Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock
band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow
by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie. The current
lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes,
Martin Duffy, Simone Butler and Darrin Mooney.
Barrie Cadogan has toured and recorded with
the band since 2006 as a replacement after
the departure of guitarist Robert "Throb"
Young.
The band performed throughout 1982–1984,
but their career did not take off until Gillespie
left his position as drummer of The Jesus
and Mary Chain. The band were a key part of
the mid-1980s indie pop scene, but eventually
moved away from their more jangly sound, taking
on more psychedelic and then garage rock influences,
before incorporating a dance music element
to their sound. Their 1991 album Screamadelica
broke the band into the mainstream. Their
latest album More Light was released on 13
May 2013.
History
Formation & early years
Bobby Gillespie moved to Mount Florida, in
southeastern Glasgow. There he attended Kings
Park Secondary School, where he first met
Robert Young. Another schoolfriend was Alan
McGee, who took Gillespie to his first gig,
a Thin Lizzy concert. McGee and Gillespie
were heavily influenced by punk rock, and
they joined a local punk band, The Drains,
in 1978. The Drains guitarist was a 15-year
old Andrew Innes. The band was short-lived,
and Innes and McGee relocated to London while
Gillespie chose to remain in Glasgow.
After the punk movement ended, Gillespie became
disenchanted with mainstream new wave music.
He met up with another schoolfriend who shared
his outlook, Jim Beattie, and recorded "elemental
noise tapes", in which Gillespie would bang
two dustbin lids together and Beattie played
fuzz-guitar. They soon moved on to Velvet
Underground and Byrds cover songs before starting
to write their own songs, based on Jah Wobble
and Peter Hook basslines. Gillespie later
said that the band "didn't really exist, but
we did it every night for something to do."
They named themselves Primal Scream, a term
for a type of cry heard in primal therapy.
Still essentially a partnership, Primal Scream
first played live in 1982.
Their first recording session, for McGee's
independent label Essential Records, was a
single track entitled "The Orchard". Beattie
later claimed that they burned the master
tape. After the aborted recording, Gillespie
joined The Jesus and Mary Chain as their drummer,
and alternated between both bands. While the
Mary Chain became notorious for their chaotic
gigs, Gillespie and Beattie expanded Primal
Scream's lineup to include schoolfriend Young
on bass, rhythm guitarist Stuart May, drummer
Tom McGurk, and tambourine player Martin St.
John. This lineup was signed to Creation Records,
an independent record label founded by Alan
McGee, and recorded the group's debut single,
"All Fall Down", which received positive reviews.
First recordings
After the release of the single, Gillespie
was told by Mary Chain leaders William and
Jim Reid that he was to either dissolve Primal
Scream to join the Mary Chain full-time or
resign. Gillespie chose to remain with Primal
Scream. Stuart May was replaced by Paul Harte,
and the group then released a new single,
"Crystal Crescent". The b-side, "Velocity
Girl", was released on the C86 compilation,
which led to their being associated with the
scene of the same name. The band strongly
disliked this, with Gillespie saying that
"they can't play their instruments and they
can't write songs."
The band toured throughout 1986, and Gillespie
became disenchanted with the quality of their
performances. He said that there "was always
something missing, musically or in attitude."
The band switched to McGee's newly set-up
Warner Bros. subsidiary Elevation Records.
Before the band entered Rockfield Studios
in Wales to record their debut album, McGurk
was asked to leave the band. The group subsequently
began recording using session players. They
spent four weeks recording with producer Stephen
Street before deciding to halt the sessions.
May was subsequently dismissed and Gillespie's
former bandmate Innes was brought in as his
replacement, and the band finally found a
new drummer, Gavin Skinner. With their new
lineup, the band re-entered the studio, this
time in London with producer Mayo Thompson.
By the time Sonic Flower Groove was completed,
it had cost £100,000. The album reached number
62 on the British charts and received poor
reviews, with Allmusic calling it "pristine
but dull." The backlash from the album caused
internal strife within the band. Beattie and
Skinner subsequently resigned.
