SIMPLY THRILLING HONEYS.....

One of life's great mysteries is why Friends Again never made it commercially.

Formed in 1983, the band released a handful of singles and one truly outstanding LP, and the nearest they came to making the charts was a #59 hit in July 1984 with an EP that was heavily promoted by their record label with loads of extra tracks on the 12" and an expensive booklet with the 7".

The band members were from the Glasgow area and gigged extensively in and around the city in 1983 which is how I first picked up on them. They are one of the few bands that I have ever made an effort to go and see in London - they played the London School of Economics on a bill that, if memory serves me correct, featured Fad Gadget.

Mucking around on the internet, I found someone had posted a press/media release that tried to drum up interest in the band, and it the first part of their story in a succinct and excellent manner:-

Friends Again are five young men from Glasgow. They have clear sight, strong ambition and a proven talent to deliver a promise. Chris Thompson (vocals, rhythm guitar, songs), Neil Cunningham (bass), Stuart Kerr (drums, harmonies), Paul McGeechan (keyboards) and James Grant (lead guitar, vocals, songs) go back together some way - school, college, punks and clubs. They will go a lot further ahead.

Friends Again emerged in 1982 with their independently conceived single Honey At The Core/Lucky Star - an immediately recognisable good thing to have and to listen to: a friend again and again. After six weeks of enthusiastic responses and fast sales on the Moonboot label, Phonogram enticed the group to make a logical decision; which meant that last year there was more honey with Sunkissed/Dealing In Silver and State of Art/Winked At. Just as excitingly, the band played hard, drawing more people towards what they do; a classic framework of tightly crafted writing.

Friends Again are bursting with raw charm. They may be a slippery group to define because they assimilate so much style and many styles into their sound they keep you on your toes. Is it the driving homegrown country swing that appeals, or the dramatic harmonies? Whatever sophisticated conclusion you reach, rest and be thankful that there is nothing evasive about their impact. They move, it moves, you move.

They have been writing long enough to stop being a well kept secret but they remain as fresh as this morning's milk. Ask them what they do and you'll get a host of different answers. The flexibility is as integral to their natural development as their lack of a cosy hip sensibility. According to Thompson: "James will say that we are a rock 'n' roll group and he'll know what that means to him." He will. James Grant's hot guitars are the envy of every band in Scotland. He's had more poaching offers than Jack Charlton [An English Football player]. He won't go.

As for the country inflexions, Thompson points out that, yes, they could be there. He won't force the issue anymore than he'll admit to portraying a clean cut pop output. One thing they don't do is jangle, on nerves or on strings. And they aren't a postcard. "There are no songs where you can say that is a certain thing. People hear the songs in various ways. Someone told us it was good driving music, implying a certain American feeling. Well, in that case I think it's just as good to listen to on the highway out of Hamilton or Lancaster..."

Just before their recent British tour (Strathclyde to Southampton), the group completed a debut album called Trapped And Unwrapped--a reference to the teething, or the thought put into practise. They started work with noted producer Bob Sargeant, then they got well mixed by Pat Moran at Rockfield. Due for release later this year, the songs show they won't be typecast.

Thompson is as happy to discuss Joni Mitchell as Bowie, Tim Buckley as the Sex Pistols but Friends Again are happiest being themselves. What this is, doesn't need to be experienced in a video or from the inside of a TV studio. It's more illuminating to experience the group's heart warming lyrical lullabies and intense blood racing melodies face to face.

After all the tired old men and too much tired young synthetic pop their vitality is all the more appealing. Direct emotional response is what they are dealing in.

Friends Again are ... an invitation not to be ignored.

Sadly, by the time the LP was on sale in Ocrober 1984, the band were at breaking partly because of a lack of commercial success and partly because of genuine tensions between the members, with Chris Thomson and James Grant wanting to go in different direction. Eventually James left to form Love & Money, taking Paul McGheechan and Stuart Kerr with him, while Chris would form The Bathers. Both new acts were critically acclaimed but neither made the real big time (although Love & Money did come close).

This was their debut single on Moonboot:-

mp3 : Friends Again - Honey At The Core
mp3 : Friends Again - Lucky Star

Both songs would be re-recorded after the band signed to the major label and appear on the debut LP:-

mp3 : Friends Again - Honey At The Core
mp3 : Friends Again - Lucky Star

The new version of Honey was also given a release as a 45, with this on the b-side:-

mp3 : Friends Again - Snow Boot

As I said, one of my all time favourite bands. They deserve to be better known.