This past week has been a very quiet week for the label. Not so much for indiepop as the Sarah Records book and DVD are out now. I have ordered the DVD and waiting for the book to be out in the US so I can order it from Amazon probably. But as I don’t have them with me yet, can’t really give an honest review! So I’ll wait for them first before rambling!

Then there has been some interesting releases that I’ve picked this last week. One was the Saint Marie Records reissue of Secret Shine’s “Untouched” album (the CD version, vinyl was already sold out). Another was the new and second album from De Montevert (titled “De Montevert”) on Nomethod Records. And last but not least The Stems’ “1984 • 1987” book and CD on High Voltage. On top of it all I manage to get the “Only Ugly People Smoke” album by Nixon at last. I think it was a good shopping spree as I didn’t even put a food in any record store in Italy while on vacation.

In two weeks I’m off again for a small vacation, a week in Peru. Mostly visiting Lima but also doing a side trip to lake Titicaca. Very excited about that trip as I always wanted to go there. Hopefully upon my return the Don’t Cry Shopgirl will be arriving home. That would make me super happy!

So this post will be short then, as I want to write questions for a couple of bands I plan interviewing. I’ve sent a bunch of questions in the last months to different bands, but many haven’t send them back. Which is a shame. But I keep trying in finding out the whole story, the full picture, of the bands, the scenes, indiepop in general. Maybe one day, as Jessel always asks me, this will become a proper book.

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I was looking onto some bands I have on a long list. A list of bands I want to know more about them, that they are obscure and have so little written about them on the web. Mostly from the 80s and mostly from the UK. One of them was The Lovehearts.

As far as I know they only released 2 songs. Both of them appearing on a compilation called “The New Bowery” that was released by Tees Beat Records  (TBLP 1) in 1984.

The Bowery  is a street and neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north,[1] while the neighborhood’s boundaries are roughly East 4th Street and the East Village to the north; Canal Street and Chinatown to the south; Allen Street and the Lower East Side to the east; and Little Italy to the west.

I’m quite familiar with the Bowery. Why a label in the UK called the compilation like that, and even included a photo of the Empire State building on the back baffles me. I have no clue. I don’t own the record, but there’s a very blurry photo of the back sleeve on Discogs. I can read something about the Bowery during prohibition. It seems they are relating the Bowery art and creative scene with that of Teeside. Teeside being the New Bowery.

Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Billingham, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Skelton-in-Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Thornaby and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of Teesside. Teesside remains an important centre for heavy industry, although the number of people employed has declined. Traditional industries, primarily steelmaking (‘British Steel’) and chemical manufacture (‘Imperial Chemical Industries’ or ‘ICI’), have been replaced to a large extent by high technology activities, science development and service sector roles.

Interesting, right? On this LP, we also find other bands like Flower Drum People, Gunboat Johnny, Tec, Must Valk and Dogflesh. It’s really a post punk record.

The best song on the record, I think, without a doubt is The Lovehearts’ “Love Holds Out”. It’s great! Guitar pop, with male vocals and those girl choruses that I love. A true lost classic.

The other song that they included was “It Doesn’t Matter at All”, a pretty but much mellow song.

All songs on the record were produced by Dimmer Blackwell and they were recorded at Teesbeat Recording Studio between May and June of 84.

As I couldn’t find information on the band I went into digging about this label. On a forum I found this:
Boro_Calling: Dimmer’s Teesbeat studio. (not to be confused with Teesbeat Records wot I ran – Dimmer kindly asked my permission to use the name as I had wound up the label)
The studio grew out of the ad hoc set up that Dimmer had on the family farm in Norton, he moved to a room above Pharoes night club opposite Maxwells Corner in Stockton, where he stayed for several years. He released 3 or 4 compilation LP’s featuring local bands with titles like “All Friends In The Bath” and “The New Bowery”. Later he moved to new premises by the Riverside in Stockton (near where that old boat is moored), and then to the old Radio Tees building in Dovecot Street.
He stayed there until around 1994, releasing a compilation CD of local bands called Whispers and Screams. He also recorded Tony Christie (Amarillo) and did the live sound for Roy Chubby Brown.
Of course he did much more but I’m just picking out stuff from my memory.
The studio closed down and Dimmer worked at TFm as a sound engineer, editing broadcasts and jingles etc.
I haven’t seen or heard from Dimmer for a few years now, I understand he got married again and is living in Norton.

And that’s when I hit a wall. Nothing more about the label or the band. I wonder if anyone knows anything else about The Lovehearts? If they recorded any other songs? Did they participate in any other compilations? And if maybe they released anything on their own? Would be great to learn a bit about this long lost band.

Edit: Kevin McGrother, our good friend, just emailed me and told me some interesting facts: “I actually played violin on the two tracks on The New Bowery. The band had a brilliant front man – Sean Brockbank”

Edit Aug. 1 2021: Found a Soundcloud page with many songs by The Lovehearts: “It Doesn’t Matter at All”, “Love Holds Out”, “Coming Home”, “Flicking Through a Lifetime”, “So Fine”, “Roll back Those Years” and “Fall Down”.

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Listen
The Lovehearts – Love Holds Out

Now we start November. Almost done with 2015 and it looks like it was a good year afterall, with more releases than I expected. I thought I’d be putting something like around 3 records out this year, as things have been slower than usual but in the end there are going to be around 5 to 6 releases (if you count Parcel Post) out this year, with Suncharms to be released in January very early next year. So it’s kind of like 7! That’s a good amount! I’m happy and proud!

This past week, after my vacations, indiepop came back to my life. On Thursday I met with my friend William Jones, the great songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, you name it, behind one of my favourite bands ever, Friends. We had some Mexican dinner and some beers. He was here in the city for the marathon. Yup. He was going to run yesterday, on Sunday. It was quite interesting for me as I didn’t know all the logistics, and the process, and even the organization that goes behind the most important marathon in the world.

Among the most amazing facts that surprised me was that the runners have to be at 6am at the NYC Public Library, at the main building in Manhattan, so they can take free buses to Staten Island. Then after arriving there, they just wait. Wait until it’s time to start the race. Seems like so much pain! It’s so early! Couldn’t they just get the bus at 8am? How can someone go running if they wake up at 5am or 4am to be ready to catch the bus? A cool thing though was that your bag that you take with yourself to Staten Island, then you can pick it up after the race in Central Park. That seems organized.

On Friday I went to see Joanna Gruesome at Rough Trade. Expert Alterations were playing much earlier, at 7pm, at the same venue their release gig. Sadly because of work I missed them, but got to see the guys after at the Joanna Gruesome gig and secured their new release, and their back catalog that I was missing. On top of that, some posters too. With Joanna Gruesome, well, I already have all their releases, minus the Trust Fund split one (I dont like Trust Fund, but I should have bought it, I know), so I bought a t-shirt. A black t-shirt of course. Then talked a bit with one of the new vocalists and she was nice, was telling me she wasn’t Welsh, as I assumed, but from the north, from Manchester. Cool beans. The gig was very nice and shouty as expected, but it seemed a bit short to my friends. I thought it was fine. Oddly there was no encore.

And then on Sunday I went to see the marathon around Queensboro Plaza. There was very loud music, songs like “We Will Rock You” or “Eye of the Tiger” were pounding on the streets. A huge crowd was cheering the runners. And me, with this new app William had told me about, was tracking him. That was really cool. I couldn’t take a photo of him, and I regret that. Thing is, I started shouting “William!, William!” as soon as I saw him sporting his Torino FC kit and keeping his pace. He didn’t hear me the first time around, so instead of taking a pic I kept shouting until he noticed me and waved back! Then he kept running towards the bridge, towards Manhattan. That was really cool.