The band, now consisting of only Gillespie,
Innes and Young, relocated to Brighton to
regroup. Young switched to guitar, and they
recruited bassist Henry Olsen and drummer
Phillip "Toby" Tomanov, who had both been
in Nico's backing band, The Faction. They
traded in their jangle pop sound for a harder
rock edge, or as Gillespie said, "[w]e had
found rock 'n' roll." The band re-signed to
Creation Records and released their first
single in two years, "Ivy, Ivy, Ivy". This
was followed by a full album, Primal Scream.
The band's new sound was met with poor reviews,
NME called it "confused and lacking in cohesion".
Fans responded as unfavourably as the critics,
with many of the old fans being disappointed
or simply confused by the new sound. The album
featured Felt keyboardist Martin Duffy guesting.
Breakthrough: Screamadelica and tour
The band were first introduced to the acid
house scene by McGee in 1988. They were at
first sceptical; Gillespie said: "I always
remember being quite fascinated by it but
not quite getting it." The band did, however,
quickly develop a taste for it and began attending
raves. The band met up with DJ Andrew Weatherall
at a rave, and he was given a copy of "I'm
Losing More Than I'll Ever Have", a track
from Primal Scream, to remix for one of his
shows. Weatherall added a drum loop from an
Italian bootleg mix of Edie Brickell's "What
I Am", a sample of Gillespie singing a line
from Robert Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" and
the central introductory sample from the Peter
Fonda B-movie The Wild Angels. The resulting
track, "Loaded", became the band's first major
hit, reaching number 16 on the UK Singles
Chart. This was followed by another single,
"Come Together", which reached number 19.
The band entered the studio with Weatherall,
Hugo Nicolson, The Orb and Jimmy Miller producing,
and Martin Duffy now full-time on keyboards.
They released two more singles, "Higher Than
The Sun" and "Don't Fight It, Feel It", both
of which were successful. The album, Screamadelica,
was released in late 1991 to positive reviews.
Ink Blot Magazine said that the album was
"both of its time and timeless." The album
was also a commercial success, reaching number
eight on the UK chart. The album won the first
Mercury Music Prize, beating Gillespie's former
band The Jesus and Mary Chain.
The supporting tour kicked off in Amsterdam,
and it included a performance at the Glastonbury
festival before coming to an end in Sheffield.
Throughout the tour the band and their increasingly
large entourage gained notoriety for their
large narcotic intake. The band's drug habits
have often been discussed in print. Journalist
James Brown reported a now infamous story:
the bandmates were arguing with one another
about whether to get Vietnamese, Chinese or
Indian. When one of Brown's colleagues asked
them if they'd settle for a burger the band
informed him: "It's heroin we're discussing,
not food!". Around this time, the band recorded
the Dixie Narco EP. Some of the tracks had
a more American blues rock sound than previously,
and displayed a novel P-Funk influence.
Continued success: Give Out But Don't Give
Up
The band began work on their fourth album
in Roundhouse Studios in London in September
1992.
In March 1994, the first single from the new
album, "Rocks", was released. It was the band's
highest charting single to date, reaching
number seven on the UK charts. The single
was not received well, with NME calling them
"dance traitors". The album, Give Out But
Don't Give Up was released in May to mixed
reviews. Whereas some praised the band's new
Stones-influenced sound, some dismissed the
album as tired and drawing too heavily on
their influences. Two more singles were released
from the album, "Jailbird" and "(I'm Gonna)
Cry Myself Blind", both of which charted progressively
lower.
While touring in support of the album, relations
within the band began to wear down. The band's
American tour, when they supported Depeche
Mode, was, in the words of manager Alex Nightingale,
"the closest we've come to the band splitting
up." After the completion of the tour, the
band remained quiet for a long period of time.
Gillespie later remarked that he was unsure
if the band would continue. The only release
during this period was a single, "The Big
Man and the Scream Team Meet the Barmy Army
Uptown", a collaboration with Irvine Welsh
and On-U Sound, which caused controversy due
to offensive lyrics about Glasgow Rangers
FC and their fan base.
