As I think I may have mentioned before, it's as though I can remember whole sentences from John Peel shows from 1984. Either my brain is inventing these memories, or I played the tape onto which I recorded the show a great deal — or both. Today's unreliable memory is of Peel playing a song from Simple Minds' 'slippery-slope-to-U2' album Sparkle in the Rain and saying, half-apologetically, "If you were to ask me why I play Simple Minds and don't play U2, I'd have to admit that it was probably because when we were at the Pink Pop festival recently, the boys from Simple Minds played football with us, and U2 didn't". He played a different track and said, "it's all right, but there was something on The American that's not there any more."
That was enough to send me off in search of a record with The American on it, and this is that record. Previously I was unconvinced by my memory of buying it from the Our Price on Bridge Street, but the £2.99 Our Price sticker inside the cover bears me out. Now, if I could just find that tape from 1984… it's actually not inconceivable that I still have it.
One thing I definitely still have is my journal, which I was reading a few weeks back. The entry for 25 March 1985 refers to your 21st:
Ben had his birthday on the Friday… I did my DJ session, which consisted of The American, Masimba Belé, Tam-Tam Pour L'Ethiope, and the Sisters of Mercy's Alice — I didn't manage to get the Jesus and Mary Chain in. [No, this does not contradict this memory, because I think you played it, claiming birthday privilege.] It was fairly well received to begin with, by my friends, at any rate [!], but interest began to wane after the Sisters came on [!!]. Afterwards I went back, with kebab [?!], to Matt's room for coffee along with Simon, Salli, Leanne, Gary and Nick H.
That copy of The American wasn't from this record. It was the 12" single, which I found, bought and donated to Dave's disco. That's one slice of generosity I've long regretted. Why? He had plenty of records already… Just checked iTunes Store: 12" version not there. Grrr! What's the point of iTunes if it hasn't got the 12" of The American?
Anyway, from there it was a slow burn, but a short step to Sons and Fascination and, along with that album, this remains one of the most astonishing, transporting collections of music I've ever heard.
Many things make it transporting. Steve Hillage's production, the incredible rhythm section, the elliptical lyrics. And the cover photography, with its combination of 1950s American cars and futuristic continental European architecture. There's a series of depots near the top end of Nine Elms Lane in Vauxhall, and whenever I go past, I squint at one of them (it may even be the Flower Market) and wonder if that's where they shot the cover photos.
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