Thanks so much to Paul Den Heyer for a new interview! Many years ago I interviewed Paul about his terrific band Politburo and that was really exciting. Today we talk about the band that came after, Fishmonkeyman, that got more success, especially with their single “If I’ve Told You Once”. But that’s not all, if you can check out Paul’s new music, as he released a new album on the great A Turntable Friend Records! Now sit back and enjoy the interview!

++ Hi Paul! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? 

No worries, I’m well thanks! Trying to keep busy and stay sane in lockdown. These are strange times. Hope all is good with you!

++ Last time we chatted it was about your previous band, Politburo. Was Fishmonkeyman formed immediately after Politburo? Or perhaps there were some music projects in between?

Well, Politburo were actually making a great noise before we called it a day and so it was a no brainer for drummer Carl Henry and myself to keep playing together and find the right people to move forward with. I remember we had a lot of different friends over to our practice room before we settled with Allan Sadler on guitar and Jason Orr on bass. It felt a very natural chemistry and new songs came very quickly.

++ And how would you compare both bands? Were there any similarities?

From 1982 onwards, Politburo had been a 3 piece, like The Jam, and an extra guitarist certainly changed the dynamic. Jason also had a unique style and with his bass – really filled out the sound sonically – so this allowed me to switch to acoustic guitar. I was playing my acoustic a lot at that time anyway, particularly for coming up with song ideas.
We actually did our first gigs as Politburo and one or two as Pindrop before settling on Fishmonkeyman as a name. One of my favourite early gigs was supporting McCarthy (who I still think of as the best indie band of all time). We were big fans and that was so nice to do.

++ 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 to at home while growing up?

I remember the Beatles being on the family black and white TV and, apparently, I was fascinated by them even as a toddler. Even before I could talk or walk I would sing along.
My first instrument was a cornet which I learned in school at about 8 years old. Played that badly in the school orchestra and later in a brass band but by senior school, I’d given that up.
My first guitar was a horrendous Spanish thing that was really hard to play but I persevered with it and eventually, when my fingers toughened up and my parents realised I was serious, a cheap, used Zenta electric guitar was found for me. This, along with an old reel to reel tape machine my uncle gave me, opened up a whole new world. I remember filling many tapes with endless distortion and noises, playing the sounds backwards and forwards for hours on end in my room.
Downstairs the radiogram was full of my older brother and sisters 7″ singles. The Beatles, The Stones, The Searchers, Tamla Motown. The only albums of interest to me were Abbey Road and copy of Peter & The Wolf. These I wore out as a child.

++ You mentioned me that you had been in a band called Dead On Arrival before Politburo. What other bands had you been in? Were there all of them pop bands?

Aside from playing with friends for fun, my first proper gig was at Eric’s nightclub in Liverpool with a band called TV12 (they’d go on to become This Final Frame). It was a pretty eclectic affair. Paul Skillen, the main songwriter, was into all sorts – reggae, funk, pop – but we went on to do lots of local gigs together and I even wrote a song with the band. ‘I am just a piece of your food’ – a trashy 3 chord punk vibe. The gigs were fun and I learned a lot but, after discovering punk and listening to Joy Division and Magazine, I felt I wanted to do something different. Dead On Arrival was that something different. Basically, it was just young friends making music together and enjoying playing live. I’m gutted we never made any records but we did record a John Peel session in 1981 which I’m proud of and we got to play a load of gigs and support Killing Joke 🙂

++ Where were you from originally?

I’m from Moreton on the Wirral, across the Mersey from Liverpool but I am half dutch. And with all this Brexit bollocks going on here, I’m feeling more and more dutch by the day 🙂

++ Were you still based in Wirral at the time of Fishmonkeyman? so how was your town at the time? 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?

Yes, and I’m still in Moreton now. It’s a small town and Liverpool is the nearest place with record stores, live music etc.. I loved the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes and, in the 90s, Shack were amazing. It’s certainly a musical city!

++ And what other bands had the Fishmonkeyman band members been in? I noticed a few were in 35 Summers, right?

1988-91
Carl Henry – Drums (ex- This final Frame)
Jason Orr – Bass and Vocals
Allan Sadler – Guitar
with myself on Vocals, Guitar

Allan left after our Radio One session in 1989 and was replaced on guitar by
Ken Hancock (ex- Jegsy Dodd & The Sons Of Harry Cross)

1993-97
Terry Lloyd – Bass (ex- Joanna)
Alan Currie – Drums (ex- Candy Opera & 35 Summers)
Ian Greenwood – Guitar (ex- 35 Summers)
with myself on Voice, Guitar

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

Both line-ups practised a lot at Crash Studios, Liverpool. John & Mark who ran the place were really supportive.

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

I wrote a song called Fishmonkeyman in 1985 while still in Politburo although we never played it. I always liked the title and thought it was unusual. I liked the evolution concept and when we needed a name, I suggested it and we all liked it.

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

Difficult to answer as we all loved different things. I guess The Chameleons, McCarthy, Pink Floyd, House Of Love were common ground for us all and are things I hear now listening back. Probably a little Stone Roses too as I was hammering that first album when it came out and as the band came together.

++ One thing that definitely must be different for you and your previous bands is that you signed to Warner Music with Fishmonkeyman. How did that happen? Did you provide them demos? Did they scout you at gigs?

We were showcasing for lots of record labels in 89/90 here in Liverpool. All the major labels were looking for the ‘next big thing’ and their attention shifted from Manchester to Liverpool. A BBC session for Radio One’s Richard Skinner helped a lot and we were playing live constantly – there was quite a buzz.

++ And how was your relationship with the big label? Did you like it?

In all honesty, it was difficult. I certainly didn’t like it. Yes, it’s nice to know your music is being distributed, promoted properly etc. but it comes at a cost. All good when things are going well, a different story when they aren’t.

++ Your first release though, the “If I’ve told You Once” EP, has two labels releasing it, Furious Fish Records and Warner Music. Can you explain this to me? Who were Furious Fish?

