Thanks so much to Gerry Cooke for the interview! Some time ago I wrote about The Beautiful Strangers, trying to find info about this London band that only released one 7″ back in the 80s. Happily Gerry came to the rescue and able to answer my questions! Enjoy!

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

I was brought up in a care, but being in care gave me the opportunity of having a record player and access to records.  I remember listening to the Beatles, ‘She loves you’ on repeat play for hours. My first instrument was a recorder, which I learned by ear.  I started playing bass in 1977; again I learned to play bass by ear.

++ Had you been in other bands before The Beautiful Strangers? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

Yes, I was in a few bands before the BS, the notable ones were ‘The Ya Yas’. We were an R&B band, more mod than boogie (as reported in Time-out magazine, a London based Mag). With this band we made recordings with some of the members of Madness.  The two founders of the band Phil Payne and Phil Saxby went on to form the band ‘Arnold’. Mark Saxby also played with X-ray Specs in later years.

The other band was ‘Hearts Agas’, a bit of a glam rock type band. We made lots of recordings and did loads of gigs around West London in the early to middle 80s.  The guitarist from that band, Jo Almida, went on to play with the band ‘Dogs d’Amour’.

++ Where were you from originally?

I am from South East London, born in Chelsea.

++ How was your town at the time of The Beautiful Strangers? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

South East London during that time was great.  There were great bands everywhere and record stores on every street corner.  As for the pubs and venues there were loads. I played at many of them.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

The band had already formed when I joined it.  I was asked to play in the band by the ex-drummer, of  ‘The Ya Yas’. He told the other members of the band that he knew a great bass player; I auditioned and was asked to join them.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

Yes, in 1985, I left because my first child was about to be born.  They took on another bass player; he lasted just 6 month and then left.  I re-joined the band and not long after we went on to record ‘Elizabeth’.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

I was given free range to play and create the bass lines. I was given the chords and went on from there.  As for practising, If my memory serves me right, it was in a studio near London Bridge, Borough Market.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Keith Sparrow, he can be found on FB.

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

The main influence behind the band were ‘The Smiths’.  My own influences were Paul Gray from ‘The Hot-rods’ and Bruce Foxton from ‘The Jam’.

++ As far as I know you only released one 7″ back in 1986. This was a self-release, right? How did that work for you, doing the label part? Did you enjoy it? How many copies were pressed?

Yes, just one record, and yes it was a self-release.   You’ll have to ask Keith about the artistic side, he did all that. 1000 copies were made.

++ You named your label Two Zeros Above. I was curious about the name, what does it mean?

Again Keith and Sheila (the guitarist).

++ Were the songs on the 7″ your first proper recordings? Or had you had any experience in recording studios prior to them?

No, they weren’t.  I recorded with Polygram before.  I also recorded in Pathway Studios, with ‘The Ya Yas’ and some of the members of ‘Madness’.

++ The songs on the 7″ were recorded at Elephant Studios with John Hurst and Nick Robbins. How was that experience? Any anecdotes that you remember?

Jon Hurst…  I remember that I didn’t have a lot of money during that period; I had 2 kids by that time and no spare money to buy new strings so I had to record using old strings.  It was also during the time of the printers strike so every time we finished recording we had to battle through the protests of the Wapping printer’s strike.

++ On the back of the sleeve there are photos of all of you and I was wondering where were they taken? And also why does your name appear as Jerry instead of Gerry?

They were all taken in Keith and Sheila’s back-garden.  My name was spelt with a J and not a G because in those days I just thought it was cooler with a J!

++  Why weren’t more releases by the band? Was there any interest by labels to release you? Maybe big labels?

We did record a second single, ‘Family’ in 1986 at London Bridge Studios and it was produced by Mark Dearnley.  Who went on to produce an Album by ‘ACDC’. Some labels were interested but nobody seemed to know what to do with us unfortunately.

++ Are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased songs?

Yes as above and lots of demos.  Again ask Keith.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Elizabeth”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Keith wrote the song so you’ll have to ask him.

++ If you were to choose your favorite The Beautiful Strangers song, which one would that be and why?

‘Heavens’, which is the B side of ‘Elizabeth’.  Because it was a complex bass line and when we played it live, it sounded as good as the recorded version.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We played loads, all around London and Brighton.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

We played at the Herne Hill Tavern, we supported a big band, it was either ‘The Bigger Splash’ or ‘The Mystery Girls’. I can’t remember.  What I remember was the entire place was rammed and the crowd adored us. It was a great gig.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Yes a couple, Camberwell, we had an audience of 2 people!

++ When and why did The Beautiful Strangers stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

We broke-up at the beginning of 1987, because we didn’t seem to be going anywhere.  Keith and Sheila went on to other bands, John disappeared. As for myself I have been involved in many since.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

For a few week ‘Elizabeth’ was played on Radio one.    We were on ‘Singled Out’ – hosted by Janice Long. The song was reviewed by Kirsty Maccoll and Peter Powell.   And Capital Radio played it too.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

We had good reviews about the single.

++ What about from fanzines?

Keith was a cartoonist and he created his own fanzine.  Keith had a database of followers and he used to create the fanzine is and send it on to people.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

It was the first time we heard ‘Elizabeth’ on the radio.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I have been involved in motor racing during my life.  I raced in a French championship on my 50th birthday. I worked a racing circuit for 11 years here in France.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I am still playing bass.  I am currently involved in 2 bands here in France.  A recording band called ‘Nephast’. You can find our album ‘You Have To Know’ on Deezer, Amazon and most of the download websites. Some of the local radio stations have played a few of our songs.

I am also involved in a band called Black Jack V.  We are a covers band, 60,70,80,90 pop-rock. We play most weekends in pubs and bars here in South West France.

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Listen
The Beautiful Strangers – Elizabeth

Not much news on my front. Just waiting for records to arrive. On the other hand, there are some very good finds on the web that I want to share with you all.

