(August 2010) On the 18th of December 1834 Robert Peel addressed the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, the town where he stood as MP. The, then, Conservative Prime Minister spoke of meager reform in an attempt to quell public discontent and allay upheaval, or as he put it “a perpetual vortex of agitation.” It was an address that sought the continuation of the norm, with a finite degree of civil, ecclesiastical and institutional change. This address, widely republished around the UK at the time, became known as the Tamworth Manifesto and in many historic circles is scene as the manifesto of the Victorian Conservative Party. Peel was forced out of office in 1835.
Fast forward 150 years and Britain sees a very different form of Conservative politics. The Iron Lady is at the helm and the economics of privitisation and the disassembling of the welfare state are well under way. Thatcherism was “a perpetual vortex of agitation,” spinning the 1980s on the edge of a pound coin. Tamworth did not escape the iron grip of neo-liberalism, but a new musical freedom was growing; though this would probably have been dubbed “artistic entrepreneurialism” by Peel’s political descendants. One group to come from this burgeoning scene were Those Attractive Magnets.
Those Attractive Magnets formed in 1979 and had a number of different incarnations, with Rikk Quay and Andy Baldwin being a constant, before splitting in 1984. The group are now finding an audience beyond Tamworth, and the collector’s crate, with Dark Entries releasing the group’s first full length record, Electromagnetic Pulse; thirty one years after the band formed.
The group have a real 1980s new wave slant to them, having an early Human League lilt. The opening track, “1500” has a raw Travelogue feel to it, synths and driving beats combined with desolate vocals. “Nightlife” originally on an 1983 7″ has a similar fledgling new wave sound, post punk meeting the synthesizer. The tracks have a wonderful proto sound, on the edge of synth pop and an electronic movement that would ignite an irreversible change in music. Across the pieces is a drum machine fueled energy laid against sombre vocals and chords, such as in the downtrodden “Venus.” The tracks have the polar embedding of 1980s Britain, the dissection of society and the cynicism that resulted strung out to an electro chord. Upbeat mingles with downbeat, such as the power and apathy of “We Fade Into (Secret Silence.)” The record comes to a close with “Radio Weeps, Television Cries,” with catchy synth hooks and snares leading the listener out.
Many new wave groups had aspirations of commerciality. The likes of The Human League, OMD and Gary Numan certainly did. This is not to take anything away from these groups, but the dilution of marketing strategies and demographic analysis can definitely be heard on their later and, albeit, weaker works. Those Attractive Magnets were not a commercial group, they were a selection of synthesizer enthusiasts from Tamworth. It was in these pockets that the synthesizer revolution really took place, in bands huddled around Korgs and Yamahas and attempting something unheard. It is within such environments that unblemished commentaries on “modern” Britain took place, in a demoralised voice with a synthsizer chord. Tamworth will forever be steeped in historical significance. But alongside its important political foundations lie musical counterparts, recorded on cassette and in the forgotten columns of local newspapers.
The LP sees Dark Entries rounding off a great first year with its fifth release. Congratulations to Josh and all involved at the label. Hopefully this prolific start can be maintained for many years to come.
Electromagnetic Pulse is out now on Dark Entries.
