My Peel Tapes: Part 3

Good morning dear friends,

here we go with the third part of the 'My Peel Tapes' - series and I do sincerely hope some enjoyable stuff will be there amongst it for you:

(11) New Order - 'Sub-Culture' (mp3). May 1985 and New Order just released their third studio album, 'Low-Life'. With this album, New Order put forth their most commercially accessible effort to date. In my eyes, 'Low-Life' for the first time showed that they no longer were Joy Division, in the previous two albums the 'darker' elements of their childhood were much more obvious. Which, I might add, wasn't a bad thing at all. I remember buying the LP in a Belgium supermarket whilst shopping with my Mum ... those were the days, ey?

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[upon request:

New Model Army - 'No Rest'

Foyer Des Arts - 'Schimmliges Brot']

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(12) The Nirvana Devils - 'Some Foreign Shore' (mp3). From Germany and taken from a 7" on Exile Records. An old review read: "Two catchy, finger-snapping dittles make this single a worthy investment for those who might like an amalgam of textured '60's pop and late '70's-power pop. The slightly off-tune and off-time female vocals somehow adds to the effect as it did for the Mo-dettes long ago. Recommended." There's nothing much to add to that, I would think.

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[upon request:

New Order - 'Love Vigilantes'

New Order - 'Sooner Than You Think'

New Order - 'Sunrise']

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(13) Another tape where one great songs segues into another, which makes it hard for me to decide which one to post. And because I'm a lazy chap, once again you're gonna get a whole bunch, so:

(13-1) Green On Red - 'That's What Dreams' (mp3). From their third album 'Gas Food Lodging', recorded in Hollywood in 1984, released the following year on Torso Records from the Netherlands. Chuck Prophet and Chris Cacavas are names which ring a bell, right? Green On Red homepage: here.

(13-2) Jilted John - 'Jilted John' (mp3). Well, if you don't know this little gem from 1978, I will have very much to explain to you. You better read the full story behind this absolutely classic 7" on Rabid Records here. One of my all-time favourites, that's for sure!

(13-3) The Go-Betweens - 'Draining The Pool For You' (mp3). Originally on the 1984 'Spring Hill Fair' - LP, a record which I once owned but I think lent to someone and never got back. But I still have a useful Go-Betweens compilation, a double-LP in fact, called '1978 - 1990', where the track can be found on: amongst other goodies, of course: ideal for Go-Betweens - beginners, if such creatures exist ....

(13-4) Blood And Roses - 'Love Under Will' (mp3). From a 4-track 12" on Kamera Records, released in 1986, which leads me to believe that Peel must have had an advance copy on his desk at the time of the broadcast. Because I'm pretty sure that I taped this show back in 1985. Anyway: Blood And Roses were the group most closely identified with the "positive punk" movement of the early 80s, although they were also variously described as anarcho punk, hippy punk, even acid punk. Of course, the "positive punk" scene, of which Blood And Roses, along with UK Decay, Brigandage et al, ranked as leaders, is now identified as a vital precursor to what would become Goth.

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[upon request:

Ramones - 'I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You'

Anne Clark - 'Short Story'

Los Violadores - 'Viejos Patéticos'

Cocteau Twins - Ivo']

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(14) The Loft - 'Up The Hill And Down The Slope' (mp3). Their second 12" on Creation Records, released in 1985 and the follow-up to [the also brilliant] 'Why Does The Rain' from the previous year. The Loft weren’t around to see where that path they had worn ended up, amidst an infamous break-up in 1985. The Loft split onstage at The Hammersmith Palais, London as Peter Astor walked off stage prior to the final song of the night, perhaps one-upmanship on the others. I also have two solo albums ('Paradise' and 'Submarine') by Peter Astor, the lead singer: you will rather easily find them in the 'cheap stuff bin' at your local record store, a shame really, 'cos they're worth hearing.

Around the time this was released, another band - much more famous than The Loft - brought to our attention their second album:

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[upon request:

Three Johns - 'Death Of The European'

Krupps - 'Risk']

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(15) The Pogues - 'I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day' (mp3). Taken, of course, from the 'Rum, Sodomy & The Lash' - LP on Stiff Records, 1985. The Pogues' best work to date, much better than their debut, 'Red Roses For Me'. (Then again, 'Red Roses ...' had 'Boys From The County Hell' on it, a remarkable track by any means). But the pure amount of awesome tracks on 'Rum, Sodomy & The Lash' made it much more worthwile, I would think: I cannot remember a single track from it that would not have been played by Peel at this time.

