Secret History of Rock. The Most Influential Bands You've Never Heard (47 page)

DISCOGRAPHY

Public Image·– First Issue
(Virgin, 1978)
; a promising debut, though only a half-step removed from Sex Pistols-style punk.

Metal Box
(Virgin, 1979)
; the earlier, limited version of
Second Edition
, packaged as three 12-inch 45’s in a metal canister.

Second Edition
(Island, 1980)
; a huge leap into antirock/post-punk neverland, the band’s finest moment.

Paris au printemps
(Virgin, 1980)
; a live album recorded in Paris.

The Flowers of Romance
(Warner Bros., 1981)
; a percussion-heavy record that continues their experimental path.

Live in Tokyo
(Elektra, 1983)
; features Lydon and backing musicians in concert.

This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get
(Elektra, 1984)
; stripped of Levene’s guitar, the record still has some worthwhile elements.

Commercial Zone
(PIL, 1984)
; Levene’s version of
This Is What you Want
, released independently.

Album
/
Cassette
/
Compact Disc
(Elektra, 1986)
; the name of this first entirely post-Levene studio release depends on the format you buy, with Lydon in full control and Bill Laswell producing.

Happy?
(Virgin, 1987)
; another studio album.

9
(Virgin, 1989)
; and another.

The Greatest Hits, so Far
(Virgin, 1990)
; a good overview of career highlights, including the weaker later stuff, with one new track and some remixes.

That What Is Not
(Virgin, 1992)
; a forgettable record, probably the band’s final release.

WIRE

Mike Watt,
Minutemen
/ fIREHOSE:

This band Wire, we got their record
Pink Flag
, and these cats didn’t know how to play, they were like art students or something. And it was just this fucking lightbulb over our heads. We said, “Man, if we do this, people will never know that we used to like Blue Öyster Cult. “

While the initial British punk explosion had, on the surface at least, some very working-class and anti-art overtones, it was immediately adopted by art school kids who saw no necessary contradiction between the art rock of the early ‘70s and the newer punk that had positioned itself as a reaction to art rock (anti-art, after all, was itself an artistic statement). This was particularly true for the older and more sophisticated art-schoolers of Wire, whose ideas about music were shaped by avant-garde and prog rock in the ‘60s and early ‘70s. While they were energized by punk’s creative spark, and punk formed the basis of their music, the South London quartet was never motivated to follow a punk agenda. Unlike other bands that formed during the punk era, Wire had no problem being called a progressive rock band; in fact, Wire was from the start (and is still today in their solo projects) obsessed with moving forward. A driving desire never to repeat themselves has motivated just about everything the band members have done – from their records to their breakups.

Though Wire never achieved any great mainstream success in either the United States or Britain, time has revealed their tremendous influence on subsequent rock music. In the ‘80s, their jerky minimalism shaped the early sound of British new-wave bands such as the Cure and guitar rockers like U2 and Simple Minds, while their post-punk angularity impacted American bands from the
Minutemen
and R.E.M. to Fugazi and Sonic Youth. With punk-inspired alternative music and the resurgence of new wave in the ‘90s, Wire has popped up again as a key element in the music of bands like Elastica, Menswear, and Blur.

Scott Kannberg, Pavement:

Wire was a big band for us. They’re one of those bands that R.E.M. used to talk about, “Go check out Wire.” I didn’t understand them at first, but then I kept listening and I got it. No one sounds like them at all. ‘You’re Killing Me,” from our first single, is a Wire rip-off, in the fast guitar playing.

Wire was formed in 1976 when Bruce Gilbert, then a 30-year-old studio technician working at Watford Art School, met 22-year-old student Colin Newman. Though neither had any real musical experience, Gilbert had some knowledge of avant-garde recording techniques and Newman counted himself a fan of
Brian Eno
(who occasionally guest-lectured at Watford). They came together with bassist Graham Lewis and drummer Robert Gotobed in a band called Overload, and when they kicked out the original singer for being too much of a rocker, they became Wire.

Out of necessity (because they could barely play their instruments) rather than any minimalist philosophy, Wire’s sound was initially spare and simple. Like many later post-punk bands, the members of Wire came from an art tradition; they were inspired by punk but not tied to it. By 1977, they felt no need to repeat what straight punk had already accomplished, and were focused on doing new things in the punk context. “The simple idea was we didn’t want to be like any other group,” Newman says. “We were the next step, absolutely. The Clash were a rock band, the Sex Pistols and the Damned were comedy groups, and they were all already dinosaurs as far as we were concerned.”

