C86 Show - Indie Pop

Mark Brend in conversation with David Eastaugh

http://jawbonepress.com/down-river/

Down River: In Search Of David Ackles is an illuminating study of mythmaking, the popular music industry, and a forgotten enigma of the 1970s.

In 1972, David Ackles’s third album, American Gothic, was released to a flurry of press plaudits declaring it to be ‘the Sgt Pepper of folk’ and one of the greatest records ever made. Yet the album, like its two predecessors, failed to sell, and after one more record, its creator simply vanished. He found work, raised a family, and died a couple of decades later, having never made another record.

Today, Ackles’s music is largely consigned to the streaming netherworld. It is yet to be properly repackaged and reappraised, and he remains largely unknown. But there is no middle ground. You either love him or you’ve never heard of him. His admirers range from Black Flag’s Greg Ginn to indie polymath Jim O’Rourke to Genesis drummer turned platinum-selling solo artist Phil Collins.

In 2003, when Elvis Costello interviewed Elton John for the first episode of his television show Spectacle, the two spoke at some length, and with palpable respect, about Ackles’s great talent, before performing a duet of his ‘Down River’—the same song Collins had selected for Desert Island Discs a decade earlier.

Joe Boyd in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.joeboyd.co.uk/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roots-Rhythm-Remain-Journey-Through

Martin Porter & David Goggin in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buzz-Me-Inside-Record-studios/dp/0500028699

Strap yourself in and take a helter-skelter ride through more than a decade’s worth of high drama, hedonism, high tech and musical genius as told by the insiders at the heart of Record Plant studios, one of the most prolific recording factories of all time, founded in 1968 by charismatic audio engineer Gary Kellgren and ace businessman Chris Stone.

In the 1970s, Record Plant was everywhere there was music. In 1976 alone, the studios produced three No. 1 albums: Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life, The Eagles’ Hotel California and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Based on the memoirs and archives of Chris Stone, as well as interviews with over 100 studio employees, music producers and recording artists, Buzz Me In tells the incredible story of Record Plant’s evolution and the making of more than a decade’s worth of Gold and Platinum albums, tape by tape.

Illustrated throughout with behind-the-scenes images, archive photos of artists recording and performing live and album cover art, this revelatory and extensively researched book explores and celebrates the way the studios were designed to cater to every rock’n’roller’s fancy. From the living-room-style studio in New York, where Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland was recorded and where John Lennon later encamped, to the VIP clubhouse studio in Los Angeles where Stevie Wonder produced his classic hits, and the destination recording venue in Sausalito where Sly Stone, Bob Marley and Fleetwood Mac holed up, each studio location had its own inherent character – but all showcased the founders’ proven formula of combining state-of-the-art audio, fantasy bedrooms and group Jacuzzis with sex, drugs and celebrity jams.

Was Record Plant ‘the real Hotel California’?

Patrick Dougher in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.godbodyart.com/new-page-3

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/patrick-dougher/concrete-dreamland/9780316571043/

https://lionsgatesound88.bandcamp.com/album/algorhythm

Born in Brooklyn in 1963, Patrick Dougher grew up in some of the most turbulent and culturally impactful periods of NYC's history. Often neglected as a child by his parents-a father who struggled with alcohol addiction and an overworked mother who struggled to make ends meet-he learned to fend for himself. Now a renowned visual artist, musician, actor and writer, Dougher brings to the page his memories, struggles, personal revelations, and a life intimately tied to the realities of growing up Black and disenfranchised on the streets of one of the most remarkable cities in the world.

Concrete Dreamland is tragic and triumphant, gritty and hard, poetic and outrageously funny. Told in Dougher's brutally raw and courageously honest voice, these stories act as snapshots of a life lived in extremes: from gangsters to God, street style to sexuality, to recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism. He tells of his adventures as a pre-hip hop "hard rock' and an original Black punk rocker surviving during the dangerous days of the crack and AIDS epidemic in NYC, while also sharing tales of racism, homelessness, and his many brushes with fame and death.

