There will be many more higher profile musical birthdays in April, but today is time to celebrate the 65th birthday of one of the less celebrated musicians - who is no less important, as he was an integral part of one the greatest British bands of all time.
Leslie (Les) Thomas Pattinson was born on 18 April 1958 in Ormskirk, Lancashire (a place I know well from my college days), but was bought up in nearby Aughton. He attended school in Maghull, which is where he first met Will Sergeant.
The two would meet up again, in 1977, at legendary club Eric's in Liverpool. Pattinson called himself Jeff Lovestone and formed a band called The Jeff's, where everyone was called Jeff! He would perform poetry as the Neon Poet - one of his poems from this era, Sand Man, would used as the basis for the song Over The Wall.
Over The Wall: https://youtu.be/OW00GPMs27w
(You get a sense of what a great rhythm section Les and Pete were on this track - the drums attack and the bass sounds almost urgent - without them, the song would be quiet, but they propel it into something much more)
Pattinson and Sergeant befriended Ian McCulloch, and Les ended up joining the latter two's fledgling band, Echo & The Bunnymen. They had a gig lined up at Eric's, supporting another legendary Liverpool outfit, Teardrop Explodes. The problem was, they used a drum machine and didn't have a bass player. In a 2011 interview with Penny Black Music, Pattinson explained;
I was taking the piss out of Will and Ian, who had a show coming up in two weeks' time at Eric's and they were getting quite nervous about it. On the Saturday night in Eric's, four days before showtime, I wound Will and Ian up even more. Will broke first and said, "Okay then, play bass, if you think it's no big deal."
So, Les found himself splashing out £40 on a bass guitar three days before the gig and trying to learn how to play it. The gig, on 15 November 1978, was obviously reasonably good, as they were soon signed up by local Zoo Records, before moving on to Korova (part of Sire / WEA). In 1979, Echo the drum machine was replaced by Pete de Freitas and the rest became history. The next nine years saw the band put out five of the great British albums of the 1980s, with Pattinson co-writing some of their classic tunes, including Killing Moon, The Cutter and Seven Seas.
The Killing Moon: https://youtu.be/LWz0JC7afNQ
(One of the greatest songs ever written - can't say much more than that).
McCulloch left in 1988, but the band soldiered on, even after de Freitas was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in 89 (Noel Burke assumed vocal duties). The band finally ended in 1993, with Pattinson taking on other jobs, including trying to run a warehouse, before Specials singer Terry Hall came calling. He ended up on Hall's debut solo album, Home, and went out on the ensuing European tour. Les rejoined a reformed Bunnymen in 1996, for the fantastic comeback album Evergreen (1997). He left for the last time in 98, citing personal reasons, although it seems that he may not have been getting on with McCulloch at the time.
In 2009, his friend Paul Simpson (ex-Teardrop Explodes) called Les up and asked him to join a reunited Wild Swans, which he did for several years, including tours and 2011's The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years.
The Wild Swans: Liquid Mercury - https://youtu.be/t1n1rfyy1ro
Pattinson moved to Melbourne, Australia around ten years ago.
Happy 65th Birthday Les!
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