25 Glorious Years

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Spiby
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25 Glorious Years

Post by Spiby »

Can anyone remember the exact release date of 'Anyway That You Want Me'? Googling got me June 1990, but I can't remember the day. I remember hearing it on a cassette a mate had made from its airing on XFM (Lawrence - are you around?). And I remember buying the 12". And I remember seeing them in Burberries, Birmingham that summer, where we drank cider & black mixed with lager, to make a sort of snakebite and black, and called it a 'Spiritualized'.

What great times they were.

And for what it's worth, (I'll avoid the existing thread) I really enjoyed 2015's Glastonbury set. Going from the sublime quiet of 'So listen sweet Lord...' of WWJ to the all-out noise of Come Together is, for me, what Spiritualized is all about. An aesthetic I first appreciated when I was about 4 and they had an 'I like noise! / I like quiet' song on Playschool.

Ok, I'm rambling now, sorry.

Here's to the next 25 years :)

Px
runcible
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by runcible »

It might be June, but I'd say more likely July or August. The first official gig was June 14th 1990 at the Marquee - which I went to. They did play a show in a pub in Camden, the Falcon I think, in possibly May - but I missed that as it wasn't really announced.

AWTYWM wasn't out when they played the Marquee and I'm not sure it was out in July when they played London School of Economics either. But I could be wrong.

But 25 years is right. Next year marks 30 years since Sound of Confusion too. But this is an important year anyway as both Spacemen turn 50 in November!
olan
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by olan »

runcible wrote:It might be June, but I'd say more likely July or August. The first official gig was June 14th 1990 at the Marquee - which I went to. They did play a show in a pub in Camden, the Falcon I think, in possibly May - but I missed that as it wasn't really announced.

AWTYWM wasn't out when they played the Marquee and I'm not sure it was out in July when they played London School of Economics either. But I could be wrong.

But 25 years is right. Next year marks 30 years since Sound of Confusion too. But this is an important year anyway as both Spacemen turn 50 in November!
I was at the LSE gig. IIRC they came on stage to Otis by Durutti Column and were very quiet. I was absolutely smashed as it had been a big day for me. :D

The single was not out then as I asked about it (and/or any other records) was told it was delayed. I recall buying it in an Our Price several weeks later.
plastic37
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by plastic37 »

My memory is that is was out at or around the time of the LSE gig - which i did not go to. On that night I was up the road watching Jane From Occupied Europe who deserve a mention on here.

In fact ... i am sure i spoke to people who had been to the LSE gig at Waterloo and they were in possession of a copy of AWTYWM - maybe pre release but there you go...
No, i remember it ... a woman walking down the platform with a copy...
we spoke to her and her mate
we wished we had gone to the gig...
But we had decided to go obscure....
at the Bull & gate
... so that in 25 years time we had a good story to tell...

We were wrong.
Heavy Tourism
Starfish
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by Starfish »

this might help...an advert which appeared in the music press that year.
Quality isn't great as I photocopied the ad on to A4 (I think it was a full page ad) and then coloured it in :?

It says June 18th but, as runcible says, there may have been a delay.

Advert also includes tour dates, suggesting the first official gig was at King Tut's.
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Laz69
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by Laz69 »

Willie B told me the first ever show was at King Tuts but i want sure if he meant the first ever Scottish gig or first Spiritualized gig. That's where my pic is from. So was there shows prior to this tour then? Was the LSE show prior to all this?
MODLAB
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by MODLAB »

Design.
BzaInSpace
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by BzaInSpace »

Wow - Spiritualized's first gig was in King Tuts?

What a venue.

I also believe there is a bootleg of this gig, as well as one from the 1991 show there too.

One of those 'I'd like to have been there' occasions...
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plastic37
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by plastic37 »

BzaInSpace wrote:Wow - Spiritualized's first gig was in King Tuts?

What a venue.

I also believe there is a bootleg of this gig, as well as one from the 1991 show there too.

One of those 'I'd like to have been there' occasions...
Oh aye,
there's a bootleg. I have it one tape and got a copy via the wonderful and generous resources that is this here forum.

However... the file i got off here doesn't have the soundchecks that my tape has.

One rainy day i shall rip it.
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mc
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by mc »

plastic37 wrote: Oh aye,
there's a bootleg. I have it one tape and got a copy via the wonderful and generous resources that is this here forum.

However... the file i got off here doesn't have the soundchecks that my tape has.

One rainy day i shall rip it.
Man oh man, I'd love to hear that show if you or anybody else is willing to share :)

A little googling for spiritualized "king tut's" 1990 brought up some nice mementos of that historic day...