Back then, major labels had demo budgets so they could help develop bands they liked. A great guy called Cally worked A & R at East West. He came up to Liverpool a few times to watch us play (he was keen on us and a great new band from Oxford called Ride) and he gave us sound advice and £1000 to go in the studio with as he wasn’t in a position to sign us himself.
Martin Poole (who’d later become our manager) heard the recordings and wanted to release them as an EP. Martin released it through SRD independently on his Furious Fish label and after a stroke of luck, meeting up with a record plugger, we went from getting no press or radio play one week to being media darlings the next. Radio One were playing If I’ve Told You Once a dozen times a day and we were Single Of The week in Melody Maker with a feature in NME and Sounds. It really all happened very quickly. The offers came flooding in and we decided to go with Warners who allowed us to keep our label name. They basically just repressed our original EP and made 7″ and CD versions of it.

++ The title song even got a promo video made. Was wondering if you could tell me where was it filmed? How long did it take to put together? And was it the first time making a promo video? Were there any other promo videos by any chance?

The video was filmed at The Cosmos Club in Liverpool in an afternoon. Was the band’s first proper video shoot. The director PK McGuigan totally got what we were about and I think the video works well. He also made a promo for ‘Breathing’, the follow up single a few months later. Sadly, I lost my VHS copy of that so can’t see it again. That was filmed on Southport beach, the Peak District and a disused warehouse in town over 2 days.

++ The artwork for your singles, especially your first couple of ones, is very unique. Who was in charge of the looks and the aesthetics of the band?

Our first manager, David Eversley, showed us a polaroid of the image and we loved it straight away. It was a painting by Mary Mathieson, so he contacted her and struck a deal. The Breathing cover was done by Louise Poole, our second manager’s wife, keeping a similar style. I love them both.

++ The releases came in so many different formats. But the one I am curious about is the single sided 10″ Breathing that came out on the Hit Factory label. It was even single-sided. What’s the story of this release?

Ah, that wasn’t a release, it was an acetate that somehow got out of the cutting room. It’s funny, I only heard about it recently when it came up for sale on Discogs. I bought it for posterity 🙂

++ You worked with some great producers like Pat Collier or Dave Dix. How was that experience? What did they add to the band’s sound?

We loved working with both of them. We 100% trusted them to get our sound. Was a total pleasure and great to learn from watching and listening to them work. I certainly wouldn’t have got into production without that experience.

++ Lastly that year, 1991, which looks as your most prolific you released another 7″, “Vote for Us”. Was this just a promo 7″? Or was it available to fans in any ways?

Sadly, it never got a full release by Warners, same with the ‘Gryst’ album. We were pretty devastated. It was limited to promo copies. It really felt like the end of our 15 minutes of fame. Particularly after selling a lot of copies of the first 2 singles. If we’d stayed independent, both would have been number one in the indie charts for weeks.

++ Your next release, the “Seven Monkeys in a Tree”, came out on the label Groovey Cardboard which I am assuming it was a self-release? How was the transition of being in a big label and then releasing a record on your own? Did you enjoy doing label work? promoting? distributing?

When Warners decided not to release the album, things fell apart. It had been an intense year of ups and downs. Everyday, we had spent together either recording, touring, going on radio or tv, none of us were happy in ourselves. Nerves were frayed to say the least and that was the end of chapter one really as we went our separate ways.
In 1992, I took a year out to write and demo new songs and, when it was time to play live and record, I looked around for new musicians to work with. There were enough funds left to make a 12″ EP and we self-released Seven Monkeys In A Tree in 1993. For me, it was all just about having fun again after the disappointments of the previous year. It really was like starting over.

++ And then you signed to Copasetic Records and with them you’d release two cd singles, “Sunshine Down” and “The World Revolves Around You”. Who were behind this label? And how did you end up working with them?

Copasetic was run by a nice chap called Mike Plumley who used to work for Radio Caroline. He was a friend of Martin Poole who continued to manage the new band. He was keen to work with us and we felt his knowledge of PR and radio would help, given his label was an indie. Both releases were well-received and we were happy to continue playing live across the UK to promote them.

++ And are there any unreleased tracks by the band? Are there more recordings, perhaps in demo form?

Lots of live and demo recordings and different mixes exist.

++ In 2009 a different version of the “Gryst” album was released digitally bu Unshelved Records. What is this release? Why the different tracklist?

Haha. This wasn’t really an official release, more a result of people asking me for copies of the album all the time. I put a simple cover together and burned a few CD-Rs just so folks could hear it. I shuffled the tracklist after so many moaned the original version of If I’ve Told you Once wasn’t on it.

++ Has there been any plans to re-release the band’s music?

Funnily enough, my current record label, A Turntable Friend Records, asked about doing a Fishmonkeyman release. I started going thru old DATs and digging out press clippings and photos but then Covid 19 hit. Hopefully, it’s something that could still happen once things return to normal 🙂

 ++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “If I’ve Told You Once”, which I believe you are the subject of the song! wondering if you could tell me what’s the story behind it?

The chords kind of plopped out one afternoon when i was playing my guitar at home. The words and melody came together just as quickly and it sounded great first time we played all it together. For me, it was just another song and it wasn’t until we were mixing it with Dave Dix at RAK studios in London that I realised it was a cracker. I’ve never really thought about the words but you could be right there. I try to be a private person but can’t help chattering away and opening up, thinking out loud a lot of the time, sometimes with the wrong person. It’s something I don’t like about myself and it continues to get me into trouble to this day.

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

I always had a soft spot for Crazies off that first EP. I remember grinning ear to ear listening back to Ted De Bono mixing it at Maida Vale Studios for the Richard Skinner session. It always felt a very natural song to perform and we’d mostly open our live shows with it.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Many, many

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

Playing at The Marquee in London was a special one. Played well that night. I remember the Buzzcocks being amused at us nearly getting barred from The Columbia Hotel for smoking a teapot in the lobby. Don’t ask!

++ And were there any bad ones?

Occasionally, but I’ve shut them out of my memory 😉

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

Well they say lightning doesn’t strike twice! We completed the ‘This Is Where You Are’ album in 1997 for Copasetic Records and they weren’t in a financial position to release it properly. Cue digging out the CD burner again so friends could at least hear it. Somewhat disheartened, I hung up my guitar, discovered underground house music and started DJing – but that’s another story.
It was only in 2012, when I started working with Sunstack Jones that I began enjoying indie music again. I’ve since produced 4 LPs and a dozen singles for them. I was also happy to contribute to (my old friend from The Chameleons) John Lever’s Red-sided Garter Snakes project along with members of Puressence, Inspiral Carpets and Bauer. I even started writing again after a 20 year break and produced my own album ‘Everything So Far’ for A Turntable Friend Records in Germany.

