Editing Any Trouble

{{Short description|British rock band}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Any Trouble
| image           = Any Trouble waist-up group shot circa 1980.jpg
| caption         =
| image_size      =
| alias           =
| origin          = [[Crewe]], England
| instrument      =
| genre           = [[New wave music|New wave]], [[pop rock]]
| years_active    = 1975–1984, 2007–present
| label           = [[Stiff Records|Stiff]], [[EMI America Records|EMI America]], [[Cherry Red Records|Cherry Red]]
| associated_acts = [[Plainsong (band)|Plainsong]], [[Ryder (band)|Ryder]]
| website         =
| current_members = [[Clive Gregson]]<br>Mark Griffiths<br>Martin Hughes<br>Chris Parks
| past_members    = Phil Barnes<br>Andy Ebsworth<br>Stephen Patrick M. <br>Tom Jackson<br>Mel Harley
}}
'''Any Trouble''' are a British [[rock music|rock]] band, originating from [[Crewe]], England, best known for their early 1980s recordings.<ref name="all">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6TpuVW6QA4C&dq=%22any+trouble%22+%22Where+Are+All+The+Nice+Girls%22&pg=PA1979 ''All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music''], p.15 (4th ed. 2001)</ref>

In 1980, ''[[Melody Maker]]'' stated that Any Trouble were "the most exciting new rock 'n' roll group since [[the Pretenders]]".<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|pages=47/8}}</ref>

==Early days==
Any Trouble's founding members [[Clive Gregson]] (guitar), Tom Jackson (vocals) and Chris Parks (guitar) met at Crewe and Alsager Teacher Training College in 1974.<ref name=triste>{{cite web|title=Clive Gregson - The Triste Interview|url=http://www.triste.co.uk/gregson.htm|website=Triste Magazine|accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref> Soon after, Mel Harley (drums) and Phil Barnes (bass) completed the lineup.<ref name="Larkin"/>

Initially Any Trouble were a covers band, playing anything they liked, including songs by Bob Dylan, The Band and a selection of American rock and roll numbers. With the advent of [[punk rock]] and then [[New wave music|new wave]], Clive Gregson realised they needed a change of material and started taking songwriting seriously. He explained in a 1999 interview, "We were like a human jukebox and it was obvious to me then if we wanted to get anywhere we needed original songs. I started to take it a bit more seriously then".<ref name=triste />

After vocalist Tom Jackson left, the band was fronted by rhythm guitarist and songwriter Clive Gregson.<ref name="Larkin"/> The remaining four were the first Any Trouble line-up to record, initially releasing the Gregson composition "Yesterday's Love" as an indie single in 1979.<ref name="Larkin"/> This was picked up by some radio stations and was played by [[BBC Radio 1]] DJs [[John Peel]], [[Andy Peebles]] and others in the [[UK]].<ref name=coconut>{{cite web|last1=Goggins|first1=Patrick|title=Interview with Clive Gregson (September 2014)|url=http://dispatchesfromcoconutgrove.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/interview-with-clive-gregson.html|website=Dispatchesromcoconutgrove.blogspot.com|accessdate=12 January 2015}}</ref>

==Signed to Stiff Records==
Airplay for Any Trouble's debut indie single "Yesterday's Love" led to interest from major record labels including [[Warner Music Group|WEA]], [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]], [[EMI Records|EMI]] and [[Stiff Records|Stiff]]. Any Trouble selected Stiff "because they were our kind of people".<ref name=coconut />

Their first release on the Stiff label, ''[[Where Are All the Nice Girls?]]'' was perhaps their most successful.<ref name="Larkin"/> The album was produced by [[John Wood (music producer)|John Wood]] (Fairport Convention etc.) and the band gained significant visibility after featuring on a ''[[Melody Maker]]'' front cover and in a gushing article by [[Allan Jones (editor)|Allan Jones]].<ref name=triste /> In some ways the band's career never recovered from this early rush of success and Gregson's singing was unfairly compared to that of [[Elvis Costello]] and [[Ian Dury]].<ref name=bbcmusic>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Sid|title=The Best of Clive Gregson - Review (2009)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zz4h|website=BBC Music|accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref><ref name=bandonthewall>{{cite web|title=An Interview with Clive Gregson of Any Trouble (18th November 2014)|url=http://bandonthewall.org/news/2014/11/an-interview-with-clive-gregson-of-any-trouble/|website=Band on the Wall|date=18 November 2014|accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref>

