Wire's Pink Flag by Neate Wilson

Author:Neate, Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing
Published: 2008-08-16T04:00:00+00:00

Studio layout during the making of Pink Flag. Courtesy Mike Thorne.

Wire used their own instruments and gear provided by Thorne. Lewis played his own Fender Jazz Bass through an Ampeg combo, occasionally coloured with an MXR flanger. Bruce Gilbert mostly used a Gibson Les Paul Pro, sundry pedals and a Music Man 212 amp, all supplied by Thorne. For his few guitar parts, Newman played his iconic white Ovation Breadwinner, purchased with EMI’s advance. Grey had invested in a secondhand Ludwig Classic kit. (“I didn’t know anything about kits. I bought Ludwig because that’s what Ginger Baker played.”) Rather than have Grey play in a booth, Thorne placed him in the room itself, to use the studio’s ambience. This would prove crucial to Pink Flag’s drum sound: “The kit was close-miked—we even had a mike under the snare,” remembers Grey, “but we also had a mike for the ambient sound. It gives depth. When you add in the room, the listener is conscious of space.” Newman was the only person separated, listening in from a vocal booth, and Thorne had Gilbert, Lewis and Grey wear open-ear headphones so they could hear one another and the sounds in the studio; that way they’d interact more naturally, rather than each being sealed off.

That Wire had been fine-tuning their work for months suited Thorne. In his experience, it was vital that the songs be ready: “It seemed to me that music, ideally, would be better if written before the band went into the studio, to give a chance for it to settle and be seen in perspective. Getting songs rehearsed and coherent before recording time is very important. Also, if you go into the studio and write, generally getting it together, it dilutes the excitement of being in that intense environment. Recording should be a big event. You only do it once for the Preservation Society, and the adrenalin should be flowing.”

There was some trepidation. “Anybody is anxious when they first go to a studio,” says Lewis, “and this was definitely one of London’s top-line studios. We were very nervous about it all.” Gilbert agrees: “I was certainly a bit in awe when I walked into the studio. It was incredibly large and full of strange things. In one corner—with a barrier around it—there were about 100 guitars from the band working in there previously. Every type of electric guitar known to man—owned by one person!” Grey was uneasy because he felt the band wasn’t ready: “I was deeply anxious about making mistakes. I wanted to record Pink Flag when we could play it better, but that idea wasn’t accepted.” Newman was unfazed: “I didn’t feel intimidated. It just seemed it was part of what you do. I thought some of it was tedious. I started to become more interested in what was going on on the other side of the glass than what was going on where I was.”

Aware that this would be a big step, Thorne broke the band in slowly. First, he had them play the material in sequence, several times.

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