Feature on The Chameleons in Record Collector, 1991 by Mark Hodkinson
As far as the music industry is concerned, Manchester is the wellspring of today's most impressive musical talents. The Stone Roses, lnspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays have elevated the city to a position of alarming importance; but the unnatural strength of the current fad for everything Mancunian has unwittingly detracted from its previous musical might.
The last time a crop of guitar bands sprung forth from the rainy city was during the mid-Eighties when the Smiths led the way. Tucked in behind them were other talents like Easterhouse, a developing James, and The Chameleons. Although they've not enjoyed the high media profile given to many of their fellow travellers, the Chameleons have remained one of Manchester's most respected and collectable acts.
Trio
The band was formed in 1981 in Middleton, an Arndale Centre with a few houses dotted around it some six miles north of Manchester. Prior to this, singer/bassist Mark Burgess fronted the Clichés, while guitarists Dave Fielding and Reg Smithies were part of a trio called Years, which also included drummer Chris Seddon. Fielding had been playing guitar since his early teens and, while at school, played in a group called Sen. Also in this teenage band was David Gedge who, many years later, moved to Leeds and formed the Wedding Present.
Years released a 7" single called "Come Dancing", backed with "Red Chevy" and "Don't Leave" on their own Tuff Going Records. After both Years and the Clichés split, Fielding, Smithies and Burgess began rehearsing together. They taped one of their early practices and sent it to Radio 1's John Peel. Despite its lack of drums and dreadful sound quality, its obvious promise inspired Peel to book them for the first of numerous radio sessions.
They recruited another Middletonian, Brian Schofield, who drummed on the session and at early concerts. He'd previously been in bands with David Gedge and Peter Solowka, both future Wedding Present members. For their debut Peel broadcast, the Chameleons taped "The Fan And The Bellows", "Things I Wish I'd Said", "Looking Inwardly" and "Here Today", all of them guitar-fuelled gems with a frantic, nervous edge to them.
In proverbial story-book fashion, the band were chased by a host of major record labels, finally settling with CBS, who promptly booked them into a studio with a bright young producer called Steve Lillywhite. At this point, the band parted company with Brian Schofield, and he was replaced by Dukinfield-based John Lever, who drummed on the Chameleons' one and only CBS release, "In Shreds", issued on the company's Epic subsidiary. Previous to this, Lever had played with the Politicians, and had appeared on a Music For Aborigines EP featuring "Sitting On A Biscuit", "Faith" and "Ragbone Man" (12SP 148).
Lillywhite's role appears to have been minimal because the song had a breathless live feel to it. The thumping drum-beat and shimmering guitar riffs, coupled with Burgess's passionate vocal delivery, set the scene for what was to follow. Just 5,000 copies of the 7" single were pressed, housed in a Reg Smithies-designed picture sleeve. The single made No. 42 in John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1982.
At the time of the single's release, drummer John Lever found the pace a bit too hectic and took a year off. He was replaced by Martin Jackson, who later found brief fame with Swing Out Sister.
The Chameleons' strong stance as to how they should sound and be presented was not what CBS had in mind for them: the band was mindful of how Altered Images' credibility was ruined after succumbing to CBS's packaging. The Chameleons zealously guarded their dream and were rewarded with the boot.
Statik, a label with connections to Virgin, moved in, offering the group the high degree of autonomy they demanded. John Peel continued to champion them, while their exciting live sets converted hundreds to their cause. Concerts during this time often finished with a chaotic version of Alternative TV's "Splitting In 2", at which point stage invasions would reach ridiculous proportions.
Compilation
Before releasing a record in their own right with Statik, the Chameleons contributed "Here Today" to a compilation album of northern bands titled "Your Secret's Safe With Us". This appeared both in single and double album formats. "Here Today" was later re-recorded for the band's debut LP. Fairly collectable is a limited pressing of 400 5-track promo samplers for "Your Secret's Safe With Us", which included "Here Today"; while the track also turned up on a German compilation album/magazine.
