The Wonder Stuff

TOM HINGLEY-SPEAR OF DESTONY – THE CHAMELEONS – NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN – TERRORVISION – NEW MODEL ARMY – THE WONDERSTUFF

How Times have changed. Ten years ago, this would have been the main stage at reading in front of 30,000 pop kids. Now its in front of 8,000 thirtysomethings, at Victoria Embankment replete with middle aged spread and mortgage payments, while the main stage at Reading celebrates the misogyny and alienation of the modern teen, in exactly the same way the Wonderstuff’s pop tunes didn’t ten years ago.

First up, Tom Hingley of Inspiral Carpets, who’s twice the man he used to be. Quite literally. He used to be slim and lithe, and now he ain’t, but is possessed with a self-effacing sense of humour and a n acoustic guitar. Starting his set in front of a – to be polite – sparse crowd with the biggest hit of the Inspiral Carpets career “This is how it feels”, he shoots his bolt too soon, with the first 3 songs all old Inspirals hits. Then, eschewing any sense, he launches into a Craig David cover, and some totally unfamiliar territory of covers of songs you’ve never heard of. Tom Hingley doesn’t win the crowd over for 2 reasons – firstly his acoustic set is totally mismatched amongst todays line up, and mainly because, at 12:30 on a Sunday, the crowd consists of one crusty and his dog. Almost literally. (well actually, the crusty was trying to build a tent, only to be swiftly told off by security, but that’s a different matter).

Speart of Destiny on the other hand, provide the first “band” of the day proper. With a blond goth chancer who used to look like New Orders Barney Sumner, but now looks like a balding albino headbanger. 2 decades out of place, Spear of Destiny are best left in the history books, and best forgotten, as is the dreadful sound. Recycling all the worst goff cliches of the 80’s does not necessarily a good band make, and doing so with I front of a 90% apathetic crowd is a battle against futility. Spear of Destiny lost that battle, as well as the battle against relevancy in 2000’s also. There’s a difference between “classic” and “jurassic”, and Spear of Destiny, don’t know what it is.

Unfortunately, neither do THE CHAMELEONS. While a band who were hugely influential in the old days, Nowadays Mark Burgess bears a worrying resemblance to Geddy Lee. They play a competent, well rehearsed, but ultimately workmanlike set, interspersed with some old “classics” and some new songs. However, the ambience is totally ruined by a complete lack of dry ice, lighting, the colour black and a reggae percussionist who seems to insist of interspersing every song with toasting. Disappointing is not the word.

NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN on the other hand…offer a glimpse from the 90’s rather than the early 80’s. Quite possibly the most eagerly awaited band so far – in only their second UK gig in 6 years, the sound still remains dreadful, but it doesn’t seem to matter to the thousands reliving the past down front. In a curiously only in the early 90’s greatest hits kinda way, remembering the days when all you had to do was play “Sheriff fatman” or “One way” to ensure a dancefloor filled up within seconds. “Until you find out” opens up, before a set that revisits much of the same songs as last years “one off”. Its like the last 10 years never happened, and everyone’s just been out and bought those retro “I love 1991” compilations.”Happy” is just as vital as it ever was, and a singles heavy set (“Grey Cell green”, “trust”, “Kill your television”) along with some of the newer songs from the mainly neglected “brainbloodvolume” CD prove this band still wrote decent songs even when the popkids stopped listening. Its brilliant , in a time machine sort of way. “Aim” sees the crowd singing along the live adlibs from an ancient 12”, while John penny forgets how to do it. “Intact” still is one of the best songs ever written, period, and the Neds? It might be a trip down memory lane, but its nice to go there sometimes, on basis of the fact that this band never went crap.

After Ned’s come a band that rather than reforming, are about to split up (for the first time?) – Terrorvision, who are quite probably the only band on the bill who’ve come anywhere near to bothering the top 40 in the past 6 years. Somehow I feel they might have been more in place on the extreme fest bill the next day, but they’re yesterdays heroes. Opening with “Alice, Whats the matter?” The band go through an oddly perfunctory and functional set laden with singles that make you remember how, at times they really could be quite good, rather than exceptional. Singer Tony Wright makes jumping up and down seem like an attractive proposition at any time, the female keyboardist seems oddly out of place (often forgetting the words). The classic single that never could be (“party over here, fuck you over there”) never seem more apt for a set of cabaret pop-metal, where nothing exists short of having a good time and jumping up and down to hit singles like “Tequila”,and the closing threesome of the insanely catchy “D’you wanna go faster”, “Oblivion” and “Perservance”. The greatest hits album should be a blinder, in a singalong yet empty, vacous and unfiulfilling way, and terrorvision comes across as lightweight, enjoyable pop fluff, with guitars.

