The Goo 1
Books PAUL MCDERMOTT THESE THINGS HAPPEN – THE SA
RAH RECORDS STORY by Jane Duffus - Tangent Books There’s already been a book (2016’s Popkiss – the life and afterlife of Sarah Records by Michael White) and a documentary film (2015’s My Secret World directed by Lucy Dawkins). Do we really need another book on Sarah? When it’s this authoritative and jam-packed with detail, then yes, we do. Sarah was an independent record label based in Bristol that between 1987 and 1995 released 100 records that fall into the Indie Pop genre. Sarah bands were often referred to derogatorily in the UK music weeklies as Twee, Fey or Cutie – although those terms have well and truly been reclaimed in the last 20 years or so. Sarah put out singles by Heavenly, The Orchids, Blueboy, Even As We Speak, Another Sunny Day, Dublin’s The Harvest Ministers (whose debut album on Sarah, Little Dark Mansion, is discussed on page 44) and loads of others. “Sarah was a record label,” writes Duffus, “that signed the acts that no major label would touch but who you wanted to hear. It put out a board game, produced cut’n’paste fanzines and stuck two fingers up to the mainstream music industry.” In These Things Happen Duffus doesn’t just tell the Story of Sarah. “I’ve treated Sarah like the subculture it was,” she writes. “It had its own ecosystem of communication, fashion, gigs, politics and creativity, for which the music was occasionally just a by-product.” This sub-culture is explored in gloriously minute detail. Chapters focus on self-published fanzines, the influence of radio sessions, record shops, and the fashion of the era (“The Marine Girls were a PAGE 26 key influence on the post-C86 bands, with their jumble sale chic and nonchalant attitude.”). The artwork is discussed; the design of labels, logos, inserts and flyers are analysed. Duffus writes that despite the clichéd music press contention of the time, “Not all the bands sounded the same, and pretty much none had a “twee female singer”.” A lot of the male-dominated music press hated Sarah and all it stood for (a fifth birthday advert by Sarah proclaimed that the label stood for: poetry, socialism, feminism, effeminism and revolution). Some journalists’ vitriol for the label verged on misogyny. Heavenly’s Amelia Fletcher tells Duffus that, “When Sarah and Heavenly started, there was generally a lot of dad rock. I don’t think it was particularly sexist at that point, it was just there were a lot of male bands making a lot of noise. It fed through to Britpop later.” Duffus interviews a number of journalists who wrote disdainfully of Sarah at the time. Given the opportunity to reflect on what they had written a few of them double down. It makes them look pathetic and petty. Thankfully those gatekeepers no longer wield influence. These Things Happen is an absolutely wonderful 450+ page tome. Duffus writes passionately about Sarah, its bands and the wonderful music they left us with. She contextualises the label and places it within a wider cultural milieu, it’s a fascinating book. I’m back listening to my Sarah compilations for the last few weeks and I can think of no greater praise than that. 1. MY #SARAH RECORDS TOP 5 The Harvest Ministers – Six O’Clock is Rosary (Sarah 064, 1992) In 2020 Sarah’s Clare Wadd tweeted: “The Harvest Ministers sounded like nobody else, then or now - the opening chord of this grabs me right away and throws me into Will’s story like it’s my childhood remembered.” That’s good enough for me, my No. 1. 2. Heavenly – Our Love is Heavenly (Sarah 041, 1990) The second Heavenly 7” on Sarah. Amelia Fletcher’s chorus - “Yes it's true, Got a new boy who loves me, I love him too, And our love is heavenly” – is one of the greatest moments in Indie Pop. Bliss. 3. The Sea Urchins – Pristine Christine (Sarah 001, 1987) The debut single proper (after two fanzineflexis) from the West Bromwich band and the song that launched Sarah Records and an entire genre. Last time I checked a copy will set you back €350. 4. The Field Mice – Emma’s House (Sarah 012, 1988) St. Etienne’s cover version of ‘Kiss and Make Up’ in 1990 was my introduction to The Field Mice, but it’s ‘Emma’s House’ - their first single on Sarah - that takes the 4th spot. 5. The Wake – Crush the Flowers (Sarah 021, 1989) Originally signed to Factory by 1989 the Glasgow band found a new home on Sarah. The twin vocals of Gerard McInulty and Carolyn Allen over a primitive synth make this one of my favourite Sarah 7”s.