Many years ago I stumbled, I believe in soulseek (Twisterella room maybe?), with some songs belonging to a band I had never heard about before: Boys Like Charlotte. I’ve been googling for years now and always the only entry I could find was a best of list in Twee.net where someone had voted for the band. I didn’t know where they were from, when were they around or who were they. I assumed there were no releases. The songs I had were tagged as demos. The song names were:

+ Cry Myself
+ I Say it’s True
+ Hiding in the Sun
+ Now That You Are Gone
+ What You Say
+ Through the Rain

These songs sounded very British, like those late 80s pop band demos. You know, these tapes that many bands recorded back then and now are totally forgotten or lost. Well, happens these sounds came from Sweden and Tommy Gunnarson, Heavenly Pop Hits factotum and future writer of the definitive book about indiepop in Sweden, solved the mystery for me.

Not so long ago I was talking with Tommy about the future Sound of Starke Adolf compilation. We were talking about Aerospace and their great songs, and that there was an unreleased song that for some reason didn’t end up in their EP. I told him how talented was Toby, that I loved his previous band Stevepops as well. We kept talking about Swedish bands and somehow the name Boys Like Charlotte popped into my mind, I asked Tommy if he had a clue who played in that band. “That’s Toby from Aeorospace as well” was his answer. Wow!

I’ve got in touch with Toby and asked him in a couple of emails about this fantastic and obscure band. Toby was very kind to fill in the blanks and share with me the story about the band. Here are some bits and bobs of what he told me:

As I recall the best songs are actually missing from your list; the fuzzy “Down, Down, Down” and three tracks of jangle that really want to be Happydeadmen songs.

Well, the reason there is no information about Boys Like Charlotte is because I didn’t have a clue about what I was doing at the time.

Boys Like Charlotte existed in two eras actually – the first one being from about 1988 to 1990, basically between two versions of Stevepops (with or without a drum machine actually, as well as in Swedish and in English) and then there was another era as stevepops folded about 4 years later.

The first Boys Like Charlotte stuff was done just as the Swedish indie (jangle/wimp/shambling/anorak/take-your-pick) scene was taking its first few steps. There was very few bands around; happydeadmen were the only ones that had released anything, and The Wannadies and This Perfect Day were still unknown to anyone living south of Skellefteå, all other bands were leftovers from the drab goth stadium era of Echo & The Bunnymen and (early) U2. The fanzine Sound Affects had done their first few issues and Marcus Törncrantz had advertised the sale of Grimsby Fishmarket. Red Sleeping Beauty and Acid House Kings were still in the bedrooms. There was one record store in Stockholm that stocked Sarah/Subway records 7” and I think they used to order 5-6 copies of each release; most often that would mean one copy each for Marcus Törncrantz (Grimsby Fishmarket), Niklas Angergård (Acid House Kings), Mikael Mattson (Red Sleeping Beauty) and I although I doubt that we even knew each other at the time and god knows who bought the remaining few stocked records.

We would nod at each other at Happydeadmen shows (as they were the only band that ever played live, we saw each other at the most strange places such as punk rock squats and dive bars) but that was about it.

I had no idea what to do with the stuff I put on tape – I probably did give one copy to John Boqvist who later went on to play keyboards in Aerospace and somewhere along the line he must have passed the songs on to someone else. I just put the finished songs on tape and then put them in a drawer and moved on. They were never properly packaged, there was no demo or anything, just one or two copies of the original mixes – and I just found some of those tapes a few months ago, so god knows who even transferred them to any digital form. So the fact that anyone, at all, even knows about the band is a complete mystery to me.

