1989 - 1990
"Father, I do this for a living.
I feed off the applause and sleep with the stars.
And no, I can't come home, not while they're still cheering, but when the laughter's died I swear I will,"
writes Kirley Duke on their second album "The Scottish One" in 1991. The song Living on Trains (Sisters, The Scottish One, 1991)is the epitome of the kind of reality they found themselves in when Remember, Remember was released. Kirley's life on the streets began to take a toll on him and with the rest of the band scattered across Britain, touring was the only way to stay together.
"We got so used to being together every day that none of us could really remember what our lives where like before that," explains Duke, "touring is my favourite part about making music: different place every time, different crowd, songs change, shows change. It's [insert insult] brilliant!" (Duke, The journey of the Duke, 2013) The guitarist had spent a few months before the release touring Britain and living off his earnings as a musician. "Have you ever been stuck on some random train station and the next train won't arrive until the next morning? In fact, there is a small town that has its very own train and it's the only way to get there and this one train only stops there twice. If only I had known that before I took the trip there in the pouring rain," laughs Kirley (Duke, The journey of the Duke, 2013).
Luckily, touring proved much more comfortable for the boys. An enchanted, rusty van (similar to the Knight Bus) that they had bought from a wizard at Nockturn Alley drove them from place to place where they stayed at random hotels. But most of the time it came down to Myron and Kirley since the others were still in school and only joined them during the weekends. "One time we were booked at a venue in Winchester, but only a handful people showed up, so we decided to grab some beers and go down to the Cathedral where we just sat and sang a couple of songs. Best show ever," remembers Donaghan (Chittock, 2000).
The Weird Sisters showed a talent for improvisation early on in their career. Their ability to play both big and small shows convinced the critics that the Weird Sisters were here to stay. Myron, Kirley and Donaghan had a talent for harmonization with Myron providing a baritone, Kirley a tenor and Donaghan a tenor/counter tenor. Their style of singing, which is usually found with Barbershop Quartets rather than rock bands, helped to form the unique style the band needed to make a lasting impression on the music industry. "We always had the problem that at least one instrument was missing. So what do you do? You sing that part," explains Donaghan (McTavish, The Sound of Music, 1989).
Eventually, their style became an icon for many young witches and wizards of that generation. Their faces were always in the newspapers and the demand for interviews increased steadily, so their personal lives were now in the spotlight and they were constantly asked to voice their opinions on various topics. "I remember one particular interview that we did for the Quibbler," laughs Myron who is known for a very flamboyant public personality, "we arrived at this place in the Dartmoor for the interview and the editor greeted us in his pyjamas. We had a nice cup of tea and the longest conversation about de-gnoming your garden of my entire life." (Weasley, Once Upon a Time... Weird Sisters, 2001)
But not all media was as benevolent as Mr Lovegood. Especially, Witches Weekly, a magazine targeting middle aged housewives, accused the Weird Sisters of posing a danger to teenagers and being a bad influence for them. Hermosillia Fairbanks wrote a full article revealing the "dangerous sex-life of the Weird Sisters" and why mothers should look after their daughters. Fairbanks claimed that Myron and Kirley had charged young witches money to sleep with them and then infected them with Ringworm, a contagious disease that causes itching and ring-like red patches on the skin (Fairbanks, 1990). Two mothers had filed charges against the band leaders, but quickly withdrew when the two girls confessed that they had caught the disease from an infected cat (Skeeter, The Tale of the Ringworm, 1990).
However, not just the tabloids raised concern about the wizard-rock trend. Critical voices of scholars and politicians were heard all over the press. Only recently has the generation of the 80s been labelled the "Peace-Generation" by historians because they never experienced war during their younger years and generally enjoyed a very high standard of living. This was often reflected by their music, a "laissez-faire" attitude and a fascination with war figures (Barnaby, The Peace Generation, 2010). Politician Barty Crouch sr warned that "we must not forget about the horrible crimes that were committed [during war] and confuse perpetrators with icons." (Skeeter, Barty Crouch holds emotional speech at Memorial Day, 1990).
Nevertheless, the Weird Sisters' success was not tarnished by critical voices. In fact, the antipathy from older generations helped the band become more and more popular with the younger generation. Memorabilia or concert tickets were sold for a huge amount of galleons and all houses supported their idols fiercely. Their concerts became places of pilgrimage for young people from all houses and a concert in Dufftown sold out within half an hour.
Their Remember, Remember Tour stretched seven full line-up shows and fifteen solo shows all over Scotland and two full line-up shows in London and Manchester. The tour was largely organized by the band members themselves and a lot of their private money went into the organization and promotion of their tour.
Frequent airplay on nation-wide radio stations helped the band gain popularity with wizards all over Britain, while most Hogwarts students were already familiar with most of the band's songs. Hogwarts Anthem had long been the unofficial school song for those who had attended school together with Kirley and Myron. The song was originally played as a laugh for a party and was supposed to spoof the story of Hogwarts' founders. Hogwarts Anthem was released on September 1st 1990, just in time for the students to return back to school. It was so popular that the Poltergeists performed it after the sorting ceremony.
