So children, here is the tale of a record that I don't think even garnered a review in the UK music-press, was made by a band who, phonetically at least, sounded like a children's fantasy TV pop-group (Mini Pops) and came dressed in a sleeve that contravened a few copyrights. You kind-of wondered just how a Dutch band called Minny Pops were ever going to crossover in Britain. They didn't of course - apart from with me and a few others who 'got' them.
Let's get one thing straight right now - Martin Hannett, the producer of this uncompromising electro-stomp, had a knack of kicking bands out of the studio whilst he was mixing. Mythical tales of cranking up the air-con so that artists had to leave the studio for fear of dying of pneumonia or just being plain confrontational and difficult (sneaking back to the studio at 3am, long after the groups had gone home) turn out to be true. But, despite his foibles and eventual reliance on all manner of drugs, he was a wizard of the mixing desk and purveyor of the 'smash-snare' sound so familiar on early Factory tracks.
So, why is this record a landmark? Truth is - it wasn't a landmark 26 years ago. Yet it did provide a link between indie-rock and techno in its insistent way. The sleeve was a designer side-swipe at Philips, the electronics company, so there was already a hint of DIY punk-ethics about the single already. But it's the sheer brutality, the pounding, relentless angle-grinder electonica contained within that crackles with menace. Radio 1 material it certainly wasn't - more like Radio Nowhere. What sounds like a plank of wood being sawn in half is surrounded by ankle-deep bass and sputtered, stuttered vocals uttered by the tallest man in Dutch rock history, Wally van Middendorp - think comedian Stephen Merchant, but taller again (didn't look dissimilar either!). No chorus, just a scratchy guitar hook and motorik, pulsating drumbeats.
It's B-side, 'Goddess' is a rather less frenetic affair but no less interesting. It pre-empted New Order's mix of dance and rock by a year or so with Hannett's trademark penchant for cranking up the snare and turning up the bass. It sounds nothing like Joy Division, in fact it sounds nothing like subsequent Factory Records releases. It could have been released on Mute, being quite 'out-there' for it's time and not far removed from The Normal's 'Warm Leatherette'. Sadly, Minny Pops didn't repeat the intensity of these 2 fine songs again (although they did come close with some of the very fine 'Sparks In A Dark Room' album and their Plurex output). Available from LTM on the Secret Stories compilation CD - find it here
Let's get one thing straight right now - Martin Hannett, the producer of this uncompromising electro-stomp, had a knack of kicking bands out of the studio whilst he was mixing. Mythical tales of cranking up the air-con so that artists had to leave the studio for fear of dying of pneumonia or just being plain confrontational and difficult (sneaking back to the studio at 3am, long after the groups had gone home) turn out to be true. But, despite his foibles and eventual reliance on all manner of drugs, he was a wizard of the mixing desk and purveyor of the 'smash-snare' sound so familiar on early Factory tracks.
So, why is this record a landmark? Truth is - it wasn't a landmark 26 years ago. Yet it did provide a link between indie-rock and techno in its insistent way. The sleeve was a designer side-swipe at Philips, the electronics company, so there was already a hint of DIY punk-ethics about the single already. But it's the sheer brutality, the pounding, relentless angle-grinder electonica contained within that crackles with menace. Radio 1 material it certainly wasn't - more like Radio Nowhere. What sounds like a plank of wood being sawn in half is surrounded by ankle-deep bass and sputtered, stuttered vocals uttered by the tallest man in Dutch rock history, Wally van Middendorp - think comedian Stephen Merchant, but taller again (didn't look dissimilar either!). No chorus, just a scratchy guitar hook and motorik, pulsating drumbeats.
It's B-side, 'Goddess' is a rather less frenetic affair but no less interesting. It pre-empted New Order's mix of dance and rock by a year or so with Hannett's trademark penchant for cranking up the snare and turning up the bass. It sounds nothing like Joy Division, in fact it sounds nothing like subsequent Factory Records releases. It could have been released on Mute, being quite 'out-there' for it's time and not far removed from The Normal's 'Warm Leatherette'. Sadly, Minny Pops didn't repeat the intensity of these 2 fine songs again (although they did come close with some of the very fine 'Sparks In A Dark Room' album and their Plurex output). Available from LTM on the Secret Stories compilation CD - find it here
 | Currently listening: Secret Stories By Minny Pops Release date: 2003-01-27 |