C86 Show - Indie Pop

Thea Gilmore also known as Afterlight -  in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Thea Eve Gilmore  also known as Afterlight, is an English singer-songwriter. She has released more than twenty albums since her 1998 debut Burning Dorothy. She has had three Top 40 entries on the UK Albums Chart and one on the UK Singles Chart. Her first album as Afterlight will be released in 2021.

Gilmore has announced two albums to be released in September 2021: The Emancipation of Eva Grey and Afterlight. According to Gilmore's website, "[the two albums'] songs share the same subject matter", with Emancipation being the last album to be produced under the name "Thea Gilmore", and Afterlight being the first produced by the "newly personified Afterlight".

Blueboy special with Paul Stewart in conversation with David Eastaugh

Blueboy formed around 1989 and initially consisted of Keith Girdler (on vocals) and Paul Stewart (on guitars), formerly of little-known band Feverfew. They soon signed to Sarah Records, releasing the home-recorded single "Clearer" in 1991, and took on more members, including singer/cellist Gemma Townley and second guitarist Harvey Williams (of The Field Mice/Another Sunny Day).

"Clearer" was followed by several singles and two albums on Sarah, If Wishes Were Horses and Unisex. In October 1994, Blueboy recorded a session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show.^[3] Their final release, The Bank of England, was released in 1998 on Sarah head Matt Haynes' new label, Shinkansen Recordings. By then, Girdler and Stewart were the only original members of the band. Girdler and Stewart were also involved in two other bands, Arabesque and Beaumont,^[1] and Girdler also recorded with Lovejoy. Townley later joined Trembling Blue Stars, as did Williams.

Power of Dreams special with Craig Walker in conversation with David Eastaugh

Power of Dreams released their critically acclaimed first EP A Little Piece of God,^[1] on Keith Cullen's London-based Setanta Records in 1989, while Walker was still at school. Following a six-figure bidding war between rival record labels, the band signed a deal with Polydor Records. In December 1989, the British music magazine NME picked Power of Dreams, along with others such as Carter USM and the Charlatans, as their "stars of tomorrow".

Blue Orchids & The Fall with Martin Bramah 

Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah decided to quit The Fall after playing on the band's debut album Live at the Witch Trials. Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper Clarke the band recorded for Rough Trade and acted as backing band for the Velvet Underground's Nico before a 25-year period of intermittent activity and alternative identities.

Quentin Budworth in conversation with David Eastaugh

Quentin Budworth is famous for playing Hurdy-Gurdy with Celtarabia and recently collaborated with Lou Duffy-Howard of the Red Guitars to form Agent Startling, their  debut album, European Howl was released May 2021

Agent Starling are Quentin Budworth hurdy-gurdy and Lou Loudhailer voices & other instruments. Recorded in the first three months of 2021, European Howl also features Dexter Duffy-Howard on violin and cello. Recorded in Yorkshire UK by Agent Starling, the album was mastered in Oregon by Kevin Carafa.

The album is influenced by musical traditions from nations across Europe. A mix of instrumental pieces, spoken word and songs, themes range from a miscellany of Greek Tales (Wine Dark Sea), an elegy by a dying lover (Requiem) to Helicopter Arms, inspired by the glorious gurdy tune at the heart of the song.

The Three O'Clock special with Michael Quercio in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Three O'Clock is an American alternative rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980s Paisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground" to describe a subset of the 1980s L.A. music scene which included bands such as Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, the Long Ryders and the Bangles.

The Bevis Frond special with Nick Saloman in conversation with David Eastaugh

Saloman was originally in a band known as the Bevis Frond Museum in the late 1960s, and in the 1970s, whilst at college, he played guitar with a duo called Oddsocks. They released one album, Men of the Moment. In 1979 he formed a band called the Von Trap Family, who released the first single on his own Woronzow Records label. The early Von Trap Family recordings, comprising three sessions, were released on the Bevis Frond Bandcamp site for the first time in May 2010. The next release on Woronzow was in 1982, a 12" single by Room 13 with Saloman on guitar and future Bevis Frond drummer Martin Crowley. After Room 13 reached the end of its natural life, Nick Saloman had a bad motorbike accident that left him with a constriction of movement in his left arm. True to form, he had the arm set so that he could continue playing guitar.

Gallon Drunk, The Flaming Stars & Nikki Sudden special with Max Décharné in conversation with David Eastaugh

In his musical career, Décharné has released eleven albums and something in the region of twenty singles since 1989. He played drums with his friend Nikki Sudden before joining Gallon Drunk in 1991, with whom he toured the world. Since 1994, he has been the singer and principal songwriter with The Flaming Stars. In a long and varied career in the music business, he has also recorded nine John Peel Sessions and played shows all across the US, Canada, virtually every country in Europe and also in Japan. One of his songs made the 1995 John Peel Festive Fifty (Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye by The Flaming Stars), then two more of his songs were in the 1996 John Peel Festive Fifty (Ten Feet Tall and The Face On The Bar Room Floor, both by The Flaming Stars).

The Erasers with David Ebony  in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Erasers were part of the ‘70s CBGB art-punk scene that included Television and Richard Hell, and though they made a brief appearance on a (long out-of-print) 1982 ROIR compilation, their music and history were lost for decades to everyone outside of a very small circle of critics, collectors, and old punks. But their one excellent, off-kilter single (“Funny/I Won’t Give Up”) is one of the standouts on Numero Group’s comprehensive, painstakingly curated Ork Records: New York, New York box set, which was released to well-deserved acclaim late last year.

