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the official distractions website

Welcome to the official Distractions website. We will be aiming to record the history of one of the greatest, but least heralded, of all Manchester beat groups.

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Friday, July 29, 2011

Perfect artwork



The artwork for The Distractions' first album, 1980's Nobody's Perfect, ILPS9604 on Island Records is elegant, understated and underrated.  The credits are a roll call of the great and good of the UK (and Manchester) music scene, and more:
  • Kevin Cummins (responsible for some of the most iconic music photography ever)
  • Trevor Kay ("one of the secrets of music photography"; Factory Records stalwart)
  • John Frieda (celebrity hair dresser)
  • Peter Saville (responsible for so many Factory sleeves; more recently Creative Director for Manchester)

 
Mike Finney                                                        Steve Perrin


Steve Perrin:  "The Nobody’s Perfect sleeve we had a little more say in.  It originated from a photo session Kevin had done for Record Mirror where I was standing in front of a billboard with photos of the rest of the band on it.  Peter took that and changed it around a little.  There’s a really nice detail in that you can see the reflection of the model’s face in the glass of Adrian’s portrait.  I believe the model was Peter’s partner at the time though I could be wrong."


Adrian Wright                                                     Pip Nicholls


Alex Sidebottom


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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Distracted In The Studio

TheDistractions1


July 2011
Distracted In The Studio

As you may have heard, The Distractions were in the studio last month recording backing tracks for their second album, the follow-up to Nobody's Perfect, a gap of 31 years, but who's counting?  The line-up was Mike Finney (vocals), Steve Perrin (guitar, vocals), Nick Halliwell (guitar, vocals), Arash Torabi (bass, vocals) and Mike Kellie (drums).  Regular bass player Nick Garside was unable to make the sessions so Arash (Granite Shore, Phil Wilson, Painted Word) stepped in at the last minute and did an astonishing job.  Many of you will know Mike Kellie as the drummer in The Only Ones and, before that, Spooky Tooth.

Overdubs, post-production and mixing remain to be completed but the band recorded eleven songs (including lead vocals) plus acoustic versions of three of them in just four days, with zero rehearsal.  We'll keep you posted about developments.

Get yours now...

Occultation release the new Wild Swans album (already available from their website) on 1st August (UK, 2nd August in the US) and, in preparation, they've cut prices on much of their back catalogue - this includes both of the 2010 Distractions EPs, Black Velvet and Come Home plus singles by The Granite Shore and the superb Factory Star album. Go to the Occultation Shop to pick up a bargain - the "Special packages" are astonishingly good value, many of them including one or both Distractions releases. These prices will only be available for a limited period so best get a move on...


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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Live at the Gallery

The Distractions live at The Gallery, Manchester - 16/9/1981

Thanks to Stephen Doyle of Salford City Radio, big fan and supporter of The Distractions, for this recording of the above gig, one of their last before the final split.  Twelve "new songs," none of which have been committed to tape (aside from Nothing Lasts and Night Time live in New York, 1980).  The Gallery was on Peter Street, just off Deansgate - a host of photos from the '80s can be found at the Manchester District Music Archive.




Side One

After Hours
Red Dress
Nothing Lasts
Night Time
Stacy
All Alone

Side Two

Intimacy
Something's Missing
Everything I Touch
Jealousy
King of the Clubs
I'd rather Have a Memory Than a Dream


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Monday, July 18, 2011

2010 interview

Here's the entire original Steve Perrin interview that took place early last year for the nascent Distractions website.  This was still sometime before it was decided to resurrect the core of the group, never mind record a second album.


It’s well documented that you met Mike at college, Pip (Nicholls) joined after missing out with the Buzzcocks and Adrian (Wright) and Alex (Sidebottom) joined via an NME advert. When and why did Lawrence (Tickle) and Tony (Trappe) leave in the early days?
SP: Lawrence was there in the very early days before we ever played a gig. He was a really good guitarist but was obsessed with the Rolling Stones so probably left because we didn’t sound like the Rolling Stones. Tony played the first few gigs with us, including one supporting Buzzcocks at Rafters where he turned up wearing a Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt. At the time I saw this as the last straw. Now I think it was a move of pure genius.

How did you tend to work on songs? Were they presented to the group fully-formed or did they tend to evolve from words with chords into something more complete? Also, did you generally start with a tune and then write lyrics to it, begin with the words and then set them to music, or did the two generally evolve together?
Song writing tended to be individual but song choice and arrangements were pretty democratic. The writers would circulate tapes of themselves bashing something out on an acoustic guitar and if everybody liked something it would get done, if somebody disliked something it wouldn't. From that point on we’d work stuff up and any ideas were welcome. The distinctive drum pattern on “(Stuck in a) Fantasy”, for example, was something that Alex came up with.

