The Others: Lackeys or Hackney-ed? Both?
By: Matt Tomiak
The Others. Not since the Manic Street Preachers has a new band polarized opinion in such a confrontational manner.
By now, you've probably made up your own mind on a band who gleefully skewer all the standard notions of how bands ought to sound, look, write about and address their public. But quite aside from Dominic Masters' vocal endorsement of hard drugs, the contradictions espoused by the band's singer, spokesperson and agent provocateur continue to fascinate.
On the one hand, the thrillingly visceral racket they conjure cannot be denied. In a culture obsessed with celebrity, his desire to eliminate the barrier between artist and audience is commendable.
But it's his account of his upbringing and personal background, whatever half-truths, embellishments or complete fabrications it may contain, that leaves The Others liable to trip up. A former career in a decently-paid advertising job (hardly a 'Lackey's post, at any rate) needn't necessarily detract from his 'by the people, for the people' sloganeering.
But it's the sheer unambiguous nature of his statements that are most problematic -
'This is for the poor/Not you rich kids' declared Masters on the band's first single.
And within those nine words, there's absolutely no room for manuevre there, it's completely unequivocal. Thus, any ambivalence or grey areas within his past leaves The Others' manifesto open to scorn and derision.
For a real taste of scathing class warfare in popular music, readers are advised to seek out the work of The Housemartins, who released two albums in the mid-1980s; the brilliantly titled 'Hull 4 London 0' and 'The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death'. Your mum may own at least one album by The Beautiful South, the band they eventually spawned (and bassist Norman Cook went on to find fame, fortune and Zoe Ball under the guise of Fatboy Slim). Regardless, The Housemartins were one of the most humorous, intelligent, eloquent and uncompromising political pop bands ever. Dom Masters could do well to give 'em a listen.