C86 Show - Indie Pop

Heavenly with Robin Turner in conversation with David Eastaugh - talking about the label and new book, 'Believe in Magic'.

A label responsible for creating satellite communities of fans around the world and at all the major festivals, Heavenly was set up by Jeff Barrett in 1990 after several years working for Factory and Creation as the acid house revolution was in full swing; early releases set the tone and tempo for the mood of the decade to come - their first single was produced by perhaps the most revered acid house DJ of them all, Andrew Weatherall; and this was quickly followed by era-defining singles from Saint Etienne, Flowered Up and Manic Street Preachers, music which perhaps captures the flavour of the early '90s better than any other.

Flowered up with Des Penney in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band was formed in mid-1989 by singer Liam Maher along with lifelong friend, Darren 'Des' Penney. Des would co-write lyrics and manage the band. The original line up included the late John O'brien on drums, Joe Maher, Liam's younger brother, on guitar and bass player Andrew Jackson. Simon Gannon would guest on keyboard and this line up would play the first two gigs. After a few changes in personnel, the settled line-up included keyboardist Tim Dorney and drummer John Tuvey, with dancer Barry Mooncult adding to their live shows. After releasing two singles ("It's On" and "Phobia") on Heavenly Records, both of which were minor hits, Flowered Up signed to London Records and recorded their only album, A Life With Brian, in 1991. "Take It" had lyrics from Joe Strummer. The group appeared on the covers of both Melody Maker and NME before releasing the album.

A Life With Brian contained many of their popular live songs, as well as new versions of the previously released singles. Not long afterwards, Flowered Up released the 13-minute-long single "Weekender" on Heavenly, with a video directed by W.I.Z. starring Lee Whitlock and Anna Haigh. Despite the group's - and Heavenly's - refusal to compromise on a standard-length edit for radio play (although two "radio edits" were circulated, neither really addressed the needs of radio programmers, as one was merely the full-length version but with the two instances of the phrase "fuck off" muted, while the other reduced the length of the intro, but still ran for over 12 minutes), the track went on to become their biggest hit, reaching number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. After much-publicised drug problems with some members of the band, and unproductive (and some unreleased) studio work, the band split up. Keyboardist Tim Dorney went on to form Republica.

Michael Grecco in conversation with David Eastaugh

Photographer and filmmaker Michael Grecco was in the thick of things, documenting the club scene in places like Boston and New York as punk rock morphed into the post-punk and new wave movements that dominated from the late ’70s to the early ’90s. From Sex Pistols to Blondie, Talking Heads, Human Sexual Response, Elvis Costello, Joan Jett, The Ramones, and many others, Grecco captured in black and white and color the raw energy, sweat, and antics that characterized the alternative music of the time. In addition to concert photography, he shot album covers and promotional pieces that round out his impressively extensive photo collection. The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles has offered Grecco an exhibition of his photographs to coincide with publication.

The Bluebells with Bobby Bluebell or Robert Hodgens in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Bluebells performed jangly guitar-based pop not dissimilar to their Scottish contemporaries Aztec Camera and Orange Juice. They had three Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart, all written by guitarist and founder member Bobby Bluebell (real name Robert Hodgens) – "I'm Falling", "Cath", and their biggest success "Young at Heart". The latter was co-written with Siobhan Faheyof Bananarama (originally recorded on the Bananarama album Deep Sea Skiving) and violinist Bobby Valentino, and made it to number 8 in the UK Singles Chart on its original release in 1984. The band also released one EP, The Bluebells, and one full-length album, Sisters.

The band split up in the mid 1980s, but enjoyed an unexpected revival in 1993 when "Young at Heart" was used in a Volkswagentelevision advertisement. Re-issued as a single, it was number one for four weeks and led to the band reforming temporarily to perform the song on BBC Television's Top of the Pops. A compilation album followed, The Singles Collection, which peaked at No. 27 in the UK Albums Chart in April 1993.

David Godlis in conversation with David Eastaugh

David Godlis, who is best known by his last name GODLIS, has been photographing in New York City since 1976. A “street photographer” in the style of Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand, he wandered into the nightclub CBGB's one night, and has become known for his photographs of the NYC Punk scene.

Godlis Streets is the first book dedicated to the artist and photographer's incredible body of work and focuses on the 1970s and 1980s. Godlis's street photographs from this time capture moments of mundanity, humour and pathos; his gift for acute observation and impeccable framing elevating these images to the extraordinary. A definition of what sincere street photography can and should be, Godlis Streets is the very best photography of its kind. The book is introduced by a foreword by Luc Sante and an afterword by Chris Stein.

