555 memories

555 saved my life, no joke literally. There I was an awkward 16 year old discovering what the Leeds DIY scene had going on. Up and til I stumbled across 555 I though Leeds was just about bands that sounded like Slint or The Jesus Lizard, experimental noise bands or bands that were just well, bad. (Obviously I was hanging out with beard stroking students who liked Slint at the time)

Somehow I ended up at the 555 christmas party downstairs at The Royal Park, in the space of 2 hours I witnessed the shambolic electropoppunk of Steward, the quiet murmerings of Empress and Halkyn, the wonders of Hood, the absurdity of Remote Viewer and Saucer, the Beachbuggy offshoot that I always preferred to Beachbuggy. Maybe I look back with rose tinted specs, but that show blew my mind, this was music that resonated to me, had heart, was punk rock and being made by people in Leeds.

After that I would make the effort to go to as many 555 shows as I could, buying the records and listening them on the living room stereo. I made friends with the bands (as much as I could being the awkward teenage idiot that I was!), bonded with Richard Hood over a mutual love of They Might Be Giants, found out that Stewart and Nicola worked at my old primary school with a load of my school friends, Steward also played my 19th birthday party (I have a photo somewhere of Stewart playing the classic Hello Kitty guitar with one of those quality control stickers proudly stuck on it, must find that...)

I guess then I kinda lost track of what was going on with 555, I went to Uni, Stewart moved to the US and without it being on my doorstep I lost track. I loved the Kanda and Origami records but I guess I never felt the Boyracer love as much as the Steward stuff (what can I say, I'm a sap for drum machines and B52s samples!).

I got a load of 555 vinyl through the post the other day after deciding to make the most of my last few pay checks before skint studentdom (yep, records are more important than food!). Listening to the albums, even though they're recordings from 8-10 years later, the 555 'sound', if you can call it that still rings through and I felt 16 again. I smiled with glee at the cardboard screen printed sleeves of the Huon and Bright Lights records, this reminded me of the first time I played the Empress album and marvelled at the hand painted cover. This took me to rummage through my record collection and skip round my bedroom (the record needle on my living room stereo finally broke the other week) to records by The Aislers Set, Andrew Beaujon, Steward and Hood (as much as you can skip to Hood...).

555 is my kinda indiepop, it's punk rock, it's electro, it's indiepop for people who've never been indiepop. With it's lathe cuts, hand painted sleeves, and minimalist approach to liner notes it's the ultimate DIY. 555 make me glad I grew up in Leeds, and not somewhere a lot worse like Mansfield. Punker than you since 1992? Hell yeah!

Essential 555 listening...
Hood - (the) Weight
Steward - Goodbye To Everything You Love
Empress - debut LP
The Aislers Set - The Last Match
The Aislers Set/The How split 7
Bright Lights - Drunker than you since 002
Cheap Red - S/T

555 Records
555 Mailorder