The Primitives re-formed last year to play in memory of their recently deceased former bassist Steve Dullahan, and enjoyed playing again so much that they decided to continue as a band. They recruited new bassist Ralph Moore and recorded an album of carefully chosen covers entitled "Echoes and Rhymes".
However, before we get to see the 21st Century version of The Primitives we are to be entertained by The School. The School are a seven-piece from Cardiff who have been supporting The Primitives for the last five dates of their tour. The band comprise a singer (Liz Hunt) who also plays keyboards, electric and acoustic guitarists (the acoustic guitarist also plays recorder and xylophone), bassist, violinist and trumpeter.
The plethora of instruments on stage makes one fear that this could all get a bit messy, but nothing could be further from the truth. The band's performance is both tight and deservedly assured. The set is reasonably varied. The first song comes over all jangly-pop with the guitarist's Johnny Marr indebted sound, Liz Hunt's honeyed vocals and farfisa sounding keyboard. The next song however has a real Stax / Motown feel powered along by insistently choppy chords from the Tele. Yet another song has a clear Velvets influence.
Something all of the songs have are great pop hooks. Liz Hunt's vocals have a certain purity which emphasises the melodies. She has very confident inter-song banter too. The band's assured performance is all the more surprising when it emerges towards the end of the set that the drummer and guitarist are standing in!
The School are an excellent pop band with loads of potential, if only as providers of a great night out! See for yourselves when they play at The Queen Of Hoxton on 12th June.
Finally it's time for The Primitives! Ralph Moore takes the stage first, followed by Paul Court and then Tig Williams. They start up a riff and then they're joined by Tracy Tracy. If it wasn't for the grins on the band's faces this could all be a bit showbiz, but it's obviously tongue in cheek.
They start off with Till You Say You'll Be Mine (by Jackie De Shannon) from the new album and it's like they've never been away. They're tight and energetic. Tracy is in great voice and has lost nothing as a frontwoman. She is still very kittenish, though this perception may have been helped by the bow in her hair which looked like ears!
Although Spacehead and Sick Of It follow, the set is heavily weighted in favour of the new album. This is no bad thing as it makes the point that The Primitives are alive and kicking as a band and not just an oldies act. However, this thought was swiftly barged out of the way by Thru The Flowers "from the old indie days"! This was followed by "Single Girl", which my mate tells me is a classic from 1965 by Sandy Posey. Obviously a classic that I haven't heard. It's a cracking song - good choice Prims!
Their disappointing third album Galore isn't ignored and You Are The Way gets an airing, sounding way better live than it did on vinyl. We get a run of three songs from the new album (including Panic for which the band are joined by the ladies from The School on backing vocals) before the band dip into the classics from their back catalogue: Stop Killing Me, Way Behind Me and an absolutely storming version of Crash (which is preceded by Nico's I'm Not Saying). Apparently The Primitives were huge in Japan and there are a large number of Japanese fans present, some of whom hold aloft 12" single sleeves of Crash when that's performed. The set ends with two more songs from the new album, but it's not long before they come back to crash through "Buzz Buzz Buzz" and "Really Stupid".
All in all this was a great evening for both band and audience. If the covers they've chosen for their new album are an indication of the direction they'll take when they record some new originals then we're in for a bit of a treat. The band have obviously matured, but their new material sits well with their effervescent classics.
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