Elastica The Guvernment Toronto 29th September 2000

 

Mention of Elastica in the recent Pink Flag post prompted me to present this one. I will have waxed lyrical elsewhere on these pages about how much this band meant to me. Sadly for me, I got into them at the point where having just left the clubs behind them they had moved up into the bigger venues shortly before the release of the first album. There was a tour in 1995 along with a clutch of festival gigs over the summer and then not a lot else.... for the longest time.... five years in fact.

So, I only saw them twice, first time at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in early 1995 and then again at the Junction in Cambridge in 2000. And here's an object lesson for bands. When you are riding the crest of a popularity wave, don't wait five years to release your second album*

Elastica were the darlings of the music press in 1995, garnering every bit as much coverage as Britpop heavyweights Blur and Oasis. Justine or Donna needed only to fart and it would get them a front cover in Sounds or NME! Maybe it was the fact that the band was three quarters made up of ballsy, confident women that made them so beloved of the press. And the first album was a killer. But then came a prolonged period of radio silence. When eventually 'The Menace' emerged music had moved on and the press with it. 'The Menace' had its moments, most notably for me 'How I Wrote Elastica Man' with Mark E. Smith on vocals, but it nowhere near lived up to their first.

This soundboard recording from the 'Live Bootlegs' blog was one of the last that the band played.

* Looking at the history of the album, it would appear that attempts to record a second album in 1996 floundered for all of the usual reasons (drugs, personalities, musical differences...). Key members departed and and the band were barely still in existance. The band that recorded the second album was rather different, not least because Donna Matthews was gone (bass player Annie Holland did leave but came back).

MP3 (320kbps): https://we.tl/t-zZdnUGeBar

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-ufh7KJmT5r

Elastica 'Sound City '95' Anson Rooms Bristol 18th April 1995

 

For me, Elastica were the pick of the Britpop crop... and until last year one of the last new bands that I really got into (the reputation that I have of being stuck in a musical rut that started in 1977 and ended in about 1985 does have an element of truth about it!). This recording of the band from BBC Radio 1's 'Sound City '95' festival catches the band in Bristol less than a month after the release of their first album. I think that the Anson Rooms is/was the Student Union venue of Bristol University, but here I could be wrong.

This gig has appeared on a couple of bootleg CDs but this version is as I recorded it off the radio. 

Elastica then, utterly derivative and so much the better for that. Listen to the first album to hear one that sounds like Blondie, one that sounds like Wire, one that sounds like Adam and the Ants and one that is a little similar to the Stranglers it was said.

Their candle burned brighty but for a short period of time. They lost momentum as a result of a five year gap before the follow up album was released, in which time things had moved on... and the second album was nowhere near as strong as the first.

Elastica have not reformed. There was some talk a few years ago of a reformation, albeit without Justine Frischmann, but it came to nothing... which is probably for the best. Better that they be remembered for the their brief flash of brilliance that illuminated an otherwise dark and dreary music scene.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-vrnnH0RVYb

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-utmfiwSbpd

This Is Britpop At The BBC

 

A bit of a departure here for which I make no apologies. I am of an awkward age. Too young for punk in its prime, I saw those bands either late in the day or at the point that their initial animosities had sufficiently abated to allow them one again to share the same stage. In between there was a musical vacuum in the UK. Just horrible.

That changed a bit in 1994/95 with the appearance of a number of young bands that put guitar, drum and bass at the forefront of their material once more. The music press ever keen to pigeonhole a scene labelled these bands Britpop and the rest is history.

For my part there was one band that got my pulse racing and that was Elastica. I loved them, the sheer neck of the band! Listen to most bands and you can recognise their influences. With Elastica, it was possible to take that to the next level... influence per song. But no matter, they were just brilliant. They had it all, the look, the sound and the attitude. 'Martens and leggings' in Owen's words!

In some ways, Britpop was the next 'punk' revolution... like its older '77 cousin, it was intense, much hyped in the press and very short lived. And yet, as was the case with punk, most of the bands involved are viewed 30 years on with great affection.

The eagle eyed amongst you may well spot an honorary Wingman.

DVD Image: https://we.tl/t-AQCc8kTcdh

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-RSl9wsEok5

Elastica On TV In 1995 DVD

 Here's a DVD compilation that I put together many moons ago of Elastica's TV appearances that I had gathered throughout 1995. I am ashamed to say that they were one of the last new bands that I got into (nearly 30 years ago!). I quite liked a few of the Britpop bands, they were certainly a breath of fresh air in a musical environment that favoured instantly forgettable acts that could make someone a quick buck before they moved on to another short lived money spinner. The songs of Blur, Oasis and Pulp have endured for all of that time, surely testament to quality song writing. However, it was Elastica for me all the way. Their songs were great, if not perhaps totally their own! Listen to the first album and you can tell what album was sitting on Justine's turn table at the time, be it Wire, Adam & The Ants, Buzzcocks or even The Stranglers.

Look closely on the 'Later' footage and you may spot a short critter in shorts and a Raven T-shirt!

DVD Iso: https://we.tl/t-Kf4GpoCFLG

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-9qM6qADkb8

Elastica Astoria London 29th January 2000

An anniversary gig from a great band. Their first album was wonderful, ballsy, arrogant and irreverent... just what you want from a rock 'n' roll band. Who cared that with each track you could tell what band had been on the band's turntable at the time.

