C86 Show - Indie Pop

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. 

The Shend special - The Cravats, Very Things, Grimetime - talking about his new book Rub Me Out with David Eastaugh

The Cravats are an English punk rock band originally from Redditch, England, founded in 1977. The 'classic' line up of Robin Dallaway (vocals, guitar), The Shend (vocals, bass guitar), Svor Naan (saxophone) and Dave Bennett (drums) remained constant between March / April 1978 until the close of 1982. Lead vocals in the original incarnation of the band were shared between Dallaway and The Shend. A reformed version of The Cravats including original members The Shend (vocals) and Svor Naan (saxophone), with Rampton Garstang (drums) has been performing since August 2009 and, since 2013 has included Viscount Biscuits (guitar) and Joe 91 (bass guitar)

Karen Haglof - Band Of Susans, The Crackers, The Wad - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Band of Susans was an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1986 and active until 1996. It originally consisted of Robert Poss (guitar/vocals), Susan Stenger (bass/vocals), Ron Spitzer (drums), with Susan Lyall (guitar), Susan Tallman (guitar), and Alva Rogers (vocals). The band would undergo several permutations over the years, usually involving three guitarists

Happy Mondays special with Paul Ryder in conversation with David Eastaugh

English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Mark Day (guitar), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Gary Whelan (drums). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage as a dancer/percussionist. Rowetta joined the band as a vocalist in 1990.

The group's work bridged the Manchester independent rock music of the 1980s and the emerging UK rave scene, drawing influence from funk, house, and psychedeliato pioneer the Madchester sound.^[2] They experienced their commercial peak with the releases Bummed (1988), Madchester Rave On (1989), and Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990), with the last going platinum in the UK. They disbanded in 1993, and have reformed several times in subsequent decades.

The Dream Syndicate with Steve Wynn with David Eastaugh

The Dream Syndicate is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1981 to 1989, and reunited since 2012. The band is associated with neo-psychedelia and the Paisley Underground music movement; of the bands in that movement, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Dream Syndicate "rocked with the highest degree of unbridled passion and conviction.

Though never commercially successful, the band met with considerable acclaim, especially for its songwriting and guitar playing. Bandleader Steve Wynn reformed the band in 2012, and a fifth studio album was released in February 2017.

The Barracudas with Jeremy Gluck in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Barracudas are an English surf rock band formed in late 1978. The band's original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (bass and vocals) and Adam Phillips (drums). Before the band recorded its first single, Starkie and Adam Phillips left the band.

The band is notable for their 1980 hit single "Summer Fun", which started with an excerpt from a 1960s spoof advertisement for the Plymouth Barracuda campaign. The song included dialogue where announcers had difficulty pronouncing the word barracuda. The single reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.

Toni Basil  in conversation with David Eastaugh

American singer, actress, choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide 1981/2 smash hit "Mickey," which topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit the top ten in several other countries. She has collaborated with David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Talking Heads (choreographing and co-directing the acclaimed video for "Once in a Lifetime"), the Monkees, Frank Sinatra, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Bette Midler, and The Muppets

Meg Lee Chin in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Taiwanese-Irish singer, songwriter, audio and video producer, writer and art activist who lives in London, England.

She is known as an early pioneer of the home studio revolution and female-produced music. As an early adopter of computer-based audio production, she built her own pc and created "Egg Studio" with a small mixing desk and audio interfaces. Her role in the movement toward DIY record production was first recognized when she appeared as the first home studio producer to be featured in the January 2000 Millenial issue of EQ Magazine which was the foremost high-end audio publication of its time

Green on Red with Chris Cacavas in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band began in 1979 as The Serfers, a four-piece made up of Dan Stuart(vocals/guitar), Jack Waterson (bass), Van Christian (drums, later of Naked Prey) and Sean Nagore (organ), quickly replaced by Chris Cacavas.^[1] In the summer of 1980, the Serfers relocated to Los Angeles, where they changed their name to Green on Red (after the title of one of their songs) to avoid confusion with the local surf punkscene. Christian returned to Tucson and was replaced by Lydia Lunch sideman Alex MacNicol.