Ticket stub (for sale, natch): http://www.vinyltap.co.uk/spiritualized ... -june-1990

Photo of J, Mark & Will: http://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo- ... /558184273

(the forum keeps messing up this hyperlink - I don't think it likes the accented e in the URL - but copy & paste works)


Photo of Will: http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/new ... /558183989
angelsighs
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by angelsighs »

mc wrote: Photo of J, Mark & Will: http://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo- ... /558184273
great pic!
so Jason's position at the right hand side of the stage was there right at the beginning!
can anyone remember if it was the same in the Spacemen?
sunray
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by sunray »

angelsighs wrote:
mc wrote: Photo of J, Mark & Will: http://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo- ... /558184273
great pic!
so Jason's position at the right hand side of the stage was there right at the beginning!
can anyone remember if it was the same in the Spacemen?
All the Spacemen live footage and photos that i've seen would suggest so. I'm pretty sure there was a period not too long ago where he switched to the other side of the stage :shock: Might even have been discussed here...probably was if it actually happened....a bunch of nerds having a 20 page discussion on this momentous occasion :lol:
Nineteen...Nineteen...Six Five
BzaInSpace
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25 Glorious Years

Post by BzaInSpace »

Haha! Yeah, that actually happened for a bit. Was there not a keyboard that Jason was using as well?

Big news at the time!

(What have I done with my life...)
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MODLAB
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by MODLAB »

Since it is 25 years.
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sm-iom
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by sm-iom »

sunray wrote:
angelsighs wrote:
mc wrote: Photo of J, Mark & Will: http://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo- ... /558184273
great pic!
so Jason's position at the right hand side of the stage was there right at the beginning!
can anyone remember if it was the same in the Spacemen?
All the Spacemen live footage and photos that i've seen would suggest so. I'm pretty sure there was a period not too long ago where he switched to the other side of the stage :shock: Might even have been discussed here...probably was if it actually happened....a bunch of nerds having a 20 page discussion on this momentous occasion :lol:
He was left of stage at Holmfirth. Think that surprised the fans who cluster on the right!
angelsighs
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by angelsighs »

yep he was on the other side of the stage last time I saw them too. and he played some keyboards on (I think) Heading For The Top.
I suppose it does sound sad that something like that causes a ripple amongst us.. but the fact is, that he decided to make some changes after 20 years must mean something.

mind you, he's gone back to the other side now!
"Take Me To The Other Side (of the stage..)"

next he'll be talking to the crowd "hello London!! are you ready to ROCK!! you are the best audience EVER!!"
BzaInSpace
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by BzaInSpace »

"Never Goin' Back (To The Other Side Of The Stage Again)"
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ro
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by ro »

The Twelve Steps... Back to Stage Right
amazinggrace09
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by amazinggrace09 »

Always been on the right of the stage when I've seen them. From May 92 in the Art College Belfast onwards.
angelsighs
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by angelsighs »

and another thing- apart from one pic in the Spacemen 3 book of him with short hair, Jason is one of the few rock stars who has always had EXACTLY the same haircut for his entire career, as far as I can see.
the only other one I can think of is Chrissie Hynde.

yes I do need to get out more.
runcible
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by runcible »

He had a bit of a short buzz cut in sometime around '93 I recall...
heisenberg
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by heisenberg »

Happy 25th birthday to Spiritualized!

I wonder if Jason prefers to drink tea or coffee when he's working in the studio.
angelsighs
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by angelsighs »

I reckon Jason is a tea man. at one point he used to have a steaming cup of tea on top of his amp.

one thing I've always wondered about the early Spiritualized days- did anyone have any inkling just how good the band would turn out to be?? at the time they must have been considered a simple splinter or solo project. and here we are 25 years later and Jason is still doing great work. who would have thought it.
heisenberg
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by heisenberg »

I think he's a tea man as well!

I often use this analogy of Jason Pierce with people when I'm trying to convey my love and admiration for his body of work or to try give him his place in the grand scheme of things (because he's consistently overlooked in my opinion and many people have not heard of the band)- name one artist who has been as consistently good for as long as he has? Name an artist who has made music for 30 years (let alone the 25 of Spiritualized!), and who has constantly released good albums and played brilliant live shows? Of course fans might have preferences or qualms with certain albums or phases of either of his bands. But nobody can say Spiritualized or Spacemen 3 were ever rubbish, or went through a bad period or tried to be fashionable, unlike most bands. Pretty much every major critically and/or commercially acclaimed rock band at some point goes off the boil, makes a terrible album or disappears up their own arse that a decade later they have a 'comeback' or 'return to form' album. In my opinion, Jason has never done that because he has always been firing on all cylinders. There's something of worth in everything he has put out, and I admire the shit out of the fact he's just kept going, doing what he wanted and to my ears never had a period where he dropped the ball for a while. That to me is such a big deal and sets him apart from most.

If you consider that the 25 years began with Anyway That You Want Me and The Bridge Song as being where he is now, I think that is just about highlights the calibre of band we are talking about. That is not to mention the sheer brilliance in the middle that those two benchmarks don't even begin to touch on. Consistently brilliant. Here's to the future!
angelsighs
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by angelsighs »

I know what you mean. I think even in Jason's relative low points (Amazing Grace, in my opinion) there is a lot to admire and enjoy. when you factor in Spacemen 3 too, the quality over the years is pretty impressive.

playing devil's advocate, though- only 7 albums in 25 years.. he hasn't actually had much chance to go off the rails because he's not the most prolific artist out there!
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Re: 25 Glorious Years

Post by TheWarmth »

Well, if you want to play the comparison game, which I always take with a grain of salt ... Super Furry Animals have never released a bad album and they put out a stunning NINE records between 1996 and 2009, not including singles comps and b-sides collections. Pretty astonishing.
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