THE MONOCHROME SET + Support

Lost in the mists of musical history, the Monochrome Set appeared in the hazy period just after punk and hung around for a good two decades, releasing clever albums full of hook-crammed melodies and coloured with a dark sense of humour. Frontman Bid's arch vocals gave the band a wonderful camp quality, and it was probably his lyrical smarts that alerted a young Morrissey to their presence; they were even one of his favourite groups before he formed the Smiths.

Another Monochrome Set devotee was Alex Kapranos who, in his pre-Franz Ferdinand incarnation of Karelia, coaxed Bid out of semi-retirement to produce him. When Franz Ferdinand emerged in 2002 they were bizarrely compared to Gang of Four a band they sounded nothing like when their most obvious role model was the Monochrome Set.

The band had formed in 1977 from the ashes of the B-Sides, whose bass player Stuart Goddard decided he would rather be Adam Ant. Initially, both bands shared an audience of freaks who were too bizarre for punk. Then Adam became a superstar.

It's clearly time we resurrected the Monochrome Set, arguably the first truly postmodern pop band.

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