Day 572

Rachel Love: I just preordered the album “Picture in Mind” by the ex-Dolly Mixture! I am so looking forward to this CD! Right now you can preview two of the songs that will be included in it, “Primrose Hill” and “The Long Way Round”. Both are truly something. I can’t wait to listen to the remaining 8. Very excited. Don’t miss this one out I’d say!

David Christian: the Comet Gain leader is back with an album worth of songs titled “Lullabies for Lives You Never Had”. This release is only digital but it is really good. This is the third volume of recordings done at home and other rare sounds. Definitely worth a listen for the fans and not fans (can that be possible?) of Comet Gain.

Les Yeux Mi-Clos: I wonder where Melotron Recordings from Greece found about this band! I have never heard them and they do sound fantastic. Jangly, chiming guitars. From what I understand it is the project of Correntin Cornieres. And here there is a limited CD of 6 songs that is being released on October 1st.

Humdrum: “Wave Goodbye” is the first song from the latest project of Loren Vanderbilt who used to be in the fantastic Star Tropics. This song is perfect janglepop. The guitars jingle jangle and the melodies work in a dreamy way. It is classic indiepop, well-crafted, and I really hope more songs appear on his Bandcamp soon!

Stomp Talk Modstone: the Japanese shoegazers have a new release on Bandcamp, a four song EP titled “Melissa/Keep on Mind”. As you might guess there are those two songs that give title to the EP plus an instrumental and a version of their song “Only Illusion”. Fuzzy and warm. Good stuff.

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I was in touch with Noel Attride of the fantastic Beyond the Blue. It was a fantastic opportunity and I asked to do an interview. I sent questions, and as it happens more often than not, I never received answers. So I can’t really tell the whole story of the band as I would have wanted. But I feel not having a write-up about this obscure but amazing band goes against the blog ideals.

I may be doing this a bit more often. There are many bands I’ve tried to interview but never got their answers. As this blog is a good resource for the history of indiepop, I feel at least a write-up of what I know, could be helpful.

From what I understand the band recorded only 6 songs. Only one of these songs, “Return of the Prodigals”, ended up being released. This song would end up on the compilation “Beyond the Fence Begins the Sky”, a vinyl comp released in 1987 by the Plastic Head Records Limited (PLAS LP 008). This label based in Oxon is still going to the surprise of many as a proper record store. On the record thee band appears as the 3rd song on the A side.

I have talked about this compilation in the past. Bands like The Jeremiahs or Home and Abroad appear on it. Also the Enamel Animals who would later be The Chalk Giants.

Beyond the Blue was formed by Noel Attride on guitar, Brendan O’Sullivan on vocals and guitar, James Field on bass and Nick Warren on drums.

The 6 songs the band recorded are on Soundcloud. They are “Time to Smile”, “Acid Rain”, “Beyond the Blue”, “Never Never Girl”, “Return of the Prodigals” and “Time in my Heart”.

Some info appear on the songs. We learn that the band was formed from two disbanded groups (which groups? it doesn’t say).

As you’ll notice the songs are quite something. They are amazing. Proper jangle pop. How come they didn’t release a record is a mystery to me.

I keep looking for any other details. I see a comment on a Firestation Records blog post by Nick Warren. He mentions that he was in a band called Sideways Laughing in 1985. In this band a member of Beyond the Blue was involved, Brendan O’Sullivan. His brother Kieran was also on Sideways Laughing. Nick and Brendan would start Beyond the Blue. He mentions that Brendan was in a band called The Tenderhooks. Would love to listen both of these bands, Sideways Laughing and The Tenderhooks.

Noel also comments on the post. He adds some more info. He says that he was more involved in the later stages of the band. He says that Nick, James and himself, before being in Sideways Laughing had been in a band called Breaking the Ice. Oh! Another band that would be great to listen to. He also mentions that Beyond the Blue played a few gigs in Reading and one in London, at the Hippodrome.

And that’s all the info I could find on the web. Would be fantastic to find out more. Maybe I can get in touch with the other band members and get an interview done. Would be great! Who remembers them?

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Listen
Beyond the Blue – Time to Smile

Day 327.

3 a.m. Again: it seems Michael Telles project Night Heron had to change their name because of some copyright law. A real shame. I liked that name. Now under the name 3 a.m. Again he is releasing a 20 song CD album called “Come Back from the Sun” on the veritable label Subjangle Records. The album is out now and as I said includes lots of songs, all of them packed with lovely and sweet melodies, packed with sunshine. Good stuff.

Wave Goodbye: also from Boston, Massachusetts, comes this one man project by Jack Downey. He is releasing an EP on February 19th called “Summer”. Right now we can preview one out of seven songs, the one called “Summer of Love”. It is a good one I think. Very early 2000s, reminding me a bit to The Javelins! That’s a good thing in my book!

The Churchhill Garden: “Fade Away” is the latest song by this Lucerne, Switzerland, project, by Andi Jossi and Krissy Vanderwoude. As with their previous songs we get this dreamy and hopeful atmosphere, with smart and elegant arrangements, and catchy melodies. One wonder when will there be a proper release. They deserve it.

The Fragiles: this solo project by David Settle from Philadelphia is releasing a cassette album on February 12. The album is called “On and On” and will include 10 songs. As it is becoming usual in Bandcamp only one song, “Kaleidoscope”, is available to preview. The track is very nice, fuzzy but poppy at the same time. Looking forward to listening to the rest.

Happy Cat Meows: now we head to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to discover this fun band! “Para Siempre en Internet” is a short EP with three songs, “Sunset Riders”, “Dormir-Me” and “Flores”. These are three catchy and upbeat pop songs  which seem perfect as we know down in the southern hemisphere they are in summer. Joyful pop!

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Been meaning to write about the Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, band for a while now. Not sure why I hadn’t yet, sure there are many bands, but I do own many records by them. So even though I’ve never talked or anything with the band members, I am a bit familiar with their music. So I can surely recommend them, right?

We know the band originally was formed by John Bingham on guitars and vocals, Simon Burgon on vocals, Phil Shorthouse on bass, Steve Frisby on guitar and Anni the drum machine. This formation recorded the flexi from 1987 that had two songs, “Metroland” and “Dorian’s Face”. This flexi was released by J.B. Di Griz (GRIZ 001) and also credits two more people, Joe Shevelan on tambourine and Pam on backing vocals. Martin Howells engineered the record and played the organ.

The band would end up releasing more of their output on the fine Leicester label Rutland Records. “Three Ghosts” (RUT 2) would be their first release on the label, a great 7″ single that included three songs. These were “Less than 1,000,000” on the A side and “Sweet and Stupid” and “Snow” on the B side. The 7″ came with a lyrics insert. This one came out in 1989.

Afterwards, in the same year, the band released a tape on the same label. It was called “November in St. Ann’s” (RUTT3). St. Ann’s being a district withing the city of Nottingham. Paying homage to their hometown perhaps? In any case this tape had four songs, “The Ballad of Johnny the Fish”, “On Howard Beach”, “And it Shines” and “Where’s Mine?”.

Next came another 7″ on Rutland, it was the single with “True West” on the A side and “Hide” on the B side. Catalog number was RUTEP 4. Martin Howells produced the songs that were recorded at Rooftop Studio. There is credits to Carl (no last name) for drumming.

1990. Time for another flexi. But not any flexi, it was a hard-flexi. That means there was an A side and a B side. That it is a record not as thin as a flexi, but not thick as a common 7″. Confusing? Not really. The catalog number was RUTEP 5 and the songs were “Cross!” on the A side and “Hey Solitude” on the B side. It is said that this record was given away for free with the Cliftonville FC fanzine “The Wee Red” in early 1990.

Lastly in 1993 we see changes and a new release. Changes in the label that put the record out. Now it was the German label Meller Welle Produkte (MEL 7). And also on the lineup of the band. This new 7″ was the “Startrippers” EP. It had the title song on the A side and “Angel Nineteen” and “Happy War (Xmas is Over)” on the flipside. John Bingham was the only original member, on guitar and bass. The new members were Ian Williams on vocals and guitar, Helen Williams on vocals and Steve Lawrence on drums. The record was once again recorded at Rooftop Studio and produced by Martin Howells.

There seems to be even a new lineup for a band afterwards, with John Bingham, Ian Williams and Haddon on Smith on guitar. Not sure which recordings were made by them. Could be some of the many compilation appearances?

Indeed, there are many of them. Starting with the song “Sweet and Stupid” that was included in the Boshi Label’s compilation tape “My Favourite Sunday Vol. 1” (RODDY 004) in 1989. Then they would have “The Ballad of Johnny the Fish” on the Roman Cabbage Vinyl LP comp “El Dorado” (Grey  2) in 1990. So yeah, first a Japanese compilation, then a German on.

And why not a Dutch compilation? In 1990 they would include their song “Hide” in the double vinyl compilation “Let’s have a Picnic and Barbecue some Corrupt Not Self-Programming Dee-Jays” (NOET 10) on  Noet Lachten Records. That same year their song “Sweet & Stupid” would show up on “And they Call it Pop” a tape compilation released by Fragrant. “Hide” would appear on the classic “Audacious” tape from 1990 as well.

In 1991 their song “True West” was included in “Berlincassette 2-91” released by Jarmusic. In 1992 their relationship with Meller Welle Produkte starts with the band having the song “Radio Friendly” in the cassette compilation “Sandcastles in the Sun” (MEL10). Then Discogs lists them appearing on a Swedish comp called “Amber Dregs” with the songs “Marianne Dreams” and “Ford Madonna”.

In 1995 the band appears on the Bliss Aquamarine tape “Sapphite” (BLISS020). Here they have two songs, “Mikoyan” and “Shipbuilding (in Reverse)”. Two years later, on another Bliss Aquamarine tape, this one called “Shimmering Opals” (BLISS 031) the band have the songs “Chelsea Winter” and “Old Angels”.

In 1999 the song “Startrippers” is included now on an Italian compilation, the tape “Broken Bits of You and Me” released by Best Kept Secret (LIE 004).

Discogs also lists the song “Ashley Watt” contributed to the tape “Indigo Violet” (BLISS 044) on Bliss Aquamarine, “Elsewhere Girl” on the Pearl fanzine compilation tape “The Noise and the Melodies” from Germany and “Marianne’s Dreams”, “Ford Madonna”, “Marianne Dreams Electric” and “Star Yer Headspace” on the tape “Ha Ha, Funny Feeling!” released by Meller Welle Produkte (MEL 15). Don’t know the release year for any of these three, but definitely they are later period of the band.