The first Statik release was "As High As You Can Go", featuring a cover photo taken in Middleton Cemetery by the band's manager Tony Skinkiss. As Statik's discs were distributed by Virgin, they could not qualify for entry in certain independent charts, leaving the band in an uncomfortable no-man's land which meant they were overlooked by the music press. The few articles that did appear compared the group to the likes of U2, the Cure, Simple Minds and Echo and the Bunnymen. All four bands came from roughly the same source, but the Chameleons had ample distinctiveness and the songs to set them apart.
The second Statik single, "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days", had a photograph of Rochdale Parish Church on its cover, and the kneeling figure of Reg Smithies. A haunting tale of urban violence in a world that pretended not to notice, the record was the first to establish Mark Burgess as an accomplished lyricist with enough angst in his pants to last a lifetime.
"Script Of The Bridge", the Chameleons' debut album, was
recorded in Rochdale during a six-week period. Apart from a few intrusive
production traits it was, and remains, a remarkable record. Their early punkish
fragments had been collected into a complete and brooding form. As a young
band, they had already endured the highs and lows of the business, and the
lows appear to have been chronicled in the song "Monkeyland":
"They stab my back as they shake my hand", snarled Burgess. US copies
were issued
without four of the tracks, although collectors still pay up to £20
for the pleasure of owning this incomplete set. A limited British picture
disc edition fetches a similar sum. Spanish copies are sought after by collectors,
even though they omit the sleeve notes and mistakenly refer to "Thursday's
Child" as "Tuesday's Child".
Germany
Another album track, "Up The Down Escalator", was released on 45 in Germany (Statik 11) but copies flooded into Britain and become widely available on 7" and 12". 7" copies are currently worth £8, with 12" copies valued at £15. Some copies of the 12" have been sighted on Virgin (600 99 213). A double-sided US 12" promo, incorrectly listing the song as "Up The Down Escalator (There Must Be Something Wrong Boys)", is worth about £35, while a French 7" promo on Polydor fetches £40. The Spanish edition (VIC 98), with special sleevenotes written in Spanish, is currently valued at £30.
Demand for "In Shreds" remained high, and with few copies of the CBS release to be found anywhere, Statik took charge of the CBS demo tapes and re-released the song. Backed with "Nostalgia", the 12" also featured an extra track, "Less Than Human". All songs were produced by Steve Lillywhite. 10" acetates of the song are worth upwards of £75.
Despite being largely in control of their product, the band were unhappy with several business deals carried out by Statik without their full knowledge and, once more, they found themselves at loggerheads with their employers. Efforts to solve the discrepancies were doomed and matters worsened when the band found themselves tied by contractual obligations.
Their second album, "What Does Anything Mean? Basically",
was a mopping-up exercise, mixing old favourites like "Looking Inwardly"
with brand-new material like "Return Of The Roughnecks" and
"P.S. Goodbye". "Singing Rule Britannia (While The
Walls Close In)" was lifted from the album and issued in both 7"
and 12" formats, incorporating artwork by Dave Fielding. A French
promotional 45 of "One Flesh", again on Polydor, and in a
reduced version of the album sleeve, fetches £40.
The Chameleons' likeable manager, Tony Skinkiss, opted out in May 1985, and Tony Fletcher of the Manchester management company Kennedy Street Enterprises began to look after their interests. True to tradition, Fletcher became the `fifth' band member and his untimely death was later to play a large part in the group's subsequent downfall.
By this time, the Chameleons had augmented their stage line-up with keyboards, which they also used to garnish their studio work. At first, Alastair Lewthwaite filled the role, but he was replaced by Andy Clegg, who had supported the band while with Music For Aborigines. The Chameleons found themselves popular across Europe and toured West Germany and Spain relentlessly. Record sales were also healthy in the U.S. and they toured there in 1984. In Britain, their live high-point came with their appearance at the York Festival in September 1984 on a bill which included the Sisters Of Mercy and Echo and the Bunnymen. Burgess's animated stage presence enthralled fans: he would climb speaker stacks, slump to his hands and knees, or stare out wildly with his mad eyes - all attempts to communicate his mystical, lyrical message.
