FOR A long time indie pop's 80s heyday was resigned to the history books. The C86 era of Sarah Records and jangly guitars, led by the likes of The Primitives, The Shop Assistants and The Wedding Present may have lived on in the basement clubs of Islington's now defunct Twee As F*** and Oxford Circus and Brixton's How Does It Feel To Be Loved, but on the whole, it was long forgotten. But, as subtly as it crept into our conscience 20 years ago that same, distinctive sound is filtering through again, with the likes of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Allo Darlin' and Standard Fare all owing their sound to the old gang. So, after 18 years away, it seems high time that one of the original movement's leading lights, The Primitives, made their come-back. Helen Clarke spoke to founding member Paul Court ahead of the band's show at the Scala.
Coventry four-piece The Primitives were the band that kicked it all off. Fronted by the cute as pie Tracy Tracy, they forged a whole new sound – more cheerful than the mainstream guitar bands, less aggressive than the post-punk sound favoured by the hipsters, they were a breath of fresh air. They released three albums between 1985 and 1991, appeared on Top Of The Pops a handful of times and Morrissey declared them his favourite band... but most people remember them for one thing.
1988 mega-hit Crash was two-and-a-half minutes of pop perfection, and earned them a place in pop history. "I've been very lucky – it set me up quite well over the years. It's been covered quite a lot, Busted did one recently, and it's been used in films. It's over 20 years old now – I never really thought about it being so big. I think I knew it was something special, but for it to still be known today's quite strange, really.
"It was one of the very first songs I wrote and we just sort of left it. Three years later we rescued it and polished it up. It's got a life of its own – sometimes I hear it on the radio and it still sounds fresh. I'm proud of it, but it's not even our best song...it's about our ninth best," he laughs.
Taken from their widely acclaimed first album Lovely, Crash propelled them into the mainstream. Further chart success, courtesy of singles Out Of Reach, Way Behind Me and Sick Of It and albums Pure and Galore, followed, before they called it a day in 1992.
After the band dissolved, Paul was in other bands for about six years, before settling into a new career in graphic design and art. He's been out of the loop for nearly 15 years and admits he was surprised by the turn out at last November's sell-out gig at the Buffalo Bar and the way ticket sales are going for the band's impending tour. "I keep checking onthe ticket sales and it seems to be going well. People love nostalgia, don't they..." He gives the impression he's not taking the tour too seriously, that they're just a group of old friends getting together for a laugh, but their reunion has more tragic beginnings.
"I hadn't seen the others for years, but our original bass player Steve [Dullaghan] died last year and we met at his funeral [in February 2009]. We sort of connected again and I think we all realised time was ticking on and that if we wanted to do something together again, we ought to get on with it before middle age sets in."
So, a few months later Paul, Tracy, bassist Raph Moore and drummer Tig Williams got together and booked a couple of low-key shows in their home town, including the opening night of an exhibition about the Coventry music scene. Word quickly spread and they were eventually lured to the Big Smoke. "And now we seem to haven ended up with a tour!" laughs Paul.
They've also got a new project on the go, and have already been back in the studio with their original producer Paul Sampson, laying down cover versions of girl-fronted tracks including Suzi Jane Hokom's Need All The Help I Can Get and Toni Basil's Breakaway. "I really like girl fronted tunes – a lot of Northern Soul and Freakbeat. It seems like a good way to ease ourselves back into it. I've got lots of half written songs that could be songs, but that's much more of a commitment, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet."
He might sound cautious about throwing himself back into things, but he's got plenty of fond memories of his time with The Primitives. "It was a great time. It was the preamble to Brit-pop really. We used to play at the Bull and Gate with bands like The Shamen and All About Eve...and bands you'd associate with us more, like My Bloody Valentine, and we played in America with [Bjork's former band] The Sugarcubes. There was quite a scene."
The former scenesters will be coming out in force as Paul and co embark on an 10-date UK tour, before heading over for a show in New York. "We've been rehearsing and trying to work out set lists," he says. "We've got seven years of tunes, so it's a case of cherry-picking. We're going to play the obvious ones but we're going to be mixing things up too."
The Primitives play at the Scala on April 29. Tickets cost £12.50 from www.ticketweb.co.uk
