|
Despite the brief prominence which surrounded the disappearance of The Secret Method in the Spring of 1996, the available evidence pertaining to the band is surprisingly sparse. The initial reaction of the now defunct Golden Hoof Records upon the band's disappearance was to attribute the whole episode to a form of rock and roll showmanship. Whether the company truly believed its official line or whether it was in fact engaging in an ill thought out attempt to cover up the situation remains unclear. Since the dissolution of the company in 2002 and its absorption into XL Recordings, I have had remarkable trouble in tracing its employees, let alone eliciting from them any useful information. In this situation the assistance of former employee Bob Longfellow in my research cannot be overstated. Without Bob's help I would regrettably have drawn a complete blank, and a great deal of the information and images on these pages appear courtesy of his efforts.
Band History
The core of the band formed in 1993 as part of a five piece ensemble which performed with modest success on the live music circuit, mainly within London. As time passed and members dropped out, the remaining trio solidified around a routine of constant demo recording, improving and softening their song writing approach along the way. Having tentatively begun to perform again at the beginning of 1995, the band sent out what Bob Longfellow describes as a “home made, album’s worth of songs” to a number of independent record labels. As is so rare, the unsolicited demo reached the right people, in this case the emerging Golden Hoof Records. Jimmy Cook appears to have been the driving force of the band and his energy and ideas continually pushed the other musicians onward. Like the other members of the group he was a multi-instrumentalist, although he preferred the traditional role of singer, guitarist and joint front-man when playing live. Though he was outwardly confident his songs tend to display a surprising degree of insecurity and often take a confessional or apologetic tone (See The Lost Band - Music) Nick Young by contrast, was more reclusive and seems to have used music as a confidence-boosting outlet. He was on equal terms with Cook as a songwriter and performer, though he tended to defer to him as a spokesperson when the group performed live. With some classical training he played piano, trumpet and flute as well as guitar, but handled the bass playing role in The Secret Method’s few gigs. Bob Longfellow has described him as the “brains of the group”, and his writing style was often sombre, literate and, like Cook’s, rather self effacing. Bob Longfellow has given me the firm impression that Young gravitated towards Cook ’s self-assurance and his shared interest in music. In return Jimmy relied on Nick as a confidante and perhaps perceived his sensitive friend as a surrogate family member, having been estranged by his own parents as a teenager. Justyn Kupiec is an enigmatic character, as we know so little of his life or even his exact role in the creative process. He was Polish but spoke English with a London accent, and had presumably lived in the capital for many years. What is certain is that he played the drums, occasionally sang and was equally adept at playing the piano and guitar as the others. The impression I have been given of Kupiec is of an affable, laid back young man, who at 23 was almost certainly seen as the junior member of the group.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Golden Hoof Records The band had been working and indeed living together for some time by 1995 and the tentative beginnings of success arrived relatively late for them. With the procurement of a recording contract the band's future might have looked bright but It seems that the band initially struggled to find their footing. Interest in their work grew from their demo recordings and Golden Hoof Records were certainly keen to acquire these. However it soon became clear to the company that they had gained precious little else. The band, even at the time of signing was effectively nameless, having performed under a series of different names, none of which had lasted beyond a few gigs. It also became clear that the band had little recorded material to offer beyond their demo tapes.
A new direction Both Golden Hoof Records and their most recent acquisition ended 1995 at rather a low point. The band members were frustrated by their label's clear lack of enthusiasm for their material and the company itself was beginning to seriously question whether or not the deal had been a sound one. It was decided within Golden Hoof that a wholly new direction was called for and in December 1995 a meeting was held in which the band were informed of this... The music scene at the time was being flooded by new guitar based bands and as a result The Secret Method came under pressure from Golden Hoof to define a clear cut identity of their own. Bob Longfellow asserts that the band reacted stoically to the news although privately they were frustrated by Golden Hoof's willingness to dictate their future coupled with the vague nature of the request to find a new direction. As Bob pointed out to me...