The band's second album ''Wheels in Motion'', with Martin Hughes replacing Mel Harley on drums, was produced by Mike Howlett;<ref name="Larkin"/> it would be the last recorded on the Stiff label in Any Trouble's original incarnation.<ref name=trouserpress>{{cite web|title=Any Trouble|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=any_trouble|website=Trouser Press|accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref>

Despite frequent touring and the release of ''Wheels in Motion'', Any Trouble's record sales failed to grow. The band were dropped by Stiff during a 1983 US tour supporting [[Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter]],<ref name=coconut /> with their manager arranging for them to open for [[Molly Hatchet]] to help keep them afloat. At that point Clive Gregson "pulled my plug... threw in the towel... we straggled back to NYC, where our van was robbed whilst we were in the Stiff offices trying to wrestle return tickets to the UK out of the office manager". The band flew back to the UK on standby tickets.<ref name=booklet>Interview with Clive Gregson from ''Any Trouble: The Complete Stiff Recordings 1980-1981'' booklet</ref>

==Move to EMI America and break-up==
After returning from their US tour without a recording contract Any Trouble took a long break, after which Clive Gregson returned to making demos. He had a meeting with subsequent manager [[Ray Williams (producer)|Ray Williams]] who persuaded him Any Trouble had a sufficient following to justify its revival. Gregson re-formed the band and, on the strength of the demos, Williams secured a contract with Gery Gersh at [[EMI America Records|EMI America]].<ref name=booklet />

Any Trouble's new line-up included Andy Ebsworth on drums and Steve Gurl on keyboards, with original members Clive Gregson and Phil Barnes.<ref name="Larkin"/> The sessions started promisingly enough with [[Val Garay]] ([[The Motels]]) as producer but Garay left after contract negotiations broke down. [[David Kershenbaum]] (best known for producing [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]] and, later, [[Tracy Chapman]]) was brought on board to produce the band's eponymous third album ''Any Trouble'' but they were unhappy with the synthesizer-heavy sound of the final mix. While they toured the UK to support the album there were no funds available from the record company for a US tour; the album failed to chart on either side of the Atlantic.

Gregson decided to throw everything into Any Trouble's second effort for EMI America, producing an ambitious double album (an 11-track single LP in the US) that featured a mixture of new and previously recorded material to highlight the band's diverse range of material. The new release, titled ''[[Wrong End of the Race]]'',<ref name="Larkin"/> also failed to chart despite support from the record company.<ref name=booklet/> After the failure of their second EMI album, Clive Gregson broke the band up again.<ref name="Larkin"/> He recorded a solo album and joined [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]]'s band for a time before starting a successful folk-rock duo with [[Christine Collister]] in the mid-1980s, on the dissolution of which he resumed his solo career from 1992 to the present. Gregson has also toured and recorded in various combinations of musicians, including [[Boo Hewerdine]], [[Eddi Reader]], [[Nanci Griffith]], [[Andy Roberts (musician)|Andy Roberts]], [[Ian Matthews (musician)|Ian Matthews]] and [[Dennis Locorriere]]. Andy Ebsworth was one of the members of [[Ryder (band)|Ryder]], the purpose-made pop group which represented the United Kingdom at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1986|1986 Eurovision Song Contest]].<ref name=bbceurovision>{{cite web|title=Eurovision 1986: Ryder|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5jp7mL90P5kl2rscTTD4kJP/eurovision-1986-ryder|website=BBC|accessdate=14 January 2015}}</ref>

==Re-formation==
In 2007, following the re-release of several Any Trouble albums on CD, the group reformed with the ''Wheels in Motion'' line-up of [[Clive Gregson]], guitarist Chris Parks, bassist Phil Barnes and drummer Martin Hughes.  After playing a few live gigs, Barnes had to bow out of the reformed group due to other commitments.

With [[Mark Griffiths (musician)|Mark Griffiths]] as a session musician on bass, the revived group recorded a new album which was released on the reborn Stiff Records label on 10 September 2007. The album was titled ''Life in Reverse'' and featured thirteen new Gregson-penned songs. It was produced by John Wood, and had unique artwork by the Stiff Records designer Tobbe Stuhre.  The band played a headlining reunion gig at the [[Jazz Cafe]] in London, England to support the release.

After another period of inactivity, in November 2013 [[Cherry Red Records]] released the 3-CD set ''The Complete Stiff Recordings 1980-81'', comprising the band's first two studio albums with assorted singles and B-sides, plus the ''Live at the Venue'' album, packaged in mini-sleeves.  The band supported this by re-forming to perform a one-off gig at London's 229 Club.  By now, Griffiths was a full official member, and the line-up consisted of Gregson, Parks, Griffith and Hughes.

