The Cinema Clock and Other Stories….

by Sinking Ships 1980

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gamerboi04 ITS AMAZING JUST WOW Favorite track: STRANGERS.

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1.	STRANGERS 02:49	lyrics	buy track
Strangers Is there someone who can understand the things that he says? And there was something he once said to me, a long time ago. Something I never quite understood, something that seemed so strange. It seems a long time ago – such a long time ago. And will things ever change? No, things don’t ever change. Distances mean nothing to him now - he can take his time. The faces all pass him by and he smiles – he pauses for a while. I stayed up late for you last night, I waited all through the night. It seems a long time ago. Such a long time ago. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
2.	LIFETIME 03:25	lyrics	buy track
Lifetime Walk in a landscaped garden where silent figures stare. Unfinished wine on the tables. A lifetime just slipped away, a lifetime just slipped away, a lifetime just slipped away from here. Breathing slowly, he can taste the air. A bitter taste, he has never known before. He calls his friends to a final meeting. A lifetime just slipped away, a lifetime just slipped away, a lifetime just slipped away from here. Gaze out on a river. Stare out over a town. A cigarette glows in the gutter. A lifetime just slipped away, a lifetime just slipped away, a lifetime just slipped away. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980
3.	THE CINEMA CLOCK 04:06	lyrics	buy track
The Cinema Clock Stops for a short while, on a steep hill incline. He runs from time to time, treading out a pace, a path that will be so hard to follow. Back-breaking precision, breath-taking speed. If he tries his luck he will succeed. Watches set at Greenwich Time, the watch he keeps, he cannot sleep. Sees the ships out in the night, he hears them call, he sees their lights. This time, he’s out on his own for the first time, he’s out on his own till the next time. He’s out on his own. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
4.	SPEAK TO ME 03:45	lyrics	buy track
Speak to Me When the lights go low, on the street outside. I watch the headlights dip out in the dark. Nothing here to remind me of you. But it seems a lot different now. But it seems a lot different now. Speak to me, speak to me. I could never understand. Speak to me, speak to me. Now the lights go low, on the street outside. I watch the headlights shine out in the dark. But it seems a lot different now. But it seems a lot different now. Speak to me, speak to me. I could never understand. Speak to me, speak to me. When the lights go low. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980
5.	DREAM 04:01	lyrics	buy track
Dream Every night when you are sleeping, he is never far away. When you wake up in the morning he is always miles away. He can climb through any window. He can sneak through any door. Watch him crawl through all your windows see him sneak through all your doors. I - I watch you dreaming. You - you think I’m asleep. And – while you were dreaming, I – I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. A deep breath in another city. Takes the air in a different town. But every night when you are sleeping, he is never far away. He can climb through any window. He can sneak through any door. Watch him crawl through all your windows see him sneak through all your doors. I - I watch you dreaming. You - you think I’m asleep. And – while you were dreaming, I – I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t sleep. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Leeds Music Ltd/Express Songs
6.	THE RUNNER 04:58	lyrics	buy track
The Runner He stops, he walks, he runs for a while, in every place he sees her smile. He stops, he walks, he runs for a while, in every place he sees her smile. No hiding place, no deciding face. You can’t run away, you can’t run away, you can’t run away. He realises he’s got time to spare. He shuts his eyes and he’s almost there. But she’s so far away. Oh, she’s so far away. Oh, she’s so far away. Oh, she’s so far away. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980
7.	GHOSTS 04:14	lyrics	buy track
Ghosts I see the lights, I see the lights, I recognise your face from a long, long time ago. I see your face, I see your face, maybe you are someone I should know. I call your name, I call your name, you lead me to a place I used to go. My life. My world. The times I tried to tell that girl, my hopes, my fears. I thought that I could fight them all. This time, next time. I seem to spend most of my life just waiting. Waiting for you. Waiting for you. Waiting for you. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
8.	EVERYTHING 03:26	lyrics	buy track
Everything If the sound and the cold should disappear tonight. And the voices that I hear became so crystal clear. I could pick out every word, every note you sing. I could hear everything. I could hear everything. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
9.	AFTER THE RAIN 04:49	lyrics	buy track
After the Rain The street lights seemed so much brighter tonight. The excitement in the air seemed so much stronger than before. He misses the voices of his friends – they left him all alone. He’s all alone. A face distracts him from his life and leads him into another world. In another world. No reasons given, no questions asked. But for love, he’d do anything. But for love, he’d go anywhere. Anywhere at all. Anywhere at all. There are no lights anymore, the scent has faded from his life. With no distractions anymore and with time on his side. No fairground lights tonight, he makes his way back home. His way back home. His way back home. His way back home. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
10.	LEAVING HOME 03:46	lyrics	buy track
Leaving Home Tonight’s the night he’ll stay out with his friends again. A secret life that he leads. A stranger will pass him by, a friend will call his name. Tonight’s the night that he must leave. The evening’s late, I watch them leaving, but soon the morning will be here. His party’s over now and he’s leaving – in his eye there is a tear. He’s leaving home. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
11.	THE ROMANCE 02:46	lyrics	buy track
The Romance She smiled at him before he left today. He drove off into the night. He never could understand her, the things she does, the things that she says. Where will she sleep tonight? Where will she sleep tonight? What about the girl I saw? I know you saw her too. Waving in the night, sailing out of view. If the lights go on I know you care. If the lights go on I know you’re there. She smiled at him before he left today. She smiled at him before he left today. She smiled at him before he left today. She smiled at him before he left. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.
12.	LAST WORDS 04:11	lyrics	buy track
Last Words Singing slowly, smoking the time away. Drinks and talks his time away. Listening hard to their voices, you believe every word they say. Children playing in a distant schoolroom. Laugh and joke their time away. Listening hard to their voices, I believe every word they say. I hear the last few words of his song. I catch the last few words before I leave. I hear the last few words of his song. I catch the last few words before I leave. Lyrics by Terry Welbourn © 1980 : Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music Ltd.

