Rebels Without Applause

1985
In Europe and the UK in particular the band were arguably bigger than in their homeland. 10-5-60 had climbed high in the UK indie charts despite only being available as an expensive import. Native Sons had received a higher profile by being released on Zippo/Demon records and quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year. The band clearly felt that the time was right to visit Europe, but also wante d to have another record to be able to promote. They decided to go into the studio to record half an album's worth of songs to be added to the 10-5-60 tracks and issued as a full-length album. Consequently the band returned to the A&M studios in February '85 putting down tracks on what became known as the '5x5' sessions.

With The Long Ryders due to fly to Europe in mid-March, it quickly became apparent that no release would be forthcoming and the band decided it would be better to issue a full album of new material in preference to the 5x5 sessions which were shelved. Not that the lack of another release made any difference to Europe. February had seen the French release of Tell It To The Judge On Sunday as a single, and March saw I Had A Dream issued as a 7" in the UK. The reaction given to The 'Ryders in Europe was more akin to homecoming heroes than to a band playing their first gigs outside the US. So much so that they graced the front cover of the NME on 6th April and their gig at the Harlesden Mean Fiddler on 18th April was filmed and clips shown on the BBC TV music show Whistle Test, giving them national television exposure.

The general acclaim given to The Long Ryders created a great deal of major label interest in the band and when they returned to the States in early May it was as one of the biggest indie bands of the time. It became clear that The Long Ryders were on the verge of something big and in July 1985 they took the decision to sign to a major label - Island Records.

Both band and label wasted no time in making plans for their first major release and on July 20th the band flew to England to record what would become State Of Our Union. The album was to be recorded at Chipping Norton studios, Oxfordshire and produced by Englishman Will Birch who had played in UK bands The Records and The Kursaal Fliers. The fact that a band so steeped in American west coast musical influences had chosen to record in the heart of the English countryside was unusual in itself. The fact that the finished album was so full of Americana made this even more bizarre.

State Of Our Union was heaped in songs of American pioneers, the North and South, traditional farming and family values, the struggle of settlers against the elements and the authorities. Whilst it had its definite high points, it was a more subdued and thought provoking album than Native Sons.

Prior to its release The Long Ryders had returned to the US and on 12th September 1985 officially signed to Island Records. Their new major label status did not however create a gulf between them and their fans. This was demonstrated most readily on 21st September when the band played a re-scheduled gig at the Club Lingerie in LA. When the fire department halted the gig just as the band were due on stage for 'safety reasons' the band promptly set up shop on the pavement to play a busking set to great approval before the police decided enough was enough and ended the show.

The following week The Long Ryders returned to Europe for a more extensive tour. Looking For Lewis And Clark was issued as a single and quickly became one of the most popular songs ever by the band. The strength of the single and the popularity of the band in the UK pushed both single and album into the lower reaches of the national charts, whilst the band faired even better in the music weeklies charts. State Of Our Union became The Long Ryders' most successful album to date. Aside from the ringing guitars heard on the single, Lights Of Downtown and Capturing The Flag were the nearest to the sound of Native Sons, whilst WDIA boasted a great horn section and Two Kinds Of Love showed a more delicate and subtle side to the band's songwriting. The band began their UK tour in October by again appearing on BBC TV's Whistle Test, with blistering versions of 'Lewis And Clark and Lights Of Downtown and continued throughout most of October before going to play the rest of Europe in November and early December. Despite the warm welcome given to The Long Ryders by audiences, the UK press gave some uncomplimentary reviews of the band, whom only 6 months earlier they had championed as the vanguard of a new wave of American bands taking the country by storm. Now however it seemed that the music weeklies were less enamoured by tales of American nostalgia and hard times (REM's downbeat Fables Of The Reconstruction had also been released that year and was similarly pre-occupied with American folklore and Civil War inheritance).

Paradoxically, The Long Ryders' folk/country influences which had made them stand out when they were first welcomed to the UK were now seen as a hindrance, a chain around their necks. They were lambasted for being too reliant on the past and those influences, rather than moving forward with that as a base. Behind all this was perhaps the fact that the music papers, as fickle as ever, could not tolerate their cult indie heroes jumping ship and joining a major label. Griffin chose to read out the worst reviews mid-encore and the band generally took the criticism in their stride. The crowds wisely ignored the poor press reports, or more likely knew what they liked and the tour was a great success. By the time the band flew back to the States in December 1985 The Long Ryders had gone from an LA based cult band with a string of bass players in their wake to a major label four piece with a worldwide following in just under two years.

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