Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx Your first encounter with John ?

A girlfriend with I]your[/I] credit card is another nightmare!

As for encounters, I first heard My Sex on the radio back in the 70s and was hooked. As soon as Ha!-Ha!-Ha! came out, I went around to all the import shops to buy it with no luck. Eventually found it in an ordinary store in town.

I remember walking in, grabbing it and taking it up to the counter. Two girls were standing there and one lunged at it (really just stuck her hand out and touched it). I can't recall what she said now but she sort of looked at it, said "Oh." and went back to chatting with her friend.

Another amusing anecdote was the time I went to an import store to buy Miles Away (I think).

The Human League were in town on tour. To my surprise the lead singer walked in with the blonde singer. He was all over her like a lovesick puppy while she was just giving him the cold shoulder.

The store manager and I made eye contact, sort of grinned but never said a word.

First encounter on vinyl for me too M, along with a cassette of 'Metamatic'.

My first memory of John was seeing him on Old Grey Whistle Test in Ultravox!. Then here's 'Underpass' was like a bolt of pure electric, and I don't think I've ever looked back.

I caught John playing in London in '83. In some respects I was too young to fully appreciate the gig, and now I can but look back 24yrs to a rather vague memory of the night. Also on the bill was Eddie & Sunshine who's work has being very much neglected.

During the late 80's, and much of the 90's I disappeared into such terretories as The Dead, and all manner of left field nonsense. It wasn't until 2003 that a friend suggested I should listen to Crash & Burn, and suddenly I was back to my childhood musical roots, and John's work seemed as inspirational as it was in 1980.

In recent times I've been to a few gigs, including the two at The Luminaire. Yes I've got the t-shirt to prove it.

With so much new electro coming through in recent times, it's always good to have a benchmark to measure things by. I think John's work will stand the test of time, and it will still be referenced in years to come.

I end with the thought that of all the music I've listened to over the years, John's has been some of the most influential.

I don't know where the tape came from now, but it was the one that I turned on the late afternoon I returned from school for the last time ever, in 1980.

Underpass had been on Top of the Pops and the radio. Somehow like you did in those days I procured Metamatic. The slow flanged beat of Plaza started. Machines I didnt know about sang, short bass notes. Then the mystery of the lead lines, like strings, opening out as their pitches undulated up and down, slowly.

I saw him performing 'No one driving' with Sunshine and Eddie, and three Yamaha CS80's. This sight impressed me greatly.

Within a year i'd been taught about synthesizers and learned what pulse width modulation was, where two oscillators went subtly in and out of phase. I knew they sounded better through a delay line of some sort. That was it. I spent the rest of my life in love with synthesizers.

I did not consciously become obsessed with John. I never ever joined any fan club, yet I signed up for The Service. Got one copy!!! My synth friends and I admired the mysterious cover of metamatic, the simplicity of it, the machine drone beauty of it all. By the time I saw him in 1984 I couldnt wait to hear Metamatic live.

He didn't play it. Instead he did The Golden Section, which sounded better live I am afraid. Still, there was Chris Cross on Arp in the corner and John danced very well and sang perfectly. Did old Ultravox songs which were great.

But still, the obsession was young, and I didn't understand just how much I was into his work.

It was only later in life, when I bought Metamatic reissued record from Tower Records in 1992 that I came face to face with a very strong and sincere adoration of all those songs. In 2003 I managed to get hold of a copy of Modern Art, in my quest for a decent copy of This Jungle. You see, I had no plans to make music then. But now I'm surrounded by gear and there is only one true role model for what I am trying to do.

I was not a teenager. But seeing the images in the sleeve, with the discovery of the Metamatic website the same year, I just kept coming back for more and more and more.

Now, here I am playing Metamatic again. I never tire of it. Its always fresh the way the giants like Kraftwerk don't work for me like they used to (blasphemy!)

I think that the more you scratch the surface of the man, the more you find. His talk in the ICA was brilliant because he always had something really interesting to say. There is a lot more to the man than many.

So here I am, no longer in denial. I am indeed a committed John Foxx fan. I really mean it. Wow.

Nice story Paul.

