Sorry to break in on all the new music buzz, but I have to give a few moments and a few words to one that helped pave the way.Tony Ogden, founder and primary songwriter for the Madchester-era band World Of Twist has died at the age of 44.
Famously reclusive after disbanding WOT in 1992, he was nonetheless celebrated for his contributions to pop music in the early 90's and remained influential, if not prolific, throughout the later stages of his career.
Who were World Of Twist and why do I care? Self-described as "a sort of Roxy Music meets Velvet Underground meets Northern Soul meets Joe Meek meets Human League" they didn't exactly have self-esteem problems. Quite simply, they were a brilliant little pop band that put out only one full length recording and a handful of singles. Quality Street, their only long player, is a beautiful snapshot of 1991 with shiny retro sounds on top of pulsing dance beats and synthesized accents. They even had the cheek to cover The Rolling Stones' She's A Rainbow.
I'm always a little sad when a musical light dims or goes out, and today my world is a bit darker with no Tony Ogden in it.
mp3: World Of Twist - Jellybaby
mp3: World Of Twist - The Storm
mp3: World Of Twist - Lose My Way
mp3: World Of Twist - She's A Rainbow
I now return you to your regularly scheduled music.
-Ryan
5 comments:
Ryan,
Wow, that's pretty sad, they guy was pretty young (44)...
Thanks for keeping us up on all things "Madchester".
Great post. I'm impressed... mp3s and everything.
You da man,
Steve
Absolutely love their Stones cover.
- Steve
That's not even the one I put on my big mix . . .
I've always loved WOT, ever since I bought the "Sons of the Stage" cd single at Northern Lights after reading about 'em in NME.
I've heard rumors that the second-album demos are floating around out there. Anybody?
What, you don't have the Sweets single released in the jeans pocket packaging? :)
Never been able to find those demos myself. I haven't poked around for them lately, but if I track them down, I'll post them here. I'm hoping that the album will eventually see the light of day officially, a la The Action.
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