The
Backsliders
This article originally appeared in NFH #21 in
the winter of 1991.
A few years back when
I was hunting down every record that came out on Australia's Citadel label, I came
across an unusual one by this French band called Fixed Up. It struck me as fairly
odd to find a French band on an independent label from Sydney that up to that point
had specialized in Australian underground groups. After a little while things
became more clear; the connection was through Jim Dickson and Rob Younger, both of
the New Christs, who had toured Europe and made a big name for themselves with strong
shows around France, several of which included Fixed Up as the openers. Dickson had
also played in Europe with the Barracudas on at least one occasion, and no doubt
the connection occurred during one of these tours.
The single was called
"One Night Stand", and it was a pretty unique sounding thing. The basic
elements that went into the song were all familiar; there was a sort of soulful,
almost r'n'b sound, but the guitar was hard edged and had a tough, punk influenced
feel as well. And then there was the singing, which was strong and gritty with a
bit of an alcohol and cigarettes sort of rasp to it that fit the music like a
glove.
The singer's name is
Francois Lebas, and the band Fixed Up was his last group. They split nearly two
years ago, and since then I've been hoping there would be a record by the new band
that I kept hearing about that Francois was fronting, named the Backsliders. It's
taken a while, but Impose The Worst is finally out on Spliff, and it shows
Francois continuing in the same trend as Fixed Up...the same sort of tough but soulful
rock and roll.
I'd sent Francois
questions for an interview when he was in Fixed Up, but the timing was wrong and
they'd just split when he got them, so nothing resulted from it. This time it's
different, and I've gotten the Backsliders' story from him to pass on. At the
start, he professed to not liking interviews (in fact he says he's never done one).
"We feel uneasy with a microphone talking about this and that. Interviews are
serious, we are not", he says.
He then proceeded to
write out a long letter in response to my questions, so though it may not be a
formal taped interview, the result is pretty much the same.
In response to my
request for information about Fixed Up, Francois refused to answer, saying
"the past is the past". That may be, but good music made in the past is
no less valid, and it would be a shame for Fixed Up to be totally ignored. I can't
tell the whole Fixed Up story since I don't know all the details, but I can say
that they recorded a number of good records, starting with a single called
"You Can Count Me In" on the French Sonics label and their debut lp Fixed
Up which came out on Closer in 1984. This was produced by former Pink Fairy
Larry Wallis, and though the songs are almost as good as the later material they
would come up with, the sound isn't as full and powerful as they managed to be when
they recorded with Younger and Dickson. After that there was a split single with
the Nomads on the other side, recorded live during a tour with the two bands in
1984. In 1985 there was a 12" single "On Your Line", which showed the
production getting beefier and a continued development of Lebas' guitar style. Then
nothing until 1987, which is when the Citadel single appeared, followed by an
lp called Vital Hours. Both also appeared on Closer in France. Vital Hours
is a powerful lp that shows a kinship to bands like Dr. Feelgood while at the same
time contending with the top mid 80s garage bands. It's a unique sound that doesn't
have the problem of many garage bands that draw only from the 60s; Fixed Up drew
influences from everywhere.
In late 1987 the band
released a really great single whose A side was a cover of a song by the obscure
late 70s British power pop band the Out called "Who Is Innocent". Fixed
Up's version gave a whole new life to this song and seemed to have the potential to
help them break through the barriers that stand in the way of continental European
bands. They went to Australia to record this one, and played several dates around
Sydney in the fall of 1987. They returned to Europe at the beginning of 1988 and
played gigs with the New Christs in Germany and Les Thugs in France. But unfortunately
it was at just this point that they split. A posthumous "best of"
compilation was released on Closer; it's actually not as good as the Vital Hours
lp, because it contains a fair dose of earlier material that doesn't measure up to
the punch of the later songs because of the thin production.
Francois doesn't say
anything about the reasons for the split, and for those of us who can't go to
French clubs to see bands nothing has been heard from any of the members until the
release of the Backsliders debut lp this winter. Like Fixed Up, the Backsliders are
a 3 piece band with Lebas on vocals and guitar, a fellow named Zoot on drums, and
Eric on bass. The sound is not that different from Fixed Up; Lebas has a
distinctive guitar style which would be apparent in any band he played in, and the
same can be said for his vocals.
"I really like
what you call a soulful rock and roll sound", says Francois. "Our main
influences are punk and pub bands of '76 and '77 and 60's r'n'b. They seem opposite, but I
think we're right in the middle of this mixed up mess...Dr. Feelgood/Sex Pistols,
Aretha Franklin/Damned, Chuck Berry/Clash. I used to tell guys that between Johnny Lee
Hooker and the Ramones lots of things happened; rock and roll, r'n'b, glitter rock,
early heavy metal like Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper...we do a cover of
"Long Way To Go" on stage."
Francois says that
he's also a big fan of a lot of US bands from 1977 such as the Dils, Zeroes,
Weirdos, Dickies and especially the Suicide Commandos, and he's also into a lot of
the lesser known British punk bands from that time like the Outsiders ("Fixed
Up" was an Outsiders' song that Fixed Up covered on the Closer Eyes On You
compilation, and the lp title Vital Hours came from another Outsiders song),
the Dyaks (whose "Gutter Kids" is covered on the new Backsliders lp),
Satan's Rats (Fixed Up covered their "In My Love For You"), the Boys and
early Magazine. Drummer Zoot is a fan of Australian bands while bassist Eric likes
a more English sound like Alien Sex Fiend, Bauhaus, the New Model Army, or
American's the Violent Femmes. But Francois goes out of his way to stress that he
doesn't feel part of any particular movement or trend. "We're just a powerful
live group that loves to be on the road, drink good wines and beers, meet pretty
girls and burn the stages!", he says.
They've just recently
played three gigs in Ireland, and apparently had a real good time of it.
"Dublin was great and people were really surprised to see a French band give
them such thrills", Francois says. "We're just a three piece band and
we're used to playing loud, and sometimes that gives us problems with owners of
bars and their neighborhood. We also have our own light show that gives a real
strange atmosphere with a stroboscope. People generally don't know how to react to the
show...they're surprised and amazed and we leave them as breathless as we
are!"
"Unfortunately
we don't play enough; only 100 shows in three years. We've had a lot of problems
with managers (three in three years) and we have decided to do it by ourselves. We
think the best thing for us is to go overseas to England and maybe the USA. France
is stuck now with all these fucking French bands. I hope I'm wrong, but the
situation is really bad for real rock and roll bands 'cos thousands of kids just
listen to what the big business gives them and the alternative movements are just
bullshit. But we're still optimistic because we are real good friends and we're aware of
the power of the band."
"One important
thing for us is our town, Le Havre, where a lot of great bands are born; Little Bob
Story, City Kids, Fixed Up, Road Runners, Croaks, for example. It's a big port with
a really square center for having been destroyed during the war, but it's pouring
out a good feeling for a musician."
Francois is already
looking forward to a chance to record a second Backsliders lp; he says they have a
batch of good material ready to go for it. He also wants a chance to tour in the
US. We'll see if it happens. Meantime search out the Backsliders Impose The Worst lp
on Spliff (15 rue de la Treille, 63000 Clermont Ferrand, France), and keep your
eyes peeled for those old Fixed Up records if you missed 'em.