Carrie Broumstein, Sleater-Kinney:

Wire utilize space really well in their music, and we try to leave space in songs to create a dynamic where songs can breath a little bit. A full bar chord will take up a whole range of sounds, but sometimes we’re into just playing a couple notes or making it terse and simpler.

Wire’s debut record,
Pink Flag
, appeared in November of ‘77. Released on Pink Floyd’s Harvest record label in a clear break from punk’s anti-prog rock stance, the 21-song first album was a classic on arrival: Wire had stripped classic pop and rock songs down to their essence and rebuilt them with everything they’d learned from punk. Songs like
Strange
(later covered by R.E.M. on their Document album) and
Three Girl Rhumba
(whose riff is appropriated on Elastica’s single “Connection”) were odd and low-fi, yet unreservedly catchy, in a style Guided by Voices would later use. Every element of
Pink Flag
, from its music to its artwork (a stark image more reminiscent of
Eno
records that the messy collages of punk records), marked it as something different.

Robert Pollard, Guided by Voices:

Wire is my favorite band. They just had the whole package; the album covers were great, the song titles were great, they gave you 18 to 20 songs on an album. When we put out an album we put like 19 or 20 songs on it, and I think Wire influenced me to do that. Bands get publishing deals for 12 songs on an album, so I respect any band that puts over 12 songs on a record; they don’t get paid for it.

The following year, Wire made a major leap with
Pink Flag
’s follow-up,
Chairs Missing
. Producer Mike Thorne (who also worked on the debut) introduced the band to studio techniques, which made an immediate impact. The record moved further away from punk and even closer to art rock by adding synths, manipulated sounds, and sequencers. They had also developed significantly as players, and felt comfortable being more experimental. It was in many respects their creative high point, brimming over with possibilities and exuberant in its explorations. “Everybody felt fantastic, it was a really joyous record to make,” Newman remembers. “We were very aware that we were making a big step. We knew we had to jettison any sign of being a punk group at that point.”

Though it may not have seemed possible, with 1979’s
154
(named for the number of gigs they had played), Wire pushed their original sound even farther away and introduced an entire new world of moods and textures into the band’s sonic palette. The original release even included a bonus EP of experimental noise drones (later added to
154
’s CD version), showing the influence of newer bands (that they had themselves influenced) such as Cabaret Voltaire. Like the first two records,
154
was critically adored – it was even said John Lennon was a big fan – though commercially the band remained firmly underground.

Robin Rimbaud, Scanner:

Listening back to some demo tapes of mine from 1984/5 recently, I suddenly became aware of how influential
154
was upon my work and how it made me re-evaluate the structures of “guitar music,” if such a genre ever existed, [from the liner notes to Whore: Various Artists Play Wire]

Meanwhile, the intensity with which the band worked and the great speed at which it developed was taking its toll. Individual members were advancing creatively, but not in the same direction. While Newman (and Gotobed) remained committed to experimentation within a pop format, Gilbert and Lewis became more immersed in noise. Wire seemed to be evolving into a collection of individual artists pursuing various avenues at the same time.

A European tour in early 1980 supporting Roxy Music (which had evolved from its
Brian Eno
days into a schmaltzy new romantic group) gave them an eerie look at what had happened to one art band that had accepted the slow pull toward commercial compromise. Wire wanted none of that; in fact, inspired by the rise of the indie music scene in the late ‘70s, the band wanted to move even further away from the mainstream music business, to explore the possibilities of music and video, to develop new bands, and to release solo records under one umbrella company. With their label, EMI, unreceptive to these pursuits, the members of Wire felt restrained creatively. The only other option was to fall back on already proven ideas, and instead, the members of Wire decided to call it quits. As Wire entered their first period of inactivity, they had left an already remarkable legacy. Their first three albums would pave the way for many of the most important bands of the next two decades.

King Coffey, Butthole Surfers:

The question was, what do you do beyond punk rock? And Wire was a case example. They put out their great punk rock album,
Pink Flag
, but by the time you get to
Chairs Missing
, they’re playing with all kinds of ideas, it’s a real mixed bag. Then by
154
you have something very far removed from the concept of 4/4 two-minute punk songs. We admired them because they didn’t keep making the same record over again. And it was such an explosion of creativity, after
154
what else could they do but break up? They were probably the ultimate post-punk band.

