Pool Of Sound - Afraid Of Mice

'Afraid Of Mice' outside the Open Eye Gallery in 1982

 

(pic by Alexander Brattell)

Inspired by the 'theatre' of progressive rock and the energy of punk, cult Liverpool band 'Afraid of Mice' formed in 1979 and have been cited as an inspiration by Merseyside bands ever since, and are one of the biggest 'should-have beens' in the punk era. 

Philip Franz Jones joined his very first band while still at school and on leaving school became a window dresser but, when it came to the time to attend University, he decided against it and returned to pop joining the band, 'Skyfall'. Steve Emberton joined and Phil's band evolved into 'Next' the band being inspired by early 'Genesis' and 'Jethro Tull'. At that time Geoff Kelly was approached by 'Next' to join them as their bass player before they signed to CBS. They produced one album in 1978 called 'Next' under producer Rupert Hine. Charlie Griffiths played session on the album before going on to play with 'Simply Red' and 'James'. Following the split with CBS, Phil and Geoff spent a year in the cold before recruiting drummer Clive Gee. Steve Emberton left and went on to join 'Motion Pictures'. With Jones on vocals, sax, flute and keyboards, together with Geoff Kelly on bass and vocals and Clive Gee on drums they were called 'Beano', 'The Press', and 'The Jones' before settling on the name 'Afraid Of Mice'. Initially they recorded a collection of original Phil Jones songs as demos, songs like 'Sugar Mummy' and 'You Look Like You've Got A Problem'.
The band line-up changed slightly between 1979/80 with guitarists Ronnie Stone leaving to form 'Freeze Frame' and Roddie Gilliard, who left to join 'Windows', spending some time with the group. Two of their songs, 'I'm Not A Fighter' and 'Transparents' appeared on a compilation LP, 'A Trip To The Dentists' issued by Skeleton Records before Sam Brew joined them in 1981. Sam, replacing Roddie Gilliard, was spotted playing a borrowed guitar in a band called 'Visual Aid' at the legendary Brady's and was asked to join them.

The band were now favouring a more raw, minimalist musical approach closer to punk, while their stage style remained highly theatrical. This saw them rise to prominence as part of the same scene which also launched 'Echo and the Bunnymen' and 'The Teardrop Explodes'.
After 'Next' left the independent label Charisma in favour of CBS, Phil approached the company again to see if there was any interest in signing the group. Their interest piqued by the two tracks on the compilation album, following a show in front of a Charisma A&R representative at the Masonic Pub on Berry St, the band swiftly inked a deal. Charisma hoped to pair legendary 'T-Rex' and David Bowie associate Tony Visconti up with the group. Before making a decision on whether to produce them Visconti made a trip up to Merseyside to see AOM for himself. The legendary producer clearly liked what he heard and agreed to helm the group's debut album. Preceded by the release of two excellent singles, 'I'm On Fire and 'Popstar', the eponymous album was released by Charisma in Autumn 1981. However, despite having a large fan following, the album did not sell well but its powerful, punchy sound is an overlooked classic, marrying Phil’s innate gift for melody with the energy of New Wave.
They did though have a busy gig-schedule with a UK tour and a handful of European dates and in 1982 they featured on BBC Radio One's In Concert series broadcast live from London’s Maida Vale Studios. Distributed among fans on CD-Rs, the spiky energy of the set shines through despite the lo-fi bootleg recording quality. 'Afraid of Mice' reached an even greater audience a few months later when they appeared on David Essex's Showcase and this culminated in a sell-out concert at the Liverpool Empire Theatre.
The 7" singles 'Transparents' c/w 'That's Not True' and 'At The Club' followed but the group were about to embark on a long legal battle with their record label which would halt any progress outside of Liverpool.

A second album was planned, but was never completed with Charisma being taken over by Virgin Records and producer Anne Dudley taken off the project. This eventually led to the band leaving Charisma and releasing some of the tracks recorded for the album, as well as other unreleased tracks, as the bootleg 'The White Album'. With only Phil Jones remaining from the original line-up the band disbanded in 1987 due to lack of success. Following their breakup, Phil released two solo singles on Charisma, and also recorded a solo LP that was never released. Re-establishing himself with live-focused duo 'Two's A Crowd', they gained a huge Merseyside following and released 'Live At Live Street' in 1987, recorded at a sold-out Empire Theatre gig. Morphing into pop/rock outfit 'Up and Running', the group's single 'Johnny and Marie' was a mainstay of local and national radio during the summer of 1988 and is a long-standing Liverpool anthem. Following two albums and accompanying major tours of the States, Phil decided to fly solo and continues to write, record and perform live.

At least 'Afraid Of Mice's' brief, brilliant two-year run was captured on record and their outstanding live work preserved on bootlegs provides a hugely intriguing glimpse into what might have lay ahead had events turned out differently.

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