BIG FLAME The ICA London 4th October 1984
“You’d better come out of the bar because we’re not gonna mess around.” This was my live introduction to bIG fLAMe, Manchester premier purveyors of crunch & thud.. I had previously heard them on PEEL & was intrigued, but live they were positively intoxicating. I didn’t realise this at the time but supporting Aussie industrial electro pop mimsies SPK was their first foray into London.
Intoxicating? From the cocksure moment they strode across the ICA stage (“You’d better come out of the bar…” wasn’t really required, the body language said it all) to the crash, crash thud intro of “Debra” I was on board. How could I not be? Vocals that was a manic hybrid of Dave Jackson’s (THE ROOM) crooning & PAUL HAIG’s emotive drawl. JOSEF K guitar, tremble “to eleven” played at 100mph. Burping wandering bass, that filled the high ceiling of the ICA, intertwined with drums that sounded like a bag of spanners being kicked around a playground. I remember having a conversation with an American chap (who admittedly was only there for SPK) who thought they were “making it up as they go along” … My reply was “You have just witnessed the future of music”…. Sadly the future of music left us just five great 7” singles & didn’t usurp FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD from the charts (apart from the world that I inhabit). I read somewhere that they gave themselves a “sell-by date” when they felt that the length of the existence would be considered more than decent, & that they would split up on that date. I believe it was towards the end of 1986 & they kept to it. If I knew that at the time, I suspect that I would have loved them EVEN more…..
- Debra
- The Illness
- Chanel Samba
- Breath Of A Nation
- Sink
- Saragasso
- All The Irish Must Go To Hevard (I Have A Cold)
- Where’s Our Carol?
- Man Of Few (Guitars) Syllables
