MUDKISS FANZINE

Au Pairs - Stepping Out of Line; the anthology (Castle Music)

v/a - Perfect Unpop; Peel show hits & long-lost lo-fi favourites, vol. 1 1976-80 (Cherry Red)

Confusing as it might have been at the time, its clear now that the initial first wave of punk had sent out spores of imagination & inspiration in all directions. The results were now starting to come back, with an added element of lessons learned from the successes & failures of the Subway Sect/Clash/Pistols/Damned/Buzzcocks phase. Gone was the emphasis on moving to London & signing with a major label in order to “make it”.  The sheer amount of music made at the time was almost impossible to keep up with - with the emergence of DIY indie labels, John Peel really came into his own, check the superb “, 1976-80” (Cherry Red) to see what I mean.

Before I get too carried away, it’s worth remembering that even in the short time since ‘76, there was already a strong scene of conservative punk, where sound, appearance and attitude had to conform to a code as rigidly conformist as any golf club (and it continues to this day). Papers like Sounds & NME - more attuned to dealing with major labels - struggled to keep up with the diversity of the new scene, & were clearly more at home with conventional white- blokes-with-guitars type groups, or in NME’s case, running after passing fads like Kid Creole & the Coconuts.

One of the best groups to come out of this era were Birmingham’s Au Pairs. I seethe when I hear them name-dropped by lightweight ninnies like Franz Ferdinand, “oh darling the early 80’s are cool again, don’t you know” - in their dreams! For the essential Au Pairs sound, think of the brevity/economy of Wire, then add Subway Sect’s taut mesh of sharp, jabbing guitars, half-sung, half-spoken vocals, all topped off with a reggae-inspired rhythm section. And that’s before you get to the lyrics. They were always political, anti-authority, & addressed all kinds of issues of sexual politics - personal & societal - drugs, violence, Ireland. Lesley Woods (gtr/vocals) was the main writer, & was always explicit about her commitment to feminist & lesbian causes. The rest of the group were Jane Munro (bass), Paul Foad (gtr/vocals) & Pete Hammer (drums).

What you get here are both the albums that came out while the group was together - “Playing with a Different Sex” (1981), & “Sense and Sensuality” (1982) + another 17 tracks of demos, radio sessions, 1 unreleased track & 1 well-meaning but dire live take on Janis Joplin’s “Piece of my Heart.”  There’s a beautifully cool detachment to Lesley’s voice & the male/female vocal interplays work a treat. They had a real knack with killer choruses, like the “Equal but different” riff in “It’s Obvious”, or the “We’re civilised/We don’t torture” couplet in the chilling (& relevant again post-Guantanamo) “Armagh”.

“Playing with a Different Sex” is an awesomely good album, kicked along by remorseless bass & with rewarding, thought-provoking lyrics, all the better when you recall that the mainstream counterpoint at the time was Thatcherite toss like Spandau Ballet. It just sounds better & better. “Sense & Sensibility” is good too, but maybe lacks the diversity or killer standout tracks of the first album. Its also a reflection of how the group’s spirits & energy were gradually eroded by constant touring (285 gigs in ‘82, according to the sleeve notes), dissatisfaction that it was becoming too much about Lesley Woods, and the tidal wave of Persian heroin that enveloped the scene around this time.

It’s an absolute guarantee that the Au Pairs are one group who aren’t going to reform. After the group’s split in 1983, Lesley Woods moved into the legal scene, in keeping with her commitment to radical causes. She’s now a barrister, setting up Specialist Immigration Services in 1992 (check their website for more info) & no longer has any connections to the music scene.

This set is a great reminder of a time of intense creativity, forged in the heyday of the Thatcher dictatorship & the Malvinas madness, and showed how the initial inspiring surge of punk took roots, diversified & realised that music’s always best when it’s made on its own terms.

(Watch out for “Buried Treasure in the Midlands, pt 2”, 3 Swell Maps reissues.)

Reviewed by Den Browne