RIP John Lever (Chameleons Drummer)

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

The Quietus | News | RIP The Chameleons' John Lever

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Goodbye, John. | blackswanlane.com

[Dr. Bantham]

Quote Originally Posted by John Robb

Lever was the engine room for some of the greatest songs of the post-punk northern eighties.

Well said. I have always been moved by machine-like patterns, hypnotic repetition with subtle nuance interjected by stark deviations that sweep you up out of the trance. John Lever and Peter Hook are two prime examples of this art. Stephen Morris as well, though I never thought of John and Stephen to have similar styles, for some reason.

If this sacrifice of musical talent continues I will be humming the lullabies of ghosts to myself in the dark soon enough. This band is one of my all time favorites, and I daresay reigns supreme when it comes to the number of times I have proudly worn one of their shirts, secretly hoping a kindred spirit would spot the beacon. Not just yet.

Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Bantham

Quote Originally Posted by LeglessSaltyDiogenes The drummer especially, tho he plays simple patterns, has a lot of soul: You can hear him beating the #### out of those drums, its not an effect. Funny you should mention the drummer, as much attention has been dedicated to the alternate tunings and tape-delay mastery of the guitarists, but I have often wondered why the drummer has not garnered more appreciation.

Here is a live show captured at the Gallery Club in Manchester, circa 1982:

The Chameleons - Live At The Gallery Club Manchester 1982 - YouTube

This show is stripped down and raw compared to studio cuts, but it is nonetheless a great look at the band playing live during the early days. It also offers a great look at John playing the drums live, as one of two cameras often wanders his way. Check out his use of mallets on "Second Skin" around 28:00 (one of, if not my favorite song). The drums after the quiet section which starts near 46:20 and crescendos around 46:50 of "Things I Wish I'd Said" is one of my favorite sections. Birdy commented straight afterwards "that was awful, that was f!@#$ing dreadful", but I love that song. I am typically a purist when it comes to song listening and insist on uninterrupted listening from beginning to end, but there is somewhere between 30-60 seconds of that song from John Peel Sessions where leading up to, through and after that section that I would commonly blast at the highest volume while driving and promptly rewind/repeat until I was sated by the waves of rushes. Always haunting me - those things I wish I'd said to you.

Thanks for putting the rhythm to the soundtrack of my struggle, John.
John, I'm only dancing.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

I've really dropped the ball on music listening in the last few years, I've still haven't got the Tony Fletcher EP or any of the reunion, offshoots or solo stuff and it might even be a full decade ago I bought the main 80s stuff. I've such good memories of that stuff.