C86 Show - Indie Pop

The Bolshoi with Paul Clark

Paul Clark in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.thebolshoibrothers.com

The original lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Trevor Tanner, drummer Jan Kalicki, and bassist Graham Cox. Tanner and Kalicki had previously played together in the short-lived punk band Moskow. Early gigs supported the likes of the Cult, the March Violets and the Lords of the New Church. After eight gigs bass player Graham Cox was replaced by Nick Chown. In 1985, the band released their debut single, "Sob Story", followed by the mini-album, Giants, and their hit song "Happy Boy". Word of mouth was such that the Bolshoi were able to sell out many of their early headlining performances.

Martha and the Muffins - Martha Johnson & Mark Gane

Martha Johnson & Mark Gane in conversation with David Eastaugh

After another long layoff from being an active performing entity, Martha and the Muffins released a video and downloadable song in May 2020 called "Stay Home and Dance". A reworking of the 1984 M+M track "Come Out and Dance", the new song and video was released in response to the stay-at-home orders surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021 they released the compilation Marthology: In and Outtakes, collecting rarities and demo versions of past songs. At the same time they indicated that they were working on a new album, tentatively slated for release in 2022.

Diesel Park West - John Butler

John Butler in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.dieselparkwest.com/

The tenth Diesel Park West album, ‘Not Quite The American Dream’ was released on July 29, 2022. The album was recorded during the COVID lockdowns of 2020. It was preceded by a couple of singles, 'One Shot of Happiness' and 'Secondary Modern Man'. Both of which have charted on the British Heritage Chart.

Rob Morris and Ian Michie have both left the band. A new band has been put together featuring John Butler, Rich Barton, Daryl Hopper (bass) and Dave Bryant (drums).

Pat Irwin - Raybeats, 8-Eyed Spy & B52s

Pat Irwin in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://patirwinmusic.com

American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 2008. He currently performs and records with SUSS who have released several records on the indie label Northern Spy.

Matthew Edwards - Dance, Matthew Edwards & The Futurists/Unfortunates

Matthew Edwards in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://matthewedwardsandtheunfortunates.bandcamp.com

 

Vernon Dewhurst - photographer

Vernon Dewhurst in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.snapgalleries.com/product-category/photographers/vernon-dewhurst/

Vernon Dewhurst created the op art influenced cover photograph for David Bowie’s second album, released in 1969 was originally titled David Bowie, It subsequently became known as Space Oddity, in deference to its best-known track.

Dewhurst graduated from Regent Street Polytechnic School of Photography in 1966, and set up his studio in Dublin for a year. He then came back to London, working at the famous Studio Five in Mayfair shooting fashion and beauty. In London he shared house with David Bowie whom he shot several times. One of his pictures became the cover of the famous Space Oddity album in 1969. A few weeks after the shoot, Vernon moved to Paris where he worked for clients including Marie Claire, 20 Ans, Elle, Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint-Laurent, and photographed many French stars.

The Reducers with Hugh Birdsall

Hugh Birdsall in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Reducers’ history is a powerful testament to rock ‘n’ roll’s power to transcend and inspire, for those who create it as well as for those who consume it. These four working-class underdogs—Detmold and fellow singer-guitarist-songwriter Hugh Birdsall, drummer Tom Trombley and bassist/vocalist Kaika—spent most of their adult lives building a potent body of recordings and a far-reaching reputation as a scrappy, riveting live act that affirmed rock ‘n’ roll’s vibrant promise on a regular basis.

Rebecca Pidgeon

Rebecca Pidgeon in conversation with David Eastaugh

http://rebeccapidgeonmusic.com

From 1986 to 1990, Pidgeon was the lead singer of the British folk/pop band Ruby Blue. She left the group shortly after they signed to a major record label.

On her tenth full-length album of sensuous Art Pop, Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound, storyteller, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and actress Rebecca Pidgeon taps into the ongoing communication between body, mind and spirit through vibrations and energy.  Recorded in Los Angeles with co-producer Fernando Perdomo, the ten tracks here illuminate the connection between her art and her explorations of the sacred science behind yoga practice. Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound is being released on (give formats) on (give label) on September 24.

The Higsons with Simon Charterton

Simon Charterton - The Higsons - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Founded in 1980 at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, Norfolk, England, The Higsons' first recordingwas on the Norwich - A Fine City compilation album. The Higsons' first single, "I Don't Want to Live with Monkeys", was released in 1981.^[1] The band signed to the 2 Tone Records label, along with bands such as The Specials, The Beat and Madness.

