There are those bands that you missed, the ones you only caught glimpses of and they captivated you but somehow you let them go. Something remained though and nagged at you. And every now and then you look them in this digital world and listen to what's out there. Missing that glimpse, those caught riffs and chords, that voice, the energy all half remembered and probably laced with memories kinks and tricks.
And then you find that they are playing at a museum in Coatbridge. Should you go? Will it spoil the half remembered memories of a different time?
That was my dilemma. Was it really was one? They are a band that should have been and maybe would have been but for chance and missed opportunities. It's the story of rock'n'roll. My snatched memories of Thrum include the appearance on the Word but much more nuanced is the one time I 'saw' them live. It was the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee and they were support to the Proclaimers. I was in the bar with pictures of Scottish entertainers like the Alexander Brothers looking down on my conversation with an old school friend. I could hear the support act start their set and we reminisced. As the set moved on I eventually made my excuses and headed back into the hall. I couldn't have caught more than two or three songs but it was the sound that stayed with me over the years and it was the sound that took me to Airdrie (the gig was moved to accommodate ticket demand) to see Thrum play a few weeks ago.
Thrum are essentially Monica Queen and Johnny Smillie and they'd put together a solid band to revitalise the album 'Rifferama' their only release before their too early exit from the scene in the mid 90s. The title track and my particular favourite 'Purify' were worth the ticket price alone. The thing that came over on the night was just what a strong and powerful voice Monica has. She's a wee wummin but what a voice. Johnny drenched the tunes with melodic riffs that dripped with Neil Young like flourishes off setting Monica's voice which combined her power with a gentleness that I think made them unique in their time and is their appeal now. Did Thrum invent what we now call Americana? Who knows, they did what they did and then they disappeared. When I least expected it they returned and to quote them I'm 'So Glad'.
There is a documentary coming and there are whispers about another gig, maybe gigs. Could 'Rifferama' be re-released? Thrum's return may have a ways to run yet.
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