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

From the first line-up, I know Carl and Ken went on to play in Half Man Half Biscuit and Carl is still doing that.
From the second line-up, Alan resumed playing with Candy Opera, Ian Greenwood is producing music still and Terry plays in a Widnes-based band The Chimps and also in Supergiant. He played bass for me on ‘Everything So Far’ and is also involved in my next release.

++ Has there been any Fishmonkeyman reunion?

Nah

++ Was there any interest from radio?

Yes, Radio One was playing ‘If I’ve Told you Once’ a dozen times a day for about a month.

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

Yes, Single of the week in Melody Maker and great reviews in NME and Sounds.

++ What about from fanzines?

Lots in 1991, our 15 minutes of fame 🙂

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

No one thing for me. The other members might have a more interesting answer.
Maybe the day The Cure unexpectedly turned up at the studio and Jason and I were under the snooker table playing marbles with the balls like a pair of kids? Me happily snoozing on The Big Chair (the Tears For Fears one)?

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

I follow Liverpool FC and Boston Red Sox, enjoy bingeing the odd nordic noir or sci-fi series and I like beer and good food 🙂

++ Never been to Wirral, so would love to hear from a local, was wondering if you could recommend any sights, record stores, traditional food or drinks that one shouldn’t miss?

It has the largest population of horses per person and also has both the most affluent and socially-deprived areas within it’s bounds. It’s an odd place but for a long time, and for the present, it’s home.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Just to say thanks Roque for letting me yap on. Bless you x

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Listen
Fishmonkeyman – If I’ve Told You Once

Day 260.

Juárez: I’ve lost the many times I’ve tried to get Caballito Records releases. No luck. But at least we can listen to their very good releases online. The new album by Juárez, “Entre las Palmeras”, was released a few weeks ago and now the 200 limited vinyl LPs are long gone. It sounds really good though.

The Dupont Circles: I should try to interview this amazing Washington D.C. especially now that they have released “In Search of the Family Gredunza” on the great label The Beautiful Music. This compilation includes their classic songs from the 90s, like the top “Everywhere Girl”. It is a must have!

The Lousy Pop Group: Shiny Happy Records is releasing a self-titled EP cassette for this lovely jangly band from Indonesia. The EP has 4 songs and they sound very Sarah-esque. Could be a great Christmas present, right?

The Sweetest Touch: another Indonesian jangly band that has some news are The Sweetest Touch. Their latest song is called “Promise” and is a cracker. It is out now digitally on Don’t Fade Away Records.

Pale Blue Eyes: wow! what a great surprise to hear this 7″ by this Totnes, UK, band. The 7″ includes two songs, “Motionless” and “Chelsea”. The record will be out on January 25th and it sounds promising, very promising. I hope we all can get a copy!

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Another from the Woking Soundscene Soundcloud, one that sounds AMAZING if I may say so.

Who were Thieves of Dreams? Their song “Shelter” is a belter, with fast guitars, and a great melody. A very good C86 song. Classic sounding. Canonical if you want.

So yeah, who were they?

We know a few things thanks to the great job the people behind this Soundcloud and Facebook page do. We know the band hailed from Aldershot and was around from 1990 to 1997. It was formed by:
Rodney Shack – vocals/guitar
Ian Bridgeman – guitar
Nigel Morley – vocals/bass
Mark Ellis – drums

At some point Mark Ellis, the drummer, was replaced by Simon Moore.

According to this source, the band was also known as T.O.D. and TOD. Their first “release” came out in November 1991, it was a 4-track demo tape  called “Florence Ain’t No Nightingale!” which was recorded at Ghost Studios in Woking.The songs included in it were “Children of the Night”, “Smiling Game”, “Am I Happy Now?” and “Shelter”. Half of the songs were written by Rodney Shack, the other half by Ian Bridgeman. We also know that Rodney Shack is credited for the production was well as Simon Moore. The tape release is credited to the label Mourn My Health, most probably their own “label”.

That same month they released the tape they supported Who Moved The Ground at Farnham Art College.

In 1992 the band contributed the song “Give The Game Away” to the compilation tape “Son of Farnborough Groove Vol. 2” and in 1993 the song “Shelter” ended up in the “Return of the Farnborough Groove Vol. 3”.

I was able to find “Give the Game Away” and although different it is a terrific indiepop song! Wow! This is like a long lost classic band. I wonder how I have never heard anyone mention them. It is a great discovery.

Sadly there’s really nothing else on the web about them. Who remembers them? Any details anyone can share?

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Listen
Thieves of Dreams – Shelter

Day 258.

Northern Portrait: perhaps the best news in a while is that the Danish combo will be back with an album called “The Swiss Army” soon. To promote the comeback of the band, Northern Portrait and their label, Matinée Recordings, have unveiled a song to become a classic, “At Attention”. Amazing! Can’t wait to hear their new album!

The Royal Landscaping Society: on other Matinée news we have our Spanish friends with their classic song “Frost”! The B side for this digital single is “This Gift”, a cover of They Go Boom! This digital release is to get everyone ready for the upcoming 17 track album “Means of Production”!

Mummy, Mummy Please Look At Me: A Tribute to the Television Personalities: is the name of a new tribute cassette tape for the classic TVPs. The cassette is released by Dandy Boy Records from Oakland, California, and includes 13 covers, all recorded during the pandemic. Some bands included are Jeanines, The Kitchenettes, Odd Hope, So Cow, and more.

Leach Me Lemonade: back in 2015 this amazing Indonesian band released a tape on Shiny Happy Records. It was an EP called “Rainy Days” and it is now available on Bandcamp. There are here 4 songs of pure pop. Jangly as it can be. No wonder the band was featured on our Sound of Java compilations. This is a must listen.

The Pale Kings: this Birmingham band have released a very interesting 3 songs. They are jangly, very 80s sounding, and I must say that they leave me intrigued. The songs are “Poison Darling”, “Happy Birthday” and “Roll Call”. There is no information about who are behind the band but as I said, this is very promising.

