R.I.P

The last few years have been a sad time for lovers of music. The roll call of legends and heroes who have departed from this life seems to be endless, from all genres and eras, as time and illness take their toll as they do for all of us. Bowie, Aretha, Lemmy, Prince, George Michael, superstars the like of which we will never see again. And a host of others who may not have all been household names but were - and are - loved and revered just as equally: Pete Shelley, Mark E Smith, Chris Cornell, Tom Petty, Rick Parfitt, Dolores O'Riordan, Mark Hollis.... the list goes on. In recent days i've heard of the sad passing of two personal favourites, both from very different worlds and eras but whom still made a big impresssion on my musical tastes and outlook.

Scott Walker (born Noel Scott Engel) 1943-2019.

I first heard the music of Scott Walker in 1995, on a rare radio interview to promote the reclusive legends' new album Tilt, his first in 11 years. The avant garde sounds coming out of my radio - an experimental fusion of classical, industrial and musique concrete - were worlds away from the reason that this mans name was spoken with reverential awe. Scott Walker first came to the attention of the record buying public in the mid-sixties as part of The Walker Brothers, whose lavishly orchestrated and dramatic pop ballads had teenage girls screaming in the aisles. "Make It Easy On Yourself", "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", "My Ship Is Coming In", all huge hits. A few less successful singles followed before Scott jumped ship, tired of the endless touring, hysterical fans and pressures of pop stardom. The four self-titled albums he made between 1967 and 1969 represented a stylistic leap from the pop hits he'd previously had, growing ever more experimental: baroque chamber music, influenced by European composers, covers of Belgian chanson artist Jaqcues Brel, subject matter that included war, stalinism, death, and character studies of people on the margins of society: transvestites, prostitutes, suicidal thinkers. His own literate compositions were at first mixed with covers of contemporary big band songs, film soundtracks, and the Great American Songbook, but by his fourth solo album - Scott 4, released under his own name Noel Scott Engel - he was recording only his own compositions. After that album flopped commercially, he spent the next few years in a creative rut, recording albums of half hearted cover versions just to fulfill his contract. A largely unsuccessful Walker Brothers reunion in the mid-70's reignited his interest in experimental music, and four self-penned tracks on the bands last album Nite Flights pointed the way to a new direction, but it would be several years before any new music saw the light of day. When Climate Of Hunter was released in 1984 it was greeted by generally mixed reviews, but some praised its abstract art-rock direction. During the recording none of the musicians were told the melodies for the songs, creating an intentionally disjointed feel. It would be the last anyone heard of Walker until the mid-nineties, when his transformation to experimental composer was complete. After Tilt in 1995 there was another 11 year silence - only broken by his work on the soundtrack for Pola X - before his next album The Drift, which featured the sound of a man punching a slab of meat amongst the unsettling and very dark compositions which covered subject matter from Elvis Presleys stillborn twin, 9/11, torture, disease and the Srebrenica genocide of 1995. Uneasy listening indeed. A score for a disabled dance company followed, and then his final studio album in 2012, Bish Bosch. If i'm perfectly honest, i've found these later works impenetrable: maybe i will understand them someday. But those four albums from Scott to Scott 4, plus the cream of his work with The Walker Brothers are what his reputation largely rests on, and so it should. If you're not familar with his music, get yourself the Boy Child: 1967-1970 compilation, a decent Walker Brothers best of, and start from there. You will be richly rewarded.

Ranking Roger (b. Roger Charlery 21 February 1963 – 26 March 2019)

Towards the end of March i heard of the sad news that Roger Charlery - known to all by his stage name Ranking Roger - had passed away, following the diagnosis of lung cancer and two brain tumours at the beginning of the year. As the co-vocalist of The Beat, Roger was one of the most recognisable figures of the 2-Tone scene and ska revival of the late seventies and early eighties. One of the earliest additions to my cd collection was their first album I Just Can't Stop It, which i bought on import alongside their What Is Beat compilation, having discovered them through my love of Madness and all things ska.The Beat were more of a ska-pop band band than the other bands involved in the scene, less obviously political than The Specials or The Selecter, and as time went on they incorporated more reggae and dub into their sound. All the 2-Tone bands had a "side man" who would dance and provide occasional backing vocals alongside their lead vocalist, but Rogers' toasting style and stage presence made The Beat stand out. Over several hit singles and three albums, his toasting and backing vocals intertwined with that of Dave Wakeling to help forge a unique sound, one that would help them have more success in the USA than the other 2-Tone-related acts. They only stayed on that iconic label for their debut single - a sped-up cover of Smokey & The Miracles "Tears Of A Clown" twinned with Rogers' calling card "Ranking Full Stop", which hit No.6 in late '79, before signing with Arista through their own imprint Go Feet and enjoying more hits with "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Hands Off, She's Mine", "Best Friend", "Too Nice To Talk To", and others. Their debut album I Just Can't Stop It is a classic: sharp, catchy, and intensely danceable, whilst the lyrics had darker themes of mental illness, egotism, anti-racism, suicide. The frenetic punk, ska, and rocksteady rhythms stood them apart from the ska feel of The Specials and The Selecter, even more so when they "cooled down de pace" for their second album Wha'ppen?. By the time of their third album, 1982's Special Beat Service, their line-up had expanded, as had their musical palette: Soul, pop, jangly Byrds-ian guitars, calypso and New Wave stylings slotted in alongside the more reggae-heavy numbers - Roger really came into his own on "Spar Wid Me" and "Roger And Pato A-Go Talk" -, and whilst the album missed the Top 20 at home, their star was firmly in the ascendent across the Allantic, the likes of "Save It For Later" and "I Confess" fitting in nicely on college radio with the New Wave and New Romantic sounds popular at the time. After the break up of The Beat in 1983 Roger and Wakeling formed General Public, who found some initial success in the states before calling it a day. Roger then embarked on an occasional solo career, and also collaborated with former Specials members to form Special Beat for live performances. After a brief reunion of The Beat in 2003 (minus Andy Cox and David Steele), Wakeling returned to the USA where he fronts his own version (The English Beat) and Roger formed his own line-up of the band with drummer Everett Morton, Rogers' son Ranking Jr taking his spot whilst he took over lead vocals. After several years as a popular live act this line-up released an album, Bounce, the first Beat album in over 30 years, which just cracked the Top 50. A follow up, Public Confidential, was released in January 2019, as Roger was completing his autobiography.  Sadly, he was too ill to promote the album, or to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 2-Tone and the band. Keep skanking in the skies sir.