Shows/1979-11-23

November 23, 1979
[[File:|center|frameless|]]
[[File:|center|frameless|]]
Electric Ballroom
City	London
Tour
Event
Billing	Gang of Four The Red Crayola Au Pairs

Listings

• 
  Ad in Sounds

Reviews

NME

December 1, 1979

Paul Morley

The Au Pairs are vivacious: not enough to lighten any part of the dismal Electric Ballroom, where even the gentle pinkness of a pop group is automatically dulled, but raggedly plush enough to shoot some promising daggers into the centres.

Like The Photos without the obviousness, The Pretenders without the petulance and The Tourists with desire, Au Pairs deviously grip the pop-structure, shake it up and rake it through. Could be sharp in a better place! Yes a cool yet shaky set of songs that doesn't make it clear whether you're to smile, turn away or turn over.

Two girls, two boys, the inevitable high-mix friction guitar, the screech, the reach, another bunch of dust and cheek with no home and no give. Another name.

Mayo Thompson's present particle of paradigm, perversity and pun, his 1979 Red Crayola, feature three musicians culled from units who have accidentally and cheerily made some of my favourite noise of this year: Lora Logic from Essential Logic, Epic Soundtracks from Swell Maps and Gina from The Raincoats.

Under Thompson's treacherous discipline, these three individuals lose none of their charm and Thompson remains as incongruous and devilish as always. But this 'rough trade' mix is closer to pain than pleasure. How could this not be? Stuck onto a pop bill, the quartet's fluid, escalating cuttings achieve nothing but the honour of filling the gap in an evening of social complacency and hearty anticipation.

Epic's drumming is standard and smashing, and this helps the dancing. The ghostly voices and confident musical balance is acceptably eccentric. In the context of the evening it's all very grating and you know that all you're hearing is shadowplay, unhelpful superficiality; ideas are lost in the unholy muddle between composing intent and the pop music event.

Uniquely pretty and political, Gang Of Four — aptly for now — fall somewhere between the rocky vamping vigour of The Au Pairs and the disciplined self-conscious reasoning of Thompson. Accessible agitators. A minor paradox.

This glory and glamour London date, within the Gang Of Four fable, was more than just the celebrative tour conclusion. It brings to a close the Gang's first heavy trot to the top of the slope; the end of a happy era, where much was said and done and, hopefully, much learnt. What has been achieved is an interesting reputation and at least no loss of soul.

At the top of the slope, what do they see? How will they react?

On their side is the fact they are aware that they're as far forwards as possible without diluting, unless there's a radical change in presentation and performance. Still, the flash crash gyration of this obvious performance was sad. It was an assault course; a logical extension if you think about it, but considering the words laid to rest — of risk and intent — unfavourable.

Gang Of Four's animated settings for their eloquent graffitis is now a genteel and doomed style. Formal and familiar and, in the context of how the group maintain their operation, no surprise and no risk renders them redundant. No amount of onstage drive can compensate for the impoverished nature of the Gang as communicators. Personalities yes; risk takers for now, no.

Their infectious tamed wildness inevitably pleases the low demands of the audience, but it goes no further.

It's the Gang Of Four, through force of routine, falling back onto the safety rock ingredients in their make-up; resilient notions of projection and tease, successful within its limits if the presence is obviously earnest. Which it was. And you hoped that this would be the last time the Gang Of Four would be so 'staid.'

But the force of that routine has neutralised their early risk; the absurdity of that routine has spitefully mocked the militancy of the lyrics. A severe change in direction is required to smash this.

Taking the Electric Ballroom performance further than it needs really, what was there was an EMI act energetically entertaining with a pleasing ear for detail, care for sound and some fancy footwork. And either that puts them in a position of strength — an audience seduced, willing to flow and react to the hopeful oddity and solidity of future development — or in the position of fractious indicators with an expanding audience expecting only the anxious energy of a new established rock group.

It must be the former.

Gang Of Four now contribute to an extensive stagnation. Nice noise, righteous no doubt, and they do more than most to avoid the traps. Victims, of course, not betrayers.

But still, what's the risk? Where's the harm? Round the corner? And how much pampering can go on?

References

The Red Krayola Shows
1966, 1967, 1968			1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975
1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Live recordings