It’s Fire Engines Week all Week in Outsideleft. Great things are happening here to coincide with the Cherry Red Records release of the double CD retrospective, Fire Engines: chrome dawns, on August 30th. Tim London talks to Davy Henderson, founding member of the Fire Engines; DJ Fuzzyfelt recounts the impact the Fire Engines had on his listening life… There’s a video gallery so you won’t have to look further, an investigation into the measure of the bands’ influence with a look at Through The Crack In The Wall: Josef K biography by Johnnie Johnstone’s; and, a review of the chrome dawns CD squeezed in there too.
I am amazed by the number of people who simply aren’t aware of Fire Engines at all, it breaks my heart really. Whereas music fans will know them to have been and remain one of the most influential bands of all time. A Velvet Underground from Leith Walk (Community Centre) set.
The original Fire Engines line up consisted of David (Davy) Henderson, (vocals and guitar); Murray Slade (also on guitar); Russell Burn (drums) and Graham Main (bass). Their sound, unique, combustible and confrontational. Their initial recordings between 1980-81 sparkle and stick it to you with intrinsic verve. It’s so like they couldn’t help themselves. Oh wow. And now so much of everything has been collated for the new Cherry Red release.
Fire Engines: chrome dawns, features all Fire Engines’ Codex Communications/Pop: Aural recorded output; also the two 1981 John Peel BBC Sessions, the latter featuring tracks unavailable elsewhere, and essential live recordings including Fire Engines’ debut live performance at Leith Community Centre, the band’s memorable appearance at 1980’s ‘Why Does The Pope Not Come To Glasgow?’ Edinburgh Fringe and one of the band’s legendary 30-minute sets at Edinburgh Valentino’s captured during the summer of 1981.
Fire Engines: chrome dawns track list
DISC ONE
CODEX COMMUNICATIONS CDX 01, December 1980
1 Get Up And Use Me
2 Everything’s Roses
Lubricate Your Living Room POP: AURAL AAC 001, January 1981
3 Plastic Gift
4 Get Up And Use Me
5 Sympathetic Anaesthetic
6 Discord
7 New Thing In Cartons
8 Hungry Beat
9 Lubricate Your Living Room Pt. 1
10 Lubricate Your Living Room Pt 2
11 Plastic Gift (Version)
POP: AURAL POP 010, May 1981
12 Candyskin
13 Meat Whiplash
JOHN PEEL SESSION
Recorded February 23rd 1981 / Broadcast March 9th 1981
14 Candyskin
15 (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
16 Untitled
17 Discord
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
18 Sympathetic Anaesthetic
19 New Thing In Cartons
20 Big Gold Dream (Unused Intro)
POP: AURAL POP 013, December 1981
21 Big Gold Dream
JOHN PEEL SESSION
Recorded November 14th 1981 / Broadcast November 23rd 1981
22 The Big Wrong Time
23 Qualitamatic
24 Young Tongues Need Taste
25 Produced To Seduce To
DISC TWO
LEITH COMMUNITY CENTRE, March 16th 1980
1 The Untitled One
2 Insert Yourself
3 Discord
WILF SMARTIES LIVE SESSION, August 2nd 1980
4 Sympathetic Anaesthetic
5 Get Up And Use Me
6 Hungry Beat
7 Everything’s Roses
8 The Untitled One
WHY DOES THE POPE NOT COME TO GLASGOW?
EDINBURGH FRINGE, August 18th-September 6th 1980
9 Get Up And Use Me
10 Discord
11 Hungry Beat
12 Everything’s Roses
13 Get Up And Use Me (Reprise)
EDINBURGH VALENTINO’S CLUB, August 9th 1981
14 Produce To Seduce To
15 Get Up And Use Me
16 Hungry Beat
17 Plastic Gift
18 Discord
19 New Thing In Cartons
20 Coca Cola Cowboy
21 Meat Whiplash
22 Candyskin
CC SOMERVILLE SHOW, January 12th 1981
23 Clip (Excerpt)
NEW! 000, December 2004
24 Jacqueline
Essential Information it's Fire Engines Week
It's Fire Engines Week
It's Fire Engines Week in Outsideleft
Getting to Know the Fire Engines
A Dayglo Mohair Jumper - An interview with Davy Henderson
Everything Happens So Fast
Cheekbones and Speed
chrome dawns
