Primal Scream

The Primal Scream story proper starts with their 'year one' record, 'Screamadelica', which was released to universal acclaim in September 1991. Screamadelica is one of the few records that you can't over rate and that will probably never date. Everyone loves it. It covers all bases with total unashamed confidence. Put simply, it sums up the time. From the hyper space blues of "Higher Then The Sun" (described at the time by Alan McGee as being "Anarchy In The UK for the 90's"), and the 'stoned out of my mind' ambience of "Shine Like Stars" to the 'Stones'd-out-of-it's-mind' rush of "Movin On Up". The album would go on to be voted in many 'best album' or not the decade but century polls.

As Primal Scream took Screamadelica 'cross country, the public finally got a chance to see the greatest rock 'n' roll circus around. Warming up with Dr Alex Patterson (The Orb), rocking out on stage in front of thousands of acid house kids, peaking with "Higher Than The Sun" and a strung out "Loaded", closing down to the sound of two hours of Andrew Weatherall on the decks.

The band released the 'Dixie Narco e.p.' a couple of months after Screamadelica. The lead track, 'Movin On Up', saw the band in Top 10 for the first time. Two years down the line, 'Give Out But Don't Give Up', preceded by one of the greatest party records of all time, 'Rocks' (their biggest single to date), was met by cries of "dance traitors". The record, a semi-return to the rock 'n' roll roots of 1989's 'Primal Scream', was recorded in Memphis, produced by Tom Dowd, mixed by George Clinton, George Drakoulas & Brendan Lynch.

Emerging from hibernation in February 1996, the Primals contributed a slow motion instrumental to the soundtrack of the movie of Irvine Welsh's 'Trainspotting'. The band's relationship with Irvine goes back to early '94 when he interviewed the band for I-D magazine, shortly after 'The Acid House' had been published.

For the bulk of 1996, Primal Scream holed up in tiny rehearsal studio in Camden. Over the course of the summer, they record 10 or so tracks. Autumn 1996 saw The Stone Roses motor mouth bass player Gary "Mani" Mountfield join the 'Scream Team' in the biggest and best premier league transfer of the season. Mani arrives in time to play on several tracks on the tracks on the album, adding ominous rumble to "Kowalski" & the Darth Vader mask to "Motorhead".

Then came 'Vanishing Point'. Inspired by Richard Sarafian's speed fuelled 70's road movie of the same name. The album ropes in variously Augustus Pablo, The Memphis Horns, Brendon Lynch & Andrew Weatherall, yet, at the end of the day, it's more of a Primal Scream record than any they've made before. In a year when most bands talk about taking risks & making 'avant garde' records, Primal Scream made a record that stands as the natural progression from 'Screamadelica' & 'Give Out...', although it is much a departure from 'Give Out...', as that was from it's predecessor. 'Vanishing Point' didn't follow anyone else's path. It led.

The beginning of 2000 saw the start of a world tour and a brand new album. By Primal Scream standards, the album 'XTRMNTR' took remarkably little time to make, and was laid down in under 3 months. It featured various guests - Jagz Kooner, Dan the Automator, Chemical Brothers, David Homes and the Prodigy's Liam Howlett. 'XTRMNTR' also turned out to be the last album released by Creation records, the Primals' home for 17 years. It featured 'Kill All Hippies' and 'Accelerator' as single releases and brought yet more critical acclaim.

The band released it's current album "Evil Heat" in August 2002 and continue to tour the world.

To be continued…