That was Norman Rodger's reason for splitting up TV21 backstage at the Playhouse twenty-seven years ago.
Back then, the post-punk outfit were on the front page of Melody Maker, on the Old Grey Whistle Test, and on stage opening for the Rolling
Stones. Even John Peel was a fan.
But, just as the band were about to break through following their 1981 album, A Thin Red Line, it all went horribly wrong. Inner-band tensions and record company wrangles (the usual problems) all caught up with the band, sucking up every last ounce of energy and enthusiasm they had left. The Edinburgh band also happened to be two-thirds of the way through making a new album when they split. Sadly, no-one got to hear the results and the band were consigned to the same Edinburgh music bin as groups like Scars and Josef K. But what a difference three decades make.
Financially better off, a little greyer, a whole lot balder – and, performing songs from their new album, Forever 22, a mere stone's throw from where they originally called it a day back in 1982 – TV21 are finally on the right path. Well, sort of.
Having reformed back in October 2005 following a John Peel Day gig at the Citrus Club, original drummer Ali Paterson and trumpeter Dave Hampton have not joined up with Norman Rodger (vocals/ guitar), Neil Baldwin (bass) and Ally Palmer. In their place, however, comes Simon McGlynn and electric violinist Emily Peppers, and the newly revamped line-up's show at the Voodoo Rooms last night proved these musicians are a genuine force to be reckoned with.
Songs are dispensed with in true no-nonsense fashion, Palmer and Pepper's twin harmonising a key feature's in the resurrected band's new sound. Rodger's voice has a curious Bruce Springsteen expression to it nowadays, beads of sweat dripping from his shaved head like some pumped-up boxer. And while the band themselves would admit their jokes are simply god-awful, some audience member's ill-advised shouts for Pepper to reveal certain parts of her anatomy were far from funny, however good-natured.
That aside, the power-pop of How Did You Get It So Wrong (a tune that has stadium anthem written all over it) gave an indication of what might have been for the band had they not originally split up. Too Late For Me Now – imagine The Teardrop Explodes covering an obscure Bob Dylan song at a steady 80mph – was a stark contrast to the tub-thumping stomp of When Cole Was King.
Palmer said he could imagine the exasperated look on his wife's face when he announced the band would be returning for a deserved encore. However, while it was also revealed that Mrs Palmer preferred her son's band over her husband's, with TV21 in revitalised mood, these old-stagers could certainly teach today's young upstarts a few things.
The full article contains 499 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
