C86 Show - Indie Pop

Bikini Kill & The Real Distractions - Tobi Vail

Tobi Vail - Bikini Kill & The Real Distractions - in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Real Distractions is a co-release between Perennial and K this is international pop underground vol. CXLVIII. Featuring Tobi Vail (Bikini Kill, Frumpies, Spider and the Webs and MODs) as well as scene stalwarts Ricky Meyer (Rik and the Pigs), Peter David Connelly (the mona reels, Bangs, Quayde le Hue) and newcomer KT Ballard.

Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the riot grrrlmovement, with feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren.

The Servants - David Westlake

David Westlake - The Servants - in conversation with David Eastaugh

New album - My Beautiful England - out autumn 2022

David Westlake formed indie band the Servants in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England. The Servants appeared on 1986’s NME-associated C86 compilation, and the band was from 1986 to 1991 the original home of Luke Haines. Haines describes David Westlake's first solo album, 1987's Westlake, as "a minor classic".

Westlake's second solo album, 2002's Play Dusty for Me, was released in a limited issue that quickly sold out but was never re-pressed.^[5]Captured Tracks reissued Play Dusty for Me in LP format on Black Friday, 2015.

A.R. Kane - Rudy Tambala

Rudy Tambala - A.R. Kane - with David Eastaugh

British musical duo formed in 1986 by Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala. After releasing two early EPs to critical acclaim, the group topped the UK Independent Chart with their debut album 69 (1988). Their second album, "i"(1989), was also a top 10 hit. They were also part of the one-off collaboration MARRS, whose surprise dance hit "Pump Up the Volume" was released in 1987. Ayuli is believed to have coined the term "dreampop" in the late 1980s to describe their eclectic sound, which blended distorted guitars, drum machines, and dub production.

The group broke up in 1994. Though their work fell into relative obscurity in subsequent years, they have been characterised by critics as among the most innovative and underrated groups of their era, and recognized as an influence on styles such as shoegaze, trip hop, and post-rock. In 2012, One Little Indian released Complete Singles Collection, which compiled the group's single and EP releases.

World of Twist - Gordon King

Gordon King  - World of Twist - in conversation with David Eastaugh

New book - When Does The Mind-Bending Start? by Gordon King

 

A short lived 1986 version of World of Twist featured Gordon King (vocalist and co-songwriter), Tony Ogden (co-songwriter), Andy Hobson (Bass, Keyboards), Neil Drabble (visuals).

The 1989 version of World Of Twist featured Ogden (now vocalist and co-songwriter), King (guitar and co-songwriter), and Hobson (synthesisers) joined by Alan Frost (visual effects, synthesisers), Julia aka M.C. Shells (swirls and sea noises) and Angela Reilly (visual effects). Nick Sanderson (drums) joined some time later.

A demo tape (featuring "The Storm", "Blackpool Tower Suite", "The Spring", and "She's a Rainbow") released in early 1990 drew attention to the band, and a recording contract with Circa Records followed. The record label issued the singles "The Storm" (produced by Clif Brigden) that same year with "Sons of the Stage" also (produced by Clif Brigden) and "Sweets" following in 1991. A cover of The Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow", originally issued as the B-side of "The Storm", was reissued with new dance mixes by Fluke in 1992. The original B-side version had been one of the last tracks produced by Martin Hannett, who died in 1991.

Nige Tassell -Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey

Nige Tassell -Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey - in conversation with David Eastaugh

In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born.

But what happened next to all those musical dreamers?

The Monochrome Set - Bid

Bid - The Monochrome Set - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

The Monochrome Set was formed in London in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides, whose members had included Stuart Goddard, later known as Adam Ant. Their first live gig was on 15 Feb 1978, at Westfield College in London. The original line-up consisted of Indian-born lead singer and principal songwriter Bid (real name Ganesh Seshadri), Canadian guitarist Lester Square(real name Thomas W.B. Hardy), drummer John D. Haney (formerly of The Art Attacks) and bass guitarist Charlie X. The band had two more bassists, Jeremy Harrington and Simon Croft, before Andy Warren of the Ants, a childhood friend of Bid, joined in late 1979.

Nick Evans - Elemental Records & Dawn Song

Nick Evans - Elemental Records & Dawn Song - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Has a new album out - Dawn Song & the album is titled 'For Morgan'.

Elemental Records Was a division of Workers Playtime Music Co. in the early 1990s, then became a subsidiary of One Little Indian.

Lawrence - Felt, Denim & Go-Kart Mozart

Lawrence - Felt, Denim & Go-Kart Mozart - in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://shop.bfi.org.uk/lawrence-of-belgravia-blu-ray.html

Felt released ten albums in the 1980s, and Lawrence was the only constant member of the band from its inception in 1979 to its dissolution in 1989, though he doesn't appear at all on the band's penultimate album, Train Above The City, despite being present at the recording sessions. During his time in the band, he served as lyricist and co-songwriter, together with then-lead guitarist Maurice Deebank, who left the band in 1985.

In 2006, Lawrence began working on a new Go-Kart Mozart album entitled On the Hot Dog Streets that was eventually released in June 2012 to coincide with the nationwide premiere of Lawrence of Belgravia, which documented the making of the record. Though once again a commercial failure, the album has received the most acclaim and attention of any Lawrence related project since Back in Denim.

Pleasant Gehman - Screamin’ Sirens

Pleasant Gehman in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://pleasantgehman.com/tarotreadings/

Pleasant Gehman is a true renaissance woman. A lifelong multi-disciplinary artist, she is a writer, professional dancer, actor, psychic, musician and painter; she has  often been called “a force of nature”.

A Hollywood rock ‘n’ roll icon, during the 1970’s, she was one of the first punks in Los Angeles, documenting the scene she helped create in her fanzine Lobotomy, which lead to writing for the top mainstream rock publications. During the 1980’s, she toured fronting her three bands, all of whom released multiple recordings: The Screaming Sirens, The Ringling Sisters and Honk If Yer Horny. Concurrently, she was the talent booker for the seminal Los Angeles “alternative” clubs Cathay De Grande and Raji’s.

Dave Trumfio - The Pulsars

Dave Trumfio - The Pulsars - in conversation with David Eastaugh

kingsizesoundlabs.com

American record producer, mixer, engineer and musician, best known for his production work with artists such as Wilco and his recordings with his own band The Pulsars.

Trumfio was the frontman in the 90's new-wave band The Pulsars, in which he did "everything but play the drums", his brother Harry acting as the band's drummer. After releasing their debut single, the band signed to Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss's post A&M venture Almo Sounds in 1995, and released an album and two EPs.

The Flowers of Hell - Greg Jarvis

Greg Jarvis  - The Flowers of Hell - in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Flowers of Hell are a transatlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their mostly instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, shoegaze, space rock and drone music, often resulting in their being described as an orchestral extension of the work of The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3. They are led by synesthete composer Greg Jarvis. Much of their repertoire is an exploration of the timbre-to-shape synesthesia that causes Jarvis to involuntarily perceive all sounds as floating abstract visual forms.

Testcard F - Vince Rogers

Vince Rogers - Testcard F - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Norwich, experimental synth pop band formed in 1981 -  formed in the early 1980s at the UEA. Famously had an indie chart hit with Bandwagon Tango. They completed a second EP and also did a Peel Session. 

Before releasing solo material as alpha seven, Pete used to be in Testcard F, an early experimental synth pop outfit based in Norwich, reaching the dizzy heights of a Peel session in 1982 and two singles on the Backs record label.

Instrumentation included electronic percussion built from Maplin kits, augmented with a coat rack and waste bins to give a human feel. There was a borrowed EDP Wasp, 1960s Farfisa organ, Casio VL-Tone and a drum machine that held a single song, hence they used backing cassettes

 

 

Paul ’Bee’ Hampshire - Into A Circle, Futon, Getting The Fear, & Panache

Paul 'Bee' Hampshire - Into A Circle, Futon, Getting The Fear, & Panache in conversation with David Eastaugh 

thebeenow.com

Bee left school at 16 to form his first band the Danse Society. He moved to London to join a pop band, which really did become big in Japan. Bee spent his time there doing tours, TV shows, and dodging crazy fans. During his club kid days in London, he ran the door at London’s first fetish club SKIN2.

 

Shifting his focus back to the UK, Bee hooked up with Psychic TV. He teamed up with the remnants of Southern Death Cult to form Getting the Fear, which eventually became the indie duo, Into A Circle. At the start of the nineties, he spent a brief stint in NYC before moving to Asia permanently and settling in Thailand.