One thing I find interesting is that, although songs are credited to various different band members, there’s very definitely a "Distractions aesthetic” which runs through pretty much all of them, particularly a certain lyrical approach, a down-to-earth approach to songwriting of a kind later developed by certain other Mancunians, with wit and pathos. At least three of you must’ve contributed lyrics, so how do you explain this wonderful consistency? Was it conscious to any degree? A happy accident? Or perhaps shared experience?
My guess would be shared experience. The lyricists were all working class males of a certain age from the North West of England who had had little socio-geographical movement so we had rather a lot in common. It is vital, however, to consider Mike’s role in this. As the singer he had to be comfortable with what he was singing so, occasionally, Adrian or myself would come up with a lyric which didn’t fit and the song would not get done. I mean, I love that Antony and the Johnsons song “I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy” but I doubt that I would have been able to get Mike to sing that.

Similarly, was there any conscious decision to write love songs that had a little grit in their oysters?
I think that was conscious, yes, but probably also due to our shared vision of life at the time.

What was the Manchester scene like in the late '70s, early '80s? Any memories of the pubs, clubs and venues around the town before in the years before The Smiths and “Madchester” arrived?
It was a really vibrant live scene. Most people will probably disagree with me but I think most of the bands were better live than on record. My favourite place was The Ranch on Dale Street which was an offshoot of Foo Foo’s Palace, owned by Frank “Foo Foo” Lamar, Manchester’s answer to Danny La Rue. It was amazing. No stage, no PA system and no door policy so you could get in dressed in whatever took your fancy. Kevin Cummins’ photos from the Ranch really capture that period and would be worth a book on their own.


Mike Finney, Electric Ballroom, 26th October 1979 (supporting Joy Division and ACR).


Did you ever see yourselves as punks? The thing that first grabbed my attention when I heard the TJM EP was that it was the first new record I’d heard that didn’t have that wall of distorted guitars from the Ramones’ first LP, via the Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks, etc. It made it sound pretty radical to my youthful ears. Everything else coming out around that time (and for a while afterwards) was either the kind of stuff that was later dubbed "post-punk" or else rama-lama cartoon punk thrash. Go on, tell me it was a sheer accident, one day the batteries in your distortion pedal ran out mid-song and you thought “that’s it! That’s the sound!”
Well, before punk got codified it was a fairly open concept. The initial New York bands were all quite different and that was initially the case in Manchester too. In terms of the look, people were mostly wearing stuff they found in secondhand shops or made themselves. As for the guitar sound, that was deliberate. I wanted to sound like a cross between Hank Marvin and Steve Cropper. Big “rock” sounds have never interested me. I don’t have a big “rock” personality.

Similarly, what you were doing at the time, referencing all the drama of 60s pop, was pretty radical at the time, it was supposed to be "Year Zero”, we weren’t supposed to admit that we even liked any records made before late 1976 (with a few exceptions such as The Stooges, Velvets, etc.). The Distractions always sounded thrillingly modern to my ears, but punk audiences could be very intolerant of anything that wasn't Sham 69 - did you ever encounter any hostility?
Again, in the early days people were pretty open minded so a show with us, Joy Division, The Fall, Exodus (a reggae band) and John Cooper Clarke seemed to make sense. That mostly stayed the case in places like Manchester, Liverpool and London but, elsewhere, “punk” got codified pretty quickly and, yes, we did encounter some hostility. I seem to remember some pretty hairy gigs in remote parts of Scotland.

You weren’t a fan of touring, but what were your most memorable gigs? You supported some famous names at the time, A Certain Radio, The Fall, Buzzcocks, Joy Division...
Maybe the Nashville in London supporting Joy Division when they were at the height of their powers. Most people would probably disagree with me but I don’t think any of their records captured how intense they could be live. Other than that, supporting Adam and the Ants was always interesting.

A couple of noted names were involved in the sleeve design of some of The Distractions’ records. What was it like working with Peter Saville (Time Goes By So Slow and Nobody’s Perfect) and Kevin Cummins (Nobody’s Perfect and And Then There’s...)?
We knew Peter from the early days at Factory but he pretty much worked on his own. I don’t remember being consulted at all on the Time Goes By So Slow sleeve, although I really liked it. The Nobody’s Perfect sleeve we had a little more say in. It originated from a photo session Kevin had done for Record Mirror where I was standing in front of a billboard with photos of the rest of the band on it. Peter took that and changed it around a little. There’s a really nice detail in that you can see the reflection of the model’s face in the glass of Adrian’s portrait. I believe the model was Peter’s partner at the time though I could be wrong.

