INTERVIEW WITH
CHRIS LAYHE
(THE ICICLE WORKS)
CHRIS LAYHE
(THE ICICLE WORKS)
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«I love the bass guitar and find it a very creative instrument… the less strings the more innovative you have to be!» |
First of all we want to thank Chris Layhe for his kindness and friendliness that he showed to us giving this interview just under a year ago, considering that Bass, My Fever has been stopped by the pandemic for a long time. And now he’s going to release an EP under his name.
Chris Layhe has been the bassist of The Icicle Works, that is to say a band which we would definitely define as seminal in the indie pop scene, if we really need to find a designation. Together with Ian McNabb (voice and guitar) and Chris Sharrock (drums), this Liverpool trio created remarkable pages of sophisticated, emotional and guitar pop tinged with an elegant psychedelia.
Layhe plays on the first four albums of the band and his support is essential in terms of creativity as well as strength. Today if you just listen again to the first eponymous album (1984), ), The Small Price Of A Bycicle (1985), If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy Sing This Song (1987) and Blind (1988), you will finally rediscover a group whose compositions sound sound as fresh as ever, thanks to a youthfulness which didn’t lose its appeal.
We of Bass, My Fever consider Chris Layhe one of the best bassists of his generation, mostly for his ability to support the sound framework of a little miracle called The Icicle Work but without any futile protagonism.
Chris Layhe has been the bassist of The Icicle Works, that is to say a band which we would definitely define as seminal in the indie pop scene, if we really need to find a designation. Together with Ian McNabb (voice and guitar) and Chris Sharrock (drums), this Liverpool trio created remarkable pages of sophisticated, emotional and guitar pop tinged with an elegant psychedelia.
Layhe plays on the first four albums of the band and his support is essential in terms of creativity as well as strength. Today if you just listen again to the first eponymous album (1984), ), The Small Price Of A Bycicle (1985), If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy Sing This Song (1987) and Blind (1988), you will finally rediscover a group whose compositions sound sound as fresh as ever, thanks to a youthfulness which didn’t lose its appeal.
We of Bass, My Fever consider Chris Layhe one of the best bassists of his generation, mostly for his ability to support the sound framework of a little miracle called The Icicle Work but without any futile protagonism.
BMF: Focusing on bass, are there any bassists who have inspired you since your beginnings?
Chris Layhe: I’d have to say that Paul MacCartney and the Beatles sound in general was a big influence especially growing up in Woolton the Beatle suberb of Liverpool. Like I’m sure many other musician’s experiences, I started out on guitar and then moved to bass because no one else in the band would play it. Having said that I love the bass guitar and find it a very creative instrument… the less strings the more innovative you have to be!
Chris Layhe: I’d have to say that Paul MacCartney and the Beatles sound in general was a big influence especially growing up in Woolton the Beatle suberb of Liverpool. Like I’m sure many other musician’s experiences, I started out on guitar and then moved to bass because no one else in the band would play it. Having said that I love the bass guitar and find it a very creative instrument… the less strings the more innovative you have to be!
The Icicle Works at the Saint Andrew's Hall (07/15/1984)
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BMF: We’d like to ask you some memories of your experiences in The Icicle Works… a band which is difficult to categorize till today! CL: I am so proud that The Icicle Works music still has a relevance to people today. This is in no part due to the efforts of John Kidd whose encyclopaedic knowledge of the band helps to sustain a thriving website? Looking back on interviews from the 80s there is a recurring theme of the Icicle Works should have been a more successful act and yet people still approach me and say how much they love our music… I wonder did they buy it at the time?!! Highlights definitely include our first appearance on Top Of The Pops with Love Is A Wonderful Colour in 1984, also touring the USA and North America alongside David Gilmour for Pink Floyd. |
Date: 06/06/1984 Tour / Album Supported: About Face. Venue: Pine Knob Music Theater
Featured Artist(s): David Gilmour -The Icicle Works - Mick Ralphs - Chris Slade
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BMF: In the 1990s you have organized some events at the Blue Coat Arts Centre in Liverpool. How was this experience born?
CL: When the original band split it was in one sense a relief and yet also a total loss of identity. I drifted into organising music events. The Bluecoat Arts Centre is the oldest building in Liverpool city centre dating back to 1716 when it was originally a school for orphans!! Laterly as a theatre it was here in September 1967 that Yoko Ono performed her “Music Of The Mind”. When I took over as Events Director at the start of the nineties I wanted to make music central. Even though the performance space was more like a village hall we still managed to stage concerts by Tori Amos (her first in the UK outside London), and Liverpool bands including Space and Its Immaterial. |
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BMF: In 2009 you founded the indie band Shadow History. How was the band born? Are there any albums? In any case could we expect any release or reissue on vinyl or cd sooner or later?