Pting: Elsie, Yura, Rhys and Ben are a pop band from Melbourne, Australia. We haven’t heard from them since last December when they put up “Beep Beep” on Bandcamp. It has been a while. Now they are back with a single song called “New House” that sounds really nice and poppy. Why are they not putting out more songs? I’d love to hear more by them, all the time.

No Vacation: another band that is back is the San Francisco five-piece with an  EP called “Phasing”. It will be available on October 18th on all sort of formats, from vinyl to CD. The record will have 5 songs and we can preview the opening track called “Estrangers” . It is terrific. So yes, we need to hear the rest as soon as possible.

Ducks Unlimited: now a Toronto band that are releasing a 7″ called “Get Bleak EP” on November 29. They say and seem to be influenced by the Flying Nun poppier bands and that makes me happy. The record will be out on the label Bobo Integral and will include four songs. You can preview the opening song “Get Bleak” now! Very very good. I am fan of this!

Dead Horse One: now a shoegaze French band who are also releasing an album which we can preview just one song. Is that becoming a norm now on Bandcamp? I wonder. Before you could check out all songs. I always wonder about these trends. In any case the song we can preview “Echo Street” is gorgeous. The album will be called “The West is the Best” and will be out on CD and vinyl LP on the Requiem Pour Un Twister label.

The Springfields: Slumberland surprised everyone a few days ago when they said they were releasing a compilation of Ric Menck and Paul Chastain’s legendary band called “Singles 1986-1991”. This is a must have for everyone of course.There will be 12 songs here, taken from singles on Sarah, Picture Book, Summershine and Seminal Twang, plus an extra song. This is one not to be missed!!

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In 1986 the label Cottage Industry Records released a 7″ by Scared of the Dark. I don’t know if it made much of a buzz, if it got reviewed by the NME or Melody Maker. I don’t know much really. As you know I use the blog as a vehicle to finding more about bands, songs, records, labels. I use it to document indiepop as most of the stories are still untold. I am hoping then, pardon the pun, to get them out of the dark.

“Give Me That Feeling”/”Summer Soul” (CIR 003) was released in 86. The year 0 for many when it comes to indiepop. Previously this label had released a 7″ by Paul Weton who I don’t really know. What was CIR 001? Was Scared of the Dark the last release by this label?

Two songs, each on a side. The sleeve printed in black and yellow. There is a girl in the cover but I can’t tell who she is. Maybe an actress? On the back there is a band photo. It looks like they were 6 people in the band! I see some credits for the sleeve, Dave Roberts on cover concept, Pete Reed for graphics and Flair Photographic for the band photo.

The band was formed by Kerry Rees on vocals, Ian Bailey on bass, Tim Hitchings on guitars, Beeke la Trek on saxophone, Mike Evans on drums and Chris Jones on keyboards. Their manager was Dave Roberts.

We also know that the A side was recorded at Loco Studio in Gwent! That is a county in Wales, right? The song was engineered by Nick Smith and produced by P.V.C. The song was written by Rees and Bailey.

“Summer Soul”, on the B side, was written by Rees and Hitchings and was recorded at 123 Studios in Cardiff and was engineered by Dafydd Pearce. I start to suspect that the band hailed from Wales.

No compilations are listed. No other bands are listed for the band members. Odd.

But I do find a video on Youtube, it is a small interview with the band talking about the release of their “Give Me That Feeling” 7″.

And that’s all really. I look for more information about the band members or the band. And looking for scared of the dark is not easy. I wonder what happened to them?

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Listen
Scared of the Dark – Give Me That Feeling

A short and sweet post today.

H-Sallows/Sputnik Sweetheart: the Blue-very label from Japan keeps surprising us with wonderful releases. This is a split tape by two Japanese bands. Each of them contribute 3 songs of pure pop joy. Something that caught my attention is that the wonderful Miki Hirose plays most of the instruments and sings on H-Shallows. Then Sputnik Sweetheart covers the Would-Be-Goods. It is quite a release!

The Late Innings: this is the solo project of Vincent Sinex from Fullerton, California. His latest song is called “Last Resort” and it is a fine slice of new-wave influenced pop, a bit like My Favorite. First time I am listening to him and there are more releases on his Bandcamp so I will keep myself busy.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: it never stops. All the time there are new songs by Glenn Donaldson jangly pop project. By now he should have released like three albums, or more! His latest are three songs, “The Biggest Fan”, “Last Summer in a Rented Room” and “Keep Your Secrets Close”. All very good!

Say Sue Me: the Busan band will be releasing a 7″ on October 4th with two songs, “Your Book” and “Good People”. So far we can only preview the first one and that’s fine as we know the band produces quality pop. And this song is not the exception. Looking forward to this one!

Jetstream Pony: lastly the Brighton band is back with a cover of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by the Blue Oyster Cult. But that’s not all, they also have a new demo song called “Mitte” that sounds superb. Is the band preparing a new release? I don’t know, but I hope so!

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Suntime Glorious is a band I would love to get in touch. The two songs I’ve heard by them, “I’m Too Good” and “Sexual Health” are, pardon the pun, glorious. The female vocals, the melodies, the lyrics, everything combines perfectly. It is so hard to grasp why they weren’t more popular in their day. But as I know very little about them, I’m hoping that with this post I’ll be able to learn more details about them.

I don’t own the record (yet) but Discogs has it listed which helps. It is not fun that the record didn’t have a sleeve. It seems it just came on simple white paper disco sleeve. That is not what they deserved. It came as a 12″ vinyl on Infidelity Records with the catalog INF 142. I do see other records listed on this label but they have other catalog format. It must be just a coincidence the label’s name? I wonder.

I am not very hopeful at this point of finding any leads. But one has to try.

The record had 4 songs, “I’m Too Good For You” and “Sexual Health” on the A side and “Never Belong” and “Night Or Day” on the B side. The songs are credited to R. Taylor and the band. There are no compilation appearances listed.