"As far as...[The Secret Method]...were concerned what they were doing WAS new,
The pressure from Golden Hoof increased and it was It was this persistent and engineered pursuit of individuality which led Jimmy Cook to propose the sessions at Black River House. For the first time both the record company and band agreed on the principle that recording in the infamous house would produce results which were, if nothing else, unique. The events which led to the ultimate disappearance of the band can be read on The Case page, but one or two observations should be made here. Although vanishing inexplicably would seldom be regarded as normal behaviour for anyone, Bob Longfellow assures me that from his knowledge of the band none of them were predisposed to dramatics and were certainly not prone to disappearing from view especially half way through a project. Bob goes on to state that in spite of the heavy handed approach of Golden Hoof, the band were very effusive about their existing work and were excited about the prospects which lay ahead. It seems that at this stage no real rift had opened between the parties, rather the band were keen to discuss their thoughts and direction with the company at every opportunity. As Bob himself remembers...
"The quiet, moody approach wasn't really them at all.
Despite the breakdown of correspondence which was to come, the very first reports from Black River House were positive with the band dispatching several photographic images to London in January. They insisted that these images should form the basis of the artwork for the forthcoming album but it appears that Golden Hoof were not impressed by the offerings. The pictures were discarded by the company but rescued by Bob Longfellow, a fortunate reprieve which enables their appearance on this page. The images below are few and somewhat obscured but at the present time they are the only available images of the band. Clearly, most of them are incidental shots of equipment, but Bob confirms that the shot of two members of the band (above) depicts Jimmy Cook (left) and Nick Young (right). I do not have as yet any images of Justyn Kupiec who is believed to have taken most of these pictures.
Tracing The Band Members Since this web site and its research began, any attempts to trace the former members of The Secret Method have proved continually vexing. Almost a decade has now passed since Black River House was found deserted but as yet the whereabouts of the band, if indeed they are still alive, remains unclear. Below is a summary of what has been ascertained about each of the band members. Once more this project is ongoing and will be revised as any new information comes to light.
Nick Young Nick Young is perhaps the firmest lead for any of the band members to date. I succeeded in locating Nick's elder sister Caroline, and spoke with her briefly in 2004. She had of course expressed great concern for Nick's whereabouts back in March 1996 but it appears that she received a postcard from Nick shortly afterwards, reassuring her of his well being. Frustratingly Caroline is no longer in possession of the card which prevented an examination of the postal stamp, but she was eager to point out that it was sent after the disappearance. Whether this is truly the case, or as I suspect is more likely, demonstrates an attempt to reassure herself, remains unclear. Suffice to say however, the loss of this correspondence is hugely unfortunate. On Nick's character Caroline was guarded but explained that he was a very private individual, somewhat shy, but very focused on success and fortune. She even went so far as to suggest that Nick took his share of the record advance and simply 'took off'. Her apparent lack of concern was puzzling, but as of this time I am unable to press her any further due to difficult personal circumstances which have arisen in her life.
Jimmy Cook Jimmy Cook has proven to be strangely elusive, which is odd given what I have learned of his character. Bob Longfellow describes Jimmy as fairly loud, abrasive and quick witted. He clearly liked to drink and was the self-appointed spokesman of the band, making him all the less likely to quietly fade from view. Still, I have found no trace of Jimmy (save for a vague recollection from a customer at a Crystal Palace public house) and still less trace of any family. Caroline Young recalled meeting Jimmy in 1995 and being somewhat charmed by him, although she was aware from talking to Nick that Jimmy had been disowned by his parents as a teenager. Caroline hinted at a drug problem, but was keen to distance herself from any undue accusations. The presence of class-A drugs at Black River House in 1996 is, sadly, not disputed, and Caroline could well be right in the perception that Jimmy was a troubled young man. However, Bob Longfellow disagrees with this assessment, and though he cannot deny that drugs were found on the premises in March 1996, he maintains that this was utterly out of character for any member of the band commenting...
“I would have noticed if anyone was doing it, absolutely. Justyn wasn't doing it, Justyn Kupiec Justyn Kupiec seems at present to be entirely untraceable. The address shared by the band in Crystal Palace, South London is now privately owned and I have been asked not to give its address, though my thanks go to the current owner. She recalled the house being owned by a Mr Kupiec, a Polish businessman. My assumption is that the house was owned by Justyn's father, who remained in Poland while Justyn lived there under what was effectively a caretaker arrangement. If the house was sold then he may have quietly returned to Poland as early as March 1996. The Lost band case of 1996 is only marginally better placed that the Black River House Murders of 1992 in that the police do not regard the case as "closed". However, clearly a significant period of time has passed since the disappearance of The Secret Method and inevitably the case has found itself relegated in favour of more urgent, and indeed solvable cases. Since no specific crime is involved in the disappearance the issue is not regarded as a high priority.
|
