Happy New Year! Happy 2019! I’m hoping this will be a better year for everyone and for indiepop too of course! Shipping prices are what hurts us the most these days. I dream of them being lowered in the future but I feel that might be just wishful thinking. They may just go up again and again. But that’s what I hope for. I think that would all of us involved in releasing, listening and collecting beautiful records.

As I mentioned in my previous post I was away on holidays. It was nice to disconnect for a while of course. There was no indiepop involved at all in this trip, it was just mostly relaxing in the Mexican Caribbean and visiting a couple of Mayan ruins.

Now I’m back since very early today and I haven’t had time to investigate and find new music on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Youtube, etc. But for Friday I promise you that. For tomorrow I have an interview to post too, so it will be a 3-post week, not bad to start this year.

Also keep an eye on the blog and the label Facebook because we have a few releases in the pipeline set to be released in 2019! It is going to be great!

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Nick Garrard, an English writer, designer, band manager, etc, started Upright Records in the mid-80s. Among the bands he released there are a few that interest me: The Doctor’s Children, Yeah Jazz and the Weeping Messerchmitts among others. I surely should feature them three at some point on the blog. But I’ll start with the Weeping Messerchmitts today!

They only released one record mind you. A 12″ maxi single with three songs, “Nothing Yet” on the A side” and “Say Goodbye” and “Panthera Parvos” on the B side. It was on Uptight Records of course (UPT 17) and came out in the year we all like, 1986.

All songs are credited to Alexander, Jeavons, Oliver and Webb on the labels. Aside from that there is really not any other worthy piece of information on the record. True, I don’t own it yet, I should try to track a nice copy for myself in the next couple of weeks. But little by little my friends, step by step.

There is something strange about this release. You know, in 1994 it was reissued. But not in the UK but in Spain by the label Old Gold (OLD GOLD-015-MX). I wonder how much interest there was on this band in Spain at the time. What I do know is that this label used to reissue cool records by bands like The Mighty Lemon Drops or The Raw Herbs.

Now, this Spanish label was a sublabel of a bigger one called Contraseña Records. This bigger label had, in 1997, included “Nothing Yet” by the Weeping Messerchmitts in a CD compilation called “Lo Mejor de los Ochenta” (CON 101 CD). The best of the 80s. Not sure if it was really the best of the 80s what was included in here, but I definitely like this song.

So, what was a Messerchmitt? It looks like it was a German aircraft manufacturing company, thus a messerchmitt was an airplane and they did come in various modles, BF 109, KR200, Me 262. etc.

Through Discogs I end up on Youtube. There is a promo video for “Panthera Parvos“. It was filmed by Martin Webb on location at the British Federal Tipton and JBs in Dudley. The song was written about Donald Neilson the notorious Black Panther who prowled the streets of Tipton and the Black Country during his infamous period striking fear into and terror into that community. Something odd though. The first screen of the video says The Railway Children “Panthera Parvos”. What?!

On Youtube I find another song, one not on the 12″. It is called “Will They Ever Believe Me“. Then another called “Just To Hold You“. And lastly one called “Fashionable Smile” that it is said to be the last written by the Alexander Jeavons and Oliver Webb partnership. I believe these songs were uploaded by David Webb, the vocalist of the band. Where does these songs come from? A demo? A live recording? There are few other live videos on this Youtube account. There’s one for “Your Heart” from their last gig at JB’s in Dudley in 1987. And then there’s “Say Goodbye” also live at JB’s, and probably from that same gig.

So yes, the band members full names. So we’ve mentioned that Dave Webb was the vocalist and guitarist. Then we know that Gary Oliver played guitar, Mark Alexander bass, Mark Jeavons guitar and Gary Odea played drums. Oh! And the band hailed from Wolverhampton!

A cool find, even though I’ve never been a fan of Terry Malts, is that they covered “Nothing Yet“. You can check their version on Soundcloud.

I try to look for the band members, what they are up to these days. There is a Mark Jeavons in the Midlands that works as a script writer. Could that be the same one? Then I find a Mark Alexander that is a writer and has a poet friend called Gary Oliver. It sounds like they might be the ones from the band, right? If that was the case, our Mark Alexander wrote a book called “Meandering & Muses” that was published last year, 2017.

Sadly there is not much more information about them, nor the band. No gigs listed. No other bands they might have been involved with. Why? Their 12″ sounds great, influenced by The Smiths and The Wild Swans. Why not more love to them? Anyone remember them?

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Listen
Weeping Messerschmitts – Nothing Yet

Last post of the year!! I’m going on holidays to Cozumel, Mexico. To the beach!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good 2018 and I’m hoping we all have an even better 2019! This year was good for Cloudberry! We released a few 7″ (Salt Lake Alley, Okama Flannel Boy and The BV’s) and one retrospective CD (The County Fathers). Not bad I think!

Next year there will be new 7″s and new retrospectives! I think by February we should be releasing a retrospective by a classic Scottish pop band from the 80s. After that we have another retrospective planned by a Portsmouth band. For 7″s I’m hoping to have a Spanish and French bands joining our series. And that won’t be all. There are more plans! Our Australian indiepop nuggets compilation is starting to take form and I should be announcing something early next year! I’m very excited!

With all of that news, do you really need me to go find music? I’ll skip this time. I want instead that you recommend me some, that you tell me what were your favourite releases this year? your favourite gigs? Please send recommendations my way!

A new blog post will be available on January 2nd! Until then my friends! Have a good one!

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A few weeks ago I got a very nice package from Jesper in Sweden, with recordings of his band My Favourite Martians and also a CDR of recordings by a band called Sallystream. He was telling me that he lost touch with them many years ago, in the 90s, but he loved the music and would love to know what happened to them. So I listened the 8 songs he had burned for me… and I loved them. So here I am writing about them on the blog with the hope of finding out what happened to them!

The band seems to have been based in Norrköping as they practiced at the same studio as My Favourite Martians. They didn’t get to release any records. They did though contribute 4 songs to 2 compilations. I think that could be a good start in solving this mystery.

There was a fine compilation released by Blind Dog (BDCD001) in Sweden called “Dogstew”. It came out in 1993 and included the likes of Cod Lovers or The Persuaders. Sallystream appears here with two songs, “Changing” and “Laura Knows”. These two songs were recorded at KM Studio in Norrköping. On the inner sleeve there are some credits for the songs. So “Changing” is credited to C. Sandell and H. Johansson while “Laura Knows” to H. Johanson and Sallystream. Hopefully these two last names prove to be handy…

Two years later, in 1995, they contributed the songs “The Sun” and “Perfect Match” to the H. Lime Records compilation “In the Limelight” (HLR 951-2). This is another fine comp with bands like aBle, Pineforest Crunch or The Leslies.

