The Birmingham music community was thrown into shock and grief last week when it was announced that Gareth Jones, a.k.a. Grandmaster Gareth, mastermind of cult Brummie band Misty's Big Adventure, had passed away at his home on Sunday 15th May. The previous night the band had played a rousing set at the Hare And Hounds in Kings Heath, their first hometown show in over two years. They had been very productive during lockdown and I counted at least six new songs in the 90-minute set alongside the usual live favourites plus a few surprises. Future dates were planned and the band members were clearly looking forward to these.
I spoke to Gareth briefly at the end of the show, just to ask for the set list which he had quickly stuffed into his pocket as soon as the last song was over. I would never have believed this would be the last time I'd see him.
I can't claim to have known him well and speaking to gig-going friends this week I was surprised to find many said the same thing. Gareth was a very private person and I rarely saw him out, except at his own gigs and occasionally those by his friends The Nature Centre. My interactions with him were limited to telling him I'd enjoyed a gig and him thanking me for attending. I don't mean he was unfriendly, he just had no rock star aspirations, preferring his small group of friends and no-frills lifestyle. I've heard stories, though, of him re-arranging gigs to fit in with fans' birthdays and helping at sessions for adults with learning difficulties. The few who knew him well say he was one of the most easy-going people on our local music scene.
Gareth put together Misty's Big Adventure with a few friends in the mid-1990s, when he was still a teenager. The line-up soon stabilised to the one we know today with Jon Kedge on guitar, Lucy Baines on sax, Hannah Baines on trumpet, Matt Jones on bass, Sam Minnear on drums and Lucy Bassett on keyboards. Their live sets were augmented by Tom Baines as Erotic Volvo, a red and blue dancing alien with hands all over his body. As with many of our talented local acts, the sound of Misty's is hard to define as it takes in so many influences. The first time I heard them I immediately thought of Julian Cope, particularly his early '80s work before he discovered space rock and stone circles, so I was pleased to hear Gareth confirm that Cope was indeed an inspiration. Other reference points include '60s and '70s pop, and the brass section hints at the Midlands' 2 Tone scene. But what really defines Misty's is the striking contrast between the upbeat music and Gareth's deadpan vocal delivery. Combining this with the witty lyrics, most of which were written solely by Gareth, Misty's went far deeper than their light-hearted appearance would lead you to expect. Gareth's glum stage persona was, I suspect, an exaggeration of his true character and I was surprised to learn that he was a good few years younger than me. I'm not suggesting that he looked old, just that he had a great deal of wisdom for one so young and this is particularly apparent in his lyrics.
I don't imagine there are many reading this who are not already familiar with Misty's but in case you've been living under a rock (or outside of Birmingham) I'll give you a quick run-through that will hopefully inspire you to give them a listen. If you're in a hurry, the double vinyl compilation "The Young Person's Guide to Misty's Big Adventure" will provide you with their career highlights but for completists like myself, I recommend working through their five main albums in sequence. All of these can be found on their Bandcamp site mistysbigadventure.bandcamp.com/
Let's take a quick look at each of them:
After years of gigging and a couple of singles, debut album "...And Their Place In The Solar Hi-Fi System" finally arrived in 2004. This is the perfect starting point for a Misty's novice as it clearly lays out their philosophy in the space of 45 minutes. "Night Time Better Than The Daytime" in particular is a song that defined Misty's from the very beginning.
The follow-up "The Black Hole" (2005) was apparently knocked out in just ten days and I would imagine many Misty's aficionados would cite it as their favourite. In fact if I ever get round to writing the list of ten essential Birmingham albums, this one would definitely be in the running. "Never Stops Never Rests Never Sleeps", "The Story Of Love" and "Smart Guys Wear Ties" are long-standing staples of their live shows. The album also includes my own personal favourites "Elevator Escalator Stairs" (perhaps the most Julian Cope-like they've ever sounded) and "She Fills The Spaces".
"Funny Times" (2007) shows the band progressing lyrically with songs such as "Serious Thing", "How Did You Manage To Get Inside My Head?" and another live favourite "I Can't Bring The Time Back".
The next album "Television's People" (2008) is a bit of an oddity in their catalogue. A concept album of sorts, it's cleverly constructed but few of the songs featured in their live sets. At times it resembles their Jug Of Ale contemporaries Pram and Broadcast. It's definitely worth a listen but requires perseverance to fully appreciate it.
Final album "The Family Amusement Centre" (2011) sees them back in familiar territory although these are some of the most introspective songs Gareth wrote. As I worked through all the records in the light of last week's news, the lyrics to this album in particular took on a new, poignant meaning. Songs such as "I See A Cloud", "Still Haunted By The Same Ghost" and especially "Just Another Day" made me quite emotional when taken in this new context so perhaps it was a bit too soon to revisit the album.
It's also worth mentioning the 2006 single "Fashion Parade", the closest they ever came to a hit, with a guest appearance from Noddy Holder:
Gareth's solo work, also found on Bandcamp, shows his more experimental side. Although much of it feels like him larking about at home, it's worth noting that some of these pieces were used in TV shows and computer games, most notably a theme tune for Dave Gorman.
In this time of sadness it's encouraging to see people coming together to support each other, with many fans and friends posting their memories of Gareth. This sense of community is one of the defining elements of Birmingham's music scene and I remember similar outpourings of love when we lost Simon Maragh (Dog Food) in 2019 and Trish Keenan (Broadcast) in 2011. Those two musicians are still fondly remembered as I know Gareth will be in years to come.
The future of the band has yet to be announced. It seems unlikely, to me at least, that Misty's would feel right with a different singer but that of course is for the band members to decide. What I do know is that there are six talented musicians (and one talented alien) who will certainly bounce back with musical projects of some kind. In the meantime, I'm trying to take some comfort in the 25 years' worth of musical legacy that Gareth has left for us.
