Vinyl junkies

Love ‘em or loath ‘em, you can’t deny that Ocean Colour Scene are one of the most enduring exponents of traditionalist guitar rock on the post-Oasis block. Especially considering that they’ve completed a five-night stand in the Olympia to add further retro-fixated weight to their jangly cause.

Tradition is bred by trainspotters, yet Steve Craddock and Damon Minchella are probably the least nerdy trainspotters to ever commemorate the inspiration of their record collections on disc, and of course, luscious collector friendly vinyl. In an era of ruthlessly formatted muzak, Napster and High Fidelity, wasting countless hours in dingy basement shops while blissfully avoiding daylight has assumed a nostalgic sense of muso-sanctioned kudos. When hotpress invite the Ocean Colour Scenesters for a spot of record shopping, they are only thrilled to oblige. They enthusiastically remark that its not every day they’re offered to splash some cash in record stores, and it makes a pleasant change from waffling into a journalist’s tape recorder in a dull hotel bar for hours on end.

“I used to be the Singles Buyer in HMV,” exclaims a cheery Damon as he thumbs through the soul and funk section of the swap-shop paradise that is Freebird on Aston’s Quay. “I got fired when I got in Public Enemy’s ‘Rebel Without A Pause’. Now it’s regarded as the most important single of the post-punk era. Well if Uncut are to believed at any rate. Oh lovely! Charlie Mingus! I’ll have that. My favourite bass player ever and I haven’t got this one. I’ve never even heard of it before either. He’s a raving nutter. It’s good stuff to have the missus to, know what I mean? And there’ll be lots of riffs to nick off that.”

Giving away some trade secrets, Damon?

“Well it’s not that I nick anything. It’s more like recycling. I try and figure out how to play it, get it wrong and end up with something else entirely.”

Meanwhile, Steve has discovered a Jimi Hendrix rarity.

“This is an album he recorded with Curtis Knight and The Squares with lots of weird cover versions from the Stones and James Brown. He looks pretty sharp there, don’t you think?”, asks Steve excitedly pointing to the sleeve. Looking every inch the unlikely Tommy Boy, Jimi’s hair is freshly brylcreemed and impeccably groomed. It’s in surprisingly sharp contrast to the trademark Hendrix Afro that graces every Woodstock memorabilia photo that has ever existed. Curtis Knight, Ed Chalpin, Harry Shapiro are beaming from the sleeve with nice white-toothed smiles. Obviously this was well before psycheldelics perverted the cause of guitar-playing for evermore. Steve’s second acquisition is a superb Beach Boy’s two albums for the price of one package of Surf’s Up and Sunflower, including the highly apt record shopping anthem ‘Add Some Music To Your Day’.

As Steve and Damon make their way towards the till, local songwriter Paul O’Reilly hovers in the background looking suitably starstruck. He shakes Damon’s hand, grins widely from ear to ear, mutters something about getting on the guest list for all five nights and then disappears. The clock is ticking to soundcheck time so the boys pile into their car to spin across town and check out Smile on George’s Street. “I love being in town for five nights,” enthuses Damon. “It means you can take your time on a tour and not just do the Point and all those kind of places. Plus we got to see Relish last night who I though were brilliant. That drummer knocks me out, harmonising and belting away all at the same time. Flash git!”

Steve agrees while closely examining the tracklist of PJ Harvey’s Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, which he has just been given by the record company.

“I think life is too short for listening to PB Harvey or whatever she’s called,” he spits. “‘The Whore Hustle And The Hustlers Whore’. Fuck off!” He’s seems a little disappointed to learn that he could have traded it in at Freebird.

As soon as the OCS twosome descend on Smile, they tear through the shelves as if they were playing Supermarket Sweep against Linford Christie. The CD and record pile stack up as the original budget goes out the window with the latest stack of unsellable Mega City Four albums.

“Carole King ‘cos she’s fit. Sandy Shaw because she’s just beautiful,” exclaims Steve with a glint in his eye as if he’s just got their phone numbers.

“You’re doing far better!” protests Damon coming on like a envious young fella bemoaning his lack of luck with the ladeez. The pair instantly single out The Style Council album The Cost Of Loving, purely on the merits of the sleeve picture of Matt Talbot.

“We’ll be seeing him tonight so we have to take the piss out of him,” grins Steve.

So are you Style Council or Jam?

“Oh both, definitely,” they chorus. “What about you?”

Well I’m afraid any post-Jam Weller output just doesn’t do it for me.

“We’ll tell him that tonight then!” cackles a mischievous Steve. “Hey Mick! That geezer in hotpress thinks you’re a wanker!”

The pair ignore my protests that I should be the one misquoting them.

Steve and Damon disappear off into the afternoon to dutifully fulfill their soundcheck commitments with lots of cheery “thanks a million for these” handshakes and matey thumbs up signs. It’s hard to imagine them ever enjoying promotional duties again without the same “what’s in it for me?” zeal. Who knows? It could set a new OCS precedent for outrageous interview demands.

Shaun Ryder asks a hapless journo in the current edition of Q if he has brought “a shitload of heroin and cocaine”. Retro soul boys to the nth degree, at least Ocean Colour Scene will be innocently demanding dough to buy records.

Ocean Colour Scene give their Mechanical Wonder album a live airing when they play Heineken Big Top shows at Castlegar Sportsground, Galway (June 3rd) and the Munster Showgrounds, Cork (June 4th)