4AD Was God

When you are addicted to British music during the eighties. You tend to explore everything and I mean everything ! You acknowledge the success of mainstream acts like Wham, Sade, The Smiths, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Tears For Fears, China Crisis, Bananarama, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Alison Moyet, The Style Council, The Fall, The Chameleons, Strawberry Switchblade, Killing Joke, Dexys Midnight Runners, Naked Eyes, Level 42, Dead Or Alive, Fiction Factory, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Madness, Thomas Dolby, Aztec Camera, Modern English, The Clash, Big Country, Talk Talk, The Lotus Eaters, A Flock Of Seagulls, U2. And then you realize, the U.K. Chart is filled with acts that's never gonna stop producing music to quench one's thirst for anything...well, British ! Yes, I did mention we were music snobs but how many synth-pop bands can you actually consider groundbreaking, when everyone's doing almost the same thing. I confess I stopped monitoring Depeche Mode's career right after the smash ballad "Somebody" taken from their "Some Great Reward" album. I've given these bands 'expiration dates'. I did that to U2 right after "The Joshua Tree", Tears For Fears after they had "Shout" and New Order when everybody was into the remixed version of "Bizarre Love Triangle" But once in a while, these bands manage to come up with random gems like New Order's "Regret" or Depeche Mode "Strangelove". Suddenly, you feel this emptiness or just simply an urge to look for more obscure acts. You check out the latest issue of Melody Maker and bands with names like The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Band Of Holy Joy, Virgin Prunes, Frank Chickens, Big Sound Authority, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Rip Rig and Panic, Dislocation Dance, The Monochrome Set, It's Immaterial, Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel make you giggle. Can these get any more pretentious ? The answer is a resounding yes! 4AD has become our new god. Everything this weird label would churn out , we'd swallow. Of course, we even swallowed a 4AD act called Swallow. The 4AD releases are considered works of art. From the vinyl sleeves to the music, the look on our faces were priceless everytime we would get hold of a new 4AD vinyl. Cocteau Twins, Clan Of Xymox, Colourbox, The Wolfgang Press, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints and of course, our 4AD Superstar Dead Can Dance!