Richard Hell – Blank Generation
Richard Hell was the template for Malcolm McLaren’s appropriation of US punk that filtered through to us in Bristol. Richard’s ripped T-shirt was one of the ultimate acts of 20th century art vandalism. I belong to the Blank Generation. Robert Quinn’s guitar was like some crazed Miles Davis solo. This track summed up our punk attitude more than anything I know. The NY scene was a portal into another world; I wanted to live in the Chelsea hotel, and go to Max’s Kansas City. By a stroke of luck, straight out of school, we were in the no wave New York, playing the same venues that Hell had been playing a couple of years later, standing on the same stages. We were very honoured.
Elisabeth Archer & the Equators – Feel Like Making Love (Dub Version)
One of the pleasures of this business is getting to work with people whose music you really love and people that have inspired you. When I first heard this track by Dennis Bovell back in 1976, it completely and utterly dubbed my mind, it blew my brain into little dub splinters. The guy’s an aural alchemist. Dennis produced our first album Y and after all these years, we’ve just got him to weave his magic spell on the new album Honeymoon on Mars.
Massive Attack and Ghostpoet – Come Near Me
Big up Daddy G and Stew Jackson’s truly immersive production, this shows once again that Massive Attack are at the bleeding edge. Their work with incredible film-makers like Adam Curtis make them real multimedia cross platform activists, proving like fellow West Country boy Banksy (who 3D worked with on the Peace wall in Palestine) that art can be a weapon. The Bristol bass bloodline runs deep and I think Massive Attack are truly the epitome of post-punk ideals come true. Eclectic to the max.
Public Enemy – Bring the Noise
Hank Shocklee’s screaming, sonic Bomb Squad productions changed the face of music. An old friend, Dave Allen, the bass player from Gang of Four, brought Hank along to a gig we did in Texas recently and Hank ended up jumping up on the stage pogoing with us. Getting to work with this absolute legend on our new stuff was amazing. He’s a sonic assassin; in my opinion Phil Spector’s true heir, bringing walls of noise.
Douglas Hart – X Film Plus Ultra
I believe that Douglas Hart and Public Image’s Keith Levene are two of the unsung giants of our generation. Hart’s work with the Jesus and Mary Chain tore up the rulebooks. Again, real noise aficionados. Today at last he is returning to music after establishing himself as a brilliant auteur director. The glacially instrumental nature of this track is pure heaven to me, a modern day Link Wray. I love all his work, top man.
- The Pop Group’s album Honeymoon on Mars is out on 28 October