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[upon request:

Pogues - 'Navigator']

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(16) The 3 Johns - '20th Century Boy' (mp3). From the backside of the excellent 'Death Of The European' - 12" on Abstract Records, 1985, and a definitive reading of the old Bolan favourite. The 3 Johns still were somewhat special back then, Jon Langford's way of singing was hard to beat, I would say ...

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[upon request:

New York Dolls - 'Looking For A Kiss']

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I hope you enjoyed this little episode, just let me know if this was the case, please!

Have fun,

Dirk

My Peel Tapes: Part 2

Back from work and a bloody awful day it was, that's for sure! But who cares, now it's fun time ... with the second part of "My Peel Tapes". Enjoy:

(6) The Glove - 'Like An Animal' (mp3). From the 1983 LP 'Blue Sunshine' on Polydor Records. Now, The Glove actually were Robert Smith (out of The Cure, of course) and Steve Severin (out of Siouxsie & The Banshees, of course) amongst others. Rumour had it at the time that the vocal part was done by Siouxsie Sioux herself. This, let me tell you, is not true: in fact the vocals were done by someone called Jeanette Landray.

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[upon request:

Jesus & Mary Chain - 'Never Understand'

Sex Pistols - 'Satellite'

Smiths - 'Barbarism Begins At Home'

Go-Betweens - 'Cattle And Cane'

Rose Of Avalanche - 'L.A. Rain']

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(7) The Rose Of Avalanche - 'American Girls' (mp3). A band from Leeds and this track is taken from their 1985 debut 'First Avalanche' on the Leeds Independent Label. The LP is good throughout and I wish this would also be true for what The Rose Of Avalanche did after releasing it ... eventually they split up in 1991 ... perhaps this was a wise thing to do, who knows?

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[upon request:

C.U.B.S. - 'We Don't Need No Carpet Baggers'

Fire Hydrant Men - 'I'm In The Pits Since My Racing-Driver Baby Left Me'

Smiths - 'Shakespeare's Sister'

Ramones - 'Judy's A Punk'

Ramones - 'Havanna Affair']

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(8) The Mel-O-Tones - 'Burton Buzz' (mp3). The Mel-O-Tones was a five-piece band featuring, Marlyn Dempsey on guitars, David Dickie on piano, Bob Parker on bass, Jon Neesan on drums, and Frank Martin on vocals (the latter three to become the Walking Seeds). The music is possibly the weirdest thing to be heard among the musical product of the period, combining warped Captain Beefheart-esque vocals and acid lyrics to twisted rockabilly riffs choked in swirling echo effects - and the band itself is possibly the last Liverpool band to carry the torch for weirdness and psychedelia in mid 80's . 'Burton Buzz' is taken from their 1985 6-track debut Mini-LP 'Bomb Sutra' on Probe Plus Records.

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[upon request:

Jane Bond & The Undercovermen - 'I Made Love To A Communist'

Buzzcocks - 'E.S.P.'

Notsensibles - 'I'm In Love With Margaret Thatcher'

Fall - 'Last Orders']

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(9) Now I'm trapped: on this side of the cassette there are fantastic songs only and I can't decide whether to give you The Normal's 'Warm Leatherette', Abbreviated Ceiling's 'Party Line' or Billy Bragg's 'The World Turned Upside Down'! What would you do? I'm willing to have a small bet you wanna hear them all, right? Okay, there you are ....:

(9-1) The Normal - 'Warm Leatherette' (mp3). The first record to be released on the Mute Label, a 7" in fact, from 1978. The Normal actually were no-one else but Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records.

