| “Something totally different to what
you’re likely to see.” This is how ‘Absolute
Beginners’ describe themselves and if
you saw them at the Talent Contest in January,
you know this to be true. Their sound is a unique
blend of oldie and modern day music, being
influenced by bands that span the ages: from ‘Motown’
and ‘The Beatles’ to ‘Ocean
Colour Scene’ and ‘Oasis’. This
wide range in influence is probably why their
music is good to listen to, and why they were
light years ahead of any competition at the
Talent Contest. The members
of the band include Andrew Cochrane (guitar and
singer), Rob O’Neil (guitar), Dan Smith (Bass)
and Des Jenkinson (percussion). This wasn’t
the original line up. In the beginning there was
Andy, Rob, Johno and a drummer called Pete. When
Johno started to take ‘liberties’ and
lean towards having megalomaniac tendencies it
was time for him to take a walk. Pete the drummer
wasn’t committed enough and took a hike down
the same path.
I asked the lads who it was
that first inspired them to pick up their
instruments and play. For Rob it was the
guitarist, Brian May, he loved his sound and
tried to copy him. Then he tried mimicking some
of the music from ‘Oasis’ and
found this more comfortable to play.
Andy’s main inspiration
comes from, in his own words, “the Mod-Father
himself”, Paul Weller. This is certainly a
name that kept cropping up throughout the
interview. This guy is a major influence on the
band and if you heard them at the Talent Contest
you may have been able to detect this coming
through in the music.
The lads have also started
to write some of their own stuff, their favourite
being a quiet, acoustic piece called ‘She
brings me Roses’, which certainly brought a
tear to my eye.
As I mentioned at the
beginning, theirs is an original sound that you
may not be used to hearing from your normal, run-of-the-mill
college band, where ‘punk’ seems to be
the main contender. A recent addition to the
band, which enhances this image, is the Harmonica.
“Every time it’s
pulled out” says Andy “it brings a
cheer.” (You can read what you will into
that, but I’m almost sure he was talking
about the Harmonica) Andy will be the first to
admit that he’s “no Lennon” on it,
but he’s getting there, and it certainly
adds that special little bit of something to
their music.
So, where are ‘Absolute
Beginners’ headed in the future? Well,
at the moment, with exams looming on the horizon,
the music has been put on a back burner.
Afterwards the lad’s main priority is to get
something recorded on to CD and then, perhaps, to
do a bit of touring around the country in the old
camper van. After that…University? Fame and
fortune? Signing on? Who knows? Let’s just
hope the lads continue to get the same enjoyment
out of their music as they do at the moment.
Tom Ellard
|
