C86 Show - Indie Pop

Kevin Foakes aka DJ Food in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.fourcornersbooks.co.uk/books/wheels-of-light/

DJ Food is an electronic music project currently headed by Kevin Foakes (also known as "Strictly Kev"). Originally conceived by the members of Coldcut on the Ninja Tune independent record label, the project started in 1990 on the premise of providing metaphorical "food for DJs". DJ Food released the Jazz Brakes series, with Jazz Brakes Volume 3 being the most successful. The records consisted of collections of breaks, loops and samples that could be used for mixing, remixing and producing.

Rumi Missabu - The Cockettes - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Rumi Missabu is a founding member of the San Francisco-based, glittery drag-spectacle known as The Cockettes. A prominent group within the experimental, psychedelic theater and arts scene, the Cockettes were known for pushing the boundaries of drag and sexuality and exploring gender fluidity from the 1960s on. One of their most well-known and often-revived productions is Pearls over Shanghai, a mock-operetta set in 1937 Shanghai in which issues of miscegenation and white slavery are explored. Film credits for Missabu include the documentaries The Cockettes and Uncle Bob and the short The Glitter Emergency. Throughout the 2000s, Missabu continued to collaborate with artists and musicians as well as be involved in revival shows of Cockette productions

Dorothy Max Prior - Rema Rema, Psychic TV &  The Ragroof - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Member of Rema Rema. Under her first name, she is best known for a pop single released on Industrial Records which claimed she was 19 when in fact she was already 27. The other musicians on this record were Genesis P-Orridge and Alex Fergusson who were shortly to form Psychic TV with Peter Christopherson. They apparently asked Dorothy to play in the group, but she declined and didn't join the group until many years later when she was credited under her middle name Max. Dorothy only stayed in Psychic TV for about a year. In between this, she was in punk-pop rockabilly band first called The Weekend Swingers and then The El Trains.

Delphi Newman - Baby June, Jim Jiminee, The Box Brothers and Vital Disorder - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Jim Jiminee hailed from Fleet in Hampshire, comprising Kevin Jamieson (lead singer/guitar), Peter Dyes (lead guitar), Delphi Newman (keyboards), Nick Hannan (bass), and Lindsay Jamieson (drums). Another notable ex-member was Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays who had sung in an early incarnation of the band called Cruel Shoes. Jim Jiminee sounded like the best of Mod-style indie-pop combined with surprising elements of skiffle and subtle jazz, Kevin sang about relationships as tragicomedy, life on the dole; semi-routes to small town madness.

Their first EP Do It On Thursday, released in 1987, is an indie classic, when indie actually meant independent. It was, rightfully, a top 20 indie hit, featuring four life-affirming songs; the type that made you want to throw your best hat in the air, kiss your dearest friend, throw yourself into your neighbour’s goldfish pool, that sort of thing. They were all suffused with natural energy bursting life; they made signing on the dole sound like the finest thing you could do.

Chris Tofu MBE - Tofu Love Frogs & Vibe Engineer - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

stablished in 1995 DJ Chris Tofu has become a pioneer of Vintage Remix and the UK Festival scene, sharing his obsession with all things remixed and raucous with jumping crowds across the globe! From Glastonbury to Istanbul this musical maverick is constantly exploring, discovering and creating new sounds and new experiences, mixing up the formula for good vibe pie!

He’s a true believer that DJ’ing is as much about “vibe” and communicating with an audience as endless technical skill. I just love music that remixes the ancient and the new. Sometimes that makes me really obscure, sometimes pioneering but whatever happens, the audience generally gets it.”

Tofu has two lives; as a world renowned DJ and as the programmer and director of thousands of events and artists in some of the most legendary clubs and festival stages and even whole festivals, providing him with the canvas to try all these crazy new remixed discoveries. Enticing the crowds to jump over barriers (both physical and metaphorical) and get down to new and unusual sounds is the main Tofu goal.

The Woodentops with  Rolo McGinty in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial line-up of Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar, formerly of The Wild Swans and The Jazz Butcher), Simon Mawby (guitar), Alice Thompson(keyboards), Frank DeFreitas (bass guitar), and Benny Staples replacing Paul Hookham (drums).

After a debut single, "Plenty" on Food Records in 1984, which received a glowing review from Morrissey in Melody Maker, they signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records, releasing a series of singles in 1985 and their debut album, Giant, in 1986. Generally well received by critics, the album's sound was characterised by acoustic guitars, but also featured accordion, marimba, strings, and trumpet sounds. The album reached No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart. A single from the album, "Good Thing", reached No. 7 on the UK Indie Chart.

The band then became more experimental and frenetic when playing live, using more electronicsounds. This first became apparent as documented on the live album Live Hypno Beat (1987), which was recorded in Los Angeles in 1986. The band also started to become more 'raw' and unpredictable live, becoming one of the most exciting independent groups from the UK, while gaining an early hit on the burgeoning club scene in Ibiza with '"Why".

Toni Basil  in conversation with David Eastaugh

American singer, actress, choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide 1981/2 smash hit "Mickey," which topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit the top ten in several other countries. She has collaborated with David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Talking Heads (choreographing and co-directing the acclaimed video for "Once in a Lifetime"), the Monkees, Frank Sinatra, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Bette Midler, and The Muppets

Joey Arias in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Joey Arias is a multi-talented artist based in New York City, best known for work as a performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist, but also known as a published author, comedian, stage persona and cult-movie star. He also goes by the names Joseph Arias and Joe Arias.

Gary Clail in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Became a warm up act for On-U gigs. Clail first released a record in 1985. Several 12" singles were issued between 1985 and 1987, before Clail's first LP for Nettwerk, Tackhead Tape Time, a split effort between Clail and Tackhead. "Television: The Drug of the Nation" by The Beatnigs was remixed by Clail, Adrian Sherwood and Mark Stewart, on the Alternative Tentacles record label in 1988.

In 1989, Clail issued his own album, billed as Gary Clail & On-U Sound System, on On-U Sound, which marked Clail's entrance to the electronicunderground scene in Bristol, eventually leading him to work with RCA a couple of years later. This output incorporated several singles and EPs, as well as the Emotional Hooligan album (1991).

Vernon & Irene Castle special with Eve Golden talking about the legendary couple with David Eastaugh