Radio City: Love and a Picture

Maybe in some Joker-like plan, UK punks spiked the country's water supply with sugar and methamphetamines back in '79. What else can explain the explosion of thousands of killer pop bands like Radio City? Radio City were, according to 45 Revolutions, James Sutherland (lead vocals), Robin Murray (guitar, vocals), Colin Matheson (guitar), Raymond Henderson (bass) and Tich Bremner (drums). They were from Thurso in the far North of Scotland. They released just one single "Love And A Picture" b/w "She's A Radio" (Media Wave MV-001, 1980). James Sutherland adds, "We pressed up 1,000 copies of the single, hand glued the covers together then sold them at gigs, mainly in Northern Scotland, so I am always very intrigued at the world-wide interest in our music.

Rob Murray relates that Radio City, then with David Murray (Drums) and without Colin Matheson, later, "recorded two demos, one at Highland Recording Studios Gollanfield Inverness (8 songs : 6 originals recorded ) and one session with John Sutherland at Thurso East ( recorded 4 original songs) all songs written by Henderson / Sutherland. The band broke up late 1981, with two demo songs re-recorded and released as a cassette single, under the name the Blonde Brothers - it actually made single of the week in Sounds (one of the big weekly music papers in the UK back then), beating ABC and "The Look of Love"!!!" Sutherland adds that the Blond Brothers single contained "Talked to You"/"Why", and was the first cassingle released in Scotland ("There's a long story behind that" he warns), and that the Sounds review was written by Ralph Traitor (who was really Jeremy Gluck, lead singer with the Barracudas).

Murray adds, "the "Love and a Picture" single has been bootlegged several times and appears on a series of CD’s i.e. Lost New Wave Classics and Everyone a Classic to name but two. The single was also re-released on vinyl in Holland in 1995, again as a bootleg. As the single was released in a key era ( New Wave 1978 – 1981) and on an independent label, original copies of the single have been sought by completists and collectors with buying requests on eBay and collector's web sites. In 2003 one of the band met Dave Balfe who owned the Gollanfield Studio, he had been contacted on numerous occasions by buyers who wished to secure the Radio City master tapes for both the single and the demo recordings. Again in 2003 a band member was directly contacted by a “music consultant” ( found through friends re-united site) who wished to do a deal to release the single and demo songs on a mini CD/EP marketed under the umbrella of “New Wave Nuggets”. This hasn’t progressed."

Sutherland brings us up to date, "Robert still lives in Scotland, in Inverness, I now live, work (and still occasionally gig) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Raymond, my co-writer, bass player and dear friend passed away in the 90's. I don't know where the other guys are, but I'm sure they will be equally bemused and happy at the ongoing interest in our music.

Of the music, last summer I enthused; "In "Love and a Picture" the interplay of each strum, thump and bang is designed for maximum dynamic impact and that wide-screened chorus will bore right through your skull." And now, glory be, Sutherland has sent MRML a copy of the B-side (and the cover JPEG). He says, "She's a Radio", the other side of "Love.." (it was really meant to be a double A-side), shows our poppier, Joe Jackson-ish side". He's dead right - like the flipside, "She's a Radio" is filled to bursting with hooks, like the band was pouring everything they had into those few minutes of jaw-dropping, ass-kicking, bone-rattling glory.

Further to the subject of influences, Sutherland says they were in fact named after the second Big Star album, "...Although we really sounded not much like them Raymond and I were obsessive Big Star fans. We were also pretty much influenced by anything that combined the jangle of The Byrds, the powerchords of The Who and the wit and wisdom of Ray Davies. In fact, to tell the truth, "Love and a Picture" is lyrically a darker, self-hurting version of the Who's "Pictures of Lily"." There are times, and this was one, when could such classicism, rather than being stuffy and studied, can jump-start an entire nation.

Sutherland concludes by saying, "Great days, great music, and some fantastic memories. Thanks for your interest in this stuff, for keeping it alive and shaking!"

MRML readers: leave the band a comment, it's the least you can do!

Radio City 7"