PRINGLES UNSUNG is the latest competition aimed at procuring uncelebrated talent from the British public. This time it’s in the form of original artists, and not merely uncut gems, who can then be moulded into the finished product – a manufactured, and marketable ‘star’.
Giving the project much credibility is seminal rock icon, and Echo and the Bunnymen singer/songwriter IAN McCULLOCH. On the panel of judges looking to discover the next big thing, the star took time to speak to W&H not only about his involvement with ‘Pringles Unsung’ but about the music business in general, citing perhaps a change in attitude when it comes to the current scene.
Nevertheless, the old tongue-in-cheek humour was still a feature of the veteran rock n’ roller’s relaxed demeanour as he attempted to shed some light upon what makes a great record stand out from the rest, offering hints as to what he’ll be looking for amongst the vast sea of entrants for the competition.
What is it about ‘Pringles Unsung’ that made you want to become involved – and how did it come about?
“A friend of mine said that they were looking for someone, and he mentioned my name as someone who might be interested, and he got very excited about it….
“Even though I am a living legend, an icon, I always find that kinda weird when I hear things like that from people - even people in this building today there’s people who are fans and stuff....I always feel more of a legend in another country to be honest!
“Basically for my reasons, I felt that I was starting to become a little bit outside music, and I was almost bragging about the fact that I don’t actually play it anymore, particularly – I wanna kind of get back into listening to newer stuff y’know…
“There are people out there in the far flung corners of Britain that maybe don’t have the same channels – I don’t have a computer, so If I had the world’s greatest song when I was 18, & I didn’t have a computer, didn’t know how to work the mouse, or whatever you have to do these days, I wouldn’t know what to do, I might just stay in Cornwall, and become a trawlerman."
“Not everyone’s gonna get reviewed by the NME, or Q or Uncut – I’ve known journalists, and after the first 10 records, it’s off to the pub…with this, I just wanna try and find something that I particularly love or like.
As a member of the panel, will you be looking for specific things?
“Yeh, I’ll be looking for someone with a fantastic voice, doesn’t have to be the world’s greatest singer, but a voice of their own, y’know with great words that they’ve written themselves and a great tune and it can be done on a comb and a tissue paper, or with a triangle, or spoons, whatever
“If Paul Simon hadn’t existed and he sent in ‘The Sound of Silence’ ….just him, bangin’ ‘is shoe against the table, you’d know it was fantastic."
How is a competition like Pringles Unsung different to the way bands like the Bunnymen formed: ie out of a particular scene, like the one in Liverpool post-punk?
“Yeah, (Sighs) You’ve hit the nail on the head. Whether this can unearth anything with staying power, or a will to greatness, who knows…but I just felt that rather than me standing back all the time, criticising, or slagging things off, there might be something there. I just thought: hang on - maybe if I was involved, I just might spot something that no other panel member might spot, ‘cos most people got crap taste, y’knowharramean!
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“Say if The Velvet Underground sent in ‘Lady Godiva’s Operation’, and that got sent in, chances are most people would go ‘What’s this racket, like’. There are so many sycophants and hangers on, and people who get led by whatever’s going on. The Velvet Underground sold nothing when they first came out but the banana album apparently sold a million copies since they split up. I mean a million is nothing y’know, for maybe the greatest rock record of all time, when you consider it came out in 1966-7."
“I’m an elitist as well…I’ll probably just find something that I love and not tell anyone, just let them fester..nick all their ideas and stuff!
Is it easier or harder now to break into the music scene?
“It’s not difficult to break in…the thing that we had was the punk thing happened and then a network of clubs sprung out of nowhere, that a lot of the punk bands played and then we ended up playing – and it wasn’t like a kind of chain of places like the Barfly, although the barfly thing is a good thing I suppose
“When we started we had Eric’s in Liverpool, and The Factory in Manchester, The Limit in Sheffield, the F-club in Leeds…they all had their own personalities. To go to the venues now you kinda know what bands you’re gonna get, some jingle jangle thing. It seemed to be more diverse the scene – there were different scenes, there was things coming out of Sheffield, Manchester Liverpool Leeds and they were all different but very close geographically, or very different – and there seemed to be more imagination – and I know in Liverpool the emphasis was on trying to sound nothing like your mate’s band, but now they all seem to have this camaraderie and they all wanna sound roughly the same.
So it’s about diversity of the entire scene as well, not just the music?
“Yeah. I mean that thing of spouting off from where you come from, that’s the ideal scenario for me. Like the Velvet Underground being borne out of New York, but you get other bands, even like The Doors, people think of them as a west coast band but he (Morrison) was from Miami, so had he not gone to California to study, there would have been no Doors.
“Ideally you get a band like The Bunnymen or Joy Division and they kind of just bloom out of that scene or that environment but it’s not always the case if you’re a bloke who’s got a fantastic song but you live in a lighthouse in Penzance…by the way if there are any people out there with lighthouses in Penzance, send something in and maybe we can do a deal there…."
Is there anything in the pipeline for The Bunnymen in the near future?
“Yeah, Lots. We’re signing to one of our old labels within the next few weeks, and we’re so made up, it’s like going home. And we’re working on our new album, which will be out April / May 2007."
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