THE PRIMITIVES - New Thrills (Ltd Edition EP - May 2017)

  New Thrills - The Primitives 

(Limited edition maxi-single 10"vinyl)

Elefant UK

Released 5th May 2017

Oh Honey Sweet

TRACKLISTING:
1. I'll Trust The Wind
2. Squeak 'N' Squawk
3. Oh Honey Sweet
4. Same Stuff

Notes on the Elefant UK Website
THE PRIMITIVES are back. Paul Court, Tig Williams and Tracy Tracy’s band continue to prove that they are in their second youth. After that exceptional album of covers called “Echoes And Rhymes” and their fantastic last album “Spin-O-Rama”, Elefant Records is releasing a magnificent 10” vinyl maxi-single with four new, original songs by the band, that can keep up with any of their greatest hits.

The guitar that starts off “I'll Trust The Wind” evokes some of the band’s great moments, with a marvellous riff and an incomparable dynamic. Their contagious melodies plus that British touch are evident throughout.

“Squeak 'N' Squawk” is another bullseye, which echoes once again (and why not) other bands’ such as THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN or PRIMAL SCREAM’s finest moments, with a straightforward nod towards early classic PRIMITIVES.

“Oh Honey Sweet” opens the B-side with their more pop facet, less distortion and wonderfully light, with Paul’s voice illuminating everything.

And to finish, so that we don’t forget about some of the British band’s consistent references, “Same Stuff” closes things on a high note with overtones of garage, surf and blues, and a noisy and solid bass riff.

These songs sound as fresh as if they had been composed in the band’s first year of existence. The release will be a 1000-copy limited-edition 10” vinyl.

You Can Order A Copy From Here!

Johnny Marr Slays David Cameron!

Johnny Marr has a song for Prime Minister David Cameron!

Johnny Marr - Crash. Engine Rooms, Southampton September 2015

The Primitives

Purifying Tone (Reworked by Modular) - The Primitives (Limited Edition 7")

Limited Edition 7" from The Primitives, get it here (if there's any left!)

Purifying Tone (Reworked by Modular)

Live in Madrid

Original Album Version of Purifying Tone.

B-Side is a rewoking of Lose the Reason (you can watch the original video here)

Alphabet Beats #107: P is for....The Primitives

P is for....

The Primitives are a British indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009,  the band's two constants throughout their recording career have been vocalist Tracy Tracy and guitarist Paul Court. Drummer Tig Williams has been a constant since 1987 and the reformed line-up is completed by bassist Raph Moore.

Festival Do Norte - Arousa - Spain - 17/05/2013

    Lovely (1988) - UK No 6
    Pure (1989) - UK No. 36
    Galore (1991)

The Best of The Primitives (1996)
    Echoes and Rhymes (2012)
Everything's Shining Bright - The Lazy Recordings 1985-87 (2013).

     Spin-O-Rama (2014)

A couple of previous posts on The Primitives*

Echoes and Rhymes (April 2013).

Everything's Shining Bright - The Interview (May 2013).

The Primitives Live (March 2014).

Spin-O-Rama Album (October 2014).

*Apologies that some of the pictures on these links are no longer available.

The Soundtrack4Life Top Ten

The Primitives

10. Thru The Flowers.

09. I'm Not Sayin'.

08. Sick of It.

07. Buzz Buzz Buzz.

06. Everything's Shining Bright.

05. Stop Killing Me.

04. Spin-O-Rama.

03. Lose The Reason.

02. Really Stupid.

01. Crash.

LIVE
Brighton Poly 1987.
Birmingham O2 Academy 2011.
 

Tidy Tune #289: Petals - The Primitives.

The Primitives - Spin-O-Rama New Album (13th October 2014)

Click on the links to enjoy the music of The Primitives.

Released on Monday 13th October 2014 'Spin -O-Rama', the brand new album on Elefant Records by Coventry's finest The Primitives! 

"The Primitives?" I hear you ask.

"Those Indie Pop darlings from the late 80's who delighted us with heart racing classics like 'Crash', 'Really Stupid', 'Thru the Flowers', 'Stop Killing Me' and 'Buzz Buzz Buzz'?"

Yes!

"The band that had the lead singer who was so great they named her twice?" 

Indeed, one and the same The Primitives and Tracy Tracy.

"Oh, I thought they vanished back in the nineties?"