I think I might have done about 10 songs over those two years, all stolen from what I was listening to at the time; it’s just blatant rip-offs of The Darling Buds/Flatmates/Primitives/Shop Assistants done with borrowed guitars played through a minimal guitar amp set at 10 and an Alesis sequenser to power the drums and bass off a Roland MT-32. After seeing happydeadmen enough times I got myself an acoustic 12-string and proceeded to rip them off as well (and stealing unashamedly from McCarthy). I used go to the UK on my own using a eu-rail pass and pick up the NME/Melody Maker at Victoria Station and then just travel the UK for a week or two to see any jangle/wimp/shambling/anorak- band that was playing at the time (I don’t think I even talked to that many people at all during those travels, I was just too shy, but I did get to see The Sea Urchins, McCarthy, This Poison and The James Dean Driving Experience among others and they are still some of my favorite bands of all time) and when I came home I just redid the songs that I’d heard (as well as bought) to my best ability.

Most of the songs were total rip-offs; I stole the melody and lyrics from The Flatmates I Could Be In Heaven (“I wanna hang around with you”) for a song called Down, Down, Down. Looking back it was more like an academic course in indie songwriting than anything else.

In the spring of 1990 we (re)formed Stevepops and the anorak/jangle was democratically kicked out of the sound for our more punkish roots – the anorak thing was dying and we felt more at home with the sound of Mega City Four/Wonderstuff/Decendents/ Odd Numbers thing anyways. From a career standpoint it was probably a really bad move as the Swindie scene exploded (with The Wannadies, Popsicle, This Perfect Day, Brainpool, Cardigans etc) and we were on our own way star struck by skateboards and a very distant following of the US post-hardcore scene. Stevepops did their third ever show opening up for Fugazi and I still have the note given to us by Guy Piciotto (with the words “here’s the address to a friend of mine, he’s got a great label and would love your stuff”) with Calvin Johnson’s address. We never even though about sending him anything, we were more focused on getting a show in Gävle. Any interview stevepops did at the time was marred by miscommunication and a lack of shared culture. Indie fanzines would ask us questions about our favorite bands and look like question marks when we went off on the brilliance of Black Flag, Minor Threat, Big Drill Car, Hüsker Dü or the Descendents. And all the hc-kids ignored us because we played indiepop. As stevepops folded I got back to doing solo stuff, but it was a different era; there were tons of great lo-fi stuff coming out on K/Kill Rock Stars/Homestead etc, so the only thing that stayed the same was the name.

The second coming of Boys Like Charlotte was slightly more public – I played two shows (one in a corner of an apartment at a party way past midnight and the other opening up for Stereo Total) – and even managed to give away a song to my friends as a Christmas card (so there was a proper cover for that one song). The sound of Boys Like Charlotte 2.0 was the sound of Elliott Smith and The Softies only done really badly.

Then I formed The Shermans with Mikael Mattson, quit after doing 6 songs and 3 shows and formed Aerospace as a direct consequence to going to The Bowlie Weekender in the spring of 1999. The rest is more publicly known I assume. Thanks a thousand Toby! Hope I get to listen those 4 songs! I bet they are fantastic!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Boys Like Charlotte – Now That You Are Gone

It’s been a while since I had some time to listen carefully some of my 7″s.  It’s a bit late and while waiting for the football highlights show, I chose this record that is quite new to my collection. I got it just a couple of days ago thanks to a tip from the wonderful Uwe from Firestation.

This seems to be a very obscure release on the Rampant label of Australia. I’ve already talked to The Odolites who were on this same label run by Bill Tolson. And if I thought The Odolites were not very well known, These Future Kings seem way more difficult to track down. This 7″ is catalogue number Rampant 048 and includes two songs, one on each side. Without a doubt the A side, “Bury My Bones”, is the star. It’s a fantastic jangly track. It starts with some great crystalline guitars, then a pounding bass, and soon we get to a fantastic chorus, and then to some trumpets, and then to the chorus again with some catchy backing vocals. And all along, while the song spins on my turntable, the guitar doesn’t stop jangling! Glorious!