Unfortunately, these incontestable darlings of Britpop stalled when it came to the release of their second album, a massive five years after the first. In the fickle world of pop things had moved on and Justine and crew were darlings no  more.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-E98db1Y3Un

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-fiW9if39tN

01. How He Wrote Elastica Man
02. Annie
03. Operate
04. Mad Dog
05. Line Up
06. 2:1
07. Generator
08. A Love Like Ours
09. Car Song
10. Your Arse, My Place
11. Waking Up
12. My Sex
13. 1 2 X U
14. Connection

Elastica 'Brighton Rocks' at The Zap Club 6th September 1995

I never need too much of an excuse to post an Elastica gig no matter how brief. This is from the same celebration of Brit Pop that the Echobelly set came from, namely the BBC Radio 1 hosted 'Brighton Rocks' Festival.

FLAC: http://we.tl/u1W1YqBYUT

01. Spastica
02. Connection
03. Line Up
04. 2:1
05. See That Animal
06. S.O.F.T.
07. Car Song
08. Rockunroll
09. Never Here
10. Stutter

Elastica Christmas John Peel Session 17th December 1994

Here's one that can only be posted at this time of year!

A special Christmas themed Peel session from Elastica.

FLAC: http://we.tl/vnsoOXFSku

01. All For Gloria
02. I Want To Be A King Of Orient R
03. Father Christmas
04. Blue

Track 3 sounds awfully familiar, can't put my finger on it though......

Elastica Two Early-ish London Gigs

Here's a double gig that I have previously posted on Dimeadozen.

Forget Oasis, Blur and Pulp! Elastica were not only the best band to be lumbered with the 'Brit Pop' label, they were the best band of the '90's.

So what was it about them.....

1) They sounded like all the best bands of the late '70's
2) They looked great
3) They had a bass sound nicked from you know who (they had a song nicked from you know who!)
4) They had an attitude at a time of shoe gazers

So here's two sets that preceded the release of the 'Elastica' album. Artwork is included in the download file.

FLAC: http://we.tl/UTPlv4ROO8

ELECTRIC BALLROOM
CAMDEN, LONDON
17TH FEBRUARY 1994

1. SPASTICA
2. ROCKUNROLL
3. LINE UP
4. ANNIE
5. CONNECTION
6. IN THE CITY
7. S.O.F.T
8. STUTTER
9. WAKING UP
10. BRIGHTON ROCK
11. SEE THAT ANIMAL
12. VASELINE
13. STUTTER

ASTORIA LONDON
28TH OCTOBER 1994

1. SPASTICA
2. ROCKUNROLL
3. 2:1
4. LINE UP
5. ANNIE
6. CAR SONG
7. NEVER HERE
8. SEE THAT ANIMAL
9. STUTTER
10. WAKING UP
11. S.O.F.T
12. BLUE
13. CONNECTION
14. VASELINE

Elastica Roskilde Festival 3rd July 1994

Go back to the early '90's and there was something of a buzz going on in the smaller venues of London Town and numerous other cities of the UK. A number of bands were emerging onto the scene that rejected the squeaky clean, polished pop of the late '80's. These were bands that were getting back to basics once more, bands with guitars and I'd say mod sensibilities (with a dash of new wave thrown in). The music press caught on and ever keen to label bands, 'Brit Pop' came into our consciousness.

I was 25 at the time and sad to say not very open to new music. Of course there was Blur and Oasis and a raft of there lesser bands whose flames burned brightly for the 12 months or so whilst the music press maintained their interest (Sleeper, Echobelly........ Menswear!). Some of the bands were great, others seemed to be bandwagoning (much the same as with the punk scene some 17/18 years before I suppose). One band however stood head and shoulders above the others for me and they were Elastica. For a while, they were the hottest property in the UK music scene. They offered something that had been lacking in music since punk i.e. a predominantly female band with more than enough attitude to send the boys running for cover.

Elastica also offered something else. In bass player Annie Holland they had someone who was once again bringing the bass back as a lead instrument. It was this dirty bass sound (very reminiscent of JJ's bass style that I and many other Stranglers fans found so appealing, other still were taken by the black leggings and Doctor Martens combination... you know who you are!). Then of course there were the songs. Now, it is fair comment that Elastica's musical influences were pretty accurately reflected in their own material. This led to out of court settlements with bands for plagarism (perhaps most notably Wire, although The Stranglers were themselves involved due to a more than passing resemblance between their 'Waking Up' and 'No More Heroes'). But all that stuff was best left to the lawyers. What Elastica gave us in this period was one classic album and a clutch of brilliant singles, some of which feature in this good quality festival set.

Unfortunately, Elastica did not follow up on the early success of their debut album and a full 5 years elapsed before the follow up was released. By that time, the momentum had all but peetered out to a crawl and the band split followed shortly after.

It was shortly after a gig in 1995 at the Shepherds Bush Empire that I bumped into Paul Roberts in Picadilly tube station on his way to meet John Ellis and SIS France for an interview. I was wearing an Elastica shirt and with the 'Waking Up' legal issue still a very recent memory, Paul made some comment on the shirt (he did say that he really liked them it is worth pointing out). He was rather taken aback that I knew who he was, at which point he asked for my opinion on the then recently released 'About Time' album. Sadly, I gave him my constructive but not exactly positive view on the album. He took it well, but the conversation ended shortly afterwards!

OK over to you to spot the song influences!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XAH2IAPK

01. In The City
02. Never Here
03. Ba Ba Ba
04. S.O.F.T.
05. Stutter
06. Waking Up
07. Brighton Rock
08. 2:1 (Instrumental Version)
09. See That Animal
10. Hold Me Now
11. Blue
12. Vaseline
13. Presenter Outro

Annie Holland (Elastica)