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Sounds
With a cry of horror, Jim Avery pushed the feet from under his nose and made Stamp put them on the other end of the table. “We're a down-to-earth, straight, no crap, completely rude, raw, 'orrible band,” he said. “I was looking for the total slag group, a really horrible, ugly group and” - he shot a glance at Stamp - “I've found it.”
Stamp and Avery are the nucleus of Third World War, a band with rough, hard-hitting music and lyrics (by Stamp) to match. They have already established a kind of anti-pop star, aggressive, 'working class' (their words) image. Was this intentional? “Not really,” said Avery, “it just happened that way, because that's the way we are.”
They 've also attracted attention form liberal/political commentators, basically because of lyrics in songs like 'Ascension Day' and 'Working Class Man' on their album.
“I'm a working class man
With a working class soul
Trying to make a working class wage packet roll.”
“They all follow the same routine.” Said Avery. “First they ask us all these heavy revolutionary questions and about the class thing, and at the end they ask us what we'd do if we made a lot of money with the group - you know? I mean, what would do if you made a lot of money?”
How much did they find that audiences were identifying with their image?
“We've had a lot of trouble with the sound recently, so the words haven't been coming across too well, but they don't believe us when they see us - they look at us and go 'Who the ***** this crowd.' You know? Because we don't come on with all the usual gear and everything which is now a cliché - not quite Kaftans and beads but you know what I mean, all that big moody stuff, coming on stage with a joint in your mouth.
“There's a lot of movement in this band, but it's not faked, it's not all leaping about all the time, not worked out stuff or anything. But we're the loosest group in the world man, anything can happen on stage. And we did this gig in Manchester where there were all these really young kids, and they were dancing, really dancing. It was great.”
The album has been compared to the early Who music, and Avery had played with Pete Townsend protégé Thunderclap Newman. Did they think the comparison was fair?
“Only in as far as the energy that is there. I can't see where the rest of it comes from,” said Avery.
“On 'Ascension Day' - the way the track opens is a bit like they were I suppose,” admitted Stamp, “but you couldn't say 'Working Class Man' sounded particularly like the Who could you?”
“The next album is going to be much better.” Said Avery. “this one was just the original idea, more or less just getting the songs down. We wanted to do it completely rough. Some of the tracks were done completely live, we left all the goofs and mistakes on and just tried to get more of the feeling of the songs across.”
Stamp: “There's too many lyrics on that album; next time we're going to have more songs, shorter times. I mean. I dunno how many verses 'Shepherds Bush Cowboy' has got but it goes on and on and on.
In one of the strongest songs. 'Ascension Day', Stamp talks of power to the people / workers / poor and of the day “when we rise”.
“Pull your hand-grenade pin
I'll pull mine…
… Blast your automatic
I'll be blasting mine.”
Was he really advocating an armed uprising, blasting off guns in the street?
“it's like wising people up, you know? Even if you only get across to one person in the audience it's good.”
Sure but guns?
“Look anyone with just a little bit of sense is going to suss out that you ain't gonna get an M1 carbine at Marks and Spencer's, so it's the idea that I'm trying to put across. I mean, it's much better to put that kind of idea across than say 'I love Yarmouth, honey' or get into that 'everything's cool man, everything's all right thing.”
But for a long time, Stamp was frustrated in his desire to stand up and say what he felt. He had his songs but - with his pot belly, short hair, and general un-groupish image - he couldn't find any musicians to work with him.
“They took me to Apple with all the demo's and all that scene, but they took one look and thought 'What's this, some monster or something, some animal or a pig that just came in. When Fenton (their manager) got us together, it was really good.”
'Said you ain't got the look,
And you ain't got the size
And you sure ain't no fairy
With sweet poufy eyes,
No you won't, no you won't, get that load
Up Stardom Road'
Steve Peacock, May 29th 1971
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