Nancy Barile author of 'I'm Not Holding Your Coat: My Bruises-and-All Memoir of Punk Rock Rebellion' in conversation with David Eastaugh 

From Catholic school girl to glam maniac to organiser of classic early 1980s East Coast hardcore shows, Nancy Barile made her place behind the boards and right in the front row as SSD, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, and Black Flag wrote new rules. In the dangerous early years of punk, she rebelled, fighting for fair space as she found her purpose.

Terry Newman in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.accartbooks.com/uk/book/marilyn-monroe-style/

Marilyn Monroe Style celebrates Marilyn’s impact on fashion by revealing the influence of her many iconic looks. Her wardrobe encompassed sensual femininity as well as low-key minimalism. Outfits span from shimmering showpieces such as the Jean Louis gown worn to serenade JFK on his birthday, to Pucci slacks and cats-eye spectacles.

Born Norma Jeane Mortensen, whenever she ‘became’ Marilyn, she mesmerised onlookers with showstopping outfits that helped make her a legend, yet throughout her life the clothes she wore represented many ways of being a woman.

Written by Terry Newman – the bestselling author of Taylor Swift and the Clothes She Wears – this book tells the story of Marilyn’s life through clothes and is essential reading for Marilyn Monroe fans everywhere.

Angela Jaeger in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feel-Famous-Punk-Diaries-1977-1981/dp/1955125570

I Feel Famous: Punk Diaries 1977-1981 is a girl’s coming of age story set to the pulse of punk rock. The book tracks 17-year-old Angela Jaeger’s exciting discovery of punk music and its accompanying lifestyle in 1977.

A music enthusiast living in New York’s East Village, Angela’s story unfolds chronologically, charting her late adolescence in tandem with her transition from observer of the nascent punk scene to eager participant. Gradually becoming a nightly fixture of her neighborhood’s vibrant underground rock milieu at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, by 1978 she had continued to fulfill her punk fantasy abroad. She followed the Clash on a tour across England, finally returning home in 1979 to start her own band. Angela encountered an impressive cast of characters on her adventures, including Lydia Lunch, Joe Strummer, Billy Idol, Klaus Nomi, and Sid Vicious.

Laced with humor and wide-eyed curiosity, Angela’s daily first-hand accounts take the reader on a personal journey not found in other punk histories. Additional commentary by the author provides context and further anecdotal material.

The text is illustrated with the visual expressions of Angela’s enthusiasm—her drawings of punk personalities and fans, previously unseen photos and ephemera culled from her personal archive—affording a unique insight into the relationship between the music, the media, and the audience.

The diaries touch on a variety of themes including identity politics, downtown NY, anglophilia, fandom, fame, and fashion. Contrasting the stark black and white of 1970s New York with the exuberant beat-up color of a decaying London and its disenchanted youth, a lost era is brought back to life through a dedicated fan’s own reportage. Creative, funny and endlessly cool, the result is an unprecedented perspective into an ever-popular moment in contemporary cultural history.

Aaron Tanner in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://officialmerchandise.store/collections/melodic-virtue

https://www.melodicvirtue.com/collections/books/products/cardiacs

Compiled and designed by Aaron Tanner, Cardiacs: A Big Book and a Band and Whole World Window spans the group’s formative years as Cardiac Arrest to their last single, Ditzy Scene (2007). This new release features rare and unseen photos, artwork, and other ephemera that will captivate long-time fans and newcomers alike. With an introduction by Shane Embury of Napalm Death, this book is both a tribute and a comprehensive chronicle of the band’s artistry as a whole, providing a wealth of behind-the-scenes looks from the perspectives of band members past and present, alongside fans and contemporaries such as: Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More), Billy Gould (Faith No More), Todd Sucherman (Styx), Boff Whalley and Dunstan Bruce (Chumbawamba), Mike Keneally (The Zappa Band), Joanna Wang, Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd), Rob Crow (Pinback), Amon Tobin, Rhodri Marsden (Scritti Politti), Charlie Harper (U.K. Subs), Ego Plum, Pitchshifter, Dan Mongrain (Voivod), Paul Masvidal (Cynic), J.G. Thirlwell (Foetus) and many more!