I loved the atmosphere at the marathon. It seemed like a party! Even I thought of the Rio carnival when I saw the runners. They were all so happy, some were dancing, waving or singing so loudly. They were having so much fun. Some of course were focused, some others very tired and walking a bit. They all dressed whatever they wanted. I saw a psychadelic skirt, Sweden jerseys, Denmark socks, German flags and so on. Some even carried video cameras. Others were Facebooking. It was so much fun that I would love to participate if not next year, then the next. I guess I need a lot of training but, it looked like a great experience.

And that was it. It was a good weekend. How was yours? Did indiepop came back to your life as well?

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So because of the week’s visit, I thought checking out a band from the Summerhouse stable that I barely know anything: Quinn the Eskimo. When I asked about them to William on an interview we did he told me:

Quinn The Eskimo were from Newcastle and were recommended to us by Red Rhino, who gave me a tape of their album, which was fully recorded but unreleased as they had no label. It was acoustic indiepop/rock, and if you want a comparison I’d relate it to Miracle Legion who I thought were great. I liked it and thought it was just right for the label. Again it got caught up in the Red Rhino debacle, and we never got back the unsold copies to remarket. We didn’t keep in touch and I don’t know what happened to them. No, there won’t be any CD.

I still don’t own their LP. I believe that’s all they released.

They took their name from a Bob Dylan song it seems:
“Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)” is a folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan and first recorded during The Basement Tapes sessions in 1967. The song was first released in January 1968 as “Mighty Quinn” by the British band Manfred Mann and became a great success. It has been recorded by a number of performers, often under the “Mighty Quinn” title.

The LP “The Mountain is a Dandy” (Summershine 002) was released in 1988. It included 10 songs: “Samantha Rain”, “Breathing”, “Big Hedge”, “The Haymaker”, “Like a Flame” on the A side, and “Eternity”, “Once Upon a Day”, “The Wreck”, “Eastwood” and “The Importance of Being Honest” on the B side.

The artwork is credited to Dawn Main, the photography to David Lyons and Event Horizons. The producer was Quinn the Eskimo (with some tracks produced by John Steel who produced some stuff for Martin Stephenson and the Daintees). The engineer for most of the tracks was Ian McKie while for A1 and B2 was Martin Holle.

The band members were:
Dave Cook on vocals
Richard Scott on guitar, vocals and mandolin
Graeme Cooper on bass guitar
Ken Goodinson on drums

Strange thing is that lyrics are credited to Andrew Wilkie as he doesn’t appear to be part of the band. There was also some piano played by Martin Holle and John Steel. The record was produced at Cluny Studio in Newcastle and also at Desert Sounds in Felling. On the back sleeve there are photos of all the members but Richard Scott. There’s a drawing of his face instead.

On the Summerhouse page there’s a small press note about the record that says:
Quinn The Eskimo’s only recording on Summerhouse was a classic set of acoustic guitar-based pop songs, drawing on the English folk tradition and American guitar rock to produce a refreshingly original sound that is hard to locate in any particular era. Ranging from the upbeat pop of Samantha Rain and Once Upon A Day, through the dreamscape of The Haymaker to the folky barnstorm of The Wreck, the album is a one-off gem which was never to be followed up.

Also there we find a bunch of reviews of the record on this page.

Aside from that I couldn’t find much more online. So I wonder if anyone know whatever happened to them? If they ended up releasing any other songs? Or if they went to form another band? Were they involved in bands before Quinn the Eskimo? Or if anyone has a spare copy that would like to find a home in NYC?

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Listen
Quinn the Eskimo – Samantha Rain

Back from vacations. A bit of a shame they last so little, but I had such a good time in Italy that I can just wait another month until I get my last vacation week this year. In the meantime it’s time to work, to get things done and keep discovering new music.

This week I received the final master for the Suncharms release. I’ll get the details on the website pretty soon and will send the CD compilation to press too. Together with Don’t Cry Shopgirl, these will be our last offerings this year. The Pale Spectres 7″ should come out shortly though, most possibly around January.

On my vacations I was totally out of the loop and didn’t listen to any indiepop songs and I didn’t even check if there was any indiepop news. So this post is a bit short because of that. I need to recoup and check what’s been cooking the past few weeks. I know there are some interesting releases that I need to get a hold and I will definitely recommend them to you the next week. I just need to organize a list of which are the ones worth checking out.

The only interesting bit of contact with indiepop was a tweet I received while I was away. Brucey from the 1,2,3 Alright blog was asking if anyone could help him find any information about the band Daisycutters that appears on the Hoopla compilation. I remembered that long time ago I wanted to write about them on my blog (and I don’t know really why I forgot to do that). So I said, I’ll take on the investigation.

Today while looking for clues about this band I felt so empty-handed that it’s a bit of a shame to write this post. I wanted to help find something but I really found nothing! The only information really that exists about them is that they appeared on the Hoopla tape released in 1988 by La Di Da, that amazing label that I’ve mention a ton of times here in the blog, and also on the LP version of this compilation released by Accident Records in 2000.

On the tape compilation they only contributed one song, “Friends”. On the LP reissue, because of the unavailability of the original masters of some of the songs, they included one more song “The Sea”. So that’s more or less what I know about them. That they at least recorded 2 songs.

Another safe bet is to assume they were from Brighton. Most bands on the La Di Da compilations and releases were based there, and they even recorded in the famed Grant’s Kitchen. That’s Grant Lyons, La Di Da’s brain, place. The credits though just say that the songs were recorded by Daisycutters. No other names. That makes it even more difficult to track them.

I googled and looked under every rock. There were other Daisycutters bands. They were not very good. I learned that a daisycutter is a actually a bomb, an immensely powerful aerial bomb that derives its destructive power from the mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder with air.

But that’s really all I could find. The thing is, I’m pretty sure some of you might be able to help me. If Accident Records, in 2000 was able to find them and get in touch, when there was no social media, and get another song from them to be included in their reissue of sorts of the Hoopla tape (just making sure you know that the tape and the LP are not the same, they have a different tracklist!), well, I think we might be able to get in touch and learn more about them.

Why do we want to get in touch? Well, their two songs are just pure indiepop bliss. They have the girl vocas, the chiming guitars, and the catchy melodies, all of that that remind me of Nine Steps to Ugly or The Fat Tulips. The kind of indiepop I love.

So if you can help Bruce, me, and the whole indiepop community to find out more about this band that be great. Anything you remember is good, gigs they played, demo tapes they released, any other song name you remember, their band members, where they were based exactly, what year did they split, if they were involved with other bands, anything will do!

Edit: Uwe from Firestation sent me a message saying: I think Daisycutters were pre Fabulous Friends. If I remember right, they changed their name after the Hoopla-tape was released and then released that split flexi with Jason Smart soon after.

Edit #2: Ben from Did Not Chart blog shared a scan from the Hoopla fanzine. With it we confirm they were based in Brighton and we get to know the first names of the band members and what they played (Jill sang and played tambourine, Tom played guitar and 12 string, Grant played the bass, Jason played his guitar and Billy played the drums).

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Listen
Daisycutters – Friends

Hello there, heads up that next week there won’t be any posts and I’ll return on the week after. I’m off on vacations and so all orders placed starting Wednesday will be posted upon my return. I really need some time off.

I noticed last week, just after I finished writing the post, that the blog had reached it’s seventh anniversary. I remember when I started the blog one afternoon, unwillingly really, moved by a friend who asked me to do it. I always tell the story of how my previous blog was hacked and lost all the posts and content. It was the worst feeling. I honestly never thought I was going to spend much time writing about bands again. Perhaps on my fanzine and that would be enough I thought. In the end, thanks to my dear friend Emma, I ended up writing for seven years straight.