Anne Mari - The Field Mice, Lightning In A Twilight Hour & Trembling Blue Stars

Anne Mari - The Field Mice, Lightning In A Twilight Hour & Trembling Blue Stars - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Lightning In A Twilight Hour is an alias of The Field Mice and Trembling Blue Stars’ frontman Bobby Wratten, one of indie-pop’s most undervalued cult figures. The project’s second album ‘Overwintering’ was co-produced by Ian Catt, with Field Mice lieutenants Anne Mari Davies (vocals) and Michael Hiscocks (bass) featured throughout the album.

Benjamin Berton - Daniel Treacy, Television Personalities & Dreamworld

Benjamin Berton author of a new book on Daniel Treacy  in conversation with David Eastaugh

"Dreamworld: The Fabulous Life of Daniel Treacy and his Band Television Personalities"

London 1977: Daniel Treacy drops out of school, bored to death. Thanks to a few pounds sterling, lent to him by his parents, he records a few songs with friends and sends the finished single to the legendary radio DJ John Peel, who is immediately thrilled - the Television Personalities are born ..

In the turbulent life of Daniel Treacy we meet Jimmy Page, Bob Marley, Alan McGee, David Gilmour, Wham!, Nico and Kurt Cobain. Dreamworld is the very real, very crazy story of a genius in music history whose importance is not infrequently compared to that of Mark E. Smith of The Fall. Enriched with plenty of scene and period colour from British pop from the 1960s to the present, "Dreamworld" tells of all the ups and downs of a legend who once ironically (but quite rightly) described himself in an interview as the "Godfather of Indie Pop".

The English translation by David Marshall is published with a completely revised colour picture section and numerous illustrations.

Alan Rider - Stress, Dance Naked & Attrition

Alan Rider - Stress, Dance Naked & Attrition - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Alan Rider is a musician and editor of iconic 1980s Coventry post-punk fanzine Adventures in Reality.  He also co-edited 1980s Coventry Agit-Zine Not The Jobhunter, produced one off Coventry fanzines Certain Substances, Sticky Fingers, and Negative Response as well as contributing regularly to national music publications including Spiral Scratch and NME.  Alan and Adventures in Reality were featured in the 1983 Channel 4 documentary ‘Enough is Enough’.  He also ran the 1980s Adventures in Reality Recordings independent record label, releasing albums by a wide range of underground acts internationally, including Coventry bands such as Attrition, Furious Apples, and his own electronic band Stress. Stress went on to record and release four albums and numerous compilation album appearances on labels across the world.  His other band Dance Naked, released albums in the UK and Germany.

Robert Courtney - Skin Patrol & One Million Fuzztone

Robert Courtney - Skin Patrol & One Million Fuzztone - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Skin Patrol became One Million Fuzztone Guitars in 1981 and released two singles “Heaven / Annuese” and “Men’s Hearts / Creepy Crawl” and an LP “26″ all now remastered and re-released on Cherry Red Records. Rock Section was remixed by Julian Cope And Andrew Weatherall in 2014 as Dayglo Maradona. One Million Fuzztone Guitars/Skin Patrol continue to record and release new material on TuneCore/BMI.

Lolly Hayes (Lorraine Hayward) - Johnny Boy & Sister Lover

Lolly Hayes (Lorraine Hayward) - Johnny Boy & Sister Lover - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Formed in 2002, Johnny Boy took their name from Robert De Niro’s character in Martin Scorsese's film, Mean Streets. Their debut single, "Johnny Boy Theme" featured Scorsese's opening voice-over from the film.

Their single "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" was produced by James Dean Bradfield (of Manic Street Preachers) and achieved critical acclaim.

Bradfield also co-produced their debut album, Johnny Boy, which received mixed reviews.

Philip Drucker - 17 Pygmies, Savage Republic, Them Rhythm Ants

Philip Drucker - 17 Pygmies, Savage Republic, Them Rhythm Ants - in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Polecats - John Buck

John Buck  - The Polecats - in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band were first signed by the fledgling British rockabilly record label Nervous Records, and recorded their first single "Rockabilly Guy" at guitarist Alan Warner's "Lane Studios" in 1979. Formerly with the "Foundations" band, Warner toured and recorded with the Polecats for about a year.

In 1980, the band signed to Mercury Records, and released their most successful LP, Polecats Are Go! They had UK chart success with a David Bowie cover, "John, I'm Only Dancing", a reworking of "Rockabilly Guy", and another cover version of the T-Rex (Marc Bolan) song "Jeepster".^[2] In 1983, they hit the charts in the United States with their song, "Make a Circuit with Me".John Buck replaced Neil Rooney in 1982 playing drums.