done, though I quite enjoy a couple of moments like that with the Hearts now.”


The Purple Hearts were dropped by Fiction in the summer of ’80, presumably because Beat That! didn’t sell quite as well as expected. They went on to release the singles ‘My Life’s A Jigsaw’ and ‘Plane Crash’ before splitting up for the first time in ’82. Culled from tapes kept by bassist Jeff Shadbolt, the 24 tracks on the CD Smashing Time released on the Detour label a few years ago give you an inkling of what could have been if Fiction had kept faith. What impresses most is that the band weren’t content merely to do mod retreads. Instead, they started incorporating influences from US ’60s garage and psychedelia, whilst retaining Simon Stebbing’s distinctive, angular Who/Creation power chords at the centre of their sound. Title track ‘Smashing Time’, named after the Rita Tushingham/Lynn Redgrave Swinging London film, sounds like a forgotten gem by The Creation – all feedback-drenched guitar and a chorus to die for. ‘I’ll Make You Mine’ is a touching, Beatles-esque ballad written in the wake of Lennon’s murder. The three-part harmonies on ‘When I See You’ also recall The Beatles. In fact, the tune sounds like a slightly speeded-up ‘Rain’. The most psychedelic track is ‘Hazy Darkness’, which comes complete with a touch of ‘Paper Sun’ sitar and precious, fairytale-psych lyrics (“Sitting on the river bank watching everything go by …”) in the grand tradition of Tomorrow and Syd Barrett. This one would have fitted in nicely alongside Mood Six, The Barracudas, The Marble Staircase et al on WEA’s A Splash Of Colour compilation which showcased the short-lived psychedelic revival in ’82. Other highlights include alternative versions of post-Fiction singles ‘My Life’s A Jigsaw’ and ‘Plane Crash’, the latter featuring none other than Paul Weller on backing vocals. The CD confirms The Purple Hearts as masters of the three-minute pop song and makes me feel quite sad that their bid for chart success was cut off in its prime.


After The Purple Hearts split up, Jeff Shadbolt eventually went on to play in The Rage alongside Brett Ascott of The Chords. They released one single, ‘Looking For You’. As for Simon Stebbing, he filled me in on some of his various activities. “I was the drummer in the original Changelings. Bob (Manton) was rhythm guitar. They went on to be The Wolfhounds, a C86 generation indie band, and I drummed at their early gigs until I passed the drum stool to my brother Frank.”


The most intriguing band Simon Stebbing was involved with during the early ’80s is Hearts On Fire. They released a couple of EPs and an album, Dreams Of Leaving, on Midnight Records. “Hearts On Fire were quite psychy,” he informed me, “but mostly influenced by The Byrds and LA’s Paisley Underground scene, and of course Gram Parsons.”


With The Big Three (Secret Affair, The Purple Hearts and The Chords) all out of the picture by the end of ’82, a new wave of ’60s- influenced bands emerged. The Times were essentially a vehicle for the pop art experiments of Ed Ball, who’d started out in


’76 as a member of DIY punks The Television Personalities. The Direct Hits, led by former punks Geno Buckmaster and Colin Swan, evoked memories of The Who at their pop art zenith. Monkees-fixated popsters The Jetset were a fun figment of songwriter Paul Bevoir’s imagination. With their Jetset uniforms and customised car christened The Jetsetmobile (think DIY Batmobile), they brought a smile to the face of anyone who’d ever loved The Archies or The Banana Splits. Fans included Rodney On The ROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. The Prisoners flirted at various times with mod, psychedelia and the heavier sounds of the late ’60s. In the great tradition of Please Please Me, debut album A Taste Of Pink was bashed out in a few hours and is still inspiring garage bands today. Makin’ Time were ridiculously young and had a geek-chic look. Both The Prisoners and Makin’ Time were signed to the short- lived Countdown label in ’85/86, former fanzine editor Eddie Piller’s attempt to re- ignite mod using money from Stiff Records.