I don’t see any of the members being involved with other bands. It seems they were all about The Waiting List. What I do find on the web is sad news. John Bingham passed away in 2018. The newspaper Newark Advertiser has an article about it. Here we learn that John was involved in managing the Palace Theatre in his town. The article also seems to say that Simon Burgon is not with us anymore. Is that so?

Then there is a CD called “Television of Cruelty Season 2”. I don’t know which member of The Waiting List was in this band, but it does say that at least one song, “Teenage Wasteland” was co-written with John Bingham, who they were together in The Waiting List.

And that’s it. Sadly some sad news on this search for The Waiting List. But hopefully many of you remember them, saw them, and have great memories of them. Would be nice to find out more about the band of course. So any details let me know!

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Listen
The Waiting List – True West

Yesterday was a good night. Since the pandemic started I hadn’t been to a gig. Yesterday was the end of that streak. I went to Brooklyn, to The Knitting Factory to see Madrid’s Cariño.

I went a bit late, wasn’t that keen on the opening bands.  I had beers as usual and didn’t know anyone in the crowd. That always surprises me about NYC, you assume you’ll see the same people at an indiepop gig but that never happens.

Cariño had their fans, mostly Latin Americans and Spanish. But there were also American fans who seemed knew their lyrics, that was quite fantastic.

The band played their brand of fun electronic pop. The three-piece were playing the last gig of their North/South America tour that included stops in Santiago, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Coachella, Chicago, San Francisco. They said they were traveling back to Spain today. A whole month of gigging.

The songs were fun fun fun. They are catchy and know how to put a smile on your face. My favourite is the dancey “Bisexual” but there’s a ton to choose. And they will have an album coming out next week.

I got to chat with the band. Take a photo. And also got the “Movidas” record signed. They thought this record was a relic. I was surprised by this. Well, not so anymore, was looking on Discogs and the highest price paid for it is $150. That’s crazy.

I do want the new records they have on the Sonido Muchacho label but their shipping costs are too much. Unreal even. They are not the price the Spanish post office charges in my experience. So don’t know how to get them yet. The band didn’t bring any as they were scared of customs taking them. Understandable.

Anyhow, I had a superb night, and it felt good to go out and catch a band. I hope this happens more often. Say Sue Me was next week but they postponed their gig.

Mr. and Mrs. Muffins: the latest on the Japanese Blue-Very Label is the album “The Manhattan Slide and Other Songs for Dream Dancing” by this Seattle duo. The record will be available on vinyl in July has 11 songs, all which you can preview on Bandcamp. One of the songs, “A Rainy Interlude” features the great Louis Philippe in it. It’s a very nice record of “luxurious” pop as they describe it.

Gorgeous Bully: “Am I Really Going to Die Here” is the name of the tape album  this Manchester project is releasing on May 6. The album, recorded at home in Stretford, has 11 tracks. 3 of the songs, “Sick of Everything”, “Something in the Air” and “Wasted” are available to preview as of now. They are nice bedroom pop songs, but definitely the better one is the opening track, “Sick of Everything”.

The Ashenden Papers: I have recommended many times in the past this great California project by Jason Dezember. His latest release, from last month, is a four song EP titled “Winter”. The songs are bright, sunny, and truly lovely. Crafted with care and pop sensibility. Two of the songs on this EP will appear on the band’s forthcoming LP.

Popboomerang: this was sad news, that Popboomerang from Australia was calling it a day. The label that released tons of classic pop records decided it was time to go, and we totally understand it. To say a final goodbye they have put a compilation called “Marching Out of Time” (named after the Killjoys song) that includes tracks by so many amazing bands including The Steinbecks, Little Murders, The Killjoys, Jane Vs World Nick Batterham and more!

Persica 3: I have to go through Hidden Bay’s latest releases. There’s a few I’ve missed checking out. “Tangerine” the tape released by Persica 3 in March is already sold out. But at least we can play it many times online I guess. 7 songs of wistful pop by this one-man project by Léo Dubois.

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Following the lead of stoneeyedkiller I find a Soundcloud account with a handful of songs by thee late 80s band The Mortimers.

It doesn’t say who is behind this band. The account username is Lulumonde. An alias of course. He does mention that he had been making music since 1986. That he had written, recorded and performed since that year. And most interestingly he was the bassist for several bands including The Mortimers, Cigarette, Mr Potatohead and The Mighty Chopper Squad.

The account says that he is based in York, UK. Hopefully he didn’t move recently. Hopefully I can assume The Mortimers hailed from York or some town close.

There are 5 songs by The Mortimers, all of them dating from 1989: “Carry On”, “On With the Show”, “Tragic Rise in Self Destruction (Wave it Thankfully Goodbye)”, “That’s Fine With Me” and “Child on a Swing”.

According to Discogs the Mighty Chopper Squad, the band mentioned in the quick bio, hailed from Manchester and was a remix team that featured three out of five members of the band The Space Monkeys. If that’s the case, and looking at who was the bass player in The Space Monkeys, Dom Morrison, is it safe to assume it was Dom who was behind The Mortimers? I can’t say for sure. I guess it is the best guess I can make.

Other than that I couldn’t find any information about the band. Any details will be appreciated.

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Listen
The Mortimers – On with the Show

Happy Monday. Today let’s go straight to some good recommendations!

Comet Gain: another wonderful set of unheard, forgotten 23 songs. “The Misfit Jukebox Vol  – Somewhere to Belong” is the new collection of Comet Gain on Bandcamp. Included is a 1997 of the classic cover of “Pinstriped Rebel” as well as a bunch of terrific tracks going back as far as 1993.

The Hazmats: Static Shock Records from London is releasing a 7″ by The Hazmats. Limited to 300 copies the single includes two songs, “Empty Rooms” and “Today”. We can preview the A side and it is really good! They mention The Clouds as their big influence and you can see a similar typeface on their sleeve as that one of The Clouds one and only 7″… on purpose? Good stuff.

Humdrum: this band is a true favourite and would be great to see them release something in physical format. The solo project of Loren from Star Tropics has a new song called “Superbloom” that is a rush of chiming and jangling guitars. Essential listening and if you are making a mixtape or CD, a must to include!

The Holiday Crowd: a true surprise to see the comeback of the Toronto band that dazzled all of us many many years ago! A new 7″ with the songs “Party Favours” and “Bullet Train” will be released in May by Shelflife Records. Pre-orders are up now and I need to do that. Hopefully they return to NYC soon too.

Ducks Ltd.: and I end this round of recommendations with another Toronto band. Here there is a great cover of the JAMC’s classicc “Head On”. On this track it says thee Illuminati Hotties are featured. Not sure who they are,  but that’s cool. It is a one off digital single.

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I was very sad to hear about two weeks ago that Vince Keenan from One Thousand Violins passed away. Probably you’ve heard this on social media and already paid tribute…

I am slow with these things as you might have seen in many posts I’ve written about of many of our heroes that have left us. But I still needed to write this. My own little tribute.

One Thousand Violins is a favourite band of mine. Songs like “Like One Thousand Violins”, “Halcyon Days”, “Please Don’t Sandblast My House”, “If I Were a Bullet” or “If Only Words” are indiepop classics, legendary!

Kevin wasn’t part of the first incarnation of the Sheffield band. He joined sometime in 1988, replacing John Wood on vocals. With Vince the band released the band last album “Hey Man That’s Beautiful”.

After the demise of One Thousand Violins Vince continued making music with the wonderful Splendid Fellows. Even though I never wrote about One Thousand Violins (I don’t know why, probably as they are one of the ‘bigger’ indiepop bands I thought I was going to interview someday…) I did dedicate a post to Splendid Fellows. On that post I say:

“Field of Corn” was written by Vince Keenan and only saw the day of light a demo tape. Splendid Fellows was formed in March 1990 and split in 1992. No records were released but gigs were well attended. In July 1994 Vince Keenan returned to play Leeds Heineken Festival under the name The Haze Office with the drummer of Splendid Fellows, Gordon Leather. He already had used this name in the early 80s before becoming the later singer of 1000 Violins. Now he is performing acoustic gigs under the name of Spigott. And it is only a question of time before he is getting a new band together again.”

And that’s one interesting bit of information, The Haze Office. Did you know though that before being in One Thousand Violins he was in a band called The Hays Office?

I don’t know much about this band or about Spigott, the band he was in in the early 2000s. With Spigott he did release something. He covered “Salvador Dali’s Garden Party” on a tribute to the TVPs that our friend Wally put together back in 2005 for his label The Beautiful Music. That’s really cool. I didn’t know about this until today.

Same with The Hays Office. I am listening to a song called “All the Colour” that is available on the Sheffield Tape Archive Bandcamp as part of a compilation called “The Hard Stuff Presents”. This tape was produced by Radio Sheffield’s The Right Stuff program. I don’t know when this tape was released, according to Bandcamp in 2018. The tape features bands from 1985, from Sheffield.

It is interesting when you start to dig, to find more information about our heroes. Other projects, other recordings, collaborations… for example here they thank Vince for providing the insert of the cassette to the people behind this Bandcamp. That’s why I think this tape was actually released in the 80s. Discogs doeesn’t list it, only the MP3 compilation.

As you continue looking, you find Vince had a Soundcloud page. I start to wonder why I never got in touch. Would have been fantastic to do an interview. There are more songs by The Hays Office here including “Dressed in White” and “Curled Up“. We know now that this project was around from 1984 to 1987.

He also left us some thoughts about the song “Dressed in White” on the One Thousand Violins facebook:
“Excusive…the hays office..vince keenan pre ..1000 violins..1986….and soundyshitty clowd banned it…..I loved doing this track…dressed in white…about a reimagining of a ghostly spirit…or mood we take….I’d just acquired a 60s red watkins guitar and pre dylans..Q jennings was kicking in on trumpet and hammond…noone did anything close to us at that time..they were a mass of ramones and jesus and mary chain clones. …when we were more..jazz…meets ..new wave..60s…and retro robots..guitars/amps….and hashish!…felt good for a short while…then judas always kicks in!..but bigger than 1000 violins in Sheffield on cred scene…..but I even told Q to buy hammond on joining when we went looking…but he did fall in love with the korg hammond himself. ..but at that time only james taylor quartet were doing instrumentals on the indie scene. …so we perservered and I wasn’t one to write normal songs being an art student…but…did want weird sounding pop!…and textured tracks!…track from an unreleased cd of demos I did called the stoned age….”