I don’t even know in what country this was released. Most probably the UK, but I can’t confirm it in any way. I see the band being mentioned on a few Japanese sites, but they have no information. I see also that their name is being used to describe some bands in eBay, but I don’t see how they compare. Suntime Glorious sound is quite different to the bands they are being compared.

I try to find too who R. Taylor might be. But my luck is nonexistent. I really hope I can find out who were behind the band and ask many many questions. Maybe some of you came across them back in the early nineties? Who remembers them?

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Listen
Suntime Glorious – I’m Too Good

Thanks so much to Jay Wiseman for the interview! I wrote about the San Diego band The Sleazy Beats many years ago after listening them on the “Pure Spun Sugar”. They had a great song on it and I was very curious! Luckily a few weeks ago Jay got in touch and was happy to answer all my questions! Here is what he told me:

++ Hi Jay! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?

Yes, very well, thanks for asking!

Yes, I am still making music. I play in a garage-punk-power-pop band called Thee Wylde Oscars based out of Melbourne, Australia since about 2009. My wife and I are also currently working on a project with her as the front.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

My first instrument was trumpet. I played in the early 70’s era; a grade-school area-wide orchestra, then eventually the concert and marching band of my Mar Vista Junior High School near Imperial Beach, CA. I took lessons.

I was pretty mediocre at the trumpet (I actually hated how I played the instrument and never practiced) and quit once I got to High School. Because I had the ability to play pieces on the piano by ear my parents got me a piano instructor. I played for about 5 years until my piano teacher had to quit because he was a drunk. My next teacher was too strict for my liking and so I stopped.

I then picked up the harmonica at 15, because it was cheap and I loved the blues and British R&B like the Yardbirds. I learned by listening to records, and playing along and working it out. I became good enough to join some friends as a harp player in my first real band, The Trebels.

At home my Dad listened to nothing but old school Country. He was originally from Oklahoma, and played the fiddle when he was a kid. Old-timey music, Bluegrass, Honky Tonk, etc. and gospel hymns. I hated the music but as I got older grew to appreciate and love the stuff.

++ Had you been in other bands before The Sleazy Beats? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

All of these bands were from San Diego. My bands were:

– The Trebels (1981-1990), we released a single. A mixture of 60’s Chicano Rock, early Rock and Roll and British Invasion influences.

– The Hoods (1990-1993) released a 12″ record, five 7″ singles, a 5 song EP and various compilations. American and British R&B influences.

– Evil Eyes (1993-1994) released one single. 60’s and 70’s punk influenced.

– Mach Five Overdrive (1994-1998) released two singles. 60’s and 70’s punk influenced.

XAVIER ANAYA was in all my bands except for Evil Eyes.

JOHN CHILSON was in all my bands except for Mach Five Overdrive. He had joined The Loons (1994 to present) at that time. They are primarily psychadelic rock.

HECTOR PENALOSA: The Zeros (1977-present), essential 70’s SF punk; albums and singles.

MIRELLA BELSITO: Diabolik, 1994-1996, 70’s style punk

RACHAEL GORDON:  First recording

SANDRA CASTILLO: First recording

++ Where were you from originally?

I am originally from Imperial Beach, CA, the most southwesterly city in the US, in San Diego County next to Tijuana, Mexico  – on the beach.

++ How was San Diego at the time of The Sleazy Beats? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

San Diego at the time had a vibrant Alt rock scene and a 70’s punk resurgence was happening. We dug that vibe and the ’77 punk era for the most part. The Zeros had just reformed and for the most part were our favourite local band.

There was always the Casbah for great live music and a venues opened up and closed fairly quickly. It really wasn’t a great place for and up and coming band to play with any regularity.  Most of us were part of the Mod, Garage Punk & Punk that came out of the area in the late 70’s – early 80’s  – that was OUR real scene.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

The whole thing started when Sandra Castillo asked me help her write a song for Phil Spector at a party at my house. She was pen pals with him and wanted to send him a birthday gift; a song. I thought it would be fun to write for somebody other than my band. Rachael, Mirella and Hector were also at the party and wanted in as well.

It was really meant to be throw-away pop, a one-off.

She put together some lyrics in a couple of weeks and came over and I did the music to fit it. It all really took a few hours. I always had bits of musical ideas I didn’t know what to do with and I used some of those.

We got some old and current band mates to fill in the rest of the lineup.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

There were essentially two bands: The recording band and the live act that came out of the recording.

The recording band I mentioned earlier.

The live band was: Mirella, Rachael, Candy Johnson, Anders Stone, Joel Kmak and Gordo.

Rachael really wanted to be a part of a band. Mirella had been in a band called Diabolik that had just broken up and wanted to do something else. Mirella had a friend, Candy Johnson, that like the idea of a 3-front girl group thing as did Anders (jingle writer and ex-Diabolik guitarist, Joel (ex-Hit Makers, Penetrators and current Beat Farmers drummer) and Gordo (who was playing in a few 77-style punk rock groups such as the Spent Idols, in the area) as bassist.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

I tend to carry around with a hand-held memo recorder to catch stuff that I like coming out of my head (some going back years). If I don’t do this, the songs tend to bounce around my head like a unwanted guest. I’ll listen back from time to time. Sometimes I stumble onto something that is interesting. This was one of those instances. The ascending-descending chorus came out of those memo recordings.

Practice was usually held at my garage with liberal amounts of alcohol, pot and speed.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

We were all fans of the Easybeats and thought it was a stupid funny pun.

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

Definitely girl groups for the vocals, like the Shangri-las and even Bananarama. The music of the recording came from a love of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” era. It’s a combination of Brill Building, The Beach Boys, Spaghetti Western and John Barry (especially with the solo guitar tweedle-thing).

The live act was more of a punk Shangri-las.

++ I know you through a compilation called “Pure Spun Sugar” that was co-released in 1998 by American Pop Project and Candy Floss. I was wondering how did you end up contributing a song to it? And who picked which song to include?

