Thanks so much to Chris Lewington for the interview! I had written about the amazing Bicycle Thieves on the blog some months ago and I was lucky that some days ago Chris got in touch and filled in the gaps! Ghostdance is one of the best songs I’ve discovered this year, and now after reading this interview, I like it much more. Enjoy!

++ So The Bicycle Thieves… was it your first band? How did the band start? How did the recruiting process work?

The band was my third proper band. There’s a sort of thin line of progression of band members through my other bands. I was first with The Silence a sort of new Psychedellic band around 1981/2. There was a bit of a scene in London then of bands doing late 60’s psychedellic influenced stuff and we drew quite a lot from American 60’s bands like Love and the Byrds. Theres a compilation album called Splash of Colour of bands of that time that The Silence have a track on. The Silence morphed into The Habit, a bit more Gothie type of thing and that in turn became the Bicycle Thieves around 1985 with myself, Steve Penfold the drummer from the Habit and Graham Robson bass and Alisdair Nelson guitar recruited from adverts in the music press.This was the line up that recorded Louise/Ghostdance. Later on Dave Goode replaced Graham and Mark Burdett replaced Alisdair when he went back to New Zealand. Plus a sax player Ian Derbyshire and this line up recorded Waterfront.

++ Where were you based? And why the name?

We were based around south east London Deptford area as that’s where most of us were living at the time and its always been one of those areas in London that has a vibrant music scene going. I’ve always been a bit of a film buff, in fact I came to London to college at film school at the LCP.So I fancied the name of the Italian film as quite a poetic name for a band. So have several other groups through the years it would seem.

++ Did you gig a lot? Are there any particular gigs you remember?

We gigged mostly around London. Later on we went further afield and did gigs up and down England. Only ever gigged once abroad at a festival in Po in France which was one of the more memorable gigs. Gigs at the Marquee in London were always special because of the places association with all the classic bands that have played there.

++ Were there any bands that you enjoyed the most to play with at gigs? And how close did you feel to the guitar pop scene, the so called c86, that had just exploded in the UK?

I can’t say I was particularly aware of any c86 scene at the time. I was mostly influenced by American west coast bands from the 60’s and more singer songwriter stuff and then when people like REM, Lloyd Cole, maybe the Postcard bands came along they had something in common. Alasdair the guitarist was a fan of early REM and added that essential jangly guitar sound. Later on Alisdair left and his replacement Mark Burdett was a fan of the Australian band The Church so later stuff like Waterfront has that sort of feel to it. We played with all sorts of other bands from Stiff Little Fingers to Captain Sensible.

++ Who were behind the Sun Zoom Spark label? Was there any major label interest?

Sun Zoom Spark and Clearspot were both our own labels. Both had a Cpt Beefheart link in the name. That came from Steve the drummer. Waterfront gained a lot of major label interest because we were getting it played on daytime BBC radio 1 and in those days there wasn’t the huge variety of radio stations that you have now. Apart from Capitol if you were listening to pop or rock radio it was going to be Radio 1. So for a brief point in time it created a stir because we were basically an indie band that had gatecrashed the majors party. We did a distribution deal and got a management company with the idea of keeping control over what we recorded and put out but now having the finance to do it on the back of this. But we were basically overtaken by events. It was 1989 and the Manchester Stone Roses/Happy Mondays thing started to happen. We kind of quickly became yesterdays news as everyone’s attention was focused on bands up north with more dance cross over rhythms.

++ Let’s talk about the releases! I’ve only got the Waterfront 12″ which is really nice. Care to tell me about the recording process for this one? And what about the photo on the cover? I find it very evoking!

Waterfront was recorded over a couple of days at Greyhound studios in Fulham. I’d written the song about all the redevelopment over in the docklands area of east London where I was living. The photo was one we found when we went to the docklands archive. As you say it was a very evocative photo. Don’t know who it is or who took it but it was taken in the past when the area was still dockyards and kind of evoked that sense of loss that the song was about.

++ I do have to say I enjoy the Ghostdance 7″ even though I still haven’t had the chance to find it. I find “Ghostdance” to be an underrated guitar pop classic! I was wondering if you could tell me the story behind the song? What’s the Ghostdance? 😉

Ghostdance started off with some guitar ideas that Alisdair had and we kind of worked on them and I came up with a top line melody and we fashioned it into the song. We didn’t write a lot of songs together and that was a shame because when we did get down to co writing we came up with some good stuff. I know on your blog you’ve mentioned about the Native Americans story of the Ghostdance and I was aware of that at the time but really I was using the phrase more in terms of memory. It was a song about evoking and reminiscing so its the sort of dance of the ghosts of your memories type of thing.

++ And what about “Louise”? Was it based on a real Louise?

Louise was kind of inspired by a couple of relationships neither called Louise though. I kind of think of it as Bruce Springsteen meets Wuthering Hights.

++ So that was your whole discography? 2 releases? or maybe there were compilation tracks? Are there unreleased songs maybe?

There were just the two single releases Ghostdance/Louise in 86 and Waterfront in 89. The large gap between the two due to the collapse of the original band and getting the right people on board again for Bicycle Thieves mark 2. Dave and Ian who joined the band in about 88 saw us play our last gig at Queen Marys with the old line up. Mark the next guitarist was again a music press advert. Yeah there’s lots of unreleased songs. We had more than an albums worth of demos from around Waterfront time most of which are probably better quality recordings. We also re recorded Louise with Tony Visconti producing around that time.

++ I read that both your records received a good amount of National Radio airplay. Maybe you got played even by John Peel? How hard was it back then to get your music heard? In pre-internet times?

Getting you music heard was hard back then because there were few radio stations and the only one that really counted was radio 1. We were very in house. I was ringing up the radio producers and doing all the plugging. Ghostdance got plays with Janice Long on evening radio 1 and Waterfont got much more extensive radio play on Capitol and daytime radio 1. Mike Read of all people really like it and picked up on it and Tommy Vance played it a lot. John Peel was not a fan unfortunately.

++ Looking back in time, what would you say was the biggest highlight of The Bicycle Thieves?

The biggest high ight for me was definitely hearing Waterfront played for the first time on afternoon radio 1. I’d managed to get through to the producer of the show who said they might play it and then hearing it was just a great release of years of pent up hopes and frustration trying to get your music heard. There it was and you knew that another 20 million odd people up and down the country were hearing it too.

++ So what happened, why did you split up?

We split up in 1990 for the simple reason that we couldn’t get a record deal. We’d done a lot off our own back but in the end you need the finance to keep making records and at that time you needed a major record label. There’s been times in pops history where I think you could do it truly independently like in 76/77 but 89/90 wasn’t one of them and any ” indie ” labels at that time were usually backed by major money.

++ Have you been involved with music since?

My next band after the Bicycle Thieves was a folk type set up “The Famous Blue Raincoats” but we never ended up putting any singles out. After that I just did songwriting. I currently play live with a covers band still with the old Bicycle Thieves drummer Steve. We’re called Kings of Oblivion – another name used by umpteen other different bands.

++ What did The Bicycle Thieves consider themselves? Indiepop? Pop? Punk? Rock?

I guess I’d call the Bicycle Thieves indie. Indie is kind of as much about how you do things and put your music out and for the most part we were truly indie in that sense. As a sound we might have strayed a bit to much into mainstream rock maybe. I don’t know. People like the NME and John Peel ignored us maybe because our sound wasn’t indie enough but you know you make the music that you make. Others tell you what niche you fit into or don’t fit into.

++ One last question, well, two, as Im always curious about this with British people. Do you like Marmite? And, do you prefer a lager or a British ale?

I do like marmite. Better than vegemite. I usually use it in cooking to enhance the flavour of spinach with pasta. I drink beer and no its not warm its just not served ice cold like American beer. Lager is what they drink in Europe. Nothing beats a nice cool pint of foaming Old weassels testicle

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The Bicycle Thieves – Ghostdance

Thanks so much to Steve Hill for this interview! The Marmite Sisters were  a fantastic Leicester band in the late 80s and early 90s that released many tapes, 2 flexis and one 7″. Shambolic and fun, they are one of the era’s best kept secret. If you want to get a hold of both flexis you can do so by writing Steve to timebox11 [AT] btinternet.com. You can get both for £1.50 plus P+P depending on where you are in the world. Thanks again Steve, and enjoy the read.

++ Hi Steve! Thanks so much for being up for the interview. So I have to start with this question, is marmite your favourite spread?

Marmite’s OK but not my fave spread. It’s best on toast on a rainy winters day with a mug of tea.

++ You all were already in a band called Anonymouse before becoming The Marmite Sisters, what were the differences between these two bands? Did you get to release anything under Anonymouse?

The Anonymouse formed in 1984 when we were all 14.We did our first gig in Nov 85 and recorded some basic 4 track demos. We did a couple of Yeah Yeah Noh covers and were similar to their early releases. Name change came when the original drummer and bassist left.

++ So was Anonymouse your first band? Or had you been involved with music before? And how did you all knew each other?

Our first proper band. We were all at the same school.

++ And how did the name of the band come about?

The name came about after Graham had a dream about finding a dead mouse in a Marmite jar.

++ You were based in Glenfield, Leicestershire, right? I just read there are only 10,ooo inhabitants. What did you do there for fun?

Glenfield and fun are not words usually used together.

++ In the early days you released many tapes, how many of those songs appeared later on the flexis and the 7″? Do you happen to have the tracklist for the tapes “Kick Donkey”, “Songs of Love and Lawnmovers”, “Demos” and “Bowled A Googly”? Am I missing any other tape?

