A former Barrow shipyard worker, part of the town’s alternative music scene in the 80s, has released his debut solo single.
Alan Cole played in cult bands in Barrow including The Screaming Eagles and was involved in the promotion of legendary gigs like Primal Scream and The Stone Roses.
Later attending University in Sheffield, he formed the power trio Mojo Pin as lead singer/bassist and songwriter, receiving national recognition although the band split before fulfilling its potential.
Alan continued writing and demoing material and after rediscovering his love of music post-Covid decided it was never too late to scratch that itch and release his first solo track.
Alan, a writer for our sister title The Cumberland & Westmorland Herald, released his first solo single You Just Might Try in January under his artist name Alan M Cole.
He said You Just Might Try had received positive reviews and featured in playlists including the #recordunionrocks Spotify playlist A selection of the best rock, metal, alternative and punk tracks. It has also been receiving praise in cult magazines and blogs.
The track, recorded in the South Lakes, benefits from a sublime violin performance by Simon Painter, a musician who originally hails from London and is now a successful theatre producer based in Los Angeles. His CV includes the hit show The Illusionists.
Alan said: “We recorded the track in Ulverston and people were saying who is this incredible fiddle player who has come up from London, and then he goes behind the drums and it was the same sort of plaudits.
“Simon is incredibly talented and so it was no surprise when he became so successful in the entertainment industry. His brother Jake is also a talented musician and had a hit single in the UK with his band Captain Ska.”
Alan said: “The track was written in London when I was living there and playing in my band with Simon.
“I wrote You Just Might Try during a time when I was living life to the full and it was an incredibly sociable and fast-moving period.
“I was working in the city, hanging out with lots of people who were doing amazing stuff in art and music and film, some of them who became very successful and while a lot of people around me were following their dreams, there was also a fair amount of adversity, people working hard to make ends meet and burning the candle at both ends.
“It was fast times and there was a lot of optimism around but also a fair amount of self-doubt and you saw people burning out. The song in my imagination was a kind of vignette or a snapshot of life during that time, which was the 90s and I was soaking up the imagery and lives that were surrounding me in Brixton and Kilburn and Camden and places like that.
“It’s also inspired by art and cinema, expressionism and film noir and romanticism in poetry and literature plus that classic warm analogue era of music that I love, the Beatles and The Stones, Dylan all the way through to punk and New Wave.
“I tried innocently to capture that sound during recording, by using initially only analogue equipment and tape reels, and relying on that whole DIY punk ethos that I had grown up with.”
You Just Might Try can be streamed/downloaded on major platforms including Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and Amazon Music.
Alan also has a second track Silverstein Suite that he will be releasing online this year, a catchy folk punk tune that depicts the predicament of a high-profile US prison detainee. Both tracks are available on a double A-side CD available from his website and in selected stores and set also to be made available on Bandcamp.