This song was recorded in November 1987 in Melbourne by the band. So who were the band? 5 names appear on the sleeve: Charles Caldas, Mark Freeman, Steven Johansen, Claudia White and Perry White. Researching I went to find that Perry White went solo and participated on a compilation called “Lost Dog’s Show”.  I couldn’t find a way to contact any of the band sadly as I would really like to know more about them. The B side is “The Liar’s Been Found” which was recorded a year before, in 1986. It’s a fine track but, to be honest, it can’t fight back the prowess of “Bury My Bones”. This song has the collaboration of Warren Ellis, on violin, who would later be part of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

There’s some more releases by These Future Kings that I still need to track down. Before the 7″ there was a self-titled 12″ mini-album released in 1986. And after “Bury My Bones” the band released the LP “Carnival”.  I believe both records came out also on Rampant Records.

Sometimes the releases appear on eBay and I think some Australian second hand stores may have it. So be patient and on the look. And of course, if you know the whereabouts, or any stories or anecdotes about the band, please share! A band like this, who wrote such a top tune as “Bury My Bones”, doesnt’ deserve to be forgotten!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
These Future Kings – Bury My Bones

Today I felt it was time for some ramshackle pop in here. Not very sure where to start, I went over some of the latest posts on blogs I frequently visit. I thought about posting about Juniper (as Skatterbrain did), but I think I’ve found one of the members and thought: “always an interview is better than whatever I can write about a band”. Facts coming first hand from the band are way better. Especially as I’m pretty sure the A Turntable Friend 7″ was their first release and not the Orange Peel one as stated by Matthew, but, who knows. Both were out 1996. I only own the Fantastic Records 7″. Anyways, moving on, because I felt like writing at 12:30 am, I went over some of those legendary tapes from the 80s. Why not, most of the bands that appear in them are quite unknown to me. And listening them again always bring a surprise.

Perfect Kiss are a very difficult band to google. Of course, New Order’s song is what comes up most, if you were wondering. The song “So Many Alike” that appeared on the Positively Teenage cassette tape is the only one I know from them. It’s an upbeat, ramshackling slice of pop, quite lo-fi, quite happy, a little treat. It totally has a demo feel to it which I find charming. I wonder if they recorded any more songs. I bet Stephen Almighty Pop! must know something else about them (or maybe has a demo tape in a box in his garage!), especially as he put the tape out and the address for Perfect Kiss, on the fanzine, tells that they lived in Durham, UK. Same as Stephen!

What does it say about them on the zine?

Ashley Staff – Drums
The only drummer to have a drumroll every five seconds. This country lad from Town Kelloe is never sober (or is that in time) he also has a wicked lire in Callini t-shirts. Compensates by being a good laugh.

Dave Hickson – Vocals, Guitar
Unfortunately Dave loves Bronwyn from ‘Neighbours’ which has dented his credibility. However his wicked song introductions and bottom wiggling allows him to play guitar and sing as cool as Ralph McTell. He is to the band what Cliff Richards was to the Shadows.

Paul Dixon – Guitar
Walks home in the t-shirt while its snowing. Only just joined so is not featured on ‘So Many Alike’ but his stage prescense will allow Dave to insult the audience. Achieves amazing amplifier distortion when he remembers to turn it on.

Martin Scott – Bass
Falls asleep during practices and often pouts, (but is usually chewing a Cadbury’s creme egg). Refuses to turn his amp down, probably because he doesn’t know how to, he also suggests cover versions no-one else wants to do.

And that’s all. But maybe somebody else can throw some more facts, bits and bobs, maybe a gig review (!), on the comments section! Always good to know the whereabouts and what happened to the members.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Perfect Kiss – So Many Alike

This past week I saw on eBay the elusive “(There Is) No Refrain” 7″ by Harrison. How much did it sell for? US $201.50.