I never looked at the stats for the blog. I don’t know how many readers it usually has on a day to day basis. I assume it would be something around 25 to 50. I get a couple of comments a week, and that’s when I get the happiest. I think that has been perhaps the highlight, getting in touch with many bands and people involved in music, and making friends. Few things are better than that.

The blog did change during the years. I think at some point I used to write a lot of “memoirs”, small fragments of my experiences in indiepop. I liked doing that a lot, but because of time constraints, I do that less frequently. I require a lot of time, and especially I need to be in a particular mood, to be able to remember and as vividly as possible, tell these stories. I also used to rant much more and make strong opinions about diverse topics. This also happens less and less because of indiepop being so quiet, so sleepy, that there are really  few topics to discuss. In that sense, the format I’ve been keeping, a post a week, divided in two, an intro of some current topic plus an obscure band, has worked pretty well. I get to cover two important aspects of indiepop that I care the most.

On top of that I’ve continued doing interviews. I started doing them since day one, and until today I’ve done so many that I’ve lost count. Learning and hearing the story from the bands that kind of disappeared into oblivion, and many times helping them notice that people’s interest, is also a big highlight for me. When I see these bands having small reunions, or even setting up a bandcamp, is really heartwarming. Their songs can’t just be forgotten, or only remembered by a few collectors. Indiepop is alive, and it’s history is being rewritten every second.

Not sure if there will be any changes in the year to come. At least there are no planned. If you have any suggestions I’m always open to hear them. So far it’s been a lot of fun, and I’m not bored at all. So I think the Cloudberry blog will continue posting and unearthing treasures for the time being.

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Rewing to 1987. To Perth, Australia. Land of amazing indiepop. From The Palisades to Charlotte’s Web, and more. That’s exactly where the band I Hear an Army hailed from.

They only released a 7″ in that year. It came out on a label called Wreckless Records (WRECK 01). I don’t know of any other releases on this label. The single was recorded and mixed at Northlake Productions in January of 87. Two songs were included, on the A side “Second Time Around” and on the B side “Into View”.

On the back sleeve we also learn that the engineer for the record was James Hewgill. That both songs were written by Ian Young. That the single was produced by the band with Phil Dean, who also was their manager. The cover art was also done by Ian Young and then we get the members:
– Nick Dilena on drums
– Laurie Mansell on guitars
– David Richardson  on bass
– Ian Young on guitar and vocals

This info I was lucky to find again on the From a Northern Place blog. I still haven’t found a copy of this record for myself. I hope to be lucky soon.

A funny message appears on the labels of the 7″. It says: “Copyright Control. Unauthorised copying, lending and broadcasting is very naughty.”

What else is there on the web about them? Little really. On a blog called Something Gold, Something New. I find that Ian Young was previously in a band called Scant Regarde (1982-84). They released a 4 track 7″ with “Cabbage Hat” as it’s lead song. I found this song on Soundcloud and although it’s less indiepop and more post-punk I’m actually enjoying it! There I also find that there will be a book series called “Way Out West”, written by George Matzkov, that will cover the lost history of bands from Western Australia from 1960 thru the 1980s!! I really need those books!! Especially the 80s part!

Then I search for David Richardson. I found a website for him on StarNow. There’s a small bio for him that says: “Actor, Model, Musician. Currently Acting in ABSENT and Bass Playing in Foos Gold both in Perth. I am available for acting, voice over , modelling, jingle and/or song writing Australia wide”. Foos Gold being a Foo Fighters tribute band.
On this page it’s mentioned that the song “The Second Time Around” from I Hear an Army was a no.1 single on the Perth independent charts for 6 weeks. He also was part of the bands Blizzard, The Beavers, Manic D, The Lung Brothers and also on the final Scant Regard show.

The other member one could find info, is Laurie Mansell. She joined a favourite band of mine in 1988: Charlotte’s Web. It’s said that she auditioned as a bass player but replaced Craig Chisholm on lead and rhythm guitar duties.

That’s all I could dig online for I Hear an Army. But just knowing that there is that series of books coming up, and the beauty of this song is already very rewarding! I haven’t hear the B side though, so any help would be appreciated! If you remember them, or know of any other recordings, or anything really, us that comment link below! Would be great to know what happened to them!

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Listen
I Hear an Army – The Second Time Around

Today we make it to our seventh birthday at the blog. It was also on a October 6th of 2008 that we published our first post here on the blog! VERY EXCITING!! How many more years will I keep doing this?!

Not many news this week in indiepop it seems. Looks like once a month we get a lot of exciting news of releases, events, gigs, etc. and then the rest of the month gets very quiet. Not entirely quiet though, I mean, have you checked the song “Taken” by Tiny Fireflies that is now on Soundcloud? It’s gorgeous. It’s a preview of their forthcoming album. I’ve been looking forward to it for a very long time.

Then Los Bonsáis have a new video too, for the song “Vacaciones Permanentes”. I love when I see images of the UK on these videos. I miss it. Again, even if I sound repetitive, it’s so odd that this year I didn’t visit that country. Instead I’m off on vacations to Italy next week. Just for 11 days, not permanent vacations as the song says.

Desperate Journalist, another favourite band of mine, have a new video as well for the song “Perfect Health”. It’s a much simpler video than their previous ones, but it works really well. The song is a beauty too. Like all their songs. Still missing their first CDR and that really pains me. Another band with a new video is Chorusgirl. They have a fantastic promo video for “Oh, To Be A Defector”. They are releasing their album on Fortuna Pop soon. Good eye (and ear) on this one Sean Price.

Last but not least there’s Love Signs from Australia, who I’d love to see release something (don’t do what other Aussie bands are doing!! just putting out digital releases out!!). They have a video for “Not Used to Losing” which is very nice song. Really like the vocals on it.

Perhaps you know even more stuff that is coming out?

I’ll keep it short then this week. As I said, there’s not a whole lot to cover, or even anything to discuss really. There’s a lot of work to do though. There’s interviews to be written, there’s new bands to discover, and so on. On top of it all there’s the label and we will have Don’t Cry Shopgirl in a couple of months ready for you as it’s been pressed at the moment. It’s just a matter of waiting now for me.

And start my last Cloudberry fanzine too. Can’t forget that.

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Savlon is an antiseptic brand that was introduced containing the two agents, cetrimide, an antimicrobial detergent, and chlorhexidine gluconate.

I actually bought Savlon the last time I was in the UK. We don’t have that in the U.S.

Going to stores abroad is always exciting, the different brands, the different packaging, even the different prices, make me curious. In that sense going to a Boots in London, though not fun, is interesting to me. In general I’m not into shopping at stores. I think the only stores I like are record stores because you don’t go looking for something specific, and you can end up finding something very special. I guess this can apply to clothing stores and book stores and so on for other people, but for me, that sort of dynamic only happens at a record store. So no, I didn’t have fun finding Savlon in Boots. Even the aisles are arranged differently than in a CVS or a Walgreens.

But that’s how it is. I actually like them a bit better there the stores. I feel you see less of that ugly carpeted floors that the US stores love having. You don’t see much of that in the UK. It’s more like proper tiled floor. I think that’s better. But no, I’m not here to talk about the difference of stores in different countries. That’s not the point of the blog at all. I think it has to do with indiepop music, with guitar pop. And today I wanted to recover a cool band from Leeds, The Savlons.

Where to start? Let’s say 1988. There’s this flexi on the Panic Recordings label (FLX701-1) that had three bands from Leeds. All very short songs. One of the bands went to become pretty well known. You guessed right?

The Panic Flexi included The Pale Saints with the song “Children Break”, The Savlons with “…And What’s More”, and The Surprising Adventures of Kerry Fiddles with “Shiver Me Timbers”.

Discogs lists some notes about this release:
P/s = plain die-cut cardboard sleeve, with stickers (9.5cm x 9.5cm) covering the holes.
Several different postcard-inserts exist. Copies might just have one postcard or possibly up to five.
Some copies (possibly approx half of the 1000 apparently pressed) were given away with ‘Shoot The Tulips’ fanzine; remaining copies were distributed to, and sold by, the bands themselves.

To be honest I’ve just bought this flexi through that store, from a Russian seller, so I’m a bit nervous to see if it will arrive or not. Never bought a record from a Russian seller, I’ve heard some horror stories before, but this one at least had very good feedback.

Most people in the 80s got this flexi when they bought the Shoot The Tulips fanzine. The first issue. I don’t own an original copy of it, but many years back Pete from The Rosehips, Horowitz, and more, made photocopies for me. Loved reading it. I actually found a web page about this fanzine and in there I could find some important information about the zine and the flexi:

Shoot The Tulips was born the day my sister said those words in her sleep. I already had a Darling Buds interview done, which was to be for WILTBS2, except it never happened. So I started off on my own. Approached by some people in Leeds to invest some money into a flexi they were putting together, the first flexi I was involved with featured Pale Saints (Children Break), The Savlons (..And What’s More) and The Amazing Adventures of Kerry Fiddles (Shiver Me Timbers).

The flexi also came with four different postcards, featuring each band, plus a Panic Recordings one. I got 500 of the flexis, the bands got the other 500. Total sold of this issue 500. Pale Saints released a second demo and ended up choosing between 4ad and One Little Indian who was gonna pay their wages for the next few years… Jason from The Savlons ended up in Liverpool band The Stairs for a short time, Graham from The Savlons now plays in a band called Geese. Kerry Fiddles was Jane Fox from the Marine Girls and the rest of The Savlons have been spotted in pubs around the country…

Bands featured – The Darling Buds, Bob, The Sainsburys, The Orchids, The Corn Dollies, Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, Mega City 4, cartoons (Johnny Twaddle Lives in Bristol)

http://sweetfoolthemouth.co.uk/shootthetulips/index.html

Pale Saints were Ian Masters, Graeme Naysmith and Chris Cooper. They formed in Leeds, after Graeme and Chris spotted an ad Ian placed in April 1987. They spent their first year playing gigs around the Leeds area, until eventually a deal was made, with another local band, The Savlons, as well as a friend of the band (Jane Fox, from The Marine Girls), to put out a flexidisc, in the summer of 1988. Funding was made available, 1000 flexis were made and sleeves were glued together, half available with a York based fanzine and the remainder shared by The Savlons and the Pale Saints. The flexi featured four different postcards, featuring one of each band, and one for the label, Panic Recordings.

The track ‘Children Break’ came from their first demo tape, released in 1988, called ‘Some New Songs By’ – the songs featured were ‘Wasting My Time’, ‘Children Break’, ‘The Way The World Is’ and ‘Sea Of Sound’. ‘Wasting My Time’ made it onto a Bi-Joopiter compilation tape, called ‘What Feet’, and a compilation with another fanzine, called ‘Are You Ready’. The band started to get gigs around the country, some in Stoke On Trent, another in Lancaster…

Still, we don’t get a proper story of The Savlons. Who were they really? We know there was a Graham and a Jason in the band. But who were the rest in it? We know they went to be in bands The Stairs and Geese, but I couldn’t find anything about them online either. Such mystery!

On the Pale Saings gigography page I could find some concerts that The Savlons played with them:
– 1.8.1988 Georgian Club, Lancaster:   supporting BOB, also supporting were The Savlons
– 25.8.1988 Leadbelly’s, Stoke-on-Trent: supported by The Savlons
– 23.9.1988 Haddon Hall, Leeds: supporting Esmeralda’s Kite, also supporting were The Savlons

Then my only other find happens on Youtube. There’s a song by The Simon Guild Guitar Experience, which has Stewart Anderson from Boyracer in it (check the amazing Welcome To The Wetherbeat Scene 1988-1991 CD). They were from Leeds as well and they had recorded a song called “Jason Savlon Used My Amp“.

That’s all really. Couldn’t find more. I love this song by The Savlons even though it’s so short! I wish to listen to more from them. I wonder if they actually released anything else on any other compilations. Or if perhaps they recorded any demo tapes. Their boy/girl vocals, a bit kind of The Vaselines, are a treat. Top stuff!

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Listen
The Savlons – …And What’s More

Not much to say this week. Lush will reform, play a show and release a box set. I think that is the news. Everything else at the moment is just accessory. And that’s fair. It’s good to see this comeback, that so far will include a concert in London and a box set reissue. But what else there is to talk about when such big news eclipse everything else?

It’s tough, right? The other important announcement came from Firestation Records. They will be releasing a bunch of records that no one can miss. They are essential:
– A reissue of The Hardy Boys’ “Wonderful Lie” 12″ – A reissue of Ala Pana Fuzo’s “Friend” 7″ as a 12″
– A reissue of The Dubious Brothers album “The Foresight Saga” on vinyl as well
– The Love Parade, on both CD and vinyl, gets the treatment we’ve been expecting for a long time. A retrospective compilation called “All We Could Have Been (1989-1990)”. 15 songs that I can’t wait to have them at home.
– And last a retrospective for the obscure band The Banzai Babies called “The Sun’s Still Shining”

Another record that has been released lately is that of Rose McDowall’s. It’s called “Cut With the Cake Knife” and it’s available in CD and LP. It’s out on Night School Records and it’s a reissue of the limited 2004 release on Bad Fairy Productions, though the songs were recorded in their entirety in the late 80s. “So Vicious” was always a favourite song of mine, so it’s good to be able to have it on record, and not just in MP3, now.

I also got on the mail the McCarthy reissue on Optic Nerve. The 7″ that was included in the pre-order looks and sounds great. The album I haven’t played yet. But I was very happy to get such a big booklet, with lots of photos as well as the posters that accompany the release. Now where do I find frames for European size posters in the US? IKEA, right?

And last but not least our friends from Pretty Olivia Records in Spain have also a reissue. This time it’s for the great New Zealand band The Wild Poppies. The record, a double LP, is titled “Heroine: The Wild Poppies Complete Collection (1986-1989)”. Another record that can’t be missed.

So, after reading all this, how does your wallet feel? Skinnier? Mine starts to worry me!

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Perth is a city in central Scotland, located on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county of Perthshire. According to the preliminary 2011 census results Perth, including its immediate suburbs, has a population of 50,000. Perth has been known as The Fair City since the publication of the story Fair Maid of Perth by Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott in 1828. During the later medieval period the city was also called St. John’s Toun or Saint Johnstoun by its inhabitants in reference to the main church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. This name is preserved by the city’s football team, St. Johnstone F.C.

Last week we were talking about a band from Perth, Scotland. I think we should do it again this week. And also another band that many years ago I was introduced to by Takashi, that strange Japanese man who knows so much about indiepop but it’s not so keen in sharing his knowledge with the rest.

The Divorce Brothers. What a good name for a band I thought. They only released one record, and their legacy on the web is non-existent. There’s absolutely nothing written about them aside from Takashi’s blog and the always reliable for it’s taste From a Northern Place blog. Discogs lists the record, released on Separation Records (Left 1db is the catalog number) in 1986. It was a 12″ EP, running at 45rpm and included 5 songs:
A1. To Understand
A2. That First Kiss
B1. Walk Out the Door
B2. The Divorcee
B3. The Liquidator

We know the members of the band too:
– Ian McIntosh on vocals and guitar
– Abe McIntosh on guitar
– Ged Lerpiniere on bass
– Paul Caswell on drums
– Derek Anderson on keyboards

Liz McKenzie did backing vocals, the engineer for the record was Dick Gibson and the producer was Reg Bottomskelp. The cover was designed by Nick Wright for Nature Morte and the band photos on the back cover were Jim Lees’.