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Let’s head to Huntington Woods, Michigan, to discover a very fine jangle pop band.

Three releases, all on a label called Certain Records. I strongly believe it was the band’s own label. I don’t know much about them, they are a brand new discovery to me, but I think this is a good guess.

The band was around in the 80s, releasing their first record in 1984, the “Radioland” 12″ (CER 1001). This record had four songs, “Radioland” and “Different Light” on the A side and “Go Along with You” and “Looking Glass” on the B side. All songs had been recorded at Tremor Studios in August of the same year.

We know the band lineup too on this record. Chris Lindensmith was on bass, Matthew Smith on guitar and vocals, Brad Ross Fairman on percussion and Stephan Vernier on piano, synths and vocals. The engineer for the record was Rodger Wesch while Kathleen Smith is credited as executive producer. The photos on the sleeve are credited to Matt Vernier.

The band’s second release was a 7″ with two songs, “The Party She Cried” on the A side and “As If it Were Today” on the B side. This came out in 1986 with catalog number CER 1002. AT this point we see that the band had changed bassist, Brian Salk was replacing Chris. The band produced the record with Bill Potter, and recorded and mixet it at Quadrangle Studios in Ann Arbor between 1985 and 86.

“Awaken at Twilight” is a superb album. It is jangly and poppy. It came out in 1987 with catalog number CER 1003. It sounds like many records from the British Isles from the time. I wonder what were they listening at when recording this album. Again there were some lineup changes, Josh Sparbeck played bass, Robert Wonnacott played drums, Keir McDonald keyboards. The only member from the original lineup was Matthew Smith!

The album had 11 songs, 6 on the A side, “Days That Don’t Begin”, “Another True Door”, “Moments Like These”, “If I Drift”, “Winter” and “Repeat”. The B side had the remaining 5, “Christine is Not Herselft Today”, “Upstairs”, “Again”, “In Empty Harbors” and “Awaken at Twilight”.

One thing that surprises me is that the band, at least on Discogs, has no compilation appearances. Oh well, so these are all the releases then?

Looking if the band members had played in other bands, I see that not really. Robert Wonnacott played in Viv Akauldren and Medusa Cyclone. Keir McDonald also played in those two bands as well as in Volebeats. Matthew Smith did play in a few bands though, Volebeats, Chatoyant, Crime & the City Solution, Monster Island, Odd Clouds, Spring Reverbs, The Witches, THTX and Outrageous Cherry. I have hear the last only!

What else do I find? On the Michigan Daily newspaper dating from October 25, 1985, the band is mentioned to be playing the U-Club and being compared to New Order or The Smiths.

Another article on the same paper dating from December 8, 1987, reviews the band’s album. It doesn’t really give us much detail, but it is cool, to see the band being praised.

I find an interview with the band by Hobey Echlin. I don’t know where it was released. When you click on the google link you get a text document. Oh well. But here I do hope to find some details!

One thing it says that the band supported Guadalcanal Diary and played gigs at Halfway Inn. Matthew Smith mentions being influenced by Brian Eno, The Damned and The Stranglers.

Aside from these two articles and short interview I only find some blogs that used to offer the songs for free download. No good. I don’t like that.

Now we need to know more about them. Why so many lineup changes? Were they only successful in their home state? Are there more recordings? Their music is great and deserves to be rediscovered!

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Listen
It’s Raining – Day’s That Don’t Begin

Day 255.

Fred Fredburger: two songs from this great Spanish band! “Tardes de Sol” which was included in the self-titled mini-LP and a brand new one called “Esto No es Serie” are now up on Elefant’s Bandcamp. Fun naive pop!

Po!: the classic Leicester band has a Bandcamp now (I should interview Ruth I think, wouldn’t that be great?) featuring some new tracks by Ruth Po! The latest is “You Never Get the Life You Choose (acoustic version)” and as usual it has amazing lyrics and her unique vocals. How can one not love Po!?

A Homey Little In(n): this is the new compilation coming out from Testcard Records from Japan. It features art by our friend Ray Kimura as well our friend Katsuya from Caucus appears on it covering an Elliot Smith song. And that’s not all, in this CDR that will be released on December 24 we find many important Japanese indiepopsters, including our friends from H-Shallows or Cattle. Right now we can preview one of the songs, Naoya Hinuma’s cover of Cattle’s “Sherbet”. It sounds nice!

Orchid Mantis: this Atlanta project is releasing their album “Far From this World” on November 20th. It is coming out on Z Tapes label from Slovakia, on cassette and vinyl. The album will include 14 songs and right now we can preview 4 of them, “Within and Apart”, “Can’t See the Sun Anymore”, “Never Know Why” and “Light Beyond (Right Now)”.

Lavender Blush: Shelflife Records should be releasing this single by San Francisco’s premier noisepop band. IT is called “Oh Anna” and this digital single comes with two remixes, the Sweet Trip remix and Desario remix.

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Who were the German band Shelby? That’s what we should try to find out today.

I do own a wonderful CD album by them called “Sofa Safari” released by the legendary Marsh-Marigold Records from Hamburg back in 1996. This CD had the catalog number MARI 12, and must have been released towards the end of that year.

The album is a great indiepop records with boy/girl vocals and jangly guitars. There are 12 songs in it, “Sleeping Cliché”, “I Thought that I”, “Mental Harvest”, “To Mum”, “In a Milky Mood”, “Fragmentary Love”, “Fake Fur”, “Fred”, “Just a Friend”, “Sonic Sound”, “Pale” and “Sally’s Home”.

Aside from this release we only know that the song “Fake Fur” was included in a tape compilation in the US in 1997. This tape compilation was called “Trestle Set” and was released by Low Voltage. This label was put together by the people behind the band Chuzzlewit and released mainly their own music and a couple of compilations.

Luckily the CD album insert does give me a few important details that may help track the band down.

The band was formed by:
Jantje Steigemann – vocals
Björn Becker – guitars, vocals
Wiebke Wegerish – bass, percussion
Ronny Hohn – drums

Most of the bands songs were written by Björn, “To Mum” was written by Jantje. The album was recorded and mixed by Clemens Kinder at two addresses, one in Peutestraße and another Brookstaße, in Hamburg. I feel it is safe to assume the band hailed from this great city. We know that Clemens Kinder also contributed cello on “Mental Harvest” and Steffi Nohr played flute on “Sleeping Cliché”.

