Thanks so much to Nicola and Robert for the interview! The interview dates from 2020, for some reason or other, only now I am able to publish it. The Applicants is such a fantastic band. You probably know them. If not, you are missing out. Perfect pop. Upbeat and fun. They released one 7″ single and appeared on many compilations. So happy to finally publish this and hoping we can chat soon about their sister band, The Dufflecoats soon!!

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

Nicola: Hi Roque, thanks for contacting us. I’m fine thanks, just about coping with the current lockdown in the UK and keeping healthy. I am still part of a band in Coventry, though I don’t live there anymore. Me and the rest of Celestial get together whenever I go back to Coventry to visit family, and play the odd gig.

Robert: Yes, still playing.

The Zephyrs are going to release an album this year on Acuarela records in Spain. It will be the bands 6th album. It has taken us a few years to make it and we are already writing music for the next album. As there was a ten year gap between Fool Of Regrets and this one, I am hoping it will not take ten years to release the next record.

++ We got in touch thanks to the post I wrote about The Dufflecoats, but we want to go in order. Your first band was The Applicants, another band I am a fan of. So I hope we go in order, and next time we do a Dufflecoats interview. But, was The Applicants really your first band? There was no other before that?

Nicola: Yes, the Applicants was the first band I was in. It started with me and 4 other girls in sixth form at Bishop Ullathorne school in Coventry, we were 17 at the time.

Robert: 

The Applicants and Difflecoats were the same band but one had Georgina in.

The Applicants existed before Richard and I came along, We were already in a band together, called the Quants and we met Marion and Nicola at the same time at the first indie night that Coventry put on in the middle of 1988 (I think).  We had a band, they had a band and we asked if we could join their band, as by then the girl group line up had moved on from their time at school. I already had a fully working band space at my parents house, with drums and guitar equipment permanently set up. I started building that room when I was 14 or so, so that the band I was in at school had somewhere to play. When I got to 18 and we started the Quants we had somewhere to rehearse. We would go in there as the Applicants and play and write songs. It was the same room where in a few years Adorable would start playing also. I think around the five to ten bands I was in probably over the years wrote songs and learned how to play in that room. The eagle eyed will see it featured in the Sam Knee ‘A scene in between’ book, if you look hard enough.

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

Nicola: I first learnt to play guitar having lessons at school at the age of about 8. I carried on having lessons for about 4 years, learnt to read music and did grade 1 and 2 classical guitar, but to be honest, I wasn’t keen on the music I was playing and just didn’t like practising, so gave up when I was 12. When the Applicants got together 5 years later, I hadn’t picked up a guitar in all that time, I’d forgotten how to read music, but could remember basic chords, so that was a start! As a young teenager I was into typical pop music, Wham and Duran Duran etc, but as I got older I discovered the Housemartins and The Smiths, and really got into the Wedding Present as I went into sixth form. Best friend Marion introduced me to all the Sarah bands as she bought all the singles as they came out.

Robert: So let’s go back in time…

I started with drums at 12 and guitar at 13. My brother had a guitar and I had a drum kit. They were set up in the room at home and over the years I was able to obtain more and more equipment. The best thing was we could play at gig volume and my Mum and Dad didn’t mind.

I used to listen to whatever was around but I remember hearing the Smiths and then the Cocteau Twins and the Jesus and Mary Chain, after that I stopped listening to the Clash quite so much and I went from being a punk to being an indie kid. Always liked punk rock though. And I will always like punk rock.

++ Where were you from originally?

Nicola: Born and raised in Coventry, lived there till I was 18 and then went to Leeds University.

Robert: Coventry.

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

Nicola: Ska was big in Coventry in the late 70’s, early 80’s with The Specials and The Selector hailing from the city. Then there was King in the mid-80’s. And of course The Primitives, a big influence! Me and Marion met Robert and Richard (Coventry Poly students who would later join The Applicants) at an indie disco at the Hope and Anchor, they were in another local band called The Quants. For record stores, Spinadisc was great. The best gig venues at that time were The Dog and Trumpet, The Colin Campbell, The Hope and Anchor, The Golden Cross, The General Wolfe and the Tic Toc.

Robert: There was a lot going on, Spinadisc was the record shop. We didn’t really play a lot in Coventry though but we did make ourselves part of the scene.

The idea of an ‘indie night’ was a new thing, or at least there wasn’t an indie night really established when we joined the Applicants. There were places to go, such as the Dog and Trumpet but it was mainly goth and you might get one track you liked to dance to. A local dj called Cap started a night and we went to the event and bought our records with us, so we could dance to the Pastels all night, if we wanted to! The ‘scene’ expanded from there and we moved to a place called Silvers and after a few months we had a larger crowd and if you get a larger crowd (of like-minded people) you get more bands coming out of it. There was the Wonder Stuff and James crowd and the Nitzer Ebb crowd but there was also the Dinosaur Jr Sonic Youth Pastels Shop Assistants Smiths Beat Happening crowd and that was us. This is 1989 sort of time, up around 1992.

++ When and how did the band start? I read that it was thanks to some Fall fans mocking you? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

Nicola: Just a bunch of friends in sixth form at school, all into similar indie music, wanting to form a band. At that time, most people of our age at school were into U2 and Simple Minds. I remember having my 18th birthday party at the Hope and Anchor with an indie disco, when I gave invites out at school, I had people coming up to me asking what “indie” meant, it was a pretty new genre at the time. So the original band members were me on guitar, Marion on vocals, Debbie on bass, Sarah on drums and Claire on keys. Debbie had never picked one up before we started the band, and Sarah had never sat behind a drum kit before, so we really started pretty much as beginners. Claire however, had done her grade 8 piano so this was a good start!

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

Nicola: We practised in the music room at school, after school finished, with the help of the music teacher who lent us all his kit. Marion wrote a few songs and lyrics and we also did a few covers, of The Shop Assistants and The Flatmates.

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

Nicola: It’s after a Sylvia Plath poem, “The Applicant”

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

Nicola: Most definitely the twee/Scottish/Sarah/indie bands of the mid to late 80’s…Shop Assistants, The Motorcycle Boy, Pastels, Talulah Gosh, The Flatmates, Jesus and Marychain etc etc

Robert: The Shop Assistants

++ You only put out one 7″, the “Say Goodbye EP”, in 1990. It came out on Glut Records. Who was behind this label and how did you end up working with them?

