C86 Show - Indie Pop

Robin Guthrie  in conversation with David Eastaugh

40 years on from founding Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie has certainly been its most prolific member, offering a steady and stellar stream of material over the years. His film scores include Gregg Araki's ‘Mysterious Skin’ and ‘White Bird in a Blizzard’, co-written with longtime collaborator Harold Budd. His many other collaborators include John Foxx, Mark Gardener, Telefon Tel-Aviv, Eraldo Bernocchi and Jay Jay Johanson.

Following the October release of his 'Mockingbird Love' EP and the November release of his full-length album 'Pearldiving' (his first album in nine years) comes another unique release by legendary Scottish music sculptor Robin Guthrie - the 4-track 'Riviera' EP, a collection completed earlier this year.. 

The 'Riviera' EP is available on limited-edition CD and as a digital download via Soleil Après Minuit with distribution in North America via Darla and in Europe by Cargo.

The Belle Stars with Sarah-Jane Owen in conversation with David Eastaugh

After The Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophonist Miranda Joyce, keyboardist Penny Leyton, and drummer Judy Parsons decided to form a new band, recruiting bass player Lesley Shone and lead vocalist Jennie Matthias (also known as Jennie Bellestar). Their first performance was on Christmas Day 1980, before they had chosen a name.

Within a short time, the group became well-known around London, notably appearing on the front cover of Sounds magazine early in 1981. Shortly thereafter, they were signed by Stiff Records, then highly successful through its star act, Madness.

The band's debut single, "Hiawatha", was released in the late spring of 1981; it was produced by Madness producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The band promoted the single by playing support slots at gigs by ska acts The Beat and Madness. 

When the third single, the radio-friendly "Another Latin Love Song" again failed to break into the charts, the band tried cover versions instead, with some success. "Iko Iko", a cover of The Dixie Cups' 1965 hit 

In January 1983, the Belle Stars released what would be their signature single, "Sign of the Times", peaking at number three, and a chart success throughout Europe

Slinky Vagabond with Keanan Duffty in conversation with David Eastaugh

Slinky Vagabond is a concept band that originally formed in 2007 and became an integral part of the New York club scene and performed at celebrations for Joey Ramone’s Birthday Bash alongside the New York Dolls, Fashion Week’s Gen Art and Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp and Marc Bolan’s 30th Anniversary Show alongside Patti Smith, Tom Morello, Joan Jett and Ronnie Spector. They release their album ‘King Boy Vandals’ on December 6 that can be pre ordered at: slinkyvagabond@slinkyvagabond.net 

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.

Gaye Bykers On Acid & Crazyhead - Rich Deakin talking about his new book Grebo! with David Eastaugh 

‘Grebo’ was a media constructed music genre that even today sends a shudder down the spines of discerning music fans and critics. A homegrown proto-grunge — counterpart to the likes of Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, early Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden in the US  — grebo was a British phenomenon that drew on an eclectic range of influences, from punk, 60s garage and psychedelia, through to 70s heavy rock and thrash metal. It foreshadowed rave culture and was steeped in class politics.

GAYE BYKERS ON ACID and CRAZYHEAD hailed from Leicester. They were not the first bands to be labelled grebo but they were the most unashamedly unkempt and came to be considered its greatest exponents. They were “a burst of dirty thunder” and almost no one liked them.

Based on interviews with band members, friends, fans, and roadies, this book is an uncompromising history of an overlooked music scene. Rich Deakin charts its course via the changing fortunes of the Bykers and Crazyhead, taking us on the booze-filled tour buses, behind the dodgy deals and onto the international stage and back again (with a pitstop for a rock movie that swallows lots of money). Their careers were short, but the two bands managed to shake up the UK indie scene and along the way became Britain’s unlikely ambassadors of rock following the collapse of Soviet Russia.

Ian White - Gallon Drunk & Lydia Lunch - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Revered drummer Ian White releases his first solo project, named Blyth, the compelling instrumental album entitled, Confessions of a Justified Sinner.

Since 1993, Ian White has been a key member of the influential and passionate UK band Gallon Drunk, playing drums on six critically acclaimed albums – In The Long Still Night (1996), Black Milk soundtrack (1999), Fire Music (2002), The Rotten Mile (2007), The Road Gets Darker from Here (2012) and the band’s last LP, The Soul Of The Hour (2014).