The obvious question is, are there more songs? how come there were no more releases?

I wonder if the band had a good following. When people think of Marsh-Marigold normally they think of other bands like Red Letter Day, Die Fünf Freunde, Busch or The Legendary Bang (who have been interviewed on the blog). But of course this label had many great bands.

I am not sure what the band members are up to. Linkedin shows a Jantje Steigemann from Hamburg working as a psychologist for children I think. I am not 100% sure it is the same Jantje but there is a good chance. The other members I really don’t know. Perhaps Ronny Hohn is still making music. I believe he has been in a band called Fondermann and another called GODZ.

So yes, we need help to know more about Shelby. Who remembers them?

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Listen
Shelby – Sally’s Home

Day 253.

The Painted Word: so Firestation Records is releasing the unreleased album by The Painted Word. It actually just came out on November 13th. There was a video made for the song “Universal” many many years ago. I am only aware of it even though it has been on Youtube since 2017. In any case, it is a good time to discover it. The album is available on vinyl directly from Firestation and mailorders.

Cinéma Lumière: the debut EP by Xavier Emas new indiepop project is out now! “Dreamcatcher” is available digitally now and I must say I am enjoying a lot the new songs by the Manila based band. There are four songs on the EP and I recommend it highly!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: more by Glenn Donaldson’s project. There should be many records out by the band with so many songs. And indeed there are a bunch. But of course there should be more! The newest songs in his repertoire are “Let’s Pretend We’re Not in Love” and “Summer at Land’s End”. Good stuff!

Kiwis: this is am gutted to have missed. The Barcelona band released “Vida Exterior” on vinyl, a fabulous 9 song album sung in Catalan. The three songs we can preview on Bandcamp are wonderful wonderful. If anyone knows how I can get a copy of this let me know. Sounds amazing and I need it!

Say Sue Me: the Busan, South Korea, band are back with two new songs on a 7″! These songs are “Your Book” and “Good People” and they are really good (as usual). The 7″ is being released by Optimal Records of Germany and it will be limited to a 1,000 copies!

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Back to the Woking Soundscene Soundcloud for more great obscure pop songs. Today I discovered “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Perfect Circles from Farnham!

Will I find more information about them? I hope so.

This song comes from a tape called “Suburban Overtones” that was released in 1993. It included three other songs, “Unfair World”, “Breaking Away” and “Dirty Streets”. They were recorded at Raven Studios in Camberley, between the 4th and 7th of September of that year with additional help from Jon O’Neill on keyboards.

The band was a three piece. It was formed by Paul Morris on vocals and guitar, Ady Evans on bass and John Metccalfe on drums. They were around from 1993 to 1996.

It doesn’t look like they didn’t get to release any records but they did appear on a few compilations. They had their songs “Cryin’ Out for Love” and “So Much to Me” on the “Sapphire” tape compilation released by Bliss Aquamarine (BLISS 020) in 1995. That same year the song “Fallen Hero” was included in the compilation “Snakebite City Three” released by Bluefire Records (BLU06) and the song “Don’t Let me Down” was included in the “Farnborough Groove Vol. 5”. In 1996 their song “Rainchaser” appears on the “Farnorough Groove Vol. 6” tape and “Cryin’ Out For Love” on the “Snakebite City Four”.

I look at the Facebook page for Woking Soundscene, why not? I have found great stuff there in the past. Here I find some images. One of them show that The Perfect Circles played at The New Inn in Basingstoke in October 7th 1995.

On another Facebook page by Farnborough Groove, I see that the song “Rainchaser” was also recorded by a band called Modern Art Thieves. Was it the same band members in this band? Who’d know?

And yeah, that’s all really I could find about this band. But they sound quite good, especially the song “Don’t Let Me Down”!

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Listen
The Perfect Circles – Don’t Let Me Down

Day 251.

Attention Cloudberry friends We will be out of town starting next Saturday until the first week of January. If you want to place an order for the holidays, please do so before Friday November 20, as that day will be the last time we will be posting records until 2021. We need a little break from this strange year, but fear not, we will still be active in the blog and we will be back in 2021 with a new 7″ release that has already been pressed!

Strawberry Whiplash: “Press 4 For Love” is the new song by the great Scottish duo formed by Laz and Sandra. This song is part of a digital single that also includes the song “A Rainy Day in Glasgow” which is a song that was recorded some time ago. The good news about this new song is that it has been announced a new Strawberry Whiplash on Matinée Recordings next year. Can’t wait for it!

My Darling YOU!: the other news that come from Matinée Recordings is that  this December they are releasing a compilation called “A Dream Come True” by this Swedish duo who I worked with many many years ago on another compilation. This is very cool. The song they are sharing this time around is “We Break Up on Friday” !

Lost Tapes: a new 7″ coming out soon by our Spanish friends is great news always. This time around the “Quoting Salter” EP is going to be released by other friends of ours, Kocliko Records from Bera Spain. This label has quickly become a true favourite of all indiepop fans. They have the best of tastes and this new release doesn’t seem like the exception. We can preview one of four songs right now “The Attraction of the Opposites (Radio Edit)”.

Adults: 6 new demos by this fun band! The idea behind these demos is to raise money so they can record their new album, and that is definitely a good idea. We don’t know much about this band, we know it is a four-piece, I think from the UK and that’s it. Good, punchy songs.

Traveling with Monika: Bangkok’s Traveling with Monika is one of the best indiepop bands from Southeast Asia. Their new song “Faded” is brilliant, with great female vocals. I hope they get to release a record, and I can get it here in the US. Would be good. I don’t own any Thai records!

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I have been curious about the compilation “The Huge Corporation Presents” since I wrote about This Yabis. I’ve been enchanted by this band, for the few songs I know from Soundcloud. So I went to look for more information about it and found that the blog From a Northern Place had shared one of the songs that appear on this 10″.

The song is “Sun in Splendour” by the band Sister Crow. It is a bit different to what I have heard from This Yabis, a bit darker and less pop perhaps, but it is a fine post-punk song, with good melodies. Catchy even in it’s own way.