That was all Gary Strickland. Mirella and I were at a show at Spirit Club in San Diego and we saw Gary (who we knew from the Loons and around town) and thought he would get a kick out of this thing we had just recorded. I played him the cassette and gave him a copy. He immediately said it would be something a friend would be interested in. He told us he played it over the phone to the guy from Candy Floss and he wanted it his comp. That’s it. We received some CDs of the comp in the mail and that’s the last we heard.

++ As far as I know this was the only time a song of yours got properly released, am I right? Or are there any other releases by the band?

This was the only proper release I knew of. I’ve heard there was another release from a San Diego label, but it was a surprise to me.

++ What about other recordings? Were there perhaps demo tapes?

Maybe. Anders had a recording studio at his house (for the jingle writing) and Mirella and I seem to remember him doing some recording of the band. He’s kind of hard to get ahold of these days.

++ Was there interest by labels to put your stuff out?

Interest was zero.

++ I really like the song on the comp, “Phil Spector’s Birthday Song”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Inspired by all things Phil Spector, Brill Building Pop, the Beach Boys and John Barry.

++ If you were to choose your favorite The Sleazy Beats song, which one would that be and why?

The Birthday Song is the one I remember the most, so that. Another song that I brought forward, was rejected. I ended up recording that about 5 years later with Mirella and my band, The Devil Dolls, called “Still Life (Slow Down)” on an EP.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

I never played live with the band. The band carried on without me for about another year and a half. They ended up playing about 7 gigs until their demise.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Oh dear. They played the Garage in Los Angeles. LA is pretty jaded, and at this time a girl group was contrary everything that existed at the time. An audience member shouted to the three girls in front, “Can’t you play any instruments?”. Rachael gave the girl the finger and with a glare told the woman to, “shut up, you ugly cow!”.

++ And were there any bad ones?

The worst was the show that never happened. Somehow Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ in LA heard the song and wanted to band to headline a show of up-and-coming bands he dug. A date was set and on the very day of the show, the bassist Gordo decided he would rather do another gig with another band he was in. A call was made to Rodney and he yelled, “This is the last time I’ll ever have you!” Gordo was kicked out and Rachael’s then husband joined as a bass player. It could have been the start of something, but in the end, it was for naught.

++ When and why did The Sleazy Beats stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

After many false start and the Bingeheimer fiasco, the band broke apart and went other ways.

Not long after Mirella and I moved to Melbourne; Stoney and Candy moved to Sweden; and the band members did their own thing.

Mirella and I started the Devil Dolls in Melbourne, and I was involved in other projects including my current band, Thee Wylde Oscars.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Rachael started her solo career, did a record and toured and ended up being married to Ace Frehely of KISS. She just is about to release another album; Stoney and Candy started a band Sin Sin 77 eventually moved to Sweden, where he is now a well-respected fine artist. They don’t seem to be playing music lately.

Hector is currently playing in several original bands in San Diego, including the Baja Buggs, a Beatles cover band. He’s always got something going.

Xavier is in a couple of bands in San Diego; The Phantoms and as a guitarist in Andy Rassmussen’s (another SD local, ex-Bomboras bassist) solo project.

John Chilson moved to Portland and plays drums from time-to-time.

Joel Kmak currently plays in San Diego with The Beat Farmers, or their alter ego, The Farmers SD.

Gordo is MIA. I really don’t even know his last name LOL.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

None whatsoever.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

None whatsoever.

++ What about from fanzines?

None whatsoever.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

My highlight was writing the song and recording it. It was fun to do…and actually have someone notice it after all these years.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Physics, model rocketry, Vespa motor scooters.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m glad someone took pleasure in something I had a hand in. That’s the reason I still do it. I think for most of the members, Rock and Roll was always more of a religion than a business. It’s was about getting the word out. Thanks for the interest once again!

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Listen
The Sleazy Beats – Phil Spector’s Birthday Song

This week has been a  bit harder to find new indiepop on the web. Hopefully these are good enough for your demanding taste!

Herlights: this Russian band have been featured on the blog in the past. Last year. Indeed, it has been about a year since they had released new songs. Their latest is a 4-song EP titled “Sometimes” that brings back their trademark post-punk jangly sound!

Olivia’s World: so happy to hear that Lica from Go Violets and Tempura Nights keeps making top popsongs. Now it is a cassette EP called “Olivia’s World EP” on the fine Lost Sound Tapes from Seattle. The EP comes with four songs, two of them (“Blotter” and “Cereal Boxes”) we can preview on Bandcamp. And yes, we can play them again and again.

Bathe: there is just one song on this Bandcamp set up by Atlanta multi-instrumentalist Baily Crone. It is called “The Silence” and it is really pretty. It is a lush song, dreamy. This song will be released next year on the debut album “Last Looks”. So for now we wait.

The Claim: the mighty classic band is back too with a new EP called “Just Too Far”. This is a short EP, 3 songs. Included are the title song, “Hercules (Bleak Industrialists c. 1987 remix)” and “Mrs Jones (Ono dub)”. I must say that I love the opening track, but not very sure with the remixes. But it is ok, “Just Too Far” is just too good to care if the other songs are not too good?

Typsy Panthre: from Mnneapolis comes this new project by Allison LaBonne and John Crozier. If you know who I am talking about, well, Allison was in the lovely The Owls and John in the legendary The Hang Ups. So there’s quality here. The band is releasing an album called “Hell” on November 11 on CD. The album will include 11 tracks, two of them available to preview now, “The Strange Thing” and “Summers End”. Very very recommendable.

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Maybe not exactly indiepop, but as I have them on a list of bands that were intended to be part of The Leamington Spa series, I thought why not check them out. I know very little and the song, even though it is sort of a jazzy twee thing it is very enjoyable.

The song I’m talking about is the one I’ve been able to listen so far. It is the A side of the sole 7″ they put out in 1981. The song is called “Let the Girl Dance”. The B side is “Arrested”.

