Spank
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| Rig, underneath the Stockport arches 1991 |
The interest in the Manchester scene which peaked in 1990 was well and truly over by the summer of 1991. And whilst Rig thought of themselves as outsiders of the scene (doesn't everyone?) the association would make things a little more difficult going forward.
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| Rig live on stage at Subterania, London, 23rd May 1991 |
This was compounded by a new music genre making waves from across the Atlantic. In the autumn of '91 the debut album from Pearl Jam 'Ten' was released and the anthem in waiting of 'Smells like Teen Spirit' from the relatively unknown band Nirvana hit the record shops.
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| Press advert for the Subterania gig listings, May 1991 |
With perfect artistic timing Rig had just finished recording their next single, a warped funk disco record paying homage to the foot tapper 'Life during wartime' by Talking Heads. The band were, as always, bucking the trend.
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On October 21st 1991 'Spank' was released on Dead Dead Good records, backed by 'Perfect', 'Mango' and an ambient mix of 'Mango' subtitled the 'mouse mix' on account of the furry friends the band would often encounter in the studios they frequented. The single in all it's remastered glory is available on all the major streaming platforms here.
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| 'Spank' was released 21st October 1991 |
Rig promoted the single with a handful of dates in October including Salford University, Wolverhampton Polytechnic and old favourites the Powerhaus in London and the Manchester Boardwalk on a Dave Haslam 'Freedom' night.
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| Poster for the Freedom night at the Boardwalk |
The band felt the single was the closest they had got to the ultimate Rig sound. Unfortunately for them, a twisted take on late 80s funk would struggle against the tidal wave of grunge and shifting musical climate. So despite good reviews the single didn't make a huge impression in the independent charts.
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| Review for 'Spank' Rage Magazine, October 1991 |
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| Review for 'Spank' City Life, October 1991 |
The year would still end on a high with the band supporting World of Twist on the northern leg of the tour promoting their classic debut album 'Quality Street'. Rig had a riot playing the Universities and Polytechnics in Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham and Trent before a huge home coming show at the Manchester Academy beckoned.
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| Backstage passes for the World of Twist gigs, November 1991 |
The Manchester Academy was heaving that night and the support band enjoyed the celebratory mood of the home town return of World of Twist and subsequently went down a storm in front of over 2000 people. What they didn't know at the time was this would be Rig's last gig in Manchester.
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| Adam onstage at Subterania, London, 23rd May 1991 |
For the first six months of 1992 the band decamped to a small recording studio in a Chorlton suburban cellar and set about writing and recording new material. There would be only one concert during this year and it would be the final Rig gig. The swansong in their spiritual home of Stockport would be at the College on 6th June. There is footage of that gig and that forms the basis of the video for 'Spank', put together by guitarist Darren several years later.
The batch of new songs showed the band were heading in a different direction. The band were also keen to lose the Manchester association and saw the only way to do that was by dropping the name 'Rig'. So new songs and a new name, 'The Flatback Four'. This new incarnation of the band wouldn't emerge until early 1993. There would be another couple of singles, a Peel session and even a movie, but that coda of the Rig story can wait for another day.
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| Rig, Stockport market. 1991. |
There was one song which should have been the last Rig single that never was. 'Peaches' was a perfect pop song, stuffed to the brim with great riffs and hook lines, and a middle eight that Darren lifted straight from the Blackbyrds' 'Happy People', a 7" single he'd picked up at Mr Sifters (yes, that Mr Sifters).
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| Always looking to steal a good riff. Blackbyrds 7" |
This is the drum machine demo version recorded in the Chorlton cellar and also the live version from the final Rig show in Stockport.
Thirty years on from that final gig, guitarist Darren started the long overdue trawl through the band's archive with a view to getting it online. This project caught the attention of Dead Dead Good boss Steve Harrison and a conversation was struck up. Both Darren and Steve shared the same vison of getting their respective archives out there in the public domain.
Steve, speaking in May 2020 “I think we need to put it into the archive and register it all for futures generations, and who knows we might find some new bits to champion? I don’t want it to be retrospectively investigated once I’ve turned to dust, I’d rather it be there and be part of the celebratory and archiving process while its being done.”
The rekindled relationship led to all four of Rig's singles to be remastered and released through the label and also heralded the unearthing and release of Rig's lost album 'Perfect'. Darren spoke recently to The C86 Show about his musical upbringing, all things Rig and the recent re-releases. Check it out here.
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| Rig back catalogue |
The album and four singles released by Rig stand up as a collection of work and the period photographs, assorted press cuttings and flyers shine a light on a much regarded period in Manchester music. I hope you've enjoyed this look back and tale of the band as much as I've enjoyed revisiting the music and the old stories. Finally getting it all out here for the few that may want to hear a couple of the old tunes again is a great feeling. All the music is available on all the major streaming platforms and the full Rig archive and a plethora of other fantastic Mancunian musical histories can be found on the wonderful Manchester Digital Music Archive.
"David Byrne once said something on the lines of there being maybe thirty seconds of a performance when the divide between audience and band disappears and the experience becomes a shared one, with both parties contributing. That resonated when I read it, and has always stuck with me. At Bristol Polytechnic in May 1991 Rig were playing 'Mango', so it was probably towards the end of the set or an encore, and I remember standing on the drum riser and taking stock. Just behind me I watched Jonathan on the drums driving the song forward, mouthing the lyrics as he always did. I saw Carl, head down, moving and swinging as one with his bass. I saw Adam, hunched over the front PA speakers, twisting and screaming into his microphone. I saw the crowd dancing and moving but with no focus on any of the band, just absorbed in the groove. And I saw myself, not even having to think about what I was playing, perched on the riser breathing it all in. In that brief moment, for the band and audience, it was all about the music and nothing else mattered."
Darren Jones August 2021
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