(9-2) Abbreviated Ceiling - 'Party Line' (mp3). From a 4-track 12" on Fountain Of Youth Records, the first track on side one being 'DWI', which leads me to believe that the records heads under 'DWI', that's if you want to have a look for it on ebay or elsewhere. From 1984. Abbreviated Ceiling played the 1980 Unheard Music festival (Minor Threat's second gig) and plenty more around the D.C. scene, though they'd broken up long before Fountain of Youth released their 4-song 12" (where they're backed by Tommy from Black Market Baby). Guitar/vox Kendall Reed: " 'DWI' was composed -I swear this is true- in the drunk tank of the Fairfax County jail after I got picked up leaving a Black Market Baby show, Halloween 1980. The chord progression is an alphabetic substitution code for the letters D-W-I -in the Fairfax tank, you have to make your own fun!" Kendall went on to Please Between, while partner, bassist/vocalist (and photographer) Charles Steck joined the Velvet Monkeys.

(9-3) Billy Bragg - 'The World Turned Upside Down' (mp3). Taken from the 1985 'Between The Wars' 7" EP and - although I can't think of a single bad track that Billy Bragg might ever have done - this, in my eyes, surely will always be in my Billy Bragg Top Ten. Awesome! If you EVER have the chance to this guy live (preferrably solo), do so: if you don't you will really miss a treat!

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[upon request:

Jane Bond & The Undercovermen - 'The Girl Who Knew Too Much']

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(10) Dawn Chorus & The Blue Tits - 'Teenage Kicks' (mp3). This is a neat cover of my favourite record ever since. And if you don't know the original: shoot yourself right now! Vocals on this 7" on Dawn/Stiff Records from 1985 are by Liz Kershaw, sister of Andy Kershaw. Guitar by Damian O'Neill and bass by David Bowie (at least that's what it reads on the sleeve. Whether it is true or not, I simply don't know. Perhaps Bowie completists will be able to tell ...).

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[upon request:

Jane Bond & The Undercovermen - 'Politically Correct'

Pogues - 'Boys From The County Hell']

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Comments, nice people, are of course mostly welcome and I hope to have the next lot of 'My Peel Tapes' ready later this week. Take care,

Dirk

My Peel Tapes: Part 1

Well, I wonder: is it a bad thing to steal a brilliant idea from another blog and use it for yourself? You judge and will let me know. But whatever you say, I will do it nevertheless ...

The mighty JC , mastermind behind The Vinyl Villain will turn 45 in June. Before this is achieved he will post his favourite 45 7" singles (which all run at 45rpm ... you get the idea, right kids?): have a look here to read the full story. I'm absolutely sure that every single track will turn out to be a gem. And I thought to myself: why do not do the same? But then again: I will turn 40 in June, not 45. So I will have to wait another 5 years to do exactly the same thing. But in the meantime I came up with this:

When I was 16, I started to tape nearly every edition of John Peel's Music on BFBS on my cheap stereo and whenever I had some money I would hitchhike to town to get hold of the stuff John played the other night. Quite a lot of brilliant records came together since BFBS decided to sack John in the late 90's, as you might imagine. I will now pick a tape, choose my favourite song from each side and play it to you. This I will do in chronological order (i.e. I will start with the first tape I ever made), although this won't automatically mean that the specific track I've chosen was actually released when I taped it. Most of the times this will be the case though.

Of course I will try to find some background information and/or further links to the bands' sites, if available.

Enough said, here we go:

(1) The Room - 'A Shirt Of Fire' (mp3). Peel took it from the 'In Evil Hour' album from 1984, which, alas, I don't have. This version here (and there ain't no big difference to the album version) is one of four tracks on the B-Side of the fantastic 'Jackpot Jack' 12" on Red Flame Records from 1985. To make it even more complicated, on the sleeve it reads that 'A Shirt Of Fire' was originally broadcast on Radio One's Janice Long Show on October 16th, 1984. Anyway, The Room later turned into Benny Profane and their stuff is absolutely worth checking out as well.

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[upon request, if you like:

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - 'Hollow Eyes'

Redskins - 'Keep On Keepin' On'

Ramones - 'Danger Zone'

Terry & Gerry - 'Wait Until You're Older'

Orthotonics - 'Accessible As Gravity'

The Pete Best Beatles - 'Alamein Train']

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(2) Nico - 'Heroes' (mp3). A 7" on Aura Records UK from 1983. Although Peel introduced the song as "Nico with The Blue Orchids", I still wouldn't vouch for the fact that The Blue Orchids really were connected here. I know they toured with Nico in the early 80's as her backing band, but whether they were involved in recording this specific track, I have no idea. Well, at least they are not credited on the sleeve at all and I cannot find any proof in the www of them being involved at all.

