My Peel Tapes: Part 6

Dear friends,

first thing today: thank you!!

There have been quite a few comments to the 'My Peel Tapes' - series, which shows me a) that some people are indeed reading this blog and b) that the tracks can't be that bad. Thanks a lot (!!) to everyone who left a comment. Also I want to recommend to you (especially) the latest two episodes of the Contrast Podcast, which are all about our fantastic CD - swap: and what a pleasure it was to participate! Also our friend FiL from Pogo A Go-Go was delighted about the CD he received, as you can tell if you have a look here *smile* .....

Enough of that, more of my Peel Tapes need to be checked out:

(29) Dinosaur - 'Repulsion' (mp3). And yes, you youngsters, I know that you think I forgot the 'Jr.' behind Dinosaur. But they really were called 'Dinosaur' at the time of this release, their debut 7" on Homestead Records from 1985 and only became Dinosaur Jr. a little bit later. I remember Peel reading out a press release for this record from the band, in which Dinosaur reported about some French scientists, who - in the 1960's - apparently wanted to find out up to which volume music could be played to the human body until first damages occur. In order to do so, those scientist built up a huge PA in some desert and were killed whilst doing the test. Whether all of this is true or not, I don't know, but it shows the intention behind Dinosaur's music ... and probably also what a nice chap J. Mascis is ... either way: turn it up good and loud!

[upon request:

Half Man Half Biscuit - 'Architecture, Morality, Ted & Alice'

Quads - 'You've Got To Jive'

Half Man Half Biscuit - 'Albert Hammond Bootleg'

Chin Chin - 'Never Surrender'

Cure - 'Caterpillar'

Half Man Half Biscuit - 'The Trumpton Riots'

Limespiders - 'Out Of Control']

(30) Another 'oldie', I'm afraid. Well, to tell the truth, I'm not afraid at all: I like this stuff up to no degree and I do think it's important to make it available to you. You don't hear these records all that often nowadays and if only one of you tracks it down, listens to it and says 'well, that's pretty neat indeed' ... then I'm more than satisfied! So here's 'To You' by The Smirks (mp3), about whom I can tell you nothing at all. A 7" on Smirksongs from 1979 and it reads on the back of the sleeve: 'Making up for lost time'. What more could I possibly add? The Smirks' website can be found here.

[upon request:

We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It - 'XX Sex'

Members - 'Solitary Confinement'

We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It - 'Rules And Regulations'

Pogues - 'The Body Of An American'

Honululu Mountain Daffodils - 'The Electrified Sons Of Randy Alvey']

(31) Although the tape is from 1985, luckily Peel played this one from 1983 again: I'm Spartacus and 'Donna Is Distressed' (mp3). A bit of a collector's item these days and I remember that even back then I had quite some trouble in getting hold of a copy of the 7" on Decade Records from Australia. I'm Spartacus were Nick Cecire on drums, Gino Palmieri on guitar and John Marr (!)on bass and vocals. A shame really it's no longer April 1st, otherwise I would have made up a nice little story about how this John Marr became bass player in a band called The Smiths ....

[upon request:

Primevals - 'Saint Jack'

Half Man Half Biscuit - '1966 And All That'

Hüsker Dü - 'Dead Set On Destruction'

Primevals - 'Spiritual']

(32) The Jasmine Minks' 'Forces Network' (mp3), From the follow-up to their 1984-debut Mini-LP, from their self-titled album from 1985. Which also includes the bloody fantastic 'Cold Heart'. On Creation Records, CRE LP 007 in fact. I think this tune might perhaps find the approval of the mighty JC over at The Vinyl Villain .... let's wait what he thinks!

[upon request:

Half Man Half Biscuit - 'All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit'

Hüsker Dü - 'I Don't Know For Sure]

(33) 'Take The Skinheads Bowling' by Camper Van Beethoven (mp3) (a 12" EP on Pitch A Tent from 1986). I assume you all know this song. If you don't, well: venerate me utterly for having given you the opportunity to brighten your life! Quite cleary there's a Jonathan Richman influence in it, but do you really bother?!

