To say World Of Twist were a short-lived band would be not entirely true. They had their beginnings in Manchester in the late 70s, and their first incarnation got started in 1984. But it wasn’t until 1990 that they emerged as a band to be reckoned with. Breaking away from the by-then well-worn trappings of Madchester, World Of Twist ventured off into a different direction, a sort of mash-up of retro-futuristic/prog/neo-Northern Soul/quasi-Roxy Music – in short, a band hard to pin down to a specific genre, but a band which offered exciting possibilities for the 90s.
It was that mixture of so many styles which made them not only popular with audiences, but a band other bands listened to. So when they finally debuted this new direction in 1990, they were hailed by critics with rave reviews and got an instant underground following. With a flood of singles released by Circa Records, they were working on their much-anticipated debut album by 1991.
This concert comes around the time their debut album Quality Street (in October of 1991), and they were busy promoting it.
Sadly, the album failed to lived up to expectations, despite modest sales and support from Circa Records. Shortly after this concert things started to fall apart.
By June of 1992 they ceased to exist. But what they left behind was a tantalizing legacy of what might’ve been. Numerous artists have cited World Of Twist as a catalyst – notably Noel Gallagher during the early days of Oasis.
But tonight it’s World Of Twist at the height of their popularity. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot on them in live concert – there are John Peel sessions and this BBC concert, recorded at Hull University in November of 1991. Hopefully, more will surface in the future.
In the meantime, enjoy this one.
Special thanks to the World Of Twist (library) website for providing great information and cool photos
