Occasionally, music from Derry effects the wider scheme of things with spectacular results. This year, the fun centred on the use of D:Ream?s ?Things Can Only Get Better? as a Labour Party anthem. The touchy-feely, get-off-your-arse-and-participate message of the song was just what Tony Blair wanted for his born-again campaign theme.
D:Ream?s Peter Cunnah, a charming Derry lad with candid views on politics and sexuality, seemed happy that his gospel was being appropriated thus. But there was another Ulsterman out there who wasn?t happy. Step forward Brian Mawhinney, chief fixer of the Conservatives and former old boy of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
Brian rounded on Radio 1 programmers, berating them for playing the Peter Cunnah tune (which was now starting to sell plenty), accusing the BBC of tacitly endorsing a political party. The result? A progressively miserable and mean-minded Mawhinney loses the game. The D:Ream song is a hit all over again. The Tories are trashed and much of the UK celebrates with a big knees-up. Derry 1, the Conservatives O.
Four months later and there?s another happy event, this time at the Dungloe Bar in Derry. Local band Cuckoo have resurfaced after spending time in Surrey, recording their debut album for Geffen Records. The expectations are considerable, although the band and their minders are nervous that they might not exactly cut it after spending so much time away from the live circuit. But it?s a nice way to work themselves back into the frame; in a packed bar, in front of lots of friends, sharing the bill with two other capable acts.
The show starts off with The New Capris, a band that plays a suave combination of funk, soul and jazz. Singer Mairead McColgan splits her time between this project and her own solo work, which casts her as a croonsome artiste in the Sade mould. But tonight, the vibe is more upbeat; strident like The Young Disciples, articulate like Gil Scott-Heron, groovy like The Fatback Band. They have a multi-instrumentalist with red dreads who parps on the trumpet and then chops at the keyboards in the manner of The Doors? Ray Manzarek. Altogether, they?re a sound band.
Next on are Lukic, less than a year old, who play it fast and jittery, batting the vocals between Andy and Marty. Their domain is fast, shiny tunes about, erm, chocolates and girls ? but maybe more sinister than that easily combined formula. The actual words are lost in the fuzz-storm, but certainly, there?s a painful edge to the singing that recalls The Buzzcocks. Also, they have a song called ?I Love Lesbians?, which rocks.
Between bands, there?s talk of the current situation for young bands in Derry. Tonight, everyone agrees, is an exceptional gig, rather than the norm. Three years ago, the town had a feisty mood, with lots of music and a selection of venues. Now it?s more grim. The publicans want easy-pleasing cover bands to fill their bars, with an indie disco at the weekends to keep the kids amused.
Other nights are filled with blues and folk acts, nothing too demanding or weird. The creative acts have been fenced out of their own town. Ironically, it?s easier for an interesting Derry band to play Belfast or Dublin than set up in from of the home crowd. The result is that many of the star turns of ?94 have broken up or gone underground. This situation was probably at its worst last year when many of the acts conceded that the situation seemed hopeless.
good times
But at least there are some openings now. The Nerve Centre in Custom House Street is where a lot of the enterprise is coming from. Recently, with the help of Larry Mullen, The Federation Of Music Collectives and the Arts Council Of Northern Ireland, they put out a compilation, Some Nerve, which showcased five bands, including Lukic, Mairead McColgan, and promising noiseniks The Droogs. A second CD is planned for ?98 with the help of the American Ireland fund, keeping the interest and the activity up.
The Nerve Centre people are also involved in setting up gigs in the Student Union of Magee College, bringing acts from all over Ireland, as well as giving their own bands access to the place. But the capstone of their efforts is a proper, state-of-the-art, multi-media centre, which should be ready in ?98. That?s when the good times can officially recommence, when the town will have every right to demand that international acts should include a Derry date in their Irish tours.
Also, there will be a focus for the music again. Just as The Casbah fostered the likes of The Undertones and The Moondogs in the late ?70s, so there will be a new place to experiment, to work off a crowd and florish.
To their credit, Cuckoo have made lots of progress during the worst of times, trailing A&R men through Belfast and Dublin when their own turf couldn?t deliver. Three indie releases have certainly helped to spread the word, particularly the Non Sequitur EP, which was undeniably great. But even that quality threshold is exceeded at the Dungloe gig, when they reveal that this particular baby bird is learning to soar.
The focal point is guitarist Andrew, a blur of eye shadow and nail varnish, his fringe dripping with sweat, the off-kilter noise roaring from his side of the stage. Singer Rory is a more restrained sight, with his bumper shoes stomping to the beat, his basslines throbbing to extremes in the classic Seattle fashion.
Once the dynamism of the show is appreciated, then you realsie just how much the band has progressed since the start of the summer. Working intensely at Jacob?s Studio in Surrey with Suede producer Ed Buller, the band have been encouraged to take their tunes to bits, throwing a chorus to the front of a tune, using fade-outs as proper song parts. In brief, everything?s miles better. Even a song like ?Non Sequitur? has emerged more gleaming and presentable than before.
Drummer Brian, a definitive wild man of rock, has the ability to throw the beat in the air at unlikely moments, then booting the rhythm along when it seems like all is lost. It really is astonishing; songs like ?I Want It Now?, ?Big Mistake? and ?Gold And Silver? have the kind of searing fundamentals that distinguised the bands who came out of the Fort Apache studios in Boston, particularly The Pixies.
There?s an air of exhilaration after the show. Cuckoo are getting ready for an album release in the new year, maybe preceeded by a single or two. This schedule may co-incide with new material from the band Rare, who feature John O?Neill of Undertones / That Petrol Emotion fame, and who are finishing off their album with an associate of dance titan Nellee Hooper.
Other people are talking about the strange glory of local ska band Bellybutton, about the return of Paul McCartney from Bam Bam And The Calling. Another Derry singer, the combatative and androgenous Noella Hutton, may have just signed a deal, while Guernica ? just across the border in Buncrana ? are also doing well.
That?s without even mentioning The Earth Club, voted one of the top night spots by Mixmag, which is hosting a special Halloween night on 31 October, a ?Pepsi Happening?, complete with DJs associated with Ministry Of Sound, Kiss FM and Cream. And of course there?s D:Ream, fixing to come back after winning the election for Tony.
It?s hardly an ideal city just yet, but the intimations are exciting. Things can only get better, as Brian Mawhinney wouldn?t say. n
? For information about the Nerve Centre and the ?Some Nerve? CD releases, call 01504 260562, or e mail: [email protected]