[upon request:

Cocteau Twins - 'Oomingmak'

Cocteau Twins - 'Little Spacey'

Pete Wylie - 'Sinful']

(34) The Soup Dragons - 'Whole Wide World' (mp3). Now, this is the record with which, at least for me, began, what would later be described as 'C86'. Quite a lot of 'those shambling bands' will be featured in the episodes to come, but The Soup Dragons started it all for me, along with The Wedding Present perhaps. Then the NME released the C86 - cassette ... and the rest is history. A 12" on the Subway Organization Label from March 1986.

[upon request:

Cure - 'Boys Don't Cry'

Screaming Blue Messiahs - 'Smash The Market Place'

Screaming Blue Messiahs - 'Holiday Head'

Screaming Blue Messiahs - 'Talking Doll']

Have fun, people: leave comments, leave requests. But most of all: enjoy!

Dirk

My Peel Tapes: Part 5

Hello my beauties,

first of all: thanks to the nice people who left comments. Please let me remind you that you're more than welcome to let me know about your requests for the tracks which I didn't link to (see further below). Again: they're worth listening to, I'd think ....

(23) John Cooper-Clarke - 'Suspended Sentence' (mp3). A legendary track from 1977, which I have on a very fine compilation called 'Martin: The Work Of Record Producer Martin Hannett', released on Factory in 1991. I always cared quite a lot for this 'poetry' stuff from people like John Cooper-Clarke, Ted Chippington and Attila The Stockbroker, although - due to my limited knowledge of the English language - it is not always terribly easy for me to understand exactly what they're going on about. Highly recommended stuff nevertheless!

[upon request:
Buzzcocks - 'Autonomy'
Johnny Thunders - 'Alone In A Crowd']

(24) Cassandra Complex - 'Moscow Idaho' (mp3). Believe it or not, I used to go out drinking at the time with the guys out of Cassandra Complex fairly frequently. Originally from Leeds, they lived in my hometown Aachen then for quite a while and I'll never forget Rodney Orpheus' pointing at me every fucking time when I entered the bar, shouting "Dirk Wears White Sox!!". Which I never (!) did, of course! A 12" on Rouska from 1985 ... then again: perhaps I looked a bit like Adam Ant back in those days? Who knows ....

[upon request:
Half Man Half Biscuit: '99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd']

(25) There ain't that many LP's which are good throughout in it's entirety, you know, the ones where you can't find a single bad track after several hearings. The ones which you keep coming back to forever and forever. Most definetely The Feelies' 'Crazy Rhythms' is one of these albums. Released on Stiff Records back in 1980 and from it, very short into the point but wonderful: 'Fa Cè-La' (mp3).

[upon request:
New Order - 'Everything's Gone Green'
Standells - 'Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White'
A Witness - 'Lucky In London'
Wolfgang Press - 'Heart Of Stone']

(26) The Quads - 'There Must Be Thousands' (mp3). A very fine 7" on Big Bear Records from 1979. Use this when you're DJ-ing and I guarantee you that people will storm the dancefloor ... providing they have taste and have had a bit too much of alcohol ...

[upon request:
Talking Heads - 'Love Goes To A Building On Fire'
Half Man Half Biscuit - 'I Hate Nerys Hughes (From The Heart)'
Jesus & Mary Chain - 'You Trip Me Up']

(27) From the debut album by the mighty Half Man Half Biscuit (the toast of Birkenhead!!): 'Sealclubbing' (mp3). The album, 'Back In The D.H.S.S.' was released on Probe Plus Records from Liverpool in 1985 and posting this gives me the opportunity to draw your attention to this very useful site: a must for everyone who considers HMHB as being the best thing since sliced bread!

