THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS / EDWARD KA-SPEL
YEAR 33
1980. An unstable hostile city named London.An unstable hostile planet named Earth where fat right forefingers hovered over big red buttons which ,if pressed ,would have started that final countdown.Cue the song, the big hair ,the 80s. Dressed to the 9s, made-up like a wedding cake, fat right forefinger poised over a “c” on a cheap synthesiser .
Could there be a better climate for Edward Ka-Spel to embark on a musical career?
Everything was home-made. A string of cassettes with covers created on the kitchen table. Sessions by candlelight , sometimes for hours.Neighbours banged on the walls.They had issues about those loud songs referring to that inevitable final countdown while they were watching the news.
The first photo sessions were in local graveyards. Frequently Ka-Spel’s band The Legendary Pink Dots would bump into other combos. It rained a lot. We looked to the sky…….it was perpetually ominous.
Roll on 33 years and , gasp, he’s STILL HERE! Saints Alive (and a few died in the meantime) ,The Pink Dots are up to around 50 or 60 albums by now but information as to the exact number is sketchy. It’s still raining, but thankfully the passion has not been dampened.However, the finger over the “c” has strayed and the helpless listener is now pelted with intricate melodies ,runaway rhythms, Thelonius chords. The lyrics are still as obscure as ever and it’s whispered that EK’s forthcoming album .”The Victoria Dimension” revolves around a central concept, but
he is saying nothing about that. Concept albums were already passe in the 80s.It’s 2014. The World has changed. No big red buttons….just passwords for passwords for passwords and nobody will find a way through that complicated labyrinth, will they?
Sing while You May.
