C86 Show - Indie Pop

Dream City Film Club special with Michael J Sheehy in conversation with David Eastaugh

Vocalist Michael J. Sheehy had been working as a solo singer/songwriter for several years when he met Alex Vald and Laurence Ash, who quickly began writing songs with Sheehy. Upon the demise of another local group, Breed, bassist Andrew Park joined. The band's name came from a news story Sheehy had seen about an arsonist who had burned down a members-only porno theatre. They played their first gig as Dream City Film Club on 31 July 1995.

They released a single, "Crawl" for the underground fanzine, the Organ in early 1996. Soon after, they were contacted by Beggar's Banquet and recorded their eponymous debut album in late 1996, later releasing it on 26 May 1997.

The Ex special with G.W. Sok in conversation with David Eastaugh 

The Ex's music has undergone significant evolution over the years from their beginnings as a punk band. Founded by singer Jos Kley (better known as G.W. Sok), guitarist Terrie Hessels, drummer Geurt and bassist René, the band debuted with a song titled "Stupid Americans" on the Utreg-Punx vinyl 7" compilation released by Rock Against records in Rotterdam. The release of their first 7" All Corpses Smell the Same followed shortly after that, in 1980. Through the decades their music has gradually developed into its current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/no wave-inspired work.

Expanding beyond punk rock, The Ex have incorporated a wide array of influences, often from non-Western and non-rock sources. Some include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs, and more recently music from Ethiopia, Congo and Eritrea (the independence song of Eritrea is covered by The Ex to kick off their 2004 album Turn). Other examples of branching out stylistically include the improvised double album Instant and a release under the moniker Ex Orkest, a 20 piece big band assembled for performances at Holland Festival.

Throughout the early 1980s The Ex went through many line-up changes before settling on the core quartet of G.W. Sok on vocals, Terrie on guitar, Luc on bass and Kat on drums. In the early 1990s, Andy Moor served double-duty with tourmates Dog Faced Hermans before becoming The Ex's permanent second guitarist in 1991. In 2003 Luc left the band after 19 years, to be replaced by double bassist Rozemarie Heggen. In 2005 Heggen in turn left the band and Colin (formerly of the Dog Faced Hermans) served as the band's bass player for recordings and tours with Ethiopian saxophone legend Getatchew Mekuria before becoming The Ex's sound board operator. Guitarists Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels have since filled in bass parts by switching off on baritone guitar.

Showaddywaddy special with Dave Bartram in conversation with David Eastaugh

Their first single, "Hey Rock and Roll" (written by the band), was released in April 1974. It reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. Showaddywaddy then went on to have a further 22 UK hits until late summer 1982. They had most of their biggest hits with covers of songs from the 1950s and the early 1960s. These cover versions included "Three Steps to Heaven" (originally by Eddie Cochran in 1960), "Heartbeat" (originally written and recorded by Buddy Holly), "Under the Moon of Love" (originally a US hit for Curtis Lee in 1961 and co-written by Tommy Boyce), "When" (originally by the Kalin Twins), "You Got What It Takes" (originally by Marv Johnson) and "Dancin' Party" (originally by Chubby Checker). These six singles were all produced by Mike Hurst (a former member of the Springfields).

REM special with Bertis Downs in conversation with David Eastaugh

R.E.M.'s drummer Bill Berry instigated Downs' connection with the band. In 1978, John Huie, a rep for the booking company Berry worked for at the time, suggested Berry look up Downs, whom he knew from Davidson College who had since graduated and was then in law school at the University of Georgia.

Downs attended an R.E.M. show at the 11.11 Koffee Club in Athens, Georgia on April 19, 1980. By that time, Downs also knew Peter Buck from Wuxtry Records, a downtown Athens shop where he would buy Neil Young records.

Blancmange special with Neil Arthur in conversation with David Eastaugh

English synth-pop band formed in Harrow, London, in 1979. The band were a duo for most of their career, composed of Neil Arthur (vocals) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). They came to prominence in the early 1980s releasing four singles that entered the Top 20 charts in the UK, such as "Living on the Ceiling", "Waves", "Blind Vision" and "Don't Tell Me", and they released three albums during that decade, Happy Families (1982), Mange Tout (1984) and Believe You Me(1985). The duo broke up in 1986 but reformed in 2011 and released their fourth album Blanc Burn (2011). Luscombe left following the release and since then Arthur has continued to perform under the Blancmange name. He has released six further studio albums and a number of compilations, including a re-recording of the band's debut album, titled Happy Families Too....