They did indeed disappear but got back together again following the untimely death of original Bassist Steve Dullaghan in Febrauary 2009 and in October of the same year played their first shows together in Coventry and London. Since then they have been gigging home and abroad and recording together with a brand new bassist Raph Moore. The rest of the band is of course Tracy Tracy on Vocals, Paul Court on Guitars and Vocals and on the Drums Tig Williams.

Back in 2012 they released 'Echoes and Rhymes' which had been their first album for 21 years (their last album release had been 'Galore' in 1991)! Now two years on they release their first album of original music for 23 years ('Echoes and Rhymes' was all cover versions).

Soundtrack4Life shone a spotlight on that album last year. I totally love it because if you didn't know the songs you'd actually think they were original songs such was the deft touch they gave to each of the tracks. Here's a little reminder of that post and have a listen maybe for the first time to those tracks for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

(Track List for New Album)

Listen/Watch Here For Audio/Visual:

Spin-O-Rama.

Purifying Tone.

Petals.

Oops, detour! Apologies, getting back on track. Now, where were we...oh yes, that's right!...

So a new album of original material is coming out on Monday. 'Lose The Reason' was released last year as a single (backed by 'Always Coming Back') and prior to listening, that and the newest single, the title track 'Spin-O-Rama' (and B-Side 'Up So High') were the newest things I'd heard. That was enough to create a longing to hear more.

Have a listen to the album Streaming Here.

Limited Edition Vinyl Version of The Album Click Here.

This could easily be a fine pop album from the 1990's following in The Primitives canon of 'Lovely' (1988), 'Pure' (1989) and 'Galore' (1991) but wait a moment, it's 2014! And let me tell you this, it's a superb collection of pop tunes from the opening 'Spin-O-Rama' that almost has you imagining yourself at some Indie Disco dancing your heart out into the wee hours of the morning until you find "The childhood dreams" that you thought you had lost.

'Hidden In The Shadows' comes across as a handgrenade that blows up the often fake world we live in with it's false promises and the reality that it's just "Fairytale Lies" and urges the listener to "Find a truth of your own" and basically be yourself and not get swept up in fads and trends.

Wednesday World has Paul on vocals, and I always like it when he sings because it brings a little something extra to the sound of the band. There's almost a step back in time that reminds me of other great music from the late 80's/early 90's that I had long put up on the shelf and maybe now seems like a good time to take it down, blow the dust off and give it a fresh airing.

Follow The Sun Down has a quirky, almost 1960's pop feel about it but the imagery of the lyric is quite dark. I think Tracy Tracy sounds so good these days, she seems to be singing with a greater confidence and a comfortableness in her abilities as the front woman for the band.

Purifying Tone - Paul is back on the lead vocal and again there's this kind of dark edge lyrically as he's "found a sound that will block you out". Music does have some great power and I'm sure there would be many that would love to find "a sound that will crush you/that will flush you from my mind", as we seek to deal with the baggage of past relationships that have damaged us! If Paul wants to Patent and trademark that sound he'll put a lot of Agony Aunt's out of business!

Lose The Reason is one of those great pop songs that's like a conversation between two people about the demise of their relationship - think of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's 'You're the One I Want' and turn it upside down! Okay, it's nothing like that at all but the concept is the similar!

Petals - Ah! This is like one of those great lost singles from The Primitives. Paul Court has once again managed to find that sound of the late 80's/early 90's and transplant it to today. If it were possible, given the right amount of promotion etc it could be a hit single (if the Singles chart wasn't the terrible mess it is today!). Maybe some nice DJ on the Transistor Radio might be kind and give it a few spins and get the word out!

Working Isn't Working is probably a feeling that many have in this day and age: "Can't give up my precious time for something I hate/I won't toe the line/I'm clocking out". I'm certain that many unhappy with their working conditions would love to say that.

"I wasn't made for lifting things or digging up the ground

I never want to follow orders or to knuckle down

I wasn't born to stand in line I like to sit around"

"I just want to sit here doing nothing" is the ending refrain and of course it's also the opening line to the song 'Lazy'.

Velvet Valley is a kind of instrumental with harmonious "Sha-na-na-na's" that seems a bit out of place yet heralds the album almost at an end.

Dandelion Seed is another slice of perfect pop that could easily be a single. It's almost a shame it has to end!