On the other hand, there’s New Model Army – goth/post punk veterans against the odds, who must be aghast at the prospect of playing to their largest UK crowd in a decade. Only, they somehow instead play roughly the same set they played as earlier in the year, without an ounce of compromise. Concentrating on their newer , less well known material and omitting many of the more popular songs proves to be a poor move in front of a crowd (which aside the 500 strong new model army hardcore, who go apeshit during all the songs, build pyramids, and pretend its still in the 1600’s - very predictably) is ultimately, mainly indifferent. There’s never been a better example of a band held back by its audience. Sometimes 18 year old songs like “Liberal Education” or “No Rest” sound more relevant and contemporary than the largely forgettable and lyrically obscure efforts of “flying through the smoke” and “Aimless desire” . But armed with an acoustic guitar and the truth New Model army play an impassioned set that flies in the face of convention and conformity much like the band themselves ; yet wins over few new converts. The sound is poor, the set just fizzles out with an admittably excellent “Green and Grey” rather than ending with a bang, and quite frankly, from a band who wrote such classics as “Vagabonds”, “Vengeance” and “I love the world”, its very disappointing - the new material doesn’t even come close to being filler. Which is a real shame, because I’ve seen the play blinding sets in the past, and this aint one of ‘em.

The WONDERSTUFF on the other hand, are greeted like conquering heroes- and compared to all the other bands on the bill, they seem to deserve it. The sound and lights seems to instantly improve tenfold, and the band play only one song written in the last decade. Its like instant indie disco – just add Wonderstuff. From the opening metal racket of “Can’t shape up” It doesn’t sound like a band that’s been away for 7 years. While lacking the final “one off-ness euphoria of the shows in December, the crowd laps it all up. A succession of chart and disco bothering hit singles succeeds with the crowd partying like its 1991, maybe 10 years has passed, and yet we all feel as young as we did then. “Here comes everyone” is superlative, as always, “Circlesquare” and “Golden green” show how the band really did invent country and western and baggy, “Size of a cow” is jaunty pop-euphoria in a way that little indiemusic since has been, and “Donation” is simply caustic.The heartfelt “piece of sky”, and the closing “Unbearable” and “ten trenches deep” are brilliant. If you can’t jump up and down to this, check your CD collection or your pulse. No nonsense, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Come the encores, “mission drive” shows a maturity that many of their contemporaries never achieved, proving how the Wonderstuff really were head and shoulders above so many other bands of the same era - and the cover version of PWEI’s “Inside You” is as surprising as welcome. The they come back onstage, realise they haven’t played enough, and start playing unrehearsed songs off the cuff – “Play”, a rough and ready version of “gimme some truth” (featuring “public image” and “Jane says”), and the closing “goodnight though”.

Sometimes it seems like the Wonderstuff are going to be taken for granted – they split up once, and they’re coming back now , just like many bands on tonights bill. The fact of the matter is the glory days and chart bothering are mainly behind them all, and theres’ newer, more trendy bands to like nowadays for the NME to write about. It doesn’t mean the bands are no longer relevant, because they can still cut it – even if the NME isn’t listening anymore, preferring to go on about the kiddie metal of Linkin bizkit and the packaged-rebellion/ misogyny of Enimem. For a few hours, its like stepping back in time ten years and looking back with rose tinted specs. It’s a great view. The past is a great place to visit for a few hours, but you probably don’t want to live there. Now, where did I put that Carter top?

TOM HINGLEY: THIS IS HOW IT FEELS – SATURN 5 – DRAGGING ME DOWN – 7 DAYS – LORD WOINT YOU BUY ME – I WONT FALL (johnnie kidd+Pirates)

NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN INTRO – UNTILL YOU FIND OUT – HAPPY – SELFISH – GREY CELL GREEN – LESS THAN USEFUL – TRUST – AIM – STUCK – CAPITAL LETTERS – INTACT – TWO+TWO = 5 – KILL YOUR TELEVISION – SONG ELEVEN GOES ON FOREVER

NEW MODEL ARMY – FATE (acoustic/rock) – OVER THE WIRE – STRANGER – R&R – AIMLESS DESIRE – WONDERFUL WAY TO GO – INHERITANCE – HERE COMES THE WAT – YOU WEREN’T THERE – LIBERAL EDUCATION – NO REST – PURITY – FLYING THROUGH THE SMOKE – 51stSTATE – GET ME OUT – GREEN AND GREY

WONDERSTUFF CANT SHAPE UP – RUBY HORSE –WISH AWAY – HERE COMES EVERYONE – CARTOON BOYFRIEND – CIRCLESQUARE – GOLDEN GREEN – SIZE OF A COW – WELCOME TO THE CHEAP SEATS – SLEEP ALONE – DONATION – ITS YER MONEY IM AFTER – PIECE OF SKY – GIVE GIVE GIVE – ON THE ROPES – UNBEARABLE – 10 TRENCHES DEEP – MISSION DRIE – INSIDE YOU – DON’T LET ME DOWN GENTLY – POISON – REDBERRY JOYTOWN – No x 13th TIME – PLAY – GIMME SOME TRUTH /(jane says) – GOODNIGHT THOUGH