You're "coming out" is in safe hands here! I was lucky enough to see John twice on TGS tour in '83, where i picked up a copy of the green lyric book that was around in limited numbers at the time.

This is one of my most treasured pieces of music memorable now since John was kind enough to sign it for me after the show at Scala twenty years later. He flicked through it too, commenting with a smile that he haven't seen one for years.

I can't play or sing a note, so much respect to you - and everyone else here. There's a LOT of great musicians.

Good to have you with us.

Barbarellas winter 1977.

1st of October, if the archive is to be believed.

Wow - that's Waaaay back. Good for you!
Any memories of it you'd like to share?

I can't remember the exact date, but first exposure was Quiet Men from SOR. I was visiting my sister one day and her husband was exhibiting his new speakers and amp (Gale and Lecson pre/power if you are interested, hooked up to an LP12). I walked in the room and Quiet Men just blew me away. "Where has this music been hiding" I thought to myself. I was still at secondary school, so took some time to save the required pennies to buy it, by which time Underpass had come out - then I had to decide which came first! Luckily a good friend bought Metamatic and we swapped every few weeks or so until our funds could reach to buying our own copies (if I recall correctly).

The odd thing was, that my brother in law would most likely only have bought that album if it had been (positively) reviewed in a good quality hi-fi magazine. I wonder what the review said about the album? Does anyone recall any such review?

First live experience came a good few years later in '83 with the GS tour. I had the privilege of seeing the "warm-up" gig in Hitchin (The Regal). I had to cycle 10 miles or so (forget the exact distance) on a cold winter night. It was fantastic. Saw the same tour at the Dominion (not so good because we had to SIT upstairs) and then an electric performance at the Lyceum - really great atmosphere. Then it all went dark until last September and I had to walk just 10 minutes from my house to see him play live in my neighbourhood in Tokyo!

1977, Barbarellas was "the" Punk club in Birmingham, actually I think it was one of the most famous Punk Clubs in the Country in those days. Many, now defunkt, famous Punk bands played there(Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Siouxsie And The Banshees to name a few). The best of course was Ultravox and because of time my memories are of course very sketchy. A friend from school asked to go there the first time. It was freezing. We were the frozen ones indeed!
I had never heard of this band called Ultravox.
Almost as soon as walked in they started to play. Foxx had what seemed to be a wooly jumper on. He seemed to pull and pull on it all through the show and it seemed awfully big at the end. There was a hell of a lot of spitting going on. The punks went mad when Young Savage was played. I also remeber at some points in the show John would pick up a strobe light and prance about the stage with it. If any of you guys have HAHAHA, my distant memory is that they really did end the show like "Fear in the Western World" finishes and just walk off stage. I also could have dreamt that;-)
On the way home we had to walk over to the other side of town to catch the number 14 to Tile Cross. We got chased by rockers.

I think I saw UV four times at Barbarellas. I checked it out and most of the times were with Stevie Shears except fot the last show which was after SOR was released and Robin came in. It was a different crowd then. Indeed times were changing a little and there were a lot more "posers" around (thats what they were called). I think I was one.
At the end of that show I remeber John coming to the bar (in the club) afterwards. I stood quite close to him but did not have the nerve to speak to.

Most of the times I had seen UV they were dressed in black attire with what seemed to be black pumps (the kind that you used at school PE in those days).

Once, however, I remember John wearing a very nice 50's suit ( also the fashion for posers then). It was a shame when someone gobbed and hit him on his left shoulder. No wonder he got tired of touring.

I saw him later in 83 at the Tin Can in Brum and then a few days later at Warwick University. Richard, a friend of mine who was the DJ at the Rum Runner also DJ'd at the Tin can. He looped a mike over the top of the stage and recorded the whole gig. Brilliant! I had a tape of it for many years but then lost it. Several years later through friends gained on here I got a CD copy of the show. I have know idea if it was Richards recording or another one.

I have lived out of the UK for many years now. I think John inspired me to do so. Ever since I heard In Europe After the rain, I just had to go and live there. Along the years I have somehow ended up in the US. One of these days, I will, come over for one of the shows in the UK. I think I have to give up on John coming over here.
Cheers.
Martin.

No, Martin, no! You must never give up!