Mark Stewart - The Pop Group

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.^[5] 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 Pop Group and dub maestro Dennis ‘Blackbeard’ Bovell MBE have shared a new track from their forthcoming dub version of The Pop Group’s debut album, Y, one of the era-defining releases of the post-punk period. This new track gives another taste of what to expect from this clash of the titan’s forthcoming release, Y in Dub, out on 29 October 2021 on Mute.

Duncan Hannah in conversation

Duncan Hannah in conversation with David Eastaugh

Celebrated painter Duncan Hannah arrived in New York City from Minneapolis in the early 1970s as an art student hungry for experience, game for almost anything, and with a prodigious taste for drugs, girls, alcohol, movies, rock and roll, books, parties, and everything else the city had to offer.

Taken directly from the notebooks Hannah kept throughout the decade, Twentieth-Century Boy is a fascinating, sometimes lurid, and incredibly entertaining report from a now almost mythical time and place. Full of outrageously bad behavior, naked ambition, fantastically good music, and evaporating barriers of taste and decorum, and featuring cameos from David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and many more, it is a rollicking account of an artist's coming of age.

Blue Orchids & The Fall special with Martin Bramah

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.

The Erasers with David Ebony

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.”

Becky Wreck - Lunachicks

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. 

Nancy Barile - I’m Not Holding Your Coat

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.

The Cannibals with Mike Spenser

The Cannibals with Mike Spenser in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Cannibals are a British rock band formed in 1976 by Mike Spenser, formerly of The Count Bishops, after his new band, the Flying Tigers, had split up. They have released seven full-length albums, numerous singles, EP's, split LP's, and appeared on several compilations. The band perform Trash rock and garage punk.

Chelsea with Nic Austin

Chelsea with Nic Austin in conversation with David Eastaugh

The original line-up of the band was assembled in late 1976 by John Krivine and Steph Raynor, the owners of Acme Attractions, a fashion boutique shop in King's Road in Chelsea, London, comprising vocalist Gene October, guitarist William Broad (later and better known as Billy Idol), bassist Tony James and drummer John Towe; James and Towe had previously been in London SS. Raynor went on to establish the 'Boy' fashion label that became an icon of post punk British youth culture. After three support gigs playing cover versions of other bands' songs, Idol and James departed in November 1976, taking Towe with them, to form Generation X.

The Seers with Steve Croom

The Seers with Steve Croom in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Roots of the Seers lie in two places; Bristol (obviously) and Billericay (not so obviously). Leigh Wildman grew up in Billericay and it was there he met Jason Collins, a guitarist from nearby Brentwood. They had spent some time in bands around the Essex region and they, along with a few friends, had decided to up sticks and try somewhere else. At the suggestion of one of their number, Bristol was decided upon, and a mini Essex invasion took place in the summer of 1984.

The Bristol punk scene in 1984 was a more cider fuelled version of what Crass was peddling, with a very much Do it yourself vibe. Bands squatted venues like the old Beetle Centre on Stokes Croft and encouraged the squatting of disused houses, which many lived in. It was in one of these squatted houses, Turdy Way, named for the amount of dog shit in the house when it was first squatted, that the Essex invasion landed.

Miles Copeland - The Police, REM, IRS Records

Miles Copeland in conversation with David Eastaugh - talking about his new book, Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back tells the extraordinary story of a maverick manager, promoter, label owner, and all-round legend of the music industry. It opens in the Middle East, where Miles grew up with his father, a CIA agent who was stationed in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon. It then shifts to London in the late 60s and the beginnings of a career managing bands like Wishbone Ash and Curved Air - only for Miles's life and work to be turned upside down by a pioneering yet disastrous European tour.

Thatcher on Acid with Andy Tuck

Thatcher on Acid with Andy Tuck in conversation with David Eastaugh

Thatcher on Acid were an English anarcho-punk band. They formed in Somersetduring 1983. Their name is a satirical reference to former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher.^[3] Ben Corrigan, Bob Butler and Andy Tuck also played in Schwartzeneggar with ex-Crass member, Steve Ignorant. The band opened the anarcho-punk band Conflict's "Gathering of the 5000" show at Brixton Academy,^[2] an event which resulted in many arrests and achieved a degree of infamy.

Medium Medium with Andy Ryder

Medium Medium with Andy Ryder in conversation with David Eastaugh

Emerging in 1978 out of the Nottingham punk/rhythm & blues band The Press, Medium Medium's first single was "Them or Me", which was released in late 1978 and was still selling well enough in 1980 to appear in the UK Independent Chart.^[2][3] The second single, "Hungry, So Angry", was released in February 1981 on Cherry Red Records. One of the first records to introduce slap bass - a technique borrowed from black funk music - to a generally white audience, "Hungry, So Angry" reached #48 in the Billboard Disco chart - the single and the album were released in 1981 on the New York-based indie label Cachalot Records - and has appeared on over a dozen compilations over the years.

The band released one studio album, The Glitterhouse, in late 1981. Its stark, stripped-down dub and dance rhythms and chiming, funk guitar with occasional saxophone and other sounds, failed to attract a large following.

Tanya Pearson in conversation

Tanya Pearson in conversation with David Eastaugh

Tanya Pearson is a Public Historian and Director of the Women of Rock Oral History Project, a collection of digital interviews and written transcripts documenting the lives and careers of (women-identified) rock musicians. A documentary film based on the interviews is currently in production as well as an oral history of rock music. Why Marianne Faithfull Matters, her contribution to the University of Texas Press’ Music Matters Series, will be published in July, 2021.