There’s a blog too, I think it was his where he comments movies. Last updated in January. This would make sense, see Hays Office is a term that has to do with the motion Picture Production Code, was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945.

There’s very little information about this project. If it had more band members or if it was just Vince. He seems to have been an important part of the Sheffield scene back then. I still haven’t visited Sheffield but one thing that is true is that their music history is amazing. A city that produced quality music. One Thousand Violins one of their best for me.

I never met, never chatted, with them. One thing that kept me a bit far away was also their relationship with Cherry Red. I mean, they didn’t need promotion from this humble blog. They were in a different league. But at the same time, when you listen to their wonderful songs you feel they could be your friends, that they were a down-to-earth band. I suppose if Cherry Red offers you something it is hard to say no. It is true though that I first heard them on Vinyl Japan and also on the Leamington Spa compilation series.

One thing that could have happened is that of a One Thousand Violins gig. A reunion gig. And that won’t be happening anymore. That would have been a dream for me. I would have traveled to Sheffield. To London. To wherever they were to be booked. How much I would have loved that!

It’s time to say goodbye. We didn’t cross paths, but the music you made was important to me. I played your songs many times. I want to say a big THANK YOU for that

EDIT April 5th, 2022: My friend Richard had interviewed Vine for his Facebook blog Scratch the Surface. Here Vince shares more of the story of The Hays Office! Thanks to Richard for letting me share these lines:

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Listen
The Hays Office – Dressed in White

++ And I also was wondering, do you prefer English or Japanese for your songs? What comes easiest?

I believe English is more suitable for such sounds. Because it made from the UK and US.

And either languages are very difficult for us.

++ Your first releases came out on the fine label Vinyl Japan. How did you end up signing with this label? And how was working with them?

I gave them our demo cassette tape. They immediately liked it and released a 7” single.

At an event of Vinyl Japan, we did two gigs those days. One is TVP’s & The Chesterfields, the other one is Saturn V and Carousel. So, two years ago, played with The Monochrome Set and The Catenary Wires. At this time, we had Mayumi Ikemizu, Three Berry Icecream (ex-Bridge) play accordion and chorus. It was very fun. We all were very nervous though. (lol)

++ Your first release was the “Motorbike Loves You… EP” that came out on vinyl and CD. I guess this is a question I ask often, but do you have a preferred format for music?

I absolutely prefer vinyl. Such as old vinyl coating, flip back, and the smell of record jacket particularly. In a nutshell, we were definite a vinyl geek.

++ I enjoy this record a lot. All the songs are wonderful. You produced the record yourselves. How was that experience? And where were these songs recorded?

That’s right. It’s self-produced. Recorded at members home and mixed by the members.

We didn’t have enough time because the release date was approaching.

++ I feel the song “Goodbye My Favourite Girl” is like a 2nd part of The Hit Parade’s “My Favourite Girl”. Is that what you were trying to do?

Bingo! I was listening to The Hit Parade well and was keen on their sound.

++ Oh and who took care of the art for your records on Vinyl Japan? They all look so cool, bold, very pop!

It’s Seiji and I. We had a lot of cool records, so influenced by them.

By the way, regarding “Motorbike loves you”, I was inspired from BAUHAUS “Telegram Sam” and The Flatmates “Happy all the time” with Twiggy.

++ It only made sense that you would release a split CD with The Chesterf!elds in 1994. That must have been exciting. I have two questions about this release which is on my wishlist for years…. one is that you thank Psycha-Go-Go. Who were there? And second there’s a song called “I Wanna Bang on the Drums”. I am right to think you were into The Stone Roses then?

First of all, Psycha-Go-Go are Seiji’s band who were members Johnny Dee and The Korova Milk Bar. My brother also was this band. Secondly, of course I pretty loved The Stone Roses, but probably aimed anorak sound like The Vaselines. In terms of lyric, I quoted from Tot Taylor. I believe you are super maniac because even I forgot about this song.

++ Then you released the wonderful album “Love Compilation”. I love how you keep showing your love for your heroes. Like in this record you have a song “Why I Like Max Eider” for example. I have to ask what other musical heroes you have. If we were to do a top 5?

It’s David Bowie, Paul Weller, Ian McCulloch, Morrissey and Roddy Frame.

++ You covered The Go-Betweens on this record too, “Bachelor Kisses”. Such a beautiful song. I wonder did Johnny Dee also do other covers normally? Maybe when playing live?

We covered in live such as ‘Falling and Laughing” Orange Juice. “Start a War” The Pale Fountains, As mentioned earlier, “Part Time Punks (Mods)” TV’s, and “Big Pink Cake” Razorcuts. Two years ago, when we were at live with The Monochrome Set, played ”Alphaville” intro～”My face on fire” Felt.

++ One thing that always confused me is the title of the album, why “compilation”, is it in any way a compilation?

Good question! Because it’s not total album. Songs with different tunes are mixed in the album. Thus, It’s a compilation. I wish I could release a total album someday.

++ Many years after, in 2001, Sofa Records from Hong Kong, released the “1995 Unreleased EP”. Why did those song remained unreleased until then? And how come a label from Hong Kong picked this release up?

I’m not sure, but Bruno-san, Sofa Records offered us about this. They are so maniac label like you and was very kind. Speaking of which, we provide our unreleased song to Shelflife Records in US.

++ Also one thing I notice is that in this EP Johnny Dee is just you and Tsuyoshi. How come the band were just two people at this point?

I don’t remember well, but because the other member moved the other city.

++ And lastly two songs showed up in 2019, on a new 7″ released by the Blue-Very label. These songs were “Hey, Gentle Girl” and “The Blue Girl from North Town”. These were previously released songs, right? How come it was decided to re-release them and on vinyl?

You are quite observant. As for “Gentle Girl”, I wanted to release as a second single in those days. So, released 7” with “Blue Girl” like the most at Johnny Dee’s numbers.

++ I am familiar with most of the compilations you appeared on but one called “Future Chic” released by Automatic Kiss Records. Do you have any info about this label or this release?

This is our the first recording. Automatic Kiss is an indie label in Fukuoka I live. They were exploring local and international bands. Label owner, Habu was friends of mine. After that, he moved to Germany. They were involved in obscure label, Leamington Spa.

++ Are there more unreleased songs by the band?

Not so much.

Day 286

Breakfast Clouds: oh!! what a nice discovery this band from Manila, Philippines! Their latest was the “Treehouse” EP that was released last August and it is really a beauty. How did it go under my radar. The three songs that make up the EP are just dreamy and perfectly crafted. This is truly good, deserves a physical release!

A Zu La: the latest release on the very good Shiny Happy Records is a digital single by this new project by Guntur. The song is titled “Go Out” and it is a fine slice of bedroom pop (actually recorded at Guntur’s room). There’s not much more info about it, but hopefully there are more songs soon.

Oeil: after a long silence these Japanese shoegazers are back with a fuzzy and warm song called “Perfect”. It is catchy, very MBV, too. There are also t-shirts on sale if that’s your thing!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: and of course, there had to be some Christmas songs by the most prolific indiepop artist around. The two new songs are titled “We Won’t Come Home at Christmas Time” and “Holiday Cheer (In Spite of it All”, and of course they are jingle jangly!

EggS: the French fuzzy band is back with a song called “Old Fashion Virtue” that seems to be released in a cassette. Is it just the one song in the cassette called “An Unexpected Christmas Gift”? It is not 100% clear to me. Seems a bit bad to just include one song on a tape, right? But then it is a very nice song.

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There are still a bunch of superb obscure bands that were on The Sound of Leamington Spa series released by Firestation Records that need to be featured on the blog. I don’t know how many, but I do feel most of them deserve a mention here as they were important to me in discovering indiepop!

So for example from the first ever CD of the series, “The Sound of Leamington Spa Vol. 1” (FST 008) we need to cover so many bands! So far on the blog I’ve had features/interviews with Episode 4, Where Gardens Fall, The Anyways, The Hepburns, The Siddeleys, The Desert Wolves, The Clamheads, Sister Rain, The Wishing Stones and The Aurbisons. That’s about half of the bands! So we are missing still a bunch, but today I want to revisit one that was a nice surprise when I first heard this CD as it was a band I had never heard before, not even their name, Asia Fields from Manchester.

By now they must be familiar with everyone. The compilation came out in the year 2000. And even in 2017 Firestation Records released a compilation album called “Goodbye Frank” (FST 146) on both LP and CD that is a must have for any serious indiepop fan.

I must say they were quite mysterious to me too because on the Leamington Spa booklet, every band had some info about them, but for Asia Fields there was nothing. Just a short discography! I was able though to find a copy of their first release, the “Burst” 12″ on eBay I think. For a good price probably. I don’t like paying crazy prices.

The “Burst” 12″ is really good, it includes the song that was on the Leamington Spa compilation, “Dazed”, on the B side. The other two songs were “Save Me” on the A side and “Ain’t That Just What Love Is” as the 2nd song on the B side. This record came out on Frank Records (12 FRANK 001) and I believe this label was the band’s own. The A side was engineered at Spirit Studios (Manchester) while the B side at Square One Studios (Bury). Graham Massey (from 808state) was the engineer. The credits are a bit extensive on this one, so we know that Graham Maley played guitar and sang as well as wrote the songs, Mark Finch played guitar, David Jones the bass, Paul Hewitt played bongos, percussion, backing vocals, David Keane played congas and percussion, Eamonn Sheehe played drums and percussion and Andy Preston played keyboards. The record came out in 1990 and the artwork is credited to Rob Taylor with help by Pete Rogers on the typography.

The band would release two more records during their time. Frank 02 was a 12″ white label for “Friction” on the A side and “Jackknifed” on the B side. It seems this record came with a band photo and a press sheet where it mentions that the band hailed from Oldham and was formed in 1989. The songs in this single were produced by Chris Nagle and it says that these songs were taken from the band’s forthcoming album that was to be released on vinyl and CD. This album never happened sadly.