There are a bunch of thank yous on the back too. I guess the names I can see as famous is that of Billy McKenzie of The Associates. I wonder, perhaps Liz, who was doing backing vocals for the band, was related to him? Also a club is thanked, one called Soul Kiss Club. Wonder if any of you ever attended it?

That’s all I could find really about them. The song I’m sharing is amazing, you are going to love it if you don’t already. I wonder though what happened to them, how come they only released one record, if they were involved in other bands, and what are they up to these days.

Also, it’s been a long time since I had these songs as MP3s, maybe someone can help me with them. I think they were lost when my hard drive got fried like 4 years ago. I don’t own the record, but if anyone has a spare, that’d be nice too!

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Listen
The Divorce Brothers – That First Kiss

Hello indiepop darlings. How are you? I have some news for you, now you can preorder the Don’t Cry Shopgirl 7″ on our website. Scroll down to the Coming Soon releases and there you’ll find a nice button. I’m very excited about this release, as it’s so good and has taken a long time to happen. It includes 4 perfect slices of pop, and it has been dressed in a beautiful sleeve painted by Amanda from Alpaca Sports. It’s all very Sweden, and it’s all very friendly, the kind of record I love releasing. I hope you all like it!

Let’s see. Last week I saw Ed from Shelflife here in NYC and he gave me the new Red Sleeping Beauty 7″. I love it. I think everyone should get a copy, it sounds like classic RSB, back to the 90s. I miss that sound (even though I wasn’t listening to indiepop back then! I was just a schoolboy!). What I mean is, there needs to be a jangly revival! I don’t mind the noisy guitars, but I miss listening to crystalline guitars and clear vocals. There are not many releases that have that sort of sound these days, don’t you think?

The other big news this week was the announcement of the dates for Indietracks 2016. It will happen on the weekend of the 29 to the 31 of July, in the same place, at the same time, at the shed, at the church, at the main stage, on the trains. I know many friends have already booked their hotels. Should I? At this point I don’t think I’ll make it, though I really want to go again. I guess I will perhaps wait for the first announcements. I know that by doing so everything will be more expensive, hotel, airfare, etc. But I think it’s my safest bet at the moment. I miss it though so much, seeing friends and having a good time with them. I think many of my best weekends in my life have happened there, at what was the best indiepop festival for sure.

Then my indiepop week has been very quiet. At home I listened time and time again the compilation Firestation released of Reflection A.O.B. and while I walked the streets of NYC I listened to the Flyying Colours CD Shelflife released with their two EPs. I’m catching up with releases, and I know I have to get The School, Alpaca Sports and Jessica and the Fletchers new albums. I also broke the piggy bank this time and took a chance and ordered the Go-Betweens vinyl box set that Domino is re-releasing once again, I guess for the ones that missed it the first time around and also to make some big bucks so they can release ugly bands.

Also I’m patiently waiting for my Optic Nerve order with the McCarthy reissue (and 7″ reissue). I think this one will make me very happy even though I own this record already. But then, there’s nothing wrong with having many McCarthy records at home. They are the best band ever (the only shame is that Cherry Red owns their catalog), but what can you do. Nothing in the end is perfect.

I still read the “Pequeño Circo” book at nights. It’s so long, but it’s such a pleasure to read it. I didn’t live the indie scene of Spain, but reading about all these bands that meant something to me when I started listening to music is really exciting and nostalgic too. I’m already by page 600 and even though there’s still more to read, I don’t want it to end.

And that’s more or less what’s happening in my indiepop life. What is happening in yours? Have you discovered any amazing bands? Bought any cool records? Would love to know how all of you are doing.

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Do any of you know about The Frazers?

Today I was just thinking about them. I remember I was introduced to them by Takashi, the Japanese guy that once was very nice and generous, who loved sharing songs with me and the rest, but suddenly turned bitter and angry. I wonder what happened to him.

Online there’s barely anything written about them. There’s two unlisted videos on Youtube and an entry on the From a Northern Place blog. Takashi has written on his defunct blog too about them, but he only wonders about why this record is so obscure (well, according to Google Translate).

On one of these videos (actually not a video, but you know, a song on Youtube) though, on the one for the song “Selfish”, the singer of The Frazers actually commented 5 years ago. He says: “The first disc i ever played and sang on, with a band that was called The Frazers. we were so young. feels like a hundred years ago. amazing guys. such laughs. good times. good friends. still feel proud of it. cheers! Ricky”

So we know the first name of The Frazers vocalist. I inspect his Youtube acount and see he has uploaded a bunch of songs by Scottish bands, from Perth, from Dundee. I wonder if he was involved in any of them? Athletico PoP, Grapefruit, Spiral TV, The Amazing Love Bees, are some of them. I had never heard these bands, and they actually sound good!  Hard to pick one for you to check, but I would say check ‘Carnival Headache” by The Amazing Love Bees, a bit él sounding! If you have the time, check them all of course.

The band only released one 7″ on The Thistle label in 1988. The catalog was SRT8KS1420. There were two songs on it, on the A side was the amazing and upbeat “Selfish” and on the b side another guitar pop gem called “Get it Right”.

Safe to assume that the band hailed from Scotland I think, but I think that’s the only conjecture I can make at this point. This is is as obscure, and as good, as it gets!

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Listen
The Frazers – Selfish

Thanks so much to Penny Priest for the interview! I wrote just some weeks ago about Penny because of her amazing song, “Sometimes”, that was included in one of the best indiepop compilations, “Manchester North of England”. It was the only song I knew existed from her and I was always so curious! So it was really cool to finally be in touch and learn her story!

++ Hi Penny! Thanks so much for getting in touch! I was always so curious about your song on the compilation “Manchester North of England”, so I’m very glad to be able to talk to you! So let’s start with the questionnaire!  So, what are you up to these days? Are you still based in Manchester?

I left Manchester 24 years ago! I was there as a student, doing a psychology degree at the university and then a teaching qualification. It seemed difficult to get teaching jobs in Manchester at the time, so I moved to the East End of London where I started my teaching career. It’s a long story but I later re-trained as a clinical psychologist and now live and work in Shropshire, a county kind of sandwiched between Birmingham and the Welsh borders.

++ Are you originally from Manchester? And how has the city influenced you in your music? I mean, a city with so many amazing bands, especially in the 80s, it must have been amazing time to be there, no?

I’m not from Manchester. I was born in Frimley, Surrey (the south of England) and then moved north to Hull after my dad was left a house there in his aunt’s will. My sister went to Salford University (next door to Manchester) and I liked the vibe when I visited there, so eventually ended up there myself. (My mum also went to Manchester University in the 50s, whilst she was a Catholic nun (!!!) and my son is about to start there this weekend!). It was great being in Manchester in the 80s, although I wouldn’t say the city influenced my music. When I write songs, I’m probably more influenced by other artists and music I like, regardless where it’s from. Having said that, I do feel an affinity with Irish music and Spanish music. There was plenty of Irish music in Manchester when I was there. A particularly good band at that time was Toss The Feathers.

++ And would you say the city has changed much? Back then what were the venues you used to go to? Or the pubs were you hanged with friend? Are they still around?