This extremely rare single, this infrequent round slice of plastic, this black and white sleeve with a girl and her jump rope, shows up maybe once a year on the bidding site. And then everyone tries to have a hold on it. Of course it depends on how big your wallet is and if you are willing to confront the mighty yen. Facts about the band are very scarce. On the listing it says it was released on  the Skipping Rope label (Skip 01) and recorded in Birmingham. And then I found some bits of information on my friend Jessel’s blog. He showcased “Simply This”, the B-side, on one of his famous online mixtapes. He wrote:

One of my favourite songs! Even my 5 year old daughter enjoys singing this, especially when the “pa-pa-rap-paps” chorus comes in! The band was based in Hinckley in Leicestershire and was composed of Mick Adams on guitar, Matt Price on vocals and keyboards, Nige Shephard on bass and Andy Hill on Drums and was managed by a guy named Mike Walker! Sadly this self released 7″ was the band’s only output…2 great songs! I hope they (the band) or someone out there have a copy of their unreleased music…I would really love to hear more songs by them and find out what happened to the band members!

Lucky Jessel that he owns a copy. He is spot on with his questions too. What really happened to the band members! Where did they go?  were they involved with other bands? how do they feel about the prices their 7″ sells on eBay? or just to know how many records were pressed? It’s so rare that it seems only 50 were pressed!

I’m fonder to the A-side though! (There Is) No Refrain is such a wonderful song! Listen it yourself (that fantastic galloping bass lines… so good!). If you know anything else about this fantastic single, or about the whereabouts of the band members please share! A band like this can’t fall into oblivion!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Harrison – (There Is) No Refrain

Some time ago I wrote about Perth’s Stolen Picassos. I asked then if they had anything to do with The Picasso Twins. And the answer is yes. All this Picasso fanatism comes from Martin Gamble, the guitar player and vocalist of both bands. Which came first? The Stolen Picassos who were around more or less from August 1986 to May 1988 according to the Party Fears fanzine’s “Rickenbackers Revenge” (The Perth pop scene family tree). After the Stolen Picassos were over, Sandra Morgan, the vocalist, and Martin Gamble decided to keep on going, after the demise of Graham Hope (who I believe joined The Summer Suns at this moment) and form what would be The Picasso Twins.

There’s more to the story of course, there was a time when Martin collaborated with Ian Freeman from The Palisades and called their band The Pelicassos Brothers. Also during the early nineties, after The Picasso Twins, Martin went to record as The Mardi Picasso. But I don’t want to branch out too much, maybe leave these bands for future posts. Focus back on The Picasso Twins, on Martin and Sandra. I’d guess they were dating, though this is none of my business, right. What is, for sure, my business is that they released a tape album called “Some Mardi Sandwich” which included 12 songs. These are very very short songs, some of them lasting for a minute, some less than that, and none past the 3 minute mark. They are mostly acoustic songs and barely there’s any percussion. These are lovely little bits, but I won’t recommend them to you if you are going to go jogging around the park. The Picasso Twins are for a locked in Sunday, and if you have rain, even better.

The tracklist of the tape is as follows:
01. We All Fell Down
02. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
03. Maybe I Will
04. In a Vice
05. Too Close
06. Grin and Bare it
07. Listen to Me
08. You Took My Head
09. Slender Waste
10. Great Expectations
11. Lie Until Down
12. One Into Three

And sorry, no rapidshare link. :p

Around early 1989, Martin and Sandra decided to leave Perth and relocate in Sydney. Something must have went wrong there as they split up soon after. That was it for The Picasso Twins. They only lasted a year. Martin went back to Perth and started to record on his own. On the other hand Sandra stayed in Sydney and teamed up with Ian Freeman (from Palisades, Pelicassos Brothers, Peppermint Drops, Mars Bastards) and started a short lived project called Flowerburger, not sure if they ever recorded anything.