Th' Faith Healers  special with Roxanne Stephen in conversation with David Eastaugh

Th' Faith Healers were an English indie rock band who were originally active between 1990 and 1994. The members of the group were Roxanne Stephen (vocals), Tom Cullinan (guitar and vocals), Ben Hopkin (bass), and Joe Dilworth (drums).^[1] They recorded multiple EPs and singles along with two full LPs.

Tom Cullinan, who handled the bulk of the songwriting, went on to help form the band Quickspace. Signed to Too Pure in the United Kingdom, their albums were released by Elektra in the United States. Both albums feature clear krautrock influences, most evident in their cover of Can's "Mother Sky", from Lido.

Since their initial break-up in 1994, the band have reformed intermittently. They embarked on a short reunion tour in 2006 in conjunction with the release of their compilation Peel Sessions the previous year. The band reformed in 2009, playing at the All Tomorrow's Partiesmusic festival twice, first in May (curated by The Breeders) and then again in December (curated by My Bloody Valentine).

Shelia Chandra special - Monsoon, The Imagined Village, Ancient BeatBox - in conversation with David Eastaugh

As a teenager she formed the band Monsoon with Steve Coe (who became the band's producer) and bassist Martin Smith. Monsoon created a fusion of Western and Indian pop styles. The band recorded its only album, Third Eye, in 1982 from which it had a hit single, "Ever So Lonely", which peaked at No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] Monsoon followed-up with the single "Shakti," which peaked at No. 41, but this was to be the band's final charting single. The album also includes a cover of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", featuring the distinctive EBow guitar sound of Bill Nelson. Resenting pressure from their record company over musical direction, Monsoon dissolved in 1982 and Coe and Smith set about promoting Chandra as a solo artist on independent Indipop Records.

Pentagram special with Bobby Liebling in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1971, Bobby Liebling and Geof O'Keefe decided to leave their previous bands (Shades of Darkness and Space Meat, respectively) to form a new band that reflected their interest in emerging metal and hard rock acts such as UFO, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, and Sir Lord Baltimore. At Liebling's suggestion, the group was named Pentagram, a name that reflected the gloomy subject matter of their material. Although the band would change its name several times during 1971 and 1972 (Virgin Death, Macabre, and Wicked Angel were all considered during this period), they would eventually (and permanently) return to Pentagram. Contrary to popular belief, they were never called Stonebunny; this was the name given to Space Meat when Liebling joined them briefly.

Vic Godard in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1976, Godard formed Subway Sect with three other fans of the Sex Pistols at the suggestion of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, who wanted another band for the line-up of the 100 Club Punk Festival. Despite their inexperience, Subway Sect made a successful debut at the festival and were taken on by Clashmanager Bernie Rhodes. They appeared with The Clash on the White Riot Tour in 1977 and released their debut single, "Nobody's Scared"/"Don't Split It", in March 1978. While recording their debut album at Gooseberry Studios, Rhodes suddenly fired the entire band except for Godard. Two tracks from the album's recording sessions, "Ambition"/"Different Story", were released by Rough Trade Records; the single was a major hit on the alternative charts.

Godard re-formed Subway Sect in 1980 with new musicians and signed to MCA Records sublabel Oddball, releasing the album What's The Matter Boy?

Following a summer tour with Buzzcocks, Subway Sect disbanded again. Guitarist Johnny Britten formed a rockabilly band with Chris Bostock, Sean McLusky, Rob Marche and DC Collard, but was soon forced to leave the group, at which point Godard stepped in to take his place. They recorded the album Songs For Sale in 1981, but were disappointed with the results and disbanded soon after; members of the band, without Godard, went on to form JoBoxers.^[3] Godard also recorded an LP at Olympic Studios, called T.R.O.U.B.L.E., with a group of London jazz musicians known as Working Week, which was eventually released two years later by Rough Trade Records.

In the mid-1980s, Godard retired from music and became a postman.

