Songwriting Influences - I admit… / September 22 2006
(Putting aside the obvious ones – Beatles, Kinks, Small Faces etc.)
Slaughterhouse 5 have often been compared to the Undertones, the Buzzcocks, and latterly, the Wonderstuff. (‘Think of What Do I Get? By the Buzzcocks and Unbearable by the Wonderstuff and you’ll get the idea’ – Johnny Cigarettes, NME). Though the renowned music business impresario Miles Copeland - head honcho at IRS Records who the band were initially signed to – said the material reminded him of the Cortinas and the Jags (I think he had a car obsession.)
Well, while it’s true I have always loved bands like the Undertones, The Clash and especially the Buzzcocks, I must admit I was at the time more influenced by my love of the Stiff Records and later Demon Records recording artists. And it must be said that Reckless Eric’s Whole Wide World has always been Graham’s favourite song from that period, too. I grew up listening mostly to the likes of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Nick Lowe, John Otway, Dr Feelgood, Micky Jupp and Edwyn Collins though my biggest faves were, and still remain, Squeeze – who were actually on A&M because of the Miles Copeland connection but sounded as though they should have been part of the Stiff roster.
Boy, I really loved that stuff and still do. Listen to Inconvenience, You Only Need Me, the country and western version of That Is Not Love (Sh5), That Girl Again, Give The Boy A Chance (Enormous) and you’ll hear where I stole all my ideas from.
When Squeeze songsmiths Difford and Tilbrook got ‘the new Lennon and McCartney’ tag following the release of East Side Story (my all-time favourite album), I felt suitably vindicated in my appreciation of their obvious talents as writers – I had previously been lampooned for my tastes by my fellow sixth-formers who were mostly into Motorhead, a band that was also, perversely, part of the Stiff stable at one time.
I think you can still easily hear the Difford and Tilbrook/Costello influences in the new songs I’ve written that Enormous are presently rehearsing for some UK comeback shows. In fact the My Type single Enormous released in 1998 was (quite rightly) satisfyingly lauded in the Sunday Times where the reviewer stated: ‘Enormous deliver wonderfully dumb singalong choruses one minute before adding dark, Costelloish lyrics the next.’ (Now that, to me, is a very, very good review. It clearly demonstrates the reviewers discerning taste and intelligence.)
If you get to catch the new set or hear any of the new Enormous releases on Big Arena Records, keep an ear open for songs like Once Upon A London Train, The Definite Article, In Her Shoes and Pretty Little Painkiller and you’ll see what I mean.
As far as guitar playing goes, that’s an easy one. Nobody influenced me more than good old Phil Manzanera, especially the stuff he did with 801 whenever he was on one of his many breaks from his Roxy Music duties.
Filed under Bands / Enormous / Slaughterhouse 5 / Uncategorized
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