The book also contains a black vinyl 7" record of the previously unreleased track, "Aukamakic/Dead Mouse,” from the sessions of their 1979 debut, Cardiac Arrest E.P., as well as the track previously unreleased on vinyl, "Faster Than Snakes with a Ball and a Chain.” This song was originally intended for their 1999 full-length, Guns.

Mark Hoyle in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.route-online.com/all-books/swerve

https://dubsex.net/about

Dub Sex are often cited as one of Manchester’s greatest ‘lost’ bands. Formed in the concrete landscape of 1980s Hulme, their music is appropriately raw and intense, bass-led with wiry guitar patterns swirling around the impassioned vocal style and presence of frontman Mark Hoyle. 

They came to prominence over the release of five critically acclaimed EPs and mini-albums in the late 80s. John Peel picked up on them from the outset playing a demo recording of ‘Tripwire!’ later describing the band on-air as “one of my very favourites”. Dub Sex went on to record 4 sessions for his BBC Radio show, the first of which incredibly aired 3 times in just 6 weeks during Feb/Mar 1987.  

‘Tripwire!’ saw a formal release later in 1987 on the band’s debut EP. The mini-album ‘Push’ and ‘The Underneath’ EP soon followed. Enthusiastic music press reviews helped the band’s profile rise amongst the post-punk fraternity and incendiary live shows led to several TV appearances including BBC’s influential ‘Snub TV’ and Tony Wilson’s Granada show ‘The Other Side of Midnight’.  

By early 1989 and the release of the ‘Swerve’ EP, Dub Sex had become Indie Chart regulars with ‘Swerve’ also making John Peel’s ‘Festive Fifty’ at the end of that year.  

Joe Dilworth in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://bildbandberlin.com/products/joe-dilworth-everything-all-at-once-forever?srsltid=AfmBOop7qFncpNI6g3QxwWIi_P1wOGycmFmfMmgE2wP6t9pW7Egjs87v

http://joedilworth.com/

Th' Faith Healers were an English indie rock band who were originally active between 1990 and 1994. They recorded multiple EPs and singles along with two full LPs

Leah Kardos in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.leahkardos.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kate-Bushs-Hounds-Love-33/dp/B0CYP75PF3

Dan Synge in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1068530812

Jonathon Grasse in conversation with David Eastaugh

http://jawbonepress.com/jazz-revolutionary/

Jazz Revolutionary is the first full biography of Eric Dolphy, passionately tracing his creative life from Los Angeles clubs of the late 1940s and 50s, to New York in the early 1960s, and on to Paris, where sixty years ago he died from the complications of undiagnosed diabetes. It presents an engaging examination of this innovative musician and composer, from his family background to posthumous memorials, and provides insight into his recordings both as sideman and leader.

Jakko Jakszyk in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://kingmakerpublishing.com/jakko-m-jakszyk/

Jakko M. Jaksyzk is an award-winning, world-renowned musician, best known for having been a member of Level 42, but most recently, for the past 13 years, lead singer and guitarist with progressive rock founding fathers King Crimson.

Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair? is, at first glance,  a traditional rock’n’roll memoir, charting Jakko’s long and varied musical career, packed with eyebrow-raising and hilarious anecdotes about his encounters with everyone from Michael Jackson to Kate Bush and Gene Simmons, Uri Geller, Cliff Richard and the Dali Lama.  Dig a little deeper, however, and it soon becomes clear that this autobiography is much more than that.

Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair? is an almanac of entertaining tales from the mid-20th century rock’n’roll, theatre and alternative comedy trenches, all told with great wit and charm.

This is a book about origins, identity and who we become.   It tells the story of an abandoned child who became lost in dreams of becoming a musician and who, with determination, talent and a slice of luck,  ended up working with their childhood heroes. 

Laura Davis-Chanin in conversation with David Eastaugh

http://backbeatbooks.com/books/9781617136870

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinite-Dreams-Life-Alan-Vega/dp/149307248X

Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for Excellence in Writing and named in Billboard's top 10 Music books of 2018 for her book, "The Girl in the Back," Laura is pursuing her second love, writing. Her first love, her daughters, bring her eternal sunshine everyday. Her second book, "I am Michael Alago," about the unique and remarkable person who brought Metallica to the world as well as Nina Simone's last album, was released in 2020 on Backbeat Books.