Suicide with Martin Rev

Suicide with Martin Rev in conversation with David Eastaugh

Suicide was an American musical duo composed of vocalist Alan Vega and instrumentalist Martin Rev, intermittently active between 1970 and 2016. The group's pioneering music utilized minimalist electronic instrumentation, including synthesizersand primitive drum machines, and their early performances were confrontational and often ended in violence. They were among the first acts to use the phrase "punk music" in an advertisement for a concert in 1970.

Friends Again with Chris Thomson & Paul McGeechan Part 2

Friends Again with Chris Thomson & Paul McGeechan in conversation with David Eastaugh -  Part 2

They were formed by members Chris Thomson and Paul McGeechan, together with Neil Cunningham, James Grant and Stuart Kerr. The group was famous for their singles "State of Art", "Sunkissed" and "Honey at the Core". They released a self-titled EP in 1984, which peaked at No. 59 on the UK Singles Chart. They then recorded their debut album, Trapped & Unwrapped (1984).

Wall of Voodoo with Bruce “Ravens” Moreland

Wall of Voodoo with Bruce "Ravens" Moreland in conversation with David Eastaugh

Wall of Voodoo had its roots in Acme Soundtracks, a film score business started by Stan Ridgway, later the vocalist and harmonica player for Wall of Voodoo. Acme Soundtracks' office was across the street from the Hollywood punk club The Masqueand Ridgway was soon drawn into the emerging punk/new wave scene. Marc Moreland, guitarist for the Skulls, began jamming with Ridgway at the Acme Soundtracks office and the soundtrack company morphed into a new wave band. In 1977, with the addition of Skulls members Bruce Moreland (Marc Moreland's brother) as bassist and Chas T. Gray as keyboardist, along with Joe Nanini, who had been the drummer for the Bags, the Eyes, and Black Randy and the Metrosquad, the first lineup of Wall of Voodoo was born.

Thin White Rope with Roger Kunkel

Thin White Rope with Roger Kunkel in conversation with David Eastaugh 

In 1984, a four-track recording with about 14 songs was sent to a number of labels, and an additional demo was recorded in December with Scott Miller producing. At this time, Jozef Becker rejoined the group, replacing French. Lisa Fancher of Frontier Records, who heard of Thin White Rope through a magazine review of the 14-song demo, signed the group to Frontier, and the band then recorded Exploring the Axis.

Over time, the band retained singer/songwriter/guitarist Guy Kyser and guitarist Roger Kunkel, with a changing line-up of drummers and bass guitarists. Like Television, it was noted for its twin guitar attack, innovative use of feedback structures and oblique lyrics. The Rough Guide to Rock called Thin White Rope "one of the few worthwhile traditional American guitar rock bands of their era. While most of the essential groups of the time were pushing back the limits of the form, Thin White Rope had the distinction of managing to breathe new life into the genre."

Adele Bertei - Contortions, Peter Laughner & Why Labelle Matters

Adele Bertei -  Contortions,  Peter Laughner & Why Labelle Matters - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Bertei began her career playing guitar and singing in the Wolves, her first band with Laughner. She left Cleveland for New York City in 1977 shortly after Laughner died prematurely of complications due to alcoholism.

Bertei quickly became a prominent figure in the no wave art and music scene in NYC, playing Acetone organ and guitar in the original line up of the Contortions fronted by James Chance. While working as personal assistant to Brian Eno in 1978, Bertei took him to a series of concerts at Artists Space in New York, which resulted in Eno producing the iconoclastic LP No New York for the Virgin/Antilles label, featuring the Contortions and three other no wave bands.

Marco Pirroni - Adam & The Ants, Sinead O’Connor

Marco Pirroni in conversation with David Eastaugh

Pirroni was lead guitarist and co-songwriter in the second incarnation of Adam and the Ants, penning two UK number one singlesand a further four Top Ten hits, with Ant. The two albums he co-wrote for Adam and the Ants, Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming, both made the Top 10 in the UK Albums Chart ("Kings" #1; "Prince Charming" #2).

When Adam and the Ants disbanded in 1982, Pirroni was retained as Adam Ant's co-writer and studio guitarist; they produced another number-one single ("Goody Two Shoes") and an album (Friend or Foe), followed by four more Top 20 hits. Ant and Pirroni won two shared Ivor Novello Awards for "Stand and Deliver"

Pirroni and Ant working together sold more than eighteen million records worldwide, scoring number ones in Australia, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Israel and Japan as well as in the UK.

Doctors of Madness with Richard Strange

Doctors of Madness with Richard Strange in conversation with David Eastaugh

In September 2019 he toured the UK with an all-star band in a show entitled "Richard Strange performs the songs of Lou Reed", featuring over 20 songs by the former Velvet Underground composer and front man.

Throughout the Covid- 19 "Lockdown" months of March-August 2020, Strange worked from his studio, creating an audio version of his memoir "Strange- Punks and Drunks and Flicks and Kicks", which he offered free in daily instalments from his website, and he commenced a weekly online radio show, "Dark Times Radio", featuring music he had written, performed, produced or been inspired by. The shows were uploaded to the Soundcloud platform.

Strange's first band was Doctors of Madness, formed in 1975, recording three influential but non-commercial albums. The band was supported by the Sex Pistols, the Jam and Joy Division. He disbanded the band in 1978, after Dave Vanian of the Damned briefly joined him on vocals. He subsequently recorded as a solo artist, releasing two albums The Live Rise of Richard Strange (Ze Records 1981) and The Phenomenal Rise of Richard Strange (Virgin Records 1981) before further releases with the Engine Room up to the early 1990s.