RENEWED PRIDE
Back in 1987 after a final gig supporting Sigue Sigue Sputnik in Coventry, Sheer Pride, the band I was in (a sort of ‘heavier’ Duran Duran, and I was Andy Taylor) split up and we all went our separate ways to make our way in the world… Fast-forward to 2019.
When the pandemic hit and it was impossible to socialise, my rehearsal-room jamming band had to be put on hold and I had to find another avenue for my guitar playing. It was time to delve into the box of ancient Sheer Pride Portastudio tapes gathering dust in my loft to see what treasures
I could unearth. Many, many hours later I had painstakingly transferred all the best tracks into my computer DAW.
Over the subsequent months, I set about rebuilding, re-recording, arranging, quantising and editing them, while trying to keep as much of the original recordings as possible. It was interesting to listen to my guitar playing back then and hear how much it has changed.
Eventually, with my mission complete, my son Sam helped me upload our album to Spotify etc, and it is now available to buy or stream on all platforms and download sites. Music helped get me through the worst parts of this pandemic when I was feeling very low – it gave me a focus, a purpose. Music has always been a place I return to when I need to feed my soul.
Now, 35 years later, still great friends, we five guys in Sheer Pride meet once a year at our ‘AGM’ to share
a beer, stories and now, hopefully, some royalties… maybe a slap-up meal at Greggs next time! Chris Beach (aka 'Eddie Van Rental'), via email Chris, thank you for bringing a smile to our faces with your tale of old New Romance rediscovered, if you catch our drift. It’s brilliant that digitisation allows old recordings to be editable, tweakable and enjoyable all over again – bringing back vivid and happy memories. The editor of this tome sometimes listens back to his music college recordings and wishes he still had chops like that! If only we all had endless hours free just to practise our chops as in formative years… We’re delighted to learn that your walk down a musical memory lane gave you a lift during lockdown and that you’ve been able to ‘reunite’ with your band. We’ll definitely be checking out some vintage Sheer Pride online now.