The 7″ was originally released in 1981, on Silhouette Records (KUS 100). Discogs has this label based in Cleveland, Ohio. But that’s wrong. It must a label with the same name. Something that caught my attention was the KUS in the catalog number, just like our Augsburg friends, Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten. The record also seems to have been released with no sleeve. That is a shame. We do see though some information on the label. We see that “Let the Girl Dance” was written by R. Helman and K. Yallop. That the engineer was L. Burrage and both Helman and Yallop produced thet rack. The executive producer was Douglas Kean.

The 7″ was re-released the year after on Red Bus Records (RBUS 71). I wonder why. The songs are the same on this version of the 7″.

No other releases by the band though they did appear with the song “Let the Girl Dance” on a 12″ compilation “Heart & Stars” that was released in Portugal by the label Red Bus Records (RBLP 1011). Was Red Bus Records based in Portugal? Or was this a release they did exclusively for this Iberian country? Other bands on this comp are Private Line, English Boys or Imagination… I don’t know them!

I do see that a blog called My Life’s a Jigsaw that covers mostly mod and powerpop dedicated a blog post to The Kustom back in 2012. The author is pretty sure the band hailed from London. To confirm this an anonymous person commented that he shared a house with Keith Yallop (the bassist) in South Ealing, London.

Thanks to this info I found a Soundcloud for a Keith Yallop, but I am not 100% sure that it is the same person. There is nothing in there to confirm it is.

Now what is the first name of R. Helman? Maybe I could have a chance to track them down that way. But I can’t seem to find any other information about The Kustom. Maybe someone remembers them? What happened to them after The Kustom split?!

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Listen
The Kustom – Let the Girl Dance

Here are some good finds from the past weekend. Hope you like some of them!

Pia Fraus: Here is a wonderful digital single for “Sweet Sunday Snow”. It comes with three remixes on Bandcamp, “Picnic Remix”, “Ligthships Remix” and “Astrobal Remix”. The Tallin, Estonia, band sounds gorgeous in this recording. Just makes me wish that I’ll see them live one day.

Blue Tomorrows: this Portland band has graced the blog in the past. Sarah Nienaber’s project sounds ace. And her latest is a 9 song album called “Without Color” that is available in limited quantities on tape. Definitely check the track “Crescent Moon Blues” which is great.

Special Friend: Hidden Bay Records has been releasing good music since they started. The latest is this French-American duo formed by Guillaume Siracusa on guitar and Erica Ashleson on drums. The release is a self-titled EP of 5 songs that will be available on vinyl on September 27.

Alice Hubble: I have known Alice for many years now, and I was a big fan of her older band Arthur & Martha and also of the wonderful Seven Inches from Leeds. Nowadays she’s gone solo and will be releasing the album “Polarlichter” sometime this month (some issues with the pressing plant). It will be available on 12″ vinyl as well as on CD. So that’s good news. Terrific synth-pop.

The Leaf Library: the London ensemble is releasing their new album “The World is a Bell” on October 25th! At the moment we can only preview one out of 10 tracks that will be on the record, “Hissing Waves”, and it leaves me wishing to listen to the rest of songs! The record will be out on vinyl and CD.

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Here is yet another record I am looking to find a copy for my collection. Maybe there will be luck in the next weeks, months, or years. It has happened to me that I’ve been lucky tracking some of these records I want after writing about them. Maybe it will happen again!

Kicking the Image is an obscure band of course. There is very little I know about them. I don’t think there are any blog posts about them on the web. This may be the first one. I will try to find any other mentions or any valuable information. I cross my fingers.

Big Bus Records released their record in 7″ and 12″ formats in 1990. The 12″ had a cool sleeve whereas the 7″ didn’t come with one. Both have the catalog number IMAGE 002. I don’t know what was IMAGE 001. Discogs doesn’t list any other records for this label. May as well have been a one off, a sole release by the label? Perhaps it was even the band’s own label?

The 7″ had two songs, “When the Loving Comes” on the A side and “The Truth” on the B side. The 12″ added another song to the A side, “So Long”.  “When the Loving Comes” and “The Truth” were recorded at Coach House Recording Studios in Bristol, England. They were engineered by Allan Keen. “So Long” on the other hand was recorded at Chariot 16 Track Studios in Cardiff, Wales. This song was engineered by Alex Silva. All songs were produced by Danny Chang.

We also know that additional vocals are credited to Samantha Howard and the band thanks Cranes Musical Instruments for loaning them the equipment for the recording. The photo of the sleeve was taken by Andrew ‘Syb’ Newman.

Most importantly we know the band members:
Steve Williams – vocals/guitar
Mike Thomas – bass/vocals
Dan Jones – guitar/vocals
Linus – drums/percussion

I also notice an address on the sleeve…. Penarth, in Glamorgan. So the band was Welsh? Or the label?

I notice that Steve Williams still performs. He does mostly covers it seems. Something interesting I find out is that Kicking the Image played the West Wales Blues festival, closing the festival in front of 9000 people. Then I find out that he was originally from Cardiff. Safe to assume now that Kicking the Image hailed from Wales’ most important city?

I can’t seem to find any other information about the rest of the band members. But at least I feel I’ve gone further than I expected. I am sure there are people reading me that know even more details. Why not share them with everyone on the comment section?

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Listen
Kicking the Image – When the Loving Comes

Friday again! So that’s exciting!

Dear Boy: this Los Angeles band sounds really good! My introduction to the band is their latest digital single, “Heaven Moves”, which sounds gorgeous, very much influenced by classic British guitar pop. What’s even cooler is that they are touring (sadly no New York), but my Mexican friends can catch them on November 16th in Mexico City. How cool is that!

A Certain Smile: the Portland, Oregon, band is back with a new EP called “Bae”. It will include 3 songs, “Cherry Bomb”, “Honey Do” and “Original Replacement” and it is going to be released on the fine Jigsaw Records. Very exciting indeed! And it will be on 7″ vinyl to boot! You can preview the opening track, “Cherry Bomb” on Bandcamp now.

Champion of Youth: another superb release on Jigsaw Records is the self-titled mini-album by this Manchester band! Champion of Youth is actually  a band formed by ex-members of the formidable Amida, so you can expect jangly and ramshackle guitars which is something I love!