In 2009, with Gallon Drunk guitarist, organist and lead vocalist James Johnston and venerated saxophonist Terry Edwards, Ian White was a founder member of Big Sexy Noise; visionary No Wave singer, performer and writer Lydia Lunch’s vehicle for spirited musical adventures. To date, Big Sexy Noise have delivered two highly commended albums – their eponymous 2009 debut and the stirring Trust The Witch (2011). During 2002, Ian White played drums live for Barry Adamson (a founder member of Magazine, The Bad Seeds and soundtrack composer), who was touring his Mute album King of Nothing Hill, and in 2016 he contributed to former member of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ James Johnston’s debut solo album, The Starless Room.

Today, as Blyth, Ian White moves to the foreground for his premier self-penned recording, Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Written, arranged and performed by Ian White, recorded with Blyth mixer Giles Barrett during December 2019 and January 2020 at Soup Studios and The Silver Building, London E16, Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a propulsive and hypnotic vortex of enticing sonic attack and daring. Featuring strategic contributions from James Johnston, on guitar and additional piano, together with former Gallon Drunk bassist Jeremy Cottingham on lead and wah guitar, Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a thrilling, episodic soundscape, evoking distant echoes of experiential European bands of the past, contemporary sample driven music and elements of free jazz.

The Passions with Barbara Gogan in conversation with David Eastaugh

Based in Shepherd's Bush in west London, The Passions formed in early 1978 as the Youngsters with a line-up of Gogan (guitar, vocals), Claire Bidwell (bass guitar), Richard Williams (drums), Dack Dyde (guitar) and Mitch Barker (vocals).^[4] Williams and Gogan were previously in the punk rock outfit the Derelicts. After a name change to Rivers of Passion, soon shortened to The Passions, Dyde was replaced by Timperley (formerly of The 101ers).

The Passions' first single, issued in March 1979 on the Soho label, was the double A-side "Needles and Pills" (written by Dyde) and "Body and Soul", which assisted in gaining the band a recording contract with Fiction Records. By the time the band recorded the first of their three Peel sessions in November 1979, Barker had departed and Gogan took over as lead vocalist.

Michael & Miranda, the band's debut album, was released on 18 April 1980, preceded by their second single "Hunted". The album was produced by Fiction head Chris Parry and engineered by Mike Hedges. In May 1980, The Passions embarked on a UK and European tour supporting labelmates The Cure. Bidwell left after the tour (joining The Wall), was replaced in July 1980 by David Agar,^[1] and the band were dropped by Fiction.

Danny B Harvey in conversation with David Eastaugh

DANNY B. HARVEY was born in Killeen, Texas and at the age of 6 moved to Catlettsburg, KY. where he first picked up and started playing the guitar. At the age of 15 after moving to Canyon Country, CA. he was fortunate enough to receive his first formal lessons with the great JOE PASS.

Feeling out of place (after all he had only moved away for rural KY. two years earlier) and anxious to make a name for himself he moved to England with LEVI DEXTER after only years of study. Danny soon developed a finger picking guitar style that is very unique and based on his idol MERLE TRAVIS, CHET ATKINS, JOE PASS and his classical-technic he learned at USC.

As a guitarist, producer and composer Danny has played and recorded with such great artists as Levi Dexter, Tim Polecat, Johnny Ramone, Nancy Sinatra, Lemmy Kilmister, Lee Rocker, Slim Jim Phantom and Wanda Jackson

Lenny Kaye - Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega & author of Lightning Striking in conversation with David Eastaugh

As musician, writer, and record producer, Kaye was intimately involved with an array of artists and bands. He was a guitarist for poet/rocker Patti Smith from her band's inception in 1974, and co-authored Waylon, The Life Story of Waylon Jennings. He worked in the studio with such artists as R.E.M., James, Suzanne Vega, Jim Carroll, Soul Asylum, Kristin Hersh, and Allen Ginsberg. His seminal anthology of sixties' garage-rock, Nuggets, is widely regarded as defining the genre.You Call It Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, an impressionistic study of the romantic singers of the 1930s, was published by Villard/Random House in 2014

Simon Fisher Turner in conversation with David Eastaugh

Simon Fisher Turner is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.

After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldaysand roles in films such as The Big Sleep (1978), Turner rose to fame as a teenage star in Britain when his mentor, Jonathan King, released Turner's eponymous first album on UK Records in 1973. For a period of two years Turner was a member of The Gadget and also joined The The. He has used several names as a recording artist, including Simon Fisher Turner, The King of Luxembourg, Deux Filles and Simon Turner. He continues to record albums for Mute Records as Simon Fisher Turner.

