Still dropping an A-bomb

Tag : Girls' Briefs
Still dropping an A-bomb
17/ 7/2008


IN a musical climate of constant comebacks where processed actslike Take That and the Spice Girls can be elevated to the status ofnational treasures (surely, in the case of the latter, it's only inthat they're overfunded, decaying and seldom visited by normalpeople?), the B-52s - back with their first album in 16 years -deserve a second summer more than most.

Thirty years ago, the band from Athens, Georgia, were thethunderclap of pure innovation, with the likes of Scissor Sistersand Cansei de Ser Sexy having both felt the influence of theirskewed fusion of pop, surf, avant-garde, amateurish punk and whitefunk.

At 57, distinctive frontman Fred Schneider - the one who barkslyrical commands in the style of an American Dalek - may be alittle more `OAP' than `CSS' but latest LP, Funplex, doesn't denthis reputation as ringleader of the `world's greatest party band',containing pop songs with more hooks than an Abu Hanzen lookalikecompetition.

"Luckily, we came out with the record at the worst possible time inthe record industry," deadpans Schneider in his Snagglepuss tones,halfway through a day of promotions. "And, hell, the economy inAmerica is down the drain. So we picked a really good time. Weasked a psychic when we should put out a record, and she said `Oh,2008. Definitely.'" While his co-vocalists Kate Pierson and CindyWilson have ditched their famous 10ft high bee-hives, Schneiderstill retains his waspish wit.

Trademark
Their trademark sound - updated subtly by guitarist KeithStrickland to take advantage of advances in electronic technology -doesn't sound dated, simply because the B-52s were never in stepwith musical trends to begin with. "We didn't try to followanybody," notes Schneider. "I never tried to write of sing likeanybody{hellip} and I'm sure if I said I tried to sing likesomebody, they'd sue me."

In fact, thanks to the likes of New Young Pony Club, The Ting Tingsand Black Kids - each of whom have gleefully imbibed elements oftheir aesthetic - if anything, the B-52s more at home in the 2000s.

"Oh, we definitely fit in more now," agrees Schneider. "Especiallyamong bands that we like, such as Peaches, Junior Senior, LCDSoundsystem and the Scissor Sisters." Indeed, it's easy to see whySchneider feels an affinity for the similarly flamboyant,party-centric and polysexual group, whom he met 12 years ago whenmember Paddy Boon drummed for him on a television appearance topromote his solo record.

"You know, they're original and outrageous and really good. I mean,I told Jake (Shears, Scissor Sisters' pocket-rocket singer) he wasa little version of me." He hiccups with laughter. "Well, they're alittle more outrageous than I was. I was pretty tame in comparison.We've been friends for years before they had a record out. And wow,now they're just... wish we could open for them in Europe."

Considering the group formed accidentally after aliqueur-lubricated night in a Chinese restaurant in 1978, the B-52scareer has proved remarkably enduring.

"Hobby"
"It was just a hobby," remembers Schneider. "We all had crummyjobs. I worked with the elderly delivering meals-on-wheels, Keithand Ricky (Wilson, founding guitarist of the group, who passed awayin 1985, aged 32, from Aids-related pneumonia) worked in the busstation; Cindy was a waitress at the Lovely Luncheonette and Kateworked at what she called the local rag.

"We played for our friends for free. We were the band that paid toplay. I mean, our first paying show was at Max's Kansas City. Ithink there were 25 people there and we thought, `Wow... we'veplayed New York City. Time to go back to washing dishes'." Instead,they only ever needed to don the Marigolds to scrub the Platinumdiscs accumulated from a string of hit albums and singles,including the stone-cold classics Rock Lobster and Private Idaho.What can't be stressed enough is the cattle-prod shock of howvigorously different the B-52s sounded and looked at the time;something that Strickland puts down to having no internet or MTV -where the history of rock'n'roll is available to view at the clickof a button - forcing them to start from Year Zero.

"We were lucky in that fact," he points out. "You didn't hear ourmusic on the radio, you had to physically come and see our show.And I think that's why we still have a lot of fans from back in theday.

"I think it was liberating for people to know that, instead of alljust in black leather jackets, there was this band that's like ablast of craziness and colour and sense of humour, but seriouslytrying to produce good music. The girls had really cheap wigs andwe made up our own dances. Now I'm pushing 60, I say I'm theworld's oldest Go-Go singer."

Despite a slew of wildly inventive tracks, the B-52s remainbest-known for the ubiquitous Love Shack, a karaoke track that somecritics might argue should be outlawed by Amnesty as anunreasonably cruel form of torture. Did its success ever feel likean albatross?

"Not at all," replies Schneider firmly. "We were going broke,everyone had to sell their houses and move into apartments so LoveShack actually saved us. I'm sure people get sick of it becauseeveryone plays it at weddings but it made us financially secureenough so as we could keep going."

"Nothing gelled"
Having toured steadily since 1997, off the back of a Greatest Hitscollection, seven years ago, they attempted to make a new album"but nothing gelled".

They still work in the same, unique way, with Strickland mappingout the chord structures in advance, before the band's trio ofvocalists improvise words and melodies together, before the song isarranged and pieced together like a sonic ransom note.

"Luckily, Pro-Tools means we can now do songs much faster," hesays. With no record deal, "it took a while to make Funplex becausewe had to go on tour to pay for this record ourselves. We had toplay to pay. And also, we did a complete business change so thatset us back about a year."

Helmed by producer Steve Osborne - selected due to his effortsupdating New Order's sound for Get Ready - Funplex saw the B-52sreturn to recording in Athens, a bohemian enclave in the deepSouth, where Schneider hung out with old friend Michael Stipe andREM "in the worst pollen count of the year. It was like 50 timesover the danger limit." He also penned a track for Sophie EllisBextor's last album, entitled Supersonic ("I didn't really know whoshe was," he admits.

"But I loved her voice. And I think her husband's band, TheFeeling, are phenomenal"), but it's the B-52s album he saved hisreal creative WMDs for: from the propulsive synthesiser hook ofopening track Pump, to the Naomi-Klein-goes-disco of Funplex to theFellini-inspired Juliet Of The Spirits, it's a peach.

Still, looking back through the filter of time, would Schneiderhave done anything differently? "Well, I wish we had gone with adifferent management and a different accountant," he shrugs. "Butyou can't go back. It's just a blast to see people going wild toour songs.

"Sometimes we do private parties and play Rock Lobster, and you seeCEOs of big companies dancing with all their legal briefs, gettingon their bellies and flopping around."

The B-52s play the Academy on Tuesday.