[upon request:
Minor Threat - 'Small Man, Big Mouth'
Jesus & Mary Chain - 'Some Candy Talking'
Wedding Present - 'Once More']

(28) I think this album rather might be a much sought after item and it could be quite valuable nowadays. Rightly so, because it's a stunning work and I still like to listen to it after all the years. From their 1982 LP 'The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain)' on Rough Trade Records, here's 'Hanging Man' by The Blue Orchids (mp3). Enjoy!

[upon request:
Go-Betweens - 'Spring Rain'
Front 242 - 'No Shuffle'
Wipers - 'Mystery']

Enough for today, pop-pickers. There's much more to come. Let me know about possible requests and I'll do the necessary.

Cheers,

Dirk

I'm Sorry ....

Dearest friends,

JC aka The Vinyl Villain asked me to re-post the Dawn Chorus track further below. So I had a look in order to find out what happened to the link and to my great horror I recognised that NONE (!) of the links in 'My Peel Tapes 2 & 3' are working: this has been corrected by now and all I can do is apologise. So here's for you (from 1981):

The Inflatable Boy Clams - 'I'm Sorry' (mp3).

Cheers,

Dirk

My Peel Tapes: IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR PARTS 1 - 4!!

Dear friends,

with every tape I get in my hands, the decision which track to play and which ones not to becomes more and more difficult. Therefore I decided to edit the 4 posts below, you will now find [in brackets] the tracks on the specific tape which I went out to buy after I heard them, but did NOT post here in favour of other ones. They are all available though, mostly on original vinyl, in my collection: so if you're interested to hear one of them, get up and write a comment instead of just sucking the ones I did post. I promise to do an 'Upon Request - post' on a regular basis, in which, obviously, the requested tracks will crop up. Believe me, it's your loss if you don't write/comment and request, because they're all good. If not brilliant.

Just do it!

Dirk

My Peel Tapes: Part 4

More stuff here for you to enjoy, dearest friends, and I don't want to bore you with a long introduction, so here we go:

(17) Another oldie, and another good one, so good actually that it became an all-time favourite for me: Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'Oliver's Army' (mp3), a 7" on Radar records from 1979. After having heard this one I bought every LP by Elvis Costello that I could get hold of ... and so should you!

(18) Oh boy .... things are really getting complicated now, because at the time I taped this cassette The Cure released 'The Head On The Door' and The Jesus & Mary Chain released 'Psychocandy': you can imagine that both records were frequently featured by Peel at the time of their releases. You won't get nothing out of it though, instead here's the fabulous Marc Riley & The Creepers' 'Snipe' (mp3). Marc Riley was in The Fall and although I never could fully share John Peel's sheer enthusiasm for them, this fact alone should make you listen to the tune. Pretty neat stuff. The B-Side of the 'Shadow Figure' - 12" on In Tape Records from 1984.

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[upon request:
Ramones - 'Daytime Dilemma (Dangers Of Love)'
Shop Assistants - 'All That Ever Mattered'
Cure - 'Just One Kiss'
Cure - 'The Blood'
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - 'Spinning Round'
Cure - 'The Baby Screams'
Marc Riley & The Creepers - 'Shadow Figure']
--------------------------------------------------

(19) I found The Cure and JAMC on here again. And I'm tempted to post one of theirs now. But also on this side of the tape there is a real corker, which perhaps you don't know, because it was 'just' a B-Side. I think there aren't that many B-Sides which are better than the A-Side, but this a good example: from the 'Bring On The Dancing Horses' - 7" on Korova, here are Echo & The Bunnymen and 'Over Your Shoulder' (mp3) from 1985 (mp3). Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------
[upon request:
Cure - 'Push'
Joy Division - 'Isolation'
Alan Vega - 'Outlaw'
Jesus & Mary Chain - 'Taste Of Cindy'
Artery - 'The Death Of Peter X.' (Into The Garden)
Nirvana Devils - 'Secret Agent Girl']
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(20) On my 17th birthday (11th June 1985) John and Damian O'Neill out of the (then defunct) finest band on earth recorded their first Peel Session, which was later issued on Strange Fruit Records as a 12". From it, here's 'V2' by That Petrol Emotion (mp3).

