Bunch of Forty Fives

This is a random selection of singles that came out between 1980-81 when I was in my Pale and Interesting phase, think of it as the soundtrack to my late-teenage angst. What they have in common is that they're gloomier than a wet Bank Holiday, or what I like to think of as Big Overcoat Music. Though there wasn't a post-punk "uniform" in the way there was for Mods or Skinheads, you could still spot a fan of the gloomy stuff: tight black jeans, pointed suede boots (mine were from Shelly's on the King's Road) and — most importantly — a big second-hand overcoat like the one Ian McCulloch wears on the cover of the "Crocodiles" album, with the collar turned up to protect you from the harsh existential winds that afflicted a sensitive young man. England felt like an Eastern Bloc country back then so we dressed as though we lived in one. The McCulloch hairstyle was optional, but that long fringe was useful for hiding your eyes from the world.

The Passage were a Manchester band with an erratic line-up that seemed to change from record to record. I think vocalist Lizzy Johnson was only with the band for the "Devils and Angels" single and her alluring feminine tones warm up the cold and eerie sounds provided by band leader Dick Witts. With it's moody electronics and pop hook it's amazing how modern this sounds even though it's over 25 years old. Good grief.

Download: Devils and Angels - The Passage (mp3)
Buy: "Seedy: The Best of The Passage" (album)

Like current neo-post-punkers Interpol, The Comsat Angels used to pull the "Joy Division? Never 'eard them before" excuse when people mentioned how much like them they sounded, but "Independence Day" does have the same spacey dynamics and tortured lyrics as the Mancunian misery mongers. A great single though (this is the original version) and that chiming guitar riff still sounds terrific.

Download: Independence Day - The Comsat Angels (mp3)
Buy: "Waiting For A Miracle" (album)

Au Pairs were like a musical version of "Spare Rib" magazine, writing very serious songs about sexual politics and gender roles. But don't let that put you off, they played a Gang of Four-ish scratchy funk and sounded brilliant. "Diet" was a great single about brainless, tranquilized housewives though all these years later I do detect an annoying Polytechnic-educated Marxist's moral superiority about it.

Download: Diet - Au Pairs (mp3)
Buy: "Stepping Out Of Line" (album)

Believe it or not but there was a time when Simple Minds weren't overblown stadium rockers and were actually an interesting (if derivative) and arty electronic outfit in the Bowie/Kraftwerk mold. There was also a time when they were a punk band called Johnny & The Self Abusers but that's another story.

Download: Changeling - Simple Minds (mp3)
Buy: "Real To Real Cacophony" (album)

I can pinpoint the moment I grew out of this stuff and "got happy" so to speak. I bought Siousxsie & The Banshees "Dear Prudence" single in 1983 and it just left me cold. Admitedly it wasn't one of their best efforts but I'd been a huge Banshees fan up until that point and the rest of their stuff suddenly wasn't doing it for me either. It all seemed like so much histrionic caterwauling over nothing, even "Unknown Pleasures" made me want to slap Ian Curtis and tell him to stop being such a miserable bleeder and cheer the fuck up. Then there was this new band called The Smiths everyone loved who just seemed a bit too whiny for me. The only thing I can put it down to is I'd just turned 21 and wasn't that kid sitting all alone in his bedroom listening to John Peel anymore, dancing to Northern Soul was where I was at instead.