Words About Things

It’s hard to believe now but the NME was actually good once. Long before it turned into a hype infested tabloid it used to contain interesting reviews of interesting bands. I think it was actually good rather than being one of those things that seemed good at the time but in retrospect were actually rubbish like all those crappy cartoons people like to reminisce about.

You could always see Steven Wells’ (or Swells as hew was known) reviews coming because they were full of capitalized outbursts and lots of swearing. If you had to try and show an interest in dull 90′s indie bands you would feel the need to swear as well. Swells passed away after suffering from lymphatic cancer.

Swells worked at the NME because it gave him a voice — he had joined at a time when it featured articles about Right To Work Marches and CND and he expected it to stay like that forever. If he had any connection with music, it was as a medium to express political comment and also occasionally to give him an adrenalin rush.

Swells remembered by James Brown at the Guardian.