A final Wire single in 1980,
Our Swimmer
, pointed toward the industrial dance directions Wire would pursue when they re-formed in 1986. Prior to this, Wire members pursued solo and collaborative projects: Newman (accompanied by Gotobed) released four albums of
Eno
-esque pop, while Gilbert and Lewis recorded industrial and dance music under many names, including Dome, Duet Emmo, Cupol, 3R4, P’O, He Said, and simply as Gilbert and Lewis. The two also joined in multimedia collaborations with visual artist Russell Mills and choreographer Michael Clark.

When Wire re-formed in 1986, it was as a progressive synth pop band. Unwilling to fall back on earlier material, they toured the U.S. with a Wire tribute band that opened with the group’s older songs. Though hints of the original Wire resurfaced, it was essentially an entirely new group, more commercially successful but also less distinctive. Over six albums, Wire pursued rhythmic pop in a “monophonic monorhythmic repetition” style, close to New Order’s sound, which they gave the onomatopoeic name “dugga dugga.”

Page Hamilton, Helmet:

Their philosophy, their vibe influenced me immeasurably, the music was so creative and artful, yet so direct. They would talk about things in very abstract ways; having a conversation with Bruce Gilbert is like going on a magic carpet ride. They see music not as a technical pursuit in any way, they implement color and texture like paint brushes or something.

By 1991’s
The First Letter
, drummer Gotobed felt the band’s electronic dance sound made a live drummer unnecessary and quit. In deference to the departure of one quarter of Wire, the band released their last album as Wir. Though a second reunion is not out of the question, Wire members have remained busy with solo work. Newman and his wife Malka Spigel formed the electronic label Swim, Lewis has pursued his H.A.L.O. and He Said projects, and Gilbert has created a new musical life as techno DJ Beekeeper. In May of 1996, Wire re-formed for one night in celebration of Bruce Gilbert’s 50
^th
birthday.

DISCOGRAPHY

Pink Flag
(Harvest, 1977, Restless Retro, 1989)
; the classic post-punk debut, unifying punk energy with progressive experimentation.

Chairs Missing
(Harvest, 1978, Restless Retro, 1989)
; the landmark second record, capturing the band at the peak of their creativity.

154
(Warner Bros., 1979, Restless Retro, 1989)
; the final record of Wire’s first incarnation, bringing the band’s explorations to its furthest point.

Document and Eyewitness
(Rough Trade, 1981, Mute, 1991)
; a live album from their notable “Dadaist cabaret” show, it also includes the final single.

And Here if Is... Again... Wire
(Sneaky Pete, 1984)
; a compilation of early material.

Wire Play Pop
(Pink, 1986)
; another compilation of early material.

Snakedrill
EP
(Mute, 1986)
; the first studio work since 154, a four-song return with a new sound.

The Ideal Copy
(Mute, 1987)
; the first full-length since returning, the record features one of the group’s minor hits,
Ahead
.

A Bell Is a Cup Until it is Struck
(Mute, 1988)
; a successful later-era studio album.

It’s Beginning to and back Again
(Mute, 1989)
; an interesting idea – taking live recordings and reworking them digitally – with mixed results.

The Peel Sessions Album
(Strange Fruit / Dutch East India, 1987; 1991)
; an expanded version of the
Peel Sessions
EP released in 1987.

On Returning (1977-1979)
(Restless Retro, 1989)
; compilation of early material.

Manscape
(Mute, 1990)
; a studio album, essential only for collectors.

The Drill
EP
(Mute, 1991)
; consisting of nine remixed versions of the song
Drill
from Snakedrill.

(Wir)
The First Letter
(Mute/Elektra, 1991)
; the reunified group’s final recording, without drummer Robert Gotobed.

1985-1990: The A List
(Mute/Elektra, 1993)
; a best of compilation, voted on by fans.

Behind the Curtain: Early Versions 1977 & 78
(EMI, 1995)
; a compilation of early songs.

Turns and Strokes
(WMO)
; a collection of unreleased live tracks and demos from the early years.

Coatings
(WMO, 1997)
; a collection of unreleased tracks and alternate mixes from the later years.

TRIBUTE:
Whore
(WMO, 1996)
; various artists do their favorite Wire songs, featuring members of Sonic Youth, Ministry, Lush, the Minutemen, and the all-Wire cover band, Ex-Lion Tamers.