Circle Again (1 Viewer)

[xConorx]

Yo what an amazing band they were. Someone reminded me they'd down an interview for the Times back in the day so I had a look in the archive and dug it up. Bust!

No sex, no drugs, just rock'n'roll

Abstract (Document Summary)Despite the dingy surroundings of the run-down Manchester pub, the air is pure - there is not a whiff of cigarette smoke or cannabis anywhere - and no one, not a single rebellious teenager among them, is drinking alcohol. On the wall a promotional T-shirt hangs for sale; its logo reads It's a Straight Edge thing... you wouldn't understand.

The average person would indeed find it hard to understand the mindset of Straight Edge, a phenomenon that started in America in the early 1980s and is gathering pace in Britain. Straight Edgers are devotees of hardcore punk music but, unlike their predecessors who followed the drunken, spitting, drug culture espoused by the Sex Pistols, they do not drink, smoke or take drugs. Many also refuse to indulge in casual sex or drink caffeine and most are vegan.

Melanie Milligan, 22, the band's guitarist and composer, is a nursery assistant. She started drinking at 12 with her friends. "It was mainly cider, anything that we could get served at the off- licence," she says. "Then one night when I was about 14 I had been drinking quite a lot and I met someone from Straight Edge and he said 'You know, you don't have to do this' and it all made complete sense. It's about using your energy for something more positive. If you are a girl my age you need to have your wits about you. If you drink you lose your ability to reason, but you need to make conscious decisions all the time. My Mum and Dad were pleased because they had such a hard time with me when I was younger. But they don't acknowledge it as Straight Edge, they just think I don't drink or take drugs."

 

[xConorx]

and the rest (first post was too big)...

Today's most rebellious teenagers call themselves Straight Edgers. They listen to hardcore punk, but they don't drink alcohol or caffeine, they don't smoke or take drugs, they don't believe in casual sex and most are vegans. Carol Midgely reports.

The first sign that something is not quite right with this punk concert is that the barman is sitting on a stool, quietly reading a book. Young fans thrash their bodies violently to an ear-splitting din and bellow along to the lyrics much like any other hormone- charged adolescents, so it takes several minutes for it to sink in that there is something else positively odd about the event.

Despite the dingy surroundings of the run-down Manchester pub, the air is pure - there is not a whiff of cigarette smoke or cannabis anywhere - and no one, not a single rebellious teenager among them, is drinking alcohol. On the wall a promotional T-shirt hangs for sale; its logo reads It's a Straight Edge thing... you wouldn't understand.

The average person would indeed find it hard to understand the mindset of Straight Edge, a phenomenon that started in America in the early 1980s and is gathering pace in Britain. Straight Edgers are devotees of hardcore punk music but, unlike their predecessors who followed the drunken, spitting, drug culture espoused by the Sex Pistols, they do not drink, smoke or take drugs. Many also refuse to indulge in casual sex or drink caffeine and most are vegan.

As a symbol of their rebellion against today's toxin-governed society they wear huge black crosses on their hands. From a distance these look like swastikas, but are in fact an emblem of their stance against alcohol. The fashion started in Washington DC, where under- age people wishing to attend concerts were stamped on the back of their hands to alert barmen to the fact they were too young to be served.

An American hardcore band, Minor Threat, first gave birth to Straight Edge in an eponymously named song:

I don't drink,

I don't smoke,

I don't f***,

At least I can f***** think

The song gave rise to a host of other bands calling themselves Straight Edge and thousands of teenagers suddenly started living the Good Life.

The band topping the bill at the Star and Garter pub in Manchester is Circle Again, four twentysomethings from Belfast. In truth, they do not all look the blooming picture of health one might expect from such wholesome living, but they have a quiet serenity about them. We meet in a pub and their round of drinks comprises two lemonades, an orange juice and a mineral water.

They had different reasons for becoming Straight Edgers. Tadgh Morgan, 22, the lead singer, songwriter and a student at Queen's University, Belfast, was a fervent drinker and smoker in his early teens - a habit brought about, he says, by peer pressure. "At my school the regime was quite strict - we were always being pushed to achieve," he says. "There was a lot of pressure and a lot of the kids, understandably, took drugs and drank at the weekend.

"I got angry seeing people trying to concertina their lives into those two days. I was thinking 'Why not have a life the other five days as well?' I would drink and wake up feeling awful and guilty, knowing deep down that it wasn't for me.

