C86 Show - Indie Pop

Geneva with Andrew Montgomery in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band were formed in 1992 by vocalist Andrew Montgomery and guitarist Steven Dora. They recruited second guitarist Stuart Evans, bass player Keith Graham and finally drummer Craig Brown. Craig was later replaced by Douglas Caskie. Originally the band were called Sunfish.

One of their demos found their way to Suede’s record label, Nude, who signed the band in 1996. The band changed their name, originally to Garland, then later to Geneva, and released their debut single "No One Speaks" the same year. The band garnered enough press to headline NME's annual Bratbus tour of up and coming bands in early 1997. The band released second single "Into the Blue" to coincide with the tour.

Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace: The Worldwide Compendium of Postpunk and Goth in the 1980s

It was a scene that had many names: some original members referred to themselves as punks, others new romantics, new wavers, the bats, or the morbids. "Goth" did not gain lexical currency until the late 1980s. But no matter what term was used, "postpunk" encompasses all the incarnations of the 1980s alternative movement. Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace is a visual and oral history of the first decade of the scene. Featuring interviews with both the performers and the audience to capture the community on and off stage, the book places personal snapshots alongside professional photography to reveal a unique range of fashions, bands, and scenes. A book about the music, the individual, and the creativity of a worldwide community rather than theoretical definitions of a subculture, Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace considers a subject not often covered by academic books. Whether you were part of the scene or are just fascinated by different modes of expression, this book will transport you to another time and place.

23 Skidoo with Alex Turnbull in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Formed in 1979 by Fritz Catlin, Johnny Turnbull and Sam Mills, and later augmented by Alex Turnbull and Tom Heslop, 23 Skidoo had interests in martial arts, Burundi and Kodo drumming, Fela Kuti, The Last Poets, William S. Burroughs, as well as the emerging confluence of industrial, post-punk and funk, heard in artists such as A Certain Ratio, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, The Pop Group and This Heat.

Their first 7", "Ethics", was released in 1980, followed by "The Gospel Comes To New Guinea" & "Last Words" 12" single which was co-produced by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson from Cabaret Voltaire at their studio, The Western Works in Sheffield. A Peel Session was recorded on 16 September 1981. Their début album, Seven Songs, was released in 1982 and is said to evoke the claustrophobic humidity of an African forest. The album went straight to number 1 in the Independent charts. Seven Songs, which was recorded and mixed in three days, was co-produced by Tony, Terry and David, aka Genesis P-Orridge, and Peter Christopherson of Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV and engineer Ken Thomas. A hastily executed EP, Tearing Up The Plans, was produced in the absence of the Turnbull brothers, who were travelling in Indonesia. The personality clashes that arose from this experiment resulted in guitarist Sam Mills and vocalist Tom Heslop leaving the band soon after. The band performed for the first time as a three piece, joined onstage by David Tibet of Current 93, at the first WOMAD festival. This live performance would go on to become the first side of the band's most challenging release, The Culling Is Coming, which also features Skidoo's exploration into gamelan on side two. The album resulted in the band being criticised for being 'too abstract'.

1984 saw the arrival of bassist Peter "Sketch" Martin following the break-up of Linx. Skidoo recruited Aswad's horn section for the "Coup" 12", which featured samples from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now and which was interpolated from their track "Fuck You G.I." from the album Urban Gamelan (1984). Urban Gamelan features Sketch on side one and, on side two, the original three piece line-up experimenting with metal percussion using patterns inspired by gamelan. After having been evicted from their rehearsal space at Genesis P-Orridge's "Death Factory" the band shifted their focus towards hip hop and turned their attention to production and building a studio, Precinct 23. In 1987 they released a compilation album, Just Like Everybody, featuring work from this period.

In 1987 the Turnbull brothers formed the Ronin label and released Jailbreak by Paradox, widely regarded as one of the first breakbeat records, as well as tracks by British photographer Normski and MC FORCE. In its later incarnation, Ronin released material by Deckwrecka, Roots Manuva, Skitz, Mud Family and Rodney P amongst others. They signed to Virgin Records in 1991 and were able to build a new studio with their advance. In 2000 they released a self-titled LP, which featured contributions from Pharoah Sanders and Roots Manuva. This was followed by a compilation of singles, The Gospel Comes To New Guinea in 2002, and for the first time on CD, reissues of Seven Songs and Urban Gamelan. In 2008 the expanded catalogue CD reissues were issued by LTM, who also issued a double-vinyl edition of Seven Songs in 2012. This issue featured the 1981 John Peel session and 12" versions of "Last Words" and "The Gospel Comes To New Guinea". In November 2013, the band played the final holiday camp edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England.

In 2012 Alex Turnbull co-directed Beyond Time, a documentary film about his artist father William Turnbull. The film was narrated by Jude Law and scored by 23 Skidoo with both new and old material. The soundtrack album (packaged with a DVD of the film) was released by Les Disques Du Crépuscule in 2014.

The Sound with Michael Dudley in conversation with David Eastaugh 

David Knight talking about his life in music - including Danielle Dax and much much more - with David Eastaugh 

The Raw Herbs with Derek Parker in conversation with David Eastaugh 

The Black Sorrows with Joe Camilleri in conversation with David Eastaugh

Big Stick with John Gill and Yanna Trance in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Belouis Some in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Swell Maps special with Stephen Bird aka Jowe Head in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Paul Hanley - The Fall

Balaam and the Angel special with Jim Morris in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Jacob's Mouse special with Jebb Boothby in conversation with David Eastaugh

Joolz the poet special - in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Nightingales with Robert Lloyd with David Eastaugh

Radio Birdman was one of the first Australian independent bands to carry the punk label, along with the Saints. They were formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth.

Urusei Yatsura special with Graham Kemp in conversation with David Eastaugh

Cherry Red special with Iain McNay I conversation with David Eastaugh

David Devant & His Spirit Wife special with Mikey Georgeson in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Easy special with Johan Holmlund in conversation with David Eastaugh

It was twenty-seven years ago that Swedish Indie band Easy released their highly acclaimed debut album ‘Magic Seed’ on the hip Blast First label. Label supremo Paul Smith signed the band after listening to their demo tape while taking his evening bath.

The band had something special, their sound may contain many elements from Pop history, but there was something unique in the delivery. Smith saw the perfect combination of Sonic Youth-like intensity and the sweet harmonies of The Beach Boys.

Easy released three singles, Castle Train/ Cloud Chamber, He Brings the Honey and Horoscope (all U.K. Indie Chart Hits), toured all around Europe with bands like The Gun Club, The House of Love, Lush, The Charlatans and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

They disbanded in 1994 but not before leaving an impact, when going back to Sweden they found a new Indie scene full of bands who had been inspired by their success.

In 2010, after celebrating the twentieth anniversary of ‘Magic Seed’ with some live shows, they decided to write some new songs and the tracks on ‘A Heartbeat from Eternity’ have all been recorded since the comeback. The latest track ‘Ask theSky’ was recorded in June 2017, produced by Swedish producer Charlie Storm, who in the last couple of years has scored a string of Swedish number one hits (Håkan Hellström, Henrik Berggren, Mando Diao).

”I think Easy will help break down that traditional English snobbish attitude towards European acts. People will be made to sit up and take notice, ‘cos what they’re doing right now is intrinsically more valid than most of the inadequate who clog up record space in the Rough Trade shop. Simple, really.”
NME

“Easy like nothing better than to reinvent themselves in the middle of a song. Easy come, Easy go? I doubt it very much.”
Melody Maker