Taking Sides: Transvision Vamp or The Primitives

With Transvision Vamp, the question is whether they were good for anything - whether anything can be redeemed or salvaged from their career. (I think the answer is: yes, a little bit, a few things, for nostalgia's sake - but most of the records don't hold up at all.)

The Primitives will always be close to my heart. They're one of my absolute favourite bands of the late 80s. I must admit, I think I'd struggle to convince others of their worth - it's too much a personal thing, a trick of space and time, and even I can often hear a tinniness in the records and artlessness in the songwriting. But all their records had - at the very least - good moments. The first LP alone has a sound - feedback, 60s surf in the 80s, twanging and psychedelia - that I never quite got my head around, never entirely mastered or comprehended. And there was more to come. The Lazy LP with its absurd plenitude of title brackets: '(We've) Found A Way (To The Sun)'. The growl of 'Sick Of It', announced with Tracy's latest hair-colour on the cover of a Melody Maker that always makes me think of the rain in July in 1989. I think that Roberts had been allowed to go and do the interview: he said there was a new song called 'Submarine', and the band said, no, it's 'Summer Rain'. He called 'Sick of It' 'Sick Of You', and asked why it wasn't 'Sick Of It All': syllables matter, Tracy admonished. The 'Beat version' of 'Way Behind Me' with its glorious 1964 guitar intro. The crashing intro of 'Lead Me Astray'. The bewildering 'Hello Jesus'. But always what came first. 'Out Of Reach' - those swinging drums and loose rhythm guitar part, that flying breezy instrumental; a record which perhaps I shouldn't forget to ask them to play when I die.

Heroes.

on that basis it has to be transvision vamp. if you don't agree, well baby i don't care.

Actually, this is an easy one. I listened to the prims 1st album quote recently, and it's grate. Some super JaMC-type guitar, k3wl melodies, good singing etc. The second album is only 1/2 good IMO, but is surely worth looking out for, 'cuz you'll have to try hard to pay more than 3 quid for it. As mr pinefox points out, the '64-style version of - er, hang on, wasn't it "all the way down" is r0x0r, and the bloke (forget name...) singing on "Shine" (Yes!!! An indie band releases trax0r called "shine"!!! = doomed!!!) is v.nice & sub0syd psychedelic. After that, I only have a couple of singles, which are OK - one has a good live trax0r on the b-side.

The Transvision Vamp were truly horrible. They managed to namecheck Halo Jones in one of their sones, and they still sux0red....Ms james is rowr, but wasn't then. Wither now tracy tracy, andrea darlingbud et al??

xoxo

Darling Buds were fun, but sucked live and they had the misfortune to come up with the album title "Erotica" at the same time as some American bird.

I saw the prims on the tour for their second album, at the now-a-big- hole-in-the-ground newcastle mayfair. They were great....

Didn't TVV get Elvis Costello to write one of their albums?

I couldn't really care less about the Primitives.

Yeah "London's brilliant when it's raining/Everyone moaning and complaining" - classic lyrics there Mr Costello. I only know because a friend of mine found it in a bargain bin for 5p, and gave it to me as a birthday present. Bastard.

And norman, I didn't understand a *word* of that first message of yours

Like many bands that I listened to around this time, listening to these albums now leaves me a little cold. Somebody mentioned 'tinny' and this pretty much somes it up for the production. I never really got the feeling that they knew exactly what they wanted to be. I don't think I sensed any irony in their presentation and therefore I wouln't compare them to Blondie in any more than a superficial way.

As a sideline, Bjork used that little fan to blow up her skirt, which was charming and cute, and quintessentially Bjork. I know which I prefered.

As for Transvision Vamp, they were the type of band that only those kids for whom everything 'BritPop' equalled 'good' would have been fooled into buying.

! \/\/0uld'|\|t \/\/0RRy, !t \/\/as a l0t ov old kobblerz anyway!!!!

xoxo

I like the Darling Buds OK for the sake of the eternal 1989 (it's still going in my heart), but their first LP was not as good as the Prims'. Funnily enough, their 2nd LP was really rather good, from where I was standing. I even ripped off its lyrics once or twice. But the DBs really deserve another thread.

I can't see the connection between Transvision Vamp and Britpop. EC's songwriting on NOW AIN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR TEARS was below his standard, certainly, but that doesn't mean it was below everyone else's, cos his standard is above everyone else's. There is a thread about that record, and if I was Nick D I would direct you to it.

I must remember to tell Nick D I couldn't care less about one of his favourite things.

Anyway, the Primitives, natch. _Lovely_ and _Pure_ are both fantastic, and the early singles collection, if you can find it, is well worth your time. Best damn JAMC wannabe ever.

Sorry, but "charming" and "bjork" do not belong in the same sentence.

now paul sampson is having fun making honeyrider sound a lot like a california dude version of the primitives version of jesus and mary chain.

wendy james categorically the WORST singer ever ever ever

but they were cool, sort of

I made Wendy James homeless!

I'd agree with the Primitives as a great live band. even in the fag-end of their career (the only time I saw them) they really kicked arse, even going a bit sub-Hawkwind for me. nice.

doesnt included the "sexy" whispering there tho
aw how can you hate on transvision vamp!!!! they are so stuopid and dumb and pretty cool.."the whole marilyn/jfk/jimmy dean obssesion was ahead of it's time" OTM

Tracy primitive and Andrea darling bud both do seem to have completely vanished off the face of the music biz earth. What happened to them? They were such good singers!

Tracy & PJ Court from the primitives = not really very much by the looks of things.

