The original Curfew cover

Back in 1991 a young band grabbed the attention of Curfew, the magazine that became Nightshift. They were called On A Friday and we gave them their first ever reviews and features. Here we reprint the band’s first interview with editor Ronan Munro (first published in December 91) along with their first live demo reviews. Over the page we look back at the rest of the class of 91 and ask, whatever became of them?

At the end of October Oxford’s thinnest band (The Wild Poppies split up ages ago), On A Friday, played at the Jericho Tavern to a good sized crowd and there was a man from EMI there. A mere two weeks later they play the Tavern again and the place is heaving. There are twenty-five record company A&R men there and they all paid to get in. To put it bluntly, On A Friday are HAPPENING. Good job we chose this month to put them on the cover.

While other local heroes such as The Purple Rhinos, Death By Crimpers and Freak! Are attracting mild and sporadic outside interest, On A Friday are a causing a buzz as loud as a Chinook in the capital and I don’t think I’m pushing it one bit when I say that my money’s on the lads from east Oxford top be the next big thing out of the city.

The first time I saw On A Friday I was so drunk I couldn’t remember a single thing about them. The second time I saw them I thought they were really good, and a little weird. Ironically it was at a pathetically attended gig at the Poly [now Brookes University], with a crap sound and a ludicrously curtailed set that I finally realised what a great pop group they were. While they battled against intermittent feedback and fluctuations in sound levels they looked well pissed off, but they didn’t curl up and die or throw tantrums like many bands do. They got on with their stuff and the only people not bowled over were those who weren’t there. What puts On A Friday at the head of the field of young hopefuls is their fusion of different styles into one whole in a way that makes it impossible to lump them in with other scenes or sounds. They have a pop side to them, owing a bit to their friends The Candyskins, but also to The Beatles’ psychedelic stuff. They are equally as much a rock band, with REM leanings. Add a few dashes of indie, dance and country and you have an eclectic melting pot. While their music is lively, catchy and intense and easily good enough to stand up on its own, what makes On A Friday just that much better is singer Thom’s voice. He is possessed of that rare and special thing: a naturally musical singing voice. How may

On A Friday in December '81

other good bands have you seen ruined by a bad or boring vocalist? Thom doesn’t just deliver his lyrics, he uses his voice to interact with the other instruments, as if it were one itself. This sometimes makes the words hard to comprehend, so what are the songs about?
Thom: “Erm… well, `Nothing Touches Me’ is based on an artist who was imprisoned for abusing children and spent the rest of his life in a cell painting, but the song is about isolating yourself so much that one day you realise you haven’t got any friends anymore and no-one talks to you. I’m just aggressive and sick.” Twenty minutes later and Thom reveals that he doesn’t really know what his songs are about.

On A Friday, far from being a singer and his backing band, are a collective of five individuals, each with a strong input into the band’s music. All stamp their individual influences and tastes on the music and this means that the end product doesn’t sound like anyone else. Thom, Phil (drums), Colin (bass), Ed (guitar) and John (guitar and organ) find common ground in bands like The Buzzcocks, REM, The Fall and (ahem) Peter Paul and Mary, but beyond this they go for anything from Curve to Bootsy Collins to techno. They also seem to argue a lot. They’ve just been into Courtyard Studios with Chris Hufford who produced Slowdive’s album.
Colin: “He heard about us through a mutual friend and came to see us at the Jericho. Afterwards he was almost shaking. He said we were the best group he’d seen in three years and invited us to record with him at his studio. We see it as a good investment.”

And the investment seems about to pay off sooner than they might have expected. The five songs they recorded show a massive leap in depth and professionalism from their last demo, impressive though that was. The new tape should be available from Manic Hedgehog by the time you read this and it’s well worth forking out £3 for, to hear for yourself what all the fuss is about. In short it’s a stormer.

All five members of the band are Oxford born and bred and all have returned to their home town after time away at college, how much influence does Oxford have on their songs?
Thom: “Loads. `Jerusalem’ is all about Oxford, so is `Everybody Lies Through Their Teeth’. It’s such a weird place and it’s very important to my writing.”

It’s the subject of music, in particular music in Oxford, that provokes the arguments. Wildly differing views are thrown about as to why Oxford has, or hasn’t, got a decent music scene:
“If the Tavern closed there wouldn’t be a scene at all.”
“No! What about he Dolly and the Venue?”
“And the Old Fire Station. I know it’s crap but there are a lot of towns the size of Oxford that haven’t even got a venue like that. Oxford has got a lot more soul than, say, Cambridge but it comes from places like Cowley rather than the University. Students come here for three years and leave without contributing anything.”
“ I don’t think it’s all the students’ fault. It’s the people who run the University who are the problem. They control everything in Oxford from their corridors of power. They have a say in all the licensing of clubs. That’s why we get terrible places like the Park End Club. Oxford is crying out for a couple of decent nightclubs. And it’s the Dons who say that bands can’t play in the colleges, not the students.”

The argument continues with no real agreement or firm conclusions. Basically everyone believes that things could be a lot better, but they could also be a lot worse.
“There are a hell of a lot of bands in Oxford for its size and the Dolly and the Venue and especially the Tavern are good venues. The Old Fire Station looks like it was designed by the people who build Little Chefs, The stage is almost an afterthought, you feel like you’re playing on a salad bar.”

On A Friday also say some very complementary things about Curfew, which makes me feel like my life isn’t totally wasted. And indeed if this writer’s gushing opinions can help On A Friday towards the mega-success they are due, then Curfew will have achieved at least one useful thing in its time. And successful On A Friday will be, no ifs and buts with this lot. This time next year they will have outgrown all the venues they talk about. But are they ready to be stars?
Thom: “People sometimes say we take things too seriously, but it’s the only way you’ll get anywhere. We’re not going to sit around and wait and just be happy if something turns up. We are ambitious. You have to be.”

BIRTH OF LEGENDS FIRST LIVE REVIEW FIRST DEMO REVIEW CLASS OF '91 TALKING HEAD WIN 'KID A' DISC

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