Metropolis DC
DemosARC143
- The Return of Snow Glass
- The Wasteland
- Snake Madness
Line Up:
Jamie Thyer - Guitar
GLA - Vocals
Laughing Spam Fritter - Bass
Gumby O'Slubberchucks - Drums
Recorded in December 1986
Well, we became Metropolis D.C. because there was an earlier band called Metropolis, and being a well known conceptual thinker, I thought the idea of a fresh start seemed attractive. We did a demo which earned us a fab revue in the Venue, another demo garnered a better one, and before we knew where we were, Richard Jones was regularly writing about us in the Evening Post.
Often on Sunday nights, we'd play at the Fleece and Firkin, charge £1 entry and be able to engage a support band, a large pa system AND come home with a comfortable profit.
We did a lot of marvvy supports, (Robert Cray at the Locarno comes to mind), and before long wed been blessed with a small but loyal crowd. Then came the day we were asked to support the Pink Fairies. The upshot of that engagement was really exciting write ups in the Evening Post and the Venue, a manager and a hit making producer (Tears for Fears, the Clash, Pretenders, etc).
The following week we played in London for the first time at the Marquee and actually drove away with people hanging off the van. Then it was...let me see... Dingwalls, Fulham Greyhound and all the other then-groovy fun palaces. What else could we do subsequently but make a record? With the finest studio anyone could find, and a bona-fide producer, we locked horns with the muse and beat a couple of tunes into submission.
Imagine the thrill-one week you’re at the Crown in the market in Bristol, the next people are catching fish for your own chef to prepare while you’re engaged on making your hit record!
None of this swanking hurt our stock at home, and we were anxious to capitalise on our perceived rise in status. Lots more profile, lots more supports. Just like every other band, I suppose. At the time, it was obvious that, because fundamentally, we weren’t very interesting as people, we didn’t have the star quality to appeal to a large slice of the population. For the last...ooh...fifteen or so years, I’ve been playing the guitar in the Worried Men, gigging about 200 times every year. Still haven’t been found out!
Jamie Thyer 26/2/2010