The band's blend of high-energy funk and groove brought them some chart success: their most remembered track was "Conspiracy", released in 1982, with the refrain "Who stole my bongos?; Did you steal my bongos?". The band played their last gig in March 1986, disbanding by mutual consent.

Omega Tribe with Hugh Vivian

Hugh Vivian - Omega Tribe - in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://omegatribe.bandcamp.com

Omega Tribe are an anarcho-punk band,  in 1981. With the roles of Hugh Vivian on guitar and vocals, Daryl Hardcastle on bass, Pete Fender on guitar and Pete Shepherd on drums, their first EP, Angry Songs, was produced by Penny Rimbaud and Pete Fender for Crass Records in 1982.

Their subsequent LP, No Love Lost,  won the hearts of many hardened anarchos and secured their place in anarcho-punk history. A far more melodic style, encouraged by producer and new guitarist Pete Fender created a highly influential template that many other bands were to build on.

Peppy Castro - Blues Magoos

Peppy Castro - Blues Magoos - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://www.peppycastro.com/about.html

The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet".

The band was formed in 1964 as The Trenchcoats. The original members were Emil "Peppy" Thielhelm a.k.a. "Peppy" Castro (vocals and guitar), Dennis LePore (lead guitar), Ralph Scala (organ and vocals), Ron Gilbert (bass) and Jon Finnegan (drums). The band made a name for itself in various clubs in Greenwich Village. The band changed its name first to the Bloos Magoos and by 1966 to the Blues Magoos. Mike Esposito joined as lead guitarist and Geoff Daking as drummer.

Jeff Drake - The Joneses

Jeff Drake - The Joneses - in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://hozacrecords.com/product/guilty/

The Joneses were a punk band from Anaheim, Southern California. In 1981 guitarist and singer Jeff Drake and professional skateboarder, Steve Olson, formed its nucleus but over the years the Joneses included numerous players with Drake being the only constant member. 

The Joneses' first seven-inch, 45 rpm single was "Criminals in My Car" b/w "Jonestown". They next released a pair of songs, "Graveyard Rock" and "Pillbox", on the 1982 BYO Records compilation, Someone Got Their Head Kicked In. The EP, Criminals, was the Joneses next released recording. Hell Comes to Your House Volume 2, included the two Joneses tracks: "I'm Bad" and "She's So Filthy".

Paul Roessler - The Screamers, Nervous Gender & 45 Grave

Paul Roessler in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://paulroessler1.bandcamp.com

American musician and record producer. Roessler was a prominent member of the L.A. punk scene during the late 1970s and 1980s. He played keyboards in bands such as The Screamers, Twisted Roots, 45 Grave, Nervous Gender, SAUPG, Geza X and the Mommymen, Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Nina Hagen and The Deadbeats. Roessler has also released solo recordings such as "Abominable," "Curator," "The Arc," "6/12" and a rock opera entitled "Burnt Church" with Jeff Parker. He currently works as a record producer at Kitten Robot Studios in Los Angeles, California.

Vashti Bunyan

Vashti Bunyan in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.whiterabbitbooks.co.uk/titles/vashti-bunyan/wayward/9781474621939/

In 1968, Vashti Bunyan gave up everything and everybody she knew in London to take to the road with a horse, wagon, dog, guitar and her then partner.

They made the long journey up to the Outer Hebrides in an odyssey of discovery and heartbreak, full of the joy of freedom and the trudge of everyday reality, sleeping in the woods, fighting freezing winters and homelessness.

Along the way, Vashti wrote the songs that would lead to the recording of her 1970's album Just Another Diamond Day, the lilting lyrics and guitar conveying innocent wonder at the world around her, whilst disguising a deeper turmoil under the surface.

From an unconventional childhood in post-war London, to a fledgling career in mid-sixties pop - recording a single written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards - to the despair and failure to make any headway with her own songs, she rejected the music world altogether and left it all behind. After retreating to a musical wilderness for thirty years, the rediscovery of her recordings in 2000 brought Vashti a second chance to write, record and perform once more.

One of the great hippie myths of the 1960s, Wayward, Just Another Life to Live, rewrites the narrative of a barefoot girl on the road to describe a life lived at full tilt from the first, revealing what it means to change course and her emotional struggle, learning to take back control of her own life.