The famous Leigh Festival had a formidable line-up, what was it like?
Sparsely attended. I suspect that it was one of Tony Wilson’s great conceptual ideas to put it on in a place exactly equidistant between Manchester and Liverpool. The problem was that Leigh was practically impossible to reach by public transport so the darlings of the music press ended up playing to each other, a few journalists and three members of the Greater Manchester Police Drug Squad, all of whom were dressed like Starsky.

How did the move from TJM to Factory come about, on the back of You’re Not Going Out Dressed Like That or through gigs?
SP: Tony Wilson rang me at work and said Paul Morley was going to make You’re Not Going Out Dressed Like That single of the week in the NME and did we want to do the next single on Factory. We did.

Did you meet Tony Wilson often?
SP: Yes, and my mum used to enjoy talking to him on the phone when he rang up. Tony was a brilliant and frustrating character, the nearest Manchester will ever get to Andy Warhol as a conceptual thinker. The difference was that, unlike Warhol, he talked all the time. And he just did not care. The cowboy boots would have been one thing but wandering about with saddle bags over his shoulder was taking it to another level.

How did Island see you? Was there any pressure to come up with an “image”? To write certain kinds of songs? In other words, as Tony Wilson is said to have put it, "to play the game”?
To be fair to them, they pretty much let us get on with it. The press really liked us so there was no pressure to develop an image or to write in a certain way. The only area where they did step in was in the choice of singles. They wanted to put “Boys Cry” out and I really objected to that as I didn’t want the band to be known for a cover version. Funnily enough, I heard it on the radio a few years ago and thought they were probably right but at the time I sulked.


The Distractions, 1994-95.  Steve Perrin, Kevin Durkin, Bernard Van Den Berg, Mike Finney.


We’ve loved listening to the [then] unreleased 1995 demos. What made you briefly reform The Distractions after so long?
I’d been living in Italy for a while and had just moved back to Manchester. Mike suggested that we do some stuff and I said OK as long as we did new material. The idea of being an oldies act has always horrified me.

You mention a few gigs in Manchester and Liverpool in 1995, where were these and how were they?
The gigs were good. We sounded a lot better than in the early days, partly due to the fact that technology had moved on and we could actually hear each other. It also helped that there was a considerably better chance of everybody on stage being sober. There was an issue, however, in terms of context. In the '70s we emerged from our audience. In the '90s it was very difficult to say who our audience might be.

You’ve said in previous interviews that you were influenced by the Velvet Underground, Beatles, Bowie and Roxy Music. While the 1995 demos are unmistakably The Distractions, were you further influenced by any scene or band in the 14 years that had elapsed since the group split up?
Influences are always hard to spot. In a way you get influenced by everything and nothing. I mean, two of my favourite bands are The Cramps and Mazzy Star but we don’t sound anything like either of them. Similarly, there was a period (and I’m talking about something between two and five years here, I can’t really remember) where I refused to listen to anything other than Scott Walker and Miles Davis but I don’t really see that coming through. I admire Stephin Merritt and Jarvis Cocker as song writers so maybe there’s something there but, basically, if Mike and I start playing together, for better or for worse, it sounds like The Distractions.

Given the famous names who’ve commented favourably on The Distractions over the years, how frustrating was it that sales didn’t match the critical acclaim poured upon you around the time of Time Goes By So Slow and Nobody’s Perfect?
At the time it was very frustrating given the fact that good reviews have no nutritional value so you can’t eat them. Luckily I’ve found other things to eat since.

What music do you find yourselves listening to these days?
It goes through stages. I’m very fond of French and Italian pop music from the 1960s and '70s but sometimes I’ll go through long phases of listening to Western or Eastern classical music or jazz. What I’ve heard of the new Magnetic Fields album sounds good and I think Timbaland’s a really interesting producer though he may have passed his best now. This could go on and on so I’ll stop.



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Sunday, July 10, 2011

The pride of Manchester

While this punter got it spot on regarding The Distractions, he was wide the mark with Joy Division, and, it could be argued, A Certain Ratio.  Thanks to Mike Noon for the last of these City Fun scans.


BIG TIME DON'T BECKON

Dear City Fun,

Having seen what's being put forward as the musical pride of the Manchester area, namely The Distractions, Joy Division, A Certain Ratio at gigs recently, it's very easy to understand why the big time won't beckon them.

The Distractions, with the smarmy smiles and the yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir creeping attitude; Joy Division, a surly bunch who are fooling nobody and the dire nondescript Certain Ratio, are all doomed to 4th division status via their boring music (?).

If some of Manchester's more promising bands had got half the promotion and press exposure as the ones mentioned above, they could be making some impression on the charts.  As it is The Distractions, Joy Division and A Certain Ratio are doomed despite frantic ravings from Messrs. Tony Wilson, Mick Middles, Dave McCullogh, Tony Jasper, Paul Morley etc. & City Fun.  With all the ravings these bands can't get a record in the top 150.