The Crazies with Bi Marshall in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Crazies - A Simple Vision LP

The legendary session from members of The Outsiders, The Sound and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils. released for the very first time Overseen by Adrian Janes and remastered by Nick Robbins with sleeve design and artwork by Bi Marshall

In December 1978 Pete Williams, later to achieve cult infamy as Lord Sulaco of the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, decided to realise a notion which he’d long kicked around with some of his musician friends.  This was to record some original songs for which he - who had never been in a studio in his life – would provide the lyrics and sing.  These friends were the Outsiders, at that time consisting of Adrian Borland (guitar, vocals), Graham Bailey (bass) and Adrian Janes (drums), plus an increasingly regular guest player in Bi Marshall (clarinet).  (A year later, Janes having left, the Outsiders became the Sound.)

Faust with Jean-Hervé Péron in conversation with David Eastaugh

Faust formed in 1971 in the rural setting of Wümme. They secured a recording contract with Polydor and soon began recording their debut, Faust, which sold poorly but received critical acclaim for its innovative approach and established a devoted fan base. Meifert was sacked shortly afterwards because, as Peron wrote in 2004, "he discussed things, because he had flat buttocks and an absolutely beautiful girlfriend, because he practised every day, because he always kept his room neat and woke up every morning to first wet a cloth he'd put in front of his room to keep the dirt out, because he played such a hard 4/4th that we had to travel into the tongue, ready to drop, ding dong is handsome top."

In 1972 the band recorded its second, slightly more accessible album So Far. Faust became one of the premier bands in the international appreciation of the genre that would eventually be known as krautrock.

Graham Bailey - The Sound, The Crazies, Outsiders & Second Layer - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Note: THE CRAZIES - A SIMPLE VISION LP

The legendary session from members of The Outsiders, The Sound and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils. released for the very first time Overseen by Adrian Janes and remastered by Nick Robbins with sleeve design and artwork by Bi Marshall

In December 1978 Pete Williams, later to achieve cult infamy as Lord Sulaco of the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, decided to realise a notion which he’d long kicked around with some of his musician friends.  This was to record some original songs for which he - who had never been in a studio in his life – would provide the lyrics and sing.  These friends were the Outsiders, at that time consisting of Adrian Borland (guitar, vocals), Graham Bailey (bass) and Adrian Janes (drums), plus an increasingly regular guest player in Bi Marshall (clarinet).  (A year later, Janes having left, the Outsiders became the Sound.)

The Sound were formed in South London in 1979 from the remnants of the punk band the Outsiders. The original lineup of the Sound consisted of Adrian Borland (vocals, guitar) and Graham Bailey (bass guitar), both ex-Outsiders, along with Mike Dudley (drums) and woodwinds player Bi Marshall (born Benita Biltoo). While not a member, ex-Outsider Adrian Janes would contribute ideas and co-write lyrics to the Sound's music.^[1] Borland and Bailey also made up the band Second Layer, formed around the same time as the Sound.

The Crazies with Adrian Janes in conversation with David Eastaugh

New album on Optic Nerve - A Simple Vision

The legendary session from members of The Outsiders, The Sound and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils. released for the very first time Overseen by Adrian Janes and remastered by Nick Robbins with sleeve design and artwork by Bi Marshall.

In December 1978 Pete Williams, later to achieve cult infamy as Lord Sulaco of the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, decided to realise a notion which he’d long kicked around with some of his musician friends.  This was to record some original songs for which he - who had never been in a studio in his life – would provide the lyrics and sing.  These friends were the Outsiders, at that time consisting of Adrian Borland (guitar, vocals), Graham Bailey (bass) and Adrian Janes (drums), plus an increasingly regular guest player in Bi Marshall (clarinet).  (A year later, Janes having left, the Outsiders became the Sound.)

With no prior preparation other than Williams writing a set of lyrics (reputedly all based on newspaper stories), he then hired Elephant Studio in London for a day’s session.  This was engineered by Nick Robbins, later to produce the Sound among others, but at that point at the very start of his career.  This was no bad thing, since he was as open to the bizarre working methods of the Crazies (named after the George Romero sci-fi horror film) as they were innocent of their strangeness:  improvise a song during one run-through, record it, and then move on to the next one, each to be created in the same way.