The Erasers began around 1974, the brainchild of artists Susan Springfield (guitar, vocals) and Jane Fire (drums), who both saw the fine art world they were embedded in as too economically exclusive. “I wanted to do something in a more populist way,” Springfield says. “Fine art as I was doing it – you know, making paintings – you spend so much time on them that you can’t just sell them cheaply, and so at the end of the day I felt like if I continued to pursue [an] art career, I would only be able to sell it to rich people, because I would have to get enough money to support myself. Music, on the other hand – you can make that available – it was more immediate, and at that time the shows were, like, two bucks.” Fire calls their philosophy as a band “the dematerialization of art in the extreme.”

Breathless with Dominic Appleton in conversation with David Eastaugh

English band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton (vocals, keyboards), Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums). Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released seven studio albums, one compilation album and 13 singles and EPs, all on their own label, Tenor Vossa Records.

Their music has been described as "melancholic", with AllMusic's Ned Raggett calling the band "underappreciated" and saying "the majority of Breathless' work has squarely fit into a lush vein of haunting, epic music unafraid of a moody theatricality".

Daisy Chainsaw & Queenadreena special with Crispin Gary in conversation with David Eastaugh

English guitarist and songwriter. Best known for his bands Daisy Chainsaw and Queenadreena,^[1][2] Gray has also played with Dizzy Q Viper, Vapid Dolly and The Dogbones. He is currently a member of Starsha Lee. His great uncle was British poet John Gray, allegedly the inspiration for Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Currently recording with Starsha Lee

The Bevis Frond with Nick Saloman in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in London, England. The band is fronted by Nick Saloman and has recorded many singles and albums on various independent labels.

Saloman was originally in a band known as the Bevis Frond Museum in the late 1960s, and in the 1970s, whilst at college, he played guitar with a duo called Oddsocks. They released one album, Men of the Moment. In 1979 he formed a band called the Von Trap Family, who released the first single on his own Woronzow Records label. The early Von Trap Family recordings, comprising three sessions, were released on the Bevis Frond Bandcamp site for the first time in May 2010.

Barney Hoskyns in conversation talking about his life in music and new book God is in the Radio with David Eastaugh 

Barney Hoskyns is the co-founder and editorial director of Rock's Backpages, the online library of pop writing and journalism. He began writing for NME in the early '80s and is a former contributing editor at British Vogue and U.S. correspondent for MOJO

Country Teasers with Ben Wallers in conversation with David Eastaugh

Country Teasers were an art punk band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1993. Frontman Ben Wallers also performs solo as The Rebel. He plays live shows with a Gameboy backing-track or accompanied by Country Teasers bassist Sophie Politowicz on drums. Long-time members of Country Teasers include songwriter B.R. Wallers (vocals, guitar), Leighton Crook (drums), Robert McNeill (guitar, synth), Alastair MacKinven (guitar), Sophie Politowicz (bass guitar, drums). Original members of the band include playwright Simon Stephens (bass guitar), Alan Crichton (guitar), Eck King (drums), Lawrence Worthington (drums).

Wallers has been releasing music under various guises since 1995. He is best known for being part of the group Country Teasers, formed in Scotland in the mid 1990s.

 Country Teasers bassist Sophie Politowicz plays drums in live performances and features on various Rebel recordings. The pair also play together in the band The Devil.

Paul Statham - Dido, Pete Murphy, B Movie - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Paul Statham is a songwriter/producer and sound artist whose commercial pop compositions have contributed to around 30 million album sales These include the lead single 'Here With Me' and the title track 'No Angel' from Dido’s U.S and U.K  no 1 album ‘No Angel’ (22 million sales) and 2 co writes and productions on Kylie Minogue's international no 1 album ‘Fever’ - He is also known for his long standing 7 album collaboration with Gothic Icon Peter Murphy including the albums 'Love Hysteria', 'Cascade' , 'Holy Smoke' and the top 40 U.S album 'Deep'

Rig! special with Darren Jones  in conversation with David Eastaugh

U.K. indie rock band from the early 1990's.
Members:
Adam Rockingham
Carl Lawson
Darren Jones
Jonathan Barrett

Ron Johnson special with Dave Parsons in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Ron Johnson Records was a UK independent record label based in Long Eaton operating between 1983 and 1988. The label contributed five tracks to the NME's C86 compilation. Run by Dave Parsons, the label released records by artists such as Big Flame, Shrubs, A Witness, Great Leap Forward, Stump, Mackenzies, Twang and Ex. Despite the press attention and critical acclaim for the label's bands and releases, sales were insufficient to make the label profitable and financial difficulties brought it to an end in 1988.

The Pandoras with Karen Basset in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Pandoras is an all-female garage punk band from Los Angeles, California with a run 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed. From the beginning, the band found a strong following in the Hollywood garage rock and Paisley Underground scene. The Pandoras enjoyed strong radio support from DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. The band graduated from the garage rock sound to a more contemporary, hard rock style in later years, spawning the off-shoot band The Muffs.

Porl Young in conversation with David Eastaugh 

UK producer and DJ. Resident DJ at Heaven in London, and co-owner of the label Tuff Twins Recordings.  He was guitarist for Rosetta Stone in the middle 90's.

Starting out as a recording engineer at The Townhouse, London, and Phil Manzanera’s Gallery Studios in Surrey, Porl’s worked with a diversity of international artists from every genre of music; from the funk of Prince to the punk of Nina Hagen. His first co-production was Rosetta Stone’s successful debut album “An Eye For The Main Chance”; Porl joined the band for 2 years as a guitarist, touring and co-producing another 2 singles with them.

Becky Wreck - Lunachicks - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Drummer for the New York punk band, the Lunachicks. Becky was with the band from 1987 to 1992 and was featured on two of the band's full length releases, as well as many 7" singles and compilation tracks. She also appeared on drums with La Muerte, Dog Ass, Uncle Becky, Bellylove, Blare Bitch Project, Sick Kidz.