Ian Kerr was in a band called Bitter, who toured the live circuit in the late 80’s and would go on to support a band from Manchester called The Stone Roses. Gigslutz caught up with Ian to discuss his time in the band and his memories of that night in Brighton:

Can you please tell me abit about your upbringing and first memories?

Coming from a very musical family, I first learnt to play guitar at the tender age of 12 at school but switched to bass very early after about 2 years. First band was a school band playing oik punk songs (original) but petered out very quickly.

What was the first music you can remember hearing?

I remember viewing the film A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles on the black and white TV and being suitably impressed. First single received was Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade and the first album was Rattus Norvegicus by The Stranglers.

What was the first serious music you can remember getting into?

Early doors very much into the Jam and punk in general. Anything that was guitar based!!

When did you first start singing / playing an instrument?

Started playing guitar but switched to the bass as I found this easier to play and loved the sound.

How did you find writing your own songs?

Singer/Song writing came very late in my life (six years ago) after a life changing mental illness. I used it as therapy to release my many demons.

Were you in any bands before Bitter?

Yes, in my mid-twenties I joined The Milk Sisters and Almost Blue before forming Bitter.

How did Bitter form?

I joined up with Alan (keyboard player) first and then Andy (Guitar)/Steve (Drums) shortly after. Catherine the first singer came next, shortly after but unfortunately didn’t last long. The next singer was Nicola and this is the singer we did the Stone Roses gig with. After Nicola came Kerry and Alan was replaced by Gargs on keys later on.

Where did the name for the band come from?

From a pub and a beer mat!

How did the band write their material?

Yes, a lot of the songs came from jam sessions whilst rehearsing.

Did the band record material?

Yes, we recorded a single called Sober Rose at Ridge Farm, a residential recording studio. We also recorded cassette tapes (How old am I).

How about in a live environment, did the band have a fan following?

As we had members from both Crawley and Horsham we had decent following. We also garnished favour from the local papers, which would regularly write articles about us.

On Tuesday 28th February 1989 at Brighton Escape Club Bitter supported a band from Manchester called The Stone Roses. Were you aware of the band before you knew you’d be supporting them?

Personally, I had never heard of the Roses and I think the others in the band were the same. Very secular existence in the south!!

Were you aware of their music?

Not at the time, but boy afterwards I big fat yes indeed.

How did the support slot come to fruition?

A promoter/booking agent, we knew offered us the gig.

What do you remember about the build up to the night?

I loved Brighton being a Crawley boy and so was very excited to play down there.

Did you get to meet the band prior to the gig?

No, the first meeting was at the gig.

The gig in Brighton came hot on the heels of the band playing a sold out night at Manchester’s Hacienda club. There’s a well known bootleg of the Roses set that was cut short due to a distinct lack of attendees, do you remember this from the night?

I remember that the venue was quite empty but didn’t bother the band as we were just happy to be there. Can’t say the same for the Roses though Poor buggers coming all the way from Manchester.

Did you watch the Roses set? If so, do you have any specific stand out memories of their set?

I watched the Roses set and was blown away. I was mesmerized by Reni and the way he played the drums. I had never seen anybody play the way he did and I was completely sold. I thought that the rhythm section was very strong with Mani complementing the drum patterns with his playing. On top of that was John’s jingle jangle guitar work and not forgetting Ian, a vocal that again I had never heard of before but really fitted to the vibe of the band.

Are there any other memories from the night that stand out?

There are three points:

1. Mani came up to me before any sound checks had been made, and asked if he could use my bass amp as his had been stolen from the van in Manchester (??) He was extremely friendly, and I didn’t mind in the least. I showed the graphics etc on the amp and said help yourself.
2. After the sound checks, Andy and myself went into the so-called ‘green’ room and saw Ian on his own smoking at the end of the room. Andy said What are you doing mate? Ian’s reply was ‘smokin puff so F*ck ‘ff’ (how rock and roll is that!). With that we did just as he asked and f*cked off out of the room
3. This was the best (and worst) memory of the evening. After the sound checks had been completed, our drummer declared he was hungry and decided to go and find a place to eat. This was I think roughly about an hour before we were due to start the gig so he disappeared on his own. All well and good so far, but 15 minutes before we were due to start no drummer. Our time to start to play arrived and guess what, no drummer!! Fuck we were now panicking, and he wasn’t answering his phone. About 15 mins approx after we were due to start he rocks up fully replenished and oblivious to any consternation his lateness had caused (Drummers I don’t know – another worldly being). We then went on and played our full set. Now here’s the rub, when the Roses went on they had only a certain amount of time left before the gig had to end and so as a result had to curtail their set by approx 15 mins. I don’t know why we didn’t play a shortened set, I assume the venue thought everyone had enough time, but unfortunately the Roses lost out here. But (a ‘big’ but) we were given outstanding Quality over Quantity with the performance.

(on a slight departure from the interview i spoke to Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield about his version of events ‘Not like Ian that, i think there was an atmosphere because the crew had f*cked up and forgot half the gear. That gig was at the Zap Club or Escape. I think we had played The Hacienda the night before, loads of our gear was missing and we had to borrow shi!t, we played about 5 songs and f*cked it off. Bobby Gillespie, Innes & Throb were in the crowd, they thought it was total rock n roll, been mates ever since.’)

Did Bitter go on to have any success in terms of recording and releasing any material?

We sent a demo to Island Records after playing a London gig with a different singer Kerry. However I received a rejection letter, soon after with not what the public wants!!

Why did the band split?

Bitter had existed for quite a few years in one form or another and I think we just all went our own ways with two pairing up to do a punk covers/original band and the other two dipping into house music. I went on to form another band with Alan who had returned from the dessert, called Frantic.

Are you still involved in music?

I as a singer songwriter have my own band now called The Hiker and Andy has a band called Psychobabble.

Finally, what’s on your turntable at present?

I really am sorry to say this, but The Hiker is high on the podium (Therapy). Other bands are Royal Blood (family connection), Black Honey, Marmozets and again anything with a guitar in it.