POP WILL EAT ITSELF – THE PIPER, ST. LEONARDS-ON-SEA 26.9.24
Pop Will Eat Itself formed in 1986 in the West Midlands. Initially considered part of alternative rock’s ‘grebo’ scene, combining punky guitar with elements of electronic dance music, a switch to a more sample-heavy approach scored them chart hits in 1989 with singles ‘Can U Dig It?’ and ‘Wise Up! Sucker’, and parent album ‘This Is The Day…This Is The Hour…This Is This!’. That record was on particularly heavy rotation in my household at the time, with its memorably distinctive artwork by The Designers Republic and songwriting credited to the whole band under the amusing pseudonym ‘Vestan Pance’. The rap-led fusion of electro-punk and hip hop proved popular in the times between grunge and Britpop, and further hits followed before the band eventually called it a day in 1996.
There was a brief reunion in 2005 before reconvening in 2010 with a new lineup. With Clint Mansell (who previously shared lead vocals and main songwriting duties with Graham Crabb) having relocated to America to write music for films, the band recruited Mary Byker, lead singer with fellow grebo-scene alumni Gaye Bykers On Acid. Pop Will Eat Itself continue to write and record new material, and remain a popular act at festivals and on the live circuit. With forthcoming dates in Manchester and London to celebrate the 30th anniversary of hit album ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’, the band are tonight playing a warm up show at grassroots venue The Piper, a pub in St Leonards with a 200 capacity live room upstairs. This is a rare chance to see The Poppies up close in such an intimate setting, and promises to be a real treat. Needless to say, the show is sold out.
The venue is buzzing with anticipation as I arrive and settle down to enjoy an appropriate selection of tunes from DJ Oliver Cherer, well known around here as vocalist and guitarist of local heroes Aircooled, and co-owner of Bexhill independent record shop Music’s Not Dead. At around 9:10pm the DJ set gives way to chugging electronics, and the various members of Pop Will Eat Itself take their places to enthusiastic cheering. Following the dual rapped introductory ‘The Incredible P.W.E.I. vs Dirty Harry’, we go straight up a gear with the lively ‘Karmadrome’. Band and audience are getting into it, and there’s a lively bounce underway, on stage and off.
House left is Adam Mole, holding his keyboard aloft to reveal the message “Ignore alien orders”. This much-used phrase was famously a sticker on the guitars of The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia and punk legend Joe Strummer. Dreadlocked bassist Davey Bennett flashes his trademark manic grin, and hard-working drummer Cliff Hewitt is also custodian of the laptop bearing the backing track with all those much-loved samples. Guitarist Richard March is house right, wearing a suit with a distinctive check pattern and playing a Gibson Firebird. He too has a laptop perched on top of the rack unit he’s plugged into, presumably controlling effects patches, and there’s a worrying moment as it crashes to the floor and we lose the guitar sound. Fortunately, this is soon restored with some assistance from the stage tech. The band are a tight and impressive live unit, and I’m particularly taken with the vocal interplay between Graham Crabb and Mary Byker, who work together brilliantly as a dynamic and effective rap duo.
Wailing sirens open the briskly urgent ‘PWEI-zation’, with Cliff getting busy on the hi-hats and a big snare outro. Adam adds extra guitar on ‘Not Now James, We’re Busy’, and the crowd are dancing enthusiastically. ‘Disco Misfits’ is a newer track, as yet unreleased, and its infectiously bouncy groove and staccato vocal sit nicely with the older material. Adam is certainly getting into it, climbing on his keyboard stand.
“What we’re dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the law,” goes the sampled opening to ‘Their Law’, a track co-written with The Prodigy and featured on that band’s classic album ‘Music For The Jilted Generation’. As you might expect, it’s a dancey number and features a huge juddering backing. Graham is out in the crowd, in a call-and-response rap duet with Mary Byker, who remains on stage. It looks and sounds great.
As the forthcoming gigs are in celebration of ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ (“two fingers my friends”) it’s no surprise that a section of songs from that album is included on the setlist. “This goes out to all the anti-nazis,” announces Mary, introducing ‘Ich Bin Ein Ausländer’, and he adds a further shout out to Clint for writing the song, which is “still relevant today”. The swirling noise backing of ‘Kick To Kill’ gives way to a haunting outro chant of “nothing to do and nothing to feel”, and there’s a trippy industrial vibe and urgent tribal rhythm on ‘MeNoFearTheReaper’. The album’s Spanish title pops up in the lyric of ‘Everything’s Cool’, and the accompanying bounce is of sufficient intensity to dislodge Mary’s baseball cap. Adam delivers a stunning keyboard solo in ‘R.S.V.P.’, and there’s a nice shout out to The Piper and St Leonards at the end of ‘Babylon’.
