|
Helen Love
Which, when you think about it, which I have been doing today, can make you slightly dizzy. It might also prompt the question of what would inspire someone to continue to release tiny slices of Pop Perfection, largely ignored by a heartless mainstream world, and often losing mountains of money? When you could be Staying In, watching Love Island or re runs of The Bill and growing senile sensibly? Primary inspirations were the adrenaline fuelled punky angst of early Manic Street Preachers and the situationist creative artistic politically driven scene with sprung up around them. Then there was S*M*A*S*H, a band fuelled by righteous anger, subversive tunes and DIY creativity whose energy and commitment and S*T*A*Rs we tried to appropriate. And then, of course there's the legions of creative, imaginative, possessed indie kids, often misfits and made fun of, but willing to put their trust in us to give them a conduit to realise and release their vision. All these I can cite as inspirations. And many more.
But Helen Love? To be honest I never thought of them in that way. They seemed to exist in the perfect punk pop ether, somewhere between Swansea Bay and the USA, far beyond the likes of us. The mystique was made greater by the fact that I seemed fated never to be able to catch them live. On the one occasion when I got close, driving Freeboy to The Camden crawl in 1996, I arrived just in time to see Helen Love packing up their equipment. For some reason I have a memory of a broken snare drum, but that can't be right; perhaps this was something to do with prima-donnas Silver Sun (RIP James) who were also playing? And that was as close as I got to seeing them live. Not that I didn't review them regularly, tape their videos and know people who starred in them, and of course jump up and down to their singles. We even ripped them off on at least two occasions, one of which can still be heard here. However all this unexpectedly changed 4 years ago when I moved back to Swansea. For some reason I have yet to fathom, Helen herself took an active and much appreciated interest in R*E*P*E*A*T. She supported our gigs, suggested bands to investigate, has donated a track for our soon to be released compilation and has been consistently active in opposing bigotry and supporting the fight for a better world. She has always been available for online advice, suggestions or a laugh. She even introduced my Mum to her step Mum at a showing of 'Joyride'. Perhaps most humblingly, she has acted as a mentor and remixer of our school's Year 6 band Atomic Beat Boys...
And last month I finally got to see her play live. There were travel gremlins again, I arrived really late due to problems with the trains*, and turned up at Le Pub as the band were careering into their first song. This meant that I couldn't get myself set up to take photos properly, nor I could I find the spot I wanted; not seeking to be one of those macho photography pros that pushes everybody else out of the way, I ended up taking some slightly shoegazey pics of the backdrop. (This is actually just me getting my excuses for shit photos in early!).
But I needn't have stressed, the set more than made up for that. The whole evening was like a celebration of Helen Love's work, a glorious ecstasy of indie Punk pop perfection, all performed perfectly – Helen even remembered the words for This Is My World. The audience was in the palm of her mic grasping hand, loving every crazy crotchet and mad minim: the only person cool enough to carry off a Joey Ramone pose, then breath new life into it. The visuals complemented the songs impeccably, adding meaning, pathos and humour to an evening celebrating a life's work (so far), exhibiting the best way to plunder the past in order to build an original and creative future. And the songs are testament to how the most important things (life, love, loss) can be summed up and made bearable by music and words, performed perfectly by the trio on stage. They are a template on how to mature disrespectfully, encouraging us all to keep on being creative, questioning and exciting, and to continue to make a difference.
This was so much better than I'd imagined a Helen Love gig to be, but at the same time, it was just what I was expecting. The hour rollercoasted by, I wanted it to go on forever, but sadly even Helen can't beat the clock. The last notes rang out, the video screen flickered, the clock struck half ten and I had to dash back to the train. Which was even more messed up than the one I took to get there*. But no worries, il fait beau. And now I get it. Helen Love are an inspiration to all us lesser talents who still want to keep creative, keep pure, keep fighting, keep pop. Which is why, walking on Swansea Bay, I am writing this rather substandard piece, not being satisfied to be a mere consumer, or timid taker of foggy photos. It's better to create something, however imperfect, than just to accept the bilge that you're spoon fed. Which is what I hope this rubbish review, with its constantly confused pronouns, along with our hundred R*E*P*E*A*T releases, show.
Helen Love - We fucking Love YOU! Let the sunshine in. Rosey R*E*P*E*A*T
*Victory to the RMT! Read our
Helen Love interviews here
and here,
and a review of This is My World here
|
