C86 Show - Indie Pop

Slinky Vagabond with Keanan Duffty

Slinky Vagabond with Keanan Duffty in conversation with David Eastaugh

Slinky Vagabond is a concept band that originally formed in 2007 and became an integral part of the New York club scene and performed at celebrations for Joey Ramone’s Birthday Bash alongside the New York Dolls, Fashion Week’s Gen Art and Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp and Marc Bolan’s 30th Anniversary Show alongside Patti Smith, Tom Morello, Joan Jett and Ronnie Spector. They release their album ‘King Boy Vandals’ on December 6 that can be pre ordered at: slinkyvagabond@slinkyvagabond.net 

Chris Tofu - Tofu Love Frogs & Vibe Engineer

Chris Tofu MBE - Tofu Love Frogs & Vibe Engineer - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

stablished in 1995 DJ Chris Tofu has become a pioneer of Vintage Remix and the UK Festival scene, sharing his obsession with all things remixed and raucous with jumping crowds across the globe! From Glastonbury to Istanbul this musical maverick is constantly exploring, discovering and creating new sounds and new experiences, mixing up the formula for good vibe pie!

He’s a true believer that DJ’ing is as much about “vibe” and communicating with an audience as endless technical skill. I just love music that remixes the ancient and the new. Sometimes that makes me really obscure, sometimes pioneering but whatever happens, the audience generally gets it.”

Tofu has two lives; as a world renowned DJ and as the programmer and director of thousands of events and artists in some of the most legendary clubs and festival stages and even whole festivals, providing him with the canvas to try all these crazy new remixed discoveries. Enticing the crowds to jump over barriers (both physical and metaphorical) and get down to new and unusual sounds is the main Tofu goal.

Gaye Bykers On Acid & Crazyhead - Rich Deakin talking about his new book Grebo!

Gaye Bykers On Acid & Crazyhead - Rich Deakin talking about his new book Grebo! with David Eastaugh 

‘Grebo’ was a media constructed music genre that even today sends a shudder down the spines of discerning music fans and critics. A homegrown proto-grunge — counterpart to the likes of Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, early Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden in the US  — grebo was a British phenomenon that drew on an eclectic range of influences, from punk, 60s garage and psychedelia, through to 70s heavy rock and thrash metal. It foreshadowed rave culture and was steeped in class politics.

GAYE BYKERS ON ACID and CRAZYHEAD hailed from Leicester. They were not the first bands to be labelled grebo but they were the most unashamedly unkempt and came to be considered its greatest exponents. They were “a burst of dirty thunder” and almost no one liked them.

Based on interviews with band members, friends, fans, and roadies, this book is an uncompromising history of an overlooked music scene. Rich Deakin charts its course via the changing fortunes of the Bykers and Crazyhead, taking us on the booze-filled tour buses, behind the dodgy deals and onto the international stage and back again (with a pitstop for a rock movie that swallows lots of money). Their careers were short, but the two bands managed to shake up the UK indie scene and along the way became Britain’s unlikely ambassadors of rock following the collapse of Soviet Russia.

Johnny Hates Jazz with Clark Datchler

Johnny Hates Jazz with Clark Datchler in conversation with David Eastaugh 

In April 1986, Datchler, Nocito and Hayes released the first Johnny Hates Jazz single, "Me and My Foolish Heart", on RAK Records.^[9] It was not a commercial success, but gained substantial airplay and was Sounds magazine's record of the week.^{[citation needed]}

Datchler began writing new songs which included "Shattered Dreams". JHJ then performed a showcase at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and were subsequently signed to Virgin Records. "Shattered Dreams" was released in March 1987 and became a top 5 hit in the UK, throughout mainland Europe and Asia, and reached No. 2 in Japan. It was followed by three other worldwide hits, "I Don't Want to Be a Hero", "Turn Back the Clock" (featuring Kim Wilde on backing vocals) and "Heart of Gold". In 1988, "Shattered Dreams" reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, and climbed to No. 4 in Canada. That same year, their album Turn Back the Clock entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1, selling four million copies.

Shel Talmy in conversation with David Eastaugh

Shel Talmy in co

American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others.

Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks, "My Generation" by the Who, and "Friday on My Mind" by the Easybeats. He also played guitar or percussion on some of his productions.

Ian White - Gallon Drunk & Lydia Lunch

Ian White - Gallon Drunk & Lydia Lunch - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Revered drummer Ian White releases his first solo project, named Blyth, the compelling instrumental album entitled, Confessions of a Justified Sinner.

Since 1993, Ian White has been a key member of the influential and passionate UK band Gallon Drunk, playing drums on six critically acclaimed albums – In The Long Still Night (1996), Black Milk soundtrack (1999), Fire Music (2002), The Rotten Mile (2007), The Road Gets Darker from Here (2012) and the band’s last LP, The Soul Of The Hour (2014).

In 2009, with Gallon Drunk guitarist, organist and lead vocalist James Johnston and venerated saxophonist Terry Edwards, Ian White was a founder member of Big Sexy Noise; visionary No Wave singer, performer and writer Lydia Lunch’s vehicle for spirited musical adventures. To date, Big Sexy Noise have delivered two highly commended albums – their eponymous 2009 debut and the stirring Trust The Witch (2011). During 2002, Ian White played drums live for Barry Adamson (a founder member of Magazine, The Bad Seeds and soundtrack composer), who was touring his Mute album King of Nothing Hill, and in 2016 he contributed to former member of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ James Johnston’s debut solo album, The Starless Room.