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[upon request:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 'In The Ghetto'
Nomads - 'She Pays The Rent']
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(21) I know nothing about this band, I'm ashamed to say. I better should, because the track is fantastic: July 14th - 'Me And My Gun' (mp3). A 7" (1984) on Greasy Pop Records from sunny Adelaide, Australia.

btw.: rumour has it that the both latter tracks were thundering away in the background during Max Mosley's recent Nazi-Sex orgy ('Me And My Gun' for the lyrics and 'V2' for the title ... you get Max' intention, right?) .... I don't believe that for a minute!

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[upon request:
Screaming Blue Messiahs - 'Twin Cadillac Valentine'
Half Man Half Biscuit - 'Time Flies By (When You're The Driver Of A Train)'
Cabaret Voltaire - 'Golden Halos']
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Okay. I'm getting hungry and before I can stumble into the kitchen, I have to upload all the songs above, I'm afraid. This means this might be the last chance for you to hear something from The Jesus & Mary Chain's fantastic 'Psychocandy' - album. Then again we have this on the tape:


(22-1) The Brilliant Corners - 'One Of These Days' (mp3): from the 'Growing Up Absurd' - Mini-LP on SS20 Records from 1985. And I know this will please dearest Fil out of 'Pogo A GoGo' (a site you should visit every day if you want to make your life happier, by the way!)


And also (finally):


(22-2) The Jesus & Mary Chain - 'The Hardest Walk' (mp3). As I said, from 'Psychocandy' on Blanco Y Negro Records, 1985 ...

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[upon request:
Jesus & Mary Chain - 'Taste The Floor'
Jesus & Mary Chain- 'Cut Dead'
Midnight Choir - 'Walking In Darkness'
Magazine - 'Rhythm Of Cruelty']
-------------------------------------

Enjoy your meal, folks - I will certainly do so: see you next time!


Dirk

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?

--------------------------------------

[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.

----------------------------------------

[upon request:

New Order - 'Love Vigilantes'

New Order - 'Sooner Than You Think'

New Order - 'Sunrise']

----------------------------------------

(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.

-----------------------------------------------------

[upon request:

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

Anne Clark - 'Short Story'

Los Violadores - 'Viejos Patéticos'

Cocteau Twins - Ivo']

----------------------------------------------------

(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.

----------------------

[upon request:

Pogues - 'Navigator']

----------------------

(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.

----------------------------------------------

[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?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[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']

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[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!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

[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 ...).

---------------------------------------------------------

[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.

------------------------------------------------

[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']

----------------------------------------------------

(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!

-------------------------------------------

[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']

----------------------------------------------------------

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!

Bands from Glasgow

Dear all,

first of all I have to apologise to the mighty JC from the Vinyl Villain - blog for stealing this idea. I know he, living in Glasgow, is a big fan of the local music scene and sees it as something to be culturally proud of: and rightly so, I might add. He frequently features bands from Scotland, particularly from Glasgow, in his fantastic blog, and I thought: why not do the same and give those bands some more attention?

I think that not only since the days of The Delgados music from Scotland was somewhat special. Bands from there always were a bit 'better' than others, a bit more 'touchy', if you know what I mean. My only source for music, not only from Scotland, always were John Peel's BFBS shows, which I constantly listened to from 1984 until BFBS sacked him. I never had the impression that Peel followed the hype for Scottish music that came along when The Delgados got so enormously well known all over Europe. Good music from Scotland had been there ever since, and this little series is about to prove exactly this.

On wikipedia there is a 'List Of Bands From Glasgow'. As you might imagine a great deal of important bands are missing and there are quite a few bands on it who don't exactly match my taste. Nevertheless I will try to use this list as a guideline, so let's start with:

The 1990's. My favourite track of theirs, from 1996: 'You Made Me Like It' (mp3). Notable: the singer and bassist founded The Yummy Fur: alas I don't have their 'Theme From Ultrabra' on vinyl or CD, but it's worth listening to. Believe me.

