THE SOUND AS POST-PUNK BEGAN TO EVOLVE INTO A MORE WINDSWEPT AND EPIC KIND OF MUSIC, ADRIAN BORLAND AND THE SOUND SEEMED WELL-PLACED FOR STARDOM. BUT SUCCESS NEVER ARRIVED. FINALLY, A NEW BIOGRAPHY AND A BRACE OF REISSUES ARE GIVING THIS GREAT, UNDERVALUED BAND AND THEIR BRILLIANT BUT TROUBLED SINGER THE RECOGNITION THEY RICHLY DESERVE. “ADRIAN COULD BE A JOVIAL CHARACTER,” HEARS DAVE SIMPSON, “BUT THERE WAS PART OF HIM THAT DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO BOND WITH PEOPLE ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL.”

The Sound backstage in Nijmegen, Netherlands, April 24, 1984: (l–r) Adrian Borland, Graham Bailey, Colvin “Max” Mayers, Mike Dudley

Photo by ROY TEE

SEPTEMBER 29, 1977 was an auspicious date for the 19-year-old Adrian Borland. His band, The Outsiders, were supporting Radiators From Space at the Roxy – the infamous early London punk club which hosted some of the first shows by The Clash, X-Ray Spex and The Damned. For a joke, among the names Borland added to The Outsiders’ guest list that night were Iggy Pop and David Bowie: his musical heroes.

At the time, The Outsiders were being sort-of-managed by Jock McDonald, the colourful promoter and DJ who later fronted the Bollock Brothers. He told his young charges that not only was Iggy in town, he would be coming to the show later.

“We thought, ‘Yeah right, tell us another one’,” remembers Graham Bailey, Borland’s oldest childhood friend. “Iggy was Adrian’s god, he literally worshipped Iggy And The Stooges. But then… Iggy actually showed up.”

No sooner had The Outsiders launched into their regular cover of “Raw Power” when their very special guest made his presence felt. “Iggy leapt on stage, grabbed the mic and started singing,” continues Bailey. “Suddenly, Adrian was playing guitar like he was James Williamson.”

The following month, it was Borland’s turn to leap onstage with Patti Smith – this time, however, he was unceremoniously bundled back into the audience by security at the Hammersmith Odeon. Two years later, though, as post-punk began to evolve into a more windswept and epic kind of music, Adrian Borland seemed well placed for stardom himself with The Sound. But while their second LP, From The Lions Mouth, still sounds like a crucial document of the era, success never arrived. Bad timing, misfortune, record company neglect and mental illness meant they never scaled the same heights as contemporaries like Joy Division, U2 and Echo & The Bunnymen.

The Sound finally broke up in 1987 – by which time Borland was in the grip of a schizoaffective disorder. He committed suicide on April 26, 1999, aged 41.

Brilliant but overlooked during their lifetime, today Borland and The Sound have come back into focus. Marc Waltman and Jean-Paul Mierlo’s 2016 documentary Walking In The Opposite Direction began an upsurge in interest in Borland and The Sound which has peaked, close to the 25th anniversary of Borland’s death, with Simon Heavisides’ new biography Destiny Stopped Screaming and the upcoming reissue of their first three albums.