Formed in 1977, British band The Pop Group had made their mark on music by the time they broke up a mere five years later. Their style of post-punk and incorporation of elements like funk, reggae and jazz worked well with outspoken lyrics focused on philosophy and at times political satire. Though they broke up early on, The Pop Group had an effect on the alternative sounds being explored in the Eighties and influenced numerous bands directly. Today that influence lives on with newer artists like St. Vincent covering their songs.
In 2010, nearly thirty years after they broke up, the members of The Pop Group decided it was time to take another stab at making music and playing gigs. Fast forward to 2014 and they have been playing fairly consistent shows and have just reissued one of their most acclaimed albums, 1980’s We Are Time, as well as Cabinet of Curiosities, a compilation album of older work. As great as it is to get solid reissues of a band’s earlier material, anyone who’s long felt The Pop Group are one of the most underrated acts to emerge out of the post-punk scene is in for a treat this coming year. On February 24th the band will release their first new album in 35 years, Citizen Zombie, and will be supporting it with a March tour kicking off in Japan and culminating with appearances at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. Recently, original guitarist Gareth Sager took the time to answer a few quick questions about the past, present, and future of The Pop Group.
Going back and listening to Cabinet of Curiosities and We Are Time, what stands out about those records in retrospect?
That we were going on our own path very quickly and we took it to the end of the cliff!
How did you choose what songs you would use from the archive on these reissues? Was it difficult to track down some of the recordings?
Yes and it took a long time to track stuff down. Once we did we obviously went with the recordings we got the best sound out of.
The funk influences on Cabinet of Curiosities stand out. What kind of stuff were you listening to at the time that pushed you to take the sound in that direction?
James Brown, Ohio Players, Funkadelic, Early Kool & The Gang, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters.
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Has the band’s onstage dynamic changed over the years?
Yes, as John Waddington is not playing with us now, but the rest of the original members are present and there is great energy.
On your recent tour you played We Are Time in entirety. Are there challenges to playing an album all the way through live?
The band was mutating so fast back then that we only played some of these songs a few times in our lifetime, so it’s really great to have the chance to play them now! We have added a few other songs in appropriate places…
What’s it like to have modern artists like St. Vincent covering your songs now?
About time! Looking forward to U2 covering “We Are All Prostitutes”!
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Are there any contemporary acts or styles of music you dig these days?
Yes, Romanian gypsy music, desert blues, and Dean Blunt.
Any plans for a U.S. tour?
Hopefully soon…
Does the term post-punk still carry meaning these days?
Only if you are a postman who is a punk i.e. Vic Godard.
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