Chris Utting or Chris Crass - The Muffs, Vains, The Rockinghams - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Drummer, guitarist, singer, songwriter who's been in over 50 bands, since '79, solo CD 2010

The Muffs with Ronnie Barnett in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band started as a collaboration between guitarists Kim Shattuck and Melanie Vammen, both former members of the 1980s all-female hard rock group, The Pandoras. The Muffs started performing and recording after the addition of bassist Ronnie Barnett and drummer Criss Crass. The Muffs released their initial 7" EPs and singles – "New Love" and "Guilty" (1991), and "I Need You" (1992) – on the West Coast independent labels Sub Pop and Sympathy for the Record Industry.^[3] Based on the public and critical response to these early releases, the band was signed to Warner Bros. Records.^[3] They established a reputation for "straightforward pop punk". In the words of musician and critic Scott Miller, the Muffs had "an uncommon flair for simple, catchy melodies" which, he noted approvingly, were always delivered in "Kim Shattuck's almost comically sneering adolescent rasp".

The Loft with Andy Strickland in conversation with David Eastaugh

Formed in 1980 as The Living Room by Peter Astor (vocals, guitar), Bill Prince (bass), Andy Strickland (guitar) and Dave Morgan (drums), the band changed its name when they discovered a local music venue also called The Living Room. The venue was being run by Alan McGee, with whom The Loft struck up a friendship and played several gigs for. After signing to McGee's fledgling Creation Records label, the debut single "Why Does the Rain?" was issued in 1984. "Up the Hill and Down the Slope" was issued the following year, earning both band and label some critical success.

A national tour as the opening act for The Colourfield was intended to give the band further exposure, but tensions within the band led to a sensational split live onstage of the Hammersmith Palais, on the final date of the tour.

Native Records with Kevin Donoghue in conversation with David Eastaugh

The label was founded by Kevin Donoghue in 1985, after he left RCA Records and during his time at the Music Factory where he was a sound engineer.^[1][2][3]

In January 1989, Native signed Nine Inch Nails but later released them from their contract when TVT Records offered a better deal.

The label was originally distributed via the Cartel and Red Rhino Records, with Rough Trade distributing in Germany and Radical distributing in Spain. After the collapse of the Cartel in 1989, distribution moved to Polydor Records and subsequently Pinnacle Records. The label is now distributed by Code 7 & and Plastic Head Distribution in the UK.

In 2006, Native formed its own distribution company Indie distribution.

Breathless with Ari Neufeld in conversation with David Eastaugh

Breathless are an English dream pop band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton (vocals, keyboards), Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums).^[1] Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released seven studio albums, one compilation album and 13 singles and EPs,^[2][3] 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".

Appleton is also known for his vocal contributions in 4AD supergroup This Mortal Coil, appearing on three tracks on their 1986 album Filigree & Shadow, and one track on their 1991 album Blood.

Formed in 1983, the original line-up was Michael Rooney (vocals), Tom Rafferty (guitar), Malcolm McDonald (bass), Kevin Key (guitar), and Rhod Burnett (drums). Their first release was the self-financed "Where Are You?" single in 1984, produced by McDonald, after which they were signed by French independent label New Rose. Their first release for the label was the mini-LP Eternal Hotfire. A further single followed before Gordon left, to be replaced by Malcolm McDonald.^[1] They recorded a session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in 1985(Don Gordon played guitar on this along with Malcolm McDonald), which was released as an EP in 1987. Rafferty left before the band recorded Sound Hole (New Rose 1986) with McDonald handling all guitar duties as the band built up a following in continental Europe, with a further album following for New Rose in 1987 (Live a Little). Gordon Goudie was recruited as rhythm guitarist in 1986. In late 1987 there was a further line-up change with Burnett and McDonald leaving, the remaining members recruiting Richard Mazda (guitar) and Paul Bridges (drums).

Big Dipper with Steve Michener with David Eastaugh

American indie rock band who formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985 by former members of Volcano Suns and the Embarrassment. They released four studio albums between 1987 and 1990, before splitting up. The band reunited in 2008. They were described in a New York Times article as "musical contortionists: they love to toy with extremes, juxtaposing ferocious guitar noise with celestial vocal harmonies or planting a delicate melody in jagged rhythm".

Styx with Lawrence Gowan in conversation with David Eastaugh - with a new album and tour planned this year

American rock band from Chicago that formed in 1972 and is best known for melding hard rock guitar balanced with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre.^[6] The band established itself with a progressive rock sound in the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s.