Their last concert of the tour took place in London at the Hopping Pot with a full line up. The venue was carefully chosen as it was close to Diagon Alley and offered the band free drinks. The Hobgoblins had played at the same venue prior to Stubby's end of career. The Hopping Pot was not as established as the Leaky Cauldron and often hosted bands or theatre groups, which made it very popular among younger wizards. Opener for the Weird Sisters was Spellbound, a then up-and-coming all-witch band. That night, the pub was packed with people.
"Some sat on the tables or the window sills", recalls Donaghan who had just finished his N.E. , "it was my first gig after the exams and I'd never been that overwhelmed with anything. The songs just came natural to us and the crowd knew all the lyrics. Can you imagine the feeling when people sing your songs back at you?" (Weasley, Once Upon a Time... Weird Sisters, 2001).
Donaghan, who sat a stunning five N.E. had planned to return to Ireland in order to pursue a career as translator and diplomat for "Irish Affairs" department in the Ministry for Magic. He had been very outspoken against the lack of representation of Irish wizards in the Wizengamot and fought for the recognition of the Irish language in official documents such as the applications for the creation of a portkey, which had to be written in English in order to be approved.
"Being able to play the last gig meant the world to me. It felt like the perfect ending to a dream come true", beamed Donaghan. His drum play on Scarlet Engine was praised by the critics and to this day remains one of the most iconic drum lines in wizard rock history. During the last concert, Donaghan switched between the drums and the bass, creating a softer atmosphere for the slower songs. The set list that day contained all their songs from Remember, Remember as well as a few cover songs. Wizard Wireless Network has been able to get a hold on the original set list and we're not withholding that information.
1) Hogwarts Anthem
2) The Giant Squid (Poltergeist song)
3) Lucky Streak
4) Last Night (a Hobgoblin cover together with Spellbound)
5) Bitterness and Old Shoes (Poltergeist song)
6) The Kiss
7) Scarlett Engine
8) - Break-
9) A Banshee's Cry (Poltergeist song)
10) Save Your Breath (translated from the Irish song An Sagart and not previously released)
11) Remember, Remember
The concert was opened by Spellbound. The band had formed in 1989 and was based in London. They had planned to release an album and were then touring with some of their newly-written songs. Spellbound set the right mood and performed three of their own songs. Who would have known that the band would break up in 1997 over the singer's addiction to sleeping draughts?
Hogwarts Anthem was only accompanied by the bagpipes while the audience sang the lyrics. The concert then started slowly with Barbary singing the Giant Squid and then took Myron took over. Myron had worn very extravagant, bright robes for the concert and a considerable amount of make-up too. His rendition of Lucky Streak seemed so out of this world that the entire room when quiet in an instant.
"We could see them gaze at his performance like they'd just seen an alien", tells Barbary, "I shivered. All arguments aside , I admire his style." (McTavish, Myron Wagtail - A portrait, 2000). Myron would proceed to change his dress three times during the whole concert and each was as flamboyant as the next.
The cover of Last Night by The Hobgoblins was tribute to Stubby Boardman who also attended the concert and joined for a couple of beers later.
During the break, all members mingled with the crowd. Fans offered to buy them beers and they toasted with everyone they passed. "I love random people coming up to you and being super exited to meet you", says Kirley who, in contrast to Myron, is very sociable, "Myron hates to shake people's hands. Suppose he's scared they might spill beer on his robes. That guy spends a fortune on that stuff. Like, I ever gave a [insert insult] about what I look like on stage. Once you're on it, you have sweat dripping down, well places. (Duke, The journey of the Duke, 2013)"
Everyone had downed so many beers that the next half of the concert went rather chaotic and in addition to that the crowd became more on more agitated as the alcohol level increased. During Save your Breath Donaghan would switch freely between the English and the Irish lyrics as he had little control over his language. Eventually, "Remember, Remember" turned out to be a drunk sing-along and people stretched out their illuminated wands and lay in each other's arms as the chorus set in.
Their manager Earnest McTavish described their first tour as "a bunch of unattended children on a fieldtrip" (McTavish, Cool Britannia, 1999). "Recording the album felt like asking children how school was and then after some awkward attempts at a conversation finally arriving at the information that he or she failed an important test. See, they had already played their songs over and over again and in some way it was like re-telling the Tales of Beetle the Bard. I wanted them to be able to identify themselves with the songs again and that took me quite some time." (Skeeter, Weird Sisters release first Album, 1989).
All the songs on Remember, Remember had been about their time at school, but for their next album they would be grown-ups and would have to find a new muse.
There are many reasons to stay tuned for a new episode of Every Band Ever, especially if you are curious to find out who inspired the famous line "fame is just a stone's throw from where you're lying on that bathroom floor".