I have always liked The Quiet Us for its mixture of art, punk and the sort of social politics which I tend to espouse. What a pleasant surprise it was this morning to find a long article all about Helen McCookerybook's past..On sunny days, tourists pour out of Brighton station in a continuous flow, guided straight ahead by the shimmering sea in the distance. Halfway down the hill, while you're waiting for the signal to cross North Road, take a glance at the brick and concrete slab of the Brighthelm Centre opposite. In the 1970s, the catacombs below this site were the crucible for Brighton's punk explosion, and few of its bands burned with as much sunshine brilliance as The Chefs.
Prior to the Brighthelm's construction, the land held a former church, home to the Brighton & Hove Resources Centre (founded in part by Poison Girls' Vi Subversa). While the Centre served as a meeting place for political groups, the crypt cellars below were turned into an unglamorous gig venue (The Vault) and rehearsal space for Brighton's close knit punk scene. The Chefs emerged from this milieu, formed around the bright pop instincts of songwriters Helen McCookerybook and Carl Evans. Records & Tea compiles their brief run of singles for the first time, retrospectively uncovering another route from the punk era into the subsequent indiepop scene.
The Chefs were a great band - "24 Hours" is a song that I remember playing over and over in a now-gone teenage summer.
ReplyDeleteThere are more than a few mid 80s indie bands who simply would not have existed without the Chefs.