“Kick Donkey” (1988) was our debut release with the first “real” line up and the only one with Graham Barnfield on vocals. It was basically a practice tape recorded in Iain’s (bassist) bedroom but captured the band perfectly.8 songs in 20 minutes plus banter and mistakes.Shambolic but right. “Songs of love and Lawnmowers” (1989) had a more C86/jangly style and had two pop highlights in “I don’t wanna” and “Madman on the Bus”. After another line up change we released the “Tug” flexi (early 1991) and the “Bowled a Googly” tape. None of the tracks appeared on future releases.

++ And why release your stuff in tape? Was Tea Record & Tape Co. your own record label? If so, how did you like the business side of music?

Tapes were the cheapest and quickest way to release music. I ran Tea as a “hobby”. Flexis were preferable but money was short. We sold over 1200 flexis overall just from mail order and gigs which I felt was ok but hardly a viable business.

++ Did you play lots of gigs? What are the gigs you remember the most and why?

We gigged sporadically til 1991 and then heavily until late 94. Early highlights include supporting The Membranes, Poppyheads and Orchids. After that we had regular local gigs supporting bands like Stereolab, Moonshake, Huggy Bear, Eggs… Gigs with local bands such as Prolapse, Cornershop, Ammonites. Towards the end we did regular gigs with Gag and The Keatons mainly in London. We once let Huggy Bear use all our gear to do a impromtu set at a Piao gig. Was great to see them playing my guitar covered in trainspotting stickers.

++ How was the PIAO festival by the way? I would have loved to attend that!

We opened the Piao festival but i saw little of it. Remember the Beatnik Filmstars playing their guitars with beercans but little else.

++ Your sound is great, I love the fast guitars! Which other bands from that time did you empathize with?

I always felt we sounded like the Wedding Present crossed with the TV Personalities. I liked the shambling bands of the day but favoured bands like The Wolfhounds and McCarthy or the weirder Ron Johnson bands like Shrubs and A Witness. C86 was a great time as all these bands were so diverse.

++ Your first flexi was the Tug EP. It says there that the song “Trevor” was written by a band called Trevor. What is this all about?

Trevor was written by Neil whilst at Uni in Devon. The exact facts behind this are vague at best.

++ The second of your flexis was called Belper. What was your relationship with Belper, Derbyshire? Doesn’t look like much happens there?

Belper was chosen as a title only and not with any significance.Very little of what we did had any true depth.

++ Which of your songs is your favourite and why?

I like “I dont wanna” and “Madman on the bus” from the early line up. Its scratchy but tuneful and captures the early spirit.The flexis still sound good. I like “Nothing to get” of the Meller Welle single and “Semi Detached” + “Pre Nuptial” of the last recordings. I felt we actually sounded like a “real” band on these…..

++ When and why did you call it a day?

We called it a day in late 95. The main reason for me was seeing Guided By Voices in Nottingham that year. Simply the greatest gig i’ve ever seen and after that i couldn’t see the point in trying. I haven’t played guitar since (apart from drunken air guitar)

++ What is the connection between The Marmite Sisters and The Minogues and Cavalier Approach?

The Minougues was Neil and Daves band that ran at the same time as the Marmites. Great and daft pop songs. I really wanted to release a single by them called “Mr Duck” but somehow it never came about. One of only a few regrets. Cavalier Approach were Iain’s first band from 1983/4.We used to cover the song “Dont touch my fence” about neighbours boasting over the size of their greenhouses. Very English.

++ I’m always curious about this on bands that were around in the 80s, did you consider yourself indiepop or something else?

We were very indiepop.Too talentless to be anything else.

++ What are you all doing these days? Are you all still in touch?

We are in very very infrequent contact with each other. Only Paul is still in a band called Black Fingers (heavy ,stoner rock). My last musical outing was guesting on the debut Volcano The Bear release “Y’ak folks Y’are” where i can be heard mumbling and shaking stuff. A great record despite this.

++ Your last release happened when the band had already split up. It was the Gricers EP on the Meller Welle label from Germany. How did this one happen? Why was it released posthumously and how come in a German label?!

“Gricers” was recorded a year before it appeared.Jorg liked the tracks but was struggling to get it released. By the time it came out we had nearly split and so couldn’t promote it properly.

++ In 1995 you recorded 9 songs which later in 2002 you remixed then for an EP that never got released.  Will it ever be released? Are these songs similar to your earlier ones or much different?

Our last recordings were started in 1995 but we still needed to add extra guitar and mix it when we ran out of money. We spent 3 days in 2001 finishing it but its never been released. It’s a shame as it would have been a good full stop on the band. Has 3 of our best tunes but no ones ever heard them…..

++ You know I would love to see at some point a retrospective album of The Marmite Sisters, are there any plans for the future for the band? Maybe a reunion gig? 😀

The band will never reform. I still have plenty of flexis available should people need them.

++ Now, looking back, what was the biggest highlight for you as a Marmite Sister?

Biggest highlight for me was touring with Cornershop in 1993. Playing at being in a band for 3 days whilst living in a car. Kinda summed it all up.

++ One last question, Leicestershire’s biggest contributions to English cuisine are Pork Pie, Stilton Cheese and Red Leicester Cheese. I’ve never tried any, but if you were to choose one?

Stilton is England’s finest cheese but its a love or hate kinda food.Red Leicester often tastes like the plastic its wrapped in and is best eaten melted on toast.Pork pie is great but i ain’t ate meat for 26 years so maybe I’m not the best judge.

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The Marmite Sisters – Semi Detached

This is the last post, even though there might be an interview or two published, before I leave to the UK on the 21st for a little vacation. I’ll be back on August 2nd. And hopefully that same day I’ll prepare a post about Indietracks or some adventure I had in the UK. So worry not of the lack of updates.

These coming days are dead busy at Cloudberry HQ. Today the new fanzine is out. And the Very Truly Yours records have just arrived home. I have to cut the 500 inserts during the weekend and hand-number them. I know the release date is July 31st, but the thing is that the records have to been in UK by next week, so my Chicago darlings can sell them in their gigs all around the UK, from London to Glasgow. Also have to send the records to mailorders before I leave to London. So I’m on a very tight deadline. On top of it all my Peru plays Colombia today at 3pm for Copa America quarterfinals and that will take half of my day probably.

At this point I’m not 100% sure that I will sell records at Indietracks. But leave me a note, or an email, and I could bring the records you’d like to the festival. I’m not sure what’s the deal this year for labels at the merch tent. But I don’t have much time to sit down and miss bands I’d love to see. I made some weeks ago a small schedule for what I’d like to see, it goes more or less like this:

Friday
Pocketbooks

Saturday
14:00 Remi Parson
15:00 Graeme Elston
16:00 The Garlands
16:40 Wendy Darlings
17:00 Next Time Passions
17:40 Butcher Boy
18:40 Help Stamp Out Loneliness
20:30 Milky Wimpshake.

Sunday
13:20 Proctors
16:00 Papa Topo
16:40 Sloppy Joe
17:40 Zipper
18:40 Very Truly Yours

Quite exciting!

So what did I listen this week on CD?
1. Chain Letter –  Théâtral Musical (Tulip House)
2. Various Artists – Good Thing Goin’ Pushbike Compilation Vol.4 (Pushbike)
3. BMX Bandits – Bee Stings (P-Vine)
4. Zoey Van Goey – Propeller vs. Wing (Chemikal Underground)

And now onto our obscure band of the week: Jane From Occupied Europe. I would have featured this band a long time ago. I was in touch with the bassist of the band, Dave Todd, some years ago and we agreed on an interview. Sadly I never heard back from him. Anyhow, let’s review this fantastic Salisbury band that had three releases, which I proudly only own 1 of them! I should start tracking the rest.

First stop, Wikipedia:

Jane from Occupied Europe were a band that originated from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Band members had appeared previously in other local bands, most notably Bubblegum Splash [Subway Records] and a popular Wiltshire band, Mrs Taylor’s Mad. They were part of what was an interesting scene of music that stemmed from the area around the mid to late 80’s, including bands like The Badgeman (Paperhouse Records), The Mayfields, and Mad Cow Disease. Whilst their sound has been bracketed under the ‘Shoegazing’ mantle, their sound was based around a broad number of styles and influences including psychadaelia, punk, and garage. The band toured around England, supporting bands like Carter USM, Catherine Wheel, Mock Turtles, and the Seeds amongst numerous others.

The band was formed by Jim Harrison, vocals & guitar, Colin O’Keefe, guitar, Dave Todd, bass, David Ware, guitar, keyboards & vocals, and Phil Eason, drums & percussion. On an interview I did with Bubblegum Splash’s Nikki and Marty she told me that it was Jim and Dave who were in Bubblegum Splash and  after some googling I found out that David Ware was in Mrs. Taylor’s Mad. Wonder if Jane From Occupied Europe was the first band Colin, Dave and Phil were on?

So one would assume that they took their name from the second album by Swell Maps and that’s true. They once told the NME: “Swell Maps thought up some really great titles and, er… we just ripped it off.” But then I get curious, and I wonder if that name has any significance. I can’t think of Europe being occupied, or any particular Jane. Maybe it comes from a sci-fi book or something? Anyhow, maybe you know better and can tell me where this enigmatic name comes from. But now onto more about this fantastic band.

I fell in love with them since I bought in 2006 their 7″ “Ocean Runs Dry”, a mix of shoegaze and guitar pop released in 1989 on  7 Per Cent Records (catalog JANE 001). I believe the band run this record label. This record is not very hard to find, and I recommend anyone reading this to get it. I’ve seen it on Discogs for less than 5 bucks. You’ll thank me! The track swaggers with a distorted guitar, another guitar doing arpeggios, and c86 class vocals! On the flip side you find two more great tracks “Annabel Lee” and “Kingdom By The Sea”. So Oceans and seas? I guess Salisbury is not that far from the Atlantic, did they go to the beach often? And what about Annabel Lee? “Annabel Lee” is the last complete poem composed by Edgar Allan Poe.

