"It's all in the artist's eyes, but it's only his disguise."
the 1981 pre-Grey Parade single by Picture Movement "Art Extravaganza"
CLICK THE SONG TITLES TO HEAR SAMPLES.
Rambert Records RAM TWO 1981 A 2:40 Art Extravaganza B 2:54 Still Life Track A Composed by Kirk Austin, Jeff Fulton, Chris Wall and Karl Stacey Track B Composed by Kirk Austin and Jeff Fulton Published by Picture Movement All tracks produced by Picture Movement and Mike Kemp for Rambert Records, Essex, U.K.
Rambert Records was launched in 1980 primarily to showcase a project by the band, Warrior, whose core members included Steve Hallford, Martin Jones and Roy Mette. Writer and musician Jeff Merrifield, who started Mette's career, assisted them with the formation of the label and subsequently issued Warrior's ten-inch single "Don't Let It Show" as its first catalogue release, RAM ONE. Other Warrior songs were recorded for the label but not released. Instead, Rambert Records turned to other groups in the Essex area to feature as independent talent. Among these was the newly formed Picture Movement, a reincarnation of Les Campen and Kirk Austin's Hot Property. At the time of the group's introduction to Merrifield, Les Campen was playing the field in the London band Parachutes, and Picture Movement's lineup was Kirk Austin, Jeff Fulton, Karl Stacey, and Chris Wall, the latter of which lasted in the group only ephemerally and then moved on to be replaced by Richie Cole, Rob Green and Paul Barber. (For the full story, read the commentary under the Rialto single, "EXTERIORS.") The Rambert single had nominal (if any) distribution, and Picture Movement's music would not come into its own commercially until Campen rejoined Austin in 1981 as a duo called Still Life (the same name as the Rambert b-side). In the meantime, however, Merrifield released Austin's first official single, "Art Extravaganza," as Rambert Records' second ever catalogue release, RAM TWO. Co-produced and engineered by the legendary Mike Kemp (co-founder of Spacward Studios, London), the rhythms and style of the two songs on this single are an apt example of the school of '80s New Wave music that favored acoustic drums and electric guitars over synthesizers and electronic drum machines. Pity that Picture Movement's single did not have a wider audience. With its cynical portrayal of fashion-enslaved art-and-design "types," it might have appealed to hardboiled New Wave acolytes referring to themselves as "art fags" (who would later evolve into modern Goths). Regardless, with lyrics like "It took me ten years to draw like a photograph. It took me the rest of my life to draw like a child," the songwriter's tongue-in-cheek irony will hardly be missed. However, beneath it all, the signature sound and lyrical voice that would come to define Grey Parade in just a few years time can yet be discerned. © 2005 Karl J. Sherlock
LYRICS LYRICS PUBLISHED BY PICTURE MOVEMENT CLICK THE SONG TITLES TO HEAR SAMPLES. ART EXTRAVAGANZA WRITTEN BY KIRK AUSTIN, JEFF FULTON, CHRIS WALL AND KARL STACEY Think I'll build me a pile of bricks like you get with a Leggo set. It took me ten years to draw like a photograph. It took the rest of my life to draw like a child. It's all in the artist's eyes, but it's only his disguise. A plasma tube society, a landmark in reality. I clap my picture but something's absurd. I'll take you to the art extravaganza. Watch them talk with their feet, "Look, no hands-a." Wish I had the right perspective. Wish I had the vision. I just can't see things the same way. I must have something missing: art extrava-ganza (-ganza)! I'll take you to the art extravaganza. Watch them talk with their feet. "Look, no hands-a." I'll take you to the art extravaganza. Watch them talk with their feet. "Look, no hands-a." Think I'll build me a pile of bricks, see what makes designers tick. It's all in the artist's eyes, but it's only his disguise. Wish I had the right perspective. Wish I had the vision. STILL LIFE WRITTEN BY KIRK AUSTIN AND JEFF FULTON The art of composition is here. The art of composition is here. The class is learning still life and sharp as a plaster bust. Stiff, grey back, muscle exposed. Artists sketching static pose. And you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. But nothing moves. It's all still life. The art of composition is here. The art of composition is here. The class is learning still life and sharp as a plaster bust. Here's our class, awls at the ready. No more [?] watching telly. And you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. But nothing moves. It's all still life. The art of composition is here.