My Peel Tapes - Part 28

Yes, people,

and here we go, here we go, here we go .... another edition of 'My Peel Tapes' ... where we find ourselves quite some years back in time ... in 1997 in fact. Some really cool tunes were released then, and here are some examples. Enjoy!

(289) Kenickie - 'Punka' (mp3). Orginally released as a 7" on EMI Disc in 1996, re-released a year later on the same label and also available on their debut album 'At The Club', also from 1997. They were a great band, sounding really 'fresh' back in those days. Formed in Sunderland in 1994, disbanded in 1998 and again I don't have any idea what they possibly might be doing nowadays.

(290) The Fall - 'Don't Call Me Darling' (mp3). From the band's 'Cerebral Caustic' - LP on Permanent Records, released in 1995. You know, I really hung on Peel's lips for nearly 20 years, but never had I been able to share his enthusiasm for The Fall. To me they have never been more than an 'okay-type-of-band', of course they did some brilliant tunes, but also a fair amount of unlistenable stuff. 'Don't Call Me Darling' is pretty much okay for me though, and I hope you like it as well.

(291) Jane Bond & The Undercovermen - 'Kiss My Gun' (mp3). Played by Peel as part of his little 'Jane Bond - retrospective', which he did around 1998, some 15 or so years after the original release of 'Politically Correct'. 'Politically Correct' is one of the most criminally underrated records of our time, the second album by the band and each track on it is a winner. As far as I know this record dates 1982, although I'm pretty sure that this can't be right: I think it was not issued before 1984 or even 1985, on Dreamworld in the USA and on Normal Records here in Germany. It is not easy to ascertain any information about Jane Bond & The Undercovermen on the internet, apparently they never got the attention they deserved.

(292) Suckle - 'Boyfriend' (mp3). Backside of their 'Symposium' - 7" on Detox Records from 1997. Hard to say whether the B-Side is better than the A-Side, both tunes are rather fine. This may well be because Suckle consisted of members of the mighty Vaselines .... who were gods, there is no other way to describe it, I'm afraid to say.

(293) Galactic Symposium - 'YMCA' (mp3). "You won't find a more joyous record", that's what Peel had to say about this little gem. A ramshackle version of the Village People - favourite, and - I'm sure you will agree - rather preferable to the original. An extremely rare 7" on Vague Records from 1978 and if you have never heard this before, you really should complete your little lifes by downloading it without hesitation at all. I think the way the singer can barely keep from cracking up throughout the song is simply unbelievably infectious! Too good to be missed, people ....

(294) Morphine - 'Murder For The Money' (mp3). Well, it is not easy to describe Morphine's sound to people who have never heard anything they ever did. I'll quote Wikipedia here:

"Morphine's instrumentation was quite unusual: Sandman's primary instrument was a two-string bass guitar (with both strings usually tuned to a 5th or octave interval) played with a slide; however, on the group's records he added touches of guitar, piano, electronic organ, and other self invented guitar instruments such as tritar (three stringed guitar). Colley played primarily baritone saxophone, along with soprano or tenor saxes, and the rare bass saxophone, and he sometimes played two saxes at once, a la Roland Kirk; he also played occasional percussion, and Dobro on a B-side."

'Murder For The Money' was a CD-Single, released on Rykodisc in 1997. Also look out for their second album, 'Cure For Pain' from 1993, which is an outstanding piece of music!

(295) Altered Images - 'I Could Be Happy' (mp3). A 7" picture disc on Epic from 1981, which most probably is a guarantee for heavy surface noise. But I hope this doesn't put you off, because this is one of the many tunes you don't hear all too often on the radio these days, but when you hear it, you say to yourself: "now, that was good to hear again!". Altered Images were led by the wonderful Clare Grogan, who, according to my mate J.C. aka The Vinyl Villain, once was rather rude to him when he asked her to have a dance with him. And where's Clare Grogan now (that we need her)? I have no idea ...... again!

(296) Scarfo - 'Alcaline' (mp3). A curious item this is: a 7" on Deceptive Records from 1997, it comes in a gatefold sleeve in a limited edition of 1500. But although the right side of the sleeve is manufactured as though it should contain a second record, it is - alas - empty, only the left side is filled with 'Alcaline' and 'El Topo' on the flipside. Investigating further in the wonderful world of the internet, it seems to me as if this item was only the first out of two singles, perhaps originally planned as a combined release. Either way, one out of Scarfo is now in The Kills and I once saw them playing in the Camden Palace in London in 1997 or 1998 together with my then girlfriend Natalie (well, she was accompanying me, not that she was performing together with Scarfo, that's what I'm trying to say here .... either way: "Hello Natalie", should you be reading this, which is unlikely), a very nice venue it was, and a storming gig as well!

(297) DM Bob & The Deficits - 'Bush Hog'n Man' (mp3). Hamburg's finest, as I'm sure you all agree! Deutschmark Bob have to be heard, their sound can't be described, at least not by me. More info on them here, 'Bush Hog'n Man' is the title track from their second album on Crypt Records from 1997 .... and what a masterpiece it is, to be sure!

(298) Echo & The Bunnymen - 'The Cutter' (mp3). Another oldie that feels really good to hear again after quite some time. Released as a 7" and as a 12" (with a fantastic extra tune on the B-Side, 'Zimbo'), but I'll play to you the LP version, the first track on 'Porcupine', released in 1983 on Korova Records.

(299) Pat Kelly - 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' (mp3). A very nice reggae version of the old Procul Harum - favourite, but the main appeal is that Kelly can’t make out the words accurately, so the lyrics become even more nonsensical. Check 'special virgins' instead of 'vestal virgins' or 'drove my mirror to the wall' .... priceless! It's not terribly easy to find out when exactly this was released, but I think it is from 1979 and was produced by Ossie Hibbert on the Mash-It - Label out of Jamaica. A great tune!

(300) Cornershop - 'Brimful Of Asha' (mp3). Yeah, I know that all of you can still sing along to this, but it was brandnew back in 1997 and when I first heard Peel playing it, it blew me away! More info upon this CD-single on Wiija Records: here. Cornershop homepage: here.

(301) Half Man Half Biscuit - 'See That My Bike's Kept Clean' (mp3). A wonderful version of Blind Lemon Jefferson's 'See That My Grave's Kept Clean', taken from Half Man Half Biscuit's 6th album, 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Road'. Released, as usual, on Probe Plus Records in 1997. Here's the band's homepage.

(302) Secret Goldfish - 'Dandelion Milk Summer' (mp3). The Secret Goldfish was a band from Glasgow. The group was formed by ex-Fizzbombs singer Katy McCullars, guitarist John Morose, and the rhythm section from The Mackenzies, Graham Lironi and Paul Turnbull. 'Dandelion Milk Summer' was released as a 7" on Creeping Bent Records in 1996, you'll also find it on their debut LP, 'Aqua Pet .... You Make Me', also released in 1996.

(303) Arab Strap - 'Hey! Fever' (mp3). Their first EP, released on Chemikal Underground in 1997, was called 'The Girls Of Summer EP'. A two-track 7" and on it was the fabulous 'Hey! Fever' .... it was a good year for the Scottish altogether, but this tune really was outstanding!

Ah well. See you next week, boys and girls. Don't forget to keep your nails clean.

Dirk