This extremely efficient method left enough studio time after recording six songs for the rest to head off for something to eat, while Williams scribbled lyrics for a final composition, ‘When We’re Dead’, which was recorded upon their return.

The surviving members (Bailey, Marshall and Janes) all recall this as one of the most enjoyable and relaxed sessions they were ever part of.  The same experimental freedom and warped humour can also be heard in the albums Williams and Borland made as the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils a decade later.

 Cassette copies of the resulting album were produced for all concerned, and it seems that there was an idea of making it more widely available in this format, but this was never to occur.  It is only now that, with the original tape rediscovered, that the Crazies’ ‘A Simple Vision’, mastered by Nick Robbins, can at last be perceived by the wider world.

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".

Mark Stewart in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Pop Group are an English band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed diverse musical influences including dub, funk, and free jazz with radical politics, helping to pioneer post-punk music.

The group released two albums, Y (1979) and For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?(1980), and the singles "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" (1979) and "We Are All Prostitutes" (1979), then split in 1981. Its members worked on a variety of subsequent projects, including New Age Steppers and Rip Rig + Panic. In 2010, the band reunited, touring and releasing new material.

Subterraneans special with  Jude Rawlins in conversation with David Eastaugh

Jude Rawlins is an award-winning English singer, songwriter, filmmaker, author, poet, and music producer. He works primarily in the medium of rock music, mostly with his band Subterraneans, which he formed in 1992 with guitarist Carl Homer. Subterraneans have released ten albums, as well as creating critically acclaimed scores for the movies Pandora's Box and Derek Jarman's Glitterbug.

Shelleyan Orphan special with Jemaur Tayle in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1980, Caroline Crawley and Jemaur Tayle met in Bournemouth, England, where they discovered a mutual appreciation of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.^[2] Two years later, after taking the name Shelleyan Orphan from the Shelley poem Spirit of Solitude, the pair moved to London to seek out orchestral elements to add to their voices.

In June 1984, the band got their first break and landed a session with Richard Skinner for BBC Radio 1. The band signed with Rough Trade Records in 1986 and released the singles, "Cavalry of Cloud" and "Anatomy of Love".

In 1987, the band released their first of four albums: Helleborine. Named after the Helleborine orchid said to have the power to cure madness, the album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with producer Haydn Bendall. Helleborine included an assortment of guest musicians including Stuart Elliott (the drummer for Kate Bush), and Kate's brother Paddy Bush.

In 1989, they released Century Flower. So called after a flower that blooms only once in its lifetime, this album was intended to mark "an event which affects enormous change, maybe once in a century: on a world scale, the atomic bomb: on a personal level, the death of someone close to you".

The Wolfhounds special with Andy Golding in conversation with David Eastaugh 

The Wolfhounds began as a slightly askew indie pop/rock band, and signed to the Pink label in 1986. First EP Cut the Cake was well enough received for the NME to include them on their C86 compilation album. After three singles and debut album Unseen Ripples From A Pebble on Pink, they briefly moved to Idea Records for the Me single, then rejoined Pink's boss at his new label September Records. September soon evolved into Midnight Music which was the Wolfhounds' home for all subsequent releases.

With original members Bolton and Clark replaced by David Oliver and Matt Deighton, the Wolfhounds' sound developed into a denser, less poppy sound. After a compilation of earlier material, second album proper Bright and Guilty was released in 1989, featuring the singles "Son of Nothing", "Rent Act" and "Happy Shopper". The sound progressed further with the albums Blown Away (also 1989) and Attitude (1990), which found them in Sonic Youth territory, interspersing raging guitars with elegant compositional exercises. 

Jeff Bloom + Television Personalities & Rude Mechanicals in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy. Their varied, volatile and long career encompasses post punk, neo-psychedelia and indie pop; the only constant being Treacy's songwriting. Present and former members include Chelsea childhood mates 'Slaughter Joe' Joe Foster, one time best friend Ed Ball (early line-up, later briefly) and Jowe Head (ex-Swell Maps), with Jeffrey Bloom from 1983-94. The threesome of Treacy, Head, and Bloom formed the longest unchanged line-up and as a result is considered by many to be the definitive line-up, performing hundreds of gigs around the world and recording many of the band's most popular songs like How I Learned to Love the Bomb, Salvador Dali's Garden Party and Strangely Beautiful. Despite this, the Television Personalities are best known for their early single "Part Time Punks", a favourite of John Peel's.