One thing to notice too is that the records had some runout etchings. They are quite strange. For example in the “Friction” 12″ it says on the A side “BAKAWITHAFRAKATHATAMAKEYAHANDACLAPPAANOTHERAPORKAPRIMACUTA” while on the B side “ITTUKALIDDLEWYLABUD WE BAK TO MAKE YA SMILA YERRANUTHAPRIMACUTA”. The “Burst” 12″ is less mysterious, “MIKE’S-THE EXCHANGE MPO” on the A side and “MPO” on the B side.

Lastly in 1998 the band released a CD single with two songs, “Crazy Caroline” and “Stabilize” on Long Jump Records (AFCD 001). There’s really no info for this CD.

What else do we know about the band members? We know that Graham Maley was in a band afterwards called The Homelys. Eamonn Sheehe has played with Steve Diggle (Buzzcocks) and supported some big names. He has been a drum teacher for some time. David Keane guested in the song “Caravan” by the Inspiral Carpets.

But as I said, luckily Firestation Records released “Goodbye Frank”, a compilation that included the songs from their first 2 records and more. I wonder why not the CD single? In any case this was the tracklist “Dazed”, “Save Me”, “Ain’t That Just What Love Is”, “There is No-One to Save You”, “God Only Knows”, “Friction”, “Jackknifed”, “Know Who You Are”, “Chances”, “Waking Up”, “Sneakin”, “That Feeling”, “Hummingbird”, “Bluke”, “You’re Not Even Born (Live)”.

Another question, so there is that live song last. Where was this one played? Somewhere in Manchester? Would be nice to know where. The good thing is that Graham Maley wrote for the accompanying booklet.

Here it changes the timeline. It says now that the band was formed in 1985 by Graham Maley and Tony Welsh. The city is still the same, Oldham. They got a room to practice at the Guide Bridge Mill. Clint Boon owned this room. One day liking what he heard he asked to record a demo of the band. Here we see that the band grows, but we see some different names. This first lineup included Chris Goodwin on drums, David and Alan Keane on bongos, congas and percussion, David Jones on bass and two backing singers, Viv Hughes and Louise Butterworth. So, what songs were recorded with this lineup? What songs were on that first demo recorded by Boon?

The lineup I mentioned earlier was actually the 1987/1988 lineup. That lineup is the one that did most of the band’s recorded output. Aside from the two studios and engineers I mentioned earlier they also used Noise Box where Steve Lloyd engineered. On their later recordings Dave Wells is on drums and Christian Butterworth (family of Louise?) on bongos.

The band would support the Inspiral Carpets in 1989 at The International. After that the band gained a following. They mention that they turned down offers from big labels, interviews from the music papers and magazines. They wanted to remain indie. That’s quite interesting.

Then Graham tells a bit about his creative process, how the band was ahead of the wave, mixing dance grooves before Madchester exploded.

We can also mention that the song “Dazed” was included in the Cherry Red boxset “Manchester North of England – A Story of Independent Music Greater Manchester 1977-1993” that came out in 2017.

But there’s more. There is a Facebook page for the band. The band is actually selling t-shirts of their original iconic design of the “Burst” 12″. Very cool. But let’s see what else we can learn.

One thing I find almost immediately is that while in Oldham College Graham and Tony Welsh had a few bands. The first one was called Jazmedia and lasted until 1982. Afterwards they had a project called Aldo in Arcadia which it says that there were some recordings made. Would be good to listen to these! Then after Asia Fields, they reunited to form the band Go Cosmic around 2002.

Then I find that in 2017 the band put together a digital album. It was released by Cherry Red.  It turns out that this record is actually the unreleased album of the band from 1999. The story tells the band went into the Noise Box Studio to record the album, and when the album was ready the call from the label person never came. The album was then stored in a garage, then in a loft, and then after many years rediscovered. The songs on it were “Switch”, “Crackpot”, “I Will Not Follow”, “Bluff”, “Jackknifed”, “Drive Us Away”, “Stabilise”, “You’re Not Even Born” and “The Good Goodbye”.

Another great thing about the page is that there are lots of photos of the band Among the photos there is a photo of a demo tape dating from 1997 with three songs at least, “Know Who You Are”, “Chances” and “Waking Up”. It seems the band doesn’t remember much about this one! Though it does look they were planning to release these songs as a CD single at some point, they even made posters for it!

Other photos tell us that the band played alongside The Ambitious Beggars on May 11, 1990. Another gig we know they played was at The Ritz on July 17 that same year (or 1989?). Or what about them playing in the Hop & Grape with The Mock Turtles on December 9th on again 89 or 1990?

And if you care, there’s a promo video for the song “Friction” on Youtube!

I wasn’t expecting much on the web but there actually is quite some good amount of info. I find an interview by Louder than War with Graham Maley. Here they ask many questions I would ask!

A blog called Even the Stars reviews the “Goodbye Frank” compilation and adds one detail I wasnt aware, Graham Maley latest band was actually called Aluna Pop Ups. He is also the author of two books, “The Difference We Make” and “We are Waking Up”.

And that’s it for today. Quite a good amount of information. I feel I know even more about the band now. How cool. Who remembers them?

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Listen
Asia Fields – Dazed

Thanks so much to Tom Heaney for the interview! I wrote about the Edinburgh based band Elephant Noise some time ago and was lucky that Tom Heaney, one of the band’s drummer and who the song “New Town Tom” is about, got in touch with me. He was very kind to answer all my questions and tell me more details about his time in the band!

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

Hi Roque, I’m good thanks. I haven’t spoken with the band members of Elephant Noise for some 28 years so hopefully my memory serves me well.

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

I was lucky enough to have 3 older siblings growing up with very eclectic tastes all-round. All of my siblings and my parents loved listening to music, although I was the only one to pick up some instruments and play. My oldest sister was into disco, my second oldest sister was into Motown mainly. My older brother was only a year older so we shared our musical tastes as well as a room. I came of age in the post punk era around 1979, 1980 and beyond. There was so much variety at that time. We liked Krafwerk, Talking Heads, OMD, Depeche Mode, Aztec Camera, Orange Juice to name but a few. My first interest was playing drums, I used to play with tupperware boxes and wooden spoons – drowning out my sisters and brother’s favourite records. My uncle played guitar and sang Bob Dylan tunes and old Irish folk songs at family gatherings, I would sit hypnotised by the sounds. I eventually got a drum kit and an acoustic guitar. Drum lessons would follow with gigs very closely behind that. It didn’t take me long to get on the road. I’ve done gigs on bass, drums, guitar and a bit of keyboards, a jack of all trades but a master of none.

++ Had you been in other bands before Elephant Noise? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

I was around 22 years old when I joined EN and had been gigging regularly for around 6 years already. Punk rock was still a big deal when I attended secondary school and not surprisingly my first band at school was a punk outfit. Another band at school I played with was a MOD band playing The Who, The Jam etc. By the time I had left school I was doing 3 to 4 gigs a week in covers bands. I think it is a good thing there are no recordings that I know about.

++ Where were you from originally?

Edinburgh is my place of birth although my family moved 15 miles outside Edinburgh when I was 6 months old. We moved to Livingston New Town which was built as an over-spill town for mainly Glasgow but also Edinburgh families. It all means that I don’t know Edinburgh that well even though it’s on my birth certificate.

++ How was Edinburgh at the time of Elephant Noise? 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?

In 1991 Scotland was still riding on the crest of the musical wave that started around 1988 with bands like Deacon Blue, Hue and Cry, Love and Money, Wet Wet Wet etc. That was a very polished, blue eyed soul sound. But scratch the surface and there was hundreds of less well known bands doing great things or instance Teenage Fan Club, Goodbye Mr McKenzie, The Silencers, Future World Moves, The Pearlfishers, Cocteau Twins.  At the time Edinburgh was full of live music venues. Most pubs would have some live music at weekends, and certain city center places would have live music every night. With the University community filling up the bars and clubs audiences were a bit more open minded about what to listen to. There were some good independent record stores at the time although with my gigging schedule at the time I didn’t have much time to browse through them.

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

I was the second drummer meaning I missed the start of the band but I’d imagine the guys all got together at University as they were all attending or had attended Edinburgh University. My involvement with the band started when I received a phone call from a drumming friend of mine in Livingston who had just been for an audition with Elephant Noise. He didn’t feel the gig was right for him but thought it might be more my style. I called the singer Neil Barber for a chat and headed into Edinburgh for an Audition. My friend dropped in a three track demo cassette for me to listen to before I went to get a feel for the style and songs. To be honest I was a fan from the first listen. They were rehearsing in what can only be described as a broom cupboard on the ground floor of a local council run community center in Edinburgh. Once I had set up my drum kit I quickly realised I was taking up most of the room so put some of my gear back in the car. It was the first time meeting the guys in person, and if my memory serves me correctly their old drummer was there to wish me luck which was a nice touch. It was obvious from the very start that I was of a very different background to the guys. They were all University educated and came across as very middle class, and here I was as a joiners son without a qualification to my name trying to keep up with the conversation. Don’t get me wrong they were extremely polite, friendly and welcoming. Neil the singer was very talkative and opinionated, definitely the band leader I thought. Neil the bass player came across as very quiet, thoughtful, a bit serious at first. Stuart the guitarist was a gentleman and very friendly. At the time I was very shy, still am, and nervous socially. It was a relief to finally get playing some music after the introductions. My experience of playing lots of different styles with different musicians stood me in good stead and I fitted in to there sound reasonably easily.  I believe I was offered the job on the spot or the next day, I really can’t remember sorry.

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

As mentioned above we rehearsed in a very small room in a community center just outside Edinburgh city center. Normally it was three times a week, sometimes more or less if we had a gig at the weekend maybe. The creative process from my memory usually started with a very basic idea, riff, chord sequence. We’d jam round it and find some variations on it, getting a verse, chorus, bridge structure maybe. Neil Barber would sing ideas over the top, finding melodies and harmonies and some words. We’d record what we came up with on a 4 track tape machine and the guys would take it away. At the next rehearsal Neil would have some lyrics written and the song would start to take shape. We’d jam the track, discuss the pros and cons, then jam some more, then discuss what we liked what we didn’t like until finally it was a finished song. It was always exciting bring a new song out to gig.

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

Good question. I think it originated from Stuart’s guitar gymnastics. He used to mimic sounds with his guitar, like a car revving away through the gears on the track Motorway. He used to do an elephant impression on the guitar and so it probably came from that.

