...And the Native Hipsters
Encyclopedia
...And the Native Hipsters was an English post-punk
group formed in London
in 1979. Centred around the nucleus of musicians William Wilding and Blatt (Nanette Greenblatt), they are best known for their 1980 single
, "There Goes Concorde Again", which attracted the attention of BBC Radio 1
DJ John Peel
, and reached number five on the UK Independent Charts. The song was listed by New Musical Express
in their "NME Writers 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" in 1992.
Allmusic called the Native Hipsters "[o]ne of the more bizarre groups" from the late-1970s and early-1980s.
England, and Blatt (Nanette Greenblatt) from Cape Town
, South Africa. They had previously worked together as the Wildings, and then the Patterns with Robert Cubitt and Tom Fawcett. The Patterns became the Native Hipsters in 1979 when they recorded "There Goes Concorde Again", a 6:45 minute song featuring Blatt repeating with "childlike enthusiasm" the refrain
"Ooh, look, there goes Concorde again", with reference to sightings of the famed "silverbird
". Allmusic described the song as a "formless composition" with "perfectly-devoid-of-skill vocals, a wobbly funhouse synth, the occasional guitar pling, and not much bass".
"There Goes Concorde Again" was a home recording
that was privately released by the group as a single
in a limited edition of 500 copies. Each disc had its label hand-stamped by the group, and the sleeve
s were constructed from posters of Kevin Keegan
, an English footballer, making each cover unique. They sent the records to Rough Trade, an independent record shop in London, and about a month later BBC Radio 1
DJ John Peel
picked up a copy and began playing the song extensively on his radio program. Soon the group had an order for another 1,000 copies, and then a further 4,000. It entered the UK Independent Charts in August 1980, where it remained for ten weeks, peaking at number five. Wilding received an offer from producer Tony Visconti
to re-record the song, but turned it down for fear of it becoming "too commercial". The song was later listed by New Musical Express
in their "NME Writers 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" in 1992.
In 1982 the Native Hipsters released a four-track EP
, "Tenderly Hurt Me" which was well received by the music press. Over the next few years the group performed live several times, including opening for Bauhaus
, and recorded a number of songs with the help of various musicians, including guitarist Lester Square
from The Monochrome Set
, and Annie Whitehead
, a session trombonist. By the mid-1980s the group had stopped recording, but interest in them was revived in 2001 when Rough Trade included "There Goes Concorde Again" in a box set, Rough Trade Shops - 25 Years. This prompted Wilding to release two CD
s, There Goes Concorde Again... (2001) and Songs to Protest About (2006) containing their singles, previously unreleased songs and new material. Interest in the Native Hipsters was renewed again in 2009 when a compilation set, Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio included "There Goes Concorde Again". Rock music
critic Peter Paphides
said in a review of the album that ...And the Native Hipsters was one of the artists always associated with John Peel.
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
group formed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1979. Centred around the nucleus of musicians William Wilding and Blatt (Nanette Greenblatt), they are best known for their 1980 single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "There Goes Concorde Again", which attracted the attention of BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, and reached number five on the UK Independent Charts. The song was listed by New Musical Express
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
in their "NME Writers 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" in 1992.
Allmusic called the Native Hipsters "[o]ne of the more bizarre groups" from the late-1970s and early-1980s.
Biography
...And the Native Hipsters was a London-based duo of musicians William Wilding from RomfordRomford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
England, and Blatt (Nanette Greenblatt) from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa. They had previously worked together as the Wildings, and then the Patterns with Robert Cubitt and Tom Fawcett. The Patterns became the Native Hipsters in 1979 when they recorded "There Goes Concorde Again", a 6:45 minute song featuring Blatt repeating with "childlike enthusiasm" the refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
"Ooh, look, there goes Concorde again", with reference to sightings of the famed "silverbird
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
". Allmusic described the song as a "formless composition" with "perfectly-devoid-of-skill vocals, a wobbly funhouse synth, the occasional guitar pling, and not much bass".
"There Goes Concorde Again" was a home recording
Home recording
Home recording is the practice of recording in a private home, rather than in a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a "project studio" or "home studio". Home recording is practiced by indie bands, singer-songwriters, hobbyists, podcasters, documentarians,...
that was privately released by the group as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in a limited edition of 500 copies. Each disc had its label hand-stamped by the group, and the sleeve
Record sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...
s were constructed from posters of Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
, an English footballer, making each cover unique. They sent the records to Rough Trade, an independent record shop in London, and about a month later BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
picked up a copy and began playing the song extensively on his radio program. Soon the group had an order for another 1,000 copies, and then a further 4,000. It entered the UK Independent Charts in August 1980, where it remained for ten weeks, peaking at number five. Wilding received an offer from producer Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
to re-record the song, but turned it down for fear of it becoming "too commercial". The song was later listed by New Musical Express
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
in their "NME Writers 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" in 1992.
In 1982 the Native Hipsters released a four-track EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, "Tenderly Hurt Me" which was well received by the music press. Over the next few years the group performed live several times, including opening for Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
, and recorded a number of songs with the help of various musicians, including guitarist Lester Square
Lester Square
Lester Square is the lead guitarist for The Monochrome Set. He also sings backing vocals, designed some of the band's record sleeves, and co-wrote much of their music...
from The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...
, and Annie Whitehead
Annie Whitehead
Annie Whitehead is an English jazz trombone player.-Career:Annie learned trombone at school; at 14 she was already busy playing with brass bands, local dance groups and the Manchester Youth Jazz Orchestra and began her professional career at sixteen. Among her initial influences were Miles Davis,...
, a session trombonist. By the mid-1980s the group had stopped recording, but interest in them was revived in 2001 when Rough Trade included "There Goes Concorde Again" in a box set, Rough Trade Shops - 25 Years. This prompted Wilding to release two CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s, There Goes Concorde Again... (2001) and Songs to Protest About (2006) containing their singles, previously unreleased songs and new material. Interest in the Native Hipsters was renewed again in 2009 when a compilation set, Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio included "There Goes Concorde Again". Rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
critic Peter Paphides
Peter Paphides
Peter Paphides is a British journalist and broadcaster.Between 2005 and 2010 he was employed as the chief rock critic of The Times and presented The Times weekly music podcast for Sounds Music supplement...
said in a review of the album that ...And the Native Hipsters was one of the artists always associated with John Peel.
Singles and EPs
- "There Goes Concorde Again" (1980, 7" single, Heater Volume Records)
- "Tenderly Hurt Me" (1982, 12" EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Illuminated Records) - "Going Steady With Larry and Emma" (1983, 7" single, Plattekop Volume)
Albums
- There Goes Concorde Again... (CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, 2001, MRMusic) - Songs To Protest About (CD, 2006, MRMusic)
Compilation appearances
The following compilations each include one track by ...And the Native Hipsters, "There Goes Concorde Again".- Various artists: Rough Trade Shops - 25 Years (2001, 4xCD box set, Mute RecordsMute RecordsMute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
) - Various artists: Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio (2009, 4xCD, Universal)