Hey Paulette with Colm Fitzpatrick in conversation with David Eastaugh

Hey Paulette were formed in Dublin in 1987 by Eamonn Davis (singer/rhythm guitars). Colm Fitzpatrick (bass) and Derrick Dalton (lead guitars) joined forces with Eamonn to write pop tunes. Some people labelled them a C86 band, as they were into writing melodic jingly jangly tunes.

Hey Paulette recorded their first single 'Commonplace' in their late teens with a drum machine for the label Mickey Rourke's fridge run by enigmatic Sean A McDermott. It topped the alternative top ten on Capital Radio in 1988. They evantually recruited a drummer called Darren Nolan who stayed with the band to the end in 1991.

After sending a copy of 'Commonplace' to John Peel they were invited to record a session for BBC Radio One in 1988. Following this they also recorded a session for Dave Fanning.

They recorded an EP entitled "I Really Do Love Penelope". Hey Paulette split in 1991 and their final two songs were released on the indie label Tweenet following their split.

Laurence Myers - talking David Bowie, music & his new book Hunky Dory with David Eastaugh 

Laurence Myers is a Theatre and Film Producer. He was formerly a Music Executive, owning and running record and artist management companies.

First coming to prominence as a Financial Advisor/ Accountant to The Rolling Stones and other leading artists in the 1960s, Laurence entered the music business full-time in 1970, signing then unproven David Bowie to his record label ‘Gem’.

In an impressive career in the music world spanning decades, Laurence’s companies represented artists including The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Donovan, Lionel Bart, Heatwave, The New Seekers, Alan Price, The Tremeloes, The Sweet, Donna Summer, Scott Walker and Billy Ocean, as well as advising The Beatles on their Apple Corp venture.

Cherry Vanilla in conversation with David Eastaugh

American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in Andy Warhol's Pork, she worked as a publicist for David Bowie, before becoming a rock singer. She subsequently became a publicist for Vangelis.

Hunt Sales on Iggy Pop, David Bowie & his life in music - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Hunt Sales' first group was with brother Tony in Tony and the Tigers. They appeared on Hullabaloo in 1966, and also on the local Detroit/Windsor dance show Swingin' Time with Robin Seymour.

In 1976, he played drums with the hard rock power trio Paris, formed by former Fleetwood Mac guitarist/songwriter Bob Welch. This trio (which included ex-Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick) was short-lived, releasing two albums for Capitol Records. Hunt played and sang backing vocals on the second Paris album, Big Towne, 2061.

In 1977, along with his brother Tony, Hunt provided the rhythm section for the Iggy Pop album Lust for Life. David Bowie's memories of the Sales brothers' contribution to the recording led him to invite the pair to join Tin Machine in the late 1980s.

Voice of the Beehive & I, Ludicrous special with Martin Brett in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band had five Top 40 singles from two albums in the UK. Their biggest commercial success came with the singles "I Say Nothing", "Don't Call Me Baby", "Monsters and Angels" and "I Think I Love You", taken from albums Let It Bee and Honey Lingers. Sex & Misery, a third album, was released in 1996;^[3] by this point sisters Tracey and Melissa were the sole group members. The band reformed in 2003 to play a two-week UK tour.

Karl Blake in conversation with David Eastaugh

Blake is most noted, in addition to his solo work, for his work with Lemon Kittens, Danielle Dax, Shock Headed Peters and much more 

The Cigarettes with Stephen Taylor  in conversation with David Eastaugh

New reissue of The Cigarettes material on Optic Nerve Recordings - “You Were So Young” consists of everything that The Cigarettes ever recorded in what was their two year life span. From the  very beginnings in the rehearsal room through to tracks recorded for an unreleased third single.

It includes the two singles and their flip sides, some tracks that were included on a local compilation album, and their solitary John Peel session along with a handful that never found their way onto a record.

Pylon with Michael Lachowski in conversation with David Eastaugh

The four members of Pylon were art students at the University of Georgia in Athens. Guitarist Randall Bewley and bass guitarist Michael Lachowski began playing music and attempting to form a band in 1978. Neither had any musical experience: as Lachowski later recalled, "A lot of us in the art school were trying out different media with a punk rock message, which is just go in there and do it. You don’t need training, or authority or legitimacy. Just figure it out". They originally formed the band with the intention of securing live appearances in New York City, along with press attention, before splitting up.

Dana Gillespie in conversation  with David Eastaugh

Dana Gillespie recorded initially in the folk genre in the mid-1960s. Some of her recordings as a teenager fell into the teen pop category, such as her 1965 single "Thank You Boy", written by John Carter and Ken Lewis and produced by Jimmy Page. Her acting career got under way shortly afterwards, and it overshadowed her musical career in the late 1960s and 1970s.

