Hot Mancunians

Photos from Paul Slattery in Dave McCullough's article on The Distractions in the 23rd June 1979 edition of Sounds entitled ALL DRESSED UP AND SOMEWHERE TO GO.   This fine piece was published just as The Distractions signed to Factory Records; we'll reproduce it here soon...

On the way

From Occultation Recordings:

2012 releases on the way:

A January Moon / Cloud by The June Brides

The second Distractions album (a mere 32 years after their debut).  

Details to be confirmed but it exists, honestly it does...

Late Seventies

Setting the scene before The Distractions appeared...

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The late Seventies punk/new wave scene was sparked off by a seminal Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Peter Street on 4.6.76. promoted by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley.  The Buzzcocks made its official debut when the Pistols returned to the same venue on 20.7.76.  Most of the audience were inspired to form bands of their own.

Earliest groups on the punk scene included the Buzzcocks, Slaughter & The Dogs, The Fall, Warsaw (later Joy Division), Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds, and The Drones.

Hot on their trail were Durutti Column, Magazine, The Passage, Ludus, Manicured Noise, The Negatives, Spherical Objects, Dislocation Dance, Jilted John, The Diagram Brothers, V2, The Decorators, Bette Lynch's Legs, The Tiller Boys and John Cooper Clarke - not to mention Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, who were the bridge between hippies and punks.

Best late Seventies city centre club was the Electric Circus in Collyhurst Street, off Rochdale Road - which was the primo punk venue until the authorities closed it over "fire regulations".  The Buzzcocks played there in November '76, and in July '77 signed their United Artists contract on the bar.  The Sex Pistols played there in December '76, on the notorious Anarchy tour.  Warsaw (billed as The Stiff Kittens) made their debut there in May '77.  Magazine played there the night it closed in October '77...

(c) Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain, Pete Frame (1999)

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An impossible dream

The word slowly spreads from Cerysmatic in London to Rarebird's Rock n Roll Rarities in America...

RAREBIRD'S

Spotlight Album Review #8

The Distractions - "You're Not Going Out Dressed Like That" EP (TJM 2) 1978

The Distractions - "Nobody's Perfect" (Island ilps 9604) 1980

The Distractions were a quintet from Manchester, England who recorded only one full-length album during their original existence.  That 1980 album, Nobody's Perfect, has long been out of print.  The band split up in 1981, after the album failed to attract much attention.  Their commercial failure wasn't caused by a lack of effort.  Their small body of work demonstrated that these new-wavers were avid students of music history, and they skilfully applied their knowledge to their own enjoyable music. 

Before recording their full-length album, the Distractions released a few singles and a 4-song EP in the U.K.  Their 1978 EP, titled You're Not Going Out Dressed Like That, already showed that they did not intend to limit themselves to the usual new wave sounds.  These four songs (one of which, "Nothing", was remade for the album) show influences including Elvis Costello, early Kinks, early Byrds (singer Mike Finney sounds uncannily like Gene Clark on this EP), and dashes of surf-rock and psychedelia.  And this was just a rough warm-up for the album to come.

Thankfully, the U.K. label Hidden Masters plans to release a 2-CD Distractions anthology in Spring 2012, which would include the tracks from Nobody's Perfect.  And... singer Mike Finney and guitarist Steve Perrin have reunited to form a new Distractions lineup, and have recorded a new studio album set for release in 2012 on Occultation.  For the lucky few of us who are familiar with the Distractions, this seems like the realization of an impossible dream. 

(c) Rarebird.

Crossroads

From the 9-22 July 1981 issue of Smash Hits posted at Like Punk Never Happened:

(c) Like Punk Never Happened.

KADMON: THE SHAME!

SIGH FOR Arthur Kadmon who, following the break-up of The Distractions, has been forced to take the job of guitarist with Bucks Fizz in order to pay the rent.  Meanwhile, ex-Distractions vocalist Mike Finney has been angling for a slot on the next "Video Entertainers" telly series.

   Could a part in "Crossroads" be next?

A hidden master

The Distractions' celebrated debut record was 1978's You're Not Going Out Like That on Tony Davidson's little TJM label.  It was nearly so different. This master tape contains what could and perhaps should have been their debut:

The notes on the reverse confirm the date it was recorded (before the TJM 'debut') along with a roll-call, technical details and the all-important track-list. There is also the studio's sticker - none other than the celebrated Cargo Studios in Rochdale run by John Brierley.  It's not that surprising when you consider that pals and label-mates, The Fall and Joy Division famously recorded there:

Thanks to the Hidden Masters team at FX Studios, the contents of this master tape have been expertly and fully recovered and, all being well, may be available for your pleasure on The Distractions' fully-remastered retrospective out later this year.

Electric Ballroom 1979

 

Mike, Pip & Steve at the Electric Ballroom, London, 26th October 1979.

A touch of soul in the darkness of punk.

 

Manchester's most unlikely pop star?

Warming them up for A Certain Ratio and Joy Division.