Let's Go 'Round Again does mark the end, it's the refrain from 'Spin-O-Rama' but wait, it's like an invitation to play it again

...so I hit repeat!

By the way, Go and Buy It, it's gorgeous.

Paul and Tracy Tracy Interview for Soundtrack4Life.

The Primitives - Spin-O-Rama (2014)

 *The Primitives are on an indie pop record label to make you dance, dream, feel, love, laugh, and cry*

Limited Edition 7" Only 500 Copies! Get It Here.

 LYRICS:
Spin spin circling
Let's go round again
Turn turn to unlearn
The things we need not know

Grown so fast nothing lasts
Let's go round again
Take a ride by my side
Hold on tight let's go

Come on climb aboard with me
And we'll spin right back through memory
In the corners of our minds
The childhood dreams we try to find
Reverse the ride
Follow me round

Spin spin circling
Let's go round again
Turn turn to unlearn
The things we need not know

Reel around
Lost is found
Let's go round again
Take a ride by my side
Hold on tight let's go

Come on climb aboard with me
And we'll spin right back through memory
In the corners of our minds
The childhood dreams we try to find
Reverse the ride
Follow me round

Take a ride by my side
Let's go round again

Come on climb aboard with me
And we'll spin right back through memory
In the corners of our minds
The childhood dreams we try to find
Reverse the ride
Follow me round

Tidy Tune #230: Lose The Reason - The Primitives

Happy Birthday

Tracy Tracy

Interview with The Primitives.

25th Anniversary of 'Lovely'.

Echoes and Rhymes.

The Primitives Live.

The Primitives Live

Festival Do Norte - Arousa, Spain 17th May 2013.

Buzz Buzz Buzz
Stop Killing Me
Panic
SpaceHead
Turn Off The Moon
Sick Of It All
The Witch
You Are The Way
Thru The Flowers
Crash
Way Behind Me

Minifestival - Barcelona  23rd February 2013.

Thru The Flowers - Lemon Pop Festival 6th September 2013.

The Arches, Glasgow 20th March 2011.

Nothing Left.

You Are The Way.

Never Kill A Secret.

Dreamwalk Baby.

Spacehead.

Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Need All The Help I Can.

Empathise.

Thru The Flowers.

Sick of It.

Crash.

Rattle My Cage.

We've Found A Way To The Sun - Manchester 21st March 2011.

Dreamwalk Baby/Buzz Buzz Buzz/I Need All The Help I Can Get - Manchester 21st March 2011.

Sick of It/Crash - Manchester 20th April 2010.

Really Stupid - 229 Club, London 22nd June 2013.

Stop Killing Me - 229 Club, London 22nd June 2013.

Crash - King Tuts, Glasgow 22nd September 2013.

Carry Me Home - King Tuts, Glasgow 22nd September 2013.

Godiva Festival, Coventry 2010

Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Really Stupid.

Way Behind Me.

Sick Of It.

Crash.

Fibbers, York 2011

Everything's Shining Bright.

You Are The Way.

Spacehead.

Moles Club, Bath 21st September 2013

Shadow .

Panic.

We Found A Way To The Sun. 

 

The Primitives - 25th Anniversary of 'Lovely' and Tour 2013

To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the release of  their debut album 'Lovely', The Primitives are out on tour beginning this coming Saturday in Bath. They will be performing the whole of the album in sequence and I'm sure a wee bit more.

The album itself, reissued by Cherry Red Records as a double album is available now from the usual musical sources.

From the Cherry Red Records Website:

"Back in the mid-80s, The Primitives combined the fuzz guitars of The Jesus and Mary Chain with the pop sensibilities of Blondie and a nod to cult heroes The Velvet Underground. They swiftly rose from being a popular Indie guitar outfit to charting worldwide with ‘Crash’, kickstarting a craze in bands fronted by blonde female singers (Transvision Vamp, The Darling Buds et al).

'Lovely' was The Primitives’ debut album. Issued in April 1988 on the back of the success of ‘Crash’, it peaked at No. 6 in the UK, staying on the charts for ten weeks, and yet is unavailable on CD.

The Primitives’ profile has not been as high since their heyday, what with the release of a brand new studio album Echoes And Rhymes last year and Cherry Red’s 2-CD compilation of the band’s pre-RCA recordings, Everything’s Shining Bright, which surfaced in March.