Nicola: It was Shaun who was behind Glut Records and put our single out, I really don’t know how he came to hear of us, but some of our songs were included on various compilation tapes around that time, the legendary “Corrupt Postman” tape, also “Everlasting Happiness” and “Happy or Sad”, all featuring various Sarah bands and Slowdive etc, so maybe he got to first hear us on one of these tapes?

Robert: By then, there was the fanzine scene and I was in touch, as was Marion and Nicola, by writing letters, with various people around at the time. Shaun Glut and I had a shared love for Thrilled Skinny so we sort of bonded on that. He wanted to release records and we wanted to make one for him, so we did. Shaun Glut asked us and we said yes.

++ Was there interest of any other labels in The Applicants?

Nicola: We were included on a Windmill Records 4-song flexi, with 3 other bands: The Fat Tulips, The Haywains and Paintbox. Not sure of any other interest. To be honest, being in a band for me was all about the enjoyment of making music with my friends, it wasn’t about making it big; I love that we were included on this single and flexi and compilation tapes. There was also a lovely blue flexi  featuring 4 bands called This Morning Light (released in 1992 on Sunday Records) and the Sound of Leamington Spa Volume 6 CD which featured one of our songs which wasn’t released till 2009 by a German label.

Robert: Why would we have needed record company interest? Not the point of it.

On a personal level, I went through that experience with another band, namely Adorable (who were picked up by Creation records). The Applicants was a totally different thing.

++ The two songs on the record were recorded at Sable Rose Studios in Coventry. How was that experience? How long did it take? Was it your first time at a proper record studio?

Nicola: Yes, I seem to remember we recorded most of our songs at Sable Rose. It was a small local studio run by Andy. Although I think we did record a few at Robert’s house as he had a 4-track. We were pretty rough and ready, everything recorded in a few takes.

Robert: The record wasn’t really ‘produced’, it was recorded. Andy had a room in his flat and you would go in and play. He was really friendly and helpful and it didn’t matter that he was into heavy metal and was an accomplished bass player in a band that used to do shred 1000 miles an hour guitar solos in their songs. He was great fun and really supportive and taught us how to relax and have fun as we play and he’d get it down onto 8 track tape. He had a half inch tape Fostex tape machine. He didn’t care that we were indie and he let us do our own thing. He never said that we were bad or inexperienced or that we made mistakes. He just recorded us. A lot of it was one take and that’s what it sounds like. We’d leave mistakes in, if they happened. We went there a few times and I went there with other bands too, including the Williams. Andy was great. He had an electronic drum kit because live drums were too loud for his neighbours!

++ Who produced the record? And were there any other songs recorded during that session?

Nicola: Andy Faulkner at Sable Rose did the recording and mixing. I can’t remember what songs we recorded at each session, we had quite a few sessions with him over several years

++ Tell me about the art of the 7″. Who made it?

Nicola: Do you know, I really don’t know! Marion and Robert sorted the cover out, as I was away at Uni during that time, the insert photo was taken during a weekend when I was back in Coventry. The photo of the 5 of us was taken by Mark and Laura, two Welsh students who were studying at Coventry Polytechnic who became friends, they went on to form The Rosaries (with Robert as drummer) who had a single out on the Sarah label

Robert: I think that was me. And a photocopier

++ There is a photo of the band that came on an insert of the 7″. I really like the look of the band! Very cool looking! Was there any indiepop heroes that you all looked after for their style or not? And where was this photo taken?

Nicola: Thanks, glad you like it! I think it was taken at Robert’s house. Standard indie fashion of the time…bob hair cuts, long fringes, leather jackets, stripy tshirts, 60’s style herringbone, band tshirts (Danny in the middle is wearing a Loop tshirt). Bobby Gillespie and the Reid brothers were definitely an influence

Robert: We were a bunch of cool indie kids who liked indie. We are still all very cool

++ Aside from the 7″ you did appear on a few compilations. You appeared for example on the legendary “Corrupt Postman” tape with the song “Crush”.  And also on Windmill Records on the flexi “Four Bands Four Songs”. How did you know the people behind Windmill Records? And did you ever play with any of the bands from the flexi (Fat Tulips, Haywains or Paintbox)?

Nicola: Yes, we were on quite a few compilation flexi’s and cassettes. I found another one on Discogs recently that I didn’t know about, “Hacia La Luz”, a cassette from Spain made in 1990. Windmill Records was Neil and Chris from Cheadle Hulme, I don’t know how we connected but probably via fanzines. The last gig The Applicants ever played was at the Narrowboat in Nottingham in December 1993. It was us, The Fat Tulips and The Haywains. Though I’m told The Fat Tulips didn’t play in the end as Sheggi had injured her arm, so they were replaced by Confetti instead.

Robert: I think we did a gig with the Fat Tulips. We had a distortion pedal (and they didn’t) so we kicked ass (and they didn’t).

They had their sound and we had ours but I certainly remember us being a lot louder than the other bands that night. The distortion pedal was an 80’s Big Muff. Nic used it. I played drums. Marion played guitar as well and Rich played bass. We were loud and our songs were fast.

++ You also ended up on some tape compilations in Germany, like “Everlasting Happiness” or “Nachtsonne – The Noise and The Melodies”. How did you end up on them? I suppose it was all through snail mail or did you ever meet the people behind them?

Nicola: I didn’t know about the “Nachtsonne” one, I wonder what song is on that? Again, no idea how we ended up on them…probably connecting via fanzines and writing to each other, snail mail was the way back then. I’m sure Marion told me once that we’d been played on German radio, maybe with help from these tapes?

Robert: Fanzine people writing to us

++ The one tape I am totally clueless about is “Happy or Sad Wearing Your Anorak” released by Cloud Production. Do you remember anything about this one?

Nicola: This tape, along with us, has The Wedding Present, Applemoths, St Christopher, Fat Tulips, Mousefolk and Boy Racer amongst other on it, and was put together by Martin from Keighley in the UK in November 1990, and came with a free lollipop!

++ Why were there no more releases by the band?

