Original Newspapers Demo

Last Updated on August 8, 2024

No Fear

Bastard Mainstream Media Newspapers

Many years ago we hated showing our earlier output with all the beginner’s mistakes (sp).  So now I’d like to talk about the original demo tape which we sent to Tony Wilson.  “Newspapers” was the second track on it and it was about the first thing we ever recorded as “a song”.  It was an intensely anti-establishment & mainstream media tune with a solo along the lines of “Shot by Both Sides“.

This recording was pulled from the 42 years old cassette tape and cleaned up as best I could in the digital domain. Tape stretches etc I can do nowt about as also the amateur recording and playing.  It does have some good bits on it though, the beginning is one of the better ones for this song which we did many times at gigs, always starting with the helicopter sounds from my organ. n.b. We didn’t have any flangers at that time, just the 12-comb flanger I made that is in my black box.

It was recorded thus, all cassette tape bounce-overs. This explains why the vocals and drums don’t always synch up…. LULZ

1. Flanged & fuzzed Organ chords and single/double octaves in the bass register (Rees) plus rythmn guitar chords (Jeff)
2. Drums (Rees) and bass notes guitar played on ordinary guitar (Jeff, we had no bass guitar at that time)
3. Vocals (Rees) and single guitar soloing all the way through (Jeff)

Of course, putting the drums on after the basic rythmn made it really hard to get the drum synch right which then put off the vocals synch.  Jeff didn’t care on his guitar soloing as he usually warbled away anyway as was his want and style but he lost the plot after halfway as well.

n.b. We got Eddie Fenn on drums a little while after this recording. Keith couldn’t make it so Rees did it in the first recordings. Cause & Effect.

WE just wanted to get stuff down on tape ASAP and out there, mistakes and all. We just didn’t care as we knew that we’d get better.

n.b. despite its crap-ness and ineptness, we did get output on the influential Factory Records. Tony Wilson did listen to this!!!

The intro is really good, along with the anti-establishment ramblings which are two fictional third-person tories sat on a suburban train reading the “Fail” and chatting about the headlines and titbits, hence my posh southern accent….
We played from the attic window in Front Street, Tynemouth though the PA system speakers up on chairs as Neville Trotter, the local Tory MP went past on his flatbed lorry blaring his election rabble-rousing speech to all and sundry.  This is why the lyrics say “if the tories get in it’ll be alright for the surgeons but us on the dole will be cutting grass verges” are what they are. We drowned the accountant out.

Bastard Thatcher got in anyways. Bastards.  In Tynemouth, the labour vote held up but 5000 fucking liberals swung fucking tory.  Bastards. Never trust the liberals. Even today they are slime-balling around, weaselling, their only saving grace is that Starmer is just like them.  Just like in 2010 – remember, Cameron wasn’t elected PM. The liberals decided to side with the slimy lying bastard.