Three decades down the line, it’s still hard to understand why South London quartet The Chords never broke through on a far bigger scale. Though forever associated with the mod revival on the cusp of the 1980s, they seemed to have it all on their own terms. After all, they could boast of a charismatic frontman in Billy Hassett, an exhilarating twin guitar sound, an incredible rhythm section and a string of classic punk-pop singles (Maybe Tomorrow, Something’s Missing, The British Way Of Life) which flirted with the lower reaches of the charts.
There is, of course, one vital ingredient missing from the recipe and that’s the highly-promising song-writing abilities of The Chords’ lead guitarist Chris Pope: a figure seemingly destined for great things at the time, yet someone whose ability has been overlooked all too often since.
Pope has actually been anything but idle since The Chords split late in 1981. He was involved with both Agent Orange and Gatecrash Heaven before a rapturously-received 1996 Chords re-union gig at London’s 100 Club (with Grant Fleming standing in for bassist Martin Mason) showed the band’s fanbase remained as loyal as ever. The release of Polydor’s 2-CD Chords anthology ‘This Is What They Want’ (2000) garnered some overdue critical re-assessment and also allowed Pope and drummer Brett ‘Buddy’ Ascott the chance to record perhaps the definitive version of ‘The British Way Of Life’, while in recent years the band have played successful re-union tours of the UK, Australia and Japan.
More importantly, Pope and Ascott have also joined forces to make two LPs as POPE and they’re both outspoken, guitar-driven forces to be reckoned with. Stuffed with tough, but relentlessly melodic anthems such as the British imperialism-dissing ‘Brave New World’ and the scabrous state of the nation address ‘Don’t You Ever Let It Get You Down’, 2005’s ‘Grace Of God’ was an impressive return by anyone’s standards, but while the slow-burning ‘Getting It’ and the affecting finale ‘There But For The Grace Of God’ suggested Pope may have matured as a writer, he certainly hadn’t mellowed.
Great start, though 2009’s ‘Tall Tales & Cheap Thrills’ arguably betters it. With ex-Merton Parkas/ Style Council mainstay Mickey Talbot on hand to tickle the ivories and Pat Collier (The Soft Boys, The House Of Love) weighing in with his consummate production skills, it remains a vivid and emotive affair, veering adroitly from the disdainful, reality TV-trashing ‘Most Of What Follows Is True’ (“Elvis Presley and Jesus Christ/ nice to see you, to see you nice”) through to bruised’ n’ scarred anthems such as ‘It’s Better To Have Loved & Lost’ and the widescreen, Springsteen-ish ‘Be Careful What You Wish For.’
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There are also a few notable surprises. Featuring one of Pope’s most impassioned vocals to date, ‘Making Mountains’ is a stately and superior piano-led ballad; ‘Nine To Five And Me’ marries a lyric about the drudgery of normal life’s treadmill (“And how the hell did I end up here?/ A soulless life in a lost career/ oh, it just buys my beer”) to a slinky afterhours jazz backdrop and the folk-flecked ‘Love’s Still Here’ is as heartfelt as they come. Perhaps best of all, though, is ‘The Road I Never Took’: a vividly poignant look at a life that never was with the ability to melt even the hardest of hearts.
With new rhythm section Mic Stoner and Kenny Cooper in tow, Chris Pope’s current single ‘Mutiny On The Thames’ (see recent review on W&H) is arguably his very best yet and augurs extremely well for the third Pope LP, mooted for release in the spring of 2013. It’s one to mark in the diary, but in the meantime, there’s nothing to stop you delving back and grabbing these two hard-hitting little beauties from one of British rock’ n’roll’s great unsung heroes.
Chris Pope online
Chris Pope Facebook page
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