Those were the 4 songs that were released. Jesper shared 4 more with me. Sadly two of them, from their 1992 demo don’t seem to have a name. One does but I can’t figure out what’s the name, “Tickled Jon” perhaps? Then there was “Beautiful” from a 1993 demo. I feel there must have been more songs. These can’t just be it.

On the Blaskoteket website there is an article that appeared on Sound Affects #23 in 1994 about Sallystream. This might be helpful! First thing I find is the name of Anna Jonsson, I think she did backing vocals. Then the next name to pop up is Håkan Johanson, vocalist and guitarist (now I have the first name). He is a big fan of The Housemartins. Then the Sound Affects reporter is surprised by the drummer, Jesper Nyström, taste. His favourite bands are Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus. Then the guitar player name is Christian Sandell. I learn too that Jesper wasn’t the original drummer. The original drummer left to China. And then I complete the quintet, the bassist name is Magnus Eriksson. I have the complete band. All their names.

But then I find out that in the Harry Lime compilation the drummer was someone called Joakim Svensson. So there was another drummer change?

I look into what other bands have the members been involved. It seems Christian Sandell had been in Stan, InterRail, Burek V, Eve and the Last Waltz and Oh Lucky Star.

I think that’s quite a good investigation. I see other bands on Popfakta that Magnus could have been involved but they go back to the early 80s. It may be him or not. I can’t be sure. Then about Christian I find many hits with him playing other instruments on the web, even drums. Is it the same Christian? Maybe. I can’t be sure unless I get to chat with him. That would be nice. Find out more about them. Find out why they didn’t get to release a record for example? I wonder if my Norrköping readers remember them?

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Listen
Sallystream – Laura Knows

Last weekend for our Cloudberry 3CDs for the price of 2. Monday will be the last day I’ll be able to go to the post office as I will be away for a week. Any other orders placed between Christmas and New Years will be posted on January 3rd.

Beauty Parlour: I’m really loving the dreamy sounds of their “Fall in Love” EP. This Forth Worth, Texas, band’s first release on Bandcamp is a true gem. There is very little information about them, just the four songs, “Fall in Love”, “Chance on You”, “Mistrals” and “Jamais Vu”, that are great with superb boy/girl vocals!

VA – We Love You, Jerry: The Rosebuds from Sacramento have added this EP to their page. The band contributes the first song, “We Love You, Jerry”, but it is not all. There is a song by Dusty Miller, Bunny Nightlight, Sad Numbers, Soul Brother and Rocketship. Yes, very important. There is a song by the most amazing BUNNY NIGHTLIGHT!! “Song 3” it is called and it is brilliant!

Posh Lost: another digital EP. This time from this band that hails from Minneapolis. The EP is titled “Fortune” and comes with four songs, songs that are an interesting mix of post punk, dreampop and shoegaze. Worth checking out.

Tullycraft: some days ago they unveiled the song and video for “Passing Observations”. Now they have put it up on Bandcamp with a “B side” called “Stop Press Girl”. The cool (or not cool?) thing is that this song won’t be part of the album “The Railway Prince Hotel” so I guess we can only listen to it on repeat here!

Star Horse: one of my favourite Swedish bands is back with an album! At the moment you can only stream one of the songs, “Albatross”, that will be included in the “You Said Forever” LP that will be out on Startracks in February. There will be 9 songs in it, and I can’t wait to listen to the whole thing!

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Frank Pryce on vocals, Gerry Fahy on guitar, Brian Neavyn on bass and Pete Kinsella on drums were The Slowest Clock, a Dublin based band. I know very little about them as it is the common thread among all the bands I feature on the blog. So why don’t you join me into discovering their music and their story.

They started late in the 80s, releasing a 7″ in 1987 on the Comet Records label (COMET 004) that included “Clarke & Jones” on the A side and “Secret Flowers” on the B side. This is of course an important label as it released the classic Irish compilation “Comet EP One” that included Cypress, Mine!

The songs on this 7″ were recorded at Temple Studios in June 1987 and were produced by the band. Declan Morrell and Mark Power were the engineers and the mastering was done at S.T.S. Studios by Liz O’Toole. The art is credited to Dave, and the photograph on the front cover is a still of Truffaut’s “The Bride Wore Black”. There are no band members listed on the sleeve (I’m looking at the scans, I don’t own a copy, I wish I did!), but there are many thank yous and among them we see lots of important names like Guernica, Microdisney and more.

Their second release came out on Bewildered Records (BED 6001). It feels like this might be the band’s own label as the three releases listed on this label are all by The Slowest Clock. The first one was the “2-Car Garage” 12″ that included four songs, two on each side. The A side had “Carnival” and “Fear in Me” while the B side had “That Girl” and “Mothers of America”. On this record we find out who formed the band:
Brian Neavyn on bass
Dave Burke on drums
Gerry Fahy on guitar
Frank Pryce on vocals

That same year the band would put out another 12″, the “No Hand Signals EP”. It also came out on Bewildered Records (BED 6002) and again 4 songs were recorded for it. The A side had “Millenium Train” and “Where’s Andi” while the flipside had “You’re Wrong” and “Raindrop Hill”.

It would take the band a little over 5 years for another release. Their album “Life Still” came out in 1995 on Bewildered (BED 6003) with 12 songs: “Little Fishy”, “Wasted”, “Warhol”, “Say It”, “Le Bordel”, “In the Cinema”, “Cherie”, “Desert Mouth”, “Acid Lake”, “Say What’s On Your Mind”, “You Never See Me” and “Memories”. The songs were engineered by Albert Cowan and Joe Wearan and I believe were produced at Sonic Studios by David Wallis.

There is another release that I’m curious about. In 2014 the CD compilation “Smile Futurismo! All I Heard Was Purple” was released on Eye Unseen Records (DACA 7051). it was a 15 song compilation that were original studio recordings made in 1989 and 1990 that were intended for their debut album. Odd. So “Life Still” would have been their 2nd then? It is strange as many of these songs were in “Life Still”. It says that these earlier recordings were lost and only found a decade later. That the ones on “Life Still” were a totally different recording session and that the band run out of funds and interest and split prior to “Life Still”. The songs on this compilation were “Going Home”, “Warhola”, “You’re So Strange”, “Le Bordel Philosophique”, “Little Fishy”, “Cherie”, “Eastern Flowers’, “Acid Lake”, “Turning Green”, “Say What’s On Your Mind”, “Wasted”, “You Never See Me”, “Desert Mouth”, “Rejoice” and “In the Cinema”.