"I decided to give myself a last weekend of drinking and smoking. Thankfully it was hell and I quit. It was October 1994. I was 17 and in Ireland not drinking at 17 is a big deal. Then I gave up meat, last summer gave up caffeine and now I'm completely vegan. People thought it was just a phase. Some still do. My Mum thinks I should lighten up a bit but my Dad thinks I'm all right."

Melanie Milligan, 22, the band's guitarist and composer, is a nursery assistant. She started drinking at 12 with her friends. "It was mainly cider, anything that we could get served at the off- licence," she says. "Then one night when I was about 14 I had been drinking quite a lot and I met someone from Straight Edge and he said 'You know, you don't have to do this' and it all made complete sense. It's about using your energy for something more positive. If you are a girl my age you need to have your wits about you. If you drink you lose your ability to reason, but you need to make conscious decisions all the time. My Mum and Dad were pleased because they had such a hard time with me when I was younger. But they don't acknowledge it as Straight Edge, they just think I don't drink or take drugs."

It is difficult to judge how many Straight Edgers there are in Britain but it is probably into the thousands. The following seems particularly strong in the North of England and, intriguingly, most fans are from middle-class backgrounds. They say they are rebelling against rebellion.

But Straight Edge has had bad publicity in recent months largely thanks to an incident in Salt Lake City. A young female rock fan was beaten, kicked in the face and on the body, simply for lighting up a cigarette at a Straight Edge gig.

Many Straight Edgers in the US tend to be militant to the point of fanaticism about their beliefs. Straight Edge gangs have been linked to a spate of arson attacks on animal-related businesses, leather stores have been bombed, smokers and drinkers beaten up and, in 1995, a man was attacked by a gang who carved an X into his back as punishment for smoking a joint at a concert.

British Straight Edgers are, however, at pains to point out that they are passionately anti-violence. The movement, though, is in no way religious. Indeed, many would see the Church as an authoritarian, oppressive influence that restricts personal freedoms.

Nick, 32, who has been Straight Edge for 14 years and runs his own record label, Surehand, says the control element of the lifestyle risks attracting undesirables. "I can see that you might get fascists attracted to Straight Edge but anyone who was racist, homophobic, violent or a fascist would be forcibly ejected. It's about living a positive life and achieving as many good things as you can, not violence," he says.

Since young people are notoriously highly charged, is it not unhealthy to suppress all such urges?

Nick is also a mature student at Sheffield Univeristy, is older and therefore more realistic about Straight Edge's ability to fit in with real life. He concedes that it is a barrier to socialising and a difficult lifestyle to maintain.

"I know people who used to be Straight Edge but they didn't stick to it. One is actually a heroin addict now. The stress of always living in reality can be too much for some people. There is no escape.

 

[xConorx]

finally...

"Quite a lot have 'True til death' tattoos but you know two years down the line they are going to be doing everything - drink, drugs, sex. A lot of them are quite young and don't really know about the pressures of living yet. It takes a real strength to live like this. It's a continual fight against addiction."

Nick hails from a hard-drinking family in the West Country and railed against it early on in his life. He drank in his early teens and smoked between the age of 16 and 18 but then stopped. "I was Straight Edge before I had heard of the term. I had been into punk for a while and a lot of my friends were doing drugs and glue- sniffing. One person died.

"Punk then was all about nihilism; the idea that there is no future. I have always been a control freak and I just decided to stop. I haven't had a drink since I was 18. I can understand you thinking it's weird. When I used to drink, I thought people who didn't were strange. I thought, how do they have fun?"

One source of Nick's "fun" comes from skateboarding - a big part of Straight Edge culture. He also reads voraciously. "I skateboard to socialise and I read a lot to escape. Some people spend their whole lives trying to get out of reality into some altered state. When I read fiction, that's my escape, my altered state.

"Straight Edge advocates a more positive lifestyle, getting away from the pub culture. If you're not in the pub you have a lot more time to achieve things. The idea is political in origin - that you have to have a clear mind for the revolution, remain in control, to be able to deal logically with life."

Like most in the movement, he will not indulge in casual sex. "While the body may be willing, the mind is focused enough to say no. I could never sleep with a stranger; it gives part of yourself away, but some people do sleep around although it is frowned upon."

Mark Morgan, 23, and the bass player with Circle Again, has a simple attitude to sex. "It is far too important to cheapen with a one-night stand," he says. "What's the point?" He has never drunk alcohol or smoked.