Today, as Blyth, Ian White moves to the foreground for his premier self-penned recording, Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Written, arranged and performed by Ian White, recorded with Blyth mixer Giles Barrett during December 2019 and January 2020 at Soup Studios and The Silver Building, London E16, Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a propulsive and hypnotic vortex of enticing sonic attack and daring. Featuring strategic contributions from James Johnston, on guitar and additional piano, together with former Gallon Drunk bassist Jeremy Cottingham on lead and wah guitar, Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a thrilling, episodic soundscape, evoking distant echoes of experiential European bands of the past, contemporary sample driven music and elements of free jazz.

 

Curved Air with Sonja Kristina

Curved Air with Sonja Kristina in conversation with David Eastaugh

Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Curved Air released eight studio albums, the first three of which broke into the UK Top 20, and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

The Passions with Barbara Gogan

The Passions with Barbara Gogan in conversation with David Eastaugh

Based in Shepherd's Bush in west London, The Passions formed in early 1978 as the Youngsters with a line-up of Gogan (guitar, vocals), Claire Bidwell (bass guitar), Richard Williams (drums), Dack Dyde (guitar) and Mitch Barker (vocals).^[4] Williams and Gogan were previously in the punk rock outfit the Derelicts. After a name change to Rivers of Passion, soon shortened to The Passions, Dyde was replaced by Timperley (formerly of The 101ers).

The Passions' first single, issued in March 1979 on the Soho label, was the double A-side "Needles and Pills" (written by Dyde) and "Body and Soul", which assisted in gaining the band a recording contract with Fiction Records. By the time the band recorded the first of their three Peel sessions in November 1979, Barker had departed and Gogan took over as lead vocalist.

Michael & Miranda, the band's debut album, was released on 18 April 1980, preceded by their second single "Hunted". The album was produced by Fiction head Chris Parry and engineered by Mike Hedges. In May 1980, The Passions embarked on a UK and European tour supporting labelmates The Cure. Bidwell left after the tour (joining The Wall), was replaced in July 1980 by David Agar,^[1] and the band were dropped by Fiction.

Danny B Harvey - The Headcats, The Rockats, & many more

Danny B Harvey in conversation with David Eastaugh

DANNY B. HARVEY was born in Killeen, Texas and at the age of 6 moved to Catlettsburg, KY. where he first picked up and started playing the guitar. At the age of 15 after moving to Canyon Country, CA. he was fortunate enough to receive his first formal lessons with the great JOE PASS.

Feeling out of place (after all he had only moved away for rural KY. two years earlier) and anxious to make a name for himself he moved to England with LEVI DEXTER after only years of study. Danny soon developed a finger picking guitar style that is very unique and based on his idol MERLE TRAVIS, CHET ATKINS, JOE PASS and his classical-technic he learned at USC.

As a guitarist, producer and composer Danny has played and recorded with such great artists as Levi Dexter, Tim Polecat, Johnny Ramone, Nancy Sinatra, Lemmy Kilmister, Lee Rocker, Slim Jim Phantom and Wanda Jackson

Lenny Kaye - Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega & author of Lightning Striking

Lenny Kaye - Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega & author of Lightning Striking in conversation with David Eastaugh

As musician, writer, and record producer, Kaye was intimately involved with an array of artists and bands. He was a guitarist for poet/rocker Patti Smith from her band's inception in 1974, and co-authored Waylon, The Life Story of Waylon Jennings. He worked in the studio with such artists as R.E.M., James, Suzanne Vega, Jim Carroll, Soul Asylum, Kristin Hersh, and Allen Ginsberg. His seminal anthology of sixties' garage-rock, Nuggets, is widely regarded as defining the genre.You Call It Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, an impressionistic study of the romantic singers of the 1930s, was published by Villard/Random House in 2014

King of Luxembourg, Deux Filles & The Gadget - Simon Fisher Turner in conversation

Simon Fisher Turner in conversation with David Eastaugh

Simon Fisher Turner is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.

After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldaysand roles in films such as The Big Sleep (1978), Turner rose to fame as a teenage star in Britain when his mentor, Jonathan King, released Turner's eponymous first album on UK Records in 1973. For a period of two years Turner was a member of The Gadget and also joined The The. He has used several names as a recording artist, including Simon Fisher Turner, The King of Luxembourg, Deux Filles and Simon Turner. He continues to record albums for Mute Records as Simon Fisher Turner.

The Crazies with Bi Marshall

The Crazies with Bi Marshall in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Crazies - A Simple Vision LP

The legendary session from members of The Outsiders, The Sound and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils. released for the very first time Overseen by Adrian Janes and remastered by Nick Robbins with sleeve design and artwork by Bi Marshall

In December 1978 Pete Williams, later to achieve cult infamy as Lord Sulaco of the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, decided to realise a notion which he’d long kicked around with some of his musician friends.  This was to record some original songs for which he - who had never been in a studio in his life – would provide the lyrics and sing.  These friends were the Outsiders, at that time consisting of Adrian Borland (guitar, vocals), Graham Bailey (bass) and Adrian Janes (drums), plus an increasingly regular guest player in Bi Marshall (clarinet).  (A year later, Janes having left, the Outsiders became the Sound.)

Faust with Jean-Hervé Péron

Faust with Jean-Hervé Péron in conversation with David Eastaugh

Faust formed in 1971 in the rural setting of Wümme. They secured a recording contract with Polