C86 Show - Indie Pop

Bill Dickson in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://rousers.bandcamp.com/album/1979-sire-session

Inspired by the New York Dolls, Ramones and such immortal ‘50s rockers as twangy guitar hero Duane Eddy, the Rousers were woefully under-documented in their prime. A few major labels sniffed around, including RCA and Warner Bros. subdi­vision Sire. But no one committed them to vinyl until Reynolds issued their “Party Boy” b/w “Don’t Let The Band Stop Playing” 45 (produced by Wayne Kramer of the MC5) via Jimboco in 1981. 

Reynolds corrects this oversight today with the release of the demos that the original Rousers lineup—vocalist Jeff Buck­land, rhythm guitarist Bill Dickson, bassist John Hannah, lead guitarist Tom Milmore, and drummer Jerid O'Connell—cut for Sire in the label’s basement studio on New York’s Upper West Side in 1979. 

Tracked to tape under the sharp ear of Ed Stasium, hot off sessions with the Ramones and Talking Heads, the 1979 Sire demos are raw, radiant, and long overdue for release. They captured the Rousers in full dragstrip ignition mode: dueling Gibson guitars plugged into Fender amps for maximum punk twang, hiccupping Elvis/Buddy Holly vocal inflections, and a rhythm section built for backseat makeouts and beer-splashed dance floors. 

With nods to Duane Eddy (“Ram Rod,” “Movin’ N Groovin’”), the sweat-soaked charm of originals like “Be My Girl” and “Product of the USA,” and a rip-it-up cover of Wilson Pickett’s “If You Need Me,” Rousers 1979 Sire Session is the missing chapter of NYC punk’s golden age, finally pressed to wax. 

Never before released, the tapes sat shelved in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Sire archives for decades, digitized and re­stored in 2024. Mixing duties were split between Bob Stander (Parchessi Studio) and Ed Stasium himself, ensuring pe­riod-authentic crunch meets modern punch.

The result is 13 tracks of grease-slicked melody and garage-pop swing, crowned by the kinetic rave-up “Bumblebee Rock” and the shoulda-been-hits “Lonely Summer” and “Be My Girl”—a song that splits the difference between Tommy James stomp and Marshall Crenshaw shimmer.

Katie Scaife & Kevin Bache in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://thelovelybasement.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheLovelyBasement/

The Lovely Basement are Katie Scaife, Kevin Bache, Steve Dew and Paul Waterworth. The band are based in Bristol, UK.
The idea back in 2018 was to combine the feel of the Velvet Underground with a hint of the twang of early country music. In the words of the band “we failed, but liked the sound of the failure. Slow, driving and dreamy by turns, we anchor our songs in the tried-and-true combo of two guitars, bass, drums and fine harmonies to float our passing thoughts on class, death, the pull of ennui, the push of irritation, existential OCD and taking it easy.”
First two albums (Just Because You Can and the eponymously-titled second album) were released on Breaking Down Recordings, a Bristol collective label. Albums that have received very good reviews in magazines and independent radio stations in Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand.
Lazy Travellers is another wonderful album by The Lovely Basement. Ten new songs with echoes of The Velvet Underground, The Clientele, Luna or Cowboy Junkies.

Tony De Meur in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Fabulous Poodles started out just as The Poodles. The original Fabulous Poodles consisted of Tony de Meur on lead vocals and guitar, Richie Robertson on bass and vocals, Bobby Valentino on violin, mandolin and vocals, Bryn Burrows on drums and Bob Suffolk on piano.

Barry Melton in conversation with David Eastaugh 

http://counterculture.net/thefish/

Co-founder and original lead guitarist of Country Joe and the Fish and Dinosaurs. He appears on all the Country Joe and the Fish recordings and he also wrote some of the songs that the band recorded. He appeared in the films made at Monterey Pop and Woodstock, and also appeared as an outlaw in the neo-Western film Zachariah and other films in which Country Joe and the Fish appear. An attorney and member of the State Bar of California, Melton has maintained a criminal defense practice since 1982.

Anne Clark in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.anneclarkofficial.com/

https://anneclarkofficial.bandcamp.com/

English poet, singer and songwriter. Her first album, The Sitting Room, was released in 1982, and she has released over a dozen albums since then.

Her poetry work with experimental musicians occupies a region bounded roughly by electronic, dance (techno applies on occasion) and possibly avant-garde genres, with varying hard as well as romantic and orchestral styles.

Clark is mainly a spoken word artist. Many of her lyrics deal critically with the imperfections of humanity, everyday life, and politics. Especially in her early works she created a gloomy, melancholy atmosphere bordering on weltschmerz. She has been considered one of the pioneers in the spoken-word music genre, as well as being acclaimed for her synth-pop and new wave music, especially across Europe.

Anne-Marie Hurst in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://www.ghost-dance.com/

https://ghost-dance.bandcamp.com/music

Ghost Dance is a British gothic rock band formed in 1985 by Gary Marx (ex-Sisters of Mercy guitarist) and Anne-Marie Hurst (ex-Skeletal Family vocalist) as both were leaving their respective bands. The band were originally signed to Nick Jones' record label, Karbon Records, then were later signed to the major label Chrysalis Records, before splitting up in 1989.

In 2019 the band reformed, with Hurst being joined by new members Tim Walker (guitar), Stephen Derrig (guitar), Phil Noble (bass), and Dave Wood (drums). They began work on new material. Reunion shows followed in the UK and the band signed to Voltage Records for a new album release in 2023

Thomas Leer in conversation with David Eastaugh 

http://thomasleer.co.uk/

Leer played in several local experimental pop groups in the early to mid-1970s, moving to London when the punk rock scene was at its height. He formed the punk band Pressure, but by 1978 had moved on to music influenced by synthpop and Krautrock bands such as Can. That year, he self-financed his debut single, "Private Plane". Although it was recorded in his own flat and was only issued in 650 copies on his own label, it gained significant attention, with NME naming it "Single of the Week". In 1979, he released the album The Bridge in collaboration with Robert Rental. In 1981, he signed to Cherry Red, his first release for the label being the 4 Movements EP. After two further releases on the label, he was signed by Arista Records, releasing three further singles and his debut full-length solo album, The Scale of Ten in late 1985.

Rusty Egan in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://rustyeganpresents1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rusty-Egan-Autobiography/dp/0857162934

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZAM6TFMvAc

https://www.mixcloud.com/rustyegan/

Egan was the drummer of British new wave band Rich Kids, from its inception in March 1977, until its disbandment in December 1978, along with former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock (bass and vocals), Steve New (guitar and vocals), and Midge Ure (guitar, vocals, and keyboards).

Egan continued working with Ure, and later collaborated with The Misfits, Skids and Shock, and well as being a founding member of Visage. He played drums on a remixed version of Phil Lynott's song "Yellow Pearl", which the BBC used as the Top of the Pops theme tune from 1981 to 1986.

Berni Armstrong in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://www.youtube.com/c/berniarmstrong

https://thesaturdaybluesproject.bandcamp.com/

Peter Greenberg in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1977, White enrolled at Boston University to study journalism. While in school, he worked in a record shop in Brookline, Massachusetts, named Good Vibrations, where his singing was heard by musician Peter Greenberg of the Lyres. White adopted the stage name Barrence Whitfield to avoid being mistaken for superstar Barry White and began performing with Greenberg and former members of the Lyres as Barrence Whitfield & the Savages

STARR AND THE CZARS, hailing from Washington, DC, bring together an all-star line-up of garage-rock veterans into one explosive new band. Fronted by JAKE STARR (Adam West, Jake Starr & The Delicious Fullness, Go Mod Go!, Goy Division…), the group also features PETER GREENBERG and MICHAEL LEWIS, two legends from Boston’s trailblazing DMZ. After their time in DMZ, Greenberg and Lewis both carried the torch in Lyres, cementing their reputation as key figures of the late ’70s and early ’80s garage revival. Greenberg later went on to co-found The Customs and Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, while Lewis added his bass guitar work to bands such as The A-Bones, Yo La Tengo and The Schramms. Starr, meanwhile, became a fixture of Washington D.C.’s garage scene.

Chris Payne in conversation with David Eastaugh 

http://chrispaynemusic.com/

Known as a member of Gary Numan's backing band, Tubeway Army and for being the co-writer of Visage's 1981 synthpop hit single "Fade to Grey". Payne plays keyboards and viola and also a number of medieval instruments. He formed the band Dramatis with other members of Numan's backing-band in the early 1980s. Payne has composed music for television and films and formed the band Celtic Legend. He has composed, scored, recorded and conducted his orchestral and choral works in London and Prague.

Marina Muhlfriedel (also known as Marina del Rey) in conversation with David Eastaugh 

As a keyboard player and vocalist, Marina was the co-founder of Vivabeat, a Los Angeles-based techno-pop band started in 1978 and active into the mid-1980s. It is best known for being discovered by and signed to its first record deal at the request of Peter Gabriel. It became the first American band on Tony Stratton Smith's British label, Charisma Records.

The band released one album for Charisma Records, Party in the War Zone, which included one of the band's most successful songs, "Man from China." The song became a Top 20 charted dance club hit in the United States, Europe, and Asia. "Man from China" also appears on the Charisma Label/Various Masterpieces album – The Sounds Album Volume 6, released in 1980. 

The video of their follow-up dance club hit, "The House is Burning (but there's no one home)," was featured in the Brian De Palma movie Body Double and won an MTV award.

Since then, Vivabeat has had five albums of remastered, recently discovered, and reissued music come to light. Their most recent releases are on Liberation Hall music, after previous volumes with Rubellan Remasters and Permanent Press Records.

Before Vivabeat, Marina was a founding member and keyboard player in Backstage Pass, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk bands, which played a pivotal role in establishing the Masque, the city's most legendary punk club.

After a decade of playing in bands, Marina transitioned into the film industry, where she served as a producer on films such as "The War of the Roses" and "Throw Momma From the Train," as well as several Showtime features.

Currently, she is a writer living in Los Angeles and hosts a rock and roll storytelling show called "Our Lips Unsealed."

Larry Stabbins in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://www.larrystabbins.com/

Played in the cult pop group Weekend and started writing with its guitarist Simon Booth. This later evolved into Working Week, a band that took a mix of Latin, soul, jazz and funk into the pop charts. From the Latin Jazz Dance scene in London clubs, the band mixed jazz with Latin dance rhythms and vocals by singers such as Juliet Roberts, Julie Tippetts, Robert Wyatt and Tracy Thorn.

The band toured extensively in Europe and Japan, performing at most of Europe's major Jazz Festivals and recording five albums for Virgin Records. Following the breakup of Working Week he formed 'QRZ?' a fusion of jazz and rap which also recorded for Virgin Records and for the German label Loud Minority.

Zaine Griff in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.zainegriff.com/#home

In 1979 Griff started his solo career. He released two albums, Ashes and Diamonds (recorded in 1979, released in 1980), produced by Tony Visconti, and Figvres (1982), on which he collaborated with future successful film composer Hans Zimmer, and many colleagues from the new wave and new romantic era including Kate Bush, Warren Cann of Ultravox and Yukihiro Takahashi, of Japanese electronic band YMO.

The single "Tonight" peaked at No. 54 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1980, whilst "Ashes and Diamonds" reached No. 68 in the same listing in June that year.

Debsey Wykes in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teenage-Daydream-Girls-Play-Band/dp/1917923090

Debsey Wykes was the bass playing singer in the first all girl punk group Dolly Mixture. Thrown into the musky, misogynistic, male dominated world of the UK music industry in the late 1970s, they enjoyed unlikely #1 success alongside Captain Sensible of The Damned on1982’s even unlikelier cover version of ‘Happy Talk’, whilst fame and success on their own individual terms alluded them.

Debsey went onto greater prominence with Saint Etienne with who she has performed since 1992, whilst in 2025, desirable Dolly Mixture reissues sell out around the world as quickly as they are printed.

Featuring a cast of contemporary post-punk heroes – rom Paul Weller and the Jam (their first record label boss) to Madness and the Pogues – Teenage Daydream is a unique coming of age story of youthful ambition, enterprising DIY musical ethics and how an unlikely bunch of school-girl friends ended up on Top of the Pops in home made hula skirts.

Micko Westmoreland in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://landlinerecords.com

https://www.facebook.com/MickoMellotronic/

The Mellotronics formed in 2017 with the intention of turning Micko Westmoreland’s songwriting skills into a dynamic live prospect. Expanding from their initial three piece to the current four strong line up, the band sees Micko’s rabble rousing vocals and spiky, agitational guitar work augmented perfectly by the crack squad of drummer Nick Mackay of hotly tipped rock duo Barricades, Owls of Now’s Vicky Carroll providing immovable bassline solidity and the intricate, effects-soaked fretwork of Jon Klein (Siouxsie & The Banshees, Specimen).
Since then they’ve been busy cutting their teeth with a series of shows around the capital and beyond, making return visits to the 100 Club in Oxford Street and earning multiple requests for support slots from acts as established as Evan Dando (Lemonheads), David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Blue Orchids, Sheep on Drugs, The Television Personalities and The Monochrome Set.

Bringing a new dimension of sharp and economic post-punk/new wave attitude to the diverse Westmoreland songbook, they’ve been already been favourably compared to The Jam, Pil and Wire as well as the mean, lean but undeniably powerful sound of young bucks like Idles or Shame.

Double Dee & Steinski in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://ddski.com/

Double Dee and Steinski is a duo of hip hop producers, composed of Doug "Double Dee" DiFranco and Steven "Steinski" Stein. They achieved notoriety in the early 1980s for a series of underground hip-hop sample-based collages known as the "Lessons".

Their contest entry, "Lesson 1 – The Payoff Mix", was packed with sampled appropriations from other records—not only from early hip-hop records and from Funk and Disco records that were popular with hip-hop DJs, but with short snippets of older songs by Little Richard and The Supremes, along with vocal samples from sources as diverse as instructional tap-dancing records and Humphrey Bogart films.

The record was pieced together in DiFranco's studio in 12–14 hours over two days and was critically praised

Boz Boorer in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://westhampsteadarts.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ThePolecats/?locale=en_GB

English guitarist and producer. He founded the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats, and starting in 1991 had a 30-year collaboration with singer Morrissey as co-writer, guitarist and musical director.

Steven Seibold in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://hatedept.bandcamp.com/

Seibold is a multi-instrumentalist who writes, records and releases Hate Dept. albums with minimal outside help. He formed Hate Dept. in 1991 in reaction to fickle 'electro' audiences and antipathy towards live electronic bands, taking his sound in a more punk direction.

Moritz R in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://derplan.bandcamp.com/album/save-your-software

https://chakchak.de/

https://gerireig.blogspot.com/

Der Plan was founded in 1979 by Frank Fenstermacher, Moritz R, Robert Görl & Chrislo Haas. Görl and Haas left after the first release, and were replaced by Kurt Dahlke. This trio remained constant until the group disbanded in 1993.
In 2004, Moritz R reformed the band with new members Achim Treu & J.J. Jones, but due to disagreements with old band members with the slightly changed bandname: Der Plan V. 4.0
For the 50th birthday parties of Andreas Dorau in Hamburg and Berlin in January 2014 Der Plan was reformed again for two short sets by Frank Fenstermacher, Moritz R and Kurt Dahlke.
In May 2017 a new single "Lass die Katze stehn" had been released and in June the album "Unkapitulierbar" came to light.