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

That’s a really tough one. I think the band sounds very unique, my opinion is that the influences aren’t very up front and obvious. The band all had different tastes in music and brought it all to the writing process. It’s hard to say what comes through. I’d heard the band’s sound during my tenure as something between The Smiths and REM.

++ And I want to ask too about Scottish pop, being quite a fan myself. If you were to do a top 5, from the top of your head, which bands would you pick? 

These questions get harder and harder Roque. I’m delighted you have an interest in Scottish music. My top 5 would change depending on my mood but if I were to put it to ink I’d say No.1 The Blue Nile, No.2 Deacon Blue, No.3 Aztec Camera, No.4 Simple Minds No.5 Am I allowed to included David Byrne since he was born in Dumbarton?

++ As a band you only released one record, the “Elephant Noise” EP on RUB Records. One thing I was wondering was that it came on this label where it is its sole release in the catalog. Was RUB Records your own label? Was it a self-release? What does RUB stand for?

The EP was financed by money that Neil Barber had secured as a gift if I remember, and it is the only release that I’m aware of. I have absolutely no idea what RUB stands for sorry. There was a run of 1000 vinyl records pressed and a quantity of cassettes perhaps 500. There can’t be many cassettes still around.

++ Was there any interest by labels to put out your music? Perhaps big labels?

Yes, there was interest, and I remember playing a gig in Dundee which was attended by at least one record company rep. Neil Barber was a great communicator and promoter who would have definitely phoned every single record company in the UK at the time, and beyond probably. There was no record deal came from it unfortunately.

++ Tell me about the art of the jacket. It looks like a painting of perhaps a Spanish street? Is it a real location or what inspired it?

The front sleeve is a sketch by a local artist by the name of Carolyn Burchell. I met her at the time. She travelled quite a bit sketching as she went I understand. There is a finished painting of the sketch which she calls Caceres. Caceres is a town in Spain she must have visited. You can google her collection to view it. I believe she was a friend of Neil Barber’s and submitted the sketch at Neil’s request. I think it looks great.

++ What about the photos on the back? Where were they taken?

I think those photos were taken in Raymond Albeson’s tenement flat in Edinburgh. He was yet another friend of Neil’s who had been persuaded to help out. We all look very serious don’t we?.

++ The songs on the record were recorded at Pier House Studios. How was that experience? Was this your first experience at a proper studio?

Pier House was near the harbour at Granton in North Edinburgh. It was basically built in an old town house. Looking back it was my first experience of a professional recording studio and a good one. It was fully analogue, safe from the new digital technology emerging at the time. We recorded the 4 tracks in a day or two, with the drums, bass and rhythm guitars going down together. Then the overdubs, lead guitars, vocals and harmonies were done later. I remember sitting in the control room being blown away by the sound. It was amazing. My only gripe is that the opening fill for This Song is Our Friend was negatively impacted by the compression and sounds a bit odd to my ears now, though I’ve no hard feelings.

++ Aside from the songs on the record you did record a few demo tapes. These would later appear on the compilation “Remember the Big Time” that had 13 songs. Are these all the songs the band recorded? 13? Or are there more that you know?

There are far more songs than the 13 that are on the compilation but I’m not sure how many were done before my short tenure and after. I have some old demos that I had transfered to digital years ago but most of those have been released on the compilation. The demos I remember had three songs each and released on cassette around 1989, 1990 before I joined. Demo 1 was Hearsay, Wallpaper Tour, In My Room I think. Demo 2 was In Secret Dreaming, Lost to The World, Cactus Talk. There was a third with a song called Almost Home but I can’t recall the other tracks. There was a song called Black and White which may have been on the third one. Another unreleased track was a song Eleven O’Clock Alarm. I have the demo of it, I’m not certain it was ever included on a release.

++ You didn’t appear on any compilations either, right? I couldn’t find any information.

I played on all 4 songs on the EP plus Motorway. That’s 5 songs from the compilation.

++ From what I read in the liner notes of the compilation the band had a following, so it is kind of surprising that you didn’t get to release more records, why do you think that was?

We’ll that might be partly due to the drummers. When a band member leaves it puts the band on the back foot and kills the momentum. I have to take some responsibility for that. But they were a fantastically talented band with a following and should have done more.

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

Neil Barber had coined the phrase Newtown Tom to describe me before the song came about. When I decided to leave the band Neil wrote the song about me/to me. Not long after I’d left Neil invited me to a gig they were doing supporting the Pearlfishers at The Music Box venue in Edinburgh which I attended with a good friend of mine. Neil told me in advance he had written a song about me which they were about to debut at the gig. The gig itself was broadcast on a local radio station which was a big deal at the time. So there I am in the packed out venue with Elephant Noise playing a song about me and it’s being broadcast everywhere. Very surreal. I didn’t get the chance at the time to assess the lyrics but I’ve had every opinion on it since. I’ve thought of it as a bit bitter and insulting. I’ve also thought it affectionate and positive. To be honest I think its heartfelt and honest just like everything else he wrote so I’m good with it. I have part of Newtown Tom from the live broadcast on tape. For years I didn’t have the first verse.

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

I think I’d choose Halloween Day. Its an epic. It has a real momuntum about it and great chorus.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We were desperate to get out and promote the record and played everywhere and anywhere in Scotland. Glasows famous King Tuts Wah Wah hut wasn’t long open then and we played there. Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Livingston, even Carlisle in North England.

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

The Carlisle gig was memorable as we got onto the local radio station in the afternoon for an interview and to promote the record. Lets just say I hope that no one has a recording of that interview, it must have been truly awful. We got shown the door earlier than expected after Neil questioned Jason Donovan’s sexuality live on air.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Not really, we only suffered sometimes from being the wrong band at the wrong gig. I remember we played a local park festival in Edinburgh. You had kids running around playing football in front of the band and families who were expecting a cover band playing the up to date top 40 tunes. And there we were playing our serious Indie pop numbers. I like to think we won them over but then again I might have miss judged the mood at the time.

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

I left the band during the recording the song Motorway at a studio in Penicuik south of Edinburgh. To be really honest, I don’t know. I heard the supported Jools Holland on Tour for a bit and released Newtown Tom and seemed to be doing ok, but I haven’t had contact with the band since just after the gig I attended.

++ Has there been any Elephant Noise reunion?

Not that I’m aware of. I believe all four original members are still friendly so I wouldn’t rule it out. I’d still say it’s unlikely.

++ Was there any interest from radio?

Local radio was very supportive and played the EP regularly. They done a feature on the EP as part of an emerging talent spot which I have recorded somewhere. As mentioned before we got some local radio support around Scotland and Carlisle although that latter door is firmly shut.

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

We got some nice write ups in local and national papers. The good thing about having the vinyl EP was that it opened doors that demo tapes couldn’t. The photo on the right at the top of your blog about the band is a cutting from a local newspaper who sent a photographer out to get our picture. We are sitting in a tree which was in the grounds of the community center where we rehearsed.

++ What about from fanzines?

I’m not sure about the details but there was a local Edinburgh fanzine that had an Elephant Noise feature. I think it was called Meadowbank Thistle fanzine. I’m guessing now sorry.

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

I can only comment for my time in the band and would say that recording the EP was the best experience and legacy. The re-emergence of interest in rare vinyl has made it a bit of a collectors item now. I think the tunes are great and the recording is unique and timeless.

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

I tend not to have any time other than for work and family now. I’m no longer playing music and rarely get a chance to properly listen to good music. Hopefully that will change in the future.

++ Have been in Edinburgh twice and really enjoyed it, but would love to hear from a local, was wondering if you could recommend any sights, record stores, traditional food or drinks that one shouldn’t miss?

Good to hear that you have ventured over. It really is a great city. I live in the North of Ireland now and haven’t been in Edinburgh for a while so I’m maybe not the best tour guide. I’d recommend the Innis & Gunn Tap Room on Lothian Road. Excellent craft beer brewed locally and amazing food. I would definitely recommend anybody to visit Edinburgh and Scotland. It will blow your mind.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Just to say thanks for the interest in the band and reaching out. Let me know if you or your readers have any further questions, I’d be happy to answer.

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Listen
Elephant Noise – New Town Tom

Thanks so much to Harry Vogel for the interview! I wrote about the German band Friends Ahoj some time ago. Happily Andy from The Bartlebees saw my post and directed me to Harry. Then Harry was the best as he answer all my questions in record time, a few days! And even better, answers with lots of detail and you can also tell his passion for music (and soccer!). Enjoy!

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

I’ve been playing in bands ever since 1981, in local punk bands at the beginning and then in 6Ts-oriented bands;  right now I’ve got a band called “Smart Patrol” which plays 1978-inspired Powerpop. Check out our website: www.smartpatrol.de (the guy in the middle with the sunglasses is me!)

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

I’ve wanted to play the guitar ever since I was a little boy, but due to my family’s economic situation I just couldn’t afford instrumental lessons or the instrument, so I started saving money when I was 15, bought a guitar and taught myself how to play.

I got into Punk in 1977 when I was like 13, my favourite bands being the Sex Pistols and the Jam; influenced by Punk I completely rejected the music of all the “big” MOR rock groups and this hasn’t really changed since then, but of course I broadened my horizon and developed a keen interest in any music that was unusual, new, provoking etc. .. .all the stuff that was called “New Wave” over here in Europe around 1979/1980, bands like Joy Division, Spizz Energi, Gang of Four, Specials or US bands like Devo (still one of my favourite bands today) or the B-52s and lots of more or less unknown German bands of that genre …

I also very much enjoyed those 1981/1982 bands playing what we called “hedonistic pop”, such as ABC, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Human League and the likes but somehow around 1982/83 I grew more and more and disillusioned by most contemporary bands. Having bought into the “independent” ideology of early Punk I just hated to see how bands that I appreciated change their style just to make more money …

So at one point in 1983 I started to look around for music that was fresh and new and could not be commercially exploited … and found in those thousands of 1960s bands that never made it … so compilations like “Chocolate Soup for Diabetics” or “Pebbles” or the Kent Soul compilations became my new gospel so to say … I immersed myself in the rapidly growing European Mod scene and never left it – I’m still active these days as a DJ, musician and organiser of a regular all-nighter here in Munich

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

Of course, I started my first band in 1981  – we called ourselves “Doppelschock” (yes .. that translates as “Double shock” and we simply covered the Ramones and added German lyrics .. .then in 1982 I joined another Punk band called “Tollwut” (= rabies) and in 1983 I started one of Munich’s first Neo-mod bands called “Swinging London” (https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/1614732-Swinging-London) – we played kind of a mixture between US Garage Punk and British beat and the people on the German Mod scene liked that a lot, so although we couldn’t play that well we were invited to pay all around the country

Another newly formed Munich Mod Band was called “Merricks” (https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/20233-Merricks), and Bernd Hartwich and Günther Gottschling were founding members  -we played some gigs together, found out that we shared the same ideas in many respects (not only music wise, but also when it came to soccer: we fervently hate Bayern München and love  Munich’s “underdog” soccer club 1860 München, which has been on the losing side ever since the early 1970s).