As I mentioned earlier, the band appeared on the “Comet EP One” compilation on Comet Records (COME1T) that was released in 1986. The band contributed the song “Little Boy Lost”.

I look at Irishrock.org, which is always a great place to find out about Irish bands. Here it mentions that the band performed the song “Clarke & Jones” at a TV show called “Visual Eyes”. I found the video on Youtube. Another interesting detail is that the band recorded several demo tapes and one of them, the 1986 3-song one, was produced by Ritchie Taylor and engineered by Paul Thomas.

According to this website Dave Burke who I listed as a band member wasn’t an original member.In 1987, tThe ex Cliff Edge Panic (fantastic band who I featured on the blog before) actually replaced Pete Kinsella who was the original drummer. After The Slowest Clock split, Gerry Fahy went to join Candy Apple Red while Brian Neavyn and Dave Burke joined the Screech Owls.

It also seems that in October 1985 the band had recorded a RTE Radio 2 Session for Dave Fanning Show.  Three tracks were recorded then, “You’re So Strange”, “Looking Up” and “Birds of Prey”.

Irishrock seems to be more complete than Discogs and has more compilations listed. On the tape “Moonstruck Christmas Casette” released by Moonstruck (MS 005), the band contributed “Say What’s On Your Mind”. This was a live recording at the Comet Records Punk Festival at the CIE Marlboro Hall in August 1986, which happened to be the band’s 3rd gig. Then on the “National Wash Day Single” 7″ released in 1987 the band contributed the song “Looking Up (Fanning Session 1987)”. I see, so there was also a 1987 Session! I need to find more about that one.

The band contributed the song “Mothers of America (early version)” to a 1988 tape called “Where to? What for? Witchunt” that was released in 197 by FOAD Records (FOAD 2 SPUC 88).

Lastly two sessions are listed. First a Dave Fanning Session from April 2nd 1988 with the songs “Mothers of America”, “Turning Green”, “Going Home” and “Where’s Andi”. Second a BBC Radio 1 Session for Liz Kershaw  from September 1988 with the songs “Rejoice the Burning”, “Turning Green”, “Desert Mouth” and “Where’s Andi”.

According to the Fanning Sessions blog there were just the two sessions, the ones from 1986 and 1988. So that one listed as 1987 can’t be. Neither the one from 1985 that Irishrock has. I think Irishrock is off by a year on both. I trust Fanning Sessions blog for this case.

On the Fanning Sessions blog there is a press clipping from Hot Press dating 24th September 1987. This press clippings shed some more light about the band. For example we learn that the band came together through the Musicians Contact section of Hot Press. Brian Neavyn find about an add Gerry had put on the magazine.  The band supported A House, Guernica, The Stars of Heaven, Something Happens!, The Gorehounds, Microdisney and The Celibate Rifles.

On Youtube I found another TV appearance. The band is playing “Turning Green” but I’m not sure what show they were on. There is also a promo video for the song “Millenium Train” which is a very noisy track. It is true the band played different sorts of guitar pop, from the jangly, to the noisy to the rockier. Of course I love the jangly the most, like in their song “Going Home”.

Another promo video they made was the one for “Mothers of America” in 1989.

More videos on Youtube. There is a live gig at McGonagles from November 23rd 1989 opening for Fugazi. Also a video of the band playing “Little Boy Lost” in 1987 at the Underground Club, at the TV show “Action Station Saturday” playing “Where’s Andi?” in 1988. ”

What about “You’re Wrong” in a TV show in 1989. What show was this? They seem to have been quite popular during those late 80s. There’s also “Fear in Me” at the Baggot Inn from September 1989.

Sadly there is nothing else written about them on the web. I guess the information I found is quite good. But still would be interesting to know about the demo tapes Irishrock mentions, why they didn’t become bigger if they were on TV shows, at least, how come they didn’t sign to a big label? There are many questions. Why weren’t the band members more active musically after the demise of the band. I’m sure my Dublin friends remember them. I actually saw a girl from Lesotho mentioning the manager of the band on a Youtube comment. Who knows where any information, any details may come from!

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Listen
The Slowest Clock – Going Home

Don’t want to be repetitive but next week I’ll be away until January 2nd. So while I’m away there won’t be any new blog posts and also the Cloudberry Records offer of 3 CDs for the price of 2 will be over. So take advantage of it these last days of December.

It is proving a bit harder to find new music during the end of the year but I’m going all over the web trying to find some good tunes that haven’t been featured on the blog.

Ring Snuten: our friend Patrik is back with a Christmas song, and its instrumental version of the same song, on Bandcamp. “När det lider mot jul” sounds great, full of ramshackling guitar fun! I hope to hear more songs by him the coming year!

Gentle Ivanhoe Death Skulls: the great Toulouse based label Hidden Bay Records just put out a 10 song tape called “Beaches” by this Stockholm based band. There are only 70 copies of the tape so do hurry! Important to mention of course is that the band has in its rank a fellow Cloudberry friend, Rickard who used to be in Robert Church & the Holy Community who once upon a time put out a 3″ with us.

Adam John Miller: the ex-Manhattan Love Suicides has released a digital EP called  “¡Alas, Montañas!” with the label Cath’n’Dad Records from London. There are four upbeat and sunny songs, inspired by the time he spent on the coast of Spain.

Seeing Hands: as there aren’t many finds from this last month, I’m going back, back in time. I did feature Seeing Hands on the blog when they put out a 10″ on Discos de Kirlian. But before that it seems they put out a 7″ last March with the songs “I Knew You” and “It’s True”. Perhaps the Spanish label heard them thanks to this release. It does sound great. I wish I had known, now I need to make miracles to find a copy of the 7″ as it is already sold out.

Crabber: “Bluesbusters” is the fantastic debut album by this Hamburg  based bands that has members of top bands like Kristallin, The Legendary Bang and more. 13 songs of top noisy jangle pop, influenced by the poppier moments of The Wedding Present. It is now available on CD on Jigsaw Records!

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I found this band and song, Rain Sometimes’ “All My Time With You”, on my friends Youtube channel. There are plenty of goodies at David’s account. I’ve discovered lots of music thanks to him. And Rain Sometimes might be the latest one even though this track was uploaded much earlier, in May of 2018.

I wonder where he finds all these treasures. A lot I know of course. He likes the same Swedish pop from 2000s that I love too. So even though if I don’t know the rare track he has uploaded, I know the band, or some people that were involved in it. But with many of them, my knowledge is zero. That is the case with Rain Sometimes.

It looks as if David doesn’t know much about them. He hasn’t added much on the description aside that this song was part of a 4-track EP that was released in 1998. The image he uses has a title, “Not That Kind”. Was it the title of the EP? Or perhaps the name of the first song?