In 1990, Godard wrote the song "Johnny Thunders", a tribute inspired by reading an obituary of the New York Dolls guitarist. It was recorded at the home of Paul Baker, a fellow postman. Godard also recorded ten other tracks and the recordings, with Paul Cook on drums, eventually became the album The End of the Surrey People. Produced by Edwin Collins, it was released on the Postcard Records label. Collins' group Orange Juice had made the Subway Sect song "Holiday Hymn" a feature of their set in the early 1980s.

Later in the 1990s, Godard formed the band The Long Decline with Kenny Wisdom and Mark Perry. The band released an album on the Overground label before disbanding in 1998, but re-formed in 2000 with Godard, Wisdom, Lee McFadden, and Mina Sassoon, among others. Godard contributed guitar and some songwriting, but not lead vocals,

In 1998, Godard released the album Long Term side-Effect on Tugboat Records.^[3]

A 2002 album recorded by Godard, Sansend, was released under the name Subway Sect, rather than his own.

The Wonder Stuff with Miles Hunt in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Wonder Stuff released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in the UK. The band have continued to tour and record since 2000.

Largely the vehicle for the songwriting of Miles Hunt, the band split up with a farewell performance as headliners of the 1994 Phoenix Festival, but reformed in 2000 and have toured and recorded since then, with Hunt the sole member of all line-ups.

Known for their catchy songs and Hunt's sharp lyrics, the band's sound evolved from guitar pop to include sampling and elements of folk and country. The band - and Hunt in particular — were favourites of the UK music press, and were often associated with fellow Black Country acts Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Pop Will Eat Itself, with whom they have toured throughout their careers.

The band scored one UK number 1 single, their release of "Dizzy" with comedian Vic Reeves, 17 top-20 single hits, and three top-10 albums in the UK. The band also toured internationally, and achieved some success in the United States, where they had six songs on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart.

The Bible with Boo Hewerdine in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Bible was formed in 1985 in Cambridge, when former Great Divide frontman Boo Hewerdine teamed up with keyboard player/drummer Tony Shepherd (who'd played with jazz bands and drummed for Cambridge bands The Wobbly Jellies and Somewhere in the Foreign Office, the latter of which had featured future satirist Chris Morrison bass). Using Hewerdine's savings and several budget-rate studios, the duo recorded The Bible's debut album Walking the Ghost Back Home with the assistance of bass player Clive Lawson, jazz saxophonist Kevin Flanagan and drummer Dave Larcombe (the latter of failed "Oxbridge Duran Duran" band Roaring Boys).

Walking the Ghost Back Home was released in 1986 on the independent record label Backs Records. The album was well received by music pundits, giving The Bible a top-ten hit on the UK Independent Chart and staying in the chart for ten weeks. This was followed by the first release of "Graceland" as a single, which gave them a minor hit in the UK. After follow-up single "Mahalia" (which reached number 15 on the UK Independent Chart) The Bible was consolidated as a five piece group. Dave Larcombe was recruited as a full-time drummer (allowing Shepherd to concentrate on keyboards), Larcombe's former Roaring Boys bandmate Neill MacColl (brother of Kirsty MacColl) was recruited as lead guitarist after performing on various Bible B-sides, and Clive Lawson was replaced by a full-time bass guitarist, Leroy Lendor.

The Fleshtones special with Peter Zaremba in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Jan Marek Pakulski two roommates who discovered that a previous tenant had left behind some instruments in the basement of the house they were renting. Streng, on guitar, and Pakulski, on bass, were soon joined by neighborhood friends Peter Zaremba (born September 16, 1954), Queens, New York) on harmonica, keyboards, and vocals, and Lenny Calderon (born 1958), New York City) on drums.

The Fleshtones debuted at CBGB on May 19, 1976. Starting in 1978, the group was often joined onstage, as well as on record, by Action Combo, brothers Gordon (alto sax and harmonica) and Brian (tenor sax) Spaeth. Gordon Spaeth (September 21, 1951 – March 8, 2005) became an official band member in 1983.

In the late 1970s, The Fleshtones earned a local following and played often in Manhattan at CBGB and Max's Kansas City. Later, they found a favorite venue at Club 57 on St. Mark's Place. The Fleshtones were the first band to be booked or to play at several famous venues, including Irving Plaza and Danceteria in Manhattan, Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, and the original 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.