What I liked about Bernd and Günther was their open-mindedness and enormous creativity; while I was trying to meticulously copy the 1960s sound they were using the 1960s as a kind of foundation on which they started to build something new …

++ Where were you from originally?

Bernd and me were born in Munich and have been living there ever since! Günther and Carl are from Geretsried (near Wolfratshausen)

++ How was Wolfratshausen at the time of Friends Ahoj? 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?

Wolfratshausen is and always was a nice, little, cosy, but also very sleepy provincial town – no record stores, pubs, venues etc. that are worth mentioning…

But that’s not a problem, because it’s only a 20-minute ride on the speed train to central Munich anyway!

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

Well, as I already mentioned we’d known each other for some years already and played soccer together every now and then.

In the summer of 1988 the Merricks and Swinging London played a gig in a larger venue (there must have been about 600 people there) and before the gig Günther and Bernd suggested we’d do an encore together … so we agreed on playing “There’s a cloud over Liverpool” by one of our favourite bands (The Times form the UK) and a silly version of a silly ice-cream commercial that had gone viral back then!

We had a great time and a lot of fun doing this improvised bit and what I liked was this crazy mixture of something we really, really loved (The Times) and something as trivial as an ice-cream commercial!

Well, a few weeks later Bernd told me (in the beer garden that we used to go after playing soccer) that there’d be a band competition in Wolfratshausen (where Günther (and his mate Carl) lived, and that they had this idea to form a band just for this occasion and play something really weird and unusual, just to make fun of the whole concept of a band competition and asked if I wanted to join.

I liked the idea a lot and after a few beers we had a concept and a name for the whole thing:

Friends Ahoj (cause we were friends, “Ahoj” is Czech for “hi”) and our idea was to play 6Ts style surf music … I as the lead guitarist was ordered to play on my 12-string Rickenbacker, though – not really the best idea if you want to play surf … but that’s what the whole thing was about, anyway.

So we rehearsed a few times and then went to Wolfratshausen. The venue was packed, there must have been nearly a thousand people there, and apart from us all the other bands were of the usual kind: there was this leather-clad Hardrock band, the long-haired Hippies improvising for hours being high on whatever they were high on, the College Kids Funk band, the 5th generation Punk band and of course the Jazzers – all of them (apart from the Punks, of course) far better musicians than we were, so we thought “What the heck – we’ve got the better show”

So we decided to do mock the standard Hardrock-band show (all the stereotypical poses, every solo on your knees with the head bent backwards etc.) while playing surf-music (on a 12-string guitar)

Oh, and our encores were the ice-cream commercial and a kind of blues-version of Monty Python’s “Always look on the bright side of life”

The kids in the audience just loved it and we ended up as number 2 in the contest (the kids voted for us as nr. 1, but the jury consisting of music teachers opted for the Jazzers instead – and they had the decisive vote)

Evers since that day we had  a lot of fans in Wolfratshausen and people in Munich heard about us and asked us to play in Munich to, and so  we did … in 1989/90 I guess we must have been among Munich’s 10  favourite “Indie”-Bands or so …

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

Swinging London and the Merricks shared the same rehearsal room, so that’s where Friends Ahoj rehearsed, too.

I like rehearsals very much because it was all about creativity with no limits – we’d reject no idea, no matter how weird or impossible it sounded. We’d simply throw ideas together and see what happened. In the beginning Günther would come along with songs and we’d simply join in and see where it would carry us.

And by and by I started writing songs, too, because I found it sort of “liberating” no to think “does it sounds 1960s enough”?

Bernd would instill ideas such as “How about writing a song about Kurt Vonnegut?”  – that’s how “Kilgore Trout” came about, and Carl, who was not only a great drummer but also a fantastic pianist would suggest “Hey about me playing the break in ¾ time and you tick to 4/4 time” … after 25 seconds be all broke down laughing as it sounded so weird!

++ You mostly wrote songs in English right? Why? And where there any German songs?

Back then we didn’t really think about that … we just did it … the Merricks had already started singing in German, I had been singing German in my first two bands … I just felt right that away and we never sang any song in German as far as I can remember

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? And why sometimes it was written Friends Ahoi and other times Friends Ahoj? What’s the preferred way?

OK, I’ve already explained the name and we never thought about how to spell it correctly; I guess in Czech the correct spelling is “ahoj”, but in German you haven’t got words ending in “i”, so some people possibly just used a German spelling habit on the word … we didn’t care much about things like these!

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

Phew … that’s tough … The Beach Boys, The Fantastic Baggys, Jim Jiminee, They might be Giants, The Housemartins, The Freshies … it wasn’t about bands, more about using different styles and putting it all together – so back in 1989/90 that must have been anything from Soul via Wimp-Pop to Neo Rock (e.g. we occasionally covered the Godfathers’ “Love is dead” …

++ As far as I know you only released one 7″ in 1993 on the Ice-Cube Toneporter label. Who were behind this label? How did you end up working with them? And how was your relationship with the label?

I honestly can’t tell you as Bernd was the one who was in contact with those guys – they heard our tape, liked it and offered to release a 45, and that’s what we did

No other label was interested in us anyway, or maybe we just didn’t care and take those things seriously enough – after all we all considered Friends Ahoj to be not our No. 1 band: the others had the Merricks (and they were going from strength to strength in the early 1990s) and I played with Swinging London and (starting in 1988) “The Heartbeats” (https://www.discogs.com/artist/1056159-The-Heartbeats-4) … also a household name on the German Neo-Sixties scene …

++ Where were these two songs recorded? Was this your first time at a recording studio? Or were you already familiar with them?

We recorded the songs in Bernd’s studio, not a studio as such, but it had everything we needed, some mics, mixing desk, 8-Track (or was it already hard-disk recording? I can’t remember)

We all had been in recording studios before with our other bands, but being in Bernd’s  studio was much more relaxing … no pressure, no financial constraints etc.! AND Bernd was a great producer: very patient, calm, easy-going …

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

At that time we only recorded the two songs for the 45s, and those were the only studio recordings that all of the members of the band contributed to – and Bernd produced it, of course!

++ Tell me about the art of the 7″. Who made it? And how come there were different colors for the sleeve, yellow, white and blue? Were there more colors?

I guess some friends of Bernd’s must have provided the drawing, but the writing and the layout were obviously done on my computer … the colours – that was a label decision that we liked but I can’t say if there were more colours – I don’t think so, as that would have been a bit too expensive, I guess!

++ I read that some copies of this 7″ came with German candy. Is that so? What sort of candy?

Yeah the guys from the label came up with this great idea of throwing in some packs of “Ahoj” fizzy powder … stuff we’d known from our childhood in the early 1970s … you could eat it like that and it would kind of foam in your mouth or you could stir it into a glass of water and it would give you the worst lemonade you can imagine!

It’s still sold today: https://www.ahoj-brause.de/

++ Why were there no more releases by the band? Was there any interest from any labels?

Hmm, well … in 1993 there was a bigger label interested in releasing an LP, but then Bernd and the others somehow felt that it would not be that good for their No. 1 band “Merricks” if a “side-project” (and that’s what Friends Ahoj was for all of us) used up more and more time, so they decided to cut down on Friends Ahoj

That was ok by me anyway, as I’d just started working as a High School/College teacher of English and history and that was pretty time-consuming too … and after all I was in three bands, too!

So we decided to reduce Friends Ahoj to a project that would produce some songs occasionally and release them on compilations

++ You did appear on a few compilations like “Frischer Morgentau”, “Die Schönste Platte Der Welt”, “Wagweiser Durch’s Eiswürfelland”, “Ein Spätsommercocktail”, “Limited Europopsongs” and “Munich Goes Pop”. Am I missing any other ones? And do you remember how did you end up on them?

All sorts of minor labels asked us for contributions and we would gladly agree, as long as it all would not turn into a full-time commitment again.

We used rehearsal room recordings for the first compilations (“Step by step” and “Dark rooms”) and recorded “Man who sold Manhattan” and “We might be giants” in Bernd’s studio sometime in late 1993 and 1994 – back then Carl was no longer involved, he’d already joined Munich’s most famous and successful Indie-Band “FSK” (who to the present day still occasionally rehearse in our rehearsal room).

“My woody’s called Woody” and “Drink to me” came from the same tape of rehearsal room recordings as “Step by step” and “Dark rooms” … those must have been recorded in 1990/91 …

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

The only Demo we ever made was this tape with ca. 12 songs, about half of which ended up on the compilations – I still have the tape but never bothered to digitalize it … might have to do that sometime soon.

The songs were Step by step/Mushroom seller/My woody’s called Woody/Life has just begin/The vanishing girl/Drink to me/Surf Ahoj/Kilgore Trout/Have you seen that girl/Where have all the beach girls gone/Dark rooms/From my sweetheart to the bottle/Love comes slow/Grandstand girls/Have you seen that girl (7″ version)/Larissa

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

We went to all the home matches of our favourite soccer team 1860 München and became quite notorious as we were so different from the ordinary soccer fan: we were about 20 people, most of us with a more or less academic background (so the fans around us called us “The academics” (not really – there is a rather condescending Bavarian slang word they used – and we liked that).

We really enjoyed deconstructing stereotypical fan chants (just like Friends Ahoj did with  musical stereotypes) and did that all the time while in the stadium. Actually the last time I met Bernd in the stadium last December it took us about 3 minutes to start doing that very same thing again!

