The Primitives

The Primitives
The Primitives performing in Liverpool on 23 May 2012
Background information
Origin Coventry, West Midlands, England
Genres
Years active 1984–1992
2009–present
Labels Elefant Records, Fortuna Pop, Lazy Records, RCA
Members Paul Court
Tracy Tracy
Tig Williams
Raph Moore
Past members Steve Dullaghan
Peter Tweedie
Keiron McDermott
Clive Layton
Andy Hobson
Paul Sampson
Neil Champion

The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career have been vocalist Tracy Tracy and guitarist Paul Court. Drummer Tig Williams has been a constant member since 1987 and the reformed line-up is completed by bassist Raph Moore. Often described as an indie pop or indie rock band, The Primitives' musical style can also be seen as straddling power pop, new wave and post-punk.

Early career and mainstream success (1986–1992)

The Primitives were formed in the summer of 1984 by PJ Court (born Paul James Court) (vocals, guitar), Steve Dullaghan (born Stephen Anthony Dullaghan, ex-Nocturnal Babies) (bass), Peter Tweedie (drums) and Keiron McDermott, ex-Nocturnal Babies (vocals). Vocalist McDermott was later replaced by Tracy Tracy (born Tracy Louise Cattell).[1] Tig Williams replaced Pete Tweedie on drums in October 1987.[2]

According to legend, which seems to be true, McDermott left the band claiming that he could not work with new manager Wayne Morris and so reformed the Nocturnal Babies.<4> Needing a singer for an upcoming gig, Paul went with a strategy which was most likely to succeed: on a piece of scrap paper he wrote "male singer wanted" and posted it at the Coventry library. That afternoon there was a knock at his door, Tracy was responding to the ad. The rest is history.

The band were part of the indie music scene of the mid-1980s alongside bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, The Soup Dragons and The Wedding Present. Their major rivals within the 'blonde pop' scene were Transvision Vamp and The Darling Buds. Musically speaking they had no equals since theirs was a fusion of punk, folk, and pop, which is quite uplifting. They received valuable publicity when The Smiths singer Morrissey was photographed wearing a Primitives t-shirt.

The band's early singles were released on their own Lazy Records imprint. In late 1987, they signed the label over to RCA, who released the band's material from then until their split. Their first album, Lovely (1988) reached No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart, and produced two Top 40 hit singles: "Crash" (UK No. 5, US Modern Rock No. 3) and "Out of Reach" (UK No. 25). "Way Behind Me" was released as a single soon after, and was included on later versions of the debut album, as well as on the follow-up. Towards the end of 1988, the band had a sell-out tour of the UK, climaxing in two nights at London's Town & Country Club.[3]

The band's second album Pure (1989) was preceded by three singles - "Way Behind Me" (UK No. 36, US Modern Rock No. 8), "Sick of It" (UK No. 24, US Modern Rock No. 9) and "Secrets", (UK No. 49, US Modern Rock No. 12).

In 1990, the band did a co-headlining tour of the USA with The Sugarcubes as well as a short tour of Japan.[3] They split in 1992 following the commercial failure of their 1991 album, Galore.[2]

Reformation (2009–present)

Steve Dullaghan died in Coventry on 4 February 2009,[4] following which, after nearly 18 years of dormancy, The Primitives re-formed, with new bassist Raphael Moore.[2] Their first live shows were in Coventry and at the Buffalo Bar in London in October 2009. In spring of 2010, The Primitives toured the UK and also performed a single US concert at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. The Primitives supported The Wedding Present at Koko in Camden, London on 13 December 2010 as part of that band's Bizarro album 21st anniversary tour.

The Primitives also went back into the studio with original producer Paul Sampson, recording the EP Never Kill A Secret,[2] featuring two original songs - the title track and "Rattle My Cage" - and two cover versions of lesser-known female-fronted songs - "Need All the Help I Can Get" (written by Lee Hazlewood and originally recorded by Suzi Jane Hokom in 1966) and "Breakaway" (originally recorded by Toni Basil in 1966). The EP was released on 7 March 2011. The album Echoes and Rhymes followed in 2012, featuring 14 further recordings of lesser-known female-fronted songs.[2][5] The Japanese edition of Echoes and Rhymes featured a further three bonus tracks, two of which are remix versions of "Need All the Help I Can Get" and "Breakaway". The third bonus track "Can't Stop The Want", also featured on the digital EP "Turn Off The Moon".

A new original track featured on the Elefant Records Christmas compilation album A Christmas Gift For You From Elefant Records called "You Trashed My Christmas". An accompanying video for the track was also released.

A compilation album was issued in March 2013 titled Everything’s Shining Bright – The Lazy Recordings 1985 – 1987. The compilation featured all the Lazy releases, plus, from 1987, previously unreleased, different versions of songs that ended up on Lovely, along with some 1985 demos and the 1987 ICA show, with Morrissey introducing the band on stage.

A new single "Lose The Reason" was released on 18 February 2013, through Elefant Records.

The group's fifth studio album, Spin-O-Rama, was released on Elefant on 13 October 2014, and was preceded by the release of the title track as a 7" and download single.

In April 2017 the four song album "New Thrills" was released. The first 1000 copies were personally autographed by Paul, Tracy, and Tig. Included with the album was a code and instructions for digital download. Tracks are: 1. I'll Trust The Wind 2. Squeak 'N' Squawk 3. Oh Honey Sweet 4. Same Stuff

Members

Discography

Albums

Compilations

  • Lazy 86-88 (1989) - UK No. 73[6]
  • Bombshell - The Hits & More (1994)
  • Best of The Primitives (1996)
  • Bubbling Up - BBC Sessions (1998)
  • Buzz Buzz Buzz (2001)
  • Thru the Flowers - The Anthology (2004)
  • The Best of The Primitives (2005)
  • Buzz Buzz Buzz - Complete Lazy Recordings (2006)
  • Everything's Shining Bright – The Lazy Recordings 1985 – 1987 (2013)

Singles

Year
Title
Chart positions
Album
UK Singles Chart[6] US Modern Rock
1986 "Thru the Flowers" - - Lazy (86-88)
1986 "Really Stupid" - -
1987 "Stop Killing Me" 78 -
"Ocean Blue" - - Lovely
"Thru the Flowers (New Version)" - -
1988 "Crash" 5 3
"Out of Reach" 25 -
"Way Behind Me" 36 8 Pure
1989 "Sick of It" 24 9
"Secrets" 49 12
1991 "You Are the Way" 58 - Galore
Earth Thing/Spells EP - -
"Lead Me Astray" - -
2011 Never Kill a Secret EP - - Non-album EP
2011 "The Witch (Halloween Mix)" - - Echoes And Rhymes
2012 "Turn Off the Moon" - -
2013 "Lose the Reason" - - Spin-O-Rama
2014 "Spin-O-Rama" - -

References

  1. ↑ Ancestry.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ankeny, Jason (2012-04-30). "The Primitives - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  3. 1 2 Best of The Primitives (CD). The Primitives. BMG. 1996.
  4. ↑ Hayes, Kieron (2009-02-17). "Obituary: Steve Dullaghan". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
  5. ↑ Sendra, Tim (2012-04-30). "Echoes and Rhymes - The Primitives : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 439. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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