Steve Parry - Guitars, Piano, Synth, Effects, Devices - Neu Electrikk
In 1976, Steve Parry at the age of 18 moved
from Harrogate, Yorkshire to London in search of new music opportunities. Parry had
played in a succession of local bands, none of whom seemed to possess any real
ambition. Parry had been accepted onto a journalism/photography course but
would have to wait for another year before taking up the placement. During this
time Parry worked for the civil service in the Ministry of Defence. Spending
the days bored and frustrated working in a dead end job, in an office full of
old army types who spoke of nothing but the war and the anarchism of today’s
youth proved the catalyst for change.
Relocating to London, Parry answered a musician’s
wanted advert placed by Derek Morris in the Melody Maker. At a similar time Parry
answered an advert placed by Matt Johnson in the NME requesting musicians into The Velvet Underground/Syd Barrett. Having contacted Matt he discovered there had been a somewhat limited response to the advert. Parry enquired with Matt what instruments he played
and equipment he used - this included a guitar/amp setup purchased from Woolworths, a Crumer
Electronic Keyboard and an assortment of other borrowed musical instruments left behind in the
basement of his father Eddies’ pub.
Johnson did send Parry a copy of his cassette
demo 'See without Being Seen' recorded in the cellar of his parents
pub. The music Parry found interesting, Matt had written all the music and
played all instruments himself. The cassette came in a cover designed by Matt copied
on a Xerox machine. Parry thought ‘See
without Being Seen’ an ambitious, impressive work for a 15-16 yr old. Parry
considered Matt essentially a solo act and found it difficult imagining them being in a band together. Matt Johnson and Parry kept in touch informing
each other of each other’s activities. Letters to each other would contain the
names and addresses of key contacts, people like Genesis P-Orridge of the band Throbbing Gristle, people who could potentially help the cause. Concurrently Parry had been in contact with Derek Morris and Steve Sherlock
and due to the practicalities of living closer to one another they decided to form a band.
Matt later contacted Parry when he discovered
Keith Laws, appearing keen for them all to get together and introduce Laws to
him. Parry remembers having Keith around
seemed to give Matt greater self-confidence. Together they would formulate
ideas, take to the stage and perform as a live act, as a duo they would both develop
the idea of what was to become The The. At
the time Matt was working at De-Wolfe music studios in Soho and this gave him
the opportunity to record backing tracks to which he and Laws would later improvise.
Parry was present at all of The The’s early performances. The The first gig was
at the Africa Centre, nr London’s Covent Garden, the event being memorable for
having an African/Caribbean evening taking place at the same time in the
basement. As The The played upstairs, the throb of African music permeated up
through the floor. Parry liked the abstract, experimental sound of early The
The, the music being a stimulating hybrid of electronic drum beats, effected
guitar, a wasp synthesizer, slabs of noise and distorted vocals. Parry did join
The The on stage and played guitar on just the one occasion – The Anarchist
Ball – Metropolitan Warehouse. This event followed a frustrating day spent in SGS studios in south London recording
the track that was to become ‘Untitled’ as later featured on ‘The Some Bizzare
Album’. In the company of an uncooperative, unprofessional engineer, Parry, Johnson and Laws struggled to make themselves understood. This situation Parry found especially embarrassing having recommended the studio to Johnson/Laws and booked the studio for them. Amid the chaos Parry found himself sharing the studio control room listening to the rant of the engineer while attempting to salvage the situation. Parry recalls making a musical contribution in the form of hand claps and maybe some fuzz guitar. At the end of the recording session the engineer scrawled obscenities on the tape reel box - "The Bollock Dance" - Parry took the master tape home with him then a few months later he received a request from Laws asking him about the whereabouts of the master tape. They wanted the track for a forthcoming compilation - Some Bizzare Album. Sadly when the Some Bizzare Album materialised no credit is given for Parrys contribution to 'Untitled'. 'Untitled' remains an interesting artefact in the early career of Matt Johnson / The The.
Neu Electrikk and The The shared
management, record-label, gigs and personnel. Following the demise of Neu
Electrikk Steve Sherlock effectively went on to join The The and with Johnson both contributed to Marc and the Mambas.
Photocopied Gig Poster given to Steve Parry by Matt Johnson for early The The gig