I wonder if the bands that appear on this compilation were friends. There was Sister Crow and This Yabis, but also The Days that Shock the World and Land of the Giants. How did they sound like? I need to get a copy of this record released by the Huge Corporation (HCP1) in 1986.

Out of the 4 bands in this comp it was only Sister Crow that appeared on another compilation. None of them had proper releases, so not great. But yes, Sister Crow contributed the song “Purple Bread” to the “Let’s Cut a Rug” compilation released in 1984 by Printhead Records (DWELLS 001). On this compilation I see two familiar names to me, Yeah Yeah Noh and Deep Freeze Mice.

I don’t own this record but it seems that it came with an insert with information about the bands. Maybe someone would know then the names of the band members or where did they hail from?

From the vinyl labels, the A side where the band appears with track 7, it seems that the song is credited to Sharman. Did I get that right?

Now I start finding the right information… in my own blog! So it seems the band Hugebigmassive originally started as Sister Crow! I had written about it, about Hugebigmassive and from the Sound of Leamington Spa #7 I find this information: Formed in 1986 originally as a three piece with surviving members from previous band Sister Crow – Andrew Sharman (guitar/vocals), Stuart Simpson (guitar/keys/backing vocals) and Karl Traae (bass).

Okay, so yes to Sharman. But the year seems off, right? If they had contributed that song in 1984? Or maybe Discogs is wrong?

So we know three names of the band members. The photo from the back cover of the 10″ shows a 4-piece. So we are missing the one name. And we know too that they were from Leicester.

One more thing, on Youtube, the Abbey Park Festival Archive has uploaded a 1984 gig by Sister Crow! We don’t know the song titles, but here are 25 minutes worth of footage.

In the book “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” by Andrew Collins the band is mentioned to have played at the Black Lion with Seven League Red from Market Harborough supporting.

Not much more information… so yeah, hoping someone can help with more details here!

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Listen
Sister Crow – Sun in Splendour

Day 248.

Trashcan Sinatras: the Scottish band is back with a 7″ that will include the new single “Ways” and the previous one, “The Closer You Move Away from Me”. This 7″ is very limited and is being released by Last Night From Glasgow. The record should be coming out in early 2021 but pre-orders are available if you follow the link.

Chavales: the Elefant Records band have a new video for their song “Dame Veneno” where we follow the band members around Madrid. It brings lots of memories of course, seeing the metro, the buses, times when I could visit that great town.

Grubs: “It Must Be Grubs” was the terrific album the band released on Tuff Enuff Records back in 2016. It seems a few copies are available again. Very few copies. I sadly can’t afford 15 dollars shipping and will have to skip this record. But those of you in Europe that can get more decent prices, well, you shouldn’t miss it!! Because it is good (even though the jacket artwork  leaves me wondering…)

Dead Famous People: a long time ago I recommended the new album “Harry” by the legendary Auckland band fronted by Donna Savage. Well, nowadays you should already have the record, I do, but if you want to preview all 10 songs, they are up now on Bandcamp. It is a terrific album. One of the best this year.

The Yellow Melodies: Rafa Skam’s project has been going for years, decades, now. He is one of indiepop’s most fervent enthusiasts, you can see him at every pop festival, playing in bands, writing fanzines and blogging reviews. His latest release is going to be the “Sunshine Pop EP2”. It will have 5 songs and will be released on CD on December 4. Right now the first song is available to preview, “Follow the Sun”.

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Another great find in the Fanning Sessions blog! What a great place to find great pop songs from Ireland!

There is not much info about this band but it is worth checking them out and their song “Million Miles” that was shared in that post.

We know that the band hailed from Derry and was a 4 piece formed by Colum McKeever on guitar and vocals, Tony Morrison on guitar and vocals, Paul Edwards on bass and vocals and Tommy Alford on drums.

I don’t think they released any records, but they’d must have recorded some demo tapes. Would be good to find out about them.

The band formed sometime in the mid 80s. And in 1986 they moved to Belfast. In 1985 they had already won the Smithwicks Rock & Pop Award and played the Sense of Ireland Festival in London in March/April 1986. They were going places it seemed. So what happened?

In 1986 the band also recorded a session for Radio Foyle. Which songs were recorded for it? That would also be great to find out. Then they appeared on TV, on Channel One on the program Visual Eyes. There they performed the song “Million Miles” on August 20, 1986. From comments in the Youtube link we know that Colum McKeever is a teacher.

The band also used to have a Myspace back in the day. We can’t play the songs there but we know at least some song titles: “A Million Miles Away” (was this the right name of the song? or just “Million Miles”?), “It’s So Hard”, “No Place to Hide”, “Pride Unseen” and “Bite the Hand”. According to Irishrock.org other songs of theirs included “Perfect”, “Tell Me Now” and “So Hard”.

Now through Google I find that actually Noel Burke from St. Vitus Dance, when I interviewed him he recommended me the band! How funny. I should have explored all his recommendations then.

The only other detail about the band is that they played The Savoy Theatre in Limerick on May 30th, 1986.

And that’s it. Very little information on the web. Maybe we’ll get to know more about them soon.

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Listen
Kitsch is Rich – Million Miles

Day 246.

Las Ligas Menores: perhaps my favourite Argentinean band of the last decade is back with a new song called “Hice Todo Mal” and they even have made a promo video for it! It is great as usual and I wonder of course if it will be released in a record in the near future. I hope so!

The B-Team: the classic London mod band that were interviewed on the blog not too long ago have just published on Bandcamp a new live EP! They are four songs recorded live at the Wood Green Community Centre in North London in 1986!

Midden Heap: who are Eric and Blake, the two guys behind this great sounding EP titled “Do You Think It’s Not the Other Way Around?” We know they hail from Baltimore and that the 5 songs on the EP were recorded this year between May and September. Right now we can preview two of them, “Girl on a Train” and “Lower Ground” and expecting to hear the rest on December 11th!

The Permits: we hop now to Melbourne, Australia, one of the hotspots of guitar pop these days. The band formed by Tristan Davies, Tam Matlakowski, Dusy Anastassiou and Rob Remedios are releasing a 10 song album on tape! The album is called “Time Permits” and right now we can preview two songs, “It Takes a Long Time (To Be Free of Society)” and “World in Numbers”.