Well, it’s hard for me to say whether it’s changed much as I’ve hardly been back, although was there just last weekend to drop my son’s stuff off at his halls of residence. For a while back then, I used to live in an area called Rusholme, which was full of great curry houses. That has really changed now; far less curry houses and more Turkish and Afghan places with lots of shisha lounges. Apart from curry houses, I used to enjoy going to the Irish club in Chorlton cum Hardy, where I also lived for a while. I spent quite a bit of time in the Beech pub on the green there, too. For gigs, we would go to the university unions, or the International, the Boardwalk, the Green Room and the Band on the Wall. I don’t know if any of those are still there! I spent a fair bit of time in many of Manchester’s great pubs, but it’s hard to remember all the names and when I went up there the other weekend, at least one of those was no longer a pub.

++ When did you start making music? And did you always play under your name or were you also involved with bands?

I started making music probably when I was about four years old, sitting on a swing in my garden, singing tunes to myself. Once I learned to play the piano, I started writing tunes and even whole musicals. I also learned violin and wrote a string quartet at one point which actually got performed by myself and some friends! Around the age of 11 though, I began to feel restricted by the culture of competitiveness around classical music and I also began to think it was a bit uncool. So I gave up the violin and piano and a few years later picked up the guitar and just naturally started writing songs on there. I first performed at open mic nights near where I lived in Hull, which was not strictly legal at the age of 15, as a fair few pints of ale would also be involved! Probably the most important springboard for me was getting the opportunity to record a demo tape in my local BBC studio, BBC Radio Humberside. It was my big sister, Monica, I have to thank for this as she introduced me to her friend who was a sound engineer there. I sent that initial tape to John Slater, the journalist on City Life, who reviewed it and became my manager.

++ For the recording of your songs, did you have a proper band? Or how did that work?

Mostly I did gigs on my own, or paired up with one other friend. I longed to have a band behind me but it never really worked out at that time, although the song, Sometimes, was recorded with a band which included the former guitarist and bass player of the then-recently defunct indie band, Microdisney. It was Polygram Records who put us together.

++ And how did the creative process work for you? What inspired you? What came first lyrics or music?

Writing songs is/always was a very simple recipe for me; I would generally write songs when I was feeling miserable, although this didn’t necessarily mean the songs sounded miserable. As I was pretty poor/unskilled on the guitar, I used to retune different strings to totally random tunings which would often make it easier to come up with different chords, which I’d then put together, and a tune would magically follow. With only one or two exceptions, the music would come first and then the lyrics. Once I had the tune nailed, I could relax and enjoy writing the lyrics!

++ How did you end up in the compilation”Manchester North of England”?

I had John Slater to thank for that. He worked hard and got me a lot of good gigs. He knew lots of people and had a good idea of what would go down well, and where. He also was very encouraging of me and I think genuinely liked my songs. It was the journalist, Sarah Champion, who put ‘Manchester North of England’ together. I’m not sure if she approached John about me, or vice versa. She did do a few positive reviews of some of my gigs.

++ And if you don’t mind, what is the song that you contributed “Sometimes” about? What’s the story behind it?

Haha! That song was about my boyfriend at the time. I fell totally in love with him when I met him at the age of about 14. Basically, he didn’t love me like I loved him and the song was about how I would do anything for him but that wasn’t appreciated…I’ve grown up since then! Fortunately not all my songs are similar subject matter, but they are mostly about people I encounter in my life.

++ I don’t know of any other release of yours. Did you participate in any other compilations? Or perhaps you put any records out?

Well, once I left Manchester and moved down to London, I started teaching and got pregnant in a very short space of time, so life kind of intervened and I didn’t do much in the way of music apart from with the children I was teaching. I’d write a song every so often but didn’t pursue it any more actively than that. But slowly, once I’d left teaching, moved up to Shropshire and my two boys had grown a bit, I started to find more time for music again. I also met a wonderful musician here in Ludlow, where I live now, who was interested in meeting up and playing together. He nurtured my growing appreciation of folk music and it was wonderful to be making music again together with someone so talented and knowledgeable. We drank a lot of wine and smoked a lot of cigarettes and had a great laugh together too. We started recording stuff at a local studio and eventually found a fantastic bass player and drummer and produced a CD, Far Water. This coincided with my 40th birthday party where the band played, along with my then 18 year old son on backing guitar. We played at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival that same year, 2010, and sold a few CDs there. Life has moved on again though and I’m back in a bit of a musical slump now!

++ I know at least, because of a clipping I found online, that you used to sell your demos. So I wonder, how many demo tapes did you make and sell? And what were the tracks on them if you remember?

I didn’t sell any demos, but think perhaps John Slater sold them. I think it was probably the 3 tracks that we recorded at Out of the Blue studios in Manchester, which included Sometimes, and two other songs, Ordinary Girl, and Better. This demo and studio time was paid for by Polygram records, who had showed some interest in signing me, but following the demo, they decided they didn’t like my voice! I think maybe they didn’t like the way I looked either…I was never the coolest of people!

++ Then I found another clipping when it says you played some women-only gigs at The Gallery. Do you remember about that? How important was at that time to be involved in all-women activities?

I did play at least one women-only gig, somewhere like Oldham, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I remember there was a woman there who did a short show about witches, and how women used to get treated for stepping out of line, or not behaving as they were expected to. Apart from that, it’s a bit hazy. I think during that time of doing music in Manchester, it felt like I was in a bit of an unreal world and that I just went along with doing what people told me to.

++ Was it very hard for women to find gigs, or get the same treatment then? Do you think it has changed much compared to today?

Well, as I said before, I didn’t really ever pay much attention to that side of things, as John Slater would get the gigs and just tell me where and when I was playing and how much they were paying me. I really don’t know what it’s like these days, as I rarely do any gigs, and also I suspect it’s quite different out here in the sticks to out there in the big city.

++ And what about other gigs? Did you play many? Perhaps outside of Manchester? What was the best or the worst gig you remember? Anecdotes you could share?

I guess the most amazing one has to be, without any shadow of a doubt, the time I supported Nina Simone at the Manchester Apollo! This was very much a last minute thing. I was working in a die-cast metal parts factory at the time (a summer job in university holidays). I got back from work one evening to take a phone call from John, who asked me what I was doing that evening. He promptly told me to cancel my plans as I was supporting Nina Simone at the Manchester Apollo! God knows how I survived that! I remember I wore a long white dress and drank a fair bit of white wine before I went on. I got to meet Nina Simone afterwards. It’s a shame but maybe actually a good thing that back then I was so ignorant about so much music that I really didn’t appreciate how truly great she was. I think I would have refused to do the gig if I had realised! Second only to that experience, was one of the ‘Five Go To Play Guitar’ gigs. You mentioned these on your blog; five separate guitar acts, with myself, Johnny Dangerously (John Bramwell from I Am Kloot), George Borowski, Bob Dillinger and Kevin Seisay. I never really thought the idea worked that well as I didn’t really think people going to see comedy (Kevin and Bob), would be the sort of people who wanted to hear my stuff. At any rate, one of those gigs in the Green Room was compered by Steve Coogan, before he became a world famour comedian and actor. He bought me a drink in the bar at the break and if I’d been more savvy, maybe I would have taken that as some sort of invitation. I was only just 18 and way too innocent to realise what was going on!

++ You seem to have played with a bunch of cool bands, so I wonder what was your favourite band you played with?

Haha! I’m not sure which bands you’re referring to here, as I really haven’t. But I have to say my favourite collaboration has been with my friends here in Shropshire who produced the Far Water CD with me. Not only are they all great musicians, but they’re probably the most hilarious bunch of guys I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with. Really, it was always a laugh a minute and a miss those times! Happy memories though!

++ How was the press and the fanzine people with Penny Priest? How was your relationship with them?