The Bolshoi - Trevor Tanner

Trevor Tanner - The Bolshoi - in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.thebolshoibrothers.com

In 1985, the band released their debut single, "Sob Story", followed by the mini-album, Giants, and their hit song "Happy Boy". Word of mouth was such that the Bolshoi were able to sell out many of their early headlining performances.

The band moved to London in 1985, and their line-up expanded to include Paul Clark on keyboards - In 1986, they released their first full-length album, Friends, and expanded their touring schedule to the U.S., South America and Poland. It was followed in 1987 by the album Lindy's Party, on which the sound was more pop-oriented. TC Wall, reviewing the album in Underground magazine, described Lindy's Party as "completely confident, commercial, professional, and dangerously catchy" and "a fine album that'll be caressed for generations."

Five Thirty with Tara Milton

Tara Milton - Five Thirty - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Tara Milton and Nick Baker formed Five Thirty whilst still at school near Oxford in 1983. They met and recruited drummer Steve Beatty and played their first official gig in May 1984. This initial line-up played a number of gigs supporting bands like The Truth, Makin' Time and Direct Hits.

Baker decided to leave the band in March 1985, and American replacement Shawn Gwin (formerly of the bands East Cambodia and The Numbers in New Orleans) was spotted advertising his services in the then popular weekly Phoenix List. They quickly recorded a demo of Gwin's songs "Weight of the World", "Catcher in the Rye", "Mood Suite" and "Suburban Town". After Gwin left to return to New Orleans (and before Paul Bassett took over the reins) Five Thirty released their demo on 12" vinyl "Catcher in the Rye", was also included on a compilation entitled The Cutting Edge, a mod revival vinyl record that also contained songs by Purple Hearts, The Blades and The Dansette. Paul Bassett took over on guitar and vocals after Gwin left. Eventually, the original drummer Steve Beatty was replaced by Keith McCubbin and finally Phil Hopper. This line-up (Milton/Bassett/Hopper) then signed to Atco/East West Records in 1990 and released four singles and one album, Bed

Ivan Julian

Ivan Julian in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Julian is now releasing Swing Your Lanterns, his latest solo offering. Ivan’s had a long and distinguished career as a provocative songwriter and one of New York City’s most distinctive guitar stylists. As a founder member of Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Julian was an essential part of the original Punk scene while sowing the seeds for Post-Punk with the pointedly lopsided rhythms structures and scorched, askew guitar lines that comprised the Voidoids’ oeuvre. Swing Your Lanterns is being released by Pravda Records as download, CD, 12” vinyl LP and on streaming platforms. I hope you'll consider covering him via an interview, feature, news item or album review. Let me know if you need a download or CD.

Make Me Famous - Edward Brezinski with Brian Vincent & Heather Spore

Brian Vincent & Heather Spore - Make Me Famous - Edward Brezinski - in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.red-splat.com

This documentary brings forward a popular era while unearthing many artists, photographers, and stories that you may not already know. The 1980s art scene is famous for break-out artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, but there were many other artists who made a powerful impact.

Make Me Famous is the story of the Lower East Side art movement through an unknown artist, fully allowing the creativity itself to take centerstage. Set during arguably the last great art explosion in American history, Make Me Famous tells the story of unknown painter, Edward Brezinski in his quest for fame. Our film gives an intimate portrait of what it was like to be an artist in N.Y.C. in the 1980s. It delves into the spirit of the artists themselves, what drove their generation and what they were up against.

Modern English - Michael Conroy

Michael Conroy - Modern English - in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://modernenglish.me/

English band formed in 1979. They are best known for their songs "I Melt with You", "Hands Across the Sea", and "Ink and Paper". The group disbanded in 1987, only to re-form two years later and then disband after another two years (1991). They reunited again in 1995 and have continued in various lineups since that time.

Mark Reeder

Mark Reeder in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://mfsberlin.com/mark-reeder/

https://markreeder.bandcamp.com

Reeder has been living and working in Berlin since 1978. He is the founder and owner of the German electronic dance music labels MFS and Flesh. In 1991, Reeder discovered the teenage Paul van Dyk, guiding and paving his way to build up his now international DJ superstardom.

Reeder's career has spanned more than four decades. He has been a participant and behind the scenes influence for many now-famous artists, spread over a wide cross-section of contemporary musical genres.