Nicola: I don’t think so, but like I said before, it was just a group of friends enjoying making music together and playing the odd gig, the releases and fanzine interviews were a bonus, but we never set out to make it big

++ What about demo tapes? Are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased tracks?

Nicola: I have lots of cassettes in my cupboard of Applicants rehearsals with songs that we never released, but I think that everything that was recorded properly in the studio is on a record or tape release.

Robert: Nope. I’ve found a bunch of 4 track tapes and live recordings but it’s not about releasing stuff

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

Robert: Marion would have to answer that, she wrote that song I think. Marion and Robert were the song writers and lyricists

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

Nicola: Probably “You said to me”, fast and furious!

Robert: All of them equally

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

Nicola: I have photographic evidence of 6 gigs, I think that was it. Slightly different line-up for each.

• Bishop Ullathorne School 6th Form block, March 1988; Marion (vocals), Nicola (guitar), Debbie (bass), Claire (keyboard), Sarah (drums)

• Hope & Anchor, Coventry, July 1988); Marion (vocals), Nicola (guitar), Robert (guitar), Rich (drums), no bass! We supported Those Guilty Minutes and Mr Smith & The Lovesquad

• Bentleys, Scunthorpe, September 1989; Marion (vocals), Nicola (guitar), Robert (guitar), Paul (bass), Danny (drums); we were supported by The Williams, who a few months later were supporting Primal Scream on tour

• Robert’s house, July 1991; Marion (vocals), Nicola (guitar), Rich (guitar), Paul (bass), Robert (drums); this was a gig for Marion’s 21st birthday, we had a big party and lots of other Coventry bands played too (Robert was a member of most of them, he’s an amazing musician and can play guitar, bass, drums and has a great voice too)

• • The Adelphi, Hull, August 1991; Marion (vocals), Nicola (guitar), Rich (guitar and tambourine), Paul (bass), Robert (guitar and drums); we supported Rugby band, The Losers at this gig

• The Narrowboat, Nottingham, December 1993; Marion (vocals and guitar), Nicola (guitar), Rich (bass), Robert (drums); Robert was also in Adorable at this point and had a break in this touring and recording schedule

Robert: 7 I think, or maybe 6.

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

Nicola: The one for Marion’s birthday at Robert’s house was a good one, relaxed amongst friends and no stage. Me, Marion, Robert and Rich also played with The Dufflecoats that night, I think our one and only gig!

Robert: The gigs were good because of the time and events around them. Or bad for the same reason

++ And were there any bad ones?

Nicola: I remember being so incredibly nervous at our first gig when we played at school. The one in Scunthorpe I remember being really loud, I’d bought a distortion pedal by this point and Robert had a whole effects board…lots of squealing guitars and feedback, and Danny playing two drums standing up (a la Bobby Gillespie), definite JAMC vibe, I think we managed to clear the pub 😉

Robert: Playing wise, no but yes because of what was going on

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

Nicola: I moved away from Coventry in 1994 for a new job, and Robert was in Adorable so things just sort of finished. There was The Dufflecoats (an Applicants spin-off band), and me and Rich were in Celestial from 1992 onwards.

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

Nicola: See above. Robert went on to play guitar in Adorable, and now he’s in The Zephyr’s

++ Has there been any The Applicants reunion?

Nicola: No. We should do one. Getting us all in the same town at the same time could be problematic, we’re spread all over the UK now.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

Nicola: As mentioned above, I’m sure we were played on German radio once, and possibly Spanish radio? Nothing in the UK as far as I know

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

Nicola: We got a write up in Sounds in April 1991, a review of our Glut single.

++ What about from fanzines?

Nicola: Yes, a few fanzine interviews, including Waaaaaah! Issue 3, Pop Eats Apathy, and Everlasting Happiness.

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

Nicola: For me, it was going into Jumbo Records in Leeds and asking for a copy of our single, which was on a display behind the counter. Marion and Robert had already sent me some copies in the post but to be able to go into a record shop and buy it was super cool

Robert: Being together

++ I am aware of a great Instagram account you have packed with memorabilia of the indiepop halcyon days! How do you enjoy doing it?

Nicola: It’s fun, reminiscing about the good old days! I did take a lot of photos back then (way before phone cameras came along), and I’m glad I did, to have all those memories now. It’s also been nice to connect with other people who I didn’t know at the time but were at the same gigs back then, sharing our memories

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

Nicola: I have 2 children now so my life revolves around them. We live in the Lake District which is great for hill walking and cycling, and we do a lot of mountain biking. I still play guitar occasionally when I get together with my Celestial band mates on visits back to Coventry

Robert: No time for anything apart from music and family

++ Never been to Coventry so I’ll take the opportunity to ask a local for any recommendations you’d have? Like sights one shouldn’t miss? Food and drinks one should try?

Nicola: Coventry has a great history and lots of amazing medieval architecture, though the city centre was bombed during the 2nd World War (the “blitz”) which destroyed a lot of important buildings, including the old cathedral. There is now a modern cathedral built next to the ruins of the old one. A walk up the spire of the old cathedral gives a panoramic view across the city. The Specials did a gig in the old Cathedral ruins a few years ago, I’d loved to have been there. Next year would be a great time to visit Coventry as it’s the 2021 UK City of Culture, so there will be lots of arts and music events on throughout the year celebrating all that the city has to offer.

Coventry has changed a lot since I left over 26 years ago, the two universities (Warwick and Coventry, which used to be Coventry Polytechnic) in the city have expanded massively so the requirement for student accommodation has increased, so there are now lots of high-rise student blocks in the centre which dwarf some of the old landmarks, like the three famous spires of Coventry. But there’s still some real gems to be found if you look close enough, for example if you follow the old city walls trail, parts of which still exist (it was built in the 14th century and was 4m high and 3m thick!) along with some of the old city gates.

FarGo (in Far Gosford Street) is Coventry’s Creative Quarter, a repurposed industrial space that has many independent businesses, including bookshops, vintage clothing stores, all sorts of food outlets, and a fab independent record store run by my brother-in-law, Alun, called “Just Dropped In”, a must for all vinyl enthusiasts.

For food, try a good old chip batch. If you ask for one of these outside Coventry you will be met with a blank stare! A bread roll is known as a “batch” in Coventry, and nowhere else. And by “chips”, I mean as in French Fries (for non-UK readers). So, a big batch with some greasy chips with plenty of salt and vinegar and some tomato ketchup – perfect post-gig snack (and so unhealthy)!

