Nicely Out Of Tune

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Melodically serene and lyrically sublime, he develops the oration from climatic conditions to the human condition, asking questions of us as individuals and society as a whole in pondering the plight of those who are vulnerable and oppressed. Nicely Out of Tune is the debut album by Lindisfarne, released in late 1970. It charted more than a year after release, thanks to the huge success of their second album Fog on the Tyne, which topped the charts early in 1972.

Simon Cowe’s Uncle Sam is the album’s obligatory anti-war song, expressing the insecurities felt by a young generation faced with the likelihood of military conscription before we get to the album’s happiest song – and possibly one of the most carefree songs ever written – Rab Noakes’s Together Forever. Together Forever is a song that I continue to love, and I’ve often placed myself in the place of the carefree couple, sitting at the front of the bus, sitting on a park bench, or trying to hitch a ride, and just watching the world go by in front of their eyes, without feeling compelled to rush along with it. It’s just timeless and so joyful. Long before Lindisfarne made their first album we had a collective interest in things visual and often fantasised about what our sleeve would be like when we eventually made our first album. It was always when and never if. Confident little gits we were. Reinhard Groll: Ray, on the rear side of the album cover of the original Charisma album, and only there, one can find a "Thanks to..." section. First named is Ian, Si's younger brother and Lindisfarne's roadie until the disband in 73. Then there is the "Hull family", Alan's wife Pat and their daughters Rosamund, Francesca and Berenice. Coming from the pre-LF time still under the name of "Brethren" and "Downtown Faction" are Jeff Sadler and Richard Squirrel. Long time friend and Alan's partner in Hazy Music: Barbara Hayes. David Wood as the Engineer and Uncle Tony might be noone else than John Anthony. But who is: "Charlie, Kath, Barbara, Anna, Julia, Joe Robertson, Drummond, Mr. Bolton and Spectrum?"For myself, I was never quite the same after Fog On The Tyne. I still liked a bit of bombast – I still do – but Fog On The Tyne opened my eyes to the pleasure that can be derived from softer, acoustic music that has sheer enjoyment as its main objective and, when just a few months after my Fog On The Tyne epiphany, my bass guitar tutor got me to listen to Ashley Hutchings‘ Morris On, an album that truly and permanently shifted my musical axis, he was pushing at a door that was already half-open. All thanks to Fog On The Tyne. If the end of side one showed Hull at his most passionate in the cause of human kindness, the second side begins with him in the role of witty storyteller – ‘ We Can Swing Together‘ an amusing account of a social gathering, party held by a group of hippies perhaps a better description, that is broken up by the local constabulary. Fog On The Tyne was phenomenally successful. it made number one in the UK albums chart and, although released in late 1971, it became the UK’s biggest selling album of 1972. For a short while, Lindisfarne were the biggest thing going and Fog On The Tyne was popular across a wide demographic, not just with those of us who aspired to be hippies. It couldn’t last, and it didn’t. The follow up album, 1972’s Dingly Dell failed to capitalise on the success of Fog on the Tyne, although, personally, it’s an album I’ve always enjoyed. The critical reception was muted in comparison to the euphoria heaped upon Fog on the Tyne and the two singles extracted from the album, All Fall Down and Court In The Act both performed poorly. In early 1973, the original line-up of Lindisfarne sundered and, whilst the band have continued to exist, albeit sometimes sporadically, and for many years were almost sacred property in their home city of Newcastle, they never managed to recreate the magic of Fog On The Tyne – so let’s leave the story there and celebrate a fantastic, memorable, influential and culture-defining album.

She gazed with loving beauty like a mother to a son/Like living, dying, seeing, being all rolled into one/Then all at once I heard some music playing in my bones/The same old song I’d heard for years/Reminding me of home.’Throughout a career as member of Lindisfarne and solo artist – that ended with his death at the relatively young age of 50 in November 1995 – Hull was committed to social justice and always a champion of the underprivileged. The final verse of this outstanding folk ballad is not only an extraordinary piece of literation, but manifesto for the next twenty five years.