 11 advertisement.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
<small>Page scans.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1985-05-11 New Musical Express page 04.jpg|x120px|border]] | |||
[[image:1985-05-11 New Musical Express page 11.jpg|x120px|border]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
Line 228: | Line 247: | ||
*[http://pogues.dzm.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&p=1054 pogues.dzm.com/forum] | *[http://pogues.dzm.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&p=1054 pogues.dzm.com/forum] | ||
*[http://brandnewretro.ie/2013/08/05/phil-chevron-elvis-costello-agnes-bernelle-nme-1985/ brandnewretro.ie] | *[http://brandnewretro.ie/2013/08/05/phil-chevron-elvis-costello-agnes-bernelle-nme-1985/ brandnewretro.ie] | ||
*[https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1265186202186969088 Twitter: nothingelseon{{t}}][https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1265189397885890560 {{t}}][https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1265186825619963904 {{t}}][https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1265187747108515842 {{t}}][https://twitter.com/nothingelseon/status/1265187886892085248 {{t}}] | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Musical Express 1985-05-11}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:New Musical Express 1985-05-11}} |
Latest revision as of 20:42, 25 September 2023
|