New Wave of Hype: this the name of the latest compilation released by the great Jakarta label Dismantled Records! It includes 5 songs, all of them covers of songs by The Wake! So we find Turks & Caicos playing “Provincial Disco”, Ultraviolence plays “Solo Project”, Les Mains Immaculees “Carbrain” and Sharesprings “Talk About the Past”.

Puzzles y Dragones/Alborotador Gomasio: the two Madrid bands, two of my favourite Madrid bands, are releasing a split 7″ on Discos Garibaldi! Each one of them contribute one song, Puzzles y Dragones has “Formas de Mirar” while Alborotador has “Los Bosques”. This is a great sort of reunion, as members of each of the bands were once part of the Aplasta tus Gafas de Pasta DIY collective!

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Kelvin Davis on lead vocals and guitar, Tony Vessey on bass guitar and backing vocals, Steve Bessemer on drums and percussion and Doug McNair on keyboards and backing vocals were the mid-80s mod band The B-Team. They were to release just the one single, but what a great single that is!

The wonderful “All I Ever Wanted” on the A side, penned by Kelvin Davis, is a burst of joy. And then on the B side, a joint effort by all 4 members, we find “Bad Day”, another fine track! The songs were recorded at Empire Studio’s in Manor Park, in London. If you want to hear both of them, they are available on Soundcloud. This account is by Jon Vessey, maybe a brother of Tony?

The record was released in 1985 by Diamond Record Corporation (DIA 008), a small UK label that was active in the mid 80s. The art for the sleeve is credited to Artschool while the photography of the band to Deborah Laight and Jo Baker. There is a credit to Brenden Wilson for processing. Not sure what it means though. It also seems that the letter B is printed on both labels, as if there was no A side. The thing is that the matrices do show which one was the A side.

Many years later, in 1996, the band would see their two songs included in a 22-track compilation called “This is Mod Volume 3 – A Diamond Collection”. On this one they appear alongside many bands that were on their old label Diamond Record Corporation like The Moment or The Scene. This comp was released by Anagram Records (CDMGRAM 106).

Then in 2018 the Japanese label DDA Confidential would release “Ita Cemetry Gates Volume 3” (DDAMDC 016) and would include “All I Ever Wanted” on it. This is an interesting compilation as it includes bands like Dolly Mixture and then you see Big Star or Elvis Costello.

I check on Discogs if any of the members were involved in any other bands but it doesn’t look like it.

On a forum I see a mention of a live tape, probably from a gig at the Wood Green in London 1986. This same forum mentions that Tony Vessey left the band in the early days of 1986 to start his own band Amo Amas and was replaced by Paul Rosendale. It also mentions a second single with the song “And All Because” on ASM Records. Never heard about this! Then that they split up in 1987. At the time of the forum post, 2007, it says that Kelvin was playing in a band called Blow Up, Steve was playing in a Jam tribute band while Paul Rosendale was living in Spain and he did a solo rock n’ roll/mod/new wave show there.

I would really like to find out more about this 2nd record!

So at the end of my little research I am left with more doubts and questions than I had at the beginning. I hope someone can fill in the blanks, paint me a better picture of this superb mod-revival band and about that second single!

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Listen
The B-Team – All I Ever Wanted

More pop today!

Bland: this Sydney four-piece doesn’t seem to be bland, their latest track “The Common Ground” is a very fine jangly track. This song will be included in their upcoming EP titled “Life After Love”.

Midnight Clay: Indonesia keeps providing us with top quality indiepop. This new band from Bandung is no exception. They are planning to put out a 6-song mini-album on October 6th called “Shall We Dance or Lean to Each Other?” and we can preview one of the tracks to be included, the superb “Rising Tide”. Can’t wait to hear the rest of tracks!

Cotton Range: Sango Records from Wuhan, China, is releasing a very fine band from South China called Cotton Range and I am very excited. I just wish there was a physical version for this mini-album titled “Galaxie Bus”. There doesn’t seem to be one, just digital. But maybe someone will pick it up? I hope so, the 7 tracks included here are very sweet.

Spunsugar: a shoegaze band from Malmö that sounds terrific. Nothing new there I guess. I just discovered Spunsugar through their latest track, “Native Tongue”, and I am hooked. The song is a digital single for now, and on Bandcamp the lyrics are available just in case you want to sing along.

David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights: the legendary ex-The Clean member is back with a new album called “Bobbie’s a Girl” on September 20th. The album will be available on CD and LP and will include 10 brand new songs which is very exciting news for any fans of the Dunedin-sound and Flying Nun Records! At the moment three songs are available to preview, “Smoke You Right Out of Here”, “Coming From Nowhere Now” and “Looks Like I’m Running Out”.

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I am on a Japanese indiepop journey, discovering lots of great music from the early 90s that has been unknown to me. I am so very happy to find out about these sounds now, and I feel there’s even lots more waiting for me!

Today I found this sweet sounding band called The Spotnick Candy. I am curious about their name first of all. Is it a play on words of Sputnik? Or what? Or maybe it was a real candy in Japan? Who knows. The thing is that the band would only release a 7″ and two compilation appearances between 1992 and 1993. Later on the band members would rename their band to Snapshot, and under that name the band would put out many releases on Escalator Records.

The Spotnick Candy was formed by Yugo Katayama and Yukari Takasaki. As I mentioned earlier they released an EP, the 1992 “Love! Love! Courtney Love!” 7″ (BOMB-08). It came out on Time Bomb Records, which was a label that mainly released bands from the Kansai underground, operating from a record shop in downtown Osaka. I suppose the band hailed from that area then?

The A side had three songs, “Love! Love! Courtney Love!”, “Actizol Gumball 3” and “Count the Numbers”. The B side just two, “Yeah!” and “Hosedog 11 (is a Football Club)”. Yukari Takasaki wrote the A2, A3 and B2. Yugo Katayama wrote the other two. It is also interesting to mention that they both switched instruments all the time. I see Yukari and Yugo playing guitar and drums on different songs.

