C86 Show - Indie Pop

Flying Nun Records special with Roger Shepherd in conversation with David Eastaugh

The label was formed in the wake of a flurry of new post-punk-inspired labels forming in New Zealand in the early 1980s, in particular Propeller Records in Auckland. The intention was to record the original local music of Christchurch, but soon the label rose to national prominence by championing the emerging music of Dunedin.

The Pin Group's "Ambivalence" 7" (the first band of Roy Montgomery) was the first release from Flying Nun, although it is widely assumed that "Tally Ho" by The Clean was the first release, as it unexpectedly reached number nineteen in the New Zealand charts, bringing the label unanticipated profile and income. This was followed by the seminal Dunedin Double, a release which cemented the place of the southern city in the forefront of New Zealand independent music. Flying Nun moved into the full-length album market in 1982 with the Ego Gratification Album by Chris Knox and Beatin Hearts by Builders (recorded 1982, Auckland).

Many of the most prominent kiwi rock and alternative bands have been signed to Flying Nun at some stage in their careers. In 2000, Australian youth radio network Triple J produced a list of the thirty "Greatest New Zealand acts of all time", twenty of which were Flying Nun artists. The label has been home to various styles of music, including the much-debated Dunedin sound, "high-end pop with a twist", lo-fi experimentation, strongly Velvet Underground-influenced pop, minimalism, industrial, and rock-electronic crossover.

The Hepburns special with Matt Jones in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Hepburns are a Welsh indie band from Llanelli, South-West Wales. They have recorded twelve albums, two EPs, one single, and three BBC sessions and have been signed to Berkeley-based label Radio Khartoum since 1999. They toured the United States and Scandinavia in 2007. 'Electric Lliedi Land' is due for release in September 2020.  

The Fabulous Poodles special with Bobby Valentino in conversation with David Eastaugh

Valentino's first success was as a founding member of The Fabulous Poodles, but he is most often recognised as the violinist and co-writer of the hit single "Young at Heart", by The Bluebells.

After leaving the Fabulous Poodles in the early 1980s, Valentino was a member of the Electric Bluebirds before joining the Hank Wangford Band at the beginning of 1984: the British country band already included pedal steel guitarist B. J. Cole (Cochise) and former Liverpool Scene/Scaffold/ guitarist Andy Roberts.

The Verlaines special with Graeme Downes in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Verlaines were noted for their angular, "difficult" song structures, wordy and downbeat lyrics, unusual subject matter, which was all contained in often frantic up-tempo playing. The Verlaines were led by songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Graeme Downes, although many other New Zealand musicians played guitar, bass, drums and brass instruments during the different stages of the band. Downes is an academic at the University of Otago, where he is head of the Department of Music. He teaches contemporary music and has research interests in Mahler and Shostakovich. He has released one solo album, Hammers and Anvils, which came out on Matador Records in 2001.

Their signature songs include "Death and the Maiden", "C.D. Jimmy Jazz & Me", "Bird-dog" and "Ballad of Harry Noryb."

The band's recorded debut was on the seminal Dunedin Double EP, which was released by Flying Nun Records and was the debut of several bands who would go on to be central to the mythology of the Dunedin sound.

In 2003, a career retrospective, You're Just Too Obscure for Me, was released.

The Verlaines contributed the soundtrack to the film Eden, collaborating with actor Adetokunbo Adu, and screenwriter Rebecca Tansley. A song from Eden, What Sound is This? appeared on their album Untimely Meditations in 2012.

New Fast Automatic Daffodils special with Andy Spearpoint in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band was formed in 1988 by former members of the punk rock group Pariah.^[1] Dolan Hewison, Justin Crawford, Perry Saunders and Icarus Wilson-Wright were former students at Manchester Polytechnic, while Andy Spearpoint attended drama school. The name comes from a poem by Adrian Henri that mixed an advertisement for a yellow Dutch car with a Wordsworth poem. Often associated with the 'Madchester' scene of the late 1980s, but never really part of that scene,^[3] the band's debut single, "Lions" was released in 1989 on Playtime records (then home to Inspiral Carpets), followed the same year by the Music Is Shit EP. In 1990, they signed to Play It Again Sam (record label)|Play It Again Sam Records, September of that year seeing the release of "Fishes Eyes", and debut album Pigeonhole appearing in November, which reached the UK top 50.

