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Sail Away Video (1991) Fifteen years on Chris Poustie reflects.... |
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The video was shot on a field behind the Coach House, which these days has I believe been developed into a housing estate. It was possibly part of the grounds of the Grange school which Nick attended after leaving Abbey Gate. I remember the filming clearly. It was a little nerve wracking walking out into the middle of the field in our pimp outfits and recording a video. Luckily we avoided any unnecessary attention. There was really no reason behind the outfits themselves, other than we thought they were very cool. Nick went for the Glenn Hughes 1974 funk-suit and I’ve gone for the New York pimp look. They certainly didn’t fit the vibe of the song, which is just a simple ballad, but at least we looked like rock stars – albeit eccentric ones. The costumes themselves came from the wardrobe of a fine gentleman who wishes to remain anonymous – not quite sure why – we were just staggered, and delighted to find a closet full of regalia not dusted off since the ‘70’s. The beard is real by the way ! |
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We have always been fans, musically and otherwise, of that great decade, and those outfits would have suited us perfectly years later when we recorded “Down To Harlem”. The performance itself is live and a pretty fair representation of our talents at that time. I suppose Sail Away is one of the least embarrassing songs on the album. I have no idea why we chose to do Sail Away out in a field – I guess not having any piano on the song enabled us to perform it live in a different location easily. There’s another priceless video of us playing “We Rock’n’Roll” live at the Coach House on the same film, which showcases our musical prowess more - and no doubt it will be released at some point too.
I’m not going to say it’s hard to believe it was 15 years ago, because it does seem a long time – especially as the field itself was lost around the same time. The beard didn’t last long either, although it made a bit of a comeback as a goatee at the time of Magic Bowler Hat Ride, a year later. What is interesting is that there was no photo shoot for the cover of Nancy’s and the pictures that grace the sleeve predate the release of the album by 4 years ! So this is the fans very first opportunity to see how we really looked when we recorded our debut album. The album itself is not one that I have much appreciation for these days. We really didn’t have a clue and were more than a little green behind the ears. But we had to start somewhere, and the Sail Away video is a nice memento with which to reminisce our humble beginnings.
Chris Poustie (Bangkok, 2006).