Altered Images. Favourite track, a 7" from 1981: 'Dead Popstars' (mp3). Notable: I never met Clare Grogan, but I'm deeply and profoundly in love with her, just because of her voice ....

Aztec Camera. Favourite track is, from their 1984 LP 'Knife', 'Still On Fire' (mp3). Notable: an obvious choice, I know, but what the heck: this is my blog and I rule: so there you are!

Belle & Sebastian. Favourite track, from a 7" titled "3 .. 6.. 9 Seconds Of Light", 'A Century Of Fakers' (mp3). Notable: literally all of what they did over the years. As you should know ....

Bis. Favourite track, from the 'The New Transistor Heroes' - LP from 1997: 'Starbright Boy' (mp3). Notable: just found out that my (perfectly mint) copy of the LP is a lobster red vinyl one, ltd. edition, 500 only... trade anyone?

Okay, that's it for today, pop-pickers: I'm gonna have dinner now. There's more to come, that's for sure. And always, please feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think!

Take care,

Dirk

Grievously Underrated ... Part One

Dear friends,

this is the start of a whole series for which I try to post a song from a band which I think - as the title implements - was (or is) grievously underrated. That of course reflects just my personal opinion, at the end of the day you will have to judge yourself. But in any case I can only recommend that you should have a listen to the songs: I really honestly do think that those tracks should have deserved more attention than they got when they came out. In my eyes they're all total classics and the people who wrote them are heroes to me!

So let's start with Calvin Party. As far as I know they come from the Manchester area and if memory serves correctly, before they turned into Calvin Party, they were The Levellers Five (nothing to do with The Levellers). In both formations they recorded for Probe Plus Records from Liverpool and whilst trying to ascertain a little more information for you, I found out that Calvin Party are still existing and even have a brandnew album out. Check their myspace side, what I heard there was not bad at all. There will also be a UK promotional tour which starts next month, and if you decide to go and see them, you might be lucky to hear them performing this one, from 1995:



Calvin Party - 'Life And Other Sex Tragedies' (mp3)

If you want to get hold of this particular track, just have a look at the Probe Plus homepage. But bear in mind that the album of the same name does NOT contain this track, you will find it on the LP/CD 'Lies, Lies And Government' (Probe 43) though.

Next up something from a band not totally unknown, at least not to people of a certain age, so I would think. But if you've never heard this before, you really missed a treat. The original version of the song was titled 'Into The Garden' and now you know I'm talking about Artery. Artery formed in Sheffield in 1979, 'Into The Garden' though is from 1982. I have the original version on tape, but a 'different' version of the song (although the difference is not that big) was issued as the B-Side of 'The Alabama Song' - 12" in 1983. The sound quality is way better, therefore you'll get:

Artery - 'The Death Of Peter X.' (mp3)

Next up a welsh band, something which normally always guarantees quality: The Glass Torpedoes. I don't know anything about them, apart from the fact that one of them later was with Nightmares On Wax. This here is from a 7" on Teen Beat Records from 1979, the A-Side being 'Someone Different', although - again - I think another song on it is much more enjoyable:

Glass Torpedoes - 'Morning, Noon And Night' (mp3)

The third release on Hemiola Records from Leeds featured a combo from Arlington, Virginia: The Eggs. Despite of their stupid name the record itself was just marvellous. It must have struck a chord in Britain at least for a few people, because it reached # 10 in Peel's Festive 50 of that year. Doesn't make them worldwide superstars, but who gives a damn, right?

The Eggs - 'The Goverment Administrator' (mp3)

That's it for today, people, there's more to come, I'm sure. Before I go, I would - as usual - like to draw your attention to both the current and also to tomorrow's edition of the mighty Contrast Podcast: well worth listening, believe me!

Have fun ... and I would be more than happy to read any comments saying whether you liked the tracks as much as I do or not!

Cheers,

Dirk

I'm killing time ... to keep YOU happy!

