It could almost be said that without Mark Gardener of Ride, there would be no Clockenflap.
Almost.
The guitarist was a solo headlining act way back in 2003, when Rockit, an outdoor festival pre-cursor to Clockenflap, was first staged at Victoria Park. Although that’s a little over a decade ago, outdoor concerts were virtually unheard of and there was much conjecture about who would show up and whether it would all be shut down. Gardener, performing acoustically, was a clear highlight on the day.
“I remember Rockitfest in Victoria Park and my solo show at Clockenflap a couple of years ago very well,” he says looking back. “These were bigger and more interesting shows for me during my solo touring time and I was always happy to go to a new country, which Hong Kong was for me. I love the food, the people, the culture and the warmer tropical eastern air.”
But even during his solo stint, Gardener fielded his fair share of queries about when Ride would be reforming. The Oxford, England based group were only together for eight years (1988-1996). Yet thanks to an FX laden guitar assault through which Gardener and co-writer Andy Bell’s vocals seeped through, the group were hailed in some music circles as the masters of a new movement.
It was called “shoegazing”. The group hated the term. Music fans still can’t get enough of it. And even though the group only released a handful of albums, their reputation and legacy seemed to grow as the years went on. “We tried out best to make interesting music that we would love playing and then who knows what could happen,” says Gardener. “We stuck to our guns, didn’t taper ourselves to any rules, and did not compromise ourselves to what we were doing, so that makes it all so much better when it all works out as it has.”
By 1996 though, egos had gotten in the way. It was said that Gardener, Bell, Laurence Colbert and Steve Queralt were at each other’s throats over future directions, sound, writing, everything. So they split. And over a series of compilations, box sets and sheer nostalgia, a longing for Ride to ride again grew and grew.
And years later, after group members had explored other bands (notably Animal House and Hurricane No. 1), an offer from Coachella Festival organizers in California signaled that it was time to give Ride another shot. “The first return as a group felt so familiar to me, but also a little surreal as it was hard to understand where the missing years had gone,” says Gardener.
Since then the group have been on the road virtually non-stop. After Clockenflap, they’ll have just one more week before they take time to reflect on this long strange Ride version 2.0
Older now, they think more in the moment and appreciate each other much more then when they were struggling indie musicians whipping up a scene around them. It could be said that Clockenflappers seeing them long after the sun has gone down will get the best of what the group is all about. “We’re stronger people as individuals and better musicians than we were at the start,” says Gardener. “We’re a much more consistent live band now as we’re also probably more consistent as people. Lots of small changes make a big difference in the end.”
Ride will be performing on the Harbourflap Stage tonight (Friday, Nov. 27) at 9:30pm.
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