Return and change in sound: Vanishing Point
After a short hiatus, the band returned with
a new lineup. Gary "Mani" Mounfield, fresh
from the well-publicised break-up of his previous
band, The Stone Roses, was added as the band's
new bassist, and Paul Mulraney was added as
their new drummer. The arrival of Mani revitalized
the group, who were considering disbanding
after the failure of Give Out. The album was
recorded in the band's personal studio in
two months, and was mixed in another month.
Most of the recording was engineered by Innes,
and produced by Brendan Lynch and Andrew Weatherall.
The music on the album had a complex shoegazing
dance/dub rhythm, harking back to the crossover
success of Screamadelica, yet sounding significantly
darker. Some songs on the album were inspired
by cult 1971 film Vanishing Point; Gillespie
said that they wanted to create an alternative
soundtrack for the film. Other lyrics were
inspired by the band's past experiences with
drug abuse. Gillespie described the album
as "an anarcho-syndicalist speedfreak road
movie record!" The first single released from
the album, "Kowalski", was released in May
1997, and reached number 8 on the British
charts. The album, titled Vanishing Point
after the film, was released in July and revitalized
the band's commercial viability. It received
almost unanimously positive reviews upon release,
Entertainment Weekly calling it a "swirling,
hypnotic acid-trip", and Musik saying that
"this group's place in the history book of
late 20th Century music is assured." The inclusion
on the album of the title track from the film
Trainspotting also helped cement the band's
place in alternative modern culture.
The band scheduled a short supporting tour
to take place during July. Unfortunately,
the band had to postpone the dates. This led
to speculation that there were problems within
the band, and that one of the members may
resign. The band's press agent issued a statement
saying "[i]t's not a drugs thing and it's
not a nervous breakdown." Before the tour
was scheduled to begin, Mulraney left the
band and they were forced to use a drum machine.
The initial dates were poorly received, but
they eventually hired drummer Darrin Mooney
and the gigs improved. Throughout the Vanishing
Point tour Primal Scream employed the up-and-coming
Asian Dub Foundation as a support act, helping
them to break into the mainstream.
In February 1998 the band released the "If
They Move, Kill 'Em" EP. This notably featured
the bands' first collaboration with Kevin
Shields, on his remix of the title track.
Later that year, Shields joined the band on
tour and would have a major influence on their
sound in the next few years. After the release
of the album, a collection of alternative
mixes/remixes from Vanishing Point were released
as the album Echo Dek, with the bulk of mixes
done by Adrian Sherwood.
Further experimentation, successes and criticisms:
XTRMNTR and Evil Heat
Recording sessions for the band's sixth album
went well. The band were for the most part
free of drugs, and their lineup had finally
stabilised. Despite their new-found peace,
the band pursued a harsher and angrier musical
direction. Many of the songs they wrote had
overtly political lyrics, Gillespie said the
band wished to convey "what it's like to be
in Britain in this day and age." The album
featured multiple guest appearances, including
the Chemical Brothers, New Order's Bernard
Sumner, and former My Bloody Valentine guitarist
Kevin Shields, who had become a semi-permanent
member.
The first single from XTRMNTR, "Swastika Eyes",
was released on November 1999. The song's
overtly political content, Gillespie said
it was about "American international terrorism",
made it controversial. Nevertheless, it was
a hit, charting at No. 22 on the British
charts. XTRMNTR itself fared well, reaching
No. 3. The political content was well received,
with Allmusic calling it a "nasty, fierce
realization of an entire world that has...
lost the plot.". In 2009 NME charted XTRMNTR
at No. 3 in The Top 100 Greatest Albums of
The Decade.
In 2000, the band began recording their seventh
album, Evil Heat, released in 2002. Though
the political content was not as strong as
the previous album, there was a song originally
slated for the album entitled "Bomb the Pentagon",
which was reworked into the song "Rise" after
the 11 September attacks. The album, like
many of Primal Scream's previous albums, had
multiple producers. Shields produced several
tracks, and Andrew Weatherall produced three
tracks, his first work with the band since
Vanishing Point. Kate Moss sang professionally
for the first time with single "Some Velvet
Morning", a version of the Lee Hazlewood/Nancy
Sinatra song. The album also featured another
guest appearance, Led Zeppelin singer Robert
Plant. In 2003 the double CD album Dirty Hits
was released containing the better known works
and some previously unheard versions and remixes
of those tunes.
