{"id":22484,"date":"2016-08-20T08:40:53","date_gmt":"2016-08-20T07:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=22484"},"modified":"2022-11-16T13:04:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T12:04:34","slug":"something-in-the-air-the-vapors-announce-first-live-headlining-tour-for-35-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/08\/something-in-the-air-the-vapors-announce-first-live-headlining-tour-for-35-years\/","title":{"rendered":"SOMETHING IN THE AIR! – The Vapors Announce First Live Headlining Tour For 35 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A few weeks ago we featured the return of cult indie band\u00a0Khartomb<\/a>\u00a0after 31 years – a rocket from the crypt we thought could never be surpassed.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But now in this weird year of 2016 – an even more unlikely event has hit the headlines – \u00a0The Vapors are back!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The early ’80s New Wave idols, best known for their seminal top three hit\u00a0Turning Japanese<\/strong><\/em>, hit the road in October\/November on their\u00a0Waiting For The Weekend<\/strong><\/em> tour – their first for\u00a035<\/strong> years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vapors’\u00a0singer-songwriter\u00a0Dave Fenton\u00a0<\/strong>took a break from rehearsals to tell\u00a0Matt Catchpole <\/strong>about getting\u00a0the band back together, tour hi-jinks with\u00a0The Jam\u00a0<\/strong>and the joy of waking up to your own song on the radio.<\/p>\n

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So Dave, this is momentous news, but why has it taken so long?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We tried reforming about 15 years ago, but couldn\u2019t all get to be in the same place at the same time. We\u2019ve talked about it since and\u00a0when I had the opportunity of taking early retirement earlier this year we discussed it again.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s in the current line-up?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ed\u00a0<\/strong>(Bazalgette<\/strong> –\u00a0lead guitar)\u00a0and Steve<\/strong> (Smith\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 bass)\u00a0said yes, but Howard\u00a0<\/strong>(Smith<\/strong> \u2013 drums)\u00a0passed, so Michael Bowes<\/strong> is taking over on drums. He\u2019s played with\u00a0Nelly Furtado<\/strong>, Joss Stone<\/strong>, Tears\u00a0For\u00a0Fears<\/strong>,\u00a0etc, as well as having played in one of my bands\u00a0after The Vapors\u00a0(TVC<\/strong>). He also\u00a0teaches drums at BIMM<\/strong> (British and Irish Modern Music Institute).<\/p>\n

What have they all been up to in the meantime?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Steve\u2019s been mainly sound engineering and now works with ’80\u2019s covers band The\u00a0Shakespearos<\/strong>; Ed is a TV film director (Poldark<\/strong><\/em>, Vera,<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Holby<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0Eastenders<\/strong><\/em>, and numerous others); Howard had a vinyl record shop (People Records<\/strong>)\u00a0in Guildford until recently.<\/p>\n

Dave, you worked as a solicitor specialising in music law – any famous clients?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I worked mainly in litigation where settlements are inevitably confidential. So yes, there have been\u00a0a few\u00a0famous clients, but I\u2019m afraid I can\u2019t talk about them. However,\u00a0working for the MU <\/strong>(Musicians’ Union<\/a>), who provide free legal services to members, meant I could help those who could not afford to pay.\u00a0Famous musicians can generally afford a lawyer. Those just starting out, or who have yet to make it, generally can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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The reformed Vapors\u00a0played one song at The Half Moon in Putney in April \u2013 was that a nerve-wracking experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Shakespearos, were playing at Poly Fest 3<\/strong>\u00a0at The Half Moon, and\u00a0cover Turning Japanese<\/em> in their set. So\u00a0having already had discussions\u00a0about reforming,\u00a0Steve\u00a0asked Ed and I if we\u2019d guest. So we did.\u00a0But it was nerve-wracking \u2013 no rehearsal, no sound-check and hadn\u2019t played together for 35 years \u2013 what could go wrong? But it went fine.\u00a0 There\u2019s a video of it on YouTube<\/strong><\/a>. 12,000 hits in the first few days. That also encouraged us to re-form.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re in rehearsals, has it been\u00a0strange playing the old songs together after all those years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. I have had to work out what\u00a0some of the chord sequences are, as\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0all a bit hazy after 35 years.<\/p>\n

Obviously Turning Japanese<\/em> is the song you\u2019re best known for. Did you expect it to be such a massive hit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No.\u00a0I\u2019ve learnt never to expect anything. But it was nice to be woken\u00a0up\u00a0by my own song on my radio alarm. That was a first for me. (For the record Dave has consistently denied the urban myth that the song was about a certain act of solo sexual gratification – he’s described it as a post-break-up song. He declined to comment further on the subject for this\u00a0<\/em>interview)<\/i><\/p>\n

