Architecture & Morality โ
I like to travel about through London a lot, as I have mentioned before on here there are so many places to see and visit, some of them completely 'off the beaten track' and so many places I have yet to discover, one of the wonders of London is its mish mash of architecture ranging from the very old and listed to the more mundane looking concrete ugliness of post war Britain. All of it, in it's own way is really quite 'special' to me.
So, for this post I thought I would remember some of the religious architecture I have seen over the last few years. I haven't suddenly discovered religion, hey! I'm not even baptised, so my 'religious' visits to church aren't much more than weddings or funerals, not to say that I don't have any faiths or belief system of my own, I guess we all like to believe there is more to this life than just the existence we are in, I just don't like to ram religious points of view down other people's throats and prefer that we could all live in some form of harmony whatever our religious persuasions, although I can see any beliefs as a sort of comfort and peace to many. If you like, I can be described as a kind of a 'karma' person, so just being as nice to others as you can (within reason!) is a good start.
It seems like in so many places I visit there is a church, (pubs are closing right left and centre to the faithful followers of the demon booze), but churches on the other hand, well there are plenty, most of the ones I have passed on my travels have the doors open to have a cheeky peek inside.
Whether outside or in these buildings have a magnificent and calming presence, the architecture and detail on some of them just blows your mind as to how painstaking it must have been to build them. I am always in awe of things like the stained glass windows depicting (usually) some form of religious theme, but more importantly (to me at least the colours and vibrancy). The decoration inside many I have visited in differing parts of the country ranges at times from the over the top gaudiness to really quite plain and simple.
Some examples of some of them above that we have popped into through the years ranging from the amazingly decorated Greek Orthodox St Andrews Church along Kentish Town, the outside of the huge St Joseph's RC Parish church at the top of Highgate Hill next to Waterlow Park (and opposite an equally huge pub called Brendan The Navigator which I was hoping I could worship at to the gods of beer, but it was sadly closed the day I passed it). Other examples of churches and chapels are the tiny one in Clerkenwell called Church Of St John in Jerusalem Passage with the wonderful arches and finally the stained glass wonders of the church in Chester which now hosts the 'Sick To Death' museum in the City Centre. I haven't even mentioned or even visited the 'Tin Tabernacle' yet which is just between Kilburn Park and Kilburn High Road in London either!
I guess the photos and thoughts of when I passed many of the buildings in the photos was that of architecture, which kind of links into the music side of this post. What better choice than Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, a band also inspired by the church for their album and rather than the architecture they focused on the sound, evidently Andy McCluskey from the band was a bit of an atheist, but was inspired by music which came from churches in that it was uplifting and instantly recognizable, the band were looking for some new sound ideas for their third album 'Architecture And Morality' which was released in 1981 on the 'semi independent' label called Dindisc. The name of the album allegedly suggested to the band by ex Martha & The Muffins member Martha Ladley, who by chance also happened to be girlfriend of the legendary graphic designer Peter Saville (Joy Division) fame who put together the album cover for it.
Band The Time Of Release
- Andrew McCluskey - Bass, Mellotron Organ, Rhythm Synthesiser Vocals
- Malcolm Holmes - Drums, Percussion [Acoustic, Electronic], Synthesizer [Bass]
- Michael Douglas - Electric Organ, Piano, Synthesizer
- Paul Humphreys โ Synthesisers, Piano, Mellotron, Acoustic and Electronic Percussion, Organ, Melodica and Vocals
- Martin Cooper โ Saxophone
Track Listing
- The New Stone Age
- She's Leaving
- Souvenir
- Sealand
- Joan Of Arc
- Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans)
- Architecture And Morality
- Georgia
- The Beginning And The End
The album was released on the 6th November 1981 and did quite well hitting the highs of #3 in the UK album charts of that year and spawning a couple of instantly recognizable hit singles namely 'Joan Of Arc'
And 'The Maid Of Orleans'ย and 'Souvenir' available at the YouTube links. I have to be honest and say that in '81 I obviously heard the tracks lots of the radio or TOTP but I probably would have dodged them as I wasn't as much into the whole genre, however as you get older and open your eyes more you appreciate just how good their sound was. As a band they still kick about releasing their latest Album 'Bauhaus Staircase' in 2023.
In the words of the late, great hugely irreverent Irish sit down kind of stand up comedian Dave Allen back when I was growing up in the 1970's...
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