Slik -

Slik was a Scottish pop-rock quartet that released five singles and a 1976 album on Bell Records. They hit No. 1 with “Forever and Ever” and scored a second hit with “Requiem.” After their prescient followup single “The Kid’s a Punk,” they morphed into the punk-oriented PVC2 for the 1977 EP Put You in the Picture. They continued as Zones following the departure of singer Midge Ure, who joined Glen Matlock’s Rich Kids and achieved broader fame fronting the revamped Ultravox.

Members: Midge Ure (vocals), Billy McIsaac [aka Lord Slik] (guitar), Kenny Hyslop [aka Oil Slik] (drums), Jim McGinlay [aka Jim Slik] (bass), Russell Webb (bass, 1977)

Background

Slik evolved from Salvation, formed in June 1970 by bassist Jim McGinlay and his brother, singer Kevin McGinlay. Guitarist Ian Kenny, keyboardist Mario Tortolano, and drummer Nod Kerr completed the first lineup. Brian Deniston replaced Kenny that December. Robin Birrel and Matt Cairns took over keyboards and drums the following year. Kevin McGinlay added guitar following the departure of Deniston.

In 1972, Salvation found permanent members in drummer Kenny Hyslop and guitarists Billy McIsaac and Jim Ure. Hyslop came from the Helensburgh group Pram, while McIsaac previously played with the Bubbles. Ure worked with the Stumble after studying engineering at Motherwell Technical College and training at the National Engineering Laboratory in East Kilbride. Kevin McGinlay reversed the spelling of Ure’s first name to Mij, later rendered as Midge, to distinguish him from bassist Jim McGinlay.

Salvation worked the Scottish club circuit with a repertoire built around current songs. Kevin McGinlay left in April 1974, and Ure assumed lead vocals. The remaining quartet adopted the name Slik and entered an arrangement with songwriters and producers Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. Polydor issued their October 1974 single “Boogiest Band in Town” (b/w “Hatchet”), performed in the concert film Never Too Young to Rock. West German copies paired “The Getaway” with “Again My Love.”

In 1975, Slik signed with Bell Records and adopted a 1950s-inspired image with sleek pompadours, straight-legged jeans and matching baseball jerseys. The new hair impressed spotters for London haberdasher Malcolm McLaren, who were pawning gear up North when they saw Ure exit a Glasgow music store. When they asked if he played in a band, he informed them of his Slik commitments. (Back in London, the spotters found their prospect in SEX shop denizen John Lydon.)

Meanwhile, Bell issued the November 1975 second Slik single, “Forever and Ever” (b/w “Again My Love”).

Slik

Slik released their self-titled singular album in May 1976 on Bell.

The album contains four songs by individual group members and four co-written by Martin and Coulter. They also cover Exuma number “Bom-Bom” and the Everly Brothers chestnut “When Will I Be Loved.”

“Dancerama” stomps through hard accents and a blunt rhythmic detour. “Darlin’” drifts through hazy verses beneath echoing harmonies and a dark hush. “Bom-Bom” lopes through buoyant syncopation. “Forever and Ever” opens with tolling bells and a spoken prelude, then shifts from church-organ gloom to a broad singalong chorus. “Requiem” broods over church-like chords and shifting meter before a music-hall piano chorus. “When Will I Be Loved” charges through a brisk 1950s beat.

A1. “Dancerama” (5:44) – Martin, Coulter
A2. “Darlin’” (4:06) – McIsaac
A3. “Bom-Bom” (3:20) – Exuma, Reno
A4. “Better Than I Do” (4:50) – Martin, Coulter
A5. “Forever and Ever” (3:37) – Martin, Coulter

B1. “Requiem” (4:54) – Martin, Coulter
B2. “Do It Again” (2:54) – Ure
B3. “When Will I Be Loved” (4:01) – Phil Everly; also covered in 1975 by Linda Ronstadt and the Little River Band.
B4. “Day by Day” (2:52) – McIsaac
B5. “No We Won’t Forget You” (5:17) – McGinlay

Sessions spanned 1975–76 under producer Phil Coulter, who worked in association with Bill Martin. Coulter recently produced Billy Connolly’s 1975 UK No. 1 single “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.,” while the Martin–Coulter partnership received the 1975 Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year. Their recent catalogue also included recordings by the Bay City Rollers and Kenny.

Foster & Knowles designed the gatefold sleeve around photographs by Allan Ballard and Terry O’Neill. The front places the quartet in personalized baseball jerseys before red, white, and blue bands with white stars. Concert photography fills the back cover. O’Neill also photographed and conceived the back cover for the 1975 Leo Sayer album Just a Boy.

Bell issued “Forever and Ever” in November 1975 (b/w “Again My Love”). The single entered the UK Singles Chart in January 1976 and reached No. 1 the following month. It also reached No. 2 in Ireland and No. 3 in the Netherlands. The record peaked at No. 6 in West Germany.

“Requiem” followed in April 1976 (b/w “Everyday Anyway”) and reached No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart. The single also reached No. 13 in the Netherlands and No. 22 in West Germany. Ure suffered injuries in a May 1976 car accident, which forced the group to cancel television appearances and touring commitments while the single remained on the chart.

Slik reached No. 58 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 54 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

Post-album Singles

Bell followed the album with “The Kid’s a Punk” in July 1976 (b/w “Slik Shuffle”). The single reached No. 33 in West Germany. Spanish copies paired “Bom-Bom” with “Dancerama.” US copies of the album include “The Kid’s a Punk,” which intercuts faux barbershop verses with a power chorus built around the word “punk,” an ironic choice given the movement underway in London and Manchester.

Arista issued “Don’t Take Your Love Away” in December 1976 (b/w “This Side Up”), which reached No. 29 in Belgian Flanders. In 1977, Bellaphon issued “Dancerama” in West Germany (b/w “I Wanna Be Loved”), where the single reached No. 30. Bellaphon also paired “It’s Only a Matter of Time” with “No Star” for that market. Canadian copies coupled “Bom-Bom” with “This Side Up.”

7T’s reissued Slik on CD in 2007 with twelve bonus tracks. The additional material compiles the Polydor single, later Bell and Arista releases, German sides, and the previously omitted “The Getaway.”

PVC2

In March 1977, Jim McGinlay departed for disco-popsters The Bells. Slik hired bassist Russell Webb, a recent university dropout. The revised quartet ended the arrangement with Martin and Coulter, adopted the name PVC2, and exchanged the coordinated Slik presentation for contemporary punk clothing.

Zoom issued the three-track Put You in the Picture EP in August 1977, pairing “Pain” with the title track and “Deranged Demented & Free.” PVC2 split the following month when Ure joined Rich Kids with Glen Matlock, guitarist Steve New, and drummer Rusty Egan.

Postlude

Ure recorded the 1978 album Ghosts of Princes in Towers with Rich Kids, then moved through Visage and Ultravox. He later established a solo career and co-wrote the 1984 Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Bob Geldof.

McIsaac, Hyslop, and Webb recruited guitarist Willie Gardner and continued as Zones for the 1979 Arista album Under Influence.

Webb joined the Skids for their 1980 third album The Absolute Game. He formed an ongoing partnership with Skids frontman Richard Jobson; the two formed a subsequent band, the Armoury Show, with Magazine alumni.

Hyslop did a brief 1982 stint with Simple Minds, then cut an album in Set the Tone. McIsaac later led the Billy McIsaac Band. Jim McGinlay reunited with Kevin McGinlay in Revival, which developed into Atlantic Avenue.