Robert: Go visit and see for yourself

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Nicola: Firstly, thank you Roque for contacting us and being interested in the Applicants, it’s been good remembering an important period in my life and the fun we had as a band.

Secondly, I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the fanzine writers of that time, who interviewed us or wrote reviews, and those who put out our records,  and included us on their flexis and compilation tapes. In a time before Soundcloud, YouTube and Bandcamp, these people made our songs available around the UK and further afield. I still have all the fanzines, they were a real labour of indie love, made in the days before computers, on a typewriter and then no doubt photocopied down at the local newsagent, and sold for no financial gain. We could read gig reviews and interviews of our favourite indie bands that at the time weren’t covered by the music press (NME and Melody Maker). Much appreciation from us all.

Robert: The Applicants was friends being friends and as we all liked the same music and we could all play and wanted a bit of creative outlet and it was how we lived our lives at the time. I still listen to the music that we made and I still think that it sounds good. It was never about selling records, it was about us being together. It was a great time to be doing this stuff, no internet, no Bandcamp so you had to write letters and make tapes. You had to communicate very enthusiastically and wait for a reply to appear in the post. I remember going to London to get the Applicants records with Shaun, just beaming with delight that he was a record label and we were a band with a 7” single.

I would also like to add that there is a Baby Lemonade interview elsewhere on this blog. You can forget the Oasis and all that, the best bands ever to exist were Baby Lemonade and the Charlottes.

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The Applicants – Say Goodbye

Cathal Coughlan passed away on May 18th. The Irish legend had been in many bands including Microdisney, The Fatima Mansions, Bubonique, The North Sea Scrolls and Telefís as well as releasing records as a solo artist. I am not that familiar with all his music but I do love Microdisney. I don’t have many stories to share here. I have a bunch of Microdisney releases but I never was in touch with him or the band. I never saw them live either.

On the other hand, one of my best friends, Jennifer Reiter, does have stories to tell. She posted on May 23rd a heartfelt tribute on Facebook. I loved her piece. And as it was going to stay private in Facebook I thought it deserved to be read by more people. So I asked for permission to publish it on the blog. Happily she agreed. Here is the full text. I’ve edited some names, just leaving the first name, but other than that these are her same words.

Thanks Jennifer.

And most importantly thanks Cathal for the wonderful music. You will be missed.

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Microdisney – Escalator in the Rain

Good morning! Not much news today. It was a busy weekend for me. Went for the first time to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and we had a good time. Lunch was at a close by Hungarian café. All good. Then in the afternoon at the Welsh bar across my street. Next day was visiting old friends in the Upper East Side and going for a walk to Charles Schurz park. The weather was hot. Today the temperature is a bit cooler which is better!

R´émi Parson: wow! an unreleased demo from the sessions of Rémi’s first album just showed up on Bandcamp. The song is called “L’amour au temps de l’eurodance” and it is a catchy, lo-fi, electronic popsong… and it is great! I know Rémi likes his fair bit of eurodance, having covered “What is Love” with The Sunny Street, and so not surprised this is a great song.

The OK Nines: now we head to Berkeley, California. A new band it seems. There is no info. There are 5 songs though that make up the “Sunwoofer” EP. This is a nice ramshackle-pop release. Only available digitally.

Arts & Letters: Caleb Carr is clearly a talented indiepopster. He knows how to janle. Previously with his project English Summer he make us fall in love with his melodies. Then he changed names to Arts & Letters and continues doing so. The Clare, Australia, based-project has now a new song (well, a month old), which it’s really good. It has a great title too: “It’s People Like You that Make Me Want to Go to Prison”.

Horseface: Umeå, Sweden, band Horseface sings in Finnish. They have a new album out, 10 songs, on vinyl. It is titled “Sanakirjan Takana”. The band is formed by Hanna Kangassalo, Robert Tenevall, Erik Selim Lundkvist and Ellen Dahlgren. I am listening to it now. And I am really surprised. It sounds like an interesting mix of early 80s bands like Trixie’s Big Red Motorbike or The Avocados… or The Particles, with a little bit more experimentation in the melodies. They are pop melodies but with an interesting twist. I am hooked.

Cristina Quesada: the new album by our friend Cristina is going to be released on June 10th by Elefant Records. The album is titled “Dentro Al Tuo Sogno” and it has a few songs in Italian indeed. The album has 11 songs and will be available on vinyl and CD. Right now you can pre-order it as well as listen to two tracks, “The Only One” and “Primavera”.

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Wasn’t easy to follow the thread on this one. Stoneeeyedkiller had posted a superb song called “200 Miles” by The Reigning Days. And of course, as a good indiepop detective I needed to know more!

In the end I tracked down a Soundcloud account by Joss Smith. He was the sax player of this band.

The other band members were Simon Tomkies on vocals and guitar, Jon Lawton on guitar, Brett Findlay on drums and Warren Smith on bass.

Here we find a bunch of songs. Great jangly tracks. These are “200 Miles”, “Aggitation”, “Bitter Champagne” and “Going Blind Again”. These 4 songs were part (in that order) of a cassette release titled “Crooners”.

We also know that this, his college band, was active between 1988 and 1989.

Now, where were they from?

From the UK I would say after hearing Joss’s accent on his Youtube account. One thing that I notice is that he loves to repair typewriters and test them too! He also likes to play the keyboard.

Then there’s a video of a band called FLYX. They hailed from Somerset. Joss was their saxophonist. This dates from 1991. Just two years after the demise of The Reigning Days. Would it be safe to assume the band hailed from that area?

Maybe I’m not that far from being right. I see Simon Tomkies is on Bandcamp and he is based in Glastonbury. That’s 20 or so minutes car drive. Okay, I think we may know where the band was from now.

Now, can we find out other bands they might have involved with? Maybe find out if they played many gigs? Perhaps shared gigs with some of our indiepop heroes?

One thing we do know and should be added. The band contributed two songs to a classic pop compilation. Their songs “Bitter” and “Going Blind Again” appeared on the “Now That’s Righteous” cassette that Katrina Music put out in 1989. On this compilation they appear next to The Morrisons, The Driscolls, The Wilderness Children, Mousefolk and more.