(3) Les Calamités - 'Le Garcon De New York' (mp3). [... and yes: I know that the 'c' in Garcon should have an accent whatsoever below, but I don't know how to type it, you pedantic neurotics!]. Taken from a 4-track 12" on New Rose Records called 'Pas La Peine', released in 1984. I can only recommend that you have a look at their great website, which tells you their story in full detail.

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[upon request:

Cabaret Voltaire - 'James Brown'

Beatitudes - 'Surfing Psychos'

Crippled Pilgrims - 'Black And White'

Triffids - 'Plaything']

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(4) True West - 'Backroad Bridge Song (What Could I Say)' (mp3). Peel had their 'Drifters' album on the turntable, released in 1984. I took the track from a fine label - compilation called 'Acres For Cents' from 1987 though. "Zippo Records, an outpost of the Demon Records Empire", it reads on the sleeve. Also they say: "Their handful of gigs here in 1984 were arguably the very best of all those American bands unfortunate enough to be dumped together under the media-inspired guise of an 'American invasion', but while 'critics' were fawning over R.E.M., True West went relatively unnoticed. A tragedy."

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[upon request:

Sacred Cowboys - 'Highway 61'

Triffids - 'Hanging Shed'

Triffids - 'My Baby Thinks She's A Train'

Serious Drinking - '1, 2 XU'

Serious Drinking - 'Bobby More Was Innocent'

Multicoloured Shades - '(The Ballad Of The) Voodoo Ranger'

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(5) The Cure - '10:15 Saturday Night' (mp3). Now, this is what I meant to say earlier on: Peel played this 'oldie' from 1978 upon request in this show broadcast in '84. I think it's the standout tune on the tape's side and the version I chose is taken from the band's Peel Session, later released as one of the 12"'s on Strange Fruit, recorded 4.12.78, first broadcast 11.12.78. Turn it up good and loud .... 'cos when the bass comes in, your life will no longer be the same!

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[upon request:

Stranglers - '(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)'

Clash - 'The Prisoner'

Vibes - 'I'm In Pittsburgh (And It's Raining)'

Smiths - 'Rusholme Ruffians'

Lipstick Killers - 'Driving The Special Dead'

Smiths - 'I Want The One I Can't Have'

Crippled Pilgrims - 'Out Of Hand']

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Enough for today, I hope you let me know if you liked some of the tunes. There's more to come .... more or less soon, I hope.

Take care,

Dirk

Happy Easter Holidays!

Morning folks,

perhaps it's a bit too early to wish you all Happy Easter (I assume this should not be done before Monday, right?), but I don't care a great deal: the main thing for me is not the Christian background, it's more the fact that I have 4 days off in a row, ha ha .... so: Happy Easter to everyone of you and I hope you enjoy your free time as much as I do!

It's rather easy to find appropriate tunes for Christmas, but for Easter? Hmmmh ... this one would be okay, I think ... at least it would be on Monday.

Cay - 'Resurrexit' (mp3): Now, I know very little about Cay, nothing in fact. This track though - from 1999 or 2000 (it doesn't read on the - deleted - CD) - is utterly brilliant, at least in my view ....

And if I were a DJ, I would have played it for the mighty Crash out of the fantastic Pretending Life Is Like A Song - blog. Crash has decided to keep the blog on halt for the time being, because he has to sort out things in real life. Crash, all the best from my side! The blog is already completely defunct, as you will have spotted perhaps, but if you have a look at the old editions of the Contrast Podcast (link), you will be able to hear Crash's enthusiastic introducions to brilliant tunes of his own choice. Do it every once a while, I can only highly recommend it: there's a wide wide range of fantastic music to explore, this, of course, in combination with interesting and sometimes even weird intros from very nice people all over the world. Thanks to Tim Young, the mastermind behind it all! Tim, enjoy your holiday and I hope you will be back soon, relaxed and ready for more great Contrast Podcasts!