Onto catalog JANE 002. That was the Little Valley Town 12″ EP, released in 1990. That record included 4 songs: “Little Valley Town”, “Parade”, “Walking Around” and “Horizons in Blue”. This release and the previous one can be downloaded from this blogspot page the band set up. Sadly their last release, JANE 003, their 1991 album “Colorsound”. is not available anymore for free download. But let me promise you that if you get your hands on it you won’t be disappointed. The quality is still there, and only one song is repeated on the album from previous releases: “Parade”. If you happen to find extra copies for these two releases let me know, I’d be interested!

There were two compilation appearances as far as I know and actually one of them was already discussed on this blog on an interview with Krischan! from Frischluft Records. The song ” Just like Holden Caulfield” was included in the compilation “Mit Sonnenschirmen fingen wir den Blütenzauber”. Krischan! remembers: ‘We were writing to the address on the Bubblegum Splash-single trying to obtain a song by them just to learn they were no more. The Bubblegum’s flavour may have been gone, but they didn’t throw it away (as Mighty Mighty once claimed) but re-put it into shape that was Jane From Occupied Europe.”

The second compilation appearance was on the first Heol tape. This is a “legendary” tape that was released in Francein 1991 and was put together by Anne Moyon. I believe she is married these days with the great Philippe Katerine. But that’s a story for another day. The track that Jane From Occupied Europe included in this compilation was just named “Untitled”.

According to the blogspot, after the split of the band, one of the members moved to Bristol and recorded some songs under the name 7% Solution. You should be able to download those from the page as well. I wonder which member was it. It doesn’t specify. Check them out, it has some sort of Spacemen 3 feeling, a bit more poppy maybe.

There is some more info on the a page called Birdpoo. There you’ll be able to find a review of their first 7″, a review of a gig in the Powerhaus (seems every band I like have played here!), and an article that appeared on the NME in 1990. This page is really worth checking out as it also has lots of info in some other worthy bands of the period! Wish it was updated though!

Anyhow, that’s more or less all you need to know about this great but sadly underrated and forgotten band. If you want to add anything, share stories, or fill in some gaps, please get in touch! Now enjoy the super fantastic “Ocean Run Dry”.

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Jane From Occupied Europe – Ocean Run Dry

Back from Chicago and then a short work week. Can’t complain. Yesterday Peru beat Mexico in Copa America and that made this week even better. Now I’ll rest and take care of the pile of stuff I have to finish before leaving to the UK on the 21st. Also been thinking of flying to Seattle for Labour Day weekend, not sure if I can afford it, but I feel I should try to get the best out of each long weekend now that I’m kind of young. You only live once they say. Anyhow, train tickets are booked for UK and I’ll be joining Very Truly Yours at their gigs in Glasgow on the 25th and Manchester on the 26th. There are also some great gigs to attend while in London like the free show at ROTA on the 23rd where I’ll finally see Amor de Días and then later that same day the return of The Jasmine Minks with their original lineup! Isn’t that fabulous? Next day, the 24th, it’s time to see Comet Gain!! It’s going to be a very busy week in UK, I can see it already!

On Cloudberry side of things, the artwork for Youngfuck is finished (you can preview it on our Facebook page) and we are just missing some guitar re-recordings for the “Black Tulips” track, then we are set and off to the pressing plant. After it, if everything goes right the Nixon 7″ will be out finally! And yeah, next Friday the new fanzine will be out! You can’t miss it! This weekend I’ve been cutting and pasting together the CD sleeves for the “There’s Peace on the Surging Prow” EP that comes with it. Also got the inserts for the Very Truly Yours single, this week I must finish cutting and hand-numbering them. So lots of work, not many news. But wait until next month, I’m sure August will bring lots!

So what did I listen this week on CD?
1. Nixon – Anorak Christmas (Anorak Records)
2. Various Artists – Spring 2011 Sampler (Pebble Records)
3. Sambassadeur – Final Say (Labrador)
4. The Wild Swans – The Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years (Occultation)
5. The Wild Swans – Tracks in Snow (Occultation)

Now onto our obscure band of the week. Let’s go all the way to the Sound of Young Scotland. Kidding. Let’s go to 1985 actually, but this band may as well have been part of that Glasgow scene of the early 80s. Maybe I’m trying to give the credit Edwyn Collins deserves in inspiring bands with a fresh sound during the 80s, I want to be excited of his gig at Indietracks. I’m not really looking forward to it though, not that I dislike him, I like Orange Juice a lot, but I’m a bit doubtful of what kind of show he can put at the main stage. Friends have told me he is excellent. I really hope so. I’m skeptical. Anyhow, let’s get back into track. 1985, and I guess Northampton. That’s when and where Rumpo Records released the one and only 12″ by Love Ambassadeux (catalog 12002).

A black and white sleeve that doesn’t say much but it’s very elegant welcomes us. The sleeve was designed by Simon Andrews. I have never seen it in real life mind you, it’s one of those records that are impossible to find. It seems it showed up once on eBay according to Popsike, and went for over 100 bucks. If anyone have an spare copy and wants to give it to me, I won’t say no. Of course not! Anyhow, how come this record is so rare? How many copies had been pressed? God knows. Rumpo Records released  a couple of records, at least two 12″ compilations and a 12″ by a band called This Parade. The three of them are quite expensive on Discogs. Are they all guitar pop? I wonder…

The Love Ambassadeux were Roger “Carlos” Nisbett on guitar, Steve Harshaw on bass, Steve Beswick on drums, Dave Howard on keyboards, Russ Cooper on percussion, and Bruce Marcus on vocals. Trisha Wiktorska did backing vocals and the engineer for this record was Alec Price. Among other details on the back cover of the sleeve we see that the front photograph was taken by Jon Barnes, and the producer was no other than The Jazz Butcher!! Isn’t that cool? Wonder if they were his protegés.

Some other details are found on the etchings. on the A side it says “YOU HAVE AN ALMIGHTY HAND – USE IT” and on the B side “I LOVE THE SMELL OF NAPALM IN THE MORNING”.

The first time I heard about them was through my friend Jessels great mixes that he used to post on Myspace. I remember he wrote that the drummer Steve Beswick was playing for The Wild Swans. Checking on my new Wild Swans album, for which I paid 30 dollars including postage (ouch!), I can confirm this is true! Wonder if The Love Ambassadeux opened for the Wild Swans at some gig during the 80s…

The 12″ included 3 songs: “Black Mischief”, “Driftwood” and “Oyster Syndrome”. “Black Mischief” on the sleeve is dedicated to the band’s mothers. Not sure why. I do find that “Black Mischief” was Evelyn Waugh’s third novel, published in 1932. The novel chronicles the efforts of the English-educated Emperor Seth, assisted by a fellow Oxford graduate, Basil Seal, to modernize his Empire, the fictional African island of Azania, located in the Indian Ocean off of the eastern coast of Africa. This has been understood as a reference to Abyssinia and Haile Selassie, though the author himself denied the connection. Do you see any mother connection there?

I find curious the name of the B side song “Oyster Syndrome”. From what I gather:

Writers of all descriptions and levels of experience, sooner or later, develop what can be called “The Oyster Syndrome.” Writers, bloggers included, are always trying to improve their work. Constantly honing their craft, expert and novice alike, tolerate in themselves a measure of “artistic dissatisfaction” that drives them to modify, edit and endlessly revise whatever they are working on. This is “The Oyster Syndrome”: A creative compulsion leading to the relentless pursuit of perfection, which, like the oyster’s reaction to an irritating, sharp grain of sand, produces—a pearl; in the writer’s case (hopefully) a polished “pearl” of prose good enough to enlighten the curious, inspire the discouraged, entertain the bored, and amuse the life-hardened cynic.

Searching around I found also a very interesting article that appeared on The Northampton Chronicle on Monday 20 September 2004. I’ll copy/paste the most interesting parts here:

A RECORD made by a Northampton rock band nearly 20 years ago has cropped up on the most-wanted list of a music website…in Croatia Love Ambassadeux, who were a regular fixture on the Northamptonshire live music scene in the early 1980s, are listed for their 12-inch vinyl EP Black Mischief.

The five-piece were made up of music fans in the Northampton area but according to guitarist Roger Nisbett, from Kingsthorpe, there is little chance of a reunion despite the renewed interest in their music. He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I stumbled across this website and saw us listed on there. “It is amazing to think that someone in Croatia knows about us, 20 years after we called it a day, and is trying to get their hands on Black Mischief. “I know a couple of the lads still live in the town and one has moved down to London but I don’t think we will be getting back together.”

The band was assisted by the Northampton Music Collective, which helped to promote local bands and release records. Roger, 43, who works as a computer systems analyst in Milton Keynes, added that he wasn’t tempted to send one of his copies off to Zagreb. “The memories are much more important than the cash so I’ll be keeping the box of records where they are,” he said. “We had a good few years in the band playing at pubs and places like The Roadmender but unfortunately it was not to be.” The group split up in 1985 shortly after Black Mischief was released.

And that’s about all the information there is about this fantastic and sadly forgotten band. If anyone out there knows anything else about them, if they recorded more songs (they must have!), if they are still music, or just if you have any memories of a gig you attended, please share. I’d love to learn more about this band and their one fantastic record.

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Listen
Love Ambassadeux – Black Mischief

Thanks so much to Michael Wille for the interview! He was the man behind the great German label Blue Records that released the “legendary” 7″ by The Sheets among other gems by the likes of Suffering From a Hangover or even the Wedding Present related The Ukrainians! A bit obscure yes, but very much worth checking out all of their releases. Enjoy!