Fast forward 20 years later. What happened to them? No clue. Would be nice to know their whereabouts and interview them!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Picasso Twins – Lie Until Down

After another round of cutting and pasting Cloudberry sleeves I decided it was time to do some vinyl ripping. It’s been a while since I used my USB turntable. The slow morning (though I should answer a couple of emails!) invited me to go through and rummage around the 7″ boxes I have in my room. Earlier I’ve been putting together some artwork for the next split single. It’s fantastic. Also finished all the small posters for the new Cloudberry Classics CD, The Proctors, should be out any moment (you can pre-order now if you’d like and you can listen Black Tattoos streaming on the Myspace page). Also talked with some amazing bands for future interviews, so keep tuned to this humble blog.

Back to lost bands. The 7″ that I chose today for this Saturday morning comes courtesy of Avalanche Records, though they forgot to write which was the catalog number. I’d guess the band comes from Scotland too. Did Avalanche release any band that weren’t Scottish?  Having a look on the threefold sleeve, Riverhead was formed by Michael Doran, Rod White, Richard Conte and Ady Powers. It includes lyrics for both songs contained in this single sided 7″. Yeah, two songs on the A side which are “Was Away” and “Haddit”.  It also lists some other releases by the band (which are not listed in Twee.net):

• Alpharetta – which is a 12″ record that includes four songs, Looking At The Sky, She Can, Strange and My Turn. This is AGAP 005
• Haddit – another 4 track EP. This is AVA 001. Don’t know which songs were included, though I guess Haddit is one of them.
• And lastly it lists two T-shirts to buy, each for 6 pounds, one for Haddit and one for Was Away. Was it the same design as the sleeve covers?

Some more evidence that the band could/must be Scottish is that this 7″ was recorded in Funny Farm Studios, in Haddington. That’s quite close to Edinburgh.

Where does the name come from? The only Riverhead town I found in UK, is in Kent in England. There’s a Riverhead in New York state and also one in New Zealand and in Canada. There’s a Riverhead Books, a subdivision of Penguin Books USA that published the Kurt Cobain diaries… that can’t be either, right?

I don’t think this 7″ is scarce at all. I think you can find it on eBay easily. I recommend getting it for the great c-86ish, Leamington Spa sounding, “Was Away”. What a great song it is. Sadly there’s no information online about them. If you know their whereabouts, or what did they do after or before Riverhead… or maybe if there are more releases, let me know! I’d love to hear more from this band!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Riverhead – Was Away

For a couple of years I always wondered who were The Doris Days. The last week I’ve got to know much more about them that I could imagine. I thought there was no chance to find anything about them aside from the fantastic “Another Day” that appeared on the ‘Uncle Arthur’s Pop Parlour’ compilation tape. First it was Uwe Firestation who told me that some members of the band formed Pacific, that great pop band that left a couple of records on Creation and a favourite song of mine, Barnoon Hill. Also he told me that there were plans for a Doris Days single on Grant Lyons’ ‘La Di Da’ label. It never happened and their only demo was elusive for him and me.

Since the first time I listened “Another Day” I was hooked. I knew this band had that something, that they must have got some great tunes hiding somewhere. It is surprising they didn’t release anything, the quality of this song ask for justice, for it to be a single of it’s own. Come on, at least a flexi!

Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff was the real name of Doris Day. She was born in 1924 and she is still alive. Did she knows there was a band in the 80s, on the other side of the Atlantic, that were named after her? She was quite popular indeed and our Doris Days weren’t that much. She was nominated to the Oscars back in the day for her song ‘Secret Love’ which appeared in a movie that she acted as well, “Calamity Jane” (1953). Talking of which… this weekend the Oscars are happening again and I’m not very excited by the movies that are nominated. I think, to start, it is disheartening that Benjamin Button is among the nominees. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s not great at all. In any case, there has been better motion pictures this past 2008. Oh well, the excuse is that America needs a new life-affirming movie, a new parable for these hard times. But giving it a nomination, I think, is too much. Aging backwards? Hmm. Let’s talk about this on Monday after we know who won. Now to “another day”, to our Doris Days.