In June 2005, Primal Scream played a controversial
set at the Glastonbury Festival, throughout
which Gillespie was playfully abusive to the
crowd and was alleged to have made Nazi salutes
during the song "Swastika Eyes". They were
eventually forced off by officials after overrunning
their allotted time; the festival organisers
were at that point already annoyed at the
band when, in response to their invitation
to join other recording artists in signing
a Make Poverty History poster which would
be auctioned off for charity, lead singer
Bobby Gillespie instead altered the poster
so that it read "Make Israel History". Gillespie
later said that this was to show his support
for the Palestinian cause.
Return: Riot City Blues, Beautiful Future
and Screamadelica 20th Anniversary
In an interview with NME, Gillespie said that
the band had written "euphoric rock 'n' roll
songs" for their next album. They intended
to capture the energy of their live performances.
The band chose Youth as their producer, which
led to speculation that they had fallen out
with Shields. Although the band themselves
admitted that they were unsure of the situation,
Shields subsequently joined them on tour.
The album's first single, "Country Girl",
was released on 22 May 2006, and received
regular airplay in 2006 resulting in a chart
entry of number 5, their highest ever. It
was also used by the BBC in the closing credits
of the Grand National 2007 and as the backing
track to a video celebrating the successes
of the Scottish racing driver Dario Franchitti
in the 2007 Autosport Awards ceremony in London.
The album, Riot City Blues, was released in
June and reached number five on the UK Album
Charts. However, it received mixed reviews:
Pitchfork Media called it "flat and dead",
while Allmusic called it "a refreshingly retro
rock & roll album"
In support of the album, the band toured the
UK, along with selected dates in Europe. The
band released their first DVD, Riot City Blues
Tour, in August 2007. The DVD featured clips
of the band's performance in London, as well
as all their music videos and an interview
with Gillespie and Mani.
On 26 August 2006, bassist Mani was reportedly
arrested at the Leeds music festival, after
what was said to be a drunken brawl. However,
he was soon released and the band's appearance
at the festival went ahead. Also around this
time, Young left the band to go on sabbatical,
failing to appear on their November 2006 UK
tour. It was later stated by Bobby Gillespie
that Young was unlikely to make a return.
He has been temporarily replaced by Barrie
Cadogan of Little Barrie. Young died in September
2014.
After touring Screamadelica for most of 2011,
on 18 October Mani revealed he had left the
band to follow his dream due to the reformation
of his original band The Stone Roses. Debbie
Googe was announced as his replacement.
On 27 March 2012, it was confirmed that Primal
Scream would support The Stone Roses at their
Heaton Park concert in Manchester on 29 June
2012.
Recent events: More Light
The band's latest album More Light was released
in May 2013 on the band's own label, First
International, via Ignition Records. The new
album was produced by David Holmes who confirmed
the release on his Facebook page on 11 January
2013. The first track taken from the album
is "2013" with a video to accompany directed
by Rei Nadal. The first single proper is "It's
Alright, It's OK" which was played in the
UK by both BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music as well
as supported by leading alternative music
stations Xfm and Absolute Radio. The second
single is "Invisible City".
Primal Scream played just before the Rolling
Stones at Glastonbury Festival 2013. They
introduced surprise guests Haim who provided
backing vocals for the later songs in the
set.
Former guitarist Robert "Throb" Young died
in September 2014.
Members
Current members
Bobby Gillespie - lead vocals, percussion
Andrew Innes - guitar, backing vocals
Martin Duffy - keyboards
Darrin Mooney - drums, percussion
Touring Members
Barrie Cadogan - guitar, backing vocals
Simone Butler - bass guitar
Discography
Sonic Flower Groove
Primal Scream
Screamadelica
Give Out But Don't Give Up
Vanishing Point
XTRMNTR
Evil Heat
Riot City Blues
Beautiful Future
More Light
See also
Primal Scream tours
References
External links
Official website