And that’s what I could find. Not bad. I always have been aware of this tape, but there are a few bands on it that Ive never heard and maybe someone can help me with them, maybe I end up liking them or maybe not but never heard The Magic Roundabouts, The Lovers Madly or Rubber Base Angel. Before today I had never heard The Reigning Days.

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The Reigning Days – 200 Miles

Finally nice weather on my day off (though expected to rain at 5pm). Plan is to visit Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Never been there. Have been to the NY one in the Bronx and also to the Queens one. Looking forward to it. Hopefully baby will enjoy it.

The Fisherman and his Soul: a new song by our friend Sebastian Voss from Münster. The song is called “Yellowed Golden Wedding Photo” and what inspired this one is the golden wedding anniversary of his parents. A very nice and heartfelt digital single.

Beverly Kills: the fine Gothenburg band is back with a superb track titleed “Amour Fou”. This song is the second single after “The Getaway” from their debut album that will be released this fall. This is an album I am looking forward of course. So I’ll keep an eye and keep you informed.

Les Calamites: just ordered my copy of “Encore! 1983-1987”, an 18 song compilation of one of the best bands to come from France! The compilation is available now on CD and vinyl and includes 18 songs plus a booklet. This seems like an essential release no one should miss. Top stuff.

Lost Film: now another digital single, this time from Easthampton in Massachusetts. “Big Talk” is a nice lo-fi pop song written and recorded at home by Jimmy Hewitt a few years ago but just released to the world.

The Apleseeds!: named after a Po! song this Copenhagen band is brand new. Formed by Ditte Duus and Kasper Clemmensen they just unveiled two songs, “Someone To Talk To” and “Before She Spins”. Both were recorded on a phone in their practice space.

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The Lost World is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1912, concerning an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals still survive. It was originally published serially in the Strand Magazine and illustrated by New-Zealand-born artist Harry Rountree during the months of April–November 1912. The character of Professor Challenger was introduced in this book. The novel also describes a war between indigenous people and a vicious tribe of ape-like creatures.

I still haven’t read this novel. I have read a few of the Sherlock books, but not this one. In any case, today, thanks to stoneeyedkiller’s Youtube channel,  I discovered a Bournemouth band called The Lost World after this book.

There are 7 songs by this band on Soundcloud. Also there’s a small bio.

It tells us that the band was a four-piece that was active in the early 90s.

Then we check the songs.

There is a song also called “The Lost World”. This one was included in a 1992 demo tape called “Never Again”.

The same case for the songs “Come On”, “America”, “You and I”, “Over”, “Hey Girl” and “Tarnished”.

Was this the only demo tape they put together? Are these all the songs on that demo tape?

Also sadly there are no band members names to be found here. You can only wonder who were behind this band. If they had been in any other bands before or after The Lost World.

I don’t think I have written about many (or any?) Bournemouth bands, so it would be good to find out. Don’t know much about their scene…

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Listen
The Lost World – Hey Girl

It seems the 50th vinyl release of Cloudberry is going forward. Just heard from the band and they are on the project. So this is super super exciting. I’ll share more details as soon as we have artwork and a song to show. I am sure everyone will like this one!

I Found that Essence Rare – The Sounds of Beauty: here’s a free sampler, 20 songs!, from the great Canadian label The Beautiful Music. It is a free download, so there’s no excuse not getting it. There are amazing tracks by great bands including The Fish John West Reject (covering The Bluebells), Roy Moller, Crumb, The Dupont Circles and more.

Armstrong: and continuing with the label The Beautiful Music it is worth checking out the label’s latest release, the new album by Armstrong from Wales. “Happy Graffiti” is out now on CD and I have been able to listen it and I would recommend it of course. It has 14 songs of smartly crafted pop songs by Julian Pitt on his 12 track recorder.

Healees: a Breton/American/Swedish/Belgian four-piece? Wow. Never heard of them until today. Formed back in 2015 the band will be releasing on June 17 an 8 song mini-album on the always reliable Hidden Bay Records. The self-titled release is coming out on tape with art by Allegra Corbo.

Kevin Robertson: the Aberdeen native who is also part of the fine pop combo The Vapour Trails released the album “Teaspoon of Time” a few days ago. It was released on CD by Subjangle Records but the 13-song album seems sold out already! You can check all songs on the band’s Bandcamp.

The Shop Window: last recommendation today cocmes from Maidstone, UK. A new 7″, limited to 300 copies on Spinout Nuggets. Two songs will be included, one on each side of course. We can only preview the B side as of today which is titled “Low”. A pretty track indeed. Worth mentioning too that both songs feature guest backing vocals by Beth from Jetstream Pony.

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I was once again remembering the days of Soulseek. Of the many Swedish friends I made there. Friends that had their bands and would share their songs, their bedroom recordings… those were the CDR days. Photocopied sleeves. Lo-fi music. And a charm like no other.

As many as you know I tried to champion this scene years after with the Starke Adolf compilation, named after the legendary club. Volume 2 never happened as I wasn’t able to get the bands I wanted for the CD to contribute a song, a photo or a bio. It was a bit like pulling teeth.

Who knows if these days it would work. I don’t have that label anymore. And I don’t know about releasing it in Cloudberry. Would be odd as the first volume was somewhere else.

Also, who buys compilations these days?

Anyways, I should stop rambling. The thing is I remembered a band I was in touch back then. Around 2004? 2005? I was in touch with the guy. It was one boy, one girl, sort of band. Were they a couple? I can’t recall. I don’t recall their names even. I only remember their sweet songs.

In 2005 they would finally release a CDR with the legendary label Popkonst Recordings. It was an 8-song album titled “Adam & Steve, Religion is Fiction” (POPK14). The songs were short and catchy. Hard to pick a favourite. They were “The Girl with the Mountain Fox Bag”, “Glenn Miller’s Airplane”, “Paris 68”, “Burn Down the University of Berkeley”, “Sasha’s Summer in the Suburb”, “You Can Be My Wingman Anytime”, “Lo-fi Loneliness” and “Mike from Glasgow”.

On the sleeve they thank The French Resistant Movement. Also Jonas F who seems did the artwork. But nothing else.

