Glorious technicolour monochrome

Martin Smith : “Glorious technicolour monochrome”

My first experience of John Foxx was with the remarkable Metamatic album on its first release at the beginning of 1980. I was 17, detached, lonely, waking up to the realisation that Kate Bush was never going to marry me. To spite her, and rediscover myself, my cousin introduced me to Cabaret Voltaire and electronic music vis The Human League and Gary Numan. Metamatic at that time represented a whole 'new future' and I bought into it big style, even down to the long grey overcoat that I wore everywhere when I started University a year or two later.

Student parties etc, and meeting up with talented friends, I soon discovered that I actually wasn't the only person in the world to still be into Foxx after the release of his third, and very disappointing album, The Golden Section. I'd found his Ultravox albums too by this time, and loved this even more than his solo work. As far as I was concerned, with TGS Foxx was in danger of selling out in desperate search of a 'hit single', and I was frustrated and disappointed. But my shaking faith was restored when The Tour was announced. I had started seeing live bands all the time by then, and the idea of going to London to see John Foxx was too good to be true. It was an inspiring time. In between Foxx shows I saw The Cramps, The Cocteaus and Siouxsie! I attended two gigs on that tour - the Dominion in October and then the last night of the tour at the Lyceum, during which I picked up a copy of the limited edition Lyric Book accompanying The Golden Section.

This is one of my most treasured possessions now, since I had the pleasure of getting it signed by John when I met him for the first time at Scala twenty years later! He remembered the booklet, and smiled nervously, commenting that he hadn't 'seen on one these for years!"

In Mysterious Ways then came out and again Foxx surprised me with another change of direction. In my opinion much for the better this time. Curiously, his 'disappearance' after that album didn't surprise or disappoint me - by then I too had moved on into a lifetime's relationship with, among others, Marc Almond, and discovered so much different music that I felt no sense of loss. At the time…

But in spring 2001, while running my business in a Factory-style open warehouse in downtown Southampton, I was playing a copy of The Garden. Some of the others guys in the building were into Foxx, and a girl walked in commenting on how much she loved that album. "Have you heard his new stuff?" she asked. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattt?!!" I think my reaction surprised even myself. Had I missed Foxx for all those years? Was he Almost There all the time after all?

She went on to tell me how much she and her brother had enjoyed the Exotour gig at the Brook. Half a mile from my house. In 1997, my daughter, less than a year old at the time, will forever be blamed for my inattention to local events during that period, curse her cuteness! So I whisked up to HMV and placed my order, but not for The Pleasures of Electricity, which was not listed (note to self - this will always be the way of it) but instead for TWO albums entitled Shifting City and Cathedral Oceans. Both albums were a revelation, the latter especially like nothing I had ever heard before.

What happened next? A blur. The only memory to take any significant form was my return to the Foxx live circuit at The Scala during the Crash and Burn tour in September 2003. I determined then to catch up with all that Foxx had done in the meantime, before and after. Thus began an intensive period of research, collecting and archiving that has taken over my spare time and been a labour of intense love and admiration. I began by packaging up all my vinyl to pay off some debt or other, but instead of selling it I traded with a long-term fan in Germany for a collection of Bootlegs and rarities. I'm still hoping my wife will forgive me one day! Next step was to transcribe all the lyrics to everything John ahd written, which brought me into contact with even more obsessive Foxx fans across Europe. Earned me a strange sense of respect. I couldn't believe no -one had done ths before? Leads. Connections. Figures down echo pathways. Travel by phone. Great people without exception, and I am eternally grateful for their encouragement and support.

Now it's 2007. Metamatic has been re-issued in glorious technicolour monochrome. The circle is complete.

Foxx has recorded something like 30 albums in the last thirty years and his work is the cornerstone of my collection. There's something for every mood, every direction, and still so few people have switched on. Perhaps that in itself is part of the attraction? Often overlooked. My respect for those that quietly do their own thing is enormous, and John Foxx is the very essence of that. He is indeed a liquid. Subtely changed by the forces around him, but always finding a way to flow around them and take new form.

And now it's spring time, on the moving stairway. Time to start again...

Favourite Foxx album - Tiny Colour Movies

Favourite Foxx track - In A Silent Way (Sideways)

Happy anniversary, Quiet City!