I google and google. And I can’t seem to find anything about the band. If it was a band, or perhaps a one-man project. I can’t figure out where in the world were they based either. If this 4-track was a CD or a vinyl record. It doesn’t seem to be listed on Discogs or Rateyourmusic or anywhere else. I must be missing something.

There has to be some information. Or someone must know something. The song is really nice and that’s why I am curious. I hope that someone can help!

Edit: Patrik, from Ring Snuten (what a coincidence!), just told me some great info about Rain Sometimes! “And yeah, got some inside info about Rain sometimes for you! It’s (of course..) one of Roger Gunnarssons many aliases. If I recall correctly it was a short lived proto-Nixon era project, might even be contemporary with the earliest Nixon stuff. Feel free to confirm this with Roger! And in fact, a re-recorded “All my time with you” was featured on the cd-r only Nixon release “Snow day” EP from 2003. On that version, Mathias Malm of Funday Mornings / Everyday Mistakes fame lays down an extremely characteristic guitar solo!”

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Listen
Rain Sometimes – All My Time With You

Remember that this will be the last week with our 3CDs for the price of two offer. After that I’m going to be out for the rest of the year. So take advantage of this opportunity if you want!

As expected, at the end of the year it is usually quiet, but I’ve done my best to look for new finds over the weekend.

Marthas & Arthurs: never heard this band but it does sound really lovely. The albums are not from today. They date from 2012 and 2016. Maybe it is time to catch up with them! The albums are available on CD. But that’s not all, there are singles, EPs, and more. I urge everyone to check them out and discover their discography as I am doing now.

Say Sue Me: our favourite South Korean band have released a Christmas EP on 12″ vinyl! There are four songs on it that deserve our attention, “Christmas, It’s Not a Biggie”, “Too Expensive Christmas Tree”, “Out of Bed” and “After this Winter”. As usual it is brilliant stuff!

Spesh: this Seattle band released their first album last September on Killroom Records. Titled “Famous World” the album comes with 10 fine slices of guitar pop. The album is available on CD and also on vinyl.

Swimming Tapes: this is kind of an oldie, dating from September. But I don’t think it has been mentioned on the blog. I am talking about the digital single “Easy Strand” which has some very pretty jangly moments.

Lia Pamina & Dario Persi: their 7″ came out back in June too. I know, I’m a bit behind with some recommendations. But I’m catching up now at the end of the year. There are four superb songs here, “So Far Tonight”, “Midnight Walk”, “Time’s Passing By” and “Il Mio Mondo”. I believe there are copies still available. I should try to get myself one.

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Checking out another band that was on Flying Nun Records that not many talk about these days. Of course, their discography is limited to a 12″ and a few compilation appearances, it is hard to compare to any of the “bigger” bands on the label. But I’m of course curious why they didn’t get to that spot, why they didn’t become a bigger band.

Andrew Brough on guitar and vocals, Jonathan Moore on bass and Peter Bragan on drums formed The Orange. As I mentioned before, their sole release was a 12″ EP titled “Fruit Salad Lives” that was released on Flying Nun Records (FN047) in 1986. It included 5 songs, three on the A side and 2 on the B side. So, “Fruit Salad Lives”, “Walk Out On Your Own” were on the A, and on its flipside we find “What’s in a Name” and “Fly”.

The photography on the record is credited to Jeremy Freeman. And the engineer was Mike Pearce. The songs were recorded at Strawberry Fields in Dunedin, in September 1985.

The same year they released their EP, 1986, they appeared on a compilation called “Whistle Up a Wind”. Released on tape by Every Secret Thing (EST 25) and Art Raith Productions (RAITH 117), the band contributes the song “Number One”. I see a few familiar names among the comp, but most of them are bands I’ve never heard before.

Later on, much later on, in 2006, on the “Flying Nun 25th Anniversary Box Set” (FNCD500), the band contributes the song “What’s in a Name”.

I check out if the members had been involved in any other bands. I see that Andrew Brough had been in Bike, Blue Meanies and the Straitjacket Fits too, and even released some songs solo. Jonathan Moore had been in Newbergs, Bored Games who released early on, in 1982, on Flying Nun, and has also contributed solo songs to compilations.

The AudioCulture website, which is always very helpful when it comes to New Zealand bands, tells us a bunch of interesting details. It tells us that the band formed in 1984 and debuted live at the Captain Cook’s Battle of the band in March of that year. In mid-October of 85 they were headlining the Oriental Tavern. It also talks a bit about the sound of the previous band Brough had been, The Blue Meanies. I should try to find some recordings, I’m curious about it.

Then we get to know that “Number One”, the song that had been on the compilation tape, was actually taped live at the Oriental Tavern on June 18, 1985. The title of the EP, “Fruit Salad Lives” seems to have no meaning. There was an unreleased single called “Bye Bye Mr. Flower” which actually even had a Flying Nun catalog number but it was never released. I wonder if it was recorded. I would love to hear it.

The band’s final gig was in early October 1986 at the Oriental Tavern.

I keep looking for more information. I find a tweet with some cool press clipping, but I mostly find stories and information about the Straitjacket Fits with a small mention of The Orange. It figures.

There is very little about the band online. But I’m hoping once again for my New Zealand friends to help me fill in the blanks, to get to know a bit better their story, perhaps get in touch and interview them. I would definitely love to hear that unreleased second single if it was ever released!

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Listen
The Orange – Fruit Salad Lives

Not much news today, but some great finds!

Pelopincho: this Argentinean band has already been part of our reviews with their exciting jangly pop songs. Now they are releasing their album “Zona Surf” that sounds AMAZING. I really hope it gets released physically. I would love to have this on CD and play it all the time. There are just 8 songs, all kind of short, but as I said before, they are all great! It leaves you wanting more!

Dim Vanilla: my friend Cris shared this track called “Shady Shady” with me the other day. I loved it instantly. I thought it has the Cloudberry sound and I don’t think of that too often. This song will be the first single of the band’s new EP that will be released on Breakfast Records from the UK. It will be reelased on cassette and it will include four songs, “Shady Shady”, “Fun Machine”, “Mayo” and “Unfold”. I hope to hear the rest of the songs soon!

Ease: the 2nd single by this Jakarta, Indonesia, dreampop band is called “MK7” and it is pretty pretty good. The vocals are dreamy. The guitars are dreamy. The melody and the atmosphere is dreamy. I don’t know much about them, but I do know that this is good!