Any Trouble stayed together in 2014 to record the new album ''Present Tense'' and played a short tour in England in December 2014, which included [[Band on the Wall]], Manchester, on 2 December 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=Just announced: Any Trouble, 2nd December.|url=http://bandonthewall.org/news/2014/06/just-announced-any-trouble-2nd-december/|website=Band on the Wall|date=11 June 2014|accessdate=12 January 2015}}</ref> dates in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], [[Birmingham]] and the 229 Club in London; they also played at the Purple Weekend Festival, in [[León, Spain|León]], Spain.<ref name=purple>{{cite web|title=Purple Weekend 2014 at Pabellón del CHF|url=http://www.last.fm/festival/3811739+Purple+Weekend+2014/lineup#all|website=Last.fm|accessdate=15 January 2015}}</ref> ''Present Tense'' was released in November 2015 featuring 18 new songs written by Gregson.

==Band members==
===Current members===
* [[Clive Gregson]] (vocals, guitar & keyboards)
* [[Mark Griffiths (musician)|Mark Griffiths]] (bass)
* Martin Hughes (drums)
* Chris Parks (guitar)

===Former members===
* Phil Barnes (bass)
* Andy Ebsworth (drums)
* Steve Gurl (keyboards)
* Tom Jackson (vocals)
* Mel Harley (drums)

===Members' current work===
{{unsourced|section|date=February 2024}}
* Phil Barnes worked producing [[music video]]s for bands such as [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] and now produces TV adverts.
* Andy Ebsworth is now a music technology lecturer at [[Croydon College]], England.
* Clive Gregson is still a full-time musician, touring countries including the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Japan. He formed a new band The Guilty Men in 2022. 
* Mel Harley runs a design and marketing company and property business.
* Tom Jackson worked with Clive Gregson again in the Oatcake Brothers. He then left the music business and went into social work.
* Chris Parks is now working in the UK as a [[music software]] developer.

==Discography==
<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/artist/313408-Any-Trouble ''Any Trouble'' on Discogs.com]</ref>

===Albums===
*''[[Where Are All the Nice Girls?]]'' (1980, reissued in 2007), Stiff Records (produced by John Wood, Any Trouble, Bob Sargeant)
*''Wheels in Motion'' (1981), Stiff Records (produced by Mike Howlett)
*''Any Trouble'' (1983), EMI America (produced by David Kershenbaum)
*''[[Wrong End of the Race]]'' (1984), EMI America (produced by John Wood & Will Birch)
*''Life in Reverse'' (2007), Stiff Records (produced by John Wood)
*''Present Tense'' (2015), Cherry Red

====Live albums====
*''Live at the Venue'' (1981), Teldec (Germany only) (produced by Barry ‘Bazza’ Farmer)

====Compilations====
*''Girls Are Always Right - The Stiff Years'' (2002), Cherry Red (produced by Any Trouble, John Wood, Bazza, Bob Sargeant, Mike Howlett, Martin Levan)
*''The Complete Stiff Years'' (2013), Cherry Red

===Singles===
*"Yesterday's Love" (7") (1980), Stiff Records
*"Second Choice" (7") (1980), Stiff Records
*"Girls Are Always Right" (7") (1980), Stiff Records
*"Dimming of the Day"/"Another Heartache" (7", France only) (1981), Stiff Records
*"Trouble with Love" (7") (1981), Stiff Records
*"Touch and Go" (7") (1983), EMI America
*"I'll Be Your Man" (7") (1983), EMI America
*"Baby Now That I've Found You" (1984), EMI America
*"Open Fire" (7") (1984), EMI America
*"That Sound" (CDr) (2007), Stiff Records

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/313408-Any-Trouble Any Trouble at discogs]
* [http://www.stiff-records.com/ Official Stiff Records website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071114074038/http://www.ztt.com/shop/ Official Stiff Records webstore]
* [http://www.myspace.com/sirandyofchessingtone//Andy Ebsworth on Myspace]
* [http://www.cahootsproductions.com/recentwork// Phil Barnes' website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Any Trouble}}
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1975]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1984]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2007]]
[[Category:Rock music groups from Cheshire]]
[[Category:English power pop groups]]
[[Category:English new wave musical groups]]
[[Category:Stiff Records artists]]
[[Category:Cherry Red Records artists]]