JAH WOBBLE & THE INVADERS OF THE HEART – PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 24.01.20
Tonight we headed off to Patterns in Brighton for our second helping of Jah Wobble & The Invaders Of The Heart, having previously seen them live on 10th February 2019.
For those that may be unaware, the famed Stepney born East Londoner bassist, Jah Wobble (real name John Wardle) was one of the founding members of Public Image Ltd (PiL) along with vocalist Johnny Lydon (née Johnny Rotten), guitarist Keith Levine and drummer Jim Walker. That was way back in 1978 and just four months after Lydon walked out on the Sex Pistols and thus punk had appeared to have imploded in spectacular fashion – “ha ha ha ha ever got the felling you’ve been cheated?”.
Amazingly, 61 year old Jah Wobble was only a part of PiL for two and a half years, and yet his superb bass playing with the band, was deemed by many to be the unit’s heyday. I mean c’mon those opening bars of the track ‘Public Image’ are what dreams are made of aren’t they? Over 40 years later and the tune still most certainly stands the test of time. Then there’s ‘Metal Box’ (PiL album No.2) which at the time threw a Wobble-y for trad punks, as the album was littered with propulsive dub-inspired rhythms. Rhythms which were led by Wobble with his distinctive ‘low end’ bass, which was the backbone of PiL’s pioneering sound. Clearly he had left his mark and he was off and the result to PiL being the following album ‘The Flowers Of Romance’, which was noted as being almost devoid of bass other than tokens from guitarist Levine. It was a drumming led release. Had PiL evolved or lost ‘their sound’ – you decide!
Over the past four decades Wobble has ploughed his own furrow as a prolific solo artist, as well as becoming a well-respected session musician, with a genuine passion for Eastern and Global music. He has worked with a diverse range of musicians, including Baaba Maal, Björk, Primal Scream, Brian Eno, Sinead O’Connor, Dolores O’Riordan, and Chaka Demus and Pliers.
Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart released their debut album ‘Without Judgement’ in 1989 and received a Mercury Music Prize nomination in 1991 for the ‘Rising Above Bedlam’ album, which contained the legendary album opener ‘Visions Of You’ with Sinéad O’Connor on vocals. After the acclaimed ‘Take Me To God’ album in 1994, which featured the now sadly departed vocal talents of Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries on the single ‘The Sun Does Rise’, The Invaders of The Heart split. Jah Wobble then launched his own 30 Hertz record label which has subsequently released around 30 albums. After a 12 year gap without any Jah Wobble & The Invaders Of The Heart albums, 2015 saw their return and 5 albums later they are still on the case.
Tonight at Patterns the band are Jah Wobble (bass), Marc Layton-Bennett (drums), Martin Chung (guitar) and George King (keyboards). Their set lasts exactly 120 minutes from 8:26pm to 10:26pm. Wobble would have gone on longer, but he was forced to stop because of the curfew. He threw a polite Wobble. So what happened in between?
The guys entered the stage and the appreciative mainly middle-aged crowd welcomed them. The set began without any fuss with a trio of new tracks from the latest album ‘Ocean Blue Waves’. They were all in the freestyle jazz and jazz funk vein, with the first two being instrumentals. Track 4 was ‘Socialist’ initially from ‘Metal Box’, but recrafted for ‘The Invaders’ 2017 ‘The Usual Suspects’ album. This led straight into ‘Doctrine Of Dub & Bass’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy’ also found on the same album. The latter being a cover of John Barry’s 1969 epic from the film of the same name. No mouth organ just the use of Yamaha MODX8 and Novation keyboards instead. This nostalgic foray led to the first of many amusing Wobble-isms. Where Jah puts his take on the world in general and the like. We agreed that the film was a classic.
They had left the almost freestyle jazz behind and moved into ska/dub territory. I can recall hearing their version of Harry J. All Stars ‘Liquidator’. Then motoring fans, it was time for ‘The Chain’ aka the theme from ‘Top Gear’, which was originally penned by Fleetwood Mac.
Suddenly, the vibe for me was ramped up a notch when the hypnotic swirling notes of the classic ‘Visions Of You’ hit my eardrums. This was a slightly down-tempo version that included the barely audible taped female vocals of I would guess Holly Macve, as she appears on the reworked version found on the ‘The Usual Suspects’ album. This was followed by ‘Becoming More Like God’ which also features Holly Macve on the recorded version. Two weeks ago we reviewed Holly in concert in London – read our report HERE.
Next up, they unleashed ‘Public Image’, but in a radically changed form. Once they had finished this, then Wobble announced that they would play a Dub Version of the same tune. I enjoyed watching the high end deepest bass notes being plucked on his Fender. It was E note central as in (E-A-D-G).
With Wobble being a pioneer of world music, the next track ‘Every Man’s An Island’, has a pleasant blend of Arabesque, Cossack and early morning Ibiza sounds with Wobble’s cockney geezer vocals on top. This was followed by a tongue in cheek rant about people who name drop in the music business and then he himself name drops Holger Czukay of Can fame – it was time for ‘How Much Are They?’, which Wobble originally put out with him in 1982. Wobble was attentive to his cowbells and drums during the funky vibes.
The following number was an epic version of ‘Poptones’ from PiL’s 1979 ‘Metal Box’ album. The tune was brought down a notch in the centre section and Wobble left the stage and drummer Marc chilled out whilst Martin Chung (guitar) and George King (keyboards) took centre stage. The stage was then invaded by health and safety inspector, replete with orange hi-vis vest and white safety hat, who proceeded to check the band’s equipment. Of course it was Wobble ‘aving a laugh. He’s like that you know!
More PiL arrived with a funky version of the unique ‘Fodderstompf’ “We Only Wanted To Be Loved, We Only Wanted To Be Loved, We Only Wanted To Be Loved”. Sound engineer Charlie was certainly put through his paces this evening. I think that there was one final track and that was it.
Jah Wobble & The Invaders Of The Heart setlist as far as I can remember. Can anyone assist with confirmation or corrections?:
(Unknown) from ‘Ocean Blue Waves’ album
(Unknown) from ‘Ocean Blue Waves’ album
(Unknown) from ‘Ocean Blue Waves’ album
‘Socialist’ (Public Image Ltd cover)
‘Doctrine Of Dub & Bass’
‘Midnight Cowboy’ (John Barry cover)
‘Liquidator’ (Harry J All Stars cover)
‘The Chain’ (Fleetwood Mac cover)
‘Visions Of You’
‘Becoming More Like God’
‘Public Image’ (Public Image Ltd cover)
‘Public Image (dub version)’ (Public Image Ltd cover)
‘Everyman’s An Island’
‘How Much Are They?’ (Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble & Jaki Liebezeit cover)
‘Poptones’ (Public Image Ltd cover)
‘Fodderstompf’ (Public Image Ltd cover)
(Unknown)
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