Again, John Slater handled all that, so I wasn’t really aware of most of it. That was probably a good thing! One welcome bit of attention was from a fan, who bought me a drink at the bar about an hour after Steve Coogan had. I had just split up with the guy from the Sometimes song, so it was nice to have the attention. I ended up going out with this guy for the next couple of years!

++ During those late 80s there was an explosion of guitar pop bands in the UK. Did you feel part of a scene? And why do you think that during that particular time there were so many like minded bands like, perhaps, never before?

I didn’t really feel part of that. I was more influenced by women like Suzanne Vega, Tracy Thorn (from Everything But The Girl), Michelle Shocked, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Irish music and other stuff. Looking back, to me it seems the whole musical backdrop was very diverse and the Manchester scene was just one important part of that.

++ Did you continue making music during the 90s? Or did you stop?

Well as I said before, it’s been feast and famine with me over the years. Although I’m in a slump now, there will probably be another great creative period just around the corner. That seems to be the way it usually works. With my boys grown and no longer at home, I imagine there will time again for more music.

++ Are there any up and coming news, maybe gigs, for Penny Priest?

Watch this space, I guess!

++ These days, do you still pick up your guitar? What other hobbies aside from music do you have?

Ah well, this is part of the problem. When we moved to Shropshire I got into fell running. When arthritis in my knees put a stop to that, I got into cycling and cycling is a very time-intensive sport! I did an Ironman in Nice (France) in 2013, despite the arthritis and the fact that I can’t swim freestyle. I’ve recently done the Haute Route seven day cycling stage race in the Swiss Alps and Dolomites, so you can perhaps begin to understand how the music has taken a back seat!

++ What would you say has been your biggest highlight as a musician?

In some respects it would be easy to say the Nina Simone experience, but actually, and I’m not sure this is a highlight, but for me the most amazing thing is playing with a few other musicians and having unrehearsed moments where everything comes together and the music is so sublime it gives shivers down the spine…just that experience of making music is always a wonderful and priceless thing!

++ Last time I was in Manchester it was for such short time, but I really liked the city. You as a local, what are your favourite sights or places that no one should miss?

Well, I’m no longer there and I’m sure so much has changed. I’d like to go back to Chorlton Green for a pint outside the Beech on a sunny afternoon, though…

++ I’m just a bit curious, are you a Man United or City fan?

Liverpool. It’s a family thing.

++ Let’s wrap it here, thanks a lot for everything. Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for showing an interest. I hope you like the Far Water CD!

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Listen
Penny Priest – Sometimes

Today I have finished mailing all pre-orders of The Color Waves 7″s. Hopefully your copy will arrive shortly. I want to thank everyone that has placed an order in the past months. By the end of the week I’ll be adding a pre-order button for Don’t Cry Shopgirl’s 7″, hope you can keep supporting the label as we want to continue putting out quality indiepop from bands that deserve it!

I’ve been busy at work with a big project that finally was published today. Now things may get a bit better and I should have some spare time to answer emails and fix my house for example! It’s been so hectic! Some days I would even go sleep very early. That’s not me. It was a big project about disappeared people in Mexico. A big interactive that already has started receiving some praise. Feels good.  But damn, it was so much work!

My friend Daniel in Peru asks me to make a flyer for him for Lima Popfest. They are celebrating a Spring edition on the 26th of this month. This year he decided to make two editions, it seems it works better this way in Lima. To be honest the only bands I was familiar with were Moon Over Soho and Dan Dan Dero. Moon Over Soho was a band from the early, mid 2000s. Now it seems they are back. They had a bunch of good songs and most importantly, I remember talking to them, they had good music taste. It’s been a while though. I read they are preparing a new EP to be released soon. Dan Dan Dero on the other hand, I discovered not so long ago. I mentioned them when I did a recap of Peruvian bands here on the blog. I think they might be my favourite band from the whole lineup this year.

The international bands come from Chile and Argentina this time. From Chile there’s Cristóbal Briceño, the leader of the band Ases Falsos, and from Argentina there’s Facu Tobogán, who plays solo but also is leader of the band Tobogán Andaluz. Seems Tobogán Andaluz is a very popular band in Peru as I’ve seen lots of people asking to book them on Facebook.

The other two bands on the bill are Invernal and Led Feder. Invernal is a band I discovered some time ago, but kind of forgot about them on my recap! I remember telling Daniel to book them for the first Lima Popfest. They are really good and I definitely recommend them. Proper indiepop with bright electric guitars and female vocals. Strange to say for me, but I actually like the Peruvian bands, the local bands, better this time around! This says a lot I think, it seems it’s a good time for guitar pop in Peru, and I look forward to any up and coming bands from there. Still a bit far from what I saw in Indonesia, especially in Bandung, where there was such an explosion of bands some years ago, but I feel that is what Lima is shaping up to be. I cross my fingers this exciting trend continues!

The event will happen again at the Discoteca Embassy in downtown Lima and the tickets cost 45  soles, something like 14 dollars. Cheap for a good night of music.

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Le Beau Serge is a French film directed by Claude Chabrol, released in 1958. It has been cited as the first product of the Nouvelle Vague, or “French New Wave,” film movement. The film is often compared with Chabrol’s subsequent film Les Cousins, which also features Jean-Claude Brialy and Gérard Blain.

Translate it to Spanish and we have El Bello Sergio. But I’m not going to talk about the film today, but about a band from Málaga, Spain, who released 5 songs as a demo back in 1999. And since then they’ve been forgotten.

Well, not 100% forgotten. Some people still remember. I was talking to Cristóbal from The Royal Landscaping Society the other day, that I was hoping to dig some information about some of the bands that just left a demo or two back in the early 2000s, or even in the late 90s. That was a very prolific time when it came to indiepop in Spain. Throwing names, he mentioned El Bello Sergio. And I thought, that would be interesting, what happened to them?

I remember downloading their demo on Soulseek, more than a decade ago. I actually had a good collection of demos from Spanish bands. They mostly released them on CDR so it was easy to rip them to MP3 and be shared around. I lost that nice collection of MP3s, and that’s perhaps the day I learned that MP3s are worth nothing really, when my hard drive got fried. Since then I kind of forgot the names of the bands, and their songs.

But there was someone else who still remembered them, and in 2010 blogged about them. That was Rubén from Área 51 del Corazón blog (and also label). He actually posted about them and gave us a couple of interesting facts. We learn that the driving force for this project was Manolo Castro and that this demo included 5 songs: “Seguro que Vendrán”, “Mi Pequeño Hogar”, “Todos Duermen”, “La Noche de San Juan” and “Volverás”. The second song, “Mi Pequeño Hogar”, also gives name to the EP. My favourite, and it seems everyone’s too, was the last one, “Volverás”.

Rubén on his blog describes them as a band that has a sound close to La Buena Vida or Family and with vocals that reminds one of Fernando Alfaro from Surfin’ Bichos. On the comment section of the blog we find out that Manolo, after his stint with the band, worked as a producer (working with Lemon Fly) and also as a record label (called Sunday Morning Records and releasing the band Dos Mil Locos). He has also been involved with other bands like Model Monroe and Robby Robot.

So I check out these projects. To my surprise I find that Robby Robot has actually covered “Volverás”  as a techno pop song. It’s quite interesting to see it reworked like this. Seems he is still based in Malaga, in the South of Spain, and now keeps playing with this band along Daphne. It’s just a duo. They have put out a bunch of songs on their bandcamp and they are quite fun.

Aside from that, I barely know anything about El Bello Sergio. I can’t find information online really. Did they participate in those demo contests that were so popular in Spain back then? Did they play live a lot? Was it a full band or just Manolo recording at home? So many questions, that would be nice to see answered some time. In the meantime, enjoy this beauty called “Volverás”!

