I'm Just Another Western Guy With Desires That I Can't Satisfy

You wait ages for a The The post, then two come along in the same month. What better way to celebrate Dubhed's 500th post?

 

if you've been following this week, you'll have noticed that I've been running with black and white videos, hopping back and forth in time from Danger Mouse & Black Thought (2022) to The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967) to Serge Gainsbourg (1962) and now The The (1986).

Slow Train To Dawn first appeared on The The's jaw-droppingly brilliant album Infected and was subsequently released as a single in January 1987, sporting a typically striking cover by Matt Johnson's brother, sui generis artist Andy Johnson.

Amongst an album of astonishing songs, Slow Train To Dawn is a particular standout because it features a duet with the wonderful human being that is Neneh Cherry. This was slightly ahead of her successful solo career, but the name resonated from a poster that I remembered from the early 1980s, almost certainly in Smash Hits, when Neneh was a member of Rip Rig & Panic. Thanks to the wonders of t'internet, it took less than two minutes for me to track down an image of that very poster.

The video for Slow Train To Dawn was directed by Tim Pope and features Matt and Neneh in a rather intriguing set up. There's the literal: yes, there's a big old steam train and yes, you could argue that it's going relatively slowly and yes, it may possibly be the wee hours of the morning. There's also a (kind of) homage to the tropes of the silent movie, with the 'damsel in distress' tied to the railroad track, whilst an oncoming train brings the threat of inescapable and horrific death. Of course, being a The The video directed by Tim Pope, the imagery and metaphor literally steam and drip with sweat.

 

In keeping with the Infected album as a whole, Slow Train To Dawn's lyrics are open to multiple layers of reading and interpretation and can be said to touch on themes of masculinity, emasculation, misogyny, racism and objectification. I remember poring over the lyrics printed on Infected's inner sleeve trying to interpret and understand the layers of meaning, as far as I was able at the time as a naive, angst-ridden, ignorant yet questioning 15-year old.

 

Whether the casual viewer of the Slow Train To Dawn video would pick up on any of the song's themes and nuances is debatable. What is striking is that, despite having to spend most of the video on her back, restrained and largely immobile, Neneh conveys a strength and steely determination that defies the precarious and questionable position that her character has been forced into.

 

When the needle hit side 2, song 2 of Infected and I heard Neneh Cherry's first words in Slow Train To Dawn, I was properly introduced to an incredible artist. Raw Like Sushi landed in 1988 and began a rather brilliant solo career. I also got to go back in time and discover Neneh's history with Rip Rig & Panic and New Age Steppers. Neneh's reputation and influence as an artist was cemented in June this year, with the release of The Versions, with reworkings, covers and collaborations featuring Robyn, Sia, Anonhi and Kelsey Lu. Good though they are, of course none of them can better Neneh Cherry, the true innovator.

 

Slow Train To Dawn (Album Version): The The ft. Neneh Cherry (1986)