This 25th anniversary 2-CD set boasts most of the band’s B-sides and other rare tracks from that successful year, as well as including those hit singles in full:
Crash (February 1988) No.5
Out Of Reach (April 1988) No.25
Way Behind Me (September 1988) No.36

Compiled with the help of guitarist PJ Court, this 2-CD compilation boasts re-mastered music as well as a splendid, annotated booklet boasting rare photos and personal memories from the band."

Tour Dates Information Here.

The Music of 'Lovely'.

CD1:

Crash.

Spacehead.

Carry Me Home.

Shadow.

Thru the Flowers.

Dreamwalk Baby.

I'll Stick With You.

Nothing Left.

Stop Killing Me.

Out of Reach.

Ocean Blue.

Run Baby Run.

Don't Want Anything to Change.

Buzz Buzz Buzz.

CD2 Includes:

Way Behind Me.

All The Way Down.

Way Behind Me (Acoustic).

Crash (Demo).

Really Stupid (Live).

and much more.

Click on the links to enjoy the music.

Also checkout S4L's Interview with Tracy Tracy and Paul Court.

And S4L's Spotlight on the 2012 Album Release 'Echoes and Rhymes'.

The Primitves - Everything's Shining Bright - The Interview

 (Photos are from The Primitives.)

It is with great pleasure that I get to post this Interview with Tracy Tracy and Paul Court of The Primitives. A big part of the musical landscape of the 1980's and since 2009, the band are  currently finding a new lease of life with the release of an album in 2012 - the magnificent 'Echoes and Rhymes' and new music and concert dates to come this year and beyond. They kindly took some moments out of their busy lives to answer a few questions.

S4L: You have recently reissued your Lazy Records output via Cherry Red with lots of bonus material and a gig from the ICA, how happy are you with that material all these years on? In my opinion it has stood the test of time. I also noticed that you are reissuing
your debut album 'Lovely' via Cherry Red, are you going to be reissuing all of your albums?

Paul: Yes fairly happy. Quite surprise at how good some of it sounds seeing as we didn’t have much of a clue what we doing. Not sure if the others will get a reissue. It would be nice if the last album Galore got a digital release.

S4L: Prior to your comeback in 2009 the music of The Primitives seems to have been kept alive by various compilations released, did you have any control over those or was it a case of a record company trying to recoup some cash?

Tracy: We have no control of the major label recordings being re-released as we don’t own them. The indie stuff was being released by our ex manager. We’ve put a stop to that and now own the rights to those recordings.

S4L: The indie scene was chock full of great bands back in the eighties when you were getting a lot of attention, there always seemed to be a "rivalry" (created by the media I'm sure) between The Primitives, The Darling Buds and Transvision Vamp, did you rate the Buds or Vamp or see them as the competition? What other bands from around that time did you enjoy?

Tracy: We had no interest in those bands. The blonde thing in the music press was annoying and unhelpful.

S4L: It's been documented that your comeback in 2009 was in part to do with the death of Steve Dullaghan, did you have any ideas when you first got back together that you were going to be putting out new music or was it something that was just like do a few
shows, play some of the oldies and see what happens next?

Paul: We thought we’d just play in the back room of a pub in Coventry. We played the opening night of an exhibition about the Coventry music scene and a small secret gig in London and things escalated from there.

S4L: 'Echoes and Rhymes' really impressed me, especially as I went back and listened to pretty much all of the originals and was stunned by how creative you were with your versions. How did you come to choose the songs to cover for the project, were you listening to a lot of these types of records prior to giving birth to the concept?

Paul: Most are from my record collection and the others we chose as the project developed, so they were new to us all. There were things inherent within a few of the songs that reminded us of The Primitives, so that was a starting point.

S4L: You've been touring since your comeback, did it feel good again to be out on the road sharing your music? Is it any different to back when you first started to tour in the 80's (apart from the fact you are a little bit older and wiser than you were then!)?

Paul: The main difference is that we’re running everything and obviously it’s a lot scaled down from how it was when we were touring at the height of things in the late 80s.

S4L: You released a single in February this year (Lose the Reason/Always Coming Back) does that mean we can expect at some point a brand new album from The Primitives?

Paul: We have a handful of new songs recorded and more are on the way, so there could end up being an album.

S4L: One of the things I like to discover from the folks who get interviewed for
Soundtrack4Life is what is on their Soundtrack4Life? So if you could give 5 albums or songs that have been a huge part of your life and influenced you on your musical or personal journey that would be good.