Flower Maze: and lastly just the one song, “Divided Shades”, from this Pomona, California, band. There is no other information available, but the song is nice! It looks like their first ever song too?

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I was looking at my Liechtenstein collection the other day and noticed I was missing a cassette they had put out in Japan. It was actually a split tape from 2011 with the Japanese band Twinkle Twinkles that was called “SWE & JPN Girls Unite”. It included two songs by Liechtenstein that I have never heard, “The Book” and “The Angel in the House”. That was something that bothers me. I was trying to burn me a CD with all Liechtenstein songs that weren’t in their album. I was thinking a singles and B-sides compilation would be nice. Maybe I should ask them? Maybe I could do it?

Then my mind went the other way. The band that shared that split tape was called Twinkle Twinkles. I actually own a CD by them. But I honestly know nothing about them! So, I went back to the tape page on Discogs.

This split tape was released by my friend Sumire who ran the lovely shop Violet and Claire. At some point the store started releasing records and called their label the same way, Violet and Claire. The catalog number for this tape was V&C008. The store and label was based in Tokyo and for a few years it was a beacon of indiepop in Japan. Thanks to them I was introduced to a lot of great music. One day I should try and ask Sumire to do an interview for the blog. Would be great to hear from her, her take on indiepop during the 2000s.

Anyhow, on this tape Twinkle Twinkle had the B side and contributed three songs, “Vintage Boys and Girls”, “His Presents Were Tons of Daughnuts” and “Strawberry Heavenly”.

The year after, 2012, the band released a CD on their own. It was self-titled with 7 songs, “Secret Love”, “Cinderella”, “Will be Happier Girl Song”, “Strawberry Heavenly”, “Vintage Boys and Girls”, “His Presents were Tons of Doughnuts” and “Sukissukissu”. This is the CD I have. Sadly there is no other information on the simple cardboard sleeve it came on.

4 years later, in 2016, the band would release another EP. It will be called “Take Me to the Star”. I just found a copy of it on Discogs and I am happy about it. This CD was released by 2670records from Japan with catalog number TSSO-1021. I am not that familiar with the label but noticed that the label had released some great bands including Old Lacy Bed, Gingerlys or Babaganoüj.

This CD had 6 songs, “Too Pure”, “The Hill”, “Burst into Tears”, “Merry Go Round”, “Summer” and “I Can See”. I find in Youtube that the band made a trailer for the album! It includes some photos of the band and I recognize one of them…. one of the guitar players was in Betty and the Werewolves! Even cooler the label has uploaded to Youtube another video, a proper promo video for the song “Summer“! And then another video, for the song “Merry Go Round“!

Thanks to this video I end up on a Bandcamp page where you can stream all 6 songs. There is also some information about the band! This is what it says:  Twinkle Twinkles is an all-girl twee/indie/pop band led by Nana(G&Vo). They performs with many overseas artists such as Sea Lions(USA), Razika(Norway), as well as NIGHTS(USA), Colleen Green(USA), and Cassie Ramone(ex:Vivian Girls) under the solo name of Nana. They released their first self-titled album in 2012. They also released a split cassette tape with Liechtenstein from Sweden. Released their 2nd mini album “take me to the star” created in London in November 2016. For 2017 ‘Record Store Day’, their 7 inch “CRUSH” is going to be released for the first time. 

Ok, now we know the name of one of the band members, Nana. It is not much. But what leaves me very curious is this “Crush” 7″? Was it ever released?

So it was released for record store day on May 10 of 2017. It came out on the same label, 2670records with catalog number TSSO-2003. I want a copy of this! It included two songs, “1:28” on the A side and “A Piece of a Broken Red Heart”. How can I find a copy? The two songs can be streamed here on Bandcamp.

I continue digging and find a live video of the band playing “Vintage Boys and Girls” on February 26, 2012 at Vio. I see that at this point the band was just 2 girls! This same user has uploaded more live videos. We have “Cinderella” live at Zoot Horn Rollo on February 25, 2012. “Strawberry Heavenly” on November 20, 2011 at Amp Cafe. “Vintage Boys & Girls” on November 18, 2011 at Echo. “Cinderella” on November 12, 2011 at Bar Ripple. “Vintage Boys & Girls” and “Sukissukissu” on August 7, 2011 at 地下一階. Then “Will be Happier Girl Song” and “Strawberry Heavenly” and another video at Para-Dice on March 16, 2011.

Other users have uploaded more videos. I find one live at Day in Day Out at Bar Ripple. I think this is their full gig that day on November 12, 2011. Then I find the band playing  many songs in Fukuoka. These include “Theme, Secret Love“, “Michel“, “Cinderella“, “Will Be Happier Girl Song” and “Sukissukissu“.

Then I finally find that the band was formed by Nana on guitar and vocals, Natsuki on drums and Emily on guitar and vocals. They played in the UK too, at The Underbelly on Wednesday October 5th, 2016 alongside Community, Nikki Loy and Val Maugenest.

Then what else? It seems Nana was in other bands like The Harriets and Sylvanias!

Wow, now it all makes sense. I have written about The Harriets not too long ago! And loved them. And will be interviewing them soon! I’ve sent questions to them at least. Now this is really great. I can ask her to do a Twinkle Twinkles interview afterwards! That’d be fantastic!

Who remembers this band that sounded so good, a twee mix of The Primitives, Lush, Talulah Gosh and more. Anyone saw them when they played in UK? What about in Japan? I think they should have been much more known. So good!

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Listen
Twinkle Twinkles – Summer

Day 244. Back in New York City. 14 days of mandatory quarantine for anyone entering this state. The laws changed a few days before I was returning, where you could get a PCR test before traveling to NYC and then another when returning. I thought about getting it, just for the sake of it, but as my insurance wouldn’t cover it when being abroad decided not to. Now I think it would have been a good idea as I would have been able to resume my life much sooner. No symptoms, not feeling bad at all. It is a bit stressful and not as enjoyable going to the airport and flying, but it is totally manageable.