Just completed a biography of Alan Vega, front man for the band, Suicide, entitled "Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega" - released August 2024, while she finishes her novel based on true events entitled "A Finished Noise".

Gered Mankowitz in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://mankowitz.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolling-Stones-Rare-Unseen-afterword/dp/1802797335

"Mankowitz (Goin' Home with the Rolling Stones '66), who at 18 became the official photographer for the then newly formed Rolling Stones, gathers a rich and revealing trove of images from the band's early years. Capturing the group as they were "finding their style and... becoming themselves," Mankowitz's photos depict the rockers in motion onstage; in their homes and luxury cars; and in heated exchanges with concert security, incidents that underlined their reputation as a more boisterous and rowdy alternative to the Beatles

Pat Thomas in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://allenginsberg.org/2023/11/w-n-29-2/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Material-Wealth-Personal-Archive-Ginsberg/dp/1648230369

There are hundreds of thousands of items carefully stored and archived at Stanford University's Allen Ginsberg collection. Counterculture historian Pat Thomas, with the full cooperation of the Allen Ginsberg Estate's Peter Hale, has compiled and annotated a remarkable volume of material, unearthing in the process one astounding find after another. The result is a tome of previously unpublished historical paperwork and vintage graphics and photographs and ephemera that promises an unprecedented look inside one of the most prolific poets and agitators of cultural mores of the 20th century.

A poster for Patti Smith's first-ever poetry reading. Correspondence from Allen's stint as literary agent for William S. Burroughs and Herbert Huncke. Yippie manifestos from Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, and John Sinclair of the MC5. A ticket for a 1974 concert by Bob Dylan & The Band (with Yoko Ono's phone number scribbled on the back). Posters documenting early Beat Generation readings in 1950s San Francisco as well as later ones capturing the 1960s Haight-Ashbury Hippie era. 

Simon Reynolds in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://store.whiterabbitbooks.co.uk/products/futuromania

Simon Reynolds's first book in eight years is a celebration of music that feels like a taste of tomorrow. Sounds that prefigure pop music's future - the vanguard genres and heroic innovators whose discoveries eventually get accepted by the wider mass audience.

Starting with an extraordinary chapter on Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer, taking in illuminating profiles of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Boards of Canada, Burial, and Daft Punk, and arguing for Auto-Tune as the defining sound of 21st century pop, Futuromania shapes over two-dozen essays and interviews into a chronological narrative of machine-music from the 1970s to now. Reynolds explores the interface between pop music and science fiction's utopian dreams and nightmare visions, always emphasising the quirky human individuals abusing the technology as much as the era-defining advances in electronic hardware and digital software.

Graeme Thomson in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://omnibuspress.com/products/small-hours-the-long-night-of-john-martyn

Small Hours is an intimate, unflinching biography of one of the great maverick artists. Though Martyn never had a hit single, his extraordinary voice, innovative guitar playing and profoundly soulful songs secured his status as a much admired pioneer.

Covered by Eric Clapton, revered by Lee Scratch Perry, produced by Phil Collins, Martyn influenced several generations of musicians, but beneath the songs lay a complicated and volatile personality. He lived his life the same way he made music: improvising as he went; scattering brilliance, beauty, rage and destruction in his wake.

Drawing on almost 100 new interviews, Small Hours is a raw and utterly gripping account of sixty years of daredevil creativity, soaring highs and sometimes unconscionable lows.

Luke Haines in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freaks-Out-Weirdos-Deviants-Righteous/dp/1788709349

https://www.facebook.com/lukehainesuk/

Haines formed numerous bands when he was at school. At college he joined The Servants who recorded two commercially unsuccessful albums. It was only when Haines formed The Auteurs with Glenn Collins and girlfriend Alice Readman, who had also been drafted into The Servants on occasion, in 1991, that he began to achieve some success.