Bush Tetras special with Cynthia Sley in conversation with David Eastaugh

Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals". Although they did not achieve mainstream success, the Bush Tetras were influential and popular in the Manhattan club scene and college radio in the early 1980s.^[1] New York's post-punk revival of the 2000s was accompanied by a resurgence of interest in the genre, with the Tetras' influence heard in many of that scene's bands.

Tenpole Tudor special with Edward Tudor-Pole in conversation with David Eastaugh

Tenpole Tudor formed in 1977 when Tudor-Pole (vocals/saxophone) met guitarist Bob Kingston, bassist Dick Crippen, and drummer Gary Long. They played regularly for several years until Tudor-Pole himself (under the moniker of Eddie Tenpole) came to prominence by appearing in the 1980 film, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (filmed in 1978). He was originally billed as a replacement for Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten — performing the songs "Who Killed Bambi?", "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" and a cover version of "Rock Around The Clock" for the film and subsequent soundtrack — however, managerMalcolm McLaren and the remaining Sex Pistols instead decided to abandon the group and go their own ways.

Spike Williams in conversation with David Eastaugh

Welsh guitarist and co-founder of South Wales' record label, Z Block Records. In May 1979, Z Block set up a base in Splott, Cardiff, where they set about organising the city's first DIY compilation LP. Titled Is The War Over?, this seminal compilation was released in October 1979 and its release brought The Young Marble Giants to Rough Trade's attention. It also showcased many of Cardiff's best post punk bands of the period. Reptile Ranch disbanded in 1980.

After the split of Young Marble Giants in 1980, Spike started writing with their vocalist, Alison Statton. Later that year, Alison merged this work with a London-based project which brought in Simon Emmerson to create a new band named Weekend. At the same time Spike was working in Cardiff with Lewis Mottram and Debbie Debris as Table Table. When Weekend split in 1983, Spike returned to Splott and formed Bomb and Dagger with singer Debbie Debris and a handful of Cardiff musicians - the original line-up included both Alison Statton and Phil Moxham, and Andrew Moxham.

Bomb and Dagger performed regularly throughout South Wales including the Brecon Jazz Festival before splitting up in 1989 following a gruelling European tour.

Spike moved to London in 1990 and worked with folk musician Charlotte Grieg. After an eight-year break, Spike and Alison Statton returned to the studio thanks to the support of Rough Trade founder, Geoff Travis. Between 1991 and 1997 Statton and Spike produced Weekend in Wales (EP) and two home made studio albums, Tidal Blues and The Shady Tree for Vinyl Japan.

In 2006, the Alison Statton & Spike material was re-released by LTM while the Weekend material was re-released by the Cherry Red record label.

Tim Scott McConnell in conversation with David Eastaugh

Tim Scott McConnell aka Tim Scott or Ledfoot is an American singer-songwriter and 12-string guitarist who performs since 2007 under the artist name Ledfoot and created the music genre Gothic blues. He calls himself the "Master of Gothic Blues". The artist's repertoire consists solely of self-written songs.

Two of his songs gained international popularity through other artists:

• "Swear" was covered by Sheena Easton for her 1984 album A Private Heaven.
• Bruce Springsteen recorded one of his songs, "High Hopes", on the Blood Brother EP (1996). The song, released by Springsteen as a single in November 2013, gave the title to his January 2014 studio album.

Department S special with Edward Barnes in conversation with David Eastaugh

Department S are a British post-punk/new wave band formed in 1980, who took their name from the 1960s TV series Department S. ^[1] They are best known for their debut single, "Is Vic There?", which was originally released in December 1980 and reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart the following year. Their latest album, When All Is Said and All Is Done, was released in 2016.

Robin Lee Crutchfield talking about his life with DNA, Dark Day and much more with David Eastaugh.