++ You are not in Germany anymore, you live in Taiwan! How come?

Yes, I currently live in Taiwan. My job brought me here. I am working for a german company here in Taiwan and I am the only German with 200 Chinese colleagues.

++ You founded Blue Records. When was that? And why did you decide to start a label?

Blue Records was a labour of love. A love for Edwyn Collins actually. It must have been 1989 or 1990 when Edwyn Collins was touring on the back of the “Hope and Dispair” LP. I was totally in love with the song “50 Shades of Blue” from that LP at that time. And after that excellent Edwyn concert I just knew what to do: I was to form a record label of the name BLUE RECORDS and each release shall bear the prefix SHADE. And BLUE RECORDS SHADE 50 was to be a record by Edwyn (a version of “50 Shades of Blue” of course). So that was the big plan which somehow never materialized. I made it up to SHADE 007.
But I am still hopefull to complete it some day…
The name Blue Records to many people sounded very uninspired and boring, having more interesting and hip named labels around like Blam-A-Bit, Roman Cabbage or Frischluft. Well, but at least it made sense to me.

++ Where were you based? Was there a scene and good bands around your town?

My home was in Kleinostheim which is a very small place quite close to Frankfurt. Back in the early 90s, Frankfurt was a really great place to see live bands.
We had the Batschkapp, Negativ, Cooky’s, 3Königskeller, Volksbildungsheim, the KuBa in Hanau (not too far a way). So many bands were playing, I remember 1 week where we attended 8 concerts in 7 days.
One concert every evening either in Batschkapp, Negativ or KuBa and then on monday late night (after a attending a concert in Batschkapp) one of the infamous Cooky’s midnight concerts. I saw Talulah Gosh, Galaxie 500 and other great bands playing monday night at 2 AM to a 50-100 or so people. So it was actually a very good time for seeing bands playing live and discovering all kinds of new music.

++ How close was that German indiepop community of the early nineties?

There were many excellent labels around at the time! Frischluft of course, Blam-A-Bit, Steinpilz, Mermaid, Viel-Leicht, Eiswürfel, Roman Cabbage, die schwarze 7, Marsh Marigold – you name them (you seem to be an expert of the German indie scene of ha time!).
I did not have too much contact with them at the time but I sure bought their stuff which was released then.

++ Your most known record was the first one, The Sheets 7″. You were telling me they were supposed to be big. What happened, why didn’t they? How did you get to sign them? Maybe they sent you a demo with lots of fabulous songs? What happened to them after the 7″?

Well, I guess you should have an interview with Joern-Elling Wuttke to find out about that (he was singer, guitar player and mastermind behind the band). All I know is that I saw the band live and I fell in love with them right away.
Right after the gig I asked them if they wanted to do a record with that Label that only existed in my head (I came fresh from the Edwyn Collins gig) and Joern-Elling agreed.
The band had a full album worth of songs recorded by then (of which I have a tape copy and I can confirm its all excellent stuff – a lost classic!) and they were about to sign to a major label. But then again, things dont always go the way they should.
The Major Label deal never materialized, the band fell apart, Joern-Elling developed a love for more electronic music and got famous with his other Alter-Egos like ‘Alter Ego’, ‘Acid Jesus’, ‘Sensorama’ or ‘Warp 69’ to name but a few.

++ Another one of your releases as a 7″ by Klaus Cornfield, the leader from Throw that Beat in a Garbagecan. My German friends don’t think it’s right that I like Throw That Beat a lot! I think because they were big! How did you know Klaus, and what do you think about Throw That Beat? Do you have any favourite release or song?

Yeah, sometimes people seem to dislike bands once they get “big” or “famous”. But never mind, Throw That Beat were really good and a bunch of sweet people.
I still love “A Kiss from you each day (keeps the doctor away)”. After I saw Throw That Beat at a open air, I just bumped into the band somewhere out in the crowd. They were just chatting and drinking a beer. So I said Hello and started talking to them a bit.
After some beers the idea of making this 7″ of Klaus with Buddy Love was born (and later repeated on another 7″ for Teenage Kicks Records from Augsburg).
Klaus is actually a very nice fellow and he now enjoys sort of success as a comic writer and musician in his band Katze.

++ The other record that surprised me very much was the Suffering from a Hangover 7″ “Note: It’s Open, Push and Go EP”. It’s great, pure indiedpop! I’ve never heard anything about them before. Care to tell me a bit about the background of this band?

Actually I knew the band for some time and they passed around demo tapes. After agreeing to release the Forsakes 7″ (the singer of which is brother to the guitar player of Suffering..) we also talked about doing a 7″ with them. I didnt like the early tapes too much but the band improved a lot and they grew on me, so we ended up doing the single. They later got a support slot for a Throw That Beat tour. There are still tons of tapes and unreleased songs, some ended up on a Fan Club only 7″ in a tiny edition of 50. Some members of the band I still see from time, I am thinking of doing a 3-CD retrospective with them hahaha…

++ The last record I listened from your label, the Forsakes 7″, was a bit different, much more rock than indiepop. Was there a particular reason to broaden the sound of the label?

I first heard the singer of the band singing just with accoustic guitar and loved it. I wanted to do a record just with him but later I heard him with his band I was really into that too. They sounded like Buffalo Tom, Lemonheads and Moving Targets, well, sort of. That was how it worked, I heard some music and if I liked I asked if they wanted to a 7″. No contracts or big money, loads of DIY and enthusiasm. Spending nights at a friend over designing he cover and he labels on he computer, cutting inserts for the single – you know that too I guess.

++ Then there are more releases on your label. Care to complete the discography for me as there is nothing online about it? 🙂

SHADE 001 The Sheets: Candyman 7″ 1991
SHADE 002 Forsakes: Jellycow 7″ 1992
SHADE 003 Suffering From A Hangover: note its open, push and go 7″ 1992
SHADE 004 Klaus Cornfield visits Buddy Love 7″ 1992
SHADE 005 Band of Susans: Now 10″ 1992
SHADE 006 The Ukrainians: Live 10″ 1993
SHADE 007 Suffering From A Hangover: Fan Club 7″ 1993
SHADE 008 (just released a record with a German punk band here in Taiwan under a new label name) 2010

++ Was there any plans for other releases then?

As I wrote before, my great dream of heaven was to release a record by Edwyn Collins for SHADE 050. Well, just 42 releases to go ;o)

++ Is it true that maybe you will bring back the label?

Actually after almost 20 years of sleep I just did another 7″ with a German band. I agreed with the band to not reveal any details though…. And SHADE 009 is in the pipeline and should see light of the day very soon. I will send you a copy of that – its a big name and big suprise….

++ You were also telling me that you’d love to do something like a Deutschland 86 compilation. That will be one of the best things ever! I’d love to do something like that, I’d love to see something like that. Which bands from that period, with that sound, were your favourites?

I thought of a D86 compilation (the Deutschland version of C86) since there are so many lost gems around by German bands (many ow which you seem to unearth on your blog!).
But I guess I will leave that to Firestation Records, a Leamington Spa german band edition – I think that would be excellent.
These guys have a really great taste and talent in finding hidden gems and have done a fantastic job with the previous Lemington Spa records.
My take would be The Sheets (of course), 5 Freunde, Honigritter, Die Moosblüten, Die Merricks and Most Wanted Men (though I think their entire recordings have been released by Marsh marigold) to name the obvious choices.

++ As a person who has had a label, how do you see labels nowadays? Do you think there is still space for them? Many people say that with the mp3 revolution there’s no need for labels, you know?

I hardly ever download anything. Buying a CD or vinyl, unpacking it at home and reading through liner notes and booklets is just as much part of the fun as listening to the music itself. I love your work with lovely designed inserts, hand-numbered and loads of info and your thoughts. I read all the inserts….
Labels sort of put a label on the music (as the name suggests) and I know if I buy a record on Cloudberry, Matinee or Fortuna Pop I cant go wrong. So definitely yes, Labels are still important to me.

++ What was the highlight of yours running Blue Records?

I hope the highlight is still to come with the release of SHADE 50. Other than that it was meeting all the bands (The Ukrainians, Band of Susans, Klaus Cornfield and all th eothers) and hanging out with them.

++ Oh! how can I forget to ask this, how did you get into indiepop in  the first place?

Oh I dont remember clearly but I do remember listening to Klaus Walters “Der Ball ist rund” on the radio, Monday evenings. He first played The Chills to me and I loved that band ever since that day. Klaus Walter had a very diverse but always excellent taste in music. He was sort of the German John Peel (minus the bands playing live in his show).
And then there was this classmate of mine Felix, he ran a Fanzine called NOW! and we went to a lot of live gigs at that time together. Running the fanzine and writing about the gigs got us guest lists places in all major concert places. Thats how we could afford seeing so many concert while being a student. And every week I would go to Frankfurt main station, one of the rare places where you could get hold of a copy on NME or Melody Maker, the British music weeklys. I found out about new and exciting bands first in those mags.

++ Okay, let’s start wrapping the interview. But first, I need to ask  you something that matters to me a lot. I’m very curious about this. Is Taiwanese food much different from Chinese food? Is there anything in particular there that is superbly good?

Taiwanese food is not as ‘mean’ as mainland Chinese offerings can be. People here don’t eat dog, scorpion or cockroaches (all of which I have been offered in China, and scorpion is pretty good actually). It seems traditional Taiwanese food uses very little salt but rather focuses on the original flavors of the dishes. I love the local Beef Noodle Soup, 3-cup-chicken and the excellent Taiwan Gold Medal Beer.