The band appeared on the 1992 compilation “Television Personalities From Japan, Too” (TT006) that was released by the very fine A Trumpet Trumpet Records on CD. At first I thought it was a EP of cover versions of the TVPs but it seems the 4 songs, by 4 different bands, that appear on the comp are original tracks. The Spotnick Candy opens the CD with the track “Seurat 1859-1891)”. The other bands on it are Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her, Candy Eyes and Sweet Petticoat. I suppose the band were big fans of the great Georges Seurat. They even had his birth year and the year he died at 31 on the song title.

Georges-Pierre Seurat (French: 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He is best known for devising the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism. While less famous than his paintings, his conté crayon drawings have also garnered a great deal of critical appreciation. Seurat’s artistic personality was compounded of qualities which are usually supposed to be opposed and incompatible: on the one hand, his extreme and delicate sensibility; on the other, a passion for logical abstraction and an almost mathematical precision of mind. His large-scale work, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886), altered the direction of modern art by initiating Neo-impressionism, and is one of the icons of late 19th-century painting.

The other band’s appearance was in 1993, on a Japanese cassette called “Let’s Muc Out On Sound” that was released by Loose Sound (LSCT-001). I believe this tape was only limited to 100 copies. On this cassette the band appears twice. On the third track of the A side with the song “Cast a Shadow” while on the second track of the B side they have “AM7/8M7”. On this tape the band Tricycle Popstar also appears, a band that I’ve been lucky to have interviewed in the past.

As I mentioned the members went to become Snapshot afterwards. Yukari Katayama would gain success later on as Yukari Fresh. He was also involved in another project called Yukari Rotten while Yugo Katayama released records under the name Miniflex and was the producer of Yukari Fresh. So they kept working together.

It is really cool how they evolved and became successful musicians. But I am curious about this early period of theirs. I love the freshness of The Spotnick Candy and I definitely want to know more about them. Did they have more songs? Did they play live a lot? Were they from Osaka? Who remembers them?

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Listen
The Spotnick Candy – Seurat 1859-1891

A quiet weekend, but this week I should be seeing the Swedish band Hater here in NYC, so that’s pretty cool. Are there any shows you are excited about? I don’t get to go to many indiepop shows here, so you are welcome to make me jealous!

New indiepop finds this weekend? Sure thing.

Lost Ships: the amazing band from Portsmouth, who once was known as The Kites, returns with a 4 track digipak CDR on the fine Subjangle Records. This new EP is titled “All of the Pieces” and is a true gem of superb jangle pop! Pop brilliance indeed through the title song “All of the Pieces” as well as in the rest of songs “Drug Store”, “How Can I Face the World” and “Sheila Believe Me”.

Die Katapult: Ian Catt has produced this fine digital single by the Spanish-Swedish duo who are signed to Elefant Records. Elena Comas and Anna Fredriksson has released “Bäckerei Digital” and they have made Japanese and Italian versions of this catchy synth pop song. Nice!

Liam the Younger: I am not familiar with Liam Betson’s music. I just stumbled upon a video for his track Charcoal Gray and thought it was a good and very catchy pop song. This track will be also part of a cassette album called “Up to Something” which should be released on October 18th.

Sugar World: from San Diego, California. They have just one song, “Sad in Heaven”, which sounds gorgeous! Proper indiepop in my book. There is no information about them. So I can’t tell you much about them aside from do listen to this song!

Slowcoaching: this one comes from Melbourne, Australia. It is the solo project of Dean Valentino and he has already a few releases, the first one from 2015. The latest one though is a very fine song called “Between the Walls” that was released back in July. It seems that it is just a digital single, but hopefully it will be released later on in an EP or an album!

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“Stopping to Speak” on the A side and “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” on the B side, was a 7″ release by Kick Reaction in 1986. This 7″ wasn’t properly released. There were promo copies and also DJ copies. I wonder why. It had no sleeve. Maybe they were just trying to make themselves a name at that point?

The Precious Organisation released this 7″ (Jewel 1). But this 7″ did have a proper release in the way of a 12″ EP with a different running order. The B side was now the A side and vice versa. Meaning, the A side had “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” and “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Dance Stance)” and the B side had “Stopping to Speak” and “Friday Away from High Street”. Something curious too is that both sides are actually labeled as A sides. The first side being the “Club Side” while the ‘second A side’ being “Radio Side”.

All songs are credited to P. Lyon. That is Peter Lyon, guitarist and vocalist of the band. The other members were Stuart Thorn on bass and Steven Barker on drums. All songs were produced by the band and were engineered by Wilf Smarties.

Other interesting detail from the back of the sleeve is that the songs were recorded in Scotland on November 1985.

The only other song the band released was called “Your Favourite Song” which was penned by Peter and Stuart. This song appeared on a cassette compilation called “Honey at the Core” (Honey 1). There are a few interesting bands in there like The Bluebells, The Big Dish or The Painted Word. This tape came out in 1985. It is said that came with a 32 page booklet, I wonder if in there there was a bio of the band. That could be helpful. Funny thing, this compilation has a Wikipedia page. On it I learn that all bands featured were Scottish, so this confirms my suspicion about the origin of Kick Reaction. The person who compiled the tape was John Williamson who would later be well known as a Glasgow Herald journalist.

I do find something cool on Youtube. I find live footage of the band playing “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow“. The sound is quite terrible. It is a shame. But it is something even though it is very short. A comment there makes it even more interesting this investigation. It says that before this band was called Kick Reaction they were called Moroccan Coco. Wow. I’ve actually been trying to find more information about Moroccan Coco but always ending up with nothing. Someone says that Peter Lyon became a postman afterwards in the city of Hamilton.

Then I go deep into the forum Hidden Glasgow. There I find that the band played on November 30th of 1985 alongside The Robert Cray Band. Then something curious, that many bands used to record demos in the front room of the flat The Precious Organisation label had. Among them Kick Reaction of course but also Primal Scream!