I just used Google (shrugs) several prims fansites seem to link to darling buds fansites for some reason, heh.

I listened to the 1st 2 Primitives albums and the 1st 2 Darling Buds albums last night. 2 good DBs songs are "Lets Go Round There" and er the one from "Crawdaddy" with David Cross from King Crimson playing on it. The rest of it, after all these years is perhaps a little bit unexceptional. The drummer was a bit, I dunno, lacking in some way.

The Primitives albums still sound great to me, good tunes, really crisp snappy playing, clever arrangements. I still like them!

There is a yahoo group dedicated to andrea darling bud, would you believe. 47 members. incl 1 new member in the last week! It must be pretty weird to have been a member of almost-made-it group like the prims or the DBs and to look back from now at yr brief moment when the edge of the spotlight beam kind of briushed against you. I was kind of weirded out by the fact that the primitives first album is something like 17 years old! Fuck!

One question that suddenly occurs to me - I have never heard either band's 3rd album. Are either of them worth looking out for?

far far better than crawdaddy. they added a more layered guitar sound to their lazy sunny sounds .. basically predated the whole joy zipper sound ..

its a damn fine album and if seen in a cheap bin should be snapped up immediately.

i always prefered Darling Buds over Prims .. i saw the Prims (Goodbye Mr Mackenzie on support!) and they were lacklustre (probably due to the lack of volume) to the degree i left early to go and catch The Bachelor Pads set at some seedy club in Leeds .. whereas i didn't have such problems when i saw Darling Buds ..

Repeating as necessary. It's suiting a Sunday afternoon perfectly, and the Pinefox's posts on this thread up top are heroically great.

loads of mp3s there.

This 45 track 2 CD set encompasses the band's material on Lazy Records, including numerous unreleased recordings.

---

1. Disc One: 1986 Thru The Flowers
2. Across My Shoulders
3. She Don't Need You
4. Lazy
5. Really Stupid
6. (We've) Found A Way To The Sun
7. Where The Wind Blows

Janice Long Session
8. Nothing Left
9. Run Baby Run
10. Really Stupid
11. I'll Stick With You

Andy Kershaw Session
12. Where The Wind Blows
13. Across My Shoulder
14. Spacehead
15. Crash

John Peel Session
16. Stop Killing Me
17. Shadow
18. Buzz Buzz Buzz
19. As Tears Go By

1. Disc Two: 1987 Stop Killing Me
2. Buzz Buzz Buzz
3. Laughing Up My Sleeve
4. Ocean Blue (Original Version)
5. Shadow (Guitar Version)
6. Thru The Flowers (New Version)
7. Every Shining Bright
8. Nothing Left (First Version)

John Peel Session
9. Dream Walk Baby
10. Ocean Blue
11. Everything's Shining Bright
12. She Don't Need You

Live At The ICA, London
13. Think I'll Stick With You
14. Really Stupid
15. Run Baby Run
16. Thru The Flowers
17. Nothing Left
18. Where The Wind Blows
19. Out Of Reach
20. (We've) Found A Way (To The Sun)
21. Don't Want Anything To Change
22. Across My Shoulder
23. Everything's Shining Bright
24. Buzz Buzz Buzz
25. Stop Killing Me
26. I Wanna Be Your Dog

I have to concur with everyone who though TVV were utter shite.

Sad.

Primitives by far, and yes, RIP too. Sad indeed.

been listening to the primitives a bit lately. was a bit dismayed to read this article

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2009/05/22/primitives-star-steve-dullaghan-killed-by-too-much-cannabis-92746-23684609/

Oh come on, a cannabis overdose?!? That's just impossible.

indeed!

Huh, weird report indeed.

But to the question - Primitives hands down. Pity "Galore" came and went in a flash, it's a cracking album.

Haven't spotted her in a little while, but I was regularly seeing Wendy James walking around my neighborhood over the past few years.

plugging her Racine project ?
when i spoke to her a few years back she had big plans to take it on tour (UK and US), but clearly that didn't quite happen.

The Primitives are playing live next month!

Never liked T Vamp.

Pity "Galore" came and went in a flash, it's a cracking album.

Yeah, I loved that album! They were underrated.

plugging her Racine project ?
when i spoke to her a few years back she had big plans to take it on tour (UK and US), but clearly that didn't quite happen.

she's been to Australia and "DJed" at an alarming range of shitty and swanky clubs a couple of times in the last year, prompting the most incredible interweb stalker mentalist ever to keep spamming an .au messboard thread with endless rambling smug diatribes about how she's not able to get a RECORD DEAL here and hold onto your hats kids she TAKES COCAINE, come to my blog I have photos of her tits

my thirteen year old self would have been very interested in said photos

The Primitives are playing live next month!

More information, please?

Typical UK local newspaper reporting - “He possibly experienced one of the toxic effects of cannabis – a fast heart rate and hyperventilating – and this can lead to heart failure.” becomes "was killed by smoking too much cannabis, an inquest has ruled."

Also, lal @ outraged weed stans in the comments sect.

http://www.last.fm/event/1187362+The+Primitives+-+Socialist+Leisure+Party+-+Amida+

my thirteen year old self would have been very interested in said photos

u know dis messboard jim

I've always liked the Primitives, but is this an appropriate thread to declare my embarrassing love for Daisy Chainsaw.

i note that the primitives are doing reunion gigs in the new year.. wonder who they've got to replace the late mr dullaghan

which one was he?

Then Play Long reaches Velveteen and the Blondes: http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/transvision-vamp-velveteen.html

Got asked about T Vamp in a pub quiz recently, they had 7 Top 30 hits, none of which I could remember :(