Larks in the Park, 1984

A bank holiday showcase of Liverpool bands.

There's some debate going on in Liverpool at the moment about whether "large-scale commercial events" in Sefton Park are a good idea. The sort of big music festivals happening these days are a long way from the grassroots, free "Larks in the Park" events of the 1980s. I still have happy memories of events like the one recorded here.

Photos © Gary Lornie

HARK! HARK! THE LARK

LARKS IN THE PARK FESTIVAL

Sefton Park, Liverpool

LIVERPOOL has had more than its share of festivals this summer, and most of them were benefits. Larks In The Park, though, the most prestigious and now an established Bank Holiday tradition, is for the benefit simply of the community - and of the bands. It's become something of a showcase over the years, and now, of course, no-one can forget that "last year Frankie played here”.

There are no Frankies this year – in this choice of 15 bands, sound comes before style. There are, though, plenty of contenders in the hit single stakes. Ambition is palpable in the Liverpool air these days, with so much evidence of success in the airwaves. Fortunately, there's music this weekend with other reasons for existence too.

Trends: five-piece group, generally with keyboards; female singers, with or without a male counterpart; few visuals strong enough to carry from the bandstand to the audience. Entertainment; between acts - poetry, break dancers, a reggae sound system, "alternative cabaret", local deejays, and the annual loony in the lake event. In the acts – more often than not.

First example: I-Lands, a six-piece, opening Saturday, take most of their colour from their female singer, while their keyboards are over-used. At times sounding like an under blown Icicle Works, they had their moments, and the best ones were when they weren't sounding like a Liverpool band. In the same (commercial) field, Action Transfers have already made their very effective pop single, "The Light", but their live sound follows too closely - sparkling keyboards, a solid sound, lightweight vocals, and not enough variety.

In this company Black, complete with brass section, tapes and the voice of authority, seem out of place, as a band of already recognised quality beyond the introductory function of the festival. Today, though, lacks vitality - it could be the heat - and they do little to provide it.

Dread poet Levi Tafari provides an edge for the occasion. "My instrument's my tongue," he says, and uses it with wit and conviction, touching not only on the obvious themes - Rasta idealism and inner city blues - but on more specific areas of black experience: colonialism and culture, materialism and militarism, Empire and education ("School Runnings"), and colour prejudice ("Suntan Contradiction" - no telling on a day like this). He has enough to say to make his inclusion more than tokenism.

Edge and energy come from the final group of the day, Western Promise. They're introduced as "the most ideologically sound group in town". Well, you can't hear much of the words this time, but they certainly do have the most ideological sound, and make the most physical effort too.

Sunday's openers, Society's Problems, are a genuine punk group - 20 minutes of slipping sliding slurring shouting entertainment culminating in a song whose only audible lyric is "Rebellion rebellion rebellion rebellion 1-2-3-4". What can you say?

Following this promising start, the rest of the day was altogether more lively than Saturday. Holiday For Strings, with a line-up that could easily be slickly predictable (mellow saxophone as well as the ubiquitous keyboards), manage to keep you guessing through a set interspersed with tacky instrumentaIs and the odd lyric that sounds as if it has something to say. Phantasee, fronted with a strong and soulful male/female vocal duo, are that unusual thing, a dance band with energy and excitement and genuine enjoyment.

Pink Industry, like Black, shouldn't really have been there, but they're as sensual and cool as ever and I was glad they were.

Far Outs Hit (sic) closed the day, notable mainly for their big female voice and enigmatic title.

Monday couldn't live up to all this. Keep It Dark played their progressive rock first, for the benefit of the record companies, who would have been better advised to place their interest in the lively front man of the ensuing and entertaining In Dangerous Rhythm. D D A Seex brought their own fans but despite a laudable variety in their set didn't have enough individuality to convert any

Pop stars of the day were This Final Frame. Their lyrics and their image need cohesion, but the sounds are there, with keyboards, bass and trumpet bearing equal part in pushing their ample melodies.

A group called Groundpig were left to close the weekend, bringing a little novelty with them - a fiddle in place of all those endless keyboards. Alas, they seemed to be some kind of hippie cabaret band, kicking off with covers of "Hurricane", "Meet Me On The Corner" and "Mrs Robinson". They were heading for a hoedown while I was heading for home.

Still you can't win them all. Winners? There were probably some, if that's a reason for the event. Ambition has its place, after all. And why shouldn't its place, on occasion, be in a park?

Read the 1984 programme

I’ve still got my programme/magazine from the 1984 Larks. It’s interesting to read the adverts for our favourite hangouts of the time. Some of which are still there (hi to Keith’s wine bar in Lark Lane).

Review of Larks 1983

Here’s my review of the previous year’s Larks in the Park. Be quick, before it goes behind the paywall.