Robin Lee Crutchfield is an American artist. He is best known as one of the founding musicians of the former New York No Wave scene. He has performed at such hallowed musical grounds as CBGB's, Max's Kansas City and Artists Space; as well as had his work on display at prestigious venues like MoMAand The Whitney Museum of American Art.

Rockats special Smutty Smiff or Stephen Dennis Smith in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1977, Childers had just finished the Anarchy tour with Sex Pistols, The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers. After the tour was over, Levi Dexter met Childers at a rockabilly concert in London. Childers decided to start a fresh project. Dexter and Smutty Smiff decided to form a band together, even though Smiff had no musical training. One week later, Childers purchased a double bass for Smiff and a first gig was booked in Max's Kansas City.

At about same time, when the band was accepted by local artists, musicians and photographers, Smiff became a model and a friend to photographers such as Andy Warhol, Mick Rock, Bob Gruen, Janette Beckman, and Robert Mapplethorpe

The Wendys with Jonathan Renton & Ian White Part 2 - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Formed in 1987, the Wendys were the second Scottish band to be signed to Factory Records, after The Wake. Their name came about after a nights drinking the evening before they were due to sign for Factory. They decided upon The Marys, but when the time came to sign for Factory, none of them could remember what they had decided upon. Believing they had chosen the Wendys, that's the name they registered. After the group opened for the Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryder's father suggested that they send in a demo tape. After they were signed to the label, Phil Saxe acted as their manager. Having felt at odds with the contemporary Scottish music scene, the Wendys found a common spirit among the Factory Records roster, saying they shared similar influences as their labelmates but still wanted to be known as their own distinct band

The Wendys with Jonathan Renton and Ian White (part 1) in conversation with David Eastaugh

Formed in 1987, the Wendys were the second Scottish band to be signed to Factory Records, after The Wake. Their name came about after a nights drinking the evening before they were due to sign for Factory. They decided upon The Marys, but when the time came to sign for Factory, none of them could remember what they had decided upon. Believing they had chosen the Wendys, that's the name they registered. After the group opened for the Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryder's father suggested that they send in a demo tape. After they were signed to the label, Phil Saxe acted as their manager. Having felt at odds with the contemporary Scottish music scene, the Wendys found a common spirit among the Factory Records roster, saying they shared similar influences as their labelmates but still wanted to be known as their own distinct band. Although they enjoyed critical acclaim with the release of their debut album Gobbledygook in 1991 (produced by Ian Broudie), they did not achieve the widespread popularity of labelmates such as New Order or the Happy Mondays. The timing of their album's release directly preceded the demise of the label, also hurting their chances at success. Following a long hiatus, the group released their second album Sixfootwingspan (originally intended to be called Sixfootwingspan Yoga Birds) in 1999.

Culture Shock, Citizen Fish & Subhumans special with Dick Lucas in conversation with David Eastaugh

Culture Shock is an English punk rock band formed in Warminster, Wiltshire in 1986 by Dick Lucas, previously of the Subhumans. Over their four-year history the band played hundreds of gigs, including frequent appearances at free festivals, and released three studio albums on the Bluurg record label. Lucas’ lyrics were mostly concerned with social and political issues, from cruelty to animals, Northern Ireland, war, and social alienation, but were far from angry rants, often finding a positive and empowering perspective.

Culture Shock split at the end of 1989, as Bill and Nige both had young families to support. Dick went on to form Citizen Fish with Jasper, the bassist on Culture Shock’s final album, and two other former members of the Subhumans.