Dear friends,

I have some time to kill time before my Grinderman - CD arrives (don't know yet whether it's the fault of the sender or of the post, but I will find out on Monday ... and someone will have to suffer then, that's for sure!), from which I will of course just love to post something here. So here are some tunes I haven't heard for quite a while, perhaps you will like them, who knows ....:

For the current edition of the Contrast Podcast we had to find something to accompany stories of ours about 'our brush with fame'. Only yesterday - after already having sent away my contribution - I thought to myself, I also could have sent in this track, a 7" on Fire records from 1989, and most wonderful as well, I would think:


The Television Personalities - 'Salvador Dali's Garden Party' (mp3)

This one has nothing to do with fame whatsoever, alas the opposite is true for this combo: in my eyes they're were greviously underrated. I say 'were', because I have no idea if they still exist or whether they have released anything else but this 7" in 2000 on V2 Music. Either way, even if they did nothing else, with this recording they have achieved much more in their lives than I will ever achieve in mine. Adorable, as you will be able to tell right now:

Mo Ho Bish O Pi - 'Hear The Air' (mp3)

My wife just called me from the other room, where she's searching for some cool downloadable tunes, in fact Radiohead she's after. I can't cope with them, never could, but anyway: her search brought her to The Vinyl Villain - blog (purely coincidental, believe it or not!). Now, this showed me that the world of the internet isn't really that big, is it? J.C., mastermind behind the Vinyl Villain - and the only Scottish inhabitant with an understandable accent - contributed some Orange Juice the other day for the Contrast Podcast, so I thought why not play you this one:

The Wedding Present - 'Felicity' (mp3)

Taken from one of those Peel Session 12" on Strange Fruit Records, recorded and (first) broadcasted in 1986.

[and for those of you too young to know: the starting line refers to the fact that Orange Juice's James Kirk wrote the song in 1982. (also on the vocals with Orange Juice, by the way, was Edwyn Collins: now this is a name you really should know, right?) And who acted as James Kirk in Star Trek? Correct: William Shatner, so there you are ...]



Also from Scotland are these people: Ballboy. There is nothing much to say about them, perhaps apart from the fact that they are the fucking best thing since sliced bread. If you don't owe at least one of their records, your life is somewhat incomplete. Don't worry too much about which one to buy, they're all superb. This of course doesn't make it easier for me to choose a specific track to post here, but I think I go for this one from their 2003 'The Sash My Father Wore & Other Stories' - CD on SL Records:


Ballboy - 'Born In The USA' (mp3)

And although I don't care a great deal for Springsteen, here's another one of his songs (and, so is the one by Ballboy, another contender for my Top 10 of 'Covers Which Are Better Than The Originals'), this time by Electrelane, also done in 2003:

Electrelane - 'I'm On Fire' (mp3)

Thinking of it, this 'Covers Top 10' really is something I should do here in it's entirety one of these days. In it would be also this one, of course, originally done by The Strokes, recorded in 2003 and covered here by a band which means as much to me as Ballboy do:


Detroit Cobras - 'Last Nite' (mp3)

I hope, dear folks, this week's selection was enjoyable to you and I hope I didn't bore you too much: perhaps you have found something you've not heard before. If this is the case, I'm more than happy.

Leave comments/take care/goodnight, all the best:

Dirk

Some Goodies to start the New Year ...

First of all, dear folks: a very happy 2008 to all of you! Stay healthy, that's the main thing, I would think.

As usual I would like to draw your attention to the last three episodes of the mighty Contrast Podcast: Tim managed to convince his listeners to make up a Festive Fifty of their favourite songs from last year. I know that a quite a lot of such lists are currently being blogged, but I promise you that this particular one is a real treat throughout. Not only the musical choices are excellent, the same is true for all of the intros.

As you might imagine I spent a lot of time listening to rather moody Christmas tunes in the last few weeks, nothing wrong with that I would say. But now is the time for a little more straight and uptempo stuff, so here are a few tunes I always liked quite a lot. They have nothing much in common apart from the fact that I think they're rather awesome and not frequently heard elsewhere. So there is a little chance that you might not know them and will like them as much as I do. If this should turn out to be the case, leave a comment: I would be more than pleased ...