This past week I got in touch with the great Dave Driscoll who put out the ‘Uncle Arthur’s Pop Parlour Tape’ and asked him many times about The Doris Days (sorry about that!). And what he did, is something to thank him forever! He has rescued a live gig of The Doris Days from one of his many tapes! A wonderful 8 song set at The Basement, a club in Brighton on October the 24th, 1987. That night they were supporting my favourite band ever, McCarthy! These recordings are something no one that loves pop should miss! Where to find it? Well, if you see the blogroll here there’s a blog called “Fruitier Than Thou” (any similarities to a Househunters song is pure coincidence). You just have to click there and you’ll end up at the fantastic blog that Dave runs. The Doris Days’ gig should be his last post. Listen carefully to great tracks as “No Time For Feeling Sad” (love the ‘I don’t believe it’ comment on the middle of the song!) or the trumpet driven “Feet Stuck Sound”. I wonder which of these were recorded in the demo!

On his blog, Dave gives us some details of the whereabouts of a member of the band, Dennis, who now is in a band called Shrift. I’ll try to get in touch with him! I’d die to ask him some questions about the band! And what about that the La Di Da single was going to actually be a split 7″ with all-time favourites The June Brides! I think it would have been a killer single, both bands, I believe, would have complemented perfectly. How wonderful would it be to rewind time and make Grant release this record. Both bands gorgeous trumpets on vinyl. Ebayers today would go ape for it!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Doris Days – Another Day

A week and a half ago Jennifer wrote me about some bands and tracks from a mix CD she got years ago. It included bands like Small Factory, Gangway and Dislocation Dance. But there were three songs that I didn’t have much of a clue. One of them was Zeitgeist’s “Freight Train Rain”. Until… I got to listen the track.

“I have heard this one before!”. The question was, “where?”. After a bit of searching, I found this same song, the exact same song, but this time being credited to The Reivers. Yeah, the fantastic jangle pop band from Austin, Texas. So what had happened? Why did two bands released the same song? A quick search showed me that it was again fault of the nonsense of major labels and careerist bands, that want to brand a name…

“As Zeitgeist, the quartet had built up a good following through an indie album and touring, but on the eve of releasing their first major label album, Capitol Records did a name search and found that the German word had already been trademarked by a New Age ensemble. Front man John Croslin recalls that the crystal-wearers “weren’t flexible at all” and so the band ended up with the new name, leaving their fan base baffled. “We could’ve changed it to `Zeitghost’ or something, but we didn’t,” says Croslin.

Who has ever heard about this Zeigeist new age band? no one! Why were they such suckers with their names? Aren’t New Age people generous, sharing and peaceful? And they can’t share a name? Huh! New Age is pure stupidity. That’s what it is. The power of crystals and all that neo-pagan nonsense, the universal truth, their spiritual bonding and so on, does that help our society? No. It’s a non-challenging way of life, it’s not reactionary, it’s not rebellious. It severely damages your brain. It’s going back to medieval times, to the alchemy, to faeries and even extraterrestrials. But let’s get back to our Zeitgeist.

Zeitgeist, originated in Austin, TX with a lineup that included: John Croslin- main songwriter, vocalist, guitars; Kim Longacre- vocals, guitars; Kelly Bell- bass; and Joey Shuffield- drums. Shuffield left the band during rehearsals and was replaced by Garrett Williams. By the time their first self-titled E.P. was released on db Records in 1984, Cindy Toth had replaced Bell as bass player. This new lineup would remain consistent throughout the remainder of the Reivers’ existence. Releasing the full-length album “Translate Slowly” the next year, they began to build a sizeable audience.

That little bio appears on The Reivers website which I recommend checking out. That same “Translate Slowly” is the one album I’ve heard from them. What has happened was that the CD version came out in 1987 when the band had already changed the name. Right! So that’s what created all these misunderstandings.