Love, Burns:  one of the records no one should miss this year is the two-song 7″ released by Love, Burns on Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten just a few weeks ago. For those in the US the band will have records to sell on their Bandcamp and they should start shipping pretty soon. I had recommended the band in the past, but now with a 7″ on their pockets it is a imperative to recommend them again. The songs “Gate and the Ghost” and “It’s a Shame” sound amazing. The solo project of the Pale Lights frontman Phil Sutton is a treat. On the record he gets his friends Kyle Forester, Gary Olson, Hewson Chen and Hampus Öhman-Frölund to help with the instruments. I am sure this will sell out pretty fast.

Typical Girls: Happiest Place Records from Gothenburg will be releasing a record that seems to be a must! The Typical Girls’ self-titled EP, formed by Hugo, Julia and Felix, comes with three pop songs, “Las Palmas”, “Tension” and “Girl like You”. At this time we can only preview the last one! The record is going to be released on December 11 on vinyl.

Astragal: the Houston band has been a favourite for a long time and here they are releasing a tape with Donna Hayward on Miss Champagne Records. The three songs the band is contributing, “Brightfellow”, “Miles” and “Crescent” are available to stream on the band’s Bandcamp. And they are really good!

Skittle Alley: There is a new compilation by this superb French band! It is called “Memories” and it includes a whopping 25 songs in it! The release seems to be only available on digital format and is being released by Barcelona’s Discos de Kirlian!

Cotton Range: this Chinese band is a favourite of mine. Their latest release is a cassette that comes with a cat lovers comic. The release is coming out on Small Animal Records from Changsha and includes 3 songs. There are t-shirts for sale too. Very nice!

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Back to the great Soundcloud page for the WokingSoundscene to discover more jewels. This time around I have discovered the band Twister, a duo that worked at Workhouse Studios in Aldershot.

The band released an eponymous cassette album released by Music & Elsewhere in 1993 (M&E 224). It included 12 songs in total. 8 were from the album and included were too 4 songs from their 1st demo. On the A side we find “Never Die”, “Bloodrush”, “Shining Star”, “Get Rid of the Fear”, “See Me Here” and “Die”. The B side has “Soar” and “Babylon’s Burning”. The 4 songs from the first demo appear on the B side too and these were “You Don’t Know”, “Sleeping in the Sun”, “Signal” and “You Never Notice”.

We know that the band was formed by Inga Leru and Neil Buckingham and they were based in Crangleigh in Surrey. The  songs were recorded at C.A.N. Recording Studio in Farnham. I also believe this tape included an extra song, “These Days” that was actually recorded by Three Times the Crow the band that Inga used to sing previously.

The band also featured two tracks on the first “Guilfin Benefit Tape” in the summer of 1992. This was also released by Music & Elsewhere (MMATT 36). I can’t seem to find which two songs were included though.

I do know that Twister’s “Bloodrush” was included in the “Farnborough Groove Strikes Back! (Volume 5)” compilation tape in 1995.

The Magic Net website actually has an interview with Inga Leru-Kelly. Here it mentions that she was later in a band called Kilter. There is not much information about Twister though.

But I do find Inga’s Soundcloud! And wow, there are 8 songs by Twister here! These are “Blood Rush”, “Get Rid of the Fear”, “See Me Here”, “Serenade”, “Roar”, “The Truth About Pixie”, “You Don’t Know”, “You WIll Never Die” and “All You Can Do”. Some I believe from the tape album and some other from demo tapes?

And then what do I find? A Twister Facebook page. Not much info here aside that all songs of the band are, digitally and on CD, available as an album called “The Ultimate Twister” and also there’s a single called “Sleeping in the Sun”. The album has 10 songs and they are “All You Can Do”, “Bloodrush”, “Get Rid of the Fear”, “Friend”, “You Will Never Die”, “The Truth  About Pixie”, “Roar”, “See Me Here”, “Serenade” and “You Don’t Know”. Then I find that Neil has a website with his music.

And that’s quite something! I honestly thought I was going to find way less about this band. So yeah, there you go, lots of music to listen! Now who remembers them? How many demo tapes they put out? Why didn’t they release more stuff while they were going on? Did they play many gigs? What other bands have they been involved with?

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Listen
Twister – Never Die

Day 241. I should be on a plane all day today.

Stomp Talk Modstone: I recommended this Japanese band some time ago as I really enjoyed their dreampop sounds. There new song called “Sugartime” reinforces my recommendations, it is very good. If you have 4 minutes to spare, check it out.

Anthony Rochester: the pop craftsman that is Anthony Rochester from Tasmania is back with a new album called “Space Music for Horses”. The album seems to be available only digitally so far and it comes with 13 songs.

The Finalists: a Sydney band that sounds quite good, clearly influenced by The Go-Betweens and Flying Nun Records, it can only make one happy. They have just released their album “First” which includes 9 jangly songs!

Mitimitis: this fine Chilean band have graced the blog a few times. Now they have a new album called “Terror en el Autocine” which is being released digitally by Gemelo Parásito Records and it sounds quite nice. Give it a listen.

Nah…: two new songs by our friends from Munster and Amsterdam. This time around they are two covers, one being “Tumbledown Weekend” by They Go Boom! and the other “Porthcawl” by The Hepburns. Great!

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Back to the AGMP Youtube channel to discover more obscure indiepop! Now is the time for the obscure London band Blanche Spooner.

I don’t know if what’s been uploaded is a complete demo tape, it feels that way. There are 7 songs here, “Post”, “Thoroughly Modern Willy”, “Done Did!”, “Goodbye Dolly”, “Barf”, “Swede” and “Shirley, Shirley, Shirley”, all dating from 1989.

The only other info that’s available in these Youtube posts is that the band recorded two demo tapes. It also mentions that the band played a handful of gigs at the legendary venues the Powerhaus and The Mean Fiddler.

What else can we find?

The photo of the band shows 6 people. 6 band members then? 5 guys, 1 girl. The image uploaded to Youtube does look like a tape sleeve. Perhaps one of these demos was called “Sounds Like Blanche Spooner”.  Okay sure, these deductions anyone could make. Perhaps I am not that great as an indiepop detective.

But yeah it seems that’s it. There’s nothing else on the web. It is a shame really as all the songs are really nice. Classic indiepop. Oh well…

Anyone remembers them? Know who were the band members? The name of their demo tapes? Where in London were they based? Are there more songs? I feel I can come up with a thousand questions, so I hope some of them can be answered!

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Listen
The Blanche Spooner – Thoroughly Modern Willy