La Otra Cara de la Nada: this band from Misiones, Argentina, released their latest song “Nada Que Ver” last August. Only now I’m finding about it. It does remind me a bit of El Último Vecino from Barcelona, and that is a good thing of course. The band is formed by Germán Vázquez, Ariel Duce, Bruno Gross and Nicolas Peña. I look forward to any release they might put out in the near future.

RAYS: lastly I must say I’m really enjoying this album by this Oakland, California, band. It is called “You Can Get There From Here” and it comes with 12 guitar driven pop songs! The record is available on 12″ vinyl through Trouble In My Mind records.

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If you see this video, which I’m sharing it with a time start of 1:39:15, you’ll listen a cool sounding song. What is it? Who are they? This video called The Height of Goth: 1984 – A Night at the Xclusiv Nightclub in Batley, West Yorkshire, was even covered in the Guardian by Alexis Petridis some time ago. This video was originally commissioned by the couple who ran the club, Annie and Pete Swallow, and was given away to friends and regulars for 2 pounds. I could find the tracklist for all the songs the people are singing along and dancing too, and you see The Smiths, New Order, The Monkees, Buzzcocks, The Undertones and more. And The Freedom Suite’s “Dry Spell”, which is the song that sounded so mysterious, that I have pinpointed you all.

The band only put out a single that year, 1984. A 7″ that included the song “Log Cabin” on the A side and “Dry Spell” on the B side. It was released by the Nain Recording Company with the catalog number NAIN 22. Discogs doesn’t list any other records for this label. I wonder if this was the sole release by the label. Maybe it was even a self-release?

The information about the band is scarce. We do know that the songs were produced by Neil Ferguson of The Donkeys and later of Chumbawamba. It is safe to assume that they were English. Someone on a forum seems to be convinced they hailed from Leeds. But I couldn’t confirm this.

But I continue looking for information of course. And I was to stumble upon a gold mine. A soundcloud with a bunch of songs by the band. Here I find “Melanie Day”, “Take Me To Glory”, “Playing the White Man”, “Log Cabin”, “Dry Spell” and “Back in the Fields”. Somethin interesting is that all of these songs share the same artwork, what looks like an album art. It even has a title, “Back in the Fields”. Was this released in any way as an album? I couldn’t confirm that either.

45cat gives me some interesting details. It lists three last names as composers. Forrest, Boyce and Howes. Someone has done some detective work and comments that it may be that they might be Andrew Howes and Mark Boyce who would later be in the band The Parachute Men. If that was the case, then the Leeds connection, as The Parachute Men hailed from there, would be confirmed. Could it be?!

There’s as you’d expect not more information about the band. I think we just need confirmations. Also would be great to get in touch with Andrew Howes and Mark Boyce, even if it not for The Freedom Suite but for The Parachute Men, an interview would be fantastic. I wonder who remembers them? They must have had some following if the people on the Height of Goth were singing along! And no, it is not Goth music! It is lovely jangly guitar pop!

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Listen
Freedom Suite – Dry Spell

Not much news on my side today, and it feels December might be a quiet month as our new compilations in all likelihood will be released early next year. Also remember that the offer for 3 CDs for the price of 2 is only going to be around for a little more of a week if you want to take advantage of it.

New finds though? I have some of those of course!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: one more brilliant track by the San Francisco band. Yet another demo but sounding great, “Bad Habits” is the latest from Glenn Donaldson. The question, after hearing so many lovely jangly songs is, when will there be a proper release?!

Lazy Eye: now a new track by the Pelambang, Indonesia, band! It is called “Sunlover” and it is a winner. Jangly, with sweet male/female vocals, and a bouncy melody, it is a song you don’t want to end. We need more songs by R. Cahyo and Isabella!

Stolen Badges: the latest songs by our friend Ryan Marquez from Apple Orchard, Sodajerk, Golden Teardrops, etc, are being released under this name. There are 3 superb songs, recorded at home during the last months that are part of the “Places I’ve Been EP”. These songs are “Places I’ve Been”, “James Bay” and “San Francisco”. They are a bit different compared to previous projects, these are more shoegazy, with more effects on the guitar, but Ryan’s pop sensibilities are there, making these songs as dreamy and evocative as they can be.

Ivory Past / Snowflakes feat. Miléna: one of the best Japanese bands these days is Ivory Days.  There is a split tape with the band Snowflakes where each band contributes one song. Ivory Past’s song is “December” while Snowflakes, featuring Miléna, has the song “Emballance Dans Tes Bras”. The tape is called “Illuminated Songs EP” and should be available now!

Les Autres: some months ago I interviewed the band as they were adding a lot of back catalogue and rare songs to their Bandcamp. This month they’ve added a new release from back in the day, “Hélène K – The Attic Recordings “, that dates from 1992, just before the band’s first single. There are 5 songs by the noisy pop Rennes, France, band.

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I was going through some of my 7″s the other day and picked this one up to play at home. The lovely artwork was one of the reasons but also remembering that I used to like a lot the opening track called “Sol” and the cover version they did of Le Mans’ “Perezosa y Tonta”. And I thought I haven’t written about them on the blog, maybe it is good time to do that!

I believe their “Sol” EP 7″ released by Elefant Records (ER 235) was their only proper release. Released on white vinyl, it included 5 songs. 2 on the A side, “Sol” and “Mil Cosas (demo)” and three on the B side, “El interruptor maldito”, “John Cale” and “Peresoza y Tonta”. First question arises, why did they include a demo on the A side?

Now if you are curious and want to listen to all 5 songs, the good news are that they are all available to stream on Bandcamp.So you can head there. But I want to find out more about this band? Who were they? Where were they from? Did they record more songs?

There was at least one more song recorded and it was called “Desde Ayer”. We know of this son because it was included in the CD comp “Momentos Perdidos [Lost Moments]” released by Elefant Records in 2004. This CD was a collection of rare, unreleased and B-sides of various Elefant bands.

There was a 2007 compilation where the band appears too called “Modular para el Corazón”. This was released by Molecula Records (Molecd 011) which as many of you might or might not know is based in Mexico. The song that the band contributed for this CD was “John Cale” that appeared on the 7″.

I find a biography on the Elefant page. It turns out the band hailed from Murcia, a city that has given us a lot of great indiepop bands. And they were a two piece, Germán and Marcial. What were their last names?

On the website Murcia Rock I find a 2001 article where it talks about the split of Guillermine. So now we know that by November 2001 there was no more Guillermine. It does give us a couple of details about the band though. For example that they won a prize called Mola Joven in 1999. That they were from the town of Molina in Murcia and the only gig they played outside Molina was at the I Fiesta Lo+Pop alongside La Monja Enana and L-Kan.

