Words by Angelika May
Photography by Anya Rose
Appearing like the Maharaja of Brixton, open shirt, laptop his sceptre, Pink Eye Club’s set galvanised the crowd and reminded us of the elated joy we feel in his presence.
As we witness the dire straits of our current socio-economic and political condition a little dopamine boost is necessary. Popular culture has started to drip-feed our serotonin-starved selves, by introducing trends such as “dopamine dressing”, inspired by Greta Gerwig’s spin on “Barbie” (which has caused a shortage of saturated pink globally). My prediction for the summer is that pop is about to make its revival, once again following suit from “Barbie”, whose soundtrack contains the likes of Nikki Minaj, Charlie XCX and Dua Lipa, to create a surge of “dopamine listening”.
Now look, many of us may be under the impression that pop rearing its ugly head, is about as useless as tits on a bull. However, as SOPHIE once voiced; “I think all pop music should be about who can make the loudest, brightest thing.” Let me tell you where you can find the loudest, brightest sound, without becoming a mere cog in Matel’s capitalist machine, firstly, let’s swap “Barbie” for “Barbie” (BBQ) and situate ourselves in the stomping grounds of The Windmill as we take a look back at the soul nourishing event that was Pink Eye Club’s Sunday BBQ (although propositioned, Haydn did unfortunately not flip the meat) and album launch.
Haydn Davies, more commonly known as Pink Eye Club, spent a laborious year meticulously crafting his debut album “Disco Reality”. Born out of lockdown, using a Logic Pro X, holding the vinyl in his hands for the first time, could be likened to the feeling a father undergoes cradling his newborn in swaddling cloth.
The album contains nine tracks, each one more expressive of the villanies of society than the last, villains including; “Stupid Fucking Men in Really Shit Bands”, “Art School Fuckers” and “Nice Guys”, who turn out to be “Nazis”.
On paper, these extracts correspond with the bitterness of their sentiment, however, the tracks are so highly saturated with high-energy electronic, pop and club bangers that it becomes a juxtaposition that allows us as listeners to find a mirthful aspect. The album closes on “No Room For Gatekeeping”, a model of Haydn’s own musical manifesto to promote “inclusivity and a limitless possibility on the dance floor,” which reiterates SOPHIE’s excerpt on pop.
The night, was a roaring success, a hefty lineup of seven acts including Red Peril, The Orchestra (for now), Velvetine, Vanity Fairy, Morgan Noise, Pushpin and the man himself.
Pushpin’s ambient folk, disjointed exuberance and Vanity Fairy’s dramatic, gloriously witchy yet overtly cabaret-esque experimental pop were personal highlights. Appearing like the Maharaja of Brixton, open shirt, laptop his sceptre, Pink Eye Club’s set galvanized the crowd and reminded us of the elated joy we feel in his presence. I could reiterate Pink Eye’s potential until my fingers turn to dust, bringing on Warren Mansfield to contribute a bright trumpet riff that elevated the set and implicated Haydn’s awareness in developing a more nuanced version of this cult phenomenon.
That truly was, “The Day that HE Became a Legend”.
Listen to Disco Reality here
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