Whisper to a scream!
ian McNabb pragmatically resurrects the mighty icicle Works. “I understand that. It reminds people of their youth – me as well!”
“I haven’t done a day’s work in my life! That’s success…” Ian McNabb
“Ah, anniversaries,” sighs Ian McNabb. “There’s one every day, isn’t there?” The first time McNabb resurrected the Icicle Works, in 2006, it was to celebrate 25 years since the band’s formation in 1981, part of Liverpool’s febrile post-punk scene which included Echo And The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, Wah! heat and OMD.
he did it again five years later to mark their Big 30. The Works’ forthcoming autumn tour, however, was born more from expediency than sentiment. “It’s not an anniversary,” he says. “It’s just that the audience is an awful lot bigger for an Icicle Works show than it is for an Ian McNabb show!” The original group disbanded in 1988, after four albums, and haven’t played together since. “I wasn’t able, nor wanted, to put back together the old lineup,” says McNabb. “We still speak and stuff, but [drummer] Chris Sharrock plays with everyone these days – he’s currently out with Noel Gallagher – and one of the other guys is a teacher.”
Since 2006, the lineup has comprised Dodgy’s Mathew Priest on drums, Roy Corkhill, formerly of Black, on bass, and ex-Waterboy Richard Naiff on keyboards. For a band that only enjoyed one bona fide UK hit in “Love Is A Wonderful Colour” (though “Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)” went Top 40 in the States), McNabb is gratified to find that “at least seven or eight songs are now treated like No 1s. They’re more appreciated now than they were when they came out. It’s nostalgia in many ways, I understand that. It reminds people of their youth – me as well! When you’re reeling off lyrics at 21 and 22, there’s an element of Fifth Form pretentiousness. Now, older and wiser, you look back and think it’s a bit naïve, but it caught the moment. I’m sure Ian McCulloch feels a bit funny singing about tortoiseshells at the age of 58, but I’m glad the songs still resonate with people, and I can still sing them in the same key.”
Not that McNabb is living in the past. The shows will include plenty of solo material, including songs from his new album, Star Smile Strong, the latest stop on an eventful journey which has seen him work with Ringo Starr, Mike Scott and – on 1994’s Mercury-nominated Head Like A Rock – Crazy horse. “It’s always up and down,” he says. “I’m a bit below the radar. You don’t always get the attention you deserve, which can be frustrating, but I’m just glad I can still do it.”
Later this year, McNabb will release an audiobook version of his 2008 memoir, Merseybeast. “I’m a cottage industry,” he says. “If you’d asked me 20 years ago what the ultimate success would be, I’d have said playing arenas like my heroes. If you’d asked me 10 years ago, I would have said being like Tom Waits – you only have to tour every five years and everybody covers your songs. And now? I’ve nearly made it to 60 and I haven’t done a day’s work in my life!” he laughs. “That’s success.” The Icicle Works UK tour starts on October 5. Star Smile Strong is out now on Fairfield Records