++ And is there any good Taiwanese indiepop?

Surprisingly there are some very good Taiwanese indie bands which I regularly see live here like WonFu. (I also sent you a CD of one of the local bands, hope you liked it.)

++ One last question, how many records are in your collection?

Sometimes I feel tempted to count them but its too big a collection, maybe a a couple of thousands records, flexis, CDS and tapes (I treasure my big box of C86 tape samplers from the early 90s…)

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Hope I make it to one of the future PopFests and we can have a beer together… (ed. I hope so too!)

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Listen
The Sheets – Crashing

I’m writing this post some time ahead. When this gets published I should have already arrived to O’Hare airport in Chicago. Just read that it was named after Edward O’Hare, the U.S. Navy’s first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. Interesting. Sadly it seems I will be missing the first game of Peru in the Copa America, against Uruguay, on the 4th. That troubles me a bit. I’m not used to miss football games I want to watch, especially the ones of my national team. I hope they get a good result, but seems hard as our top stars are all injured and will miss the tournament. But you never know, football is a game of surprises, that’s the beauty of it. I’m crossing my fingers.

I’d like to add a new sort of section to the weekly obscure band post. I’d like to recommend and share the albums I’ve been listening during the week. This week what’s been on ration at Cloudberry hq has been:
1 The Darling Buds – Crawdaddy
2. Various Artists – Unnecessary Niceness
3. The Gymslips – Rockin’ with the Renees
4. Acid House Kings – Music Sounds Better With You
5. Aquadays – Electric Songs

So now onto our obscure band. Let’s go back to the UK after trips to Scotland and Japan. Let’s move to Slough, West London. The first thing that comes to my mind is the Nine Steps to Ugly’s song “Eddie Lopez lives in Slough”. I do know there are very negative connotations with this town. Reading a bit I learn that this borough I learn that Slough has a relatively high crime rate, with figures for all crime statistic categories above the English average and figures for several categories more than double the English average. According to British Crime Survey statistics, Slough has the worst rate of crime amongst the 15 most comparable other areas, and Slough is the least safe Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area in the whole of the Thames Valley and South East England. Slough has the highest level of reported anti-social behaviour in the Thames Valley Police area. Slough the rough, huh?

It was in Slough that Ala Pana Fuzo was formed in 1985. The original band members and song writers, Ian Miller (guitar/vocals) and Graham Pedder (guitar/vocals) had played together with various line-ups and under the name “Spish” before forming Ala Pana Fuzo. I wonder if there were any recordings of Spish. I had many questions about this band, like what does their strange name mean, and was in touch with Ian Miller actually back in 2009. He was so kind to send me a copy of the 7″. We agreed on doing an interview for the blog. Sadly I never heard back from him after sending the questions. Guess life got in the way.

There’s an interesting bio on last.fm written by Ian Miller himself. Among the many interesting facts written, he mentions that they often played on the same bill with Peter Brickley, from the Telephone Boxes and the more known Wallflowers as he was also from Slough. They were also very close to signing to a major label but it didn’t happen.

The band members of Ala Pana Fuzo were Ian Miller (guitar, vocals), Graham Pedder (guitar, vocals), Steve Sculpher (bass), Ricci Hodgson (keyboards), Terry Bailey (trumpet) and Brian Green (drums). Terry Bailey would later record with Sade and Culture Club and can be heard on the albums Diamond Life and Promise by Sade and Kissing to be Clever and Colour by Numbers by Culture Club.

There was only one release and it was a 7″ in 1986. It included on the A side the great “Friend” and on the B side the slower “Remember Me Now”. The song “Friend” will appear in The Sound of Leamington Spa Vol. 7. Hopefully that will be out soon! I can’t wait any longer. The 7″ was released on their own Dear Old Blighty Records.

In 1986 they released the 7” single “Friend”. The B side was entitled “Remember Me Now”. The record was released on the independent label Dear Old Blighty Records. For the curious, during World War I, “Dear Old Blighty” was a common sentimental reference, suggesting a longing for home by soldiers in the trenches. The term was particularly used by World War I poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. During that war, a Blighty wound — a wound serious enough to require recuperation away from the trenches but not serious enough to kill or maim the victim—was hoped for by many, and sometimes self-inflicted. Wonder if that was the reason to name the band?

I know that Ian Miller was later in a band Wildcard, but never had the chance to hear it. Wonder if it sounded anything like Ala Pana Fuzo. But more importantly, I wonder if Ala Pana Fuzo recorded any more songs. Would be great to learn more. So as always if anyone has more information, please share!

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Listen
Ala Pana Fuzo – Friend

Thanks so much to Neil Sturgeon for the interview! A Chocolate Morning was a great guitar pop from Glasgow, Scotland, that gigged a lot and released two great records. Both of these are very hard to find, going for crazy prices on eBay. If you’ve never heard them before, now it’s time for you to do so. Enjoy!

++ Hi Neil! How are you doing? I see you are still making music! When was the last time you picked up your guitar?

I play most days, I’m fortunate in that I am able to do music full time just now. I also started a new label last year which consumes a lot of my time. There’s a lot of admin involved which is quite demanding but it’s important to remember to set time aside for playing and songwriting which is after all the main reason I’m doing what I’m doing.

++ And how much of a departure is the music you make today compared to A Chocolate Morning?

A lot of the same influences are still there, to this day I feature some ACM songs in my solo gigs and I recorded a new version of one of our singles ‘This Isn’t Mine’ which is on my recent EP ‘Ride The Tide’. I would say the bands main infuences to begin with were classic 60’s bands like The Byrds and The Buffalo Springfield as well as contemporary acts of the time like REM, Echo & The Bunnymen and Julian Cope although we also loved some of the Manchester scene of the late 80’s / early 90’s. Like a lot of guitar bands of that era we were inspired too by American bands like The Long Riders and later The Pixies, Buffalo Tom and Nirvana. I still love all of those bands so I guess the music I do now will still have a bit of all that in there somewhere! Biggest influence of all was probably Neil Young and still is for me come to think of it..

++ So let’s go back in time, to 1987. That’s when the band started right? Who were the members and how did you all knew each other? Were there many lineup changes?

Myself (Vocals, Guitar), John Dunsmore (Bass) and Derek Speirs (Lead Guitar) started the band and were there til the end..I knew John from school, and Derek and I grew up living near each other, we all had similar tastes in music and started getting together to rehearse regularly when we were about 17 years old. We had a Spinal Tap-esque knack of losing drummers though, our first drummer Neil McMahon left to spend more time on his football career, we also had a fine German drummer called Klaus Suhling who then left as he was also sports minded and was a trampolining champion!
Eventually Tony Provan joined us around 1989, Tony was very influenced by the Manchester / dance scene but didn’t have the same love of the other music we were into at that time..he played on our first EP release but shortly after that Nory Wright joined the band who was a perfect fit for us both in playing style, musical taste and personality. Nory played with a cracking band called The Strange Creatures before us, they sounded like The Stooges and MC5..sadly they split but luckily for us it was at the time that Tony had left ACM so we were delighted when he agreed to come on board with us.

++ Where does the name of the band comes from?

It was actually the title of a (bad)! song I wrote! Although the song was poor I liked the title as it reminded me of some of my favourite psychedelic band names like ‘Strawberry Alarm Clock or ‘The Electric Prunes’. Our earliest band names were The Reactions (named after The Who’s early label) and The Fraugs before we settled on A Chocolate Morning..

++ You were based in Glasgow which is a hotbed for indie music, and indiepop of course. How do you remember the city back then? Where were the places to hang out and to go watch bands? I was there last February for the first time and I really liked it!

It was and still is a city that produces great music, in the 80’s there were a lot of mainstream acts from Glasgow who made it really big but we were more interested in the indie scene at the time. Unfortunately as I was too young I just missed out on the ‘Splash One’ scene in Glasgow in the mid 80’s although I did get to see a lot of those bands like Primal Scream, BMX Bandits & Jesus & The Marychain in the late 80’s when I was old enough to get in to pubs and venues. I think if I was pushed to name the best Scottish album of the 80’s I’d probably go for ‘High Land Hard Rain’ by Aztec Camera which still sounds great to this day. There were plenty of excellent venues in Glasgow at the time, the Student Unions at Glasgow & Strathclyde University always had the best touring indie bands and I saw some memorable gigs there. We also played a few times at a venue called Rooftops, there were great club nights there which usually featured a live band. I saw The Stone Roses there in 1989 when they were just breaking which was very exciting. And of course there was Barrowlands which I still think is one of the most special venues in the world!

++ What other bands from Glasgow did you like? Any of them influenced your sound, or even, to start the band?

By far the biggest influence on us by a Glasgow band was the emergence of Teenage Fanclub in the late 80’s, we shared a lot of similar influences and it was a
buzz seeing them getting bigger and bigger, ‘A Catholic Education’ and ‘Bandwagonesque’ were huge favourites on the cassette player in the vans we toured and travelled around in. There was also a brilliant band called Thrum who I went to see a few times and were amongst the best live acts in Glasgow in the late
80’s / early 90’s.

++ So I read that you played around 150 gigs! That’s a LOT! Which are the gigs that you remember the most and why?

Yes, we loved playing live and by the early 90’s had earned a good reputation for our live gigs which meant we found it relatively easy to get bookings in the UK. We were around at the time that King Tuts Wah Wah Hut opened around 1990 and played some brilliant packed out gigs there. We also got some good support slots too, supporting Teenage Fanclub, Ian McNabb (Icicle Works) and Thousand Yard Stare in Glasgow which was a great boost at the time. As we were very much an indie band without financial backing our gigs outwith Glasgow tended to be in groups of 4 or 5 dates at a time as opposed to continuous touring. There was a promoter in the north of England called Darren Poyzer who was especially good to us..he would arrange gigs there and allow us to base ourselves at his flat which was a big step up from sleeping in the van!

