C86 Show - Indie Pop

Stiff Records special with Dave Robinson in conversation talking about life in music - 

Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera (real name Andrew Jakeman). Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007.

Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff signed various punk and new wave acts such as Nick Lowe, the Damned, Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and Devo. In the 1980s, with most of their early signings having moved on, the label found commercial success with Madness, The Pogues, Tracey Ullman, The Belle Stars, Kirsty MacColl and others.

When Candy Opera release 45 Revolutions Per Minute on February 23rd 2018, it will be a belated introduction to a very special band sired during Liverpool's 1980s golden age which has taken almost thirty years to happen. Lovingly unearthed and compiled by Firestation Records of Berlin and available on limited edition CD and deluxe vinyl, the result is a lost gem that points to a million what-might-have-beens. When Candy Opera first appeared on the kaleidoscopic early 1980s Liverpool music scene, by rights they should have changed the world. Here was a classic four-piece, after all, steeped in the symphonic pop of Love's Forever Changes and the Beach Boys' Surf's Up. Taking such influences as a template, alongside contemporaries such as Aztec Camera, The Pale Fountains and Prefab Sprout, Candy Opera were in the throes of crafting a 1980s song-book in their own image, and the band's 1983 Honeysuckle Rose demo has become something of a holy grail. By 1985 the band had played alongside the likes of The Pogues, The Go-Betweens and The Redskins, as well as appearing on Granada TV. Reviews in NME, Sounds and Jamming magazine followed. Forming on the tough Phythian Estate in Liverpool's Kensington district in 1982 and based around the song-writing of Paul Malone, Candy Opera offered up a nouveau classicist sensibility which had seen the band listen without prejudice to The Monkees and Karen Carpenter. With assorted Candy Opera line-ups augmented at various points by baroque flourishes of clarinet, flute or violin, such a sophisticated musical palette went way beyond notions of indie-band purism to create something grander, none of which remotely fitted in with the voguish scene-setters behind shoe-gaze, baggy and brit-pop. After a decade ploughing their own stubborn furrow in various guises, despite interest from EMI and Go! Discs, Candy Opera called it a day in 1993 with only a fistful of demos to their name.

Felt were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1979 - In 1989 Lawrence declared it had been his intention all along to release ten singles and ten albums in ten years and, having done so, announced the end of Felt. After releasing their last album, Me and a Monkey on the Moon, and undertaking a short tour the band split up. Lawrence went on to form Denim and later, Go Kart Mozart.

Bauhaus were an English post-punk band, formed in Northampton, England in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Daniel Ash (guitar), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). The band was originally named Bauhaus 1919 in reference to the first operating year of the German art school Bauhaus, although they shortened the name within a year of formation. One of the first gothic rock groups, Bauhaus were known for their dark image and gloomy sound, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia and funk.

808 State are an English electronic music group, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut album, Newbuild, in September 1988.

The band secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State"

Rachel Carns - musician, composer, artist and performer living in Olympia, Washington, U.S.. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she went on to study painting and drawing at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City, where she completed her B.F.A. in 1991. Carns is perhaps best known for her distinctive stand-up drumming style; she began as drummer for Kicking Giant, later collaborating with several influential bands, including The Need. She is a celebrated graphic designer, working under the name System Lux, and plays drums and percussion with experimental performance art group Cloud Eye Control.

Fish became widely known as the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. He released 11 UK Top 40 singles with the band, including the Top Ten singles "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Incommunicado", and five Top Ten albums, including a number-one with Misplaced Childhood. In his solo career, Fish has explored contemporary pop and traditional folk, and released a further five Top 40 singles and a Top Ten album.

Even As We Speak indie band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in the mid 1980s, founding members Matthew Love (guitar, banjo, vocals) and Mary Wyer (vocals, guitar) were later joined by Rob Irwin (bass) Anita Rayner (drums, banjo, mandolin), Paul Clarke (guitar, vocals) and Julian Knowles (keyboards, guitar, production). After a series of vinyl releases on Australian independent labels including Phantom Records, and success on the Australian indie scene, they came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who started to play the band's Phantom Records single 'Goes So Slow' on his show. This brought them to the attention of UK audiences and began a relationship with UK indie label Sarah Records. The band released several singles and an album on Sarah Records, three of which reached the Top 5 of the Melody Maker and New Musical Express UK independent music charts in 1992 and 1993.

Luke Haines in conversation - talking about life in music, being a songwriter and author, who has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.

Cathal Coughlan  formerly of Microdisney, and The Fatima Mansions. His work with both bands has received much critical acclaim, as has his solo material. 

On 27 November 2017, it was announced that O'Hagan and Coughlan would reform Microdisney for a one-off concert in the National Concert Hall, Dublin on 2 June 2018. Coughlan subsequently stated on his website that due to the sellout of the Dublin show, they would be performing a one-off in London as well. They are scheduled to perform the album The Clock Comes Down The Stairsin full.