Geffen
The group disentangled themselves from Statik (but not for long), and after being courted by several major labels they eventually settled on Geffen Records, a label administered in Britain by WEA. Supported by an improved budget, they recorded four songs for release as a special double-pack single. The main track, "Tears", was backed by "Inside Out", "Paradiso" and "Swamp Thing".
The record showed that the band had moved on again, this time embracing fine vocal harmonies and a stylish pop bent, not dissimilar to the Beatles weightier moments. Indeed, at concerts they tastefully incorporated snippets of Beatles guitar melodies and lyrics. A 12" promo of "Tears" (PRO 2679), coupling the single with an original arrangement of the song, is worth £15.
"Strange Times", their third album, again sported Smithies' artwork, and was recorded at Surrey's prestigious Jacob's Studio with Dave Allen as producer. He brought out the darker elements within the band and helped concoct an LP of exhilarating beauty, showcasing a band pushing its creativity to the absolute limit. It appeared as a double album in the States with six extra tracks, including "Ever After" and a cover version of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", both of which have yet to be issued in the UK. As with all the band's US releases, the group was billed as Chameleons UK on the sleeve which, incidentally, featured a blue border instead of purple.
The band were fully understood in the States, where even the New York Times endorsed "Strange Times", but in Britain their driving energy was confused with bombast. The tag 'stadium rock' had been widely fashionable since Live Aid, and was unfairly and inaccurately daubed on the Chameleons, a band far too scruffy and gutsy to warrant it.
"Swamp Thing" was pulled from the album and released as a single. It made the lower reaches of the Top 100 and the band's incredibly loyal following thought its secret was about to be made public. A promo 12" (PRO 2576), featuring the edited and ordinary versions of the song together with the B-side cover of Bowie's "John, I'm Only Dancing", is currently worth £15. The concerts promoting "Strange Times" were a tide of unbridled emotion. At their Manchester show of September 1986, a figure approaching 1,300 packed (illegally, according to fire regulations) into the International Club, and at one point there were fears that the doors would be stormed as bouncers turned away ticketless fans.
A second single from "Strange Times" was planned, and a
handful of white label pressings of the song, "Mad Jack"
(backed by "Time" on the 7", plus the additional "Tomorrow
Never Knows" on the 12"), were sent out before Geffen decided
the lyrical content ("Have some speed, have some smack", sings Burgess)
made it an unwise single choice. Copies are extremely rare, with the 12"
edition fetching at least £75 in its picture sleeve. But as often happens
with bands seemingly at the brink of a breakthrough, the
Chameleons disintegrated when Tony Fletcher, a guiding figure and more importantly,
a respected friend of the band, died of a heart attack. In the sleeve notes
of "Strange Times", Burgess described Fletcher as a "rock
of sanity in a sea of shit", a crude but perfect description of a man
who had buffeted a band led too easily by their hearts instead of their heads.
Arguments developed in the group, the precise details of which were not made public, since the established music press did not deem the group worthy of thorough investigation. There are rumours that Burgess wanted to relocate the band in the United States and stories of unreasonable behaviour all round. The band had been an extremely close circle of friends and it was almost inevitable that any fall-out would be particularly mawkish.
Grieve
Burgess, Lever and Clegg (now on guitar) hastily assembled another band, probably before they had given themselves enough time to grieve the loss of Fletcher and the Chameleons. In fact, Fielding claims the Chameleons had not even split before the trio made the move. Joined by Andy Whitaker, formerly with Clegg's previous band Music For Aborigines, they became the Sun And The Moon and recorded an eponymous album for Geffen Records. The Sun And The Moon parted company last summer after breaching the independent chart with an excellent EP called "Alive; Not Dead" issued on Midnight Music.
