Wire's Pink Flag
Authors: Wilson Neate
Pink Flag
Praise for the series:
It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience for whom
Exile on Main Street
or
Electric Ladyland
are as significant and worthy of study as
The Catcher in the Rye
or
Middlemarch. …
The series … is freewheeling and eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebration—
The New York Times Book Review
Ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren’t enough—
Rolling Stone
One of the coolest publishing imprints on the planet—
Bookslut
These are for the insane collectors out there who appreciate fantastic design, well-executed thinking, and things that make your house look cool. Each volume in this series takes a seminal album and breaks it down in startling minutiae. We love these. We are huge nerds—
Vice
A brilliant series…each one a work of real love—
NME
(UK)
Passionate, obsessive, and smart—
Nylon
Religious tracts for the rock ’n’ roll faithful—
Boldtype
[A] consistently excellent series—
Uncut
(UK)
We … aren’t naive enough to think that we’re your only source for reading about music (but if we had our way … watch out). For those of you who really like to know everything there is to know about an album, you’d do well to check out Continuum’s “33 1/3” series of books—
Pitchfork
For reviews of individual titles in the series, please visit our website at
www.continuumbooks.com
and
33third.blogspot.com
For more information on the 33 1/3 series, visit
33third.blogspot.com
For a complete list of books in the series, see the back of this book.
Wilson Neate
2008
The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc
80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
www.continuumbooks.com
33third.blogspot.com
Copyright © 2008 by Wilson Neate
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers or their agents.
Cover art reprinted courtesy SonyBMG Music Entertainment
Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer waste recycled paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Neate, Wilson.
Pink flag / Wilson Neate.
p. cm. — (33 1/3)
eISBN-13: 978-1-4411-7573-1
1. Wire (Musical group).
Pink flag. I. Title. II. Series.
ML421.W58N43 2008
782.42166092’2--dc22
2008045097
Foreword: The Fragile Memories of a Schoolboy by Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner
4. Think of a Number, Divide It by 2: Framing Wire’s Minimalism
5. Plans Were Laid: Making
Pink Flag
6. God Those R.P.M.:
Pink Flag
Track by Track
7. Sooner Than Later the End Will Arrive
I’m indebted to Bruce Gilbert, Robert Grey, Graham Lewis, Colin Newman and Mike Thorne, who all submitted to repeated, extensive and often laborious interrogations over a period of several months, bearing up with good humour and patience. While this book wouldn’t have been possible without their cooperation, it inevitably reflects my own interpretations and perspective, which don’t necessarily correspond with theirs (which, in turn, often didn’t correspond with each other’s). During my research, I also had the opportunity to listen to
Pink Flag
both with the bandmembers (in London) and with their producer (in New York City). These were memorable and enormously informative experiences.
Thanks to George Gill for an email that doubled as a cryptic account of his brief tenure in Wire and an invitation to go away and leave him alone.
I’m grateful to the following interviewees and correspondents for sharing their thoughts on Wire and punk. In some cases, spatial considerations have meant that their words
didn’t make the final cut: Steve Albini; Hugo Burnham; Cally Callomon; Graham Coxon; Andy Czezowski; Jim DeRogatis; David Dragon; Norm Fasey; Christian Fennesz; Nick Garvey; Jason Gross; Page Hamilton; Robert Hampson; Peter Hook; Richard Jobson; Matt Johnson; Barry Jones; Ian MacKaye; Glen Matlock; Ross Millard; Roger Miller; Russell Mills; Nick Mobbs; Pamla Motown; Dave Oberlé; Robert Pollard; Robert Poss; Peter Prescott; Robin Rimbaud; Ira Robbins; Henry Rollins; Jon Savage; Rat Scabies; Captain Sensible; Steven Severin; Pete Silverton; Desmond Simmons; Slim Smith; John Talley-Jones; Ken Thomas; Mike Watt; Jon Wozencroft.
Simon Reynolds’s ideas about punk, art rock and Wire, set forth in the excellent
Rip It Up and Start Again
, have helped crystallise my own.
