On a saturday, somewhere in the early 80's, we travelled to Zwolle because of an open air festival where the Cure were playing, as well as the Vopo's and a band called the Vultures. Back then, the Cure did not have a hint of the Goth image they had later. On stage were 3 guys, jeans, doc Martens and shor hair, playing some angry new wave. Brilliant.But this episode is not about the Cure, but about the Vultures. Their hometown was Epe, in the middle of the Dutch bible belt (which actually starts right after you leave Amersfoort towards the east and my hometown Achterveld is surrounded by these people). We already had the ep by the Vopo's and they (together with the Cure)were reason enough to travel to Zwolle. The festival was in a big park and the bands performed on a huge stage under an open tent. They were the lucky ones, because I remember it rained a lot that day. One of the first bands that played was the Vultures and they came across as snotty and loud punks. The bassist had some problems with his bass apparently, he took it off and kicked it all over the stage. He could borrow the Vopo's bass, so they were able to finish their set. I was blown away by them, they were fast, loud and had short songs. I am not sure if I got their 7" overthere or if I bought it later.
Unfortunately they did not last that long, it would have been interesting if they would have followed the Vopo's path into a more metallic direction. So maybe it is just good they stopped.
The Vopo's played right after the Vultures and I remember that they dedicated the song 'Communist rules are for fools'to me, because I had a homemade 'Red Rat' shirt.......
This was also when we first met Johan van Leeuwen (R.I.P.) who lateron became the editor of Nieuwe Koekrand. Damn, there's so many stories to tell......
The Vultures ep is one of the many collectable records from this era, maybe one day someone will re-issue it.
In the meantime, enjoy the Vultures ep and stay tuned for more.
The Vultures