John O Neill, 27, the drummer, agrees: "As soon as I heard what Straight Edge was about I knew it was right for me. It made complete sense."

They believe that remaining sober and poison-free gives them the "edge" over others. But they would never object to someone drinking at their gigs. "Sometimes we get hassle from people because they think we are trying to preach to them," Melanie says. "But our whole thing is that it is up to the individual. The broad principle is trying to get as much out of your life as you can and not settle for an existence."

Tadgh adds that one of his songs is called Live, Don't Exist and has a line For God's sake we are all better than this. "We are human beings, we are more complicated and developed and we don't touch upon it at all. We shouldn't sell ourselves short," he says.

I confess, guiltily, that I find it hard to socialise without drinking and indeed it is one of my favourite pastimes. "That's fine if it is what you want - don't be so hard on yourself," says Tadgh, generously, before adding: "People shouldn't have to use alcohol to give them self-confidence though. If you are sober you are always yourself. A girl I knew said she always got drunk because she got all her confidence from drink. But my confidence has improved immensely because I've learnt to get over that."

Melanie adds to my inadequacy. "If you have a problem you are better off working on it and dealing with it rather than avoiding it."

Mark adds: "I would deliberately put myself in those situations and deal with them sober. If I can deal with situations sober I achieve way more out of it."

Back at the concert in the Star and Garter, I ask the barman what Straight Edgers drink. "Nowt, mainly," he sighs, "although they might buy a bottle of water or some fizzy pop, like the stuff that kids drink."

He glances over at the raw cabbage and organic bread with added folic acid on sale at a nearby table, shakes his head and returns to his book.

 

[xsteox]

only saw then once. savage.|..| .|..| . what are they up to now?

 

[xConorx]

Tadhg was in Your New Friend(bass,vocals) and From Where I Stand(bass) for a while, but isn't doing a band at the moment although I heard he might be doing another one with his bro soon.
Melanie didn't do any more bands after.
John was back in Ensign for a few UK shows last year, drummed in SomeDaysBetter, and YourNewFriend for a while too, don't think he's doing a band at the minute.
Hornby did SomeDaysBetter(guitar,vocals), some solo acoustic stuff and now plays guitar/vocals in We Are, Knives.

Nice kids. Awesome band.

 

[Cormcolash]

Mark Morgan, haha.

 

[Daniel]

they played the Roscommon Fest did'nt they? Great band.

 

[Denver Max]

this is weird cuz i was about to start a thread to see if anyone has their demo

 

[nooleen]

they wear huge black crosses on their hands. From a distance these look like swastikas

huh??

 

[GARYXKNIFEDX]

I vaguely remember that article.

I would also like a copy of the demo.

 

[xConorx]

I sold outta copies of the demo ages ago but can probablydoafewon tape and stick on the track of the Commitment boxset if I get my shit together and anyone's interested in a taped copy. Got some Breakfall cds too ifanyone wants one.

Aye they played Roscommon, that was a brilliant set!

"look like swastikas" what a rediculous loaded comment.

 

[xConorx]

Mark Morgan, haha.

haha sure he doesn't even have a first name!

 

[GARYXKNIFEDX]

what format did they release the demo on? Tape I presume,did it have a cover? how was it copied,just photocopied?

I'd still like one. I'd take a Breakfall one too.

 

[Alan Remorse]

that set in roscommon was fucking great

the majority of that festival was great

 

[Denver Max]

what format did they release the demo on? Tape I presume,did it have a cover? how was it copied,just photocopied?

I'd still like one. I'd take a Breakfall one too.

ditto.

 

[xsteox]

i've got their demo tape if anyone wants a copy.

 

[nooleen]

i've got a copy of it here i just dug out from my pile of nirvana and nu-metal band promo tapes . it's a bit soupy-sounding, not sure how it'll stand up to another round of copying.

 

[xConorx]

Aye the demo was a just a tape done by Nick Surehand with a photocopied cover.The only other thing recorded was the track on the Commitment Recs boxset, but I've moved back to my ma's so can't copy vinyl at the moment!

 

[WeAreHornby]

Dear God did i love that band! the entirety of Circle Again was one of the happiest times of my life! ah the memories!
i dont even have a copy of our demo..can still remember every song tho and every gig!
seriously, words cannot express how much i loved every minute of the band and the amazing people i shared it with.
i have to go find someone to hug...
...and then throwdown some floorpunches!

 

[xConorx]

first irish hardcore band i ever saw and best. People still ask about you guys on the uk edge boards!