Into this jumble of ’60s-influenced bands, the mighty Purple Hearts briefly returned in ’85, releasing a bootleg-quality live album, Head On Collision Time. Far better is the studio album Popish Frenzy, which came out a few months later. Most of the songs were written immediately after the Fiction era. A few, like ‘Shell Shock’, are from a bit later on. Bob Manton has referred on a couple of occasions to Big Star being an influence at the time. “I’m not sure if you could say that Popish Frenzy was definitely influenced by Big Star,” says Simon Stebbing. “After all only me and Bob have ever heard them. But they had a huge effect on me, and it is still one of my rock ’n’ roll highlights when I finally got to see them in Brixton for their first reformation and again a couple of years back in Shepherds Bush. I also saw Alex Chilton at ULU – must have been late ’80s I guess. I think Bob might mean the glistening jangly guitar tones on that record. I also really like that LP – but always with a slight disappointment. We basically ran out of budget and had to leave some songs which weren’t finished to my satisfaction. But it’s great that we stretched out and did some different styles and some longer pieces amongst the power pop.”


The presence of Michael Herbage, formerly of Department S, as guest guitarist on Popish Frenzy, is still a delicate subject. “I don’t mean to come across as bitter here, because Bage was and still is a mate,” says Simon Stebbing, “but he was invited to the session without any consultation with me, which I was not happy


about. Bob has always had this idea about a two-guitar line-up for the Hearts; even repeatedly suggesting it last year. Having said that, some of Bage’s contributions are great; the acoustic guitar on ‘Shell Shock’ and ‘I’ll Make You Mine’, and a little snippet of funk guitar on ‘Get Out Of My Life Woman’. But I don’t like his rhythm guitar on ‘But On Sundays’; it really obscures my Scotty Moore- style licks in the other channel, although I liked his slide solo on that track.”


Fast forward to 2010 and The Purple Hearts are gigging again. So it’s a good time to get Simon Stebbing to look back on the Hearts’ career and also to look forward. Thinking through the pros and cons of the mod tag, he concludes, “being associated with mod has been a double-edged sword. On the upside we had a great, easily identified look – and later, post-Quadrophenia, an instant audience who’ve proven to be immensely loyal, meaning we never had to play to empty venues. On the downside it has utterly restricted our credibility, with the mainstream music press completely sneering at our musical efforts and ignoring our re- releases but salivating over other obscure new wave acts from the same era. For me, the irritating thing is that our music mostly does stand the test of time a lot better than the fashionable posturing of a lot of our contemporaries and is mostly remarkably real, almost journalistically portraying a teenager’s lot in the late ’70s. Our later recordings show an inquisitive and engaged act that actually had a far wider range than is credited. We’re at our best live and last year really nailed it. We have an awesome power that few can really match in brutal simplicity.”


Talking further about their recorded legacy, and whether there might be more to come, he says, “In the early days me and Mants would always get together for song writing. We saw ourselves as the new Nanker/Phelge. But when Bob learned to play guitar we stopped doing that and I was more likely to get together with Jeff, and together we did some great stuff as well. I can honestly say that I’mproud of all our songs. I don’t think there are many weak ones at all. I was never keen on ‘Jigsaw’ though – too mainstream pop – but we were trying to land ourselves a major deal at that particular time. I would love for us to make another record; me and Bob have stacks of songs, and at its best our chemistry is still phenomenal.”


Reunited in Manchester in 2009 (obligatory Mani not pictured).


I agree; something special – a kinetic energy – is in the air when legendary bands get back together with all original members. The chemistry doesn’t always translate from the stage into the studio, but it would be interesting to hear the results in the case of The Purple Hearts.


And the likelihood of another renewal of interest, of ’79 proportions, in the mod youth cult? As long as teenagers continue to pick up an electric guitar and with a little practice manage to unleash a ‘Substitute’ or ‘Whatcha Gonna Do About It’, and more importantly feel the exhilaration which comes from tapping into their creative soul, it’s always on the cards.


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