I was aware of this release, but didn’t know that in 2008 they made a tape with Best Kept Secret (catalog LIE 113), the fine Italian cassette label. On this tape they included the “Adam and Steve, Religion is Fiction” album and another EP titled “Slow-Fi”. Each of them had one side of the tape. The tracklist for the album is the same as the Popkonst CDR.

On “Slow-Fi” we find 5 brand new songs, “Pat a Cat”, “Countryside”, “Tea”, “Intellectual Experiment” and “Golden Dust in Notes”. The sound by now had changed a bit. It’s a bit less acoustic. A bit muddier if that makes sense. It is less poppy. A bit darker. Not dark of course, but the mood had changed.

That’s all I could find about them. It seems they managed to add all of their songs to different digital platforms, which is interesting, but there is where the trail ends. No info, no bios.

Would be nice to know what happened to the band and where are they now. Still making music perhaps?

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Valentine Academy – Sasha’s Summer in the Suburb

Starting a new week. Much better weather in NYC. My last two days off were rainy. So it seems this weekend will be much more enjoyable.

Coming Up Roses: the second EP by the Singapore popsters Coming Up Roses is coming out on May 20. It looks like it will be a digital-only release. The EP will have four songs, 3 of them that you can preview now. Hard to pick a favourite track, maybe “Glass Stained Eyes”? Which on do you like?

Atmos Bloom: a new track by this dreamy Manchester duo. The band’s new digital single is titled “When We Met” and it is really really pretty. Tilda Gratton and Curtis Paterson continue making great bedroom pop, with a simple drum-machine and jingle jangly guitars.

The Cat’s Miaow: I honestly don’t know where I am going to get money to buy all the records I want. Now that there’s a baby at home my budget for records has been squeezed. I do feel though that “Songs ’94-’98”, a compilation of tracks of the wonderful The Cat’s Miaow should find a way to my collection. 18 songs on vinyl, a limited edition of 250 copies including a 7″ of “Third Floor Fire Escape View” and a fanzine, all for 35 pounds plus shipping. And then another $25 for shipping. Seems a lot, but a record like this deserves that effort!

Hurrah!: when it comes to Precious Recordings releases I trust my friend Christ at Jigsaw Records will get copies and at least I’ll save on shipping. After a few releases I didn’t care for like the ones of Prolapse and Hefner, the London labeel will be releasing a David Jensen session, from 1982, by Hurrah! 4 songs, and as usual on that lush packaging that has become a fan-favourite.

The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness: and on other great news the Scottish-Spanish band is releasing a new album! It is called “The Third Wave Of…” and it is of course the band’s third album! 10 new songs which you can preview two of them now on the band’s Bandcamp. The album will be released on vinyl on September 9.

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Back in 2017 I was in touch with Matthew Eaton from Pram. Why? Well, I wanted to interview him about the fantastic band the was in the 90s called Friends of the Family… sadly after sending my questions never heard from him. Life probably got in the way. It happens! It is happening a lot to me lately!

Of course it would have been lovely to learn more details about the band. I love the two records they put out on Ediesta Records in the late 80s but I don’t have any good details about them. Don’t know much at all!

The first record they put out is a true classic, “Rotten to the Core”. This is a must have for everyone. It had said song on the A side as well as “September Skies” while on the B side we find the song “Honey”. The engineer for this record was Will Jackson. The songs were recorded at Blue Strike Studios in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The band is credited for the production.

The single was released on 7″ (CALC 17) and 12″ (CALC 17T). The 7″ didn’t have the song “Honey” and “September Skies” appears on the B side.

The second record was released also in 1987. It was a 12″ EP titled “Three Fat Men (On a Bicycle)” (CALC 39). It had 5 songs, “Lucibelle Green” and “Serves You Right” on the A side and “She Makes you Look Sad”, “Leicester Street” and “Katrine” on the B side. The producer this time was Carl Rosamond. All songs were recorded at the Billiard Room in Leeds. Oh! And Alison Cuckston played sax on “Leicester Street”.

There are no compilation appearances listed on Discogs.

My friend Ed from Shelflife was probably one of the firsts to recommend them back in 2009.

Here he mentions that Matthew Eaton was also in Delta, he was the original bass player in the Birmingham based band.

Another blog, Kitten Painting, on a post from 2008 mentions a gig Friends of the Family played supporting The Sea Urchins at the Norwich Arts Centre in January 1988. The other band in the lineup was The Popfish who I have never heard of! The review of the Friends of the Family gig says: “Then Friends Of The Family were on and they were pretty good with a funny girlie singer. The last song was groovy, the girl singing all soft and sweet and just single notes on the organ, then a pause and then the drummer (who had a Big Black t-shirt on – aces!) would bash a cow bell and it would go all thrashy and the girl would sort of talk on and on over the row. They tried to pull off the old walking off leaving the song in mid-air trick like Loop and Primal Scream did but it didn’t come off so well!”

As far as I know the girl vocalist name was Rosie. Don’t know the last name! Maybe also Rosie Cuckston from Pram?

Other interesting bits of info on the comments section of the Shelflife blog mentions that Matthew was doing a fanzine called Cathead. Sadly it never got published.

On the Sarah Records page there is a story from Clare mentioning that she was friends with Matthew Eaton in school. Here she tells how through Matthew she saw The Sea Urchins for the first time. Also an important detail is that the Friends of the Family start in Harrogate but ended up moving to Birmingham.

As I mentioned earlier very little info is available about the band, so any details would help.

I am also looking for a good copy of the second record… I always see them on Discogs from Spanish sellers but with the sleeve in a bad state. Oh well…

I love this band, love their songs, I would also think a compilation of sorts would be fantastic. I’d like to do it. But who knows if I could get them interested in it!

Friends of Birmingham, do you remember them?

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Listen
Friends of the Family – Rotten to the Core

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a good weekend!

My Raining Stars: Disccos de Kirlian has many new releases coming up. The album “Memories” by French popsters My Raining Stars seems like an essential record this year. Co-released with the fantastic Shelflife Records, the album will be available on CD on June 17. 10 songs, and one to preview now, “If You”, which is great!

Fominder: this one will be sold out very soon. It is also on Discos de Kirlian. If it is not sold out when you read this lines. “Supercardioide” is the name of the new mini-album by this Spanish band. 6 songs (you can listen to them all) produced by Guille Mostaza from Ellos. Great electronic pop, catchy, poppy, upbeat and fun!

