OF all the bands who emerged from Liverpool’s fertile post-punk scene, The Wild Swans are the most overlooked. Their heritage was impeccable – formed by Paul Simpson and Gerard Quinn, two former members of The Teardrop Explodes, abetted by Echo & The Bunnymen’s drummer Pete de Freitas – but they lasted only a year in their original guise, leaving only one 12” single behind. But what a record “Revolutionary Spirit” turned out to be. According to their label boss, Bill Drummond, it’s the best thing he and Dave Balfe ever released on Zoo Records, alongside early recordings from the Bunnymen and Teardrops.
The seeds of Wild Swans took root in Julian Cope’s old flat, which Simpson and de Freitas were sharing at the time with Courtney Love. De Freitas eventually proved critical in midwifing “Revolutionary Spirit”: he financed, produced and played on it. Released on 12” in February 1982, “Revolutionary Spirit” sounded like a manifesto. With chiming guitars, big voice and deep, bold lyrics (“Lost in the Delta of Venus, lost in a welter of shame/Deep in the forest of evil we embark on the new crusade”), the song exemplified the kind of glittering, romantic guitar pop which become commonplace as the decade progressed.
The group’s brief lifespan included a brush with the controversial Ananda Marga religious group and acid-fuelled capers inJem Kelly and keyboardist Ged Quinn). Tragically, Pete de Freitas died in a motorcycle accident in 1989. The previous year, a rejigged Wild Swans released an LP, . While Simpson has sporadically fronted various lineups since – and even become an unlikely star in the Philippines – interest in their initial incarnation has never gone away.
