‘People Power In The Disco Hour’: Welcome to the wonderful world of Bunkerpop
The Crow’s Nest, a column by Russ Litten
Music & Literature
A confession. Prior to last year’s lockdown, I was thinking of joining a cult.
It all started when I wandered into The Polar Bear one night and witnessed a hundred or so people whipped up into an ecstatic fervour by a man in his underpants singing about robots.
The band he fronted were all wearing white paper boiler suits, surgical masks and rainbow-coloured visors.
They looked like a group of mad post-nuclear scientists who had set up camp in a kids’ ball pool. Every song seemed to be the same note played over and over again. It was brilliant.
It was a sweet and beautiful note, it hit the spot, and it ploughed an irresistible groove.
The gig culminated in the entire pub being on the stage, playing the band’s instruments. They were without doubt the funniest, funkiest, friendliest thing I’d seen in an age.
Bunkerpop, as it turns out, are not a cult after all.
NOT A CULT: Bunkerpop
Bunkerpop are a six-piece group from Hull who, prior to the venue shutdowns, were elevating packed crowds around the land with their euphoric brand of trance-funk-robot-disco-communal-rave-pop.
Drawing on such impeccable influences as Talking Heads, Neu!, Devo and Donna Summer, Bunkerpop take the compulsive drive of repetitive beats and smear all sorts of stylish, hook-laden eccentricity over the top.
Paul Sarel is the lead singer with Bunkerpop, and also general manager of The Adelphi Club and co-founder of Fast & Bulbous, an innovative digital release micro-label.
Based out of The Adelphi, Fast & Bulbous provides local artists with a coherent and professional approach to releasing digital music.
Julian Cope once said, “If you are an artist, you can’t take yourself seriously. But you’ve gotta be deadly serious about what you do”. Or words to that effect.
It’s a fine balancing act and Bunkerpop strike it perfectly. I asked Paul a few questions whilst he was walking his dog, Clive, on Princes Avenue.
Where did music start for you?
“There was always music on in the house at home when I was a kid. I had two elder sisters who were into Grease, The Nolan Sisters and Abba. On a Sunday we'd have the radio on and Dad would come home from the pub, stinking of ale.
“That smell, along with the whiff of over-cooked vegetables, and the chart run down on a Sunday, will always stay with me. As I got older I got into Adam & the Ants and Madness as they were easy for a nine-year-old to like, and then into my teenage years it was The Housemartins and Billy Idol, who I'd have on my little tape player.
“This led to the discovery of bands like Talking Heads and The Velvet Underground, which in turn lead to Fela Kuti and more avant-garde stuff as I got into my late teens.
“The first time I played in front of people was at Adelphi musicians’ night, and I played a cover of Zig Zag Wanderer, which was awful.
“Me and my mates Mark, Tom, and Jamie formed a band called Summerbee. We loved it, and played loads of gigs in the late 90s. We were a little bit naïve, which was lovely, looking back.
“I later joined my favourite Hull band, Fonda 500, and we toured Holland and Belgium as well as playing some crazy venues in the UK, such as Shepherds Bush Empire and London Astoria whilst supporting Athlete.”
How did Bunkerpop come about?
“Bunkerpop formed whilst I was making plans to go travelling in my big red van during early 2016. It was merely something to do with some mates and a chance to play some tunes.
“It was just jamming, really. It turned into something really groovy and fun quite quickly, which surprised us, as we didn't approach it with a plan of action or anything.
‘QUICKLY TURNED INTO FUN’: Bunkerpop
“Those early gigs were quite wild as we attracted quite a diverse crowd who seemed to want to party ... we just tuned into them and went with it!”
Line-up and releases to date?
“The line up has recently expanded to include Leon Welburn, who has been in loads of brilliant bands. He's joined Trevor Simpson, Mark Blissenden, Jonathan Wainberg, Carlos Macklin and myself to make us sound the same but different.
“We released a couple of digital singles and videos with Are You Ready For Something and Don't Upset The Hawk in support of the eponymous debut vinyl album in 2019.
“Then, during 2020 we released C'est Comme Des Robots N'Cest Pas again, digitally and on video as we really wanted to stay connected during lockdown.
“During March 2021 we've popped out Time's Up, Lights Out as a digital single on micro-label Fast & Bulbous. We made a video round the back of the Adelphi, which was good fun too!”
How did Fast & Bulbous come about?
“The label was set up in the first instance so Bunkerpop could release their own stuff during 2019. We're on the edge of the world here in Hull and you've got to do stuff for yersen' otherwise nothing gets done.
“We recently expanded the label to bring more local performers into the picture. Mark Sinfield and I had the idea that during lockdown artists in the city should have an opportunity to release singles with the help of the label.
“We supplement their hard work by helping with a bit of organisation such as PR, a schedule and a plan in place for each release. We're releasing a digital single each month during 2021 and plans are to do some physical releases next year.
Hull’s multi-purpose record label, Fast & Bulbous
“Mark and myself enjoy working with bands young and old. Between us we've hosted, played and promoted gigs across the city and beyond for quite a while now.
“Fast & Bulbous draws from all the experience we have and pulls it together with the bands’ ambitions to give a cohesive and realistic plan of where we all want to be.
“It's often the case that a band will record a tune, mix it, pop it on Spotify, and then it disappears without trace. Fast & Bulbous helps put a release strategy in place at no real risk to the band. We have a little bit of a budget too, which always helps.
“Patience and having all the things in your tool kit, such as PR, decent photos, branding, press kit, press release, a video etc, can be really important to make a nudge in the industry.”
What does The Adelphi mean to you?
“The Adelphi is and always shall be the home of the underdog.
“It's the one place in the city where one day you can have an absolute amateur playing their first ever set to an audience at Musicians’ Night, followed by an international touring band the very next night on the same stage with the same PA, and the same supportive and knowledgeable set of gig-goers. Joe Bloggs followed by Fatboy Slim.
‘THE ONLY PLACE WHERE YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR COAT HUNG UP FOR FIVE YEARS AND NOBODY WILL NICK IT’: The Adelphi
“It's a none-threatening environment and probably the only place in the world where you can leave your coat hung up for five years without anybody nicking it.”
What do you want to do with Bunkerpop?
“We want to play more gigs across the UK as that's where the most enjoyment comes from.
“Getting the message out to a live audience has always been where it's at for us. The message is mostly one of inclusion, acceptance of your brothers and sisters, and one of generally believing that as a community and sticking together we can overcome most things.
“Is it political? Yes! Is it a feeling of them and us? Yes! Are we angry? Yes!
“Will we take aim at easy targets, drain our communities and turn each other against each other? NO!! PEOPLE POWER IN THE DISCO HOUR is always the message.
“That's why we've maintained a positive outlook during lockdown, and we've carried on practising when we can and recording new songs, videos, and sending out positive vibes … there's gonna be one hell of a party when we come out of the other side of all this.
“Gigs, tours, gigs, festivals, beers, friends, hugs, hugs, stage-invasions, more hugs, more gigs, recordings, dancing, loving, fighting the good fight … but most of all MUSIC, the music, the beautiful MUSIC!!”
I wander off down Princes Ave, Paul and Clive go the other way. People Power in the Disco Hour. My friends, it will soon be upon us. I cannot wait.