Sabres

Tonight The Sabres Of Paradise play live at Fabric in London, the first time the band have played since a handful dates in Japan in 1995. The live band line up of Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns, guitarist Phil Mossman, bassist Nick Abnett and drummer Rich Thair are one man down- Andrew Weatherall is absent for obvious reasons- but Jagz and co. have decided to revive the band, do some gigs and finish the job, put Sabres out there and then put Sabres to bed. There may/ will be some further announcements about Sabres activity to follow- in fact, I think there may be some today and then more in a few weeks. 

After the gig at Fabric Sabres fly to Australia to play at Sydney Opera House and then they return to Europe to play Primavera and Dekmantel. I'm going down to London today to see them. I missed Sabres play live back in the 90s and wasn't going to miss out twice. Also, The Flightpath Estate are partly responsible for the reformation happening. In 2023 Martin from The Flightpath Estate approached Jagz about marking the 30th anniversary of the release of Sabresonic and suggested a Q&A at The Golden Lion in Todmorden with a Jagz DJ set. Jagz was up for it and I agreed to be the host of the Q&A, asking the questions and trying to maintain a semblance of order. Jagz brought Gary along, two Sabres for the price of one and both were great fun, answered all the questions and entertained us with stories and tales of their lives and adventures with Andrew Weather al, making records in the mid- 90s. 

We had a live recording of Sabres Of Paradise playing at Manchester's Herbal Tea Party, recorded back in 1994 provided by Rob Fletcher, and in between the Q&A and Jagz's DJ set we played it through the pub's PA. Jagz stood by a speaker listening intently and said to us at one point, 'You know, we sounded pretty good back then...'. 

The live recording is at Mixcloud, Andrew on the decks for the first half hour and then Sabres playing Bubble And Slide II, Tow Truck, Theme and Smokebelch.

Bubble And Slide (Nightmares On Wax Remix)

Cogs started turning in Jagz's head and once he got agreement from the other five Sabres live players, wheels were set in motion. There have been some rehearsal footage clips on social media this week, Jagz and Gary at the keys and synths, Rich standing at the drums and percussion and Nick rocking a low slung bass guitar, Phil front and centre with his Les Paul. There are a few photos from that time of the group on stage- this one is from Sugar Sweet in Belfast...

At the Sabresonic 30th Q&A we discussed where Andrew got the name Sabres Of Paradise from. The NME at the time suggested excitedly it was a play on Sex Pistols but there are two more plausible  and possible sources. One is a 1960 novel by Lesley Blanch, a tale of pre- revolutionary Russia, cossacks and the Caucuses. The other is a 1983 Haysi Fantayzee B-side, a six minute dubby/ synth excursion by Jeremy Healy and Kate Garner (produced by Tony Visconti) with rambling, spoken word vocals. No one seemed entirely sure which  one was the source, and equally, it could be both. 

The Sabres Of Paradise

There are still a few tickets available for the Fabric gig tonight. David Holmes is playing a supporting DJ set and the place is sure to be filled with friendly faces. It's not too late... 

Return To Brixton

Paul Simonon realised after a while that the money was in songwriting. During the sessions for what became London Calling he worked up a tune into what would become one of the group's most recognisable and best-loved songs, thanks in large part to 'the bassline of the twentieth century'. The swagger of Guns Of Brixton comes from the swing of the bassline and Paul's rough and ready vocal, the ripping sound at the start (velcro being peeled off the studio chairs apparently) and the chanted backing vocals. One of my favourites.

In 1990 Norman Cook borrowed the bassline for his number one hit Dub Be Good To Me. Without asking permission. Paul and Norman settled in a cafe and according to Paul at the time the cash injection was much needed. I happen to love Dub Be Good To Me, an updating of The SOS Band's Just Be Good To Me with harmonica pinched from Ennio Morricone and the rap half-inched from Johnny Dynell.



CBS, sensing a hit, decided to get a top dj to remix Guns Of Brixton, for the club scene. Jeremy Healy was the dj and a 12" single with three new versions (two are below) was put out. It stormed into the charts reaching number 57. I don't remember the clubs and bars of 1990 being awash with this version either. Well done CBS, good work.

To be honest I quite like the remixes, they present the song a bit differently, give it something else. They're not as good as the original no, and yes, they're probably for completists and the curious only.

Return To Brixton (Extended Mix)

Return To Brixton (SW2 Dub)

Jeremy Healy was in Haysi Fantayzee previous to his dj career. I've been watching the Top Of The Pops re-runs from 1983 this year and the January editions had Haysi Fantayzee on several times doing Shiny Shiny,a sort of pirate, nursery rhyme, tribal, glam, anti-nuclear thumper. Having recorded it, I re-watched it a few times too. Two words- Kate Garner.

Sabres

Also from Mr Weatherall's 6 Mix show the other night, Haysi Fantayzee's seven minute dub-pop song The Sabres Of Paradise, from 1982. Haysi Fantayzee are best known for the A-side hit John Wayne Is Big Leggy (which coincidentally I was talking to someone about on New Year's Eve. You can't say I don't know how to have fun at an NYE party) and for one half of them being Jeremy Healy, 90s club dj and 'face' (and several other less complimentary words according to a friend of mine). Healy took the phrase Sabres Of Paradise from a novel about Cossacks by Lesley Blanche, which a different friend gave me a copy of about fifteen years ago, which I still haven't read. Weatherall took the name from the record, and the book, for a group and a record label. Got all of that?

Top song by the way.

The Sabres Of Paradise