The Glasgow band that got away
ERK ALORS
The late 80's saw a surge of interesting Glasgow bands breaking through to national prominence: Deacon Blue, Del Amitri, Wet Wet Wet, Hue and Cry, The Bluebells, The Silencers. Although they were very different these bands had one thing in common: They all loved Erk Alors.
It was a commonly understood notion in 1987 that Erk Alors were about to become the next big thing. The NME predicted it too. But it didn't happen.
Throughout the 80's the band were beset by record company A&R men from all over the world. On one day alone EMI, CBS, and RCA records came to see them rehearse. But it proved impossible to secure a deal.
Despite being championed by Radio Clyde's Billy Sloan and the NME's Andrea Millar it seemed the public didn't connect with their unique sound: explosive guitars amid intelligent lyrics and punchy pop choruses.
So Erk Alors never broke through but they did manage to record a single (Keep The Faith/ Satisfied) and release their own album ('The Secret Life Of...' recorded on a four track tape machine).
Lead singer and songwriter Malcolm McGonigle moved on to other things but wanted to leave a few little reminders of what the world missed
ERK ALORS NEVER WANTED TO
This is a track from The Secret Life of -
ERK ALORS SATISFIED
Now available on Bandcamp
Erk Alors - an explanation by
Malcolm McGonigle
People often ask 'where did you get the stupid name?' People can be cruel.
'Erk Alors' was the catch phrase of a hilarious comic strip character called the Lone Groover who used to appear in the back pages of the NME in the olden days. I've found a copy of the strip where he's actually uttering it (outlined in red).
We presumed that every music fan read the NME and so would get the reference. It turned out nobody read the back pages and especially it seemed not the journalists who actually wrote for the NME! They only read their own stuff. I have since discovered this is common among magazine and newspaper writers.
