As The Rifffs reunion gig edges closer, music correspondent Michael Bugeja tracks down Glen Cachia, the singer and guitarist who actually started the band back in 1977, to learn about the band’s early days



When local agit-rockers Dripht recorded Dance Music for Depression for their most recent EP release, Global Warning, what they intended as a tribute to one of the most important anthems in Maltese music didn’t just breathe new life into the (over) twenty-year old song, it also revived public interest in the band behind this classic tune. In fact, in just a couple of weeks’ time, The Rifffs’ will be performing their first live gig in over two decades. The line-up we are talking about here is the very same one that recorded Dance Music for 80s Depression, but, contrary to popular belief, the story of The Rifffs actually started way before the Ska bug kicked in, even before Ray Mercieca came into the picture. And who better to tell me all about it than the very same person who (inadvertently or not!) brought The Rifffs into existence.

Now forty-something, Glen Cachia is heavier and wiser than the free-spirited teenager whose first musical experience came by way of gigs at Villa Rosa fronting low-key bands with dodgy names like Karazma! Although we had never met before, it only took a few minutes for us to start chatting away like old buddies, especially after I’d spotted part of his CD collection (and some familiar titles too!) stacked up by the hi-fi – a diverse collection that includes the likes of The Magic Numbers, Daft Punk and Glen’s particular favourite, Iggy Pop. In between talking about an endless number of bands and albums, Glen outlines the journey that started here in Malta, but soon found him slogging away in Sweden with nothing but a guitar for company, after which he decided to relocate to London during the punk explosion.

Strongly affected by the raw DIY ethic that punk brought to the music scene and with memories of the effervescent Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, Tom Robinson and countless other pioneering bands he’d seen performing in London still fresh in his mind, Glen returned to Malta, more eager than ever to put together a band.

The chance to do so came quite unexpectedly – around September 1977 – at his own birthday party, which was to feature a live performance by Slug, incidentally that band’s first with new vocalist William Mangion at the helm. Also at that party were various characters who would eventually play a role in the making of The Rifffs. These included Simon Spiteri, a percussionist-turned-drummer, guitarist Patrick Fenech (now an established photographer and artist) and a new face who went by the name of Cooks, a somewhat cool dude who, possibly with nothing better to do, had decided to gatecrash the same party.

Together with his mate Ray aka ‘Humbalance’, he would go on to form the core line-up of the early Rifffs. Incidentally, the three F’s in the band’s name was no mistake. Glen simply thought it would attract more attention (it did!). Graduating from their garage rehearsals, which incorporated a rented dodgy bass guitar and a plastic bag of circuit boards and electronic accessories somehow transformed into a makeshift synth, the band eventually gelled together after a few Sunday afternoon jam sessions down at Tigullio, initiated by none other than Slug’s own Albert Bernard. Before long, the place became a sort of Rifffs weekly residency, their live sets a brash combination of original tunes like Too Many Pills, She Had A Boyfriend (And He Was Bigger Than Me) and covers such as Roxy Music’s Remake/Remodel and Editions Of You.

Sporting an ever-changing image of colourful diversity earned the band a punk tag, and as Glen explains, a few stupid remarks, but he remained unphased by it all. The important thing was, after all, the music, and The Rifffs were becoming quite a popular live act. The band was, one could say, on a roll, even performing at the Plaza with the mighty Slug, but the good run wasn’t to last much longer. By March 1979, the band was playing its ‘final’ gig on the (literally) alternative stage that was really a unused open theatre in the Spinola area, a gig attended by many of the British ‘army’ kids in Malta who were drawn in by the band’s punk reputation.

Simon drifted off to India, after which Glen eventually quit the band and headed back to London - a move that would be as much of a turning point for him as it was for the band he left behind. The remaining Rifffs would later recruit Ray Mercieca and shift their musical focus and destiny, while Glen, as we shall read in the second part of this article, planned to pursue a musical career in the UK.



To be continued….