Fielding and Smithies continued to work together and became the Reegs, although
they have yet to announce a settled line-up. The pair have a loose arrangement
with the Manchester-based independent label, Imaginary Records. They have
released two 12" singles and contributed "See My Friends"
to a Kinks' tribute LP. They also covered the Rolling Stones' "The
Last Time" under the name of Three Imaginary Boys for another Imaginary
tribute, "Stoned Again". The pair are planning an album release
for early 1991, and
their version of "All Tomorrow's Parties" is already scheduled
for the second volume of Imaginary's Velvet Underground tribute series.
The general consensus among fans is that material released since the Chameleons' split is no substitute for the real thing, although one or two Sun And The Moon tracks approached it. Mark Burgess is currently recording with a group of friends and plans to release an LP on Midnight Music. He has also done some recording for Imaginary Records including the track "You Only Live Twice", which appeared on their "1967" tribute collection. The other ex-members of The Sun And The Moon have since evolved into Weaveworld, a band currently without a record deal.
Despite folding, the Chameleons' vinyl output has continued, much to their annoyance. Hybrid, a close relative of Statik, has put out an album called "The Fan And The Bellows", allegedly an LP of 'classic early recordings'. Initially, copies were selling at £30 each, but the disc has since been released by the U.S. based Caroline Records and can be picked up for about a tenner.
The situation was made even murkier when two semi-official bootlegs appeared in October 1990. "Tripping Dogs", essentially a band rehearsal from 1985 lifted straight on to- tape, appeared on vinyl, cassette and CD on Glass Pyramid Records. As the label had previously issued The Sun And The Moon product, the source could be tracked almost directly back to Burgess. At the same time, an EP of the four songs originally recorded for Geffen also appeared on Glass Pyramid under the name of `Tony Fletcher Walked On Water . . . La La La La La - La La - La La'. After threats of legal action, the EP (which contained "Is It Any Wonder", "Free For All", "The Healer" and "Denim And Curls") was withdrawn before it even made the shops, making it one of the band's most collectable items.
Another bootleg currently in circulation is a 7" EP emanating from the Manchester area called "Wait Until Dark". It contains four live tracks recorded at a concert in Holland and is widely available in Britain.
Dave Fielding has built up a growing reputation as a producer since the Chameleons' demise. The first group he produced was the Monkey Run, whose "Falling Upstairs" single landed them a Radio 1 session. He also produced four of the five songs on the lnspiral Carpets' debut EP, "Planecrash", and worked with American band Crocodile Shop on their "Lullaby" LP.
Our Fading Smiles, another American band, also enlisted Fielding's talents
last summer, and he plans more production work in between writing with the
Reegs and helping out a local band called the Sunhouse, with whom he has been
heavily involved. He has always been keen to support fresh local talent and
has sat in at sessions by Sister Rain, Homeland (Reg Smithies also drew
the cover of their "Pure" single), the Learning Process and
Sense Of Purpose.
A Chameleons' live video is currently available on Jettisoundz. Recorded at London's Camden Palace, it's a rather sterile affair which fails to capture the group's raw excitement. The group appeared several times on Belgian and German television, and an excellent documentary was made on them by a Spanish television company which featured some thrilling live footage. Also available to the avid collector is an American radio transcription album issued by Thirsty Ear Communications. The Week 12, programmes 76-80 issue features a five-minute interview excerpt with the band.
There is occasional talk of a Chameleons' reunion, mainly among nostalgic fans who have recognised that the era of the Manchester guitar group has well and truly arrived, and that one of the city's best (if not the best) has missed out. The Chameleons' career certainly ended on a distressingly septic note and fans would appreciate the tying up of loose ends, if not the full-blown reunion which seems unlikely. But they are not forgotten. A fascinating Strange Fruit release of their John Peel sessions has just been issued (with a 500-only white label 12" to promote it, featuring the New FADS on the flip), and may provide the impetus to release other radio sessions, including recordings made for Capital Radio and Piccadilly Radio.
The Chameleons remain far from forgotten.