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Interviews > Jeff Grainger (part 1) J E F F G R A I N G E R M A N A G E R P A R T 1 A brilliant article contributed by former manager (2001-2003) Jeff Grainger for the Gabrielles Wish official site about his experience with the band. This first part is about the gig when he saw them first, the band's name meaning, Chris Nagle, Rob Gretton and the years from 1993 to 1997 when he already became involved with Gabrielles Wish. Many thanks, Jeff. I've been asked by loads of people for some kind of account about my time with the band and have always avoided doing it as it equates to a 'past tense'. Inevitably alluding to an end or full stop as regards the band's career - But never say never eh! It all started way back early in the summer of 1993. I was DJing in a shit hole of Dive (Dysons - not its real name). In a shit hole of a town (Shaw - the sort of town that boasts a population of 10,000 but has only 5 surnames). After one very typical night - which usually consisted of cotton mouthed Neanderthals berating me with the usual request of "towncalledmalicebythejam, y'gonna play, TownCalledMaliceByTheJam or fookin what!" - I was approached by the "charming" owner who suggested that we should have bands on - "to increase the punters", as he said. The fact that punters were decreasing rapidly because the locals threatened/intimidated and on occasion turned violent towards any outsiders was I'm sure - fuck all to do with it. However on with the story and less of the personal vendetta. The club's owner had heard a bunch of local lads "the felt" (again not their real name) were playing The Witchwood in Ashton-under-Lyne and, as I was the DJ there too, should "invite them to play a few songs. Maybe they'll bring a couple of their mates with them too!". This was the only time I heard the club owner utter any sense the fact that 'the felt' would bring a "couple of their mates along with them too" was an understatement of immense proportions. 'The felt’ was a Shaw 3 piece; all peroxide, Adidas shell toes and swagger - and undeniably crap. The Witchwood used to do a local band night on a Tuesday - this usually comprised of a headline act that were currently turning heads and a support act who had sent off a demo. I arrived early to collar 'the felt'. I relentlessly dogged the peroxide haired lead singer about the virtues of playing Dysons. Who incidentally was abhorred that his band had been asked to play that club. Behind us a group of four or so scruffy looking lads were setting up their equipment for sound check. Along with the usual instruments was a TV, radios, shop mannequins, a loud hailer, bits of metal, you name it... The felt's singer's bleats about how good his band were and how shit a place Dysons was, was brutally interrupted as the bass player from the band onstage hit an allmighty chord. Just four more chords later I knew I was listening to something rather special. The drummer kicked in and the pair of musicians duelled harmoniously for a few minutes. This was just fucking awesome! I legged it to the side of the stage and shouted to the drummer "what’s the name of this band and do you want to play a gig in Shaw next week?!". Not hearing a word he just stared and smiled - then the singer joined them and started singing "I'm a stupid man, this is a stupid song, it goes on too long, too long, too long". Within two minutes these guys had become my favourite band without question. The guitarist played on the second run through and the singer picked up a loud hailer. "Don't use that!", shouted the sound engineer. "Use it!", I shouted back. The band ran through part of another song then left the stage. I was absolutely fucking buzzing, never before (or for that matter since) has any band had such an immediate impact on me. As 'the felt' became an all too distant memory I ran after the 4 guys as they disappeared through the door to the bar. I remember all too well the venue's promoter Darren Poyzer saying to me, as I passed "I've never sat through a band's soundcheck before in my life! - That was incredible!". I caught up with the lads. "What's the name of your band - that was fucking amazing!", I asked the guy who'd been playing bass... close up he looked about 10 years old, a small skinny thing, like a nose on legs. "Oh cheers", he said, "we're called Gabrielle's Wish. Pleased to meet you mate, I'm Daz, this is Paul (guitar), Robert (singer) and Nick (drums)... thanks for the compliment but that was only a soundcheck, none of that was a 'proper' song, just us messing about" Christ, this was a head fuck. I mean, if what I heard them do was good and it wasn’t a proper song then what the fuck was the 'real' stuff going to sound like? "Listen, do you guys want to do a gig in Shaw.... Next Thursday?", I spluttered (it felt like I was asking Frank Sinatra to busk outside Victoria Station - a band like that... a place like that... oh shit!). "Ok", said Daz, "just let us know the details, our manager Paula will be in later, just run it past her" Their manager!!! Shit... they already had one... What a bad do. Ah well, that was my next question taken care of... I went round the front again to start my DJ set - as is usually the case the band who soundchecks last goes on stage first. So I knew I didn’t have long to wait to see them do the "real stuff". Robert came round to introduce Paula to me and we had a bit of a chat. I remember saying to her she was one lucky sod to be managing a band like that. I also remember being gobsmacked at the fact that tonight was going to be the bands third ever gig!!! (The first I believe was in Droylsden, not sure of the venue. The second in Oldham - a battle of the