I first arrived in Northampton as a schoolteacher, but very quickly got involved in the local music scene, not as a musician, but as a writer! I felt that the local media was not doing enough to support live music, so I contacted a local newspaper to air my views on the subject.

What I did not expect was for them to invite me to write a weekly music column for them, which I quickly accepted! Going to watch live rock or pop bands in Northampton during the early eighties could at times be something of an ordeal rather than a pleasure, not so much because of the sharp divide of talent between bands & musicians but because of the cramped & crowded pubs or clubs in which you would find yourself.

I could regularly be found listening to music down at The Black Lion, The White Elephant, Romany, Five Bells, or other pubs checking out and supporting local bands & musicians with my reviews. Despite the lack of decent venues, the live scene was vibrant and prospered and generally well supported. Many local bands played to packed houses with over fifty bands performing regularly around the town at an ever increasing number of pubs & clubs.

Out of the sweat & smoke two bands managed to clamber from the pub & club circuit onto our nation’s television screens and the larger concert venues of the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world. Former St Georges Avenue Art school students Bauhaus hit the big time with their rendition of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” which rose to No. 4 in the British charts and earned a much remembered appearance on Top of the Pops, but they also enjoyed a much wider & longstanding global cultural & musical influence.

Bauhaus’ roots can be traced back to the heady days of punk in 1976 and the sweaty atmosphere of The Paddock & Racecourse Pavilion. Seeing Bauhaus at that time was genuinely stirring, vocalist Pete Murphy daringly provocative, toying with the audience who knew they were watching something very special. Within six weeks of their formation Bauhaus had recorded their first single, the hugely influential & what will come to be regarded as their finest hour, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, on the Small Wonder label. A startlingly atmospheric debut, David Jay’s bass and Kevin Haskins drums provided the single with its elegant & powerful metal skeleton, whilst Murphy’s hard, haunting voice alongside Danny Ash’s dripping guitar, provided the magic.

The single was chosen to appear in the Bowie film, ‘The Hunger’ with the band playing themselves. Despite the singles success of ‘Bela’ &  ‘She’s in Parties’, Bauhaus were a live phenomenon. No recording could hope to capture the riveting presence of Murphy as he writhed about the stage, the howl of Ash’s guitar and the voodoo drums & hypnotic bass of Haskins & Jay. Even the four albums, ‘Mask, In the flatfield, The Sky’s gone out & Burning from the Inside’, could not recreate those unique charismatic performances.

The second most successful and productive town band comes from an unlikely field of music, Rockabilly, and they are the Cotton brothers from St James known as The Jets. The Jets also had a couple of top thirty UK hits with “Yes Tonight Josephine” and “Love Makes the World Go Round”, toured extensively and made many television appearances. Bob, Ray & Tony started making music way back in 1978 and are still touring and producing albums today.

One of my favourite bands was the excellent Fifi & The Firebirds fronted by the late, great charismatic & hugely talented Linda Casey or Leo as she was sometimes called. The line up also included Phil Dann on guitar, Troy Watkins on bass, Steve ‘Ty Sticks’ on drums & occasionally Chester on Sax. It was a combination that worked well as all the band were all experienced musicians, most notably some former members of excellent band Coil. Many of their memorable songs were self – penned, either by Casey or Dann, who later went on to form St Anthony’s Fire.

Another excellent band were Tempest, built around the talents of former Religious Overdose vocalist Alex Novak. They released an excellent single ‘Lady Left This’ and recorded BBC radio sessions for both Kid Jensen & John Peel before splitting. Zoom Club, The Jazz Butcher, Where’s Lisse, Georgie Markov’s Empire, The Russians, Nation III, The World Service, Absolute Heroes and Groovy Underwear were just a few of the many bands & musicians contributing to an exciting live music scene around the town during the early eighties.

Northampton will never be remembered as a musical hotspot in the same way as Liverpool, London, Coventry, or Sheffield but the county town has produced many excellent musicians & bands and continues to do so to this day.

by The Travel Locker