The Wake with Gerard "Caesar" McInulty in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Wake released their first single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling together "On Our Honeymoon" and "Give Up". This single eventually caught the attention of New Order manager Rob Gretton, who helped the band sign to Factory Records in 1982 and record an LP (Harmony) at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. This was followed by a number of singles on Factory and its Belgian sister label Factory Benelux. In 1983, The Wake toured with New Order, and thus received critical attention but were often unfavourably compared to their more celebrated labelmates. Gillespie was asked to leave in 1983, subsequently playing drums with The Jesus and Mary Chain and achieving fame with his own band Primal Scream. After a short-lived stint with McInulty's ex-classmate Martin Cunning on bass, Alexander 'Mac' Macpherson permanently replaced Gillespie. That same year the band recorded a session on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme and David 'Kid' Jensen's BBC radio 1 show. The band toured extensively and scored an indie hit with their 1984 single "Talk About The Past" which featured Vini Reilly of Durutti Column on piano. The recording and release of their seminal 1985 album Here Comes Everybody marked the apex of their career. Further releases were few and far between: one more single "Of The Matter" emerged in 1985 before their last release for Factory, a 4-track EP entitled "Something That No One Else Could Bring" finally appeared in 1987.

In 1988, disillusioned with the lack of proper promotion and indeed apathy from Factory Records, The Wake left the label and signed to Bristol's legendary Sarah Records, releasing two singles and two LPs, the last being 1994's Tidal Wave of Hype. By this point, once again down to a three piece featuring McInulty, Allen and Allen, they also shared personnel with another Glasgow-based band on Sarah, The Orchids, with whom they had also played a few live gigs. When Sarah shut down in 1995, The Wake effectively dissolved.

The Mudd Club with Richard Boch in conversation with David Eastaugh

The club featured a bar, gender-neutral bathrooms and a rotating gallery curated by Keith Haring on the fourth floor.^[2] Live performances included new wave, experimental music, literary icons Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, and catwalk exhibitions for emerging fashion designers Anna Sui and Jasper Conran.

From the start it functioned as an "amazing antidote to the uptown glitz of Studio 54in the '70s". As it became more frequented by downtown celebrities, a door policy was established and it acquired a chic, often elitist reputation.

The Mudd Club was frequented by many of Manhattan's up-and-coming cult celebrities. Other individuals associated with the venue included musicians Lou Reed, Johnny Thunders, David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Arto Lindsay, John Lurie, Nicowith Jim Tisdall, Lydia Lunch, X, the Cramps, the B-52's, the Bongos and  artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and his then-girlfriend Madonna; performers Klaus Nomi and John Sex; designers Betsey Johnson, Maripol and Marisol; and underground filmmakers Amos Poe; Vincent Gallo, Kathy Acker, and Glenn O'Brien.

Terry Banks - Dot Dash, St Christopher, Glo-Worm, Julie Ocean - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Sterling Roswell -Spacemen 3 & The Darkside special - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Roswell joined Spacemen 3 in 1987 as drummer, and performed on the albums The Perfect Prescription and Performance.

After leaving Spacemen 3, he joined The Darkside in 1989 - alongside Spacemen 3 bandmate Pete Bain - and recorded three albums with the band.

He then moved to Rome, Italy, where he worked with film-maker Massimo Di Felice. He subsequently relocated to London and released an AAA associated 'space pop' single on the 'Mint' label subsidiary of Jungle Records.

In 2004 he issued the solo album the Psychedelic Ubik under his own name on Mint/Jungle Records. More recent recording credits include producing the Transparency LP with Sky Saxon of The Seeds on Jungle Records, guest percussion on Geraint Watkins' Dial 'W' For Watkins on Proper Records, keyboards on Tres Chicas Bloom, Red & the Ordinary Girl on Yep Roc Records and guitar with The Odeon Beat Club on Beatclub Recordings and a guest performance on Martin Belmont's album The Guest List.

Gary Clail in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Became a warm up act for On-U gigs. Clail first released a record in 1985. Several 12" singles were issued between 1985 and 1987, before Clail's first LP for Nettwerk, Tackhead Tape Time, a split effort between Clail and Tackhead. "Television: The Drug of the Nation" by The Beatnigs was remixed by Clail, Adrian Sherwood and Mark Stewart, on the Alternative Tentacles record label in 1988.

In 1989, Clail issued his own album, billed as Gary Clail & On-U Sound System, on On-U Sound, which marked Clail's entrance to the electronicunderground scene in Bristol, eventually leading him to work with RCA a couple of years later. This output incorporated several singles and EPs, as well as the Emotional Hooligan album (1991).