About the “Freight Train Rain” song. It was released as a 7″ single, not only in the US, but also in UK! In the US it appeared on the DB label from Atlanta, the same one that released The B-52’s “Rock Lobster” (?!) and many Pylon records. On the UK it appeared on Stiff Records, Kirsty McColl fans know this one. The B Side was “Hill Country Theme” (which appears in the album too). This 7″ appeared in 1985. But, let’s rewind a year, and we find out that Zeitgeist released the Zeitgeist EP, a 12″ record that included “Freight Train Rain”, “Wherehaus Jam” and “Electra”.

During 1985 they put out a couple more records. A 12″ including “Araby”, “Freight Train Rain” and “Things Don’t Change” was released. All of the songs were alternate versions. Also they contributed to a couple of local Austin compilations. Their biggest surprise that year was the fabulous Translate Slowly album. A great jangly pop album that includes many standout tracks like my favourite “Blue Eyes” and old favourites “Araby” and “Freight Train Rain”! This song is everywhere you’d say! But it’s a brilliant one, so why not have it all over the place? How does it sound? Jennifer told me: “The song I have is called ‘Freight Train Rain’ and has a really cool combination of guy and girl vocals. The guy sounds a lot like him from Even As We Speak. Someone is really pounding on an acoustic guitar making it sound really percussive. A girl is wailing in the background while the guy sort of sing-speaks. It sounds odd written down but it’s a fab song!” Don’t think there’s a better description than that!

1986 would see their last release under the Zeitgeist name, the 12″ promo-only single “Atlantic City”, which was released by Rhino. A cover of a Bruce Springsteen song. And then the name change happened. The Reivers kept releasing records and even appeared on nationwide TV. But that’s another story.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Zeitgeist – Freight Train Rain

Sunday is almost over for me. It’s been a long day, one where I woke up late, had fever all afternoon and now I’m just feeling a bit better after a Nyquil induced nap. It was still a productive day. I got to finish reading Ali Smith’s “Boy Meets Girl” that Emma recommended me. I’m still confused by it, is Imogen a girl or a boy or a girlboy? Also I finished sorting all Hari and Aino 7″ sleeves with inserts and polybags, 500 of those. If you want to order before the release date (February 15th) you can do it now. On top of that, after some pizza, got to watch Kiki’s Delivery Service. I’ve seen many Miyazaki movies and this one was no disappointment. And maybe the best news today was winning Honeytraps’ “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Be Beaten” flexi for 1.99 GBP.

The afternoon soundtrack, while I was in bed, was The Jasmine Minks, who’s “The Revenge of…” has been on the CD player for many days. And the night ‘track, while working on some freelance, has been the three songs I know from the Liverpudlian band I-Lands. Right now I’ve stopped working to watch the highlights of the Portsmouth – Liverpool game. Liverpool has won 3-2 thanks to a goal from “el niño” on the 91st minute. I wondered if the ex-members of I-Lands were footie followers.

The main person in the band was Andy Warren (who isn’t the Monochrome Set’s Andy Warren, 99% sure). He had been in some post punk bands in the early 80s like Systems (where Jem Kelly from Lotus Eaters played!) and Change of Image. In 1981 Change of Image decides it’s time for literally, changing the image, getting into a more pop sound and they decide to call themselves Islands of Dance. The band was formed by Stuart McBain on bass, Howard Lacey on drums, Mike Saunders on guitars, Ruth Evison on keyboards and the day’s hero Andy Warren. It seems no recordings were made. Fast forward two years to 1984. Now they do record some songs, a single, but it was under a new name: I-Lands. Why did they change names? Well, the band had lost many members in 1983 and some other came on board. Lacey, Saunders, Evison left and Joanne Griffith (vocals), Darren Bell (guitars), Bernie Mulcahey (keyboards), and Warrens old band-mate in the Systems Tony Elson (drums) joined. Tony Elson didn’t last long and, on springtime, Mark Coleridge joined to play drums. With him in the band, the name change was official, they were the I-Lands and in October, that same year, the first and only single “In the Rain” is released.  The A side, “In the Rain”, is fantastic!, and it makes me wish that one day I’ll find it for a reasonable price on eBay, never seen it listed though. The sound reminds me of The Wild Swans of course, it was that time of the eighties you know. Breezing keyboard and a bouncy bassline, some epic-ness thrown in there, and that elegant English-ness that indiepop bands would have later in C86 times. That was what I-Lands produced. The B side, “Velvet Glove” is even greater! It’s such a top tune, can listen to it all the time, and, it even has at the end, this beautiful flute solo. Brilliant boy/girl choruses and a bass to die for. The simple guitars, the dreamy keyboards… should I keep going? Maybe I’m having some feverish delusions? Impossible!

