Sometime in 1982 or 1983 in Manchester’s Hulme district the Inca Babies were formed. Hulme, a concrete, deck access ‘streets in the sky’ projects, was at that time a demi-bohemia over run with artists, musicians, students, addicts and ‘ne’er do wells’. Previous tenants, mainly families, put there to benefit from this ‘magical new living space’, realising a slum was a slum regardless of how high off the ground you put it, had long gone.At the time Manchester music was gripped by a schizophrenic Jazz funk scene which was emulated by the ‘indie’ scene’s own approximation with its ‘jangly, dancy’ pop.
In this climate the Inca Babies had no choice but to come up with their own sound. What resulted was a Raunchy Death Ray twang from a punk-trash, Americana perspective. Link Wray, The Cramps, The Gun Club and The Birthday Party were the spirit guidance, and a big influence. But, because the Incas were an obscenely English band impertinently playing out of their continent, people didn’t get it at first. However musicologist C.P Lee in his book on the Manchester music scene must have spotted something when he called them the ‘Hulme Cramps’. So indeed, must Radio 1 DJ John Peel and his producer John Walters. They took one listen to the first single The Interior and offered them a session on the spot. It was to be the first of four they did for Radio 1 between 1984-87.After this there was a frenzy of bookings for their rowdy live shows. No Cub Scout hut was too small or warehouse too large. Within a year they had been to every borough and city in the land, usually at the sticky carpet end of town, and a fan base had gathered across the UK. With 2 number one slots in the Indie single chart and a top 5 album, Rumble, the Incas soon began to find an audience abroad. Tours of Mainland Europe included Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria and all of Scandinavia.
Three further Albums (This Train, Opium Den and Evil Hour) were released including six more singles all experiencing good sails and chart places. During this time while popularity was not a problem keeping personnel was, and while singers and drummers came and went the backbone of the band who played every gig and appeared on every record, Bill Marten (bass) and Harry Stafford (guitar, later Vocals) struggled to keep the integrity of the band alive.The end came when there were no more singers and no more drummers. By the late 80s acid clubbers raved through the night and there was no place for the Incas. But by this time we’d joined them anyway.But then in 2006 The Incas released the Best of compilation Plutonium, and like a supererogatory snow ball things ran on and on. The band reformed in 2007 with Gold Blade drummer Rob Haynes the new occupant of the drum kit. Gigs at home and abroad followed and a new album was midway through being written when the band were hit with the shocking news of the death of bassist Bill Marten. The band was put on hold while they came to terms with this loss, but it was eventually decided to keep Bill's legacy alive by continuing and finishing off the album they had started writing. Their old friend and former A Witness bass player Vince Hunt joined and made his live debut in Warsaw, Poland in late 2008. The new album Death Message Blues will be released in 2009. RIP Bill. (Contact: [email protected])Opium Den video (1985).. " /
Grunt Cadillac Hotel (Live at the Hacienda 1984)..Plenty More Mutants (German TV, 1986)/