I repeat, if some of Manchester's other bands were given half the credit and press coverage they were due, you would then see some deserving names in the charts, i.e. Salford Jets, the Trend, Private Sector, the Freshies, the Renegades and one or two more.

Yours, 

OBSERVER (Stockport)





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Thursday, July 7, 2011

New videos

Three great new Distractions videos from David Quantick - stunning Manchester footage accompanied by classic Manchester tunes from 1978, '79 and '80:











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Monday, July 4, 2011

Gigs will tear you apart

Touring was one of the main reasons cited by Steve Perrin for leaving the group in 1980.  Here's a couple of scans from City Fun courtesy of Jackie Wotie and Mike Noon: the first, a flyer for a pre-Factory Records gig; the second details a nationwide tour which may well have been one of the causes of the first Distractions split...




The Distractions played at Bowden Vale on April 25th 1979 with Private Sector supporting.  This was a few months after the debut EP "You're Not Going Our Dressed Like That" and a few months before the release of FAC12 "Time Goes By So Slow."  The rest of the gig list reads like a Who's Who... Scritti Politti, Motorhead, The Only Ones (featuring Mike Kellie - new Distraction!), Aswad, Iggy Pop, Magazine, XTC.




This gig guide includes some or all of the 1980 Distractions nationwide tour with The Members, which Island Records sent them on in support of "Nobody's Perfect":

Saturday May 3rd - M/C Poly
Sunday May 4th - Stagecoach, Dumfries
Tuesday May 6th - Russels, Aberdeen
Wednesday May 7th - Murriots, Dundee
Tuesday May 8th - Caledonian Hotel, Inverness
Friday May 9th - Niteclub, Edinburgh
Saturday May 10th - Sheffield Uni
Monday May 12th - Wellington Club, Hull
Wednesday May 14th - Exit Club, Birmingham
Thursday May 15th - Porterhouse, Retford
Saturday May 17th - Newcastle Uni


The Direct Hits are listed a few times, and the groups' lead, Kevin Durkin (who was briefly a member of The Distractions in the mid-'90s) writes on the same page about their forthcoming album. Their LP, 'Collisions At Teen Junction', is even more difficult to track down than 'Nobody's Perfect' these days.


Dear Fun,

Once again, this is Kev of The Direct Hits keeping you up to date on what's happening with the finest band in the land.  Our projected single has been canclled due to duff sound etc., and we will now be releasing an album in six weeks time.  The LP will probably be called 'Collisions At Teen Junction', and will contain 12 songs.  We recorded the basic tracks and most of the vocals yesterday at Bootleg Studios in Reddish, and there's a couple of dubs and mixing/editing to be done early next week.  Twelve tracks in one day is pretty good going, but it's tiring!  Instead of filling the mag with old schoolboys poems and bad language (not to mention bad grammar) why not print this? 

Direct Hits / First LP 'Collisons At Teen Junction'

Side One

1. "The Feeling Has Gone"
If you're feeling dejected and it's raining, hum this, it is the saddest song ever written.
2. "Vanity Girls" 
i.e. Most girls.  Nice girls are scarce, it seems, vanity girls only let you down.
3. "Why Do People Fight?"
Fists turn into boots turn into knives turn into guns.  Guns turn into H bombs but the battle's never won!  Don't do it!!
4. "City Of Manchester"
An ode tot he fair city, written in my youth.  Who shut down the Piccadilly Snack Bar?
5. "Rise From The Streets"
Don't be shy, get a guitar, form a band, and get up on stage and make a noise.  Then you'll understand what this song's all about.
6. "All That Glitters"
...Is not gold.  A bit of philosphy for you... very pessimistic too... don't say I didn't warn you!

Side Two

1. "The Waiting Game"
A pure pop sing... it's about us actually.
2. "Jenny Remembers"
Our Lennonesque epic.  Contains hip references to the Electric Circus (!) and weird guitar solo of the year: The Byrds meet Joy Division meet pop art.
3. "Carnaby Arms"
This is about that I went down to London in October... I hate the place... Ended up having hallucinations in Victoria Coach Station.
4. "Real Tears"
More despair... real tears can never be wiped away.
5. "The Lamps Are Going Out All Over Europe"
This is the true story (the outbreak of the First World War) about "The Folly Of Men" for all the old dogs who wear their medals to church (don't call me Joan Baez).
6. "Never Been In Love"
While 'romantics' like Pete Shelley fall in love with someone new once a fortnight, some of us would like it to happen just once in a lifetime... I wonder what it's like?

So there's the details - the LP will be three quid or less.  Thanks City Fun.

Kevin Durkin

P.S. I promise we'll take out a full page ad for the album.

Kev.


Direct Hits, "Collisions At Teen Junction". (c) Phil Platt at MDMArchive.


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