The Fleshtones shared a rehearsal space with The Cramps on the Bowery in 1977. The following year, The Fleshtones signed with Marty Thau's Red Star Records, and recorded their first album. In addition, filmmaker/artist M. Henry Jones and the band produced Soul City, a performance-animation video composed of hand-painted cutouts that is a historic representation of the band and Jones' art form. The Fleshtones' first single, "American Beat" was issued on Red Star in 1979.

Weekend, Working Week & Afro Celt Sound System with Simon Emmerson in conversation with David Eastaugh

Record producer, guitarist, DJ, musical director at Lush, and founder of the group Afro Celt Sound System.

He is also the main organiser of The Imagined Village, a collaborative work from many roots artists. Emmerson also plays on this album.

In 1995 Emmerson was nominated for a Grammy for his production work on Baaba Maal's album Firin' in Fouta.

Earlier in his career, under the pseudonym Simon Booth, he was a member of the bands Working Week and Weekend, played guitar on Everything but the Girl's debut album Eden and produced records for Baaba Maal and Manu Dibango.

Peter and the Test Tube Babies with Derek 'Strangefish' Greening in conversation with David Eastaugh

Peter and the Test Tube Babies were first featured in Sounds magazine in July 1980, and after a John PeelRadio One session, made their vinyl debut on the Brighton compilation album Vaultage 78.

In recent years the band has played at festivals including the 11th Antifest in 2005. They also had two songs on the Oi! compilation Oi! the Album in that same year. They favoured absurd lyrics and strange titles, such as "The Queen Gives Good Blow Jobs". In 1982, they covered the chart-topping Gary Glitter hit "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" on their album Pissed and Proud.

The Legendary Pink Dots special with Edward Ka-Spel in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Legendary Pink Dots are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. In 1984 the band moved to Amsterdam, playing with rotating musicians and having, as core members, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Edward Ka-Spel and keyboardist Phil Knight. As of 2012, the group is composed of Edward Ka-Spel (vocals, keyboards, songwriter), Phil Knight(keyboards, electronics), Erik Drost (guitars) and Raymond Steeg (live sound engineer).

Although outside the mainstream (in terms of their music and career path), LPD have released more than 40 albums, have a devoted worldwide following, and tour frequently.

Pete Jones special - talking about life with Public Imagine Limited, Department S & Brian Brain with David Eastaugh

Pete Jones played bass in different bands since the punk rock era of the 1970s, but is known for being a member of Public Image Ltd., during 1982–1983. He played bass guitar on PiL's highest charting UK single "This Is Not a Love Song" as well as recording Commercial Zone whilst with the band in New York.

During punk days, in the late 1970s, he played in The Hots with Martin Atkins, formerly Blonde (not Blondie). After The Hots split up, he was asked to join Cowboys International, touring with them across Europe. After that he formed part of Brian Brain with Atkins, then joined Public Image Ltd. while he was in the band.

He left PiL in 1983, and has since produced his own material under his own name and released several CDs. Jones has also done various cross-collaborations with Mikee Plastik over the years. In 2008, he teamed up with Fred Suard to form The Creepy Dolls, and released an EP entitled Grande Finale, and released various tracks with Clem Chambers under the name Pete & Charlie. He has recently returned to the live stage with a guest appearance for Mod Revivalists, Back To Zero and has joined post punk band Department S as permanent bass player and producer. Jones currently lives in Harpenden where he writes and records.

Senser special with Heitham Al-Sayed in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1993, Senser released two indie singles on Ultimate – "Eject" and "The Key".

In March 1994, Senser released their third single, "Switch", which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 39. Senser's first album, Stacked Up, was released in May 1994, and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 4.

At the beginning of 1995, Senser toured the UK supported by Skunk Anansie before setting off to tour the United States with Moby. It was during this tour that the band decided to split over musical differences. Al-Sayed and Morgan left to form a new band with Haggis called Lodestar. The remaining members of Senser found a new drummer, Paul Soden, and set about writing Senser's second album.

During the spring of 1997, they recorded the second album. And in the summer of 1997 De-Senser released "Om".

In the summer of 1998, Haigh was able to tour and the band released the second album, Asylum. Once again musical differences became apparent and in February 1999 the band decided to split.

In 2003, the original lineup reunited originally to perform at one show, but decided to re-form and record again. They released their third studio album SCHEMAtic in 2004. A concert performance was released in 2006 as Live At The Underworld.

