THE TELESCOPES - The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-On-Trent

Posted by claire on Wednesday, January 2, 2002


Back in 1991 before the emergence of such fads as ‘grunge’ and ‘Britpop’, five innovative youngsters from Burton-On-Trent were being heralded as having the potential to be the next big thing in music. Unfortunately, a number of setbacks culminating in a spot of “voluntary liquidation” in 1993 seemed to provide an unfitting epitaph for those sonic visionaries also known as the Telescopes…until tonight, but more about them later.

The increasingly popular ‘Reclaim The Beats’ theme nights at the Brewhouse Arts Centre are fast becoming some of the hottest in the Midlands, showcasing a wide spectrum of local talent. Indeed, there was something for everyone here, from country-tinged rockers SIGMA 7, showing an admirable air of confidence considering tonight’s performance was their debut, to the avant garde, space rock odyssey that was STIMULUS, whilst experimentalists DEATH STAR provided a dreamy respite before ROLLER’s Heaton-esque (that’s Paul of Beautiful South fame) bittersweet love songs set the scene for the moment everyone had been waiting for – the first live performance from local heroes The Telescopes in almost nine years.

Originally a five piece eschewing the darker side of singer / songwriter Stephen Lawrie’s creative talents, THE TELESCOPES now operate as a core of just two of the original members (Lawrie and Jo Doran), although during tonight’s performance up to nine musicians take to the stage at different times playing a variety of instruments from double bass to plastic toy ray guns!

From the outset, a number of those gathered shout for their favourites from the Telescopes’ extensive back catalogue, but with a new album (‘Third Wave’) due early in the New Year the band instead decided to preview their forthcoming long player.
The Telescopes could never be accused of being predictable at any point during their “career”, but the new material is mostly unrecognisable from anything else either they or any of their main contemporaries have ever committed to vinyl.
Opening numbers ‘Moog Destroyed’ and ‘Tesla Death Ray’ tread the same path as artists such as Add ‘N’ To ‘X’ and Boards of Canada, using an array of sounds rather than lyrics to convey their emotional intent.
The haunting ‘When Nemo Sank The Nautilus’ is possibly the closest of the newer songs to any of their previous works, (most notably ‘You Set My Soul’ from their vastly underrated eponymous second album).
When the band do play their one and only oldie of the night, ‘Perfect Needle’, I swear there were grown men crying all around me.

Whether or not tonight’s move in playing virtually an entirely new set of songs could be classed as overly ambitious or blatantly suicidal, the fact so many people were entranced until the end speaks volumes for the band’s almost legendary status.

One thing is for certain - The Telescopes are back and the sheer unpredictability of it all makes it an event not to be missed.


DOM GOURLAY