Miedo: continuing with the latest releases on the Barcelona label, now I listen to two songs by Miedo. It is a digital single for “Como un Juego”. But the interesting part is that the second song is a cover of “You Should All Be Murdered”!! It is a Spanish version of this indiepop classic. And it is a true surprise!

Antílopedevega: one more from this label. Now a band with a funny name based on the the dramatist Lope de Vega. David Haro is the person behind this dreampop project. “Sinrazón” is his first release and it is available only in digital format. 5 songs, dreamy, mysterious, elegant. It is an interesting debut.

Duele: and lastly another Spanish band but this one seems unsigned still. Hailing from Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Duele is the project of Jorge Luis Amil. His first song is up now on Bandcamp. It is titled “Dependientes” and sounds ace.

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I followed the trail. From stoneeyedkiller’s Youtube channel, where he had shared this great track called “Wake” by the late 80s band Colourforms all the way to a hotel in Massachusetts.

Scott Edward Cole is the connecting thread here. On his Soundcloud account, an archive of his solo works and previous bands, he has uploaded 6 songs by the band Colourforms.

The songs are “Wake”, “Magazines and Souls”, “Hangman”, “Vanessa’s Whirled”, “Dating Game” and “These Iron Hands”. They all date from 1989 and that’s all the info we get.

The other band he was involved is called Enter Venus, but we don’t get a year for this band. Probably after Colourforms? Who knows.

It doesn’t say either where the band was formed, where they played.

Don’t know the other band members names either. But at least we know Scott Edward Cole. Thanks to this I find out he is an artist that works in different fields including painting, photography, writing and music of course. He has a website with a sample of his work. He also shares an Instagram account there.

We do know he is American. Or maybe not? He does spell Colourforms the British way. Well, he lives in the US. He has an inn called The Inn at Kenmore Hill. The location is in the Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts. The inn is housed in a historic estate he and his partner Frank Muytjens have renovated and made it beautiful as you can see in the photos.

Sadly can’t find any more info about his old band. Was the band based in Massachusetts from the start? Boston perhaps? Who would know. But this is quite interesting anyhow! How his life must have changed, from playing dim-lit bars with his band to a beautiful sunny and spacious bed and breakfast.

Anyone know any details about Colourforms?

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Colourforms – Wake

Last weekend a friend sends me a whatsapp asking if I was going to go see Hatchie at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was the night before of the gig and I had no clue she was playing NYC. Sadly I had to say no. I would have loved to go. Before the pandemic I saw her when she opened for Alvvays. Now she was headlining. It is an amazing way how she has become more and more popular. Just remember her indiepop days with the superb Go Violets. A band that is still a favourite of mine.

Having to said no but at the same time wanting to go is not easy. I haven’t seen this friend in a while either. Before the pandemic too. But somehow having a kid needs me to plan in advance. Especially as he had been sleeping terribly the previous days. I couldn’t just leave with his mum.

Adapting to these situations is hard for me. I miss going to gigs so much. I just need to be on top of it. Know when someone I like is coming to NYC. And plan accordingly.

I wonder if you’ve been in my place. I guess many have. But isn’t it tough?

Mt. Misery: Hartlepool’s Mt. Misery is returning after about a year, since the release of their album “Once Home, No Longer”, with a digital single. “Spinning Top” is a lovely track, shiny and bright with tints of melancholy. There’s no other info about the song, but hopefully it will end up on a proper release in the future.

Peaness: I recommended the band’s song “IRL” not too long ago. Today is time to recommend’s the band album “World Full of Worry” even though it seems sold out everywhere. Wow. You wonder how they do it? So quick! The CD and two vinyl versions are sold out. It is clear that Chester’s Peaness are one of the most favourite bands out there for indiepopkids.

The Barking Aardvarks: okay, this is a fantastic discovery. This band’s album “Johnny Quest” was released back in 1988. I have never heard of them, but sounds amazing. 12 songs of pure pop! The band formed by Daniel Kathriner, Tom Vize and Patrick Conway, would be a band I’d love to write about on the blog. Other than that, I believe they hailed from the US. Please get in touch as I’d love to know more!

Buddhist Bubblegum: first time recommending a Slovenian band? I think so! This indie project from Ljubljana has surprised me. Their latest song “Merry-Go-Round” is really pretty. Their previous song, “Paper Ridges”, is as good if not better. The songs will bee part of the upcoming album “Dreaming of the Desert” that will be released by Cavern Brew Records. This is a two-man band, formed by Wiktor Szotowski and Maks Rozman.

Subterfuge: Düsseldorf’s Subterfuge has been recommended in the past. You know I like them. Their latest release came out in March. It was the band’s 5th album! It is titled “Dots.” and is now available on CD and vinyl. 12 songs of a nice mix of straight up indiepop, shoegazee and a bit of indierock thrown in there.

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Musbury is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. It lies approximately 2 miles (3 km) away from Colyton and 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) away from Axminster, the nearest towns. Musbury is served by the A358 road and lies on the route of the East Devon Way, a 40-mile (64 km) footpath following the Axe Valley. The village is within the East Devon Area of Natural Beauty. It has a post office, primary school, public house, fuel station and church. The parish population at the 2011 census was 543.

Musbury. That’s where we are heading today. Just tracked down the music by a band called Happyhouse that was around from 1989 to 1991. Not sure if in this town, but the Soundcloud account by Gerard Wood says that he is located in this place.

Who is Gerard Wood actually? Was he involved with other bands?

There is a collection of 14 demos he has put together by the band when he was still a teenager.

The tracks “Drifting in Your Heart”, “Just Like This”, “Tomorrow” and “One More Time” were from 1989 when he was still in school. He mentions that at this time there was no band. It was just himself, and that he had been listening a lot to The Cure’s “Faith”. “Tomorrow” was never played by the band live.

“Go”, “Calling” and “Get Away From You” date from early 1990. At this point he has a bassist called C. Griggs. These songs were recorded in Northampton. He mentions that these songs were heavily influenced by The Wedding Present’s “Brassneck” EP. The song “Go” was also never played live.

