Red Guitars: Iconic 80s band reform & will tour next year
REFORMING: The Red Guitars. Picture by Syd Shelton
EXCLUSIVE: The Red Guitars were one of the finest and most successful bands to come out of Hull; indie chart-toppers who landed a major record deal and blazed a trail for others to follow. Now they are back together and will tour again. Russ Litten finds out more from bassist Lou Duffy-Howard
The Red Guitars are getting back together.
Short of Mick Ronson descending from heaven armed with his Gibson Gold Top, I can’t think of any Hull reunions I would welcome more.
For those of you that don’t know, The Red Guitars epitomised everything that was good about independent music back in the 80s.
They were full of tunes and ideas and they did most of it under their own steam.
Their debut single Good Technology sold 60,000 copies on their own Self-Drive label, with subsequent releases Marimba Jive and Be With Me both going to Number One in the Independent Charts.
After their debut album Slow To Fade they signed to Virgin Records, switched original singer Jerry Kidd for Robert Holmes and recorded Tales Of The Expected, but split soon afterwards.
I’ve loved The Red Guitars records for years, but never got to see them live. So when news reached me on the HU5 grapevine about the prospect of a Red Guitars tour lined up for 2022, I was more than a little excited.
I asked bass player Lou Duffy-Howard to fill me in on the FACTs (see what I did there?).
How did this reunion tour come about?
“We were contacted by Steve Homer CEO of AEG Presents who are a big worldwide event promotion company. They represent the likes of Nick Cave, The Who, Blondie, and festivals such as Coachella and The Eden Sessions.
“He asked if we’d be up for a tour. We thought about it and the answer was … yes! Jeremy (Kidd) and I have kept the Red Guitars website and social media pages going over the years and still have a good following; we get some lovely messages.
“And only last year Red Guitars appeared in the Marvel universe. The Avengers EMPYRE magazine ran a story in which it transpired that Tony Stark aka Iron Man’s holographic work-boards password is the first line of our single, Good Technology.
“I wondered if it was for real when I first heard about it. Then my husband Rich came back from Amazing Fantasy comic shop in town with the magazine, and it was true. I think the time for the Red Guitars to reform is right!”
THE RED GUITARS: From left, Jeremy Kidd, Matt Higgins, Hallam Lewis, Lou Duffy-Howard, and John Rowley
Is it the original line up?
“Yes, it’s vocalist Jeremy Kidd, lead guitarist Hallam Lewis, drummer Matt Higgins, rhythm guitarist John Rowley and me, Lou Duffy-Howard, on bass.
“We’re being joined by Jerry Allen on rhythm guitar. Jerry’s an old friend and he knows the songs. We’ll have even more guitars.”
When were you last all in a room together?
“We live in different towns and countries now, so although we’ve kept in touch we’ve not all been in a room together since 2006 when Rich and I organised the Winterlude Festival and we played at The Adelphi. We all met up in Pave the following day, so technically I think it was then.
“Hallam lives in Cape Town; he came over to the UK a couple of years ago and he and I had a mini jam in our living room and then we went to the St Johns, so it was just like old times.
“Jeremy joined in with my current band Loudhailer Electric Company for a song at the Perfect Combination gig at Kardomah 94 about three years ago. We played Paris France.
“My LECo band buddies learnt it here in Hull. Jeremy came up from his home in Brighton on the night. Most people didn’t know he was there and thought I was going to sing. He surprised everyone when he walked on stage as we hit the first chord. It was terrific, you can hear the audience signing along in the video.”
What is your own personal motivation for getting back together and doing the tour?
“It’s playing those great songs again. Our last proper gig was in the mid 80s but I can still remember all the basslines.”
VIDEO CAPTION: Consett Steelworks, once Europe's largest, was closed down by the Thatcher government in 1980. The song Steeltown was inspired by a visit to Consett in the aftermath of the closure when its devastating impact on the local community was becoming apparent. The video combines the opening sequence of Penny Woolcock's 1987 film When the Dog Bites, shot in Consett, with some footage of Red Guitars performing Steeltown at the Leadmill, Sheffield, on January 28, 1984.
Can you tell us any dates? Any cities in particular you're looking forward to playing?
“We currently have tour dates pencilled in for April 2022. I’d better not broadcast the dates until they are confirmed but I’m looking forward to the whole tour.
“It will be great to play in cities where I have friends I haven’t seen for a while, Glasgow and London amongst them, as well as the gig in our band hometown, Hull.
“I’m especially looking forward to the Manchester show because that’s where I grew up and I have lots of friends and family there.”
The Red Guitars at Manchester Gallery
What songs will you be doing? Any personal favourites?
“We had so much to choose from including some new songs that we’ve jammed over the years. But it’s most likely that we’ll include all the singles and all the tracks from our album Slow to Fade.
“There may be one or two extra songs that we played for John Peel sessions which don’t appear on the album. My personal favourite at the moment is Shaken not Stirred and I love to play the ones with big bass riffs - Marimba Jive, Fact, Steeltown and Sting in the Tale.
“Paris France and Dive were live favourites. And Cloak and Dagger will be fun to play; Matt and I used to ham up the rhythm section as much as we could, I’m sure we’ll still do that.”
How do you think the songs would fit the current landscape if they were released today?
“The sound of the songs was unusual back in the early 80s. Hallam’s South African music influence was central to the sound of our music well before Paul Simon popularised it with his Graceland album.
“We were never very 80s in our sound or our look – the music biz people thought that was a problem at the time and tried to make us more current, ie 80s. Luckily they didn’t succeed and now, looking back we aren’t so dated at all.
“The themes of the songs are still contemporary: the economy, war, the steel industry, current affairs, apartheid. And of course Good Technology talks about the environment, polluted oceans, plastic being indestructible and that prophetic line ‘We’ve got computers that can find us friends’, which was written in 1981, well before social media.”
How do you feel about the idea of writing and releasing new material with The Red Guitars? Would that dynamic still work? What sort of music would result?
“We’ve built up quite a few new songs that are half finished, and we have spoken about working them up for this tour. But people will want to hear the original songs and the set is full.
“However, we’ll have a play around with them at rehearsals so who knows what could happen in the future.”
Do you ever play The Red Guitars for your own pleasure?
“If I ever come across any songs on the radio, for instance, I’m happy to hear them. The last time I listened for pleasure was a couple of years ago when a live video of a whole gig we played at Sheffield Leadmill in January 1984 turned up at the bottom of a drawer at my mum’s when she moved house.
“It was quite a find, because up until then we didn’t realise that apart from our appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, any live footage of the band existed. And this was a whole gig, shot on the stage. None us remembered it being filmed, but it was great to see.
The Red Guitars at Hull Tower
“I’ve always played a couple of the basslines as warm-ups. Astronomy is good for checking the tuning so that’s had a regular airing over the years.
“Most people recognise the Steeltown and Marimba Jive basslines. Marimba Jive in particular is great for clearing the mind and getting a good groove going when you need one.”
How do you hope to feel at the end of the tour?
“Like doing it again!”
The Red Guitars mentioned in Empyre magazine