The next mention I stumble upon is on El Planeta Amarillo webzine which is run by Rafa Skam and is based in Murcia. In 2007 he was reviewing a bunch demos by a band called Stefunny 6. This was at the time the band both Germán and Marcial were involved with. But here it also tells us that they had been in another band called The Muppets.

But even better, on this webzine, I find a mention of a 2000 demo called “Wash”. It doesn’t tell us what the tracklist was, but it does give a name of one of the tracks, “Play-back”. It also confirms that the band took their name from a La Buena Vida song.

On an article on the website Tímpanos y Luciérnagas I find that Germáns last name is Beteta. Progressing in this investigation. And thanks to knowing this I could find that he has played solo gigs in the Murcia area. An interview, one of his songs (“Desde Ayer” which was his favourite), and one by Guillermine, can be listened in this same website.

And that’s about it. What about Marcial? Was he involved in any other projects? What happened to him? What songs were included in the “Wash” demo? Did they record any other songs? Why did they split? Why were there no more releases by the band, just one 7″? Would be great to find out more about Guillermine!

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Listen
Guillermine – Sol

Time to start another week, and little by little we are about to end this year! As you know I’m terrible with year end lists so would love to know what are your favourite releases of 2018! Comment below please. Maybe Ive missed something?

This past weekend I found some cool sounds, so I will share those with you:

Tullycraft: my dear… one of my favourite bands is back! Their newest song is called “Passing Observations” and it even has a video. This track will be included in their forthcoming album “The Railway Prince Hotel” that should be released next year. I’m very happy, even more so because in the song they mention the song “Lotsi Go Go Go” by Throw that Beat in the Garbagecan!, another favourite band!!

The New Fools: remember the band Plume that had a song on one of the Leamington Spa compilations? Nowadays their members are playing music under the guise of The New Fools. They have set up a Soundcloud page with a bunch of their recordings. Most of the songs are from acoustic sessions but there are also some superb songs that I’m enjoying lots like “The Big Wheel” or “The Boy You Met on Holiday”. This has made me think that a Plume interview could be cool for the blog, right?

Nah…: the latest from this German-Dutch duo is terrific! They are among the best two indiepop songs I’ve heard this year! “Road Trip” and “Everything” are now available to stream on Bandcamp and you can also order a limited CD single there. Really lovely songs, I have them on repeat!

La Casa de Emma: the Chilean band has released a tape on Junko Records from Temuco, Chile. This tape EP is called “Refugio Invernal” and it sounds ace. There are 5 twee songs in the vein of Funday Mornings, “Olvidar”, “Favorita”, “Viaje en Bicicleta”, “Plástica Felicidad” and “Skolniks”. Great stuff!

Tears Run Rings: their “Somewhere EP” was released back in October on Deep Space Recordings from North Carolina. I am only catching up now. There are 4 songs by this band formed by the people behind Shelflife Records, “Helios Heliadae”, “Someone Somewhere”, “Be Still” and “Daylight”, and all of them sound brilliant and dreamy. It is available on 10″ through the label.

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The band came together via the long, circuitous road of teen dream garage mayhem, street entertaining on the pathways of Europe, dangerous and unhealthy rehearsals in a church crypt to gigs in hard, unwholesome and unwelcoming Northern Industrial towns in front of audiences: one part disinterested, one part lynch mob. But, the band won them over and knew they had something special and good. In 1984 the Lilac Trumpets arrived in Liverpool with a suitcase full of songs, heads full of bohemia and balladeer visions of conquest, ready for business. Within weeks the band’s first recording session was noticed by the studio manager, Hambi Haralambous who immediately tracked down the band (as they had left without paying) and offered a recording deal with the newly formed independet label, “Pink Pop.” Created solely for the release of the Lilac Trumpets first single: “Someone Else’s World.” Released in March 1984 to much critical appreciation. – “At last: a band writing epic, melodious songs to rival anything by David Bowie.” Record Mirror. “Guitar pop/rock breathes again in the form of a Lilac Trumpet.” NME.

There followed tour dates with the Icicle Works, Ruby Turner and recording sessions with Mike Score (Flock of Seagulls) and Ian Broudie (Lightning Seeds) among others. The Lilac Trumpets looked in a good position; two great songwriters, a solid band, good management, an ideal location and a sound, long term plan. However, there was trouble at the record label and pressure from the London side of the management company for the band to change the adopted manifesto of real musicians, real instruments, a “one take” policy in the studio and a new direction in song writing. Amid the secret agenda’s, tacit agreements and manipulations of those outside the band the “Trumpets” were unaware of the unfolding fiasco. Eventually, the band went their separate ways amicably and the burgeoning “Pink Pop” scene quietly folded. Steve Coghlan moved to Europe and eventually settled in London as an academic, Ian Copesteak worked in music TV. Neill Senior stayed with the management and worked on a solo career as session musician, songwriter and live performer until 1989. John Patterson worked with all three of the remaining “Trumpets” on various projects and later founded “Loop Transperience” with Neill Senior. There followed more recordings and occasional gigs and busking trips around Europe. John currently based with Liverpool band “Munky Puzzel”. Steve Coghlan, guitar vocals, Neill Senior, guitar vocals, John Patterson, drums, Phil Gladman, bass.

What an introduction! That’s how the booklet of The Sound of Leamington Spa Vol. 6 (Firestation Records FST 075) presents us the band Lilac Trumpets. Now that there is a new volume around the corner I thought revisiting some of the great songs by obscure bands that haven’t been featured on the blog. And thought about this band who I really know very little about. Well, now, re-reading the booklet, I feel I know much more. It is always good to have a refresher.

I don’t own any records by them. So I’m quite clueless about their output. Discogs seems to list 2 tapes and a 12″ record. Was that it? Probably yes for vinyl. Perhaps there was even more stuff for tapes. More demo tapes.

There is a 5-track demo tape that was released in 1984 that had the songs “Opposite Sides”, “When the Rains Came”, “Something’s Happening”, “Things We Say” and “Temporary Thing”. John Patterson on drums, Steve Coughlan on guitar and vocals and Neil Senior on vocals, bass and keyboards. There are no other details for it. I wonder how did these songs sound like.

That same year, 1984, another tape was available from the band. Was it sold at gigs? Through the mail? Would love to know. The songs on it were “Waiting for the Tide” and “A day in Gaza”.

Their 12″ came out in 1986, year 0 for indiepop (?). Three songs produced by Ian Broudie which were “Someone Else’s World”, “I Should Have Known” and “One of these Days”. The first one was the sole song on the A side and was written by Senior. The other two songs were written by Coughlan. So, in total we know 10 songs by the band. Why weren’t there more releases by them?