In 1991 he records “How I Feel” and “You Know”. These were recorded in Radford, Nottingham.

In early 1991 he records two songs with a full band. These were “Drifting in Your Heart” and “Just Like This”. They don’t sound like the previous demos as you’ll notice.

Lastly four more songs were recorded in mid-1991 and influenced by the sound of Slowdive. These songs were “Heavenly”, “Nothing”, “Churchsong” and “I Wish I Knew Why”.

“I Wish I Knew Why” also never ended up in the band’s live set. Gerard mentions that this song was a rip-off of Galaxy 500’s “When Will You Come Home”.

There are also on his Soundcloud a re-equalized version of “Calling”, a cover of Haircut 100’s “Surprise Me Again” and another song called “Spinning Jenny”. So a true trove of music here!

Now after looking at where he had recorded the songs I doubt he was based in Musbury in Devon. Radford is like almost 4 hours away. Northampton a bit closer. So probably the band was based somewhere in between Radford or Northampton… Leicester perhaps?

I couldn’t find any other info about the band. I do believe after looking at different websites that Gerard works these days for the Musbury Village council.

Well, that’s what I could find about Happyhouse. Hopefully someone remembers them and can fill in the blanks!

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Listen
Happyhouse – You Know

Hello! Just want to take a little bit of time to all the friends that help me finding and getting in touch with the many obscure bands I share on the blog. Many of the interviews happen through friends that know the bands or know someone that knows the band, and have helped find more information about these bands that we don’t want forgotten. Thanks for that and please continue doing this. It’s great!

Los Waldners: it’s being a long time since we heard from our favourite Costa Rican indiepopsters… years! Happily here is a new song, a new digital single the band just published. It is called “Quisiera Que Fueras Mi Novia” which means ‘I’d like you to be my girlfriend’. As usual the band formed by Luis, Daniel, Gustavo and Iskander, delivers.

Ataúdes Merche: here is the second demo by this band from Spain. Self-produced, and available digitally on the label Inifinite Pain DIY from Castellón, “DEMO II” has four songs. They sound like demos from the 80s. Lo-fi and fuzzy. I particularly like the opening track, “Yo No Puedo Odiarte”.

Impossible Tymes: another must-have. Now thanks to Shelflife and Make Me Happy we’ll be getting a compilation album for the Greek supergroup Impossible Tymes! “Popadelic” will have 12 songs, all their recorded output they did in the 90s. For those who love Next Time Passions and One Night Suzan this is an essential record!

The Very Most: Boise’s best (and only?) indiepop band has put together a digital compilation called “It’s Nothing New”. This is an odds-and-ends comp they say. Songs mostly from compilations and blogs that are now hard to track down. Lovely.

The Catherines: and the latest from Hamburg’s duo is a covers EP. “A Cover-Comp-EP” is the name of the 6 song digital EP that Heiko and Sandra has put together, where they cover 6 songs that had been big influences in their music taste. Have a listen!

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We head to London. Where exactly not sure. Maybe we’ll find out.

There we find a trio called Rendezvous in Black. On their Soundcloud they have 9 tracks, all recorded in the 80s. These are “The Last Deadly Secret”, “National Exhibition Day”, “One More Charade”, “Saving Grace”, “The Man with the Sunset Eyes”, “That’s How I Am”, “The Prowler”, “Rendezvous in Black” and “Winter Warmer”.

Happily the band has added info for each of these songs that were uploaded 10 years ago.

“The Last Deadly Secret” was recorded in Simon Townsend’s Home Studio in Ealing, West London, in 1988. Did the band hail from Ealing? I stayed once or twice in Ealing, I liked the area. This song was written by Colin Carey who was the bassist of the band.

The other band members were Chris Oakes on vocals and guitar and Graham Oakes on drums. Were they related? Most probably, right?

“Rendezvous in Black” was recorded at RAM Studios in West London in 1986. This theme song of the band was inspired by the Cornel Woolrich story of the same name… wow, okay, so now we know where they took their name from!

“National Exhibition Day” was also recorded at Simon Townsend’s House Studio in 1988. Probably the same session as “The Last Deadly Secret”. Here they mention that Simon was Pete Townsend’s brother. Do they mean Pete Townshend? I wonder. They write the last name as Townsend. Four songs were recorded that time.

“Saving Grace” is the third recording from Simon’s House session. And “One More Charade” the fourth.

“The Prowler”, “That’s How I Am”, “The Man with the Sunset Eyes” were recorded at RAM Studios in Hayes.

And lastly “Winter Warmer” was an old song from 1983 that they had written for their previous band called Private Desires. In 1989 the band returned to Simon Townsend’s home studio to record this song. Simon added guitars, tablas, cowbells and he even played the piano in this track. Wonder if they recorded anything else that time.

Another interesting detail is that the band used to share rehearsal space with The Boomtown Rats and Peter Green in Ginger Baker’s old studio.

Then I find a page on ReverbNation where there’s a bio of the band.

Here we learn that the band indeed hailed from West London. That originally they wanted to form a jazz trio.

The 1986 session in RAM Studios was their first experience at a recording studio. The 1988 studio session at Pete’s home was different. It was a small studio and they ended up using sampled drums. Now we see that they write the name Simon Townshend. So now it makes sense. It is indeed Pete Townshend’s brother.

The band played gigs at important and well known places like The Rock Gardenm The Mean Fiddler and The Brentford Red Lion.

Sometime around 2011 the band got together to do a reunion gig at The Manor Inn in Croyde, North Devon, and were also thinking of undertaking new musicala projects. Not sure what happened

One thing I do notice in the ReverbNation page is that there is a song called “Joy Revision”. It seems like a rehearsal?

Then a good find! A Facebook page! Here we find some good photos of the band and also that there was a reunion gig for Graham’s 50th birthday on 17 October 2015. Again in Croyde. Maybe that’s where he was living then?

And lastly I find a Soundcloud for The Strummer Room Project. This is Chris Oakes, now living in Oxfordshire. There we see that in 2015 he recorded 3 songs by his old bandmate Colin Cary.

Now who remembers Rendezvous in Black? Or what about their previous incarnation Private Desires? Would be good to know what happened after the demise of the band? Did they continue making music in other projects? Are there more recordings?

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Listen
Rendezvous in Black – National Exhibition Day