In 2009, they released How To Do Battle.

In 2013, they released their fifth album To the Capsules via Pledgemusic and toured with Erika Footman on vocals in place of Kerstin Haigh.

In 2014, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut Stacked Up, the band re-released the album in expanded edition with a remastered version of the original tracks on the first CD, and bonus tracks from the era (remixes and previously unreleased songs) on the second disc.

Thousand Yard Stare special with Stephen Barnes in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band's debut effort, the Weatherwatching EP was released in November 1990 on Stifled Aardvark Records, the band's own record label. Both the Easter 89 and Tumbletown EPs were demo tapes made up by the band and sold at gigs prior to their first official release, the 12" vinyl only Weatherwatching. In a response to this record, NME nominated Thousand Yard Stare as "brightest hope for the future".

That summer the band performed at the Reading Festival, further raising their profile and leading to their stint as support for James in October and November of that year. In the Autumn, the band began the sessions for their first album, Hands On, the first fruit of which was another EP. Seasonstream EP was released on Stifled Aardvark Records in 1991, their last independent release on their own label. The Seasonstream EP began with a track titled "0-0 a.e.t", (which means "No Score After Extra Time"), a football metaphor laden song that featured Martin Bell of The Wonder Stuff on fiddle. 0-0a.e.t appeared as the first track on the Hands On LP. This single again topped the Indie music charts, and reached number 65 in the UK Singles Chart.

With the backing of the major label Polydor, Thousand Yard Stare went on to release a further three EPs, and two studio albums. (Hands On and Mappamundi) were both produced by Stephen Street, who had already produced records for The Smiths and Blur.

Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey in conversation with David Eastaugh

Amelia Fletcher has been the frontwoman of an evolving series of pop groups from the 1980s to the present. Her bands included Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, Tender Trap, and, since 2014, The Catenary Wires.

She also sang backing vocals for The Wedding Present early in their career and on the Hefner album We Love the City. She toured with, and was guest vocalist for The Pooh Sticks on their albums Orgasm, Million Seller and The Great White Wonder, and in 1988 released a single under her own name, "Can You Keep a Secret?" She has also appeared as a guest vocalist for The 6ths on the song "Looking For Love (In the Hall Of Mirrors)", on both Bugbear recordings, a single by The Hit Parade, "Why Do You Have to Go Out With Him When You Could Go Out With Me?" single by The Brilliant Corners, and the 2000 album Trend by Oxford band The Relationships. Since 2002 she has been keyboardist for Sportique. Amelia Fletcher was also an early promoter of Scottish act Biswho Heavenly performed alongside and whose lead singer, Manda Rin, repeatedly cited Amelia as one of her inspirations/influences.

Ride special with Mark Gardener in conversation with David Eastaugh

Gardener formed Ride with Andy Bell (guitar), whom he met at Cheney School in Oxford, and Laurence Colbert (drummer) and Steve Queralt (bass guitarist), whom he met doing Foundation Studies in Art and Design at Banbury in 1988. While still at Banbury the band produced a tape demo including the tracks "Chelsea Girl" and "Drive Blind". In February 1989 "Ride" were asked to stand in for a cancelled student union gig at Oxford Polytechnic that brought them to the attention of Alan McGee. After supporting The Soup Dragons in 1989, McGee signed them to Creation Records.

With Ride, Gardener released three EPs between January and September 1990, entitled Ride, Play and Fall. While the EPs had only limited chart success, enough critical praise was received to make Ride the "darlings" of the UK music press. The first two EPs were eventually released together as Smile in the USA in July 1990 (and later released in the UK in 1992), while the Fall EP was incorporated into the CD version of their debut album, Nowhere, released in October 1990. Nowhere was hailed as a critical success and the media dubbed Ride "The brightest hope" for 1991.^{[citation needed]} This was followed in March 1992 by the band's second album Going Blank Again.

Despite having a solid fanbase and some mainstream success, the lack of a breakthrough contributed to inter-band tension, especially between Gardener and Bell. Their third album, Carnival of Light, was released in 1994, after shoegazing had given way to Britpop. Carnival of Light was oriented towards this new sound, but sales were sluggish and the shift in musical tastes devastated much of their original audience and critics alike.