about

Notes from a Sinking Ship - Terry Welbourn – Lincoln - 2021.

I first met Simon Brighton at a fancy-dress party at Lincoln College of Art in the autumn of 1975. He was dressed as Alice Cooper. I was D.P. Gumby. We both claimed to be drummers, so it seemed unlikely that we would ever form a band together. By the time Sinking Ships were formed in autumn 1979, Simon was playing guitar and I was playing bass. For a short period during the late 1970s, we put our glam roots behind us and embraced punk.

By 1979 we had begun to write new material that retained punk attitude, but embraced our progressive past. But 1980, the excitement and vibrancy of the punk and new-wave scene had evaporated. England was a place of recession and mass unemployment. In between writing songs, we wandered the streets of Lincoln in our long overcoats, like actors searching for our part in a post-punk world.

We wanted to follow in the footsteps of our peers such as John Foxx’s Ultravox!, Magazine, The Psychedelic Furs and Echo and the Bunnymen. All bands familiar to our drummer, Nick Green, who worked in our local record shop, Sanctuary Records. On the release of our first single, The Cinema Clock in the autumn of 1980, many people claimed that we were simply another outfit waiting to jump on the Joy Division bandwagon. This, I might add, was not the case. Simon and I didn’t discover the band until after the release of, Closer, in the summer of 1980. By that time, most of our so-called, ‘Joy Division material’, had already been written.

John Gill in his review of The Cinema Clock on 29th November 1980 for the New Musical Express was one such observer.

"You can laugh all you like, but I swear this lot sound like early (censored). Spindly, clanking found noises give way to finger lickin'/finger clickin' bass and steamy metronomic drums…”

However, he also detected a band that had one foot still in classic, 1970s rock:

“…It trundles along and goes flying over the edge, retaining stable altitude just like those classic Liebezeit/Czukay rhythm departures of yore. Smart."

At the time, I was inspired by Jah Wobble’s bass playing on Metal Box and I loved the way Wire managed to make their songs so melodic despite their austere sound. In fact, Andy Gill writing for Sounds, astutely noted the Wire connection in his review on December 13th 1980:

"Spatial atmospheric intro gives way to what early Wire might have sounded like if Lewis had sung instead of Newman. Clinched by simple, logical guitar overdub. A grower."

Simon, a big Carlos Santana fan in the early part of the decade, quickly embraced the direct and sometimes chaotic style of playing employed by the likes of Robin Simon from Ultravox, Andy Gill from Gang of Four and John McGeoch of Magazine, yet he still managed to maintain the progressive tendencies of Dave Brock, from In Search of Space era Hawkwind! Nick – a big Iggy Pop fan - on the other hand, having access to a whole spectrum of sounds in his workplace, was forever introducing us to new bands such as Killing Joke, The Sound, The Scars, Local Heroes and The Comsat Angels.

