Various Acts - 'Death Disco' (EMI)
4/5
By: Toby L
Big-haired, inebriated, flailing dancer. Dour, well-dressed, poncy c**t. Just how do the two worlds converge?
OK, we'll back up a bit. What we mean here is... new wave/punk-funk of the late-'70s/early-'80s - just why did it appeal to the audience it did? By rights, any music which presents forth the prospect of unifying is a wonderful thing, but it still doesn't make it any clearer how indie/club fans were able to both subscribe to a trend which was half-music, half-fashion, and almost embarrassingly, exclusively hip.
If our present-day era of The Rapture, Radio 4, The Faint, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party et al has proven one thing - it's now, once again, en vogue to be sophisticated and get drunk in public while shaking your arse off. So what better timing than to muster a major-label compilation of all the pre-highlights of the genre, offering both obscure dancefloor-ravers, and legends of the niche-scene? Cue: 'Death Disco'.
And cue 'I'm A Celebrity...' star John Lydon as the defiant entrance in his post-'Pistols and relatively underappreciated Public Image Ltd collective - one of the core forefather-acts to the craze of edgy, twisted riffs, aching, shouty vox and startlingly risquι bass. Their track - 'Death Disco', conveniently enough, from which this comp. nicks its title, a la Alan McGee's weekly London hang-out club - is a pulverising, mind-bending classic, a mighty assault; soon following - the other end of the spectrum, 'I Love A Man In Uniform' from Gang Of Four, which, aside from righteously camp, is ear-to-ear beaming, art-pop brilliance.
Then take a smidgeon of the avant-garde/industrial sect - 'United' by holier-than-thou aloof-niks Throbbing Gristle - a sack-load of the bizarre - Eno and David Byrne of The Talking Heads contributing 'The Jezebel Spirit' - an amalgam of all-out punk-pop - the rosy tint of The Buzzcocks' 'Why Can't I Touch It?' - impressively awkward juddering in two parts from pre-'Fast Show' luminary Charlie Higson - The Higsons' 'Put The Punk Back Into Funk' - and a bow-out on the synth-y crossover-successes Heaven 17, Simple Minds and - most favourably of the batch - Human League.
Brimming with youthful idealism, equality and energy, the marriage of icy-cool minimalism with messy tunes was an inspired one in post-punk - to this day, a marvel to cherish, and an influence which reigns true to even some of the most predominant of contemporary talents. Yes, to even so much as question the contents or ethics of 'Death Disco' would be the equivalent of shooting oneself in the foot with a rusty spike; pointless and painful, and wrong.
Artists in this article: Various Acts
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