++ What about the experience of Kelvingrove Festival? I hear that was your biggest highlight as a band. How does it feel to play to 6000+ people?! Nervous?

That was a gig run annually by Radio Clyde, the biggest radio station here then..it was a scorching hot day and easily the biggest crowd we had played to. I don’t remember feeling too nervous, probably because we were at the top of our game as a live band by then. We were delighted to be offered a slot there as it was a bit unusual for them to feature an indie band in the line up at that event and it went really well for us that day. With Nory now on drums our live sound had become a lot heavier and dynamic and we loved our time on stage that day.

++ You released two records, both of them seem to be very rare and hard to find. How many copies did you press? And who were behind the labels “Still” and “What’s Happening”?

I think we pressed 1000 of each, the ‘Wasted’ ep was self financed, for the next single a good friend of ours Kenneth McLaughlin kindly invested funds to get it
released. I have occasionally noticed copies of both records selling for alarmingly inflated amounts on e-bay in recent years! The biggest bummer was when we were waiting to get the ‘This Isn’t Mine’ pressed the pressing plant went bust just after we had sent them the money to do it. After a few threatening phone calls they eventually sent us a box of records of which about 200 of them were broken and warped. On top of all that we had designed a gloriously colourful psychedelic sleeve, when we opened the box we were dismayed to find out that the sleeve had been printed in black & white!

++ Is it true that there might be a chance for a re-release of your songs plus unreleased stuff at some point?

I’ve always felt that we should have managed to release an album as we certainly had an album’s worth of good songs by the time we finished. We recorded a lot of demos which I hope someday soon to release, the band is still remembered fondly by some and it would be nice to open the archives and make the tracks available for the first time.

++ So alright, the first release was the “Wasted” EP in 1991. A four song slab of fine vinyl. Why did it take you 4 years to get your first release? What do you remember from the recording session for this record?

It was the first time we had a settled line up so we decided to make our move and release something. We started it in the summer of 1990 at Studio 2 at Cava Studios in Glasgow, we only had limited studio experience and as a result didn’t quite manage to capture our live sound on vinyl. The sessions were fun though, I remember working on sound effects for our live favourite ‘Today Is Today’ and rolling around the studio floor laughing at some of the odd noises we were making with our pedals. I’m afraid we weren’t too disciplined at those sessions, there was a fair bit of alcohol and various other substances present and the title of the EP pretty much sums up where we were at!

++ The second release came out a year later and it was a 7″ that included the fantastic “This Isn’t Mine”. Care to tell me what’s the story behind this song?

I still enjoy doing that song as it’s one of the strongest choruses I’ve ever written I think. Musically you can hear The Byrds or Teenage Fanclub in there, I was
obsessed by Gene Clark at the time and tipped my hat to him in the bridge of the song with a hint of the riff from ‘Feel A Whole Lot Better’..further proof of The Byrds influence is that we named the label after one of our favourite Byrds songs ‘What’s Happening?!? Lyrically it was based around something that a friend of mine was going through at the time, it was originally called ‘This Isn’t About Me’.. It was a double sided single and the flip side ‘If You Want Me’ was probably our most popular song from the live set, listening to it now you can hear the Manchester influence a bit, the drum rhythm reminiscent of The Charlatans or
Inspiral Carpets..

++ By the way, was there any major label talk at all?

Around 1991/92 we were hotly tipped to do big things, I remember fielding a lot of calls from record companies at that point who had been tipped off by their sources in Glasgow about us. It was a stressful time as we didn’t have a manager and we could probably have done with someone to steer the ship in the right direction. The major labels in London didn’t seem to like our demos enough to make the trip to Glasgow though which was a pity. As one of the bands in the city with a buzz around us we were invited to participate in an A&R night at King Tuts in Glasgow, it was an experience I didn’t enjoy though, we weren’t at our best that night and a new Glasgow band called Glass Onion made the night their own on the way to becoming the next big thing as Travis..

++ Another highlight of yours was  being played by John Peel. How important was John Peel for you guys as music fans?

He played ‘This Isn’t Mine’ on his show, it was probably the most influential show in Britain for indie bands and it felt like a breakthrough moment when he featured us on it. We didn’t have national distribution though to take advantage of the airplay and our records were hard to get outside Scotland. I listened to his show a lot but given the eclectic nature of his tastes I would only like maybe about 20 per cent of the stuff he played, that 20 per cent though tended to make up for the other 80! In Scotland there was a similar show called Beat Patrol which featured new music and was the first airplay we ever had, I remember bass player John had just passed his driving test and we were out in the car when our song came on the radio, it was one of the most satisfying and thrilling moments of my life.

++ Looking back. what is that that you miss the most from those days?

Probably the hope and expectation and camaraderie that comes with being in your first band. Everything was new and exciting. I’m fairly lucky in that I still enjoy most of the things like recording and playing live that I did back then. The live scene was healthier too I’d say, the indie scene was thriving and I think it was easier for bands to build up a following over a number of years by playing student unions and small venues. These days you are more likely to see students going to a handful of big festival gigs per year than supporting and empathising with new up and coming acts in the smaller venues from what I see.

++ And then what happened? When and why did you call it a day?

There was a definite sense of disappointment at the apathy towards us by record companies, we had been together for a few years and were tired and broke really.
Ironically we played our most high profile gigs in our final year together and were at our best as a live band. In 1994 I started jamming with other people and it was noticeable that a lot of the energy and enthusiasm that had powered ACM had faded in comparison. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we had stuck it out another year or two and released an album.

++ Are you all still in touch? What do you do these days?

We are still good friends although most of the band have got families now and aren’t actively involved in music. Recently we got together socially for John’s 40th birthday and had a great time reminiscing about our days with the band and we plan to get together to do something with our old demos and film clips in the near future. After ACM I released a solo album and then played in another Glasgow band called The Goldenhour who released 2 albums in 2003 and 2005 and fulfilled my love of playing 60’s garage and psychedelia. I’m currently working on a solo album which is produced by Teenage Fanclub’s Raymond McGinley which has been an amazing buzz for me. I’ve released 2 singles from it on my new Buzzwagon Beat Label in recent months and the reaction to both has been great.

++ This is a pretty obvious question, or maybe a silly one, but I was wondering what are your favourite chocolates?

Hehe..I like most types of chocolate although you can’t beat a slab of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk!

++ Thanks again so much for being up for the interview, anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you Roque for your interest in my old band, I’ll post news of any future A Chocolate Morning releases on my site at www.neilsturgeon.co.uk

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Listen
A Chocolate Morning – This Isn’t Mine

I’m thinking I should leave a post ready for next week. What do you say? I’m kind of enjoying posting some news plus an obscure band every weekend. Next weekend I’ll be out of town, in Chicago. Going on a ghost tour on Saturday. Never done that though I don’t expect to see anything supernatural. But should be fun, ghost stories are great.  Everything is all sorted as Kristine has already made a schedule for the weekend. Which reminds me I have to start buying train tickets for my UK trip at the end of July before the prices are higher.

Today has been a good day on eBay even though I lost my attention for a second and lost two great records in the last seconds. I don’t know what I was thinking. Among the great findings that I won today there was a 12″ by The Wilderness Children and a 7″ by The Sedgwicks that I was missing. Happy Friday. Today I also finished the fanzine. Added a new interview to Sarasota darlings Cassolette. Can’t complain. It’s been productive.

Also today the pressing plant sent me an email saying that the test pressings for the Very Truly Yours 7″ single are on the way. They should arrive home on Monday. Perfect. We are on schedule. Now it’s safe to say the record will be released July 31st, the day they play Indietracks! Though of course, the single will be available before if you happen to be at any of their shows during their UK tour.

So let’s talk about some ghosts of the past. Let’s go this time to Ireland. To Dublin. I’m sure that somewhere in that city, someone must have it. On tape probably. If we are lucky on a DAT tape. Someone must have Guernica’s elusive unreleased album.

Not so sure where to start digging on this ghost tour. Usually my first stop is Discogs, see if someone has listed the band’s records there. In this case we are lucky. There’s even a small bio about the band:

Guernica took a heavy New Order/Joy Division influence and mixed it with indie/C86/jangle-pop sounds. They also incorporated lighter, rockabilly touches to fantastic effect. After a debut single on Solid, they signed to Idol Records in London and released one acclaimed single(orange an red – 12″). They appeared on TV several times including MT USA (“Americano”), TV Ga Ga (“Americano”), Anything Goes (“New Boy”), Borderline (“Deep Sea Diving”) and Megamix (“Homing”).

Most importantly there’s a band lineup: Joe Rooney (vocals), Derek Turner (guitar), Ray McCarthy (keyboards), Derek Lee (bass) and Dara Broe (drums). Doing some more digging I found out that the lead vocalist, Joe Rooney is one of Ireland’s top comic actors and one of the Dereks runs the Spirit Store in Dundalk and manages the Flaws.