You sported quite an – how can I put this? – original haircut back in the day. Can you explain the thinking behind that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After one too many bad haircuts from local barbers I started\u00a0cutting my own hair at the age of\u00a0about\u00a013 or\u00a014.\u00a0\u00a0But obviously the back took ages using two or more mirrors so it was easier to trim the top and sides and leave the back. So no thinking involved there\u00a0really.<\/p>\n

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Self-styled – Dave’s DIY barnet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Vapors\u00a0toured with The Jam and were managed jointly by Paul Weller\u2019s dad John and (Jam bassist) Bruce Foxton. How did you get on with Paul and the boys?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Great. Really nice guys. Always made sure we got a sound-check after them.<\/p>\n

Any tour shenanigans you\u2019d like to share?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like\u00a0the water pistol fights at service stations? Or\u00a0taping all our clothes to the changing room ceiling \"s-l300\"while we were onstage? Or talcum powder on the snare drum\u00a0(or did we do\u00a0that? \u2013\u00a0It\u00a0was a long time ago). We used to have thunder-flashes explode at the end of Sixty Second Interval<\/strong><\/em>. The explosive was in metal pots with wires attached which were only onstage if we\u00a0couldn\u2019t put them on top of the PA\u00a0because the ceiling was too low (we accidentally blew a number of acoustic tiles off the ceiling at a gig in Australia). One night we went on and there were metal pots\u00a0and wires\u00a0all over the stage. Thanks guys!<\/p>\n

What do you remember about appearing on Top of the Pops? <\/em>Was that a pretty surreal experience? Who were you on with?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First time\u00a0on TOTP, Howard dropped a stick and walked around the kit to get\u00a0it.\u00a0For some reason they kept that\u00a0footage\u00a0in the broadcast version. I remember\u00a0Siouxsie\u00a0and the Banshees<\/strong>\u00a0(Hong Kong Garden<\/em><\/strong>)\u00a0was one. And I\u2019m trying to forget I shook hands with Gary Glitter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"DAVEMaybe\u00a0<\/strong>because of your association with The Jam, you were\u00a0often bracketed as part of the Mod revival of early 1980s. Did you see\u00a0yourselves as Mods?<\/b><\/p>\n

No. Couldn\u2019t you tell from the red jeans and leopard print jumper? (see exhibit A left).<\/em><\/p>\n

The Vapors’\u00a0second (and final) album\u00a0Magnets\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>was not\u00a0<\/strong>particularly well received in terms of sales, but its critical reputation\u00a0seems to have grown over the years. Is that frustrating or pleasing for you?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s true, but I\u2019m obviously pleased it still gets listened to, or even discovered sometimes.<\/p>\n

Do you think the record company let you down at the time in terms of promotion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s too easy to blame the record company, but I often wonder what would have happened had EMI<\/strong> not bought out United Artists<\/strong> (our label) and made everyone we knew who worked for them (including the A&R people who had signed us) redundant. Suddenly we had no friends on our\u00a0own\u00a0record label, and that was a major factor in my decision to leave (the band).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite a dark record \u2013 at least lyrically – does it reflect how you were feeling at the time?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably. I was pretty drained\u00a0after making that album\u00a0and with the constant touring. And on top of the record company situation, John\u00a0and\u00a0Bruce\u00a0decided they were too busy with The Jam to manage us any longer. Can\u2019t Talk Anymore<\/strong><\/em> sums that all up.<\/p>\n

Musicians these days seem less reliant on record companies for promotion thanks to the rise of social media \u2013 do you think that\u2019s been a good thing for the industry?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In some ways it\u2019s a good thing. Instead of needing a record company to pay for expensive studios you can record an album in your bedroom and release it yourself. But new technology has also made it easier to infringe copyright. If copyright\u00a0is no longer protected and\u00a0no longer has a\u00a0value, then there will be no incentive for artists to make music\u00a0–\u00a0so\u00a0no-one will be able to afford to be a musician unless they gig constantly. When I was in The\u00a0Vapors, buying an album was expensive but,\u00a0by comparison,\u00a0the gig tickets were cheap. It\u2019s\u00a0the\u00a0direct\u00a0opposite now, so we\u2019ll have to see how it works out. I suspect the crunch will come\u00a0when the majors\u2019\u00a0copyrights in their big name artists\u2019 recordings\u00a0(Beatles<\/strong>, Stones<\/strong>, Elton<\/strong>,\u00a0etc) expire\u00a0and they lose that income.\u00a0In the\u00a0meantime, record companies are being subsumed into film and entertainment companies.<\/p>\n

Will you be performing any new songs on this tour, any plans to release any new music?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still under discussion but the main point of re-forming is to play the previous releases for the first time in decades.<\/p>\n