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Listen
El Bello Sergio – Volverás

I receive news that the new Alpaca Store is about to come out. On October the 2nd to be more precise. A beauty of a record released on 10″ on Elefant and on CD on Luxury Records. Seems the labels are taking pre-orders now too. I would buy it blindly, without listening to it, but I get a cool chance to hear the songs in their full glory (and not demo or unfinished versions) for the first time today too.

How beautiful all these songs are. 6 songs for quality pop. I will be fair and not review them right away, at first listen. I’ll have maybe 10, 20, more listens and next week let you know what I think. But my first impression is that it’s so good. So few records this year has brought me such a big smile on my face.

Speaking of that, there’s been another record that has been released in the past few days. And that’s the Brideshead new album on Shelflife. The Wiesbaden band that played a delightful set at the NYC Popfest, returns with their third album aptly titled “Never Grow Up”. Luckily for us the title is dead on, the band hasn’t “matured” and gotten a “mature sound”. They sound so fresh and fun as they always did. They’re promoting the album with the song “At 45rpm” for which they’ve recorded a promo video. I’ll look into doing an interview with them soon, the German indiepop heroes.

Another important news coming from Shelflife is the 7″ that marks the return of the classic and beloved Swedish band Red Sleeping Beauty. Two songs, “Always” and “Breaking Up is Easy” that are just pure pop candy. Reviewing these few new up and coming releases make me thing that indiepop could have a vibrant scene once again!

And I say that because these three releases have brilliant guitars, jangly ones. And that’s what many of us have been missing throughout this year. There’s been too much distortion lately on indiepop. Too much shouty stuff too. I like some of that, but there’s nothing wrong with the classic sound. I actually like it better.

And the last recommendation I have for you has some classy and elegant new wave influences thrown into it. Hails from Japan and it’s on Fastcut Records. They are called Moscow Club and their new 7″ has a beauty on the A side called “Celine” (with guest vocals by Amanda from Alpaca Sports) that you can’t miss. It seems their debut album will be released shortly too, on September 30!

A few goodies coming out. Not forgetting we have a beauty here too in Cloudberry with the release of The Color Waves this week. Happy times then!

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Okay, time to head back to the 80s then, try to dig some info about yet another obscure guitar pop band from that prolific decade. This time around let’s get our detective gear and try to find out about a band that has one of the most curious and mysterious names in my record collection: Chinese Gangster Element.

I have no clue what they meant with that name. Sure there are Chinese gangsters. But it’s a bit odd. Also I think that in the UK the Chinese community is small. Or perhaps not? In any case it’s not comparable to the community here in the US, right? Speaking of which this week I was surprised to hear some indiepop from China, even covering Sarah Records, but that’s a story for another day.

I can’t really remember why I bought their one and only 7″. Perhaps I saw it on a list on Twee.net. Or somewhere online. To be honest it wasn’t hard to find. On Discogs it seems it sells for cheap. Which is good for us record collectors. The thing is, after you listen to “Jivin'”, the opening track, you’ll probably would want to hunt for it.

There are four tracks on the record. On the A side there’s “Jivin'” and “Chloe”. On the B side there’s “Muscle” and “In My Body”. The record was released on Ted Records (CGE 100) in the year of 1986. Say indiepop year 0. The artwork for the cover is also very mysterious, with a bunch of profile faces, five facing right, 2 upside down facing left. Strange illustration.

When we turn around the sleeve we get the band members:
Andy Greaves – guitar
Mick Haymer – bass
Fiona McBean – vocals
Kev Greaves – drums

So fair to assume that the guitar and drums were brothers? Or at least related? The record was engineered by Tony Bonner at Off Beat Studio in Leeds. And we get told to play the record loud. And the only other important hint left is that the band were based in Halifax.

Halifax is a minster town, in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England The town has been a centre of woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Piece Hall. Halifax is known for Mackintosh’s chocolate and toffee products including Rolo, Quality Street and Rowntrees. Shibden Hall is also in Halifax. The Halifax Bank and Yorkshire Bank were also founded in Halifax. Dean Clough, one of the largest textile factories in the world at more than 1⁄2 mile (800 m) long, was in the north of the town. The premises have since been converted for office and retail use including a gym, theatre, Travelodge and radio station. The town’s name was recorded in about 1091 as Halyfax, from the Old English halh-gefeaxe, meaning “area of coarse grass in the nook of land”.

I find then a Facebook page called the Halifax Music Heritage Trail where Andy Greaves is mentioned. Perhaps I’m on the right trail. Then I find a club page where all the gigs played there are listed. It’s called the 1 in 12 Club. And we find out that the Chinese Gangster Element played there many times:
December 7 1983 – w/ Photomontage
April 4 1984 – w/ Gross National Product
January 1 1985
January 22 1986 – w/ Party Day
July 1 1988 – w/ The Adams Family

Almost every year they played at the club with the exception of 1987. Were they formed in 1983? Or before? And why did it take them 3 years to release their first record? Though to be fair on September 1st 1984 they recorded a Peel Session.

This session you can actually find it on Youtube thanks to the one and only Dave Driscoll. On this Session they recorded 4 songs: “Red”, “In My Body”, “Red Light” and “This is Hell”.

There’s also a compilation flexi that I still don’t own which has a song by Chinese Gangster Element. I haven’t heard this one. The song was called “Joey” I believe it’s a double-sided flexi as Discogs lists that on the A side there’s Fez with the song “Strange” and the Chinese Gangster Element song. While on the B side we have Roberta Junk with “How Many Friends?” and Langfiled Crane’s “Kiss Me Stephenson”. I haven’t heard any of the other bands before! This flexi was released by Spike’s Label (LYN 19817/18). The label was also based in Halifax.

Then Discogs lists 3 compilation appearances. Where there any more? We know they appeared on a record called Enemies of the State. This was put out by the same club  I mentioned ealier, 1 in 12, on it’s own imprint 1 in 12 Records (1 in 12 003). This record was part of a series of records titled Worst of the 1 in 12 Club. This was the 3rd volume and was released in 1984. The song Chinese Gangster Element contributed was “World’s On Fire”. This song too you can listen online on Youtube. The only other band that I know in this compilation is The Word whose “Schoolboy Saint” 7″ is a favorite of mine. The record was a Porky Prime Cut and you can read on the matrix “Say No To Masons And Part Time Politico´s — To Melanie + Keith From The Class War Boys” and “A Porky Prime Cut Are You An Enemy Of The State?”. Classic.

Next, in 1985, they contribute the song “Fast Town” to the compilation Folio Hearts on Confidential Records (file 005). This time I have no clue about any of the bands on the compilation. All songs seem to have been recorded at OHM Studio in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The last compilation listed is “New Songs for Mutants”. There’s no date for this record. The song that the band contributed was “Wet Dreams”. On this compilation the other known face is The Deep Freeze Mice. This tape was put out by Lakeland Records (LKND001).

Now I’ll search for the band members. Andy Greaves is easy to find. He seems to be playing up to this day on an ensemble called Greaves Taylor Gillon. There’s a small bio for Andy on their website:
Singer, songwriter, guitarist, mandolinist, poet and noted eccentric, Andy Greaves,, has been at the centre of the Calder Delta music scene since his debut in the 1980s with John Peel favourites The Chinese Gangster Element. Over the last 30 years he has created original music in genres as diverse as punk and country music. Andy currently fronts British Bluegrass rebels, The Tragics, as well as performing widely as a solo artist and poet

And that’s where the trail for the Chinese Gangster Element stops. I can’t find anything else about them. I wonder then, if anyone out there that remembers them can help me. Did they record any more songs? What happened to the other members? Were they involved with other bands? Would be nice to know!

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Chinese Gangster Element – Jivin’