Martin Carr first made a name for himself in the early ’90s as the guitarist/songwriter of the Boo Radleys, whose Everything’s Alright Forever (1992), Giant Steps (1993) and Wake Up! (1995) remain essential listening from the Britpop era. The Boos disbanded in 1999, and Carr began releasing records under the bravecaptain moniker for the better part of a decade before issuing Ye Gods (And Little Fishes) under his own name in 2009. Carr is back with third solo LP New Shapes Of Life (Tapete), a compact, sophisticated and personal pop album inspired in part by the death of David Bowie. Carr will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week.
Carr: In 1983, me and Sice spent an awful lot of time on Victoria Road in New Brighton playing video games or trying to win money to play video games. Victoria Road in the 1980s was packed with pubs, gift shops and arcades but lacked one thing: people. All the arcades are gone now, and quiet houses stand in their place. In 1983, Space Invaders had lost its novelty and Dragon’s Lair was impossible so we spent whatever money we had on this game. I can still recall every level—or at least as far as we got. I would think about it all day in school, trying to work out the best way to get through the plethora of alien craft without dying.