On that same discogs page there is a broken link that should have taken you here. This page is part of the Irish Punk and New Wave Discography.  I find there the same text that Discogs has as a biography. Also more information that I would copy paste but it seems these Irish guys are very zealous about their information as they have added some javascript scripts to disallow right clicking or selecting the content.  I don’t understand that. I’ve seen many of the stuff here being copy/pasted in several pages, even in Youtube. No big deal. Anyhow, the stuff they have compiled is really interesting, especially the Spain part:

“We were a New Order type band that ended up going rockabilly. We were a depressing soul-searching rockabilly band, if you can imagine that. We came up with a new type of music in fact, but we broke up after that. The keyboard player found God and he started playing keyboards at a Born Again Christian church. The bass player joined the band Sack and then he left us. Another guy has a studio near Dundalk and the drummer just got loads of girls pregnant!”–Joe Rooney, from a 2004 interview in the Galway Observer

Guernica’s records are particularly popular in Spain, where “Red And Orange” has been included on a number of Spanish compilation CDs. Here is Hugo’s explanation for the band’s popularity in Spain:

“During the mid 80’s there was a Belgian DJ called Frank Lenaers that lived in Valencia and played at a very famous club called Spook. He made Orange and Red “very popular” (considering that was a reduced circle of people). He was a true legend on the decks, he developed an unique style of mixing using early EBM’s, electro, house and industrial minimal tunes as a base for Indie pop, brit pop & rock songs like Guernica’s. Those years of good music, memories & “unhealty life” -the explosion of mescalin and xtc- are still present for some of us…”

There have also been Spanish, Italian and Japanese bands named Guernica, the source of some confusion perhaps.

Note there is NO LINK to the late ’90s pop group named Guernica from Buncrana, Co. Donegal who formed in 1997 and released two CD singles (“Surf Buddy” and 1998’s “Sights Are Cool”) before disbanding, the core duo continuing as Palomino.

Joe Rooney is a now a well known TV actor (“Father Ted”) and standup comedian. Derek Lee later in Sack (see Lord John White). Derek Turner (ex Ifter the Shifter) later formed the excellent Honey Thieves.

But of course the connection with Spain is bigger than that. The band’s name probably comes either from the Basque town Guernica or most probably from the Picasso painting of the name. This famous painting was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republican government commissioned Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the Paris International Exposition at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris.

Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. On completion Guernica was displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming famous and widely acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the world’s attention.

But let’s not get carried away. What about the releases of the band?

The first release was the 7″ single “Deep Sea Diving” / “New Boy” released on Solid Records (ROK 707) in 1987. This record has a fantastic sleeve, one that I would have loved to released, where this white and brown dog is jumping over a monotone blue lake. Both songs on this record are great, this by far my favourite release by them. It’s just fantastic guitar pop, no wonder all of their records are so expensive and rare!

Second release is perhaps their most known record. It includes the hit-in-Spain “Orange and Red”, which in an ideal world would have been a hit in the whole world! On the flip side there are another two great slices of pop “The Queen of Our County” and “Missionary”. The odd thing about this record is that it was recorded in December 1985 and August 1986 but only released in March 1987. The record was recorded at Slane Studios and they crossed the  North Channel  to sign for Idol Records (home of the great Last Party) in London and release it as a 12″ Maxi single. Catalog number is 12ID2.

Their third release was again a 12″, this time an EP on a label I’ve never heard before “Miss Pedestal”. I would guess it was self-released but I can’t confirm it. It was catalog 001 and was released in July 1988. On the A side we find “Humming of the Engine” and on the B side “Summerville” and “Veil of Tears”. This may be my least favourite release, as it’s the least poppy one. On the B side you can find the rockabilly that is mentioned on their bio; whereas on the A side, well, that song is quite dark!

They appeared on a couple of compilations:
–  Contraseña  – with the song Orange and Red. This is an Spanish compilation.
–  Remember Collection – again with Orange and Red and released in Spain.
–  Unknown name – with Queen of our Country on Eden Music Records.
– Solid Citizens – a tape on Solid Records where they included Deep Sea Divers

Among other bits and bobs of information I’ve gathered, I found out that they toured with the more known A House (their first ever tour), as a double header bill, through all Ireland, and that Derek Turner had previously been in the band The Handsome Devils. No clue if they had any releases. The Honey Thieves did, but I guess that’s another story. And that’s about it.

The post came out much longer than I thought! That’s good, lots to read! Anyways, if anyone has anything else to add, if anyone has that unreleased album or any unreleased tracks, if anyone have spares of these records, if anyone just wants to share some memories of Guernica, please leave a comment or get in touch. It’s hard to get in touch with a celebrity like Joe Rooney for an interview, but if anyone knows how to get in touch with any band member, please let me know! Would love to learn more about Guernica.

I’m so in love today with “Deep Sea Diving” that I have just made everyone bounce their heads on the turntable.fm thingie. It’s just fabulous!

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Listen
Guernica – Deep Sea Diving

Thanks so much to George Howard for the interview! Don’t confuse these Lotus Eaters with the ones from Liverpool as they were from Boston, US. They released 3 7″, two on the fabulous Harriet Records and then disappeared without trace. Happily George joined me down memory lane and well, it came out as a lovely interview. Hope you enjoy!

++ Thanks so much for being up for the interview George! How are things? I hear you are in New Orleans these days? Correct? You didn’t go through Katrina, did you?

Hi. Things couldn’t be better. I’m a lucky dude. Currently we’re on Martha’s Vineyard, but, yes, we’ve (my wife and two kids) been splitting our time between New Orleans and MV for the past six years. We did go through Katrina, yes. At the time my son hadn’t been born, but my wife and – at that point – six-month old daughter left two nights before the storm, and holed up in Memphis for a while before heading back to the east coast for about four months. We decided we really had to return, and try to do what we could to help for the city we love. as i don’t know how to drive a forklift, I decided my biggest contribution would be to teach; so I taught in entrepreneurship, management, etc. at Loyola’s College of Business.

++ So let’s go back in time, were the Lotus Eaters your first band?

Yes, Lotus Eaters were my first band.

++ So how did the Lotus Eaters start? How was the recruiting process? Were you all students at the same university perhaps?

The singer, Vanessa Tanaka, and I had gone to high school together, and then college, and we started writing songs together. Then, fortuitously, I saw Joan Wasser riding her bike through Kenmore Square with a violon case on her back. At the time, Joan had bright red hair – so she was easy to spot/follow – and I literally chased her down, and said we needed a violin player. Oddly, she agreed. Then we met Greg Jacobs (drums) and Bill Mitchell (bass) – all of us were Boston University students.

++ Why the name The Lotus Eaters? Were you then aware of the also great Liverpool band of the same name?

I was a literature major and really dug both the Tennyson poem and the section in the Odyssey Oddly, no one in the band really did any drugs, so it wasn’t maybe the most accurate name. I (obviously) wasn’t aware of the Liverpool band when I cooked up our name (remember, this was pre- Google-search days). I don’t think that many people in Boston (or the US) really were.

++ How do you remember those early 90s in Boston? What were other great bands to see in town? And where did The Lotus Eaters used to hang out?

Oh, it was such a great time. Clearly, I remember it through the gauze of nostalgia, but I’m going to go with that (why not?). In the Boston rock continuum, it was sort of the last great stage; Aerosmith, J. Giels, the Cars etc. were sort of gone, and the next wave (Christmas, Zulus, Volcano Suns, Dumptruck, the Neats, Scruffy the Cat (more on them in a minute), Mission of Burma (mach 1) had done the major thing, and none of them had really exploded. And so the scene we were in had descended from that. Blake Babies had started to ascend and sort of set an example to follow. Obviously, the Lemonheads, too. But there was just this amazing amount of creativity and sort of community. You had little labels like Pop Narcotic and (not so little) Tang!, Harriet, etc. and just the general feel that Boston had shrunk. I think it was sort of its Athens, GA moment. Out of that came our little band, but, more importantly, artists like Mary Timony (Helium), Dambuilders (who “stole” Joan away from us), Mary Lou Lord, Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, Fuzzy, Gigolo Aunts, and my favorite band (maybe of all time) Amoeba Cross Section (which was Keith Grady, who later played a lot with Lotus Eaters and Greg Jacobs), and so many more I’m forgetting. I don’t really put us in the same category as, for instance, Morphine (who came out of Treat Her Right), Pixies, or Throwing Muses as those bands seemed to transcend geography.

In terms of hanging out, we all lived either together, or in close proximity in Allston Rock City. Joan, Mary, and Keith lived in the same house as Dave Derby and Eric Masunaga from Dambuilders. I lived with Greg. So, yeah, lots of fun nights with amazing music. It’s really an experience I hope my kids have when/if they go to college; just lots of sharing of ideas and support.

++ Harriet Records is considered one of the finest pop labels of America. How do you feel about their roster of bands and how did you end up releasing with them?

We were really honored. I’ll never forget we were playing a show at the Middle East, and Tim Alborn (Harriet founder) was standing next to Stephin Merritt watching us. Tim was sort of bopping around and digging it, and Stephin for most of the show was his implacable, but somewhat approving self…until we decided to do a truly misguided and terrible version of “See No Evil.” Stephin just stood there and shook his head disapprovingly the whole time. Even still, Tim approached us after the show, and said he wanted to put out a record. It was a really happy night. Tim had/has great and idiosyncratic taste. Obviously, any sane person would be honored to have any type of association with Magnetic Fields, and many of the other bands on the label.

++ That first 7″ contains my favourite two songs of yours “Falling” and “Fishing Boat”, they are just great pop gems! Who would you say influenced your sound? And do you mind telling me the story behind these two songs?

Thank you. Well, we sort of wore our influences on our sleeves. Listen to “Falling,” then listen to either “7 Chinese Bros.” or “Green Grow the Rushes,” and you’ll get a pretty good sense of where I was coming from. Peter Buck was the older brother I never had. not only did he influence pretty much every note of guitar I’ve ever played, but (from his interviews) he turned me on to everything from Jack Kerouac to margaritas. I’ve actually had the chance to awkwardly thank him for that.