1.: The Rezillos - 'Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite' (mp3). From the classic 1978 album 'Can't Stand The Rezillos' on Sire Records. Try Amazon, for example ... at least for the CD version.

2.: The Damned - 'Jet Boy, Jet Girl' (mp3). From 'Another Great Records From The Damned', an early compilation on S.P.I. from Italy. Deleted, of course. The sleeve says it was recorded by Captain Sensible and The Softies and I think the recording was done in 1982. You will of course all know the original by Plastic Bertrand, but this version is comparably good ....

3.: The Untouchables - 'City Gent' (mp3). From their 1985 'Wild Child' album on Stiff Records. Hmmm ... ebay, perhaps?

4.: The Nomads - '16 Forever' (mp3). A band from Sweden and recorded in 1987 ... when coming from Sweden or any other Scandinavian country wasn't 'hype' .... Taken from the 12" on Amigo Musik. Deleted. Originally done by The Dictators back in 1978, of course ...

5.: The Beasts Of Bourbon - 'The Hate Inside' (mp3). From their LP 'Sour Mash' on Red Eye Records. The Beasts come from Australia, this one is from 1988. You wouldn't detect it from the song, but they are a very nice bunch of people indeed: a friend of mine used to manage them when they were in Europe in the early 90's and I did some gigs together with them then .... the record is deleted as well.

That's it for today, my beauties ... enjoy, have fun and sing along if you want to. Buy the records if you find them and leave a comment should you need more info from me in order to do so. Also leave a comment if this is not the case ...

Take good care,

Dirk

Little Gems: Picked Randomly (Pt. 2)

Ages since I last posted something new here, I know. And all I can do is apologise. Having been rather busy will apply to all of us, so this is no excuse at all. But I promise to do better in 2008 and simultaneously warn you that nothing much might be posted on this blog during the upcoming bank holidays. The truth of the matter is that nothing much spectacular happened lately which would have been worth telling you, at least nothing which I could have combined with some cool records to post here.

Therefore I thought I just do again what I did last time: I'll have another go at this random grab - thingy. First it was pretty cool (at least to me), second because I like it when I get things I didn't expect. And haven't heard for ages also.

So, here we go, what I picked this time from the stack of 7" singles - with closed eyes - is:

Splodgenessabouts - 'Simon Templer'. Hmmmh. I think the B-Side is much more enjoyable, so here it is, from 1980, 'Two Pints Of Lager' (mp3). A total classic, I would think. Teldec Records, a German pressing obviously.

Sportique - 'Don't Believe A Word I Say' (mp3). On Matinee Records from the USA, and it doesn't mention a date on the single. Not that old, I would guess though. 2000 perhaps? First heard on John Peel, of course.
Standells - 'Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White' (mp3). A 1995 coloured-vinyl re-issue on Sundazed Music of the 1966 corker. Recorded in Mono, so don't you panic and buy a new stereo tomorrow.

Stitched-Back Foot Airmen - 'Wouldn't You Like To Know' (mp3). On Very Mouth Records from the UK, 1986. Oh boy, haven't heard this one since I first bought it back then ....

Stone Roses - 'Sally Cinnamon' (mp3) from 1987 on Black Records. Now, this is one you all should know. And if you don't: enjoy. This I used to play to death when still DJing. As you will be able to tell because of the crackling of the record.

All of those should be long deleted, let's settle for that. You will surely find the Stone Roses track on some compilation of theirs, finding the other ones could turn out to be difficult.

Not to forget is, as usually, the mighty Contrast Podcast. As well the latest episodes as tomorrow's one, which will be another one in the Seven Deadly Sins - series, all are absolutely adorable. Have a listen, folks. If there ever was a recommendation, here it is ...

Have fun ... and please leave comments. I would be more than happy!

Enjoy,

Dirk