RTT...Some Myths Exploded...
In late 1982 Manchester band The Things were in the process of disintegrating. They supported the Buzzcocks on their 1980 UK tour. Tim Lyons was their singer.
When The Things split Tim Lyons came to audition for the Stockport-based band Formation, who had been looking for a singer for some time. The Bass Player of Formation was Andrew Wright (AKA Andrew Wright-Williams).
Presently, Formation’s guitarist left and went to live in London.
Another guitarist followed and the band became Man Alive for a short period. Both the guitarist and drummer then left and proceeded to disappear completely.
Tim & Andy decided continue as pop duo which in the course of time acquired the name Red Turns To. They used a part-time Drummer, but wrote all the songs on Electric Guitar, Sequencer, drum machine and a Six String Bass which Andy chanced upon in a Stockport Music shop. The six-string bass only cost £50 but sounded great – just like New Order, a band who’s music Andy was a great fan of.
Tim and Andy wrote their songs in a flat (566 Robert Adam Crescent) in Hulme during April – November 1983.
The first demos that the band made were at Spirit Studios, an 8-track studio on Tariff Street, Manchester. The songs they recorded were “Deep Sleep”, “Wave” and “Anyway”.
It was in April 1983 at the Hacienda, just by the burger bar, to the sound of the Pre – Madchester thud of early electro, that the band informed Rob Gretton of their existence and of their desire to make a record on Factory. Tim already knew Rob and Tony, having supported New order when he was in The Things. Eventually after several months, Tim and Andy had a meeting with Factory Records boss Tony Wilson and Rob in a stairwell by the fire escape in the Hacienda basement (classy eh?). Tony and Rob consented there and then to let Red Turns To make a record. The record was given the Factory Catalogue Number FAC 116 and the three tracks on it, i.e. “Deep Sleep”, “Lost Again” and “Wave” are represented here on this website for your aural delectation. (If you want to buy it on mp3, just hit the itunes button below the slideshow...)
The record itself was recorded at Yellow 2 studios in Stockport in March 1984 with Steve Morris, New Order’s drummer producing. Tim Lyons sang and Steve Morris programmed the Drum Machine and the Emulator. Andrew Wright-Williams played a Gibson SG electric guitar, Voyetra Synthesiser, Emulator 1, Yamaha acoustic 6-string guitar and a Westbury Bass. Most of the equipment was very kindly loaned from New Order. The record was mixed finally at Strawberry Studios, Stockport by Steve Morris and Chris Nagle.
The record was not released until March 1985. If you’re fortunate enough to own an original 12” copy of the EP, you’ll see that the year on the label is 1984. This is one of those Famous Factory anomalies. About 2000 copies were made and they are quite valuable today and that value will only increase...
On release in March 1985, Deep Sleep was appraised by Melody Maker guest reviewer Vince Clarke, formerly of Depeche Mode and Yazoo, then in the process of forming Erasure. Clarke said: ...."I think this is a very nice song. It has three chords in it and I like that kind of song. It's repetitive and quite exciting. I don't think it's contrived, it's just a sound they obviously like. There's only one synth going in there, the rest is bass and real drums playing the same repetitive line. Repetition isn't a sign of few ideas. It's like early electro. There's no such thing as unprocessed music anymore, even the simplest song recorded in a studio is subject to technology... It annoys me sometimes that just because synthesizers are huge effects boxes, people think they're somehow insincere".......
It must be said that...
Red Turns To were not New Order’s Brothers or Sisters.
Red Turns To were not produced by “The Other Two” (the duo consisting of Steve and Gillian from New Order). Gillian was present occasionally at the sessions but this was because she had been shopping in Stockport and needed a lift back to Macclesfield.
The group added a keyboard player, (Ella Metcalfe) and a bass player, (John Gouldthorpe) and played a handful of gigs around Cheshire during 1984-86 but due to many problems did not achieve their potential and disbanded in 1986.
So...fast forward to 2009 and what do we find? Today, the situation is very different. Older, wiser and healthier, Red Turns To are currently in negotiation with several Record Companies for the release of their rich, untapped catalogue of unheard, classic pop songs (no exaggeration, pop kids). And all that remains to be said is to watch this space for further developments (and there will be further developments very soon!).
The group are presently recording demos of new material, which is more experimental and developed than previously. "Krautpunk" live performances will happen soon............Repetition is a form of change.......Love and Peace from RTT....
A COLLECTION OF CLASSIC TRACKS RECORDED FOR, OR RELEASED ON MANCHESTER LABEL FACTORY RECORDS IN 1984 - INCLUDES "DEEP SLEEP" BY RTT.
AVAILABLE FROM: www.ltmrecordings.com
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hi RTT - Red Turns TO , very nice to make your acquaintance ! excellent stuff here, thanks for the invitation. LATEST ALBUM: „TOUR DE FREAKS“ – FREE DOWNLOAD (click the pic) ! feat.: SUPER with "PATENTE" all the best,
Thank you so much for the request ! Your music is cold and cool. I appreciate these gray atmospheres. My favourite songs are "Wave" and "Deep Sleep" !!!! so great !
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