International
Rescue at Sounds 83 - Burton Constable Hall
One of my favourite local bands from the early
80s, who I saw play live several times was International Rescue. Along with The Red Guitars, Indians in Moscow, the Luddites
and poet Swift Nick they were featured in a Hull Bands Special on the Tube in 1983 International Rescue’s performance was filmed at
International Rescue’s
original line up was
Stephen Skinner - Vocals
and Guitar
David Waller - Guitar and Vocals
Chaz Cook - Bass and Vocals
David Waller - Guitar and Vocals
Chaz Cook - Bass and Vocals
Dr Spec – Drums
The band had a strong
following locally and supported Orange Juice on tour. Vocalist Stephen Skinner
went on to play alongside of Orange Juice front man Edwyn Collins. Here you can
see Steve and Edwyn playing the classic ‘Never Met A Girl Like You Before’. Not to be missed!
As far as I can make out International
Rescue released three singles on their own Cowboy City
1983
A side ‘(You Need) Shoes’
B side ‘Balance’
1984
A side ‘Life in an
Elevator’
B side Mr Whippy
1986
A side Leather Jacket
B side Travelling
They also released one
album in 1987 entitled ‘Leather Jacket’
International Rescue have continued
to perform under the name IR although I’m not sure how active they have been
since releasing an album called ‘No Country for Old Men’ in 2013. Check out
their Facebook page for more info.
The
first time I saw International Rescue play live was at the Sounds 83 festival
at Burton Constable Hall. My review of their performance, as featured in issue
one of Kindred Spirit follows.
What
could have been better? A six hour rock festival featuring top local acts, a
late bar, food and plenty of space? And the ideal venue – Burton Constable Hall
stables, a venue which staged such bands as Free and Marmalade in the early
70s. Yes ‘Sounds 83’ was a very good idea.
Second
on the agenda were the excellent and highly individualistic International
Rescue.
The
lead singer walked on stage wearing a gi-normous pair of blue specs
(exhibitionist!) He was undoubtedly the front man, raising several sniggers
with his dry remarks. The bassist, who was a cross between Boy George and Robin
Hood, stood to his left in silence and cast a suspicious eye over the spiky
tops leaping around at his feet.
Their
music was fast, fierce, energetic, creative and likeable, each song totally
different from the last.
‘Living
at a Bus Stop’ (story of my life etc) reminded me of some of the Beat’s early
material – melodic and lively. ‘Travel’ began like (dare I say it?) Duran
Duran’s ‘Rio ’ and continued to move at a fast
pace until the final chord. ‘This is Opportunity ’ and ‘Rupture’ were moving and memorable;
in fact it was all very memorable.
The
lead guitarist, who is a self confessed sexist according to the singer, could
quite easily have been mistaken for a mad professor. As the red and green
lights dazzled on his forehead and sweat dripped from his nose, all that was
needed was a huge cloud of smoke and it could quite easily have been a scene
from an old science fiction movie!
Phew!
What a pity there aren’t a few more bands around like International Rescue.
Punctured Tough Guy at Welly Club
Punctured
Tough Guy, namely Dave (guitar), Mike (bass) and Mart (vocals) were a three
piece new wave band from Hull Hull
In
1984 Punctured Tough Guy released a cassette on Zeiga Productions entitled
Warped Houses. The tracks included are listed below and can all be found on You
Tube:
A1 - White Lulu
A2 - Typhoid Mary
A3 - Glyph
A4 - One Armed Man
B1 - Meat Memories
B2 - Diaphragm
B3 - Plague Years
B4 - Dew on the Lila
B2 - Diaphragm
B3 - Plague Years
B4 - Dew on the Lila
In
addition to this they released a three track EP in 1985 called 'Acid Rains' with Xcentric
Noise Records.
From
what I’ve managed to find out guitarist Dave went on to form one half of funk
duo Fila Brazillia in the early 90s, who subsequently released a string of
albums spanning over a decade.
The
review below dated early 1984 was written by Avril who if I remember correctly was
a friend of the band. I think she may have been involved in designing the
Warped Houses cassette sleeve but if anyone knows different please correct me!
PUNCTURED TOUGH GUY - WELLY CLUB, HULL
You hear the name and expect another silly, unmusical band, but that is the last impression you get when PTG take to the stage.
The band consists of three members: Mike - bass, Man - guitar and Mart - vocals (not forgetting Roland, their drum machine!) Unfortunately it was the latter than let them down on this particular occasion, coupled with the fact that the PA and mixing were to say the least, amateur.
They opened with a slightly fast version of "Meat Memories", which led to a good reception. After this, the sound wasn't anywhere near as invigorating and most of the band's inspiration was lost.
They did, however manage a total of nine songs, some of which lacked energy, especially in the vocals.
There were calls for more, but by this time the incentive to play had gone. It may have been better if they had used a drummer instead of a machine, but on the other hand this could have affected the rather individual sound which the band possess.
This gig certainly wasn't one of their best, but don't be discouraged by this review. PTG have great potential... don't take my word for it, go and see them for yourself!
You hear the name and expect another silly, unmusical band, but that is the last impression you get when PTG take to the stage.
The band consists of three members: Mike - bass, Man - guitar and Mart - vocals (not forgetting Roland, their drum machine!) Unfortunately it was the latter than let them down on this particular occasion, coupled with the fact that the PA and mixing were to say the least, amateur.
They opened with a slightly fast version of "Meat Memories", which led to a good reception. After this, the sound wasn't anywhere near as invigorating and most of the band's inspiration was lost.
They did, however manage a total of nine songs, some of which lacked energy, especially in the vocals.
There were calls for more, but by this time the incentive to play had gone. It may have been better if they had used a drummer instead of a machine, but on the other hand this could have affected the rather individual sound which the band possess.
This gig certainly wasn't one of their best, but don't be discouraged by this review. PTG have great potential... don't take my word for it, go and see them for yourself!
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