These three songs were recorded at The Pink Studio and was released by Pink Pop (POP 001). There are two other releases by this label listed, The Balcony and Amir. I’m not familiar with any of them, but a good guess would be that the studio was running a small record label.

Discogs also has both Neil Senior and Steve Coughlan as part of a band called The Precautions who released a demo tape in 1982 with the songs “Modesty Blaise”, “Safe Inside” and “Leeks on Mount Fuji”. I wonder how The Precautions sounded like. And why wasn’t this band mentioned on the booklet of Leamington Spa. Something else about The Precautions is the small bio that Link2Wales has. On it it mentions that this band also featured Ian Lewis who was later in Lilac Trumpets. He was a keyboardist. At what point was he in the Lilac Trumpets? Not during the time they recorded the 7″, right? Ian had also been part of Dream Legion and Alternative Radio.

Another related band to Lilac Trumpets seems to be Wandering Quatrains. It seems to have been a Chester band from the late 80s that featured Neil Senior and also Andie Rathbone, later in Mansun.

On Youtube I find some interesting anecdotes. For example someone Anthony Donovan mentions that he auditioned for the band in 1981 or 1982 at a rehearsal at The Ministry studios. He mentions that the band had a connection with Strawberry Studios. Then himself and another user mentions that Steve Coughlan lived on Catherine Street in Toxteth. But another user then says that Steve lived in St. Bride street in Liverpool. Maybe he moved?

Another interesting thing I found was that there was actually a 7″ promo version of the 12″ that included just two of the songs, “Someone Else’s World” and “I Should Have Known”. I suppose this is rare. And it doesn’t look as if it came with a picture sleeve.

I also wonder about their name. Of course lilac can be a colour (lilac is a color that is a pale violet tone representing the average color of most lilac flowers. It might also be described as dark mauve or light purple) and a flower (lilac a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalized in other parts of Europe). So probably trumpets that were lilac coloured.

As usual, when doing these sort of investigations I hit a wall. Not much more I was to find about them. I wonder if the Ian Copesteak named in the booklet is the same Ian Lewis. I feel it is. But why the change of name. Was it Coughlan or Coghlan as it appears on the booklet. What about that promo 7″? Who did they send it too? How many copies were there? Why weren’t there more releases? How did their other bands sound like? Many questions. And no answers.

Who remembers them?

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Listen
Lilac Trumpets – My Heart Bleeds

I think one of the most exciting news this week is the announcement of “The Sound of Leamington Spa Volume 10 – German Edition”. Now we know the tracklist and that is really exciting. It will be released on CD and vinyl (though once again with that gimmick of adding an extra track on the vinyl just to make sure fans buy both versions, something I don’t agree with and I think is a bit of a capitalist trick). But what can you do? The album is announced for February 2019 and will the tracklist is as follows:

The Pariahs – Going Down Niagara Falls
The Mirror Images – Paint
Die Tanzenden Herzen – Sag Mir Was Du Siehst
I Burnettes – Buildings
Goldstein Circus – Far (Alternative Mix)
Second View – Machinery
The Artpress – Anyway
Candlestick – Be My Baby
The Hyde Parkas – I Confess
Die Blinzelbeeren – Keine Hoffnung Mehr
Angry Flowers – When She Dreams
Starfish – Shortsightedness
She Splinters Mortar – Brown Sugar
The Butterfly Collectors – Hope You’ll Never Go
Die Wurzelsepps – Sweet Aggression
Paperback Writers – A tale of love + honour
Ein Warmer Sommermorgen – Fahrradfahren
The Dead Adair – Jacqueline B
Viola Crayfish – Besser Scheitern
The Groovy Cellar – My America (Demo)

Some of these bands have been featured on the blog, which makes me quite happy. Now I’m sure we’ll learn a detail or two more about them thanks to the always lovely booklet that comes with these compilations. I do find it strange that the label is calling the compilation The Sound of Leamington Spa as when they started these comps they were very focused and had the rule of only including English and Irish bands of the period. I guess with time things and idea changes. But maybe a different name would have worked? Just thinking out loud. In any case I’m very much looking forward to this compilation as there are many bands and songs I’m not familiar with!

Fanclub:  I think it wasn’t that long ago that I discovered this Austin band. Well today I’m listening to a new track called “Stranger” that is really lovely! The sweet vocals and melodies are just what I needed today. I hope to see a proper release by this band in the near future!

The Catherines: another band that is heavily featured in the blog is this German band. Today I want to share with you the news that the band has a full-length tape, their second, available on their Bandcamp. It is titled “Cheers!”, and it includes 9 super tracks, many of which have already been recommended here!

Les Bicyclettes de Belsize: 12 tracks for this digital album “The 12 Days of Christmas”. Now you have no excuse to get into the holiday season mood. This is the first release by the London band fronted by Charlie Darling since 2017’s “Christmas Revisited EP”! He surely loves Christmastime!

The Autumn Stones: Checking out what this Toronto band has now to offer I stumble upon a 4 track EP called “Into the Light”. This lovely record includes the title song, “Hardwired”, “Higher” and “The Bigger they Fall (Acoustic Mix)”. I remember some months ago I was recommending the last track when it was released as a digital single!

Parsnip: “Feeling Small” is the 2nd 7″ by this Melbourne quartet after their lovely self-titled 7″ from 2017. This time around there are two new songs, “Feeling Small” and “Winter” that are influenced by indiepop and girl-group pop too!  It does feel like there is a great scene these days in Australia! Every single time we discover a fantastic band!

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It seems I’ve made my own challenge with that list posted by Janglepophub of obscure jangle pop. There is not much info on that list, just a bunch of names, mostly bands I’ve never heard before, and Youtube links to check out these band’s music. But as you know, I need to know more. So I’ve been digging for more information of course.

Today it is the turn for Blue TV from the US. “Back in Time” from 1985 is the song that is shared. I quickly find out that this was actually a B side for “Train Wrecks” and it came out on a 7″. It was released by a label called Twilight Records (TR001) which looks like an Atlanta based label. Needless to say I have never heard about the label before or any of the bands on the catalog. Those who know about it, would you recommend me something on it?

And was the band based in Atlanta?

The truth is that Discogs doesn’t have much information. But happily the sleeve has been scanned. The songs are copyrighted to the Swell Guy Songs. That doesn’t say much. Then the songs were produced by the band and Joe Wolff. Joe Wolff also engineered the record. It was recorded in May 1985 at Lotus Studios.

The art for the record, which is quite cool, was designed by Galen Smith.