 Tracy and Paul chose these tracks. 

Click on the links to hear the songs.

Liar Liar - The Castaways.
Lightening’s Girl -Nancy Sinatra.
Upside Down - Jesus and Mary Chain.
Love You More - The Buzzcocks.
Out Of My Mind - The Chantelles.

S4L: Last question: If The Primitives of 2013 could step into a time machine and go back in time to 1985 and meet up with The Primitives of that year what piece of advice or wisdom would you pass on to them?

Paul: Don’t take any of it for granted. Don’t take any bullshit from people who think they have power over you. All that matters is the band and the songs.

Tracy: I would agree with that. We should have objected more to stuff we weren’t happy with.

In September this year there's going to be a show at the 100 Club in London to celebrate the 25th Anniversary release of 'Lovely'.

For more information about The Primitives releases and concert dates checkout: The Prmitives Website or The Primitves Offical on Facebook.

The Primitives - Echoes and Rhymes (2012)

Eveything written in THIS COLOUR is a link, so give it a click to watch and listen to the music.

 Tracklist: The Primitives -  Echoes and Rhymes
   1. “Panic”
   2. “Turn Off The Moon”
   3. “Move It On Over”
   4. “Sunshine In My Rainy Day Mind”
   5. “Till You Say You’ll Be Mine”
   6. “I’m Not Sayin’”
   7. “The Witch”
   8. “I Surrender”
   9. “Amoureux D’une Affiche”
 10. “Where Will You Be?”
 11. “Single Girl”
 12. “Who Are You Trying To Fool?”
 13. “Time Slips Away”
 14. “Wild Flower”

It's almost a year since the release of the first album for 21 years by The Primitives and for some odd reason I only picked it up this morning! Oh well that's the way it is sometimes but can I say just at the start that this is a really impressive collection of cover versions. Cover versions? Oh man, isn't a band who puts out an album of covers just out to make a quick buck and show that they have lost the plot? I guess normally that would be the line that I would take but on this album I'm going to make an exception.

The band got back together following the death of original bassist Steve Dullaghan in February 2009. That same year in October they performed their first shows together for 19 years in Coventry and London. In 2010 they did a tour of the UK and also played a single show in Brooklyn, New York.

In March 2011 The Primitives released their first new music since 1992. The EP 'Never Kill A Secret' contained two new songs and two cover versions ('Need All The Help I Can Get' - Suzi Jane Hokum (released in 1966) and 'Breakaway' released in 1966 by Toni Basil).

Rattle My Cage.

Need All The Help I Can Get.

Never Kill A Secret.

Breakaway.

The Originals

The album of covers focuses attention on 1960's Female Fronted Bands or Vocalists. It kicks off with a b-side from Reparata and The Delrons called Panic. Next up Sue Lyon's 'Turn Off The Moon'. Le Grand Mellon are up next and it's a cover of 'Move It Over'. 'Sunshine on My Rainy Mind' by Polly Niles. Vocal duties on 'I'm Not Sayin'' are taken by guitarist Paul Court, who gives a very JAMC performance of Nico's 1965 song. 'The Witch' by obscure German duo Adam and Eve is followd by the 1969 'I Surrender' originally released by Bonnie St. Claire. Tracy tries her chops by singing in French on 'Amoureux D'une Affiche' (released in 1967 by Laura Ulmer). I can't find a link for Dana Gillespe's 'Where Will You Be?' (from the 1968 album 'Foolish Dreams'. 'Single Girl' by Sandy Posey is next up. Unlike most of the songs on the album this track was actually an international hit! 'Who Are You Trying To Fool' by Little Ann is an obscure Northern Soul number that appeared in the late 1990's on Ace Records. 'Time Slips Away' was originally released by Dutch artists Shocking Blue in 1973, they are probably more well known for their song 'Venus'. Completing the album is 'Wild Flower' by She Trinity that was released as their third single in 1966 on Columbia Records.

Totally love this album. I like the fact that they have chosen songs that are obscure. I actually only knew the Nico track beforehand.

Good to see them back and hopefully we don't have to wait too long for an album of brand new music written by the band. The great news is it that might happen sooner than we think as in February they released a brand new single. 

New Single From The Primitives 2013

Lose The Reason.

Always Coming Back.