THE CALLS are young. They come from Leeds. They’re proud to come from Leeds and they write about cities like Leeds. They’re full of lust and vigour and have songs that teeter upon the abyss between exhilaration and catastrophe but that’s the attraction. These songs are clever; they have intricate structures and lyrics that speak articulately of young people growing up as the internet-driven, recession-ridden, jobless generation; observing the drama and the comedy of city streets and their surrounding suburban frustrations with a witty sincerity. These songs exude an air of danger, of being on the verge of collapse at any moment so that, when they don’t, it’s a shock and a surprise and you feel relieved and vindicated for the four grinning souls standing on the stage.
Two of their songs, THE WATERFONT and DREAMS OF YESTERDAY, are to be released as a staggeringly limited edition CD single of just 100 copies on 2 October 2015. The night before, on Thursday 1 October, THE CALLS will host a Single Launch Night at BAD APPLES on [where else?] THE CALLS in LEEDS …
It’s not the most obvious venue; it’s tiny and grubby but it’s welcoming and loved and, regardless of the weather outside, it will be a hot and sticky evening. The music industry gurus heading from London that day to witness whether what they’ve heard is true will wonder why the venue was chosen when there are bigger and more salubrious places just across the road. But that’s the point. Ignore the rules. Don’t do the obvious. Do what feels right.
THE CALLS know that their debut single will disappear in a flash, sold to fans on the morning of release, sold to the curious, sold to the speculators taking a chance that one day it might be worth a fortune. But THE CALLS are giving away copies to the first fifty people through the door on the night of the launch; half the pressing. Those same fifty people will get a free T-Shirt commemorating the event with date and venue lovingly printed upon it. T-Shirts that may spend years gathering dust; that may end up being used to wash the car on idle afternoons; or that may end up as memories of when something very special began. The T-Shirts are one-size-fits-all. No fuss. Just rock and roll …
And it’s FREE. The Single Launch Night is FREE. Did we mention that? FREE or not, there will be people outside who won’t get in. They should have got there earlier …
And one other thing: THE WATERFRONT and DREAMS OF YESTERDAY are produced by KEIRON MELLING of THE FALL, a band uniquely and notoriously renowned for hating everything, for seeing no worth in any band other than their own; and it would take some special kind of character to confront them over that belief. But KEIRON MELLING produced THE CALLS.
It’s quite clear that means something …
THE CALLS – SINGLE LAUNCH NIGHT – THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER 2015
BAD APPLES, 7 CALL LANE, CITY CENTRE, LEEDS LS1 7D
DOORS: 7.30pm STAGE TIME: 9.00pm
Listen to THE WATERFRONT and DREAMS OF YESTERDAY here:
https://soundcloud.com/the-calls/sets/the-waterfront-dreams-of-yesterday