Then the band members. That’s a breakthrough.
Doug Hamilton on vocals
Dennis Klein on drums
Jeff Cohen on guitar
Jan Dykes on bass

I keep looking. I find a post about the band on the great blog Wilfully Obscure.  Even though there is not much information on the post, there is a comment by Doug Hamilton, the vocalist, mentioning that the band was influenced by R.E.M. but that the bass player, Jan Dykes, was into the British bands like New Order and Gang of Four.

I keep googling. It doesn’t seem to take anywhere. I hit walls. I guess this is a proper obscure band. I read a bunch of comments saying that the Atlanta scene in the 80s was unfairly in the shadows of the Athens one, in the shadows of R.E.M. but that there was quality and many good bands in Atlanta. Would be great to discover them.

Anyone remember Blue TV? Whatever happened to the members? Did they continue making music? Why just one 7″?

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Listen
Blue TV – Back in Time

For those who haven’t noticed I’ve added a little sale offer for Christmas, only available until December 23rd. You can get 3 Cloudberry Cake Kitchen CDs for the price of 2. All available titles are part of this promotion. So if you are missing any of them, this is a good opportunity. Bear in mind that there are few copies of Strange Idols, so if by any reason they sell out, well, bad luck! Check this promotion on the Cloudberry website.

The Beths: the amazing New Zealand band has two new songs on their Bandcamp and they are about Christmas! So if you are feeling in the mood of holiday season, do check out “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Happy Unhappy”!!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: yet another demo song by this superb project by the San Francisco band. I can’t wait for the properly recorded versions of all the songs the band keeps publishing in their Bandcamp. Their latest is called “What’s in your DNA?” and it is a lovely slice of janglepop!

True Sleeper: Italian shoegaze! The song “Blurred Hears” is now available to stream from the label Lady Sometimes, the same label that a week ago was giving us their Italian Sarah tribute. This sounds pretty good. Looking forward to more songs.

Control Room: this Hattlesburg, Mississippi, band sounds pretty cool. Definitely influenced by post-punk and synthpop, they do have a very nice pop sensibility when making their songs. That is what I like! There are four songs in their “Retreat” cassette EP, “Shield”, “Ground Rules”, “War” and “No Zeros”.

Rilev: the last year we’ve find out so many good Mexican bands. Rilev being the latest one I discover. Their dreamy songs are part of a digital EP that includes 5 songs, “Intro”, “Control”, “Vampira”, “Antes” and “Amar”. I wonder though, when I’ve visited Mexico City, never seen any of these bands performing. Will I do one day?

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It has been a while since a New Zealand band was featured on the blog. I think since the Exploding Budgies? I did try to interview them and sent questions, but sadly I haven’t heard back yet. Hopefully one day I’ll get those answers. That’d be great. Still I think it is good time to check out an obscure guitar pop band from New Zealand.

I would love to know why they named themselves Mainly Spaniards. Was there any connection with Spain? Has there been a Spanish immigration to New Zealand? Would be interesting to find out. What we do know about them is that their legacy is a 7″ and a couple of compilation appearances, nothing more.

The good thing is that their 7″ came out on Flying Nun (FN014), that means, I hope, we’ll be able to find some interesting information about them. An important label gives us that possibility.Though I must say I don’t remember this band being mentioned on the book Roger Shepherd published a few years ago.

The “That’s What Friends are For” 7″ included three songs. On the A side we find “That’s What Friends are For” credited to Richard James. The B side has “Secretaries’ Lunch Break” and “Questions”. We know that the band was formed by Nick Strong on bass, Dave Swift on bass, Mike Jeffries on guitar and Richard James on vocals and guitar. All songs on the record were produced by Chris Knox from the Tall Dwarfs and many more and Doug Hood who was one of The Clean’s original members.

500 copies were pressed for this record and we know there were 3 colour sleeve variations, pink, lemon and red. They were designed by Rudolph Boelee who had Groucho on the cover.

The compilation appearances that are listed for them are way more recent. Just from a decade ago. Their A side “That’s What Friends Are For” appears on the “Christchurchthemusic” double CD that EMI put out and also on the “Flying Nun 25th Anniversary Box Set” 4-CD compilation that Flying Nun put together for their 500th item in their catalogue.

There is a Wikipedia entry about the band. On it we learn that a 2nd single was recorded but never released after Richard James moved to Auckland from Christchurch (where the band were based) to work as a schoolteacher in late 1983. What songs were going to be on this single? have they been available anywhere else? Would love to hear them! Why weren’t they released?

From it we also learn that Richard James played in The Pterodactyls and The Letter 5. Later on, in 2008 he was in a band called The South Tonight with John Kelcher from Sneaky Feelings. And there was also some lineup changes in 1982, David Swift would leave the drums for Tony Green to take over.

AudioCulture has a couple more details about the band. Here it gets confirmed that the band was active between 1981 and 1983 and played gigs at The Gladstone, Star and Garter, Canterbury University, Punakaiki Festival (April 1983) and the Empire Tavern in Dunedin (1982 & 1983). That Richard James was even in more bands like the Stanley Wrench and The Monkey Brothers and was a guest horn blower in The Vauxhalls. David Swift moved to the UK and became a journalist, writing even for the NME.

There is a video on Youtube for “That’s What Friends are For” that includes many bits of information about the band. I like these sort of videos. Why aren’t there more like it? It tells us that the band recorded the songs at a local studio but weren’t happy with it. A friend of theirs, Roy Montgomery, would play it to Roger Shepherd from Flying Nun who liked it and wanted to put it out on his label. The band wanted to re-record them and that’s when Hood and Knox came in.

Then there is an article written by David Swift for TheBigCity, a website that covers Christchurch culture. Here he mentions that Mike Jeffries was a screen printer, that Ross Humphries from the Pin Group almost became a member but was too busy with other projects, and that the name of the band was his idea. An idea of reading newspapers and circling any two words that taken out of context might work. A report on the press foreign news pages about a bus crash in Spain that killed 35, ‘mainly spaniards’. The mystery of the name is solved.

The band supported The Clean at the Star and Garter in 1982 to a crowd of 500. They supported and played with The Chills, The Pin Group, The Newtones, Sneaky Feelings. The songs on the 7″ were recorded at Paul Kean’s (The Bats) house in Sydenham in March 1982.

I find something interesting dating from July 2018. The label Failsafe Records mentions that they are putting together a “Collected Works and Live” by Mainly Spaniards. We should keep an eye on that, if it happens.

And that’s where I hit a wall. I can’t fin any more information about them. It is not bad of course, I’ve found more information than I expected and hopefully in the near future there will be that retrospective compilation. What about you all? Do you remember them?

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Listen
Mainly Spaniards – That’s What Friends are For