it's immaterial

It’s Immaterial. Anyone remember them?

A duo who made a handful of singles and only two albums – the first in 1986 Life’s Hard And Then You Die, followed four years later by their masterpiece, Song. Then – nothing.

John Campbell, a Mancunian, formed the band with some Liverpudlian friends in 1980. One of the early members was Henry Priestman, who later formed The Christians. Jarvis Whitehead joined the band in 1982 and a small number of well received, but commercially unsuccessful singles ensued. (One of these, the faintly loopy "A Giant Raft (In The Philippines)" seems to have been issued again and again - the band must have thought it was good, but still no-one bought it...) By 1984 the band was down to just Campbell and Whitehead, but a John Peel session that year revealed a newfound determination, and some cracking new songs. With his very dry wit and laconic delivery Campbell's new songs amusingly celebrated the mundane and the ordinary and transformed them into something heroic.

And then they had a hit single! The sombre yet oddly jolly "Driving Away From Home" slipped into the top twenty in early 1986, an infectiously catchy road movie for the ears, set in the industrial north of England and surely the only song in the world to sing the praises of motoring on the M62... It's Immaterial entered the glitzy world of Top Of The Pops, videos and pop stardom with their customary reticence and slightly bemused embarrassment. A follow up single, "Ed's Funky Diner", was not as successful but paved the way for their first album Life's Hard And Then You Die. Although perhaps none of the songs are quite as quirkily moody as "Driving..." the album still contains a wealth of invention and darkly catchy melodies. It’s as if The Blue Nile has been given a minor injection of funk, mixed with the dry social commentary of the Pet Shop Boys, topped by with some gorgeous harmonies courtesy of members of The Christians - the album is nothing less than delightful.

And then they vanished until 1990 when the album Song just appeared – with no fanfare, no publicity, no promotion. The accompanying single "Heaven Knows" did receive a little airplay, but was strangely released some months after the album (although it did contain a couple of non-album tracks as b-sides).

The critics loved it but hardly anyone bought either single or album, which was a terrible shame as Song is 50 minutes of handcrafted perfection. Calum Malcolm produces - he was also responsible for The Blue Nile’s contemporaneous Hats, (a truly stunning record with which Song compares very favourably). The similarities are strong – the wistful aching vocals, the minor key balladry, the simple yet catchy keyboard led songs, the way many tunes build from near-silence to a passionate heart-rending conclusion, yet all achieved with seemingly little effort or the usual rock / pop bluster. These two albums inhabit their own worlds. They have little or nothing in common with the prevailing musical trends of the late 1980’s. The subject matter is often banal – the trials and tribulations of everyday suburban life – work, the kids, holidays, attempts to move house - but dealt with in such a surprisingly emotional way.

Song contains some beautifully elegant songs – the opening "New Brighton" sets the scene, led by delicate keyboards and a robust but unobtrusive drum programme and a weary and melancholic mood conjuring up an air of remembrance and regret. "Heaven Knows" offers gentle encouragement 'it's gonna be alright' over a wistful backing. "Life On The Hill" is more solid, with insistent programming creating an understated funky rhythm, but in general the album lives in a  world of rain, small Northern towns and people who may wish to escape the mundanity of their lives, but can't but really escape their surroundings or their pasts,

No further It's Immaterial records ever emerged. A third album, House For Sale, was recorded and apparently finished in 1992, but it has never been released. John Campbell was told by various labels that they would not issue the record as it was 'too dark'. In 2010 a couple of tracks leaked onto the internet - far from being dark, these songs reveal themselves as a continuation of the themes and sound of Song; melancholy and introspective yes, but not really 'dark'.

What they did after this is a complete mystery to me. Neither Campbell or Whitehead appear to have formed other bands, or recorded any other songs. It's a terrible shame as It's Immaterial created some extremely clever and memorable songs, and Song in particular is so very lovely and clearly the product of two very talented musicians.