Last track they recorded was “Back before the Pain” (another amazing track!) which appeared on a compilation called “Jobs for the Boys”. This was released in January 1985 on Natalie Records. A legendary compilation LP that included names as This Final Frame and Politburo, the best of Merseysides’ underground. After this release I guess the band broke up but I haven’t been able to find information. What is known is that Coleridge, the drummer, left and joined Afraid of Mice. Maybe that last lineup change made Andy call it a day? Even if that was true, this doesn’t solve our mystery! Did he ever get into recording more pop songs after that? Were this 3 tracks the only recordings of I-Lands? Maybe there are demos or some sessions? Perhaps someone has some long lost improbable Islands of Dance recordings? Or maybe from his other bands? I would really like to know more from this band, three perfect songs just as the three goals Liverpool scored today.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I-Lands – Back Before the Pain

Stolen Picassos in Dallas, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Prague, New York. All of them millions of dollars worth. Most of them are drawings and paintings. Every year, somehow, pieces from the Spanish artist are stolen from different museums. It’s surprising as museums invest in the latest security systems, la creme de la creme of video cameras and laser alarms. At least that’s what movies have made me believe.

But what about these Stolen Picassos from Perth, Australia? Were they complices with the Picasso Twins? Do you know their whereabouts? Maybe it’s time to paste some reward posters, a la old desperado fashion, throughout the western Aussie city. Every electric post with it’s own “Most Wanted” photocopied white paper. Maybe this way we’ll find them. What’s the ransom you ask? One gorgeous 12″ on Kim and Dom’s Easter Records. Framed, it will look as good as a Picasso. Trust me. Martin Gambie on guitars and vocals, Graham Hope on bass, Brad Bolton on guitars, Sandra Morgan on keyboards and vocals, and Duncan McMillan on drums, where are they hiding?

My favourite Picassos have always been those from his Blue Period output. The sadness, the dreamy shades of blue  (I think it’s pretty obvious I like blue), the ethereal and unsmiling figures, have always gave me some sense of comfort compared to his later eye popping cubism. That same comfort comes up to me everytime I listen to the Stolen Picassos. Their intimate and homey sound, the boy/girl vocals whispering to me, it feels like if they were just playing here in my bedroom while I’m drinking this lager before going to bed.

I have only heard two songs, the 12″ is a bit out of my reach, in Musicstack it’s going for 112 dollars. Tough! Tonight I’m playing the songs I have: The Little Words and Save a Little Piece. I’ve seen a short post about them some days ago on the Fire Escape Talking blog. There are some interesting facts there about the band like that of Richard Bolton forming later the brilliant The Rainyard, and that of a single scheduled for 1989 on the Bus Stop Label. Mind you, the 12″ was recorded (in Shelter Studios) and released on 1987. It included four songs, “Everything Will Turn”, “Save a Little Piece”, “The Little Words” and “Time Will Tell”. Wonder if one day I’ll get to listen to the other two. What about that single for Bus Stop? Was it recorded? If so, where are those tracks?!

Any help or information about the whereabouts of these indiepop bandits would be great! Time for interrogation!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Stolen Picassos – Save a Little Piece