The band formed in early 1984 and comprised Phil Hartley (vocals), Mark McQuaid (guitar), Mike Bryson (bass guitar), and Tris King (drums). Bryson also produced the cover art for the band's releases. The name came from a misheard line in a song, with Hartley explaining "I like the way that the mouth moves when you say Bog Shed". They were helped initially by The Membranes, leading to several performances in London, and the band's first release was the Let Them Eat Bogshed EP on John Robb's Vinyl Drip label in 1985. By the time of this release, the band had already played around 35 concerts and, according to Hartley, written between 80 and 100 songs.

Since their emergence in the early 1980s, Alien Sex Fiend have remained one of the most loved and longstanding pioneers of the Goth movement. Fusing themes of horror, humour, inner turmoil and outer space with an industrial and electronic sound years ahead of its time, the band scored countless indie chart hits, found success across Europe, America and Japan and won a dedicated, adoring fanbase which exists to this day.

Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave/post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had six UK Top 40 hit singles and three Top 30 albums between 1981 and 1983.

Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite a variety of long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant. Describing their sound as "avant-garage," Pere Ubu's work drew inspiration from sources such as musique concrète, 60s rock, performance art, and the industrial environments of the American midwest.

While the band achieved little commercial success, they have exerted a wide influence on subsequent underground music.

Attila the Stockbroker, punk poet, multi instrumentalist musician and songwriter. He performs solo and as the leader of the band Barnstormer 1649, who combine early music and punk. He describes himself as a "sharp tongued, high energy social surrealist poet and songwriter." He has performed over 3,300 concerts, published eight books of poems and an autobiography (which itself has 38 poems in it) and released over forty recordings (albums and singles).

Sally was born in Leeds, England. She grew up in the Yorkshire dales, sang in the church choir and performed in poetry recitals as a child. In 1985 she joined the Mekons as a full-time member and has regretted it ever since. Unfortunately, the only way out of the Mekons is in a box, so she's still there.

Known as one of the laziest women in show business, she frequently calls in favors from her more talented and successful friends so that she can dedicate more time to watching television and eating bananas. She has blonde hair, grey eyes, and appalling mood swings. Despite her fondness for off-color commentary on virtually every aspect of popular culture, she possesses a truly magnificent voice.

The Brilliant Corners were a British indie pop band from Bristol who recorded throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

The group was formed in 1983, taking the name from the Thelonious Monk jazz album, Brilliant Corners.

The line-up included David Woodward (b. Avonmouth, Bristol, England; vocals, guitar), Chris Galvin (1959 – 22 December 1998; bass guitar), Winston Forbes (lead guitar, percussion, backing vocals), Bob Morris (drums) and Dan (occasional trumpet and keyboards). A later addition was Phil Elvins on guitar.

The band's first releases were early examples of indie pop, with three singles being released in 1984 on their own SS20 label. Their first (mini-)album, Growing Up Absurd, appeared the following year. With an explosion of indie pop groups in 1986, their May release Fruit Machine EP gained them both attention and radio airplay, followed by a second mini-album, What's In A Word. "Brian Rix", a re-recorded version of a track from the LP, with added trumpet, and a tribute to Rix, the "king of farce", was issued as a single, the proceeds going to Mencap, the charity of which Rix was chairman. The video, featuring Woodward running Rix-like around a couch with his trousers around his ankles, was shown on The Tube, further raising the band's profile.

In March 1988, the band set up another label, McQueen, and released third album, Somebody Up There Likes Me, followed by a collection of their sought-after early singles, Everything I Ever Wanted. Two more albums followed in 1989 (Joy Ride) and 1990 (Hooked), followed by a second compilation, Creamy Stuff, in 1991. They released A History Of White Trash in 1993 before splitting up.

Woodward and Galvin formed the Experimental Pop Band in 1995. Galvin died from cancer in 1998.

Sean O'Hagan is a founding member of the Irish indie band Microdisney, alongside Cathal Coughlan; the band initially formed in Cork but was based in London from 1982 until their split in 1988. He released a solo album titled High Llamas in 1990, which would become the name of a band he subsequently formed. The High Llamas were influenced by the Beach Boys, Ennio Morricone, Antonio Carlos Jobim and avant-garde electronica. He has also collaborated extensively with Stereolab, he was an official member from 1993 to 1994, and is credited as a guest musician on later releases.

Formed in 1990 the band supported indie pop legends such as The Brilliant Corners, St Christopher, The Orchids and The Television Personalities plus gigs with emerging Shoegaze bands such as Cranes, Catherine Wheel and Curve which brought the attention of Wilde Club records.

By June 1991 the first EP ''Sparkle'' was released.
In November 1991 the second EP "Tranquil Day" was released which then led to a Peel session in April 1992.

Slumberland Records first approached the band about the possibility of releasing something way back in 1992 but sadly a release never materialised.

In April 1993 The Suncharms played the last gig of their initial phase.

In 2014 Cloudberry Records contacted and made plans to release a retrospective compilation CD of the two EPs plus assorted demos and previously unreleased songs.

In 2015 the band reunited to start collecting old recordings and assorted memorabilia to make the CD and booklet.