Various friends assisted in different ways. Throughout the writing process, I profited from discussions with Michael Lang; his incisive comments on a late-stage draught were also extremely valuable. Peter Fydler (who has shared my unhealthy Wire obsession for several decades) supplied important research materials. He and Alison Burton were, as ever, generous hosts in London in May—June 2007. Nick Groom helped with some crucial sociolinguistic details. Charlie Snow provided expert information on ’70s British television adverts. Fellow metallurgist Robert Vodicka hooked me up with a couple of interviewees.
Extra special thanks: Slim for the stills from his early film of Wire; Colin for the photos of his
Pink Flag
white label and for access to his press archive; Mike for his Advision sketch and for putting me in touch with several interview subjects; Jim for his dossier of Ex-Lion Tamers memorabilia and Robin for his foreword.
This book is for Nicola, without whose love and support it would never have been written.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are taken from original interviews and communications conducted specifically for this book.
All lyrics are quoted as they appear printed on the inner sleeve of the 1977 release of
Pink Flag
. The lyrics reproduced with the 2006
Wire 1977–1979
boxed set differ both in format and in some details.
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Reuters
Field Day For The Sundays
Three Girl Rhumba
Ex-Lion Tamer
Start To Move
Brazil
It’s So Obvious
Surgeon’s Girl
Pink Flag
Straight Line
106 Beats That
Mr Suit
Strange
Fragile
Mannequin
Champs
Words and Music by Bruce Gilbert, Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Gotobed
© 1978 Carlin Music Corp. - International Copyright Secured.
- All Rights Reserved. - Used by Permission.
“Different To Me” Words and Music by Annette Green
© 1978 Carlin Music Corp. - International Copyright Secured.
- All Rights Reserved. - Used by Permission.
“Lowdown” Words and Music by Robert Gotobed, Graham Lewis, Colin Newman and Bruce Gilbert
© 1977, Reproduced by permission of EMI Virgin Music Ltd, London W8 5SW
“12XU” Words and Music by Robert Gotobed, Graham Lewis, Colin Newman and Bruce Gilbert
© 1977, Reproduced by permission of EMI Virgin Music Ltd, London W8 5SW
Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner
It’s been proposed that everyone has a photographic memory, only some don’t have film. Our memories are forged from the real, the lived, the imagined and the projected, and trying to define the lines of truth and verisimilitude in our personal histories can prove to be a genuine challenge. Where and when certain moments occurred tends to slip into a blurry Photoshopped archive, channelled over time into new memories and experiences, and we learn to join the dots between each other’s histories to form a succession of Proustian reminiscences that become our own. I’ve kept a diary since I was 12 years old and never missed capturing a single day since then, so I can recall with some accuracy that in December 1977 when
Pink Flag
hit the record stores, I was evidently more excited about purchasing
Houdini on Magic
, enjoyed playing volleyball, failed to buy trousers with my mother and was sick all over the carpet on Christmas Day. When Tennessee Williams wrote that “in memory everything seems to happen to music,” I find a resonance with this suite of songs. It took a couple more years for them to filter into my head,
since
Chairs Missing
corresponded more with my angst-driven teenage experiences. Yet to this day I feel certain that I must have nodded my fluffy mullet hair to “12XU” on John Peel at the time without acknowledging the source. Studying at an all-boys British grammar school in the 1970s brought with it many clichés, amongst them the music we listened to. I was drawn to outsiders, those who played with the system, and I recognised a very British approach to the sensibility of Wire, with their playfulness, their brevity and surly surreal lyrics. In between bouts of King Crimson, the Virgin Prunes, the Fall, Klaus Schulze and Throbbing Gristle, Wire offered a unique voice that spoke of something other, something unattainable, a lineage that intrigued and fascinated me. Some years later, having befriended the group members and somehow mischievously formed another art-rock band with the singer with Black Hair, I’m honoured to have them in my life and to share my enthusiasm for a music that has shape-shifted over the years but continues to tell a story of the past and the future.
This Is Your Correspondent