bands contest at the now defunct Shack - I'm not sure if they won the competition or not). She explained to me about how the band got their name (Rob's eldest daughter, Gabrielle, was asked if she wanted a baby sister or baby brother when her mother was expecting their second child. Gabrielle said she wanted a baby brother. When her mother gave birth to a boy, Gabrielle got her wish hence 'Gabrielle's wish'). The band's performance that night didn't just moved the goalposts. They tied space rockets to them and blasted them into orbit. Nick just looked cool - like he'd just got off a flight from Goa, all beads and sandals - head down, banging out the beat. It was quite clear from the off that Paul was the 'proper musician' he always looked a little awkward on stage, never facing the audience, standing or kneeling, the only real movement from his hands as they moved frantically over the fret board. Daz played bass like he was dodging bullets, standing tall then suddenly buckling his knee's at a chord change. Robert didn’t just sing the songs, he became the songs, writhing, reeling, foot stamping, chest thumping. All I remember thinking was what an absolute bastard that these guys had already got a manager. I was so mesmerised by the whole performance I forgot to cue a record up for my next set. I really was blown away! I have to make it perfectly clear that the only reason I invited them to play Dyson's was so I could see them again live. I didn’t care what the owner or the neanderthals thought (although I was a bit concerned they might have got nasty). The gig was just as amazing as the previous week albeit with practically no one in attendance - their performance emptied the room, which I was thoroughly impressed with. They played a track called ‘Narcissus’, which Robert dedicated to the venue and its tacky floor to ceiling mirrors. The next time I saw them, a few weeks later, was at the Roadhouse in Manchester, this was a well-attended affair and the usual brilliance by numbers from Gabs, even though Robert only sang halfway through the first song, he didn’t bother singing anything else that night. I always kept in touch with either Darren or Paula to find out what was happening. Building up a decent friendship with the rest of the lads along the way. They supported The Fall in Glasgow (this was sometime in 1994 if memory serves). I believe it was at this gig where Chris Nagle saw them. Chris really is one of Manchester Music scene's unsung gods - he worked with Martin Hannett (many believe doing most of the work due to Hannett's temperamental behaviour) on Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures', produced The Stone Roses and The Charlatans too, along with many others. Chris took the lads on in a managerial/producer capacity although I think Darren sorted the gigs out. Chris in turn introduced the lads to New Order's manager Rob Gretton who became their manager and signed them to his Manchester Records label. The first release was a split 7" clear vinyl featuring Kill Laura on the other side. Kill Laura was a girl fronted jangly pop outfit. (The girl in question by the way was Jane Weaver who is now a successful singer/songwriter in her own right). The Gabrielles Wish tracks were 'Marooned' (a real favourite of mine) and 'Warmonger' (my least favourite Gabs track - although I still thought it was cool). I was given my copy by Chris at the launch party held at The Hacienda, downstairs in the 'Gay Traitor Bar', an absolute blinding affair packed to the rafters with a real buzzing atmosphere. I was DJing at quite a few venues now (Boardwalk in Manchester, The Pier in Wigan, Ambition in Oldham and had also started the night 'Subculture' in Oldham too - I had managed to ditch Dysons shortly after Gabs played there - finished on a highnote I thought), I Included Marooned in almost every set. Even though it practically guaranteed to empty the dance floor, I still played it. As the next few years passed they released two EPs on Manchester Records (these EPs, excellent in their own right, never seem to capture the intensity they produced in their live performances - well what could I guess!) and also introduced the performance of their electronica sets. How this side of the band came about, I'm sure was kinda by accident. They were asked to support The Fall at The Hacienda. However the small detail that both Darren and Paul would be absent for the date in question didn’t stop the gig from going ahead. "What are you going to do Robert?", I asked the singer before the night. "A nice surprise!", he beamed back. So... the band played with only Robert and Nick. Nick had a table full of guitar effects pedals, keyboards and a drum machine. Whilst Robert had an effects pedal rigged up to his microphone. The whole thing seemed quite improvised - but knowing the lads, as I do now, it would have been a thorourly-rehearsed affair. The music was an ambient, swirling, building soundscape of electronica. And as you may have guessed - totally thrilling. I remember talking to Robert afterwards about the set. Stating my surprise at the band's decision to go ahead, potentially giving punters the wrong impression of what to expect the next time they would have seen the band live. His reply was - well, the epitome of Gabrielle's wish's attitude: "Who knows what the fuck to expect!", he said, "If you see the name Gabrielle's Wish on a poster that’s what you get, a bunch of cunts. It doesn’t matter if its band stuff or electronica - its still us!" They really didn’t care what anyone thought. They did what they did and did it superbly - 'Compromise' was not in the dictionary. Go to Part 2 Last modified: 23 Mar 2005 |
Thanks to Emma-Jane Grainger |