The Aftermath

Aftermath was written in 1978 while I was living in London, in a squat near Regents Park, courtesy of Her Majesty’s Crown Commission.  Later that year I was signed by Virgin Records and they heard Aftermath as the first single for Cowboys International.  January 1979 we were booked into The Townhouse Studios on Goldhawk Road, Studio Two with Mick Glossop as Producer and Engineer.  Mick had worked with us in rehearsal near Tower Bridge.  We were there two days.  The song sounded like a pop song but had an experimental bit in the middle where I’d employed a circle of fifths progression which worked sweetly as a middle eight construct, but on the extended middle section went through the entire circle of fifths progression, as if driven by mathematics, one and a half times.  It was a little atonal for a moment while the band pumped out the chord changes in rhythm.  The melody we were following was a call and answer sequence on lead guitar (ask Alan Rawlings!) and as the sequence resolved, key changing up a tone for the final play out section.  Yeah, some new pop music finally.  Having written it, my bit was easy, I just had to sing along and move about a bit on stage.

The lyrics are drawn from the cultural riot that was going on in London 1977-78.

Here is the lyric:

 i’ll dance with you
on the strip light floor
we’ll be good friends
we won’t ask more
our bodies will twist
and our faces will laugh
at the sound they make
for the aftermath
the aftermath
the aftermath
we’ll wave bye-bye
with one last kiss
the aftermath
the aftermath
now take a chance
and laugh at this

we’ll walk down once
and we’ll walk down twice
along the road from
here to there
our empty pockets
will climb the stair
grins on their shoulders
i don’t think they care
the aftermath
the aftermath
we’ll wave bye-bye
with one last kiss
the aftermath
the aftermath
now take a chance
and laugh at this

the aftermath
the aftermath
now take a chance
and laugh at this
the aftermath
the aftermath
we’ll wave bye-bye
with one last kiss
the aftermath
the aftermath
let’s take a chance
and laugh at this
the aftermath
the aftermath
we’ll wave bye-bye
with one last kiss
the aftermath
the aftermath
we’ll cash our chips
with one last kiss

Copyright © 1979 EMI Virgin Songs Inc