Another person in the forum mentions another song by the band called “Spraypainters in Australia”. He says he sang as a backing singer on it. I dont think this song was released, was it? It seems it was recorded in a studio in Motherwell that was also used as rehearsal space by the likes of BMX Bandits or Teenage Fanclub.

Lastly another user says that he played with Stuart Macarthur before Peter Lyon joined. I am guessing he means Stuart Thorn? Them two tried to get Peter Lyons to sing in their band but it seems he refused as he was trying to get his band called The Usherettes off the ground. Then nothing happened for a while until this guy left to study in Motherwell and Peter and Stuart joined forces forming Moroccan Coco with Jim Mitchell as their manager. Moroccan Coco would only release the one single, “One Day/Steam Radio”. Then they changed names to Kick Reaction.

Aside from a mention on a 1986 SPIN magazine issue about up and coming Scottish bands, and a quote of Stuart Thorn celebrating Postcard Records, not much more I can find online about Kick Reaction. I suppose it hasnt been that bad. Ive found quite a lot of interesting facts. Now, I would love to hear all the demos they are said to have recorded. Maybe someone can help me with that?

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Listen
Kick Reaction – Stopping to Speak

As I mentioned last Wednesday, Baby Lemonade retrospective is at the pressing plant. That’s the big news for me! I can’t wait for it to arrive at home. I hope you all love it and pre-order it :p

Here are some great tunes for the weekend!

Able: my friends from Uppsala have a new single out! This is the second one from their upcoming album “Holding On/Letting Go” to be released in the near future. This new digital single has two tracks, “We’ll Figure Out” and “Screaming Heart” and as usual is pure class. Quite impressive to see a band going this strong for decades now!

Night Flowers: the London band will be releasing a new album soon, so to promote it they have come up with a cool idea, a 360 degrees interactive video for their song “Fortune Teller”. Might this be the first indiepop video made this way? I would say yes, but anyone could tell me if there is another like this? In any case, it is not a gimmick, the song is really good!

The Plastic Shoelaces: they say their music is “jankle pop”, what does that mean?! I could make a guess, it is fun, upbeat, ramshackling pop? Their latest is a digital single with two songs, “Hip Happiness” and “Bigger Heads”. On Bandcamp there’s a photo that looks as if there was a physical release, but it doesn’t seem there’s a way to buy it. Anyways, do check this Sacramento band!

They Go Boom!: a true favourite band of mine. They are getting their album “Atlantic” reissued by Sunday Records on CD with a bonus disc, one that includes many favourite TGB! tracks, hand picked by Albert from Sunday Records. Do help me and tell me if any of the songs on the extra CD are unreleased ones or are all previously released?

Say Sue Me: the Busan, SK, band is back with a new 7″ with two tracks, “George & Janice” and “Don’t Follow Our Van”. I am pretty sure you know them already, how they sound, how they play live and all. They have made such an important splash around the world though I still haven’t seen them around in New York! Anyhow, do get this record!

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The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the early 20th century that is best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city’s poorer neighborhoods.
The best known artists working in this style included Robert Henri (1865–1929), George Luks (1867–1933), William Glackens (1870–1938), John Sloan (1871–1951), and Everett Shinn (1876–1953). Some of them met studying together under the renowned realist Thomas Anshutz at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, others met in the newspaper offices of Philadelphia where they worked as illustrators. Theresa Bernstein, who studied at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, was also a part of the Ash Can School. She was friends with many of its better-known members, including Sloan with whom she co-founded the Society of Independent Artists.
The movement, which took some inspiration from Walt Whitman’s epic poem Leaves of Grass, has been seen as emblematic of the spirit of political rebellion of the period.

The wonderful Ash Can School. Years have gone by since I first heard them and I am still not able to have a copy of their one and only record in my collection. Maybe one day!

I know very little about them. I heard the B side of their 7″, “A Day out of Paris” and I thought it was superb. The A side, I still haven’t heard, it is called “She’s Only Sleeping”. Maybe someone can help me with that?

This 7″ was released in 1986, year 0 when it comes to indiepop for many. It was released by Unit Two Records (TWO 001). Who were behind this label?

Happily the band left some information on the back of the sleeve. That helps. Usually bands this obscure have sleeves with barely any information. For example we get to know that the band was actually a duo formed by Steven Wallace and Keith Unwin, That they played and programmed all instruments. The songs were recorded in Manchester, England. Does this main they hailed from that city?

Funny credits appear too. For example Peter Hayes is credited for hair and makeup. I suppose for the photos on the sleeve. The design and photography is credited to Chris Doyle.

This was the only release that I know. There are not even compilation appearances. But I am pretty sure that there must be more recordings. Can’t just be two songs. There has to be more!

I was going to stumble upon a website for Steve Fairclough. From what I understand Steven Wallace is Steve Fairclough. And here he tells a bit of the story of the band! What a find indeed!

The band started when he was around 19/20. It was a three-piece then, himself, Keith Unwin and Mark Burke. At some point Mark Burke left the band to study classical guitar at the Royal College in London. When that happened Steven’s brother, Neil, joined on bass and Andy Woods joined on keyboards.

Then no more info. But he does share a Bandcamp with his current recordings. It sounds pretty good! I should get in touch! There are some pics though from the time as well as some flyers. Thanks to them I know the band played alongside All Fall Down and Turn To Flowers at the Carlton Club in Salford with Steve Coogan as compere. Another gig they played was at The Boardwalk alongside Mirrors of Kiev and The Mock Turtles. Cool!

Aside from Ash Can School Steve became a demonstrator for Takamine and Parker Guitars in Europe and the US as well as European Ambassador for Fishman who he has with his own range of Fairclough guitars. That’s pretty cool too!

So, my questions are still there. I want to know why only one record? Why only two songs released? What happened with Keith Unwin? Were any of them in any other bands? Who remembers the Ash Can School?!

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Listen
Ash Can School – A Day Out of Paris