Sometimes things that make no sense make the most sense. Ever the maverick even at the age of 72, Bill Drummond’s latest venture is typically farfetched, yet I find it utterly brilliant because it happens to involve places and people that I’ve encountered. I’ll try and explain. This album is the soundtrack/accompaniment to a film Drummond has commissioned called Stay, which was shot by Tracey Moberly. The plot revolves around a songwriter attempting to write the second-best song he has ever written while having a midlife crisis. The seven songs created for the album appear as studio versions (courtesy of Rocky O’Reilly at Start Together, Belfast). They also feature as cassette tape recordings, made in the dungeon of the Curfew Tower, in the tiny village of Cushendall, County Antrim.
Bill Drummond owns the Curfew Tower, which is basically an ancient building that looks like a castle turret, it sits at the corner of the main street in the tiny village. Credited as “Producer At Large”, Drummond allows artists to take up residency in the tower, providing basic recording machines should the urge take over. Now, this is where things go slightly off the beaten track. Drummond considers the tower to be Graceland in the Glens, and he is the manager of the Ghost of Elvis, trying to save his spectre from the developers that threatened to take over Graceland. The Ghost of Elvis is a tiny puppet who stays in the tower, by the way. Songwriters form the north of Ireland were invited to write the second-best song they have ever written to form the accompanying music for the film. Still with me?
I’ll continue. There is more. In order to purchase a physical copy of this album, you need to call into Kearney’s Flesher, a butcher’s shop on the main street in Cushendall and ask for Zippy. There are only 1000 copies. By some bizarre twist of fate, Drummond was told of an unemployed musician from the north of Ireland, who had issues, was known to be difficult. This was the deciding factor for Drummond who insisted that the artist would be the only member of the cast for his film. That artist is Tony Wright, aka VerseChorusVerse. You may have heard of him.
The musical director of this album is Eamonn McNamee, from Belfast soul band The Gold Tips, who provide the excellent backing for the other artists, as well as contributing themselves. (I randomly shared a stage with Eamonn many moons ago as support acts for Josh T Pearson in a tiny Belfast bar). His new band The Gold Tips offer up the first song. ‘True To The Trail’ which has a slinky bass groove and slippery vintage keys provide a shimmering and playful instrumental, think Booker T and the MGs. The gorgeous ‘40 Hours To Memphis’ by VerseChorusVerse has some soothing gospel harmonies as Tony Wright tenderly croons a hopeful melody before switching to spoken word, giving you a flavour of the character in the film. Tony’s voice wavers with magnificent soul and emotion, the best I’ve heard him. The Gold Tips provide such a wondrous soulful backing with rich instrumentation.
Miss Paula Flynn’s contribution entitled ‘Elvis Is Alive’ is a quirky up-tempo little ditty pondering the mortality of the King. The sprightly piano and organ coupled with some dexterous percussion makes for an enjoyable listening experience. The Gold Keys song ‘Do You Remember All The Lights’ bops along with an energetic Northern Soul groove, reminiscent of prime Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Peter Wilson, aka Duke Special, is one of Northern Ireland’s best kept secrets, his voice is unique, so tender and unusually, I love how he sings with his own dialect. ‘Forgotten’ finds him sounding lovelorn and yearning, the melodies fly, and the jazzy backing perfectly encapsulates his soothing voice.
Tanya Mellotte (formerly of John Peel favourites Tunic and Go Commando amongst other acts) sings a beautiful melody on ‘Prestwick 249’, her voice is pure, and honey toned, as the Gold Tips ease out a languid groove with gorgeous tambourine taps. It’s like the Jesus and Mary Chain if they stripped away all the fuzz and replaced it with horns and organ. Finally, Mark McCambridge a.k.a Arborist performs ‘Are You Still The King’, another delicate ode to Elvis which manages to ask with deep sincerity “Are you still sitting on the jacks?” amongst other queries. Mark’s voice is rich and as the song swells, he matches the dynamic and wondrous instrumentation before bursting into the King’s ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ It’s a stunning moment and totally unexpected, much like asking “Are you hiding in the Glens instead, have you found some kind of peace in that tower by the sea…or out on Waterfoot strand…stalking the shoreline as a ghost?”.
For the second part of the album the alternative versions add another layer of intrigue. Leo Condie and Tony Wright opt for an a Capella take on ‘True To The Trail’, it’s deliberately sketchy with birdsong in the background and crows giving it some with scratchy caw-caws. Tony’s tower version of ’40 Hours To Memphis’ is just him and a ukelele, it’s ghostly as his voice is echoed round the stone walls. Given the positioning of the Curfew Tower on the main street of Cushendall you can actually hear the busy hum of passing traffic! Miss Paula Flynn also benefits from the natural acoustics, relying purely on the birds and traffic as instrumentation. The Gold Tips’ vocalist Eamonn McNamee converts ‘Do You Remember All The Lights’ into an acoustic version channelling a little Dylan in the process. Duke Special pulls in Seán Óg Graham to help out with guitar as he plays a beautiful little organ. Could the song get anymore heartbreaking? Reuniting with former Tunic/Skibunny playmate Mark Gordon, Tanya Mellotte takes the lo-fi approach for her revision of ‘Prestwick 249’ with a tinny keyboard beat and organ accompaniment. It works so well being transformed into a twinkling yet mournful lament. Finally, Arborist gives terrors with a haunting take on ‘Are You Still The King’. It is genuinely deeply emotional, and you can really feel like you’re in that tower with him.
This album absolutely hit me right in the feels. Cushendall is a favourite haunt of my family for day trips. There’s a magic about the tiny village and this album somehow manages to capture that special feeling. I’ve often wondered about what lies within the Curfew Tower and what the story is behind it. Some of the artists on this album are ghosts from the past life I had as a budding musician. Then there’s Tony, a truly unique individual who keeps confounding with his talents. I hope to see this film, I’d like to be one of the 1000 the narrator of the trailer reckons will actually watch it. Stay is one-part curiosity piece, one-part essential art, and it makes perfect sense to me.
