On Saturday 30th March 2024, 250 true believers visited the wonderful Tron Theatre in the Merchant City area of Glasgow. We were drawn to this gem of a venue by a book, an author, a band, curiosity and our passion for music and the arts.
David Keenan's This Is Memorial Device, originally published in 2017, became a word-of-mouth cult favourite, developing an online X/Twitter community that has kept the fire burning, the word spreading.
I discovered the book via this growing online community (that I'm now honoured to say I'm part of) during lockdown. In many ways, it was the perfect time. The world had kind of stopped, escapism from reality was more important than ever and so, I dove headfirst into 1980's Airdrie, a town where it's not easy to be Iggy Pop!
Told through the voice of Ross Raymond, a fan of local post punk psychedelic band Memorial Device, and various band members, associates and other fans, the book left me and many others wondering if this band ever did actually exist. Maybe we were hoping that they did! Because they left a mark. That's all you can wish to do as a band, as an artist. Create and leave a mark.
David Keenan weaves a passionate crazed psychedelic tale and I was intrigued to see how this would transfer to the stage.
The answer? Beautifully.
Set in Ross Raymond's basement, full of memorabilia and relics from Memorial Device, the audience are immediately drawn into Raymond's world, into his memories. Played by Paul Higgins, the passion that Raymond displays for this little known band is utterly infectious and inspiring, lighting the stage and imaginations.
As someone who holds on to all kinds of memorabilia, and who also thinks back to local Carluke (also in Lanarkshire) bands like Librarian and All Too Human from my youth, I found this all too believable. I imagine a few people still have the old cassette demos and setlists stashed away in their lofts.
Raymond told stories of how he met Big Patty (guitar) and then Lucas Black (vocals). How the band forms with Richard Curtis on drums and Remy on bass We see the family tree of Airdrie bands on a powerpoint, illustrating Keenan's attention to detail and vivid imagination - which in turn feeds the myth/rumour that this all happened.
Paul Higgins, as Raymond, is a ball of energy; digging out backdrops, cassette demos and interviews (that are played as videos on screen with Sanjeev Kohli and Julie Wilson Nimmo playing some of the associates and fans) and then using mannequins to create each member of Memorial Device. Higgins is magnificent, you can't take your eyes off him, his portrayal of Raymond's passion is electrifying.
The stories of gigs playing to a handful of people in rehearsal rooms as trains rumble overhead, of travelling to Kilmarnock to play a Bikers Bar, of finding their droning sound inspired by the demolition of a building in the East End of Glasgow, to heading to London to sign a deal, only to fuck it all beautifully up .... they are all so relatable, so believable ... cause that kind of thing has happened.
Over 75-minutes the audience were lost in the story, the characters and the music. The dawn chorus song played at the end was absolutely gorgeous. Was it new music especially composed for the play by Stephen Pastel and Gavin Thomson (see below)? Or was it really the unearthed dawn chorus recording made by Lucas Black towards the end of his life - noted in the discography as 'field recordings' sonically dicked with by Patty Pierce and Remy Farr? Either way, it was beautifully dreamy, beautifully perfect.
(EDIT) SOUNDTRACK UPDATE
"All the music is made by myself and Gavin Thomson - although other Pastels contributed too. The Morning of The Executioners (the end piece) is the music that we imagined Big Patty and Remy came up with for Lucas's funeral. The soundtrack is coming out in June." Stephen Pastel
Overall, the play brought Keenan's book to life, made it feel even more real, made me continue to question - did this really happen? It made me wish and believe that it did. It made me think of music mad friends with loads of memorabilia of bands big and small. Size doesn't matter, if you truly love a band, you truly love a band. This Is Memorial Device made me think of how important it is to be a true believer in whatever you're doing - even if only a dozen people truly get what you're trying to do. You've made a difference in their lives.
Memorial Device made a difference to Ross Raymond. You are left in no doubt.
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