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 STILL
IN LOVE WITH HAYLEY MILLS - A TRUE LIFE CONFESSION
I moved to Texas in the Summer of '86 after spending two months in Mexico. I'd
lived in a small town in Louisiana all my life and had only left the state two
or three times. To come to Texas was BIG as was being thirteen in Mexico. I'd
lived in a small town in Louisiana all my life and had only left the state two
or three times. To come to Texas was BIG as was being thirteen in Mexico. Lots
of changes.
I started high school (the last four years of school in the US) in the Fall and
was very alone. I had my first access to a "real" record store and would
experiment by buying "alternative" albums which I'd read about in "Big City"
magazines (ie. Rolling Stone, Smash Hits etc.) I've always read a lot and a good
review would have me out buying the album.
I'll never forget my reaction to seeing the cover of "Two Wheels Good". It was
like a looking glass into the misty somber world of my imagination. I stared at
the album and considered buying it. I didn't know anything about the band, was
on a budget and already had a list a mile long of things I wanted. I ended up
purchasing an Echo and The Bunnymen LP and I eventually forgot about "Two Wheels".
The record shop closed and was replaced by a vile chain store. The selection
would never be the same again. In the spring of '88 I was working on a science
project for school (research of Jung's "synchronicity" inspired by my adoration
for Sting) and needed to take a break. I wandered overto the vile record shop
from Hell and browsed I spotted "From Langley Park To Memphis" and knew the name
Prefab Sprout. I took the tape home and played it. The strains of "The King Of
Rock'N'Roll" filled my room.
"Wait a second", I thought, "Is this the same band who had that wonderfully
moody, thought provoking cover all that time ago?"
It was unlike anything I'd heard. I let it play while I made my'phone calls to
area psychologists and doctors trying to get their views on this synchronicity
business. It played over and over and over. I had my information for the project
but was getting nowhere with the doctors. I needed real local references and
wasn't having any luck. The synchronicity idea started to look more dismal.
I looked at the cover of "Langley" and thought about alternatives. The vivid
colours of this band's clothes were untouched by the gleam of light on them. The
photo looked as if it had got wet and had run. Eureka! How about if I do the
effects of weather on natural fibre fabrics? And so it went... inspired by the
photo of this band I completed my project with a minimum number of tears.
The LP grew on me until it was all I could listen to. The wonderful romance of "I
Remember That", the Prince allusion in "Enchanted", the sad truth of "Knock On
Wood", the youthful restlessness which I was feeling and was expressed in "The
Golden Calf", the fact that I was in love with a girl named Nancy, the strange
quality of "Venus..." etc. etc. I just had to get that other album with the
great cover now.
I ordered it. I was in deep. I didn't get "Two Wheels" until the Fall. I also
met another girl, Julie (who I've been seeing ever since). She had spent time in
Australia and knew "The King Of Rock'N'Roll". I' d go out to visit her on the far
West end of Galveston Island. She had a beach house with her mother. I didn't
have a permit to drive so I took the back roads. When I'd leave her home it was
always very late and cold and sometimes foggy. I drove as quickly as possible to
rush home and call her - to get out of the cold darkness. I played "Two Wheels
Good" on the way home. The melancholy strains of "Bonny" and "Goodbye Lucille
No.1" carried me through the night. I was in love with "Steve McQueen" as much
as Julie. To me the LP was a summary of a lifetime of feelings which I
experienced as well as those to come. "Two Wheels Good" was nothing less than a
soundtrack to life for me.
I needed more. I asked questions, raided record shops and came up empty handed.
I even sent a letter to the President of CBS Records in America! I was desperate
and getting nowhere. I checked library records for magazines with stories on the
band and came up with a scant mention every once in a while. Why was a band who
made such beautiful, eloquent music so under-published?
I went to a bookshop (I have a vast personal library and work at a bookshop
locally on holidays) and found a music address book. "Anybody Who Is Anybody",
it read. I thought, "If Prefab Sprout is not listed I shall go insane and hurt
someone or myself."
They were listed.
I wrote to the Kitchenware address and told my story to Phil Mitchell, I got the
newsletter and back issues.
I sent postal orders. I was on Cloud 9. John wrote to me and life is starting to
look up. Here I am!
At one point I ordered all the Sprout material available on CD (Steve and
Langley..) even though I didn't have a CD player! I had to have anything I could
get.
The collection is growing and I've made wonderful friends through the "Sprout
Network" (so to speak) and I'm constantly inspired by Paddy.
Musical elitism among fans is the kiss of death and I find it repulsive. Rather
than hoard Prefab Sprout, I want to share the experience with everyone. It is
the sort of situation where one doesn't have to worry about "outsiders" because
anyone who is touched by the music is a friend of mine. No-one would lie about
having an interest in the band because it's the "hip thing to do". I say, "Spread
the beautiful melodies and words of Prefab Sprout!" I
feel that people can be brought together by music for different reasons, but at
least we're brought together.
I don't know how or why Paddy McAloon has touched a cord in so many of us. I
believe that it is wise to not tear him apart to see what makes him tick but to
keep a healthy distance to let time and Mr. McAloon himself define Paddy McAloon
.
The music of Prefab Sprout is a tool which we can use to get in touch with our
denied feelings which we never knew we had.
"God's a proud thundercloud, we are cartoon cats
With a fear that is Biblical under our hats ..."
Christopher Caldwell
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