WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT POP’S
PERPETUAL ABILITY TO TRANSFORM, MUTATE
AND SURPRISE? THIS MONTH, I’VE BEEN
PARTICULARLY STRUCK BY THE JOURNEY
THAT TWO OF THE ACTS FEATURED IN
OUR ISSUE HAVE UNDERTAKEN OVER
THE COURSE OF THEIR
VERY DIFFERENT CAREERS.
FOR OUR COVER
FEATURE, I CAUGHT UP
WITH BANANARAMA
TO HEAR ABOUT
THEIR FIRST NEW
STUDIO ALBUM IN A
DECADE. NOW THE
GRANDES DAMES OF
SOPHISTICATED ELECTRO-
POP, THEY’VE COME A
LONG WAY FROM THEIR
RAGGLE-TAGGLE EARLY
YEARS LIVING ABOVE
THE SEX PISTOLS’ OLD
REHEARSAL SPACE.
SUBSCRIBE
With our unique mix of features, interviews
and reviews, Classic Pop is unmissable.
Get a copy delivered to your door –
and save some cash – by subscribing.
Turn to pages 66-67 for details.A
s the pair reminisced
about performing with
Iggy Pop, The Style
Council as well as
learning the studio ropes from a
decidedly shy Terry Hall as he
recorded the Fun Boy Three’s debut
album, you could discern just the
slightest of differences in outlook.
Sara Dallin was keenest to talk
about her spiky early infl uences of
Patti Smith and Blondie while Keren
Woodward spoke warmly about the
band’s radical late 80s departure
that found them embracing the
“absolute out-and-out pop music” of
their collaborative efforts with Stock
Aitken and Waterman.
It’s that pooling of ideas, though,
which has made Bananarama such
an intriguing proposition over the
years and the duo’s new album
In Stereo continues their refi nement
of pop into its purest form.
Let’s also consider the remarkable
transformation of Talk Talk, led by
the late, and much-missed Mark
Hollis. Their own journey from
standing shoulder-to-shoulder with
EMI labelmates Duran Duran as
poster boy New Romantics into
an almost uncategorisable avant-
garde proposition is surely both
unparalleled and unsurpassed.
Even before Mark’s untimely
passing at just 64 last month, it
was probable that we may never
have heard any more from himafter Talk Talk’s fi ve studio albums
and his one-off solo LP. His legacy,
though, is quite remarkable – bold,
uncompromising and ambitious –
Mark was a visionary of the like we
may never see again.
Indulge me and do yourself a
favour this month, remove all those
everyday distractions and take a
deep dive into the band’s most
remarkable trio of albums in total
darkness – The Colour Of Spring,
Spirit Of Eden and Laughing
Stock. They’re arguably the ultimate
in late-night immersive sonic
experiences; adventurous, emotive
and wholly other-worldly.
RIP Mark, few if any of your
contemporaries set the bar so high.
“Silence is above everything. I’d
rather hear one note than I would
two, and I would rather hear silence
than I would one note,” Hollis once
explained – quite a revolutionary
approach for a man who made his
living as a musician.
In a world where so many artists
fi nd themselves ‘talking loud and
saying nothing’, he stood out as
someone for whom pop, rock and
jazz had limitless horizons.CLASSIC
WELCOME TO
Steve Harnell, Editor
51
@ClassicPopMag