Crash, Tim, this is for you, mates: Galaxie 500 - 'When Will You Come Home?' (mp3). Taken from the fantastic 1989 LP 'On Fire' on Rough Trade: not only is the entire record absolutely awesome, also the sleeve notes, written by Kramer, are hard to beat.

Thinking of it, having chosen this track might leave the rest of you under the impression that I miss the two guys for other reasons than their great work. This is not the case, and so, in order to proove that straightaway:

Sloppy Seconds - 'I Don't Wanna Be A Homosexual' (mp3). A 7" on Toxic Shock Records, 1990.

As you will have spotted, I totally lost the Easter thingy by now ... and it's hard to come back to the intended topic. But who cares, ey? So therefore here are just some more tunes you won't hear all that often. Sit back, have a bottle of red wine and enjoy some Ska. Then again: dance, if you want to. It's all up to you ....

Prince Buster - 'Time Longer Than Rope' (mp3). Taken from a very useful compilation, which I picked up in Kingston on my first trip to Jamaica: 'History Of Ska Vol. 2 - The Golden Years '66 - '69' on Studio One Records.

Sound Dimension - 'Soulful Strut' (mp3). It's always hard to tell when those Ska tracks were first released. 1969, I would guess here. You can find it on the excellent 'Studio One Soul' compilation on Soul Jazz Records. Perhaps it's even still available from their back catalogue ....

Hopeton Lewis - 'Take It Easy' (mp3). Again this is taken from a Soul Jazz compilation, this time from '300% Dynamite'. Originally released in 1966?

Desmond Dekker - 'Pickney Girl' (mp3). From a compilation on Trojan Records. 1968 perhaps.

Melodians - 'Rivers Of Babylon' (mp3). From 1970. Now this a tune that is frequently being brought in connection with religion, right? A nice excuse to use it as the final track for this Easter Song Parade.

Again, relax, people and spend some time with your loved ones. And if you find the time to leave a comment: do so. I would be more than pleased!

Bands From Glasgow Pt. 3

I just deleted the whole post by mistake whilst trying to remove a photo. Bugger!

And I'm too bored to do it all again.

Oh boy ... this morning really starts perfectly well ....

Bands From Glasgow Pt. 2

Hi folks,

welcome to the second part of 'Bands From Glasgow' ... and I'm curious to find out whom JC danced with this time *smile* .... read his great comment on Pt. 1 and you will understand what I'm talking about ...

BMX Bandits. Favourite track, although, to be a absolutely frank to you, I don't know a great deal of their work alas, is 'Kylie's Got A Crush On Us' (mp3), a 12" from 1993. Notable: the singer, Duglas T. Stewart, once was in a group together with Frances McKee out of the fantastic Vaselines.

Camera Obscura. Favourite track, a 7" from 2004, is 'Keep It Clean' (mp3). Notable: see Belle & Sebastian: also Camera Obscura haven't done a single bad thing over the years, have they?

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. Favourite track is 'Andy's Babies' (mp3), which was on the B-Side of the 1985 'Perfect Skin' - 12". Notable: I really honestly do think that if you haven't heard their brilliant 'Rattlesnakes' - LP, your life is somewhat incomplete!

Del Amitri. Again I must admit I don't know much about them nor do I know many songs. Therefore this is not my favourite track, but 'just one I know', which doesn't mean it's bad: 'Some Other Sucker's Parade' (mp3) from 1997. Notable: obviously nothing.

Jesus & Mary Chain. Favourite track: 'You Trip Me Up' (mp3). A 12"from 1985. Notable: fuckin' brilliant, there ain't much more to say. Definetely the loudest band I ever saw live in my live. And I saw them three times back in the 80's .... awesome!!

Delgados. My favourite track is the Peel Session version of 'Under Canvas, Under Wraps' (mp3) , recorded in 1996. Notable: they got their name from Pedro Delgado, a Tour de France winning cyclist ....

Franz Ferdinand. Favourite track is 'Jacqueline'(mp3) the opener from the 2004 album 'Franz Ferdinand'. Notable: I know people say they are the best thing since sliced bread, but believe it or not: I never cared for them a great deal ....

Enough for tonight, my beauties ... and perhaps I'll find the time tomorrow to continue.

Leave comments, take good care and enjoy!

Cheers!