The other thing in which we were different was that some girls came along with us and they were just as fanatic as we boys were – and so as to pay our respect to the girls (back in the late 80s it was rather unusual for girls to attend football matches)I wrote “Grandstand girls” – they were really special .. I still meet some of them around the stadium when there is a match today!

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

Very hard to say, of course I love them all … of all the songs that Günther wrote I guess it’s “Step by step” (which ends with me babbling some phrases I had pinched from Monty Pythons) and from my side I’d say it’s “My woody’s called Woody”  … you know … if you were a surfer in in LA in the 1960s and had Woody, what would you call it? Of course, “Woody” is the best name for a woody! Of the more “serious” songs I’d say it’s “The man who sold Manhattan for a dime”

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

Possibly 15-20 gigs in 5 years, don’t forget: it was just a side-project!

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

Well, the first one became a legend in itself as we did not only take the piss of ourselves, but also of the Hardrock band and the mayor of Wolfratshausen, who attended the band contest and was called “Rockhart”, which we immediately turned into “Hardrock” and so dedicated every other song to “Mayor Hardrock”

The first gig in Munich ever was great, too (like all the others, actually), we possibly spent more time on stage telling jokes or starting and stopping songs, throwing in weird breaks (I think we played the  “Guns of Brixton” intro as a break in every song that night)

Oh yes, and there was a brilliant gig in a village close to Wolfratshausen. When the people asked for more and more songs after we’d played all the encores, we decided to play the whole set again, but all the songs would be Ska versions … we’d never tried that before, but it worked!

++ And were there any bad ones?

Not as Friends Ahoj proper – but I remember that in 1994 we were asked to play at a New Year’s Eve party – Günther, Bernd and me … and Bernd didn’t show up, Günther was always kind of quiet and shy and I was in a rather gloomy mood that night … I shouldn’t have gone on stage that night, it was depressing, as it was so obvious that Friends Ahoj only worked with all the four of us on stage!

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

As I already mentioned it was just a side-project, we all had other bands and for me starting the job as a teacher was a game-changer, so to say, as I could no longer spend most of my time playing music.

Then in the mid-90s the Merricks became very successful with their LPs “The sound of Munich” and “Escape from plane Munich”, I got more and more involved in the international Mod scene as a DJ, organiser of parties, allnighters etc. – not to mention the other bands I played in …

So we never really stopped Friends Ahoj, we just did no longer work on that project … every now and then Bernd and I would discuss the option of maybe reviving Friends Ahoj again, but we actually never really saw a point in that

I stopped Swinging London in 1997 and the Heartbeats disbanded in 2000 after a cool gig at the Purple Weekend in Leon/Spain). I started playing some music with old friends from the 1980s Punk and Mod scene which eventually turned into my current band “Smart Patrol” (LP “Overage Underachievers” on Screaming Apple Records)

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

Carl still plays with FSK  – a highly gifted and appreciated musician.

Günther left Munich for the countryside, started a family, gave up music and is living a quiet life away from Munich – I haven’t seen him for maybe 15 years.

The Merricks ceased to exist at around 2003 or so, and Bernd soon formed an excellent new band called “Der Englische Garten” (named after Munich’s biggest park) – in my eyes one of the best contemporary German bands (http://www.der-englische-garten.de/)

++ Has there been any Friends Ahoj reunion?

No. never, and sadly now it’s impossible

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

They simply ignored us

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

They did not care, and neither did we

++ What about from fanzines?

Yes, all those fanzines specializing on weird pop music around the world have kept on contacting us ever since the early 1990s

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

The very first gig, no doubt!

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

Soccer, skiing, DJing, dancing at parties to shit-rare original R&B or Latin 45s

++ Never been to Munich 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?

Whatever you do, do not miss going to a beer garden, try the different types of Bavarian food they offer and drink a lot of the beer!

Spend an evening in Friends Ahoj’s former meeting point, the “Baader Cafe”

Go any buy records at Optimal (Kolosseumstr. 6) – they also released some of the “Merricks” and “Der Englische Garten” records!

Get completely drunk at “Schwarzer Hahn”(Ohlmüllerstr. 8)

All these places are within walking distance from tube station “Fraunhofer Straße”!

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

The last time I met Bernd was on January 10 when I played with “Smart Patrol” at a fundraiser for an 1860 fan club that is committed to fighting fascism in the soccer stadium. Only two minutes before the gig I learned that Bernd was suffering from an incurable disease, but he was there in the front row enjoying the gig and I was standing there trying to give it all, as I understood that attending the concert was Bernd’s way of saying goodbye to me.

That night we sang two songs in German, just for fun, and after the gig Bernd told me that we should really sing all the songs in German … then he had to leave. Sadly, he died on March 11 and leaves a big gaping hole in Munich subculture. We lost a great musician, DJ, producer, soccer player and fan … and a good friend.

Addendum May 12, 2020:

I visited Bernd’s widow today and she reminded me of possibly the weirdest Friends Ahoj gig ever, so weird that I’d completely forgotten about it!

We were to open for a singer/songwriter called Rodney Allen (of the Blue
Aeroplanes) in a club in Munich in 1992, but Bernd got sick so we couldn’t play as the full line-up. Instead Günther and I decided to play as a two-piece and we didn’t play the whole set on our normal instruments, but on
children’s toy instruments!
The story of the gig is also how his future wife did NOT meet him for the first time (as he was sick), but heard about him for the first time: She went to see Rodney Allen, hadn’t heard anything about us, but was completely puzzled as everybody in the audience talked about us not playing and how terrible it was that Bernd was sick – and she thought “Who is this Bernd Hartwich guy that everybody is talking about? Doesn’t anyone want to see Rodney Allen?”

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Listen
Friends Ahoj – Grandstand Girls

Thanks so much to Peter Loveday for the interview! I wrote about Tiny Town some weeks ago and then I was able to get in touch with Peter and I was very lucky that he was up to answer all my questions (which as you know are many!). I didn’t know much about Tiny Town but have liked what I have heard and I am very happy to know now more details about them!

++ Hi Peter! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? I notice that you live these days in Barcelona and play music there. Any upcoming news regarding your music?

Yes, I’m about to release a new album recorded last year, THROUGH THE MIRROR, a limited edition CD and book of illustrations and lyrics in English and Spanish. This is the first album since ROADSIDE BALLADS, in 2013, not counting the collaboration with David McClymont (ex Orange Juice) last year, BORROWED LANDSCAPES. I will be playing launch gigs, mostly in Barcelona, in May and June. Also scheduled early June is the recording of another album with my habitual collaborators, Sarah Davison and Naomi Wedman.

++ And how did you end up in Barcelona? From what I understand Tiny Town moved from Brisbane to London, did you move from London to Barcelona? What do you like to your new city?

Well, Barcelona just fell into place for me, but this is not a recent move. Tiny Town ground to a halt in London in the late 1980s. We’d been there since 82. I got itchy feet and planned to be in Barcelona for a month, but as you can see, I never left. This was back in 1989. After a month here, I had a job, a place to live and had also met my wife, Gina. Barcelona has changed immensely since then but is still my favourite city and home.

++ And have you learned Catalan? Spanish? Do you make music in these languages?

I’m not a good language learner, though I speak Spanish and a little Catalan, which I understand completely, as our kids speak Catalan at home. From time to time I’ve thought about and even tried to write songs in Spanish, but usually don’t get very far. Maybe I should try harder, but when I try, the voice doesn’t seem to be mine. When you speak another language, your identity shifts somehow. To some extent you lose control of language, of the subtleties and nuances. I keep telling myself that I’ll do it one day, write songs in Spanish or Catalan. It’s good to have a challenge up ahead.

++ As you know I did this piece on the band and learned a thing or two, but would love to know more about Tiny Town. So let’s start from the very beginning, 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?

We had a piano at home. My mother sometimes played in the evenings and we’d stand around it singing songs. I loved to sit at the piano and daydream, to experiment with sounds and made up chords. I had piano lessons for a while but it was all theory, discipline and even threats, knuckle rapping and that kind of thing, so I quickly gave that up. Then I started to teach myself guitar. My brother had one. Also, with elder brothers, there were records in the house, singles and albums of the time; the Who, the Animals, the Young Rascals …. I was seriously into the Monkees and loved the TV show. Maybe I thought a life in music would be like that. As it turns out, it’s quite different. However, writing and playing songs is one of the things I like most to do. As a teenager I listened to the music that was at hand; CSNY, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Creedance, the Faces, some Dylan.

++ Was Tiny Town your first band or had you been in other bands before that?

I have seen names like The Supports, The See Bees, Birds of Tin and Mute 44, care telling me a bit about them and if there are recordings by them? In the late 70s in Brisbane there were a lot of bands around. It was social thing to do. Just about everyone was in a band (exaggeration!). Bands played at house parties. The Supports started as a cover band playing things that were new and exciting at the time. The singer, Leigh Bradshaw worked as a DJ at the university radio station, 4ZZZ, so had access to all the new releases. Towards the end of that frantic but brief time, I started to write songs of my own and to sing. Birds of Tin was a prolific three-piece. Songs from this band were included in a number of cassette compilations of the time. We released a 4-track cassette SAME BOTH SIDES, and yes, the same four songs on both sides. It was a nod to one of the first UK bands to release an independent record, THE DESPERATE BICYCLES. Their first single had the same song on both sides, as it was cheaper that way. Jeff Titley, the Supports drummer was in London by then and playing with the Desperate Bicycles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desperate_Bicycles Anyway, this recording by BIRDS OF TIN, was re-released in October last year by the Brisbane label LCMR. https://lcmr.bigcartel.com It’s a 7″ four-song vinyl now with a screen-printed reproduction of the original poster that came with the cassette. The other bands you mention produced rehearsal or live recordings only, except for Antic Frantic, which also released a four-track cassette.

++ I read that you were in Antic Frantic, which would become Tiny Town, how did this band sound like? Are there any recordings?

Antic Frantic was a mixed bag, sound-wise. Jeff Titley was visiting Brisbane at the time. He had a song or two as did Leigh Bradshaw, and as did I. We were feeling our way, I guess, working on songs together. I went to see the Birthday Party and also the Laughing Clowns (Ed Kuepper from the Brisbane band, The Saints). Antic Frantic generally sounded fast and somewhat wild, in a timid kind of way.

++ Where were you from originally, Brisbane?