CL: Shadow History was born of a collaboration between myself and the songwriter and performer Ben Winch from Sydney Australia. We recorded a 4 track EP consisting mainly of Bens compositions plus 2 from me Well Alright/an original composition and a cover of Come Together/The Beatles….all can be found on Ben’s webpage or youtube. |
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BMF: Have you ever considered the idea of recording a solo album?
CL: I have loads of material written and some recorded… I think that I am more of a collaborator hence my releases with other people eg the album Rough And Tumble recorded with Liverpool musician Pete Edgerton and released on the Fellside Records Label. BMF: What about your current gear and what are the basses which you have mostly preferred in your career? CL: My preferred instrument at present is a Hofner HCT Shorty Travel Bass… because it’s so light ! I also play Yamaha RBX4-A2 and a Westfield acoustic bass. For backline I use an Ampeg Portaflex PF350 Head through a 1x15 cabinet. |
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BMF: What kind of relationship do you have developed with fretless over the time? And what about double bass?
CL: I briefly toyed with fretless bass on our 3rd album If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy its sampled on the track Travelling Chest. I love the sound of it and admire players like Mick Karn/Japan and Pino Palladino… I would love to explore it more but like the comfort of frets too much!
CL: I briefly toyed with fretless bass on our 3rd album If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy its sampled on the track Travelling Chest. I love the sound of it and admire players like Mick Karn/Japan and Pino Palladino… I would love to explore it more but like the comfort of frets too much!
BMF: Unfortunately many of us are experiencing the tragedy of Covid19. How will the world of music react also with regard to the cancellation of tours and the decrease of shop online for a certain period, in your opinion?
CL: These are very unsettling times and I know that many artists and musicians are suffering. Having said that there are some positives to come out…the one world together at home concert for example. Personally I have also recorded a ‘locked down’ version of the Icicle Works song "When It All Comes Down" with fellow scouser and frontman for The 16 Tambourines. Perhaps when we get through this people will have a greater respect for the value of performers and artists in our society.
CL: These are very unsettling times and I know that many artists and musicians are suffering. Having said that there are some positives to come out…the one world together at home concert for example. Personally I have also recorded a ‘locked down’ version of the Icicle Works song "When It All Comes Down" with fellow scouser and frontman for The 16 Tambourines. Perhaps when we get through this people will have a greater respect for the value of performers and artists in our society.
BMF: Have you ever performed here in Italy?
CL: Sadly no never performed in Italy can you recommend a good venue?
BMF: Many bands of the 1980s/1990s have been rediscovered by young people, I think of Felt, Monochrome Set. What are the bands of that period which you felt closer to Icicle Works? Do you think that you have been suitably supported by the labels?
CL: Birds Fly/A Whisper To A Scream was recently featured in the hit sci fi Stranger Things and I think that gave us relevance to a whole new audience. The whole 80’s rediscovered is big although it always tends to be the same names eg Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet etc…. I’d like to see more exposure for the non chart acts eg Psychedelic Furs, Its Immaterial.
CL: Sadly no never performed in Italy can you recommend a good venue?
BMF: Many bands of the 1980s/1990s have been rediscovered by young people, I think of Felt, Monochrome Set. What are the bands of that period which you felt closer to Icicle Works? Do you think that you have been suitably supported by the labels?
CL: Birds Fly/A Whisper To A Scream was recently featured in the hit sci fi Stranger Things and I think that gave us relevance to a whole new audience. The whole 80’s rediscovered is big although it always tends to be the same names eg Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet etc…. I’d like to see more exposure for the non chart acts eg Psychedelic Furs, Its Immaterial.
BMF: What is your current relationship with the other members of the band?
CL: Chris Sharrock now plays drums with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds… we exchange texts occasionally. Ian McNabb has a solo career and a sideline group Cold Shoulder.
CL: Chris Sharrock now plays drums with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds… we exchange texts occasionally. Ian McNabb has a solo career and a sideline group Cold Shoulder.
BMF: And finally we would want you to mention - through a simple list or a related story – all the records (regardless of genres and number) which have been essential for your growth as a musician and which you would take with you to a desert island…
CL: Desert Island Discs: for production and wonderful bass lines: New Gold Dream/Simple Minds.
To remind me of home: Something/The Beatles/ one of my first 7” records I’m A Believer/ The Monkees.
CL: Desert Island Discs: for production and wonderful bass lines: New Gold Dream/Simple Minds.
To remind me of home: Something/The Beatles/ one of my first 7” records I’m A Believer/ The Monkees.
Luca De Pasquale-Manuela Avino2021
Manuela Avino-Luca De Pasquale2021
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