It’s easy to forget a band so well entrenched as one of the pioneers
of the UK indie pop story only released 2 singles. With The Loft
the factors which underpin this story are the brevity of their
existence (1982 - 85) and the acrimonious on stage break up. Amidst
that it’s easy to forget what a great band they where.
The Loft formed when Peter Astor (vocals & guitar) met up
with Andy Strickland (guitar) and Bill Prince (bass) who had been
making music together. Pete then went on to met David Morgan (drums)
who was invited to complete the line up.
The Legacy of The Loft is 2 wonderful singles. Only 6 songs if
you include the extra tracks on 12" EPs and this includes
a cover version (Richard Hell's "Time").
The debut single "Why Does the Rain" (1982) is a genre
classic, a mid paced number illustrating The Loft's trademark
vocals and spiky guitar lines. Astor vocals of despair are plaintive,
almost self depreciating. This single highlights The Loft's sound,
a jangle but with a gritty under belly. The B side "Winter"
has a different feel, I really like this number, there’s a fine
understated fuzzy lead guitar melody as The Loft archetypical
melancholy almost gets up tempo.
John Rivers was brought into produce the next single. (Joe Foster
and the band themselves delivering the first.) "Up the Hill
and Down the Slope” surpassed the debut taken the elements of
the debut single up a notch and refining the vocal delivery without
losing the edge. "Up the Hill" starts with a classic
guitar intro and the tempo builds into a metallic guitar line,
(not in heavy metal but in the way you can really feel the steel
on the strings), as the middle eight climax's up pop as bass and
the line the chorus fires us again. This was to prove The Loft
best recorded moment. Lyrically the songs on The Loft singles
are simple, the structure not unusual but the overall effect is
a genre classic.
The other self penned B sides "Your Door Shines like Gold"
and "Like" are also not without quality, makes you think
if there where regarded as B side material, was there other material
held back? The BBC session, on Jan 1985, had 4 songs (Skeleton
Staircase/Lonely St/On A Tuesday/The Canal and the Big Red Town)
not released on vinyl which illustrate this. "Lonely St"
is the highlight, "I took a walk down Lonely Street where
only shadows dwell. I had a word with some of them there and with
myself as well”, reads like a Nick Cave lyric and this has a dark
almost Cave like delivery albeit not as melodramatic. In fact
the session songs show Astor in a more sophisticated light lyrically
than the singles and add some variety in style.
The Loft with the likes of the June Brides, Biff Bang Pow and
the Jasmine Minks beat a path for the rest to follow. This was
the early throws of a group of bands and labels that, as the decade
wore on, proved to be highly influential.
For a short time The Loft appeared to be on the brink of something.
BBC TV appearances, support tour with Terry Hall's The Colourfield,
Single of Year on Janice Long's BBC show. They looked right; they
had the right sound, competent players and with Creation Records
set to try to take a leap forward in ambitions. The Loft looked
to be the vehicle.
However, The Loft weren’t around to see where that path they
had worn ended up, amidst an infamous break-up in 1985. The Loft
split onstage at The Hammersmith Palais, London as Peter Astor
walked off stage prior to the final song of the night, perhaps
one-upmanship on the others. The Loft broke up due to personality
difference between the band members or more precisely as the result
of a power struggle between different factions.
From the dust of The Loft 3 other worthy bands followed. The
Weather Prophets, The Caretaker Race and The Wishing Stones, illustrating
that Astor, Strickland and Prince each wanted to plough their
own furrow. The Weather Prophets and The Wishing Stones perhaps
did not highlight much musical difference. Each following a predominantly
Neil Young, west coast, Credence Clearwater Revival influenced
guitar sound while The Caretaker Race a more British guitar pop,
now thats another story.
- July 05
Recommended Listening
"Once Around the Fair" CD. Creation Records,
1989. Compiles the singles including b sides and the BBC session