Graham’s back into the crowd during the insanely infectious ‘Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!’, as the stage is enveloped in a fog of haze. Adam joins in with some vocals on another unreleased number ‘Bruiser’, and Graham’s megaphone is brought into service on the classic ‘Wise Up! Sucker’.
“Ten to doomsday moving fast… Heads up! Mind that blast” go the opening lines of ‘Def Con One’, a personal favourite of mine. If you’re too young to remember the Cold War, the phrase refers to the highest state of alert of the US military, and signals the impending outbreak of nuclear war. I’m very pleased that we have all managed to get through the subsequent thirty five years without witnessing Armageddon, though with the current cohort of incumbent and potential world leaders, nuclear paranoia seems to be right back in fashion. I notice that the lyrics have been updated to “how gone is Don?”. It’s an insanely catchy number, and the “Big Mac, fries to go” hook has been stuck in my head since 1989. The piece is also a masterclass in the use of samples, taken to another level by iconic excerpts from ‘Crazy Horses’ by The Osmonds, ‘Funky Town’ by Lipps, Inc. and the theme from ‘The Twilight Zone’. The crowd are bouncing boisterously, arms thrust aloft in ecstatic delight.
There’s more in the locker, with another excellent newer number ‘Vive le Rok’, and the lolloping shuffle of ‘Bulletproof’. The intensity builds further with ‘Dance Of The Mad Bastards’, and the climax of the set is another sample-heavy classic: ‘Can U Dig It?’ Belle Epoque’s ‘Black Is Black’ provides the naggingly insistent “We like the music, we like the disco sound” opening, and a machine gun splutter of staccato chords ushers in the “Riffs! Yeah” hook. There’s not much more to say here, as the setlist indicates this is the last chance for dancing, and I’ll be taking it.
Pop Will Eat Itself were innovative and exciting back in the day, and remain a phenomenal live unit right now. I’ve been hugely impressed by the performance, and also by the quality of the more recent material. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to see them play in a small grassroots venue. If you ever get a chance to catch this band live, I recommend you take it.
Pop Will Eat Itself:
Graham Crabb – vocals
Mary Byker – vocals
Adam Mole – keyboard, guitar, vocals
Richard March – guitar
Davey Bennett – bass
Cliff Hewitt – drums
Pop Will Eat Itself setlist:
‘The Incredible P.W.E.I. vs Dirty Harry’ (from 1990 ‘Cure For Sanity’ album)
‘Karmadrome’ (from 1992 ‘The Looks Or The Lifestyle’ album)
‘PWEI-zation’ (from 1989 ‘Very Metal Noise Pollution’ EP)
‘Not Now James, We’re Busy’ (from 1989 ‘This Is The Day…This Is The hour…This Is This!’ album)
‘Disco Misfits’ (unreleased)
‘Their Law’ (The Prodigy cover)
‘Ich Bin Ein Ausländer’ (from 1994 ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ album)
‘Kick To Kill’ (from 1994 ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ album)
‘MeNoFearTheReaper’ (from 1994 ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ album)
‘Everything’s Cool’ (from 1994 ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ album)
‘R.S.V.P.’ (from 1994 ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ album)
‘Babylon’ (from 1994 ‘Dos Dedos Mis Amigos’ album)
‘Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!’ (from 1992 ‘The Looks Or The Lifestyle’ album)
‘Bruiser’ (unreleased)
‘Wise Up! Sucker’ (from 1989 ‘This Is The Day…This Is The hour…This Is This!’ album)
‘Def Con One’ (from 1989 ‘This Is The Day…This Is The hour…This Is This!’ album)
‘Vive le Rok’ (unreleased)
‘Bulletproof!’ (from 1992 ‘The Looks Or The Lifestyle’ album)
‘Dance Of The Mad Bastards’ (from 1990 ‘Cure For Sanity’ album)
‘Can U Dig It?’ (From 1989 ‘This Is The Day…This Is The hour…This Is This!’ album)
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