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
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.