Just dug this one out #2 - The Primitives

Posted on January 24th, 2007 by Andy

Primitives Pure
The Primitives - Pure

I’ve taken to grabbing random bunches of CDs to take into work - yesterday it was from the Ns and I had a day of Neu!, Neutral Milk Hotel and The New Year - not too much to complain about there. This morning I grabbed from the Ps and have listened to Pram and Portishead (I’ll take the Prince CDs home unplayed).

I loved The Primitives back in the day - the first two albums had little gems amidst the oftent retro psychedilic-pop - and listening to Pure this afternoon it became clear that all those gems were the songs that Tracy sang on, and the songs Paul sings on are…well not so gem…ish. I don’t have the first album on CD but Pure is worth it just for “Sick of It”, “Secrets” and “Way Behind Me”.

I saw The Primitives a few times way back when, but most memorable was probably the sad and shabby final-legs performance at the Borderline which saw the guitarist finally storm off in a frustrated huff and left the band to labour through the rest of the song guitar-less and leave the stage, shoulders-hunched, never to be seen again.

I was horrified to see “Crash” being used for a drink-driving information film a couple of years back…there I was in the cinema happily tapping and singing along when a cyclist got flattened on the screen - very disturbing! Despite that it’s a song that doesn’t fail to make me smile in all it’s shiny, shallow, vibrant beauty.

Fantastic fan site with stacks of mp3s and videos!


The Primitives - Way Behind Me

Posted in Music, just dug this one out |

One Response to “Just dug this one out #2 - The Primitives”

  1. David Jennings Says:
    January 25th, 2007 at 12:44 am

    Andy, I first tried to see the Primitives sometime in 1987 or early ‘88 at Sheffield’s long-gone Take 2 club. When the band took the stage, I noticed they sounded a bit like a Scottish version of Dr Feelgood and lacked a female singer. I went to the entrance and noticed the sign read “Tonight - The Primevals” (they did a Peel Session once, and amazingly are still going). Ah! Ever since then, I’ve given listings closer and more detailed attention. Happily The Primitives came to Sheffield Uni a few months later— a very enjoyable evening in the end.

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