Music in Liverpool in 1974 was pretty near non-existent.
Considering it had been the music capital of the world in the
60s, this was hard to believe. Merseybeat was 10 years before
and the Cavern Club had been closed for nearly 12 months. Just
when it had seemed that music in Liverpool was DOA, along came
Deaf School to ignite the local scene and pave the way for the
likes of Teardrop Explodes, Echo And The Bunnymen and Big In
Japan.
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Deaf School shared many similar qualities with their kindred
spirits in London, Kilburn and the High Roads. Like Dury’s mob,
they had a large line up (early on it numbered from eight
upwards) which utilised keyboards and sax. They also both took a
certain something from Music Hall in the way the lyrics told
stories of the seamier side of life and both had a determinedly
anarchic and eclectic approach ranging a wide spectrum of
musical styles. And of course they shared an art school
background and a sense of style out of step with the dressing
down mid-70s.
Where Deaf School differed mainly was their vocal approach. The
three Deaf School singers all bought something different to the
table: Eric Shark was the most Dury-like, but Enrico Cadillac
Jnr played a spiv like Master of Ceremonies a bit like Bryan
Ferry streetwise brother and the gorgeous Bette Bright was not
just eye candy, she possessed a tremendously clear and powerful
voice. And whereas the Kilburns were always more and less Ian
Dury’s sidesmen, each member of Deaf School bought a different
theatrical personality with them, which made their live show a
riot with everything happening on stage.
Keyboardist Rev Max Ripple wore a leather vicar outfit and was
known for giving his own special kind of sermons during gigs.
Steve “Mr Average” Lindsey played the straight man, whilst Cliff
Hanger (Clive Langer) tore at his guitar, the wild sax of Ian
Ritchie rang clear and drummer Tim Whittaker kept the beat and a
relatively low profile. All in all with a strong set of original
songs Deaf School were like nothing on the college or pub
circuit and soon began making waves. In turn the people who came
to watch their gigs saw something they wanted to take part in
and that coupled with the Punk explosion gave the next wave of
Liverpool bands a break. |
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| In July 1975 they won the Melody Maker Rock/Folk/Pop contest,
which was a big deal at the time although this may have counted
against the band ultimately in the credibility stakes when Punk
arrived. For the moment though, no matter. Because this led to
the group signing to Warners. After an abortive session with
Muff Winwood producing, finally the first LP, confusing called
“Second Honeymoon” appeared midway through 1976.
In August of 1976 the first album "Second Honeymoon" was
released. It included a variety of styles ranging from the European
pre-war cabaret of "Cocktails At Eight" with a bit of blues thrown
in. The best track "Final Act" was a showpiece for singer Bette
Bright. The first single which gives its title to this collection is
the jaunty "What A Way To End It All" about a half-hearted suicide
attempt which got lots of airplay, despite its subject matter, but
just missed out on making those all important charts even though
they made an appearance on the then popular pop show 'Supersonic'.
Derek MCann Sleevenotes Anthology
An LP six months earlier would
have had a real chance, totally different to anything in 1975,
but by 76 the Ramones and Pistols were making their mark and
Deaf School, for all their energy, intelligence and vigour,
somehow didn’t seem cutting edge anymore. |
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During this time though, Deaf School played the first night of
the Eric’s club and their backing really got the venue off the
ground. It was soon the place to be seen and even the Pistols
played their towards the end of 1976. Liverpool’s first Punk
band, Big In Japan, even featured Clive Langer and Steve Lindsey
for a while. Deaf School had played a large part by creating a
scene in Liverpool when there wasn’t one, but unfortunately it
would be their followers who reaped the benefits.
Dwelling on their debut LP’s failure to storm the charts the
next record, 1977’s “Don’t Stop The World” opted for a less
frenetic mix of styles. Though this still left room for the
excellent downbeat and moody “Last Night” and the high energy of
“Capaldi’s Café”, which was a perennial roof raiser at Eric’s
(one of the top 20 there in 77) and almost Punk sounding. For
some reason this was never released as a single and perhaps an
opportunity to join their contemporaries like Dury, Lowe,
Costello and Parker in the charts had gone. |
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| The LP again didn’t sell and in some desperation they turned to
the Boomtown Rats and future Def Leppard co-hort Robert “Mutt”
Lange to replace the previous incumbent Rob Dicken in the
producer’s chair. This resulted in the “English Boys, Working
Girls” LP with the memorable cover with Bette Bright in a spray
on dress. Whilst a pretty damn fine record in itself, the “New
wave” sheen applied by Lange somehow lost a bit of Deaf School’s
charm. There were some great tracks like “All Queued Up” and
Bright in particular was at the top of her game on this record.
But overall it wasn’t a surprised with all the competition of a
similar nature around at the time that again this record failed
to chart. |
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DEAF SCHOOL! (PARDON?) Record
Mirror Review 25.2.78
A THIRD album by a band so long destined for fame and fortune, that
by now they must be feeling slightly disillusioned. Oh so clever art
school pretensions have supposedly made Deaf School a long burnt out
irrelevant set-up. This piece o! art, as in controlled skill, is a
vast
improvement on Its somewhat scrappy predecessors. I'm sure it will
be criticised as a con-glomeration of confused Ideas. But good
melodies cannot be ignored!
Time and time again the band create excellent and
varied minor masterpieces. Whether it be the frantic `I Wanna Be
Your Boy', the 4linky `Morning After' or the regimented beat of
'English Boys With Guns'_ all with hooks, not instant, but
ultimately far more satisfying. Every track is a totally unique
entity all equally enjoyable due to their sheer melodic
eccentricity. Make no mistake, Deaf School are still clever and will
continue to be unpopular among "working class Journalists" (para-dox?)
This intelligence is used to Its best effect as we are not only
treated to thoughtful witty lyrics, but also imaginative musical
arrangements. The last track 'O, Blow', with its sharp exchanges of
Deaf School's classic three-part harmonies, perfectly captures the
album's light-hearted atmosphere. Anyway never mind the bol . . .,
propaganda, 'English Boys / Working Girls', is an album with the wit
/ music / style, which to ignore would be a waste of one of
Britain's most valuable untapped resources, Deaf School , + + + +
+ PHILIP HALL. |
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| The band split soon after this record was released. Some went
straight onto other musical projects. Bette Bright started a
solo career backed by the Illuminations (who included Steve
Lindsey and Glen Matlock) and had a near hit with “Hello I Am
Your Heart” in 1980. After that she met Suggs from Madness and
married. She deserves to be known as far more than Mrs Suggs
though! Clive Langer had his own band called the Boxes that made
a record for F.Beat but was mainly famous as the producer of
Madness, Elvis Costello, Dexies, Morrissey, the Stranglers and Hugh Cornwell to name a
few. Enrico Cadillac Jnr started
the Original Mirrors with Ian Broudie, previously with Big In
Japan and later the Lightning Seeds. |
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Deaf School were an important influence on a lots of groups and
not just ones from Liverpool either. The Rezillos may have taken
note of their male/female vocal attack and Madness definitely
took some of their theatrical stance on board as well as their
well publicised Kilburns obsession. Deaf School’s willingness to
entertain and mix things up mark them out in my opinion as a
valuable but often ignored forerunner to Punk
As a footnote, I saw the reformed Deaf School last year (all
original members apart from the sadly departed Whittaker) and
they still cooked up a veritable storm live, the songs being so
excellently played and performed. Also it had one the best
atmosphere’s I’ve ever seen at a gig, a wonderful and emotional
evening….Deaf School were finally back to get what is rightfully
theirs and to again show the young pretenders how it is done! |
Live
2007
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Feature by Ian Part Time 2008
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