I was from Toowoomba, a small city inland, up in the hills. I moved to Brisbane to go to university and was soon swimming in the late seventies Brisbane music scene. It was a lot of fun and quite a creative atmosphere to be in.

++ How was your city at the time? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Well to tell the truth, there wasn’t much going on in Toowoomba at the time. Toowoomba was a just a big country town. I knew a couple of people who played the guitar in pubs, but there weren’t any venues as such, or bands that I knew of. The youth of Toowoomba spent their evenings driving up and down the main street, looking for action. There were one or two record shops. Back then you could go to a record shop and ask to listen to a record in one of their special listening booths. Quaint. Brisbane, however, was much more exciting, with a fertile music scene and an import record store, “Rocking Horse”. There were a few venues, mostly in pubs, and we also used to play in church halls, people’s houses, wherever we could really.

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

We met at a party, no doubt. Rob, the bass player was the only one in the band who could actually play an instrument. The rest of us just made it up as we went along because we wanted to be in a band.

++ So just to get this clear, Tiny Town started in London as such or did Antic Frantic moved to London and then changed names?

Yes, basically, Antic Frantic moved to London and became Tiny Town.

++ What’s the story behind the name Tiny Town?

Well, I guess coming from Toowoomba or Brisbane and finding yourself in London had something to do with it, you know, small fish, great big enormous big bewildering pond. Also some kind of reference to the all-midget western movie “The Terror of Tiny Town”. I don’t know what we were thinking at the time, to be honest. It’s not easy for four people to decide things.

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

We lived in Hackney, mostly in squats, and rehearsed in rooms that were also, or had also been squats. It was quite normal in those days. These rehearsal rooms were dark and dank, smelling of sweat, spilt beer, and mould. We worked away hard, always coming up with new material. I usually came along with a song idea, and we’d work it up into something.

++ You were around at a time in Australia, and later in the UK, where there was quite a scene independent pop bands. Why do you think that happened at that time? Did you feel part of a scene?

Yes, definitely felt part of the scene. It was stimulating. In Brisbane it was liberating to discover that you could write songs in your own way, you didn’t need to be a guitar hero. Forget guitar solos. You could even record and release songs independently. Suddenly the floodgates were opened and new ideas, new ways of doing things gushed into the world. I imagine it was related to economic situation, politics, culture in general. London was a bit later on and a much harder scene to break into. So, we navigated through various sub-scenes.

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

From the start we weren’t rock at all. It was some kind of hybrid. I liked bands like Pere Ubu, the Pop Group, the Slits, the Fall, Elvis Costello, … and then of course the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Television, … the list goes on and on.

++ Most of your releases came out on the Elastic label. I was wondering if it was you behind the label? Or who was running it?

Yes, it was us. It seemed to be such hard work getting on and staying on a label. We made our own label. It was easier. But of course you don’t have the same backup or the contacts, the people out there hustling for you. We kind of fell down in that department.

++ The first release by the band was a flexi released in 1983 with two songs “Back to the Bow” and “Big Fish” was this a self-release? And why release a flexi? Was it because of the price? Was it a promotion sort of release?

A bit of both. It was cheap, and it was a promotional thing. We already had the idea of including it in an edition of the fanzine Distant Violins.

++ That same year you released a tape with the same two songs of the flexi, and two more. I was wondering if this was a demo tape, or was it a proper release?

Any tapes from that time were purely promotional. We sent them out here, there and everywhere with whatever new songs we had going at the time.

++ A year later you put out a fab 7″ with “Drop by Drop” and “Know Better”. The sleeve doesn’t have much information, so I was wondering who designed the sleeve, if it was yourself, and also where were the songs recorded?

The sleeve was designed and printed by me, with the help of the other band members. I screen-printed them in the living room in London. The shapes on the cover are supposed to be raindrops, but they look more like shards of glass as I was using torn bits of paper for a stencil. I have always made the band and gig posters and designed the sleeves. This single “Drop by Drop” was recorded in the now fashionable Shoreditch, in London. In Wave studios. I love the violin in these recordings, courtesy of Caroline Bush.

++ Then another 7″ came out with “Living Out of Living” and “Queue Up”. I notice now that you had a picture sleeve this time. Where was those trees photograph taken? And how was working with Colin Bloxsom? Was it your first time working with him as a producer?

At some stage for some reason I decided to have some singing lessons, so I went along to a voice teacher who was very much in fashion at the time, Tona de Brett. She had given lessons to many well-known singers of the time, including Johnny Rotten, Ozzy Osborne, Adam Ant, Linda McCartney, and Joe Strummer. I must have seen an ad in the NME. Anyway, she lived in a nice house in Highgate, I think it was, lovely house, a posh neighbourhood. I took the photos of the bare winter trees on the way to her house. Very striking in high contrast black and white. I used the same photo on the album cover of LITTLE TIN GOD. Working with Colin was always a delight. Colin had recorded Birds of Tin in Brisbane and then the first two Tiny Town singles. Colin is very down-to-earth. Lovely guy, but don’t get him started on anecdotes.

++ Then came your album “Little Tin God”! How was recording the album? Much different to the singles? Did you enjoy it more?

Recording an album is a big project and takes time. Singles are recorded in a day. For an album, there are a lot more decisions or choices to be made. This album was recorded in the middle of winter in a studio in Brixton called Cold Storage. It had been, in fact, a large cold room in a warehouse complex. The studio itself had quite a history and was filled with interesting instruments, like a clavinet, an electric clavichord. The machines were 16-track tape machines, of course. We worked with the engineer, Ben Young. It was quite intense spending night after night in the studio and then driving home at three or four in the morning through deserted snow-covered, eerie London.

++ For the album you even included Caroline Bush to play violin and Cameron Allan to play bass (who was the founder of Regular Records), what do you think they added to the band?

It’s a different Cameron Alan. Cameron came over with us from Brisbane. We met Caroline in London and she played with us on the album and also live. She’s such an inventive violinist. I love the long string sections and violin parts she played. She could conjure up whole landscapes or slice you up into little pieces with that violin.

++ Perhaps my favourite song by the band is “Inside Fire” and I was wondering if you could tell me what’s the story behind this song? What inspired it?

Cold, bleak London of the mid-eighties, living in a squat on a public housing estate, or in an abandoned house with no bathroom, … nothing like that matters if the coals are aglow within, your inside fire. Also, up in Toowoomba, where I grew up, it could get cold in winter. When my mother said “I’m going to light the inside fire” you knew that warmth and comfort were on the way.

++ Your last release came on a different label, Very Mouth. Can you tell me a bit about them and how did you end up working with this label?

At the time we were playing regularly at a venue in Kings Cross, the Pindar of Wakefield. There we became friends with other bands we sometimes coincided with. Very Mouth was a small label run by one of these bands. They were nice people. We like them and they like us and offered to put out an EP of ours.

++ If you were to choose your favourite Tiny Town song, which one would that be and why?

I don’t know. We moved through material rather quickly, always on to the next new song. I haven’t listened to any of these recordings in a long time except for Living Out of Living. That’s a fun song. Very much about living in London at the time, trying to make a living from temp jobs, ironing and cleaning houses, with this nagging delusion of making a living from music.

++ You contributed “Queue Up” to a compilation called “Distant Violins Number 12”, I see many good bands on this comp, but I’m a bit unfamiliar with Distant Violins, who were they?

Yes, Distant Violins (issue #8) also included the first Tiny Town recording, a flexi-disc, Back to the Bow. It was a fanzine written and produced by David Nichols. He was about 15 or 16 at the time, or so it seemed. David wrote a book about the Go-Betweens and an extensive book on Australian bands, “Dig, Australian Rock and Pop Music, 1960-85”.

++ Are there any unreleased songs by the band? Or everything recorded was released?

Yes, a have a number of rehearsal recordings and a couple of studio recordings on cassette.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We gigged quite a lot, in or around London, and occasionally further afield.

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

One night at the Pindar of Wakefield, the Go-Betweens were supporting us for a change. There were about ten people in the audience, two of who were BBC DJ John Peel and his producer, John Walters. John Peel played our singles occasionally on his show.

++ And were there any bad ones?

After one of these gigs at the Pindar, we loaded all our gear into the shared Citroen Diane that we had. This is a French car of very simple construction, with a two-cylinder “engine” and a canvas roof. Being inside is a bit like travelling in a washing machine. The car was shared among five friends –I wouldn’t recommend doing this– it was quite old but mostly reliable. However, this night it had a flat battery, so once all the gear was in it we push started it and had it idling in the street there while we chatted and said our goodbyes, etc. Then everybody happily trotted off to the underground or bus stop to go home, each thinking the one of the others had driven the car home. It wasn’t until midday the next day, after a number of phone calls, that we realised that the car had been left there in Kings Cross with all our gear in it and the engine running. Imagining the worst I ran to the nearest underground and back to Kings Cross, to find the car and all the gear was still there where we had left it. Someone had gone to the trouble of turning off the engine. Maybe they thought it was a trap of some kind. Sometime later I lost all the gear anyway, when the front door of the flat was kicked in half on New Year’s Eve.

++ When and why did Tiny Town stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards? Did you end up returning to Australia?

After the losing all our equipment and the wear and tear of the years, we wound down. I was in London for a time longer then moved to Barcelona. I did very little music then for a long time, until about 2001.

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

No, not that I know of. We all live in different countries now.

++ Has there ever been a reunion? Or talks of playing again together?

Not at all. We are all into different things.

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

Some radio and press in the UK and Australia; NME, Sounds, Melody Maker, Rolling Stone, etc. At that time Australian bands in London were exotic. There were the Birthday Party (Nick Cave), Moodists, Triffids, Go-Betweens, etc.

++ What about from fanzines?

Yeah, there was one called “Another Spark” in Cambridge, written by Chris Heath. He went on to write a biography of the Pet Shop Boys.

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

We were doing it because we enjoyed it. When you are in a band, working on songs together, the highlights are the moments of magic when everything seems to fall into place. The best performances are inevitably in the rehearsal room or someone’s living room. It’s a personal thing. Performing live is never quite the same usually. I guess the biggest highlight for the band was being in London during that time and being part of the scene there.

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

The usual things; movies, books, art, travel, … I like drawing and painting.

 ++ Anything else you’d like to add?

You must be kidding after all of these questions I’ve answered!

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Listen
Tiny Town – Inside Fire