Fishing Boat sort of shows some of the more disparate (i.e. non-REM influences). I was deeply into some of the English folk stuff (Fairport, Nick Drake, Van’s “Astral Weeks” et al.), and those they influenced (Waterboys, etc.). I really love/loved the sound of wood – mandolins, acoustic 12 strings, dulcimers, violins, etc. – and tried to incorporate that into what we did. But then, it all got run through sort of a Feelies-filter.

I don’t know…as they say in New Orleans it’s just all gumbo and lagniappe.

++ And I have to say I love the artwork on this one. Even though it’s simple, that compass and the greenish-blue paper is very evoking. Who came up with it?

Again, thank you. since I’m telling my secrets, that was very much influenced by (wait for it) an REM t-shirt from the Little America tour: a line drawing of a bicycle. I cooked it up, and I *think* I drew it, but, more likely, my girlfriend at the time (and, later Lincoln ’65 bassist, and now fantastic stained glass artist), Anna Johansson, a tremendous artist, drew it.

++ After that you released two more 7″s, one on your own Slow River Records and another on Harriet. Which of the three is your favourite?

I don’t think I even remember what the songs were. I do know that one of them had a sort of “rock” (or as “rock” as we got) track called “Top of the World” on it, that Keith Grady just tore up the guitar on – I liked that one a lot.

++ Are there any more releases? Why didn’t you get to release more stuff? Maybe you have a drawer full of unreleased songs? 🙂

There are a lot of songs. As to why they weren’t released. We sort of dispersed as we graduated. I went to Providence, Vanessa went to SF. It’s OK, it was a nice moment in time, and I’m glad we documented some of it.

++ Did you play lots of gigs? Any in particular that you remember?

We did play quite a lot. as above, the gig that led to the Harriet records was memorable. I remember we played a gig at a BIG club on Landsdowne street (which was outside our usual Allston/Central Sq comfort zone), and, for some reason, the stars aligned, and it was a mob scene, and we played well, and it felt something like a victory party.

++ When and why did you call it a day? Did you have bands after that?

Again, we moved after we graduated. I started a band called Lincoln ’65, which was more Neil Young/Uncle Tupelo/Townes Van Zandt influenced, and we put out a few things, and played around a bunch.

++ Are you all still in touch?

We are tangentially in touch (Twitter/FB is good for that).

++ I do know you started a label called Slow River and you eventually became president of Rykodisc. How fast did all this happen? Care to tell the whole story? And why aren’t you involved with record labels today?

Long story. Again, being in that amazing crowd I was so blessed to be a part of, I really wanted to get the music of my friends (Helium, Amoeba Cross Section, etc. out). So, I figured out how to press up 7″ singles, and just sort of went for it. That led to a really fortuitous meeting with Charlie Chesterman (whose band, Scruffy the Cat I had LOVED), and I convinced him to let me put a CD. That went pretty well, and I put stuff by Sparklehorse, Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, Vic Chesnutt, and Juicy, and was able to make a deal with Rykodisc, where they sort of let me do what I did, but gave me some more resources. That led to putting records out by Purple Ivy Shadows, Josh Rouse, Fan Modine, Tom Leach, Future Bible Heros, Disque 9, and a bunch more. Then Ryko was bought by Chris Blackwell. He and I hit it off, and he asked me to run Ryko, which I did for several years prior to it being sold to Warner.

I then started teaching and went back to school (got an mba and a law degree), and developing other things. For instance, I helped with the founding of TuneCore, and Artists House (www.artistshousemusic.org), etc. I’ve been fortunate to stay involved in the music/entertainment business (working with artists like Carly Simon, Mark Isham, Kristin Hersh, and companies like Wolfgang’s Vault, Daytrotter, and Paste Magazine). So, while not involved in “labels” I deal with them every day, and feel proud to still be actively trying to affect the culture in a positive way, which is exactly what I wanted to do when I started Slow River back in the day.

++ And how do you see, after working in labels, this moment in the record industry. You think digital downloads will make physical records obsolete at some point? Or you think there will always be space for a fabulous slab of vinyl?

I worry less about the physical v download issue, and more about the negative impact on revenue when we move to an almost entirely streaming model. Labels/artists who are used to $7/transaction will be lucky to get $.007 / transaction. so the model has to evolve (it will).

As for physical – it’ll always be there. The recent (happy) vinyl resurgence has less to do with sound quality and more to do with the fact that we as humans desire to share things, and hold things, and vinyl represents what Hugh MacLeod (and others) refer to as social objects. So, yeah, they’ll always be there, and it would be wise for other industries (I’m looking at you, books) to understand this.

++ I know you’ve written books about it, but would you mind giving some free tips to those who want to start a label?

Hmmm. Look for ways that you can embed a social component into your venture. I’m passionate about social entrepreneurship, and i think if more creative types took the time to understand this, it would relieve some of the tension associated with monetizing art (s.e. looks at impact as well as profit in terms of success metrics).

I also think you have to understand value and expectation alignment in order to succeed.

It’s sort of too long a topic to reduce here. sorry. But, I’d say if you have the impulse to start something (label, whatever), listen to it, and do it. the cost of failure is very low these days, so it makes it all the more reasonable to take a stab at something.

There’s lots of good advice out there (Artists House (www.artistshousemusic.org), Hugh’s blog, Seth Godin’s blog, my blog, etc.)

++ One last question, is there any secret skill of yours that not many know?

Thank you. I don’t really have any secrets (skills or otherwise), but I’m a surprisingly good cook (if I do say so myself). I also know a good deal more about the capital markets and commodity/pm exchanges than people might guess.

++ Thanks so much George! Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for your interest and your very cool blog, and for allowing me to page through my mind on this Father’s day morning – a nice gift.

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Listen
The Lotus Eaters – Falling

Another week goes by and Indietracks gets closer. And even though I have to admit I’m not excited at all about the lineup this year, I look forward to what Indietracks really is. An indiepop amusement park! Being with friends, riding the train, dancing, meeting new people, and just the great atmosphere in the middle of Derby. I’m thinking that on the weekend before Indietracks, I’d like to go to Canterbury and Brighton, each for a day trip. Any recommendations in these cities?? Then I’ll be joining Very Truly Yours on their tour. I believe I’ll be joining them for their gigs in Glasgow and Manchester. That I look forward a lot!

Also next week in Miami Beach there are some good indiepop news as Sarasota darlings’ Cassolette are coming to play! Just a couple of blocks away from my place. They released “Not Just Anyone” on the Cloudberry compilation CD “Do You Think it Will Snow Tonight?”. A superb track. Nowadays we are working towards a 7″ that hopefully will be out in the near future. It’s really exciting to see Ciera again, I think it’s been a year or maybe two since she was down here. She has had some really cool bands before, Que Possum for example released a fantastic split 7″ with Boyracer, and Sugarbears had a delicious slice of synth-pop on the “Where are the Supremes Tonight?” CD compilation. So something to really look forward next Saturday. Here is the event if anyone wants to join: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=228464947165949

Cloudberry-wise I’m finishing the fanzine this weekend as I got the last interview on the mail at last! I have the CDs ready. I will update the website with the song information as well. Sorry it has taken a bit of time. It will be worth it. Don’t you all want a zine with Christine Garlands on the cover? On other news I got drafts for the artwork from Becca Stadtlander for the coming Youngfuck 7″, it’s looking really great! Isn’t she great?

But now onto serious matter: the weekly obscure band. This week I’d like to feature Future World Moves, from Livingston, Scotland. I was actually in touch some years ago with them through myspace, I even sent them interview questions, but never heard back from them sadly. I guess life came in the way.  They only released one record, one that I’ve been trying to find a copy for myself without luck for a long time, so if you happen to have a spare one, please let me know. Don’t overprice it 🙂

As far as I can tell the name of the band comes from a song by the same name of theirs. There is a bunch of recordings posted on their own Youtube account. Some songs are really lo-fi, but there are many interesting jangle pop slices there as well. The other important fact of information was that the band was comprised by Phil Paterson, Gerry McCart and Alex McTaggart and as I said they were based in Livingston. I’ve been to Scotland this year for the first time, in Glasgow and Edinburgh. I had never heard of Livingston though, though is it possible I passed it on the train in between the other two cities? The name sounds very familiar. I read a bit of Livingston right now:

Livingston (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Dhùn Lèibhe) is a new town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-war new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is located approximately 15 miles (25 km) west of Edinburgh and 30 miles (50 km) east of Glasgow. Livingston is also the second largest settlement in the Lothians after Edinburgh. Until 1963 the area surrounding the ancient village of Livingston was open farm land and the ancient village is now called Livingston Village. The name was taken from this village which dates back to 12th Century when a Flemish entrepreneur called De Leving was granted land in the area. He built a fortified tower which is long since gone and the settlement that grew up around it became known as Levingstoun, Layingston and eventually Livingston.

If you still live there, or you visit, I hear that the 3 guys in Future World Moves still make music, well kind of, they still play live in a covers band called “We’re Not Iguanas”. Not sure if their whole set is my cup of tea, but they do play some Buzzcocks and Undertones and that I do like! I’m sure they secretly still make original music though, you can’t just stop!

Anyhow, back to that one record they released. It was a self-released 12″ minilp. Catalog number being FWM001.  Black and white cover, with a band photo in the middle, the same promo photo I posted in this entry. As I have never had the record, or even seen it, I cant assure you, but I believe it had 6 songs. I know that A1 was “Voice of Autumn”, B1 was “Particular Day” and B2 was “Roar of Thunder”. I can hear influences by The Chameleons throughout the tracks. Great 80s guitar pop overall!

The information about them online is very scarce, really a  shame, as they did release a record. So, as always, any info about them will be very welcome. Where are they now? Are there more recordings? Why is their one and only record so hard to find? How many copies were pressed? Would like to know more!

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Listen
Future World Moves – This Particular Day