Alive and Kicking by Mat Smith Sometime in 1985
"’Nah mate. You’ve got it all wrong, we’re not all doomy." Play Dead’s Rob explains from somewhere behind a black overcoat and shades. "I’d say we’re just a bit more intense than your average band, there’s a bit more thought in what we do."
Yeah, but come on what about those sisteresque symbols all over the shop, the support slots for Killing Joke and Alien Sex Fiend? The name even.
"Well, it’s the difference between Tears for Fears and Black Sabbath isn’t it?" Rob counters. "I write about life and life for the most of the time isn’t happy." Pete, the band’s bass player, agrees. "You wake up most mornings and think ‘what the fuck have I woken up for?’"
Like it or not, Play Dead have woken up, and their new single, "This Side of Heaven", is going to put a sever chill up Auntie Beeb’s frilly knicks. So boys, am I or am I not looking at the next bunch of rockers to leap out of the coffin and into the charts a la Cult?
"I’d like to think we’ll be a bit more lasting than that," Rob answers, sounding a trifle hurt at the accusation. As well as the new single, Play Dead have also just released their fourth LP, "Company of Justice", recorded in that charming dump known to man as Germany - Connie Plank’s studio just outside Cologne, to be precise. Despite the lack of a pub within barfing distance of the studio, Pete has fond memories.
"Connie’s a great guy - totally loopy but in the right sort of way. He really throws himself into it. You should see him dancing around in his shorts - the man’s possessed! He doesn’t just think in terms of sound, he also gets into what you’re trying to do - he knows what bits should stroke your leg and what bits should poke you in the eye."
"Company of Justice" is released on the band’s own Tanz record label. After various dealing with various indies early on in their career, Play Dead have decided to do things their own way.
Pete: "Basically we got fed up with dealing with other people’s incompetence. We were fed up of pissy little companies who were just content to sell a few records and not really do the biz. If you’re gonna be in this game and not do it properly you might as well fuck off. We’ve been together five years now and we know more about it than most people we’ve met."
Rob agrees. "As much as everyone moans about the business, you have to use it to your own ends, you can’t just ignore it."
Their single-mindedness is reflecting in the music on the new single and LP. Pete: "We used to mess around a lot in the studio. Now we’ve stripped away all the crap. We wanna use the bones of the song rather than create something out of studio effects - that’s what held us back in the past, that desire to diversify. We always wanted to use everything to hand. We never really thought about the best way to present ourselves in the past either. I think that’s why our appeal has been limited to the continent so far. . ."
"Over there they seem to disregard all the hierarchy of who’s bigger that who and who it’s cool to like and who it isn’t. It’s just music to them - they’ll dance to Madonna one minute, Alien Sex Fiend the next. On these terms I’d say we’re very much a European band."
So there’s very definitely life in Play Dead?
"Oh yeah, very much so." Pete grins. "We’ve had a long look around and
we know what direction we want to go in now."