The song "Andy Warhol" was originally written by David Bowie for Gillespie, who recorded it in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1973 on her album Weren't Born a Man. Her version also featured Mick Ronson on guitar. After performing backing vocals on the track "It Ain't Easy" from Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, she recorded an album produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson in 1973, Weren't Born a Man. Subsequent recordings have been in the blues genre, appearing with the London Blues Band. She is also notable for being the original Mary Magdalene in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened at the Palace Theatre in 1972. She also appeared on the Original London Cast album. During the 1980s Gillespie was a member of the Austrian Mojo Blues Band.

Alain Whyte in conversation with David Eastaugh

Alain Gordon Whyte  is an English musician, songwriter, composer and singer. He is best known for being Morrissey's main songwriting partner and guitarist between 1991 and 2007. (Several Morrissey–Whyte compositions were also released as late as 2009, after Whyte had left Morrissey's band.)

Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the bands Rugcutters, Red Lightning, Motivators, Born Bad and the Memphis Sinners. More recently, he has written for the likes of Madonna, Chris Brown, the Black Eyed Peas among many others. He won an ASCAP pop award in 2013 for his work as a songwriter on Chris Brown's hit single "Don't Wake Me Up".

Human Sexual Response with Dini Lamot & Windle Davis in conversation with David Eastaugh

Casey Cameron formed an all-kazoo band ("Kazoondheit") with her neighbors, among whom were Larry Bangor (aka Larry Soucy), Dini Lamot (brother of Larry and cousin to "Pecky" Lamot), and Windle Davis. The four became fast friends and soon formed an a cappella country-and-western band called Honey Bea and the Meadow Muffins, who played at parties and in the subway. Encouraged, the four decided to start a rock band.

Posting ads, the quartet met three musician/composers, drummer Malcolm Travis, guitarist Rich Gilbert, and bass player Rolfe Anderson. These seven became the original lineup of HSR, with Anderson being replaced on bass by Chris Maclachlan in 1980. Bangor was the main lead singer, though Lamot, Davis, and Cameron each sometimes sang lead. They named the band after the groundbreaking, and now classic, Masters and Johnson best-seller.

Mark Gemini Thwaite in conversation with David Eastaugh

Thwaite spent part of 1985 living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, joining Gothic rock band National Velvet, before returning to the UK in 1986. After forming a few bands in the Birmingham area including The First, he relocated to London in 1989.

In 1989 Thwaite joined London-based Gothic group The Children (featuring Dave Roberts of Sex Gang Children on vocals), and performed on the 12" single Never Get Out Alive released in 1990.^[3] During this time Thwaite was introduced to Kirk Brandon, founder member and vocalist for Spear of Destiny and Theatre of Hate. This began a 3-year collaboration between Thwaite and Brandon.

Thwaite performed live with Spear of Destiny in 1990, and replaced original Theatre of Hate guitarist Billy Duffy on the 10th anniversary Theatre of Hate UK tour in 1991. A TOH live album 'Live at the Astoria '91' including Thwaite on guitar was subsequently released by Easterstone records. Thwaite continued as a member of Spear of Destiny, contributing guitars and some bass guitar to their 1992 album Sod's Law and the subsequent tour that same year.

Scars with Paul Research in conversation with David Eastaugh

Scars (originally known as The Scars) were a Scottish post-punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland, and were a part of that city's music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Fronted by Robert King and featuring Paul Research on lead guitar, John Mackie on bass, and Calumn Mackay on drums, the band's first single was in 1979 on Fast Product; "Horrorshow"/"Adult/ery". The band's song "Your Attention Please" appeared as a free gold flexi-disc in the first issue of the London-based style magazine i-D. This song was later included in the band's 1981 (and sole) album Author! Author! The Scotsman ranked the album number 75 in the list of the top 100 Scottish rock and pop albums of all time.^[1]John Peel invited the band to record two of his Sessions, once in February 1980 and another in May 1981.

Jason Falkner in conversation with David Eastaugh

Jason Falkner is an American songwriter, musician, and guitarist who was a member of the bands Jellyfish, the Three O'Clock, and the Grays. Since 1996, he has released six solo albums, starting with Presents Author Unknown. He is also a session musician and producer who has contributed to dozens of recordings by other bands and musicians.

Jason Falkner in conversation with David Eastaugh

Jason Falkner is an American songwriter, musician, and guitarist who was a member of the bands Jellyfish, the Three O'Clock, and the Grays. Since 1996, he has released six solo albums, starting with Presents Author Unknown. He is also a session musician and producer who has contributed to dozens of recordings by other bands and musicians.