Julian Cope, on hearing The Cinema Clock 20-years after its release, stated; that if he’d heard it at the time, he would have been a fan. He commented on the, ‘far out’ arrangement and I had to admit that it was simply down to our musical ignorance rather than any grand design. We came from a school of thought who considered that writing our own material always took precedence over learning cover versions. As a result, our musical education was developed in somewhat of a vacuum.

With so much diverse music around, it was difficult to know which path to follow. Instead of following our musical noses, we became easily swayed by those, with all the best intentions, telling us to be more commercial. Would anyone play The Cinema Clock on the radio with that intro? Well, John Peel did! Our attempts at pop were reasonably successful, but was it really us, who can say? The rise of the New Romantics and their associated reliance on new electronic devices was another diversion that distracted us from our path. As young men in our early twenties we were prone to follow fashion. When we did eventually get back on course, by introducing a second guitarist into the fold; our days were numbered. The band eventually split in autumn 1981, with a number of our new, more adventurous songs unrecorded. Maybe one day they will be re-surface…

Last year heralded the 40th Anniversary of The Cinema Clock. Such a long time ago.

credits

released January 18, 2021

1. Strangers : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 8-track at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire spring 1980. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Released as double-A-sided 7” single November 1980 on Dead Good Records/Stark Products (Dead14/Stark2). Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar & Backing Vocals/Nick Green – Drums/Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Known airplay: The John Peel Show, BBC Radio One – 29 January 1981.

2. Lifetime : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 4-track at Portland Street, Lincoln rehearsal room by Neal Quincey 25-26 April 1981. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar & Backing Vocals/Nick Green – Drums/Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals with Steve Orient – Strings.

3. The Cinema Clock : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 8-track at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire spring 1980. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Released as double-A-sided 7” single November 1980 on Dead Good Records/Stark Products (Dead14/Stark2). Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar & Backing Vocals/Nick Green – Drums/Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Known airplay: The John Peel Show, BBC Radio One – 24 November 1980.

4. Speak to Me : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 4-track at Portland Street, Lincoln rehearsal room by Neal Quincey spring 1981. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar & Backing Vocals/Nick Green – Drums/Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals.

5. Dream : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire spring 1981. Produced by Colin Moss & Engineered by Neal Quincey. Released as 7” single for Recession Records in spring 1981 (REC S1). Published by Express Songs/Leeds Music Ltd. Personnel: Charlie Anderson – Saxophone/Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. The single was cut on 6 March 1981 by Boppin’ Bob Jones at The Music Centre, De Lane Lea Music Ltd. Engineer’s Way, Wembley, Middx. Known airplay: The John Peel Show, BBC Radio One – 8 April 1981.

6. The Runner : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded Live by Neal Quincey on 9 August at Sleaford Rock ’80. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Tracey Horseman – Keyboards/Steve Orient – Electronic Percussion & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals.

7. Ghosts : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 16-track for Dead Good Records at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire 26-28 October 1980. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music.

8. Everything : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 16-track for Dead Good Records at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire 26-28 October 1980. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music.

9. After the Rain : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 16-track for Dead Good Records at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire 26-28 October 1980. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music.

10. Leaving Home : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 16-track for Dead Good Records at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire 26-28 October 1980. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music.

11. The Romance : (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded on 16-track for Dead Good Records at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire 26-28 October 1980. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music.

12. Last Words: (Brighton/Welbourn) Recorded for Dead Good Records at Studio Playground, Wragby, Lincolnshire 26-28 October 1980. Engineered by Rick Woolgar and Andy Dransfield. Produced by The Sinking Ships. Personnel: Simon Brighton – Guitar/Nick Green – Drums/Steve Orient – Keyboards & Terry Welbourn – Bass & Vocals. Published by Dead Good Tunes/Street Corner Music.
All tracks digitised by Neal Quincey and re-mastered by Steve Orient Summer 2020.

Studio photo-credit: Geoff Young. 'Graffiti' photo-credit: Guy Hooper.

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about

Sinking Ships 1980 Lincoln, UK

Terry Welbourn and Simon Brighton formed Sinking Ships in 1979 with Colin Hopkirk and Nick Green. In 1980, the band recorded: I Start, Smiles and Guns, A Sinking Ship, Third World and Weight Loss. After Colin left they recorded, The Cinema Clock and Strangers, released as a single in the autumn of 1980. Tracey Horseman, Steve Orient and Charlie Anderson then joined for the single Dream in 1981. ... more

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