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Pink Noise
HULL BANDS#1
HULL BANDS#2
I was in this band. That's me on the left of
the photo on the right. We formed at Hull University
(initially as The Pink Toilets) in 1984 and hung around
for longer than we were welcome, collapsing into pathetic
disarray in or around 1990.
There were originally 3 of us in the band: I played guitar, Dave Monk was on drums, and Steve Pickard on bass. Steve sang lead and Dave did some backing vocals. I attempted singing backing vocals one or two times, but it was an unmitigated disaster. Steve and Dave would collapse laughing when my muffled out-of-tune squawking came out of the speakers. Oh, yes. Very funny. Our first fan, sometime roadie and self-styled 'manager' was my mate Adam Richards. You can check his scary work profile out here and wonder late into the night what would be said about that at the Anarchy Society.
Later on, Chris Elliott (late of The Gargoyles and The Velvetones) joined as well. He also played guitar. I think he quite enjoyed it at first but got bored when he realised (long before the rest of us) that the only place we were going was our separate ways.
Initially, we played University Union gigs but went on to join the then thriving local music scene centred around The Adelphi Club in De Grey Street, in Hull. We played there countless times, and although the facilities were, erm, sparse (something often matched by the numbers in the audience) it was good experience. In fact much of the audience at The Adelphi that time consisted of other local bands checking each other out.
Ultimately we managed to attract a
local following that was not entirely student based
(although admittedly most of those who came to see us
were probably at one of the two colleges). We received a
big boost when The Housemartins asked us to support them at their
Record Signing party at the Adelphi. We got an equal
share of the door takings and a little reflected
limelight.
We recorded a couple of demo tapes around this time. I seem to have lost the second one, but the first one is toe-curlingly embarrassing. In 1986 or 1987 (I forget which year it was) we came third place in the Scunthorpe Rock Open battle of the bands. This meant that we got £50.00 or something, but we also won a day recording at a studio in Goxhill, North Lincolnshire. We recorded two songs: Thin End of the Wedge and Face Away. Our manager, Steve Left, sent cassette copies off to all the record companies. Unsurprisingly, all the large companies were uninterested (I can't believe that we ever thought they would want us. But we did), but Tony K. of Red Rhino Records in York asked us to come and see him.
He offered us £500.00 to put out a single on The Gargoyles' label Reasonable Records. We went to Fairview Records in Willerby and re-did Thin End... (the only song in our repertoire that was any good) and issued it with the execrable Face Away on the B-side (as we couldn't afford to record two songs).
It came out in 1987 after I graduated. We got some good press from the NME, Melody Maker and Music Week, and some radio play. We prepared for superstardom.
Reasonable Records (aka Ted Key,
ex-Housemartin and Gargoyle) persuaded us to put out
another song, Everything, as the next single telling us
it would make us famous. I thought it was a shit song
(because it was not punk rock enough), but reluctantly
agreed, with $$$ signs in my eyes, on the basis that it
was a double A-side release with Move for You. It went
out as a 12" release with a third song, Ghosts.
No-one reviewed it, no-one played it on the radio, no-one
bought it. The writing was on the wall.
Not realising this we carried on. We recorded some more demos, and carried on playing gigs. I think we did some quite good stuff at that time, but the dead finger of oblivion beckoned. In 1990, we were gone.
The best bit ever about being in the band was lying in the bath (this was me only, the others weren't there) in 1987 and hearing John Peel play Thin End of the Wedge. Pretty much everything else was downhill from there on, really.
I now work as a solicitor, and Dave subsequently worked for the Royal Mail for years but was recently working for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Steve apparently has a proper job now (after years of 'teaching' English as a foreign language) working for an educational publishing company in Spain. Lucky bastard. Dave was the only one to carry on playing after the demise of Pink Noise; he joined miserablist Hull combo Secret of Life. They had a cd out a few years ago that got NME single of the week. Brilliant, if somewhat depressing. Sadly, He eventually sold his drums and bought a decent hifi.
We never got on Top of the Pops. We never had people write our names on the back of their leather jackets. No-one from the national music press ever sought out our opinions on the important matters of the day, and we did not define a generation with our music and stance. But it was a laugh.
Recordings
You can click
here if you want to hear a bit of Thin End of the Wedge 
Or here if you want to hear a bit of Everything. It was our sad attempt at commercial success. Not surprising that no-one bought it, is it? It does really sound as if Steve sings "...and I've grown cold towards your mammeries". I'm not entirely convinced that he doesn't.
On the same 12" was Move For You. It's not so bad, I suppose, and it cracks along quite nicely. There was another track as well, called Ghosts. I've saved you the bother of having to listen to it, by not including it on this page. You would thank me.
I
n 1989 we recorded a demo at Angel Studios
in Hull with John Rowley from The Red Guitars. This is I Won't Miss You (when you've gone), a paean to Margaret Thatcher. She
must have been quaking in her boots. A touch too much
reverb, perhaps?.
Later still, we recorded a demo at The Planet Wilson's studio. I seem to have mislaid the tape, but found this track on a cassette with unrelated material on it. I'm pretty sure this one -A Better Time- was recorded at (or "on" as we wittily used to say) The Planet Wilson. I might be wrong: it could have been done at Angel with I Won't Miss... Who cares? Anyway, I don't know what you think, but I reckon we'd been listening to too much New Order.
The last proper thing we recorded was a song called On My Mind. This was eventually put out on a `pay up and you can appear on it' LP entitled Knee Deep in Shit Volume 8 from the excellent 1in12 Club in Bradford. I seriously doubt if any real punters actually purchased this record.
Videos
On My Mind
Beverley Westwood Behind My Back Everything Move For You Thin End of the WedgeMore embarrassing 1980's Hull music available here: Page 1; Page 2.
Alternatively, click here to go to the Hull Daily Mail site.
To see a great collection of Hull music cover art click here
A further trip back down memory lane is available here if you would like to view some excellent Rock Against Racism posters from the early 80's (courtesy Richard Lees).
The seminal Hull LP Mrs Wilson's Children brought together a set of Hull bands that existed in the brief moment in time before, er, the next brief moment in time in which my band and others, er, existed. Look here to read all about them, wonder at their exploits and look at their photographic images on this great site from former Cool To Snog bassman Nauseous Nick.
Want to tell me how bad Pink Noise were? Or possibly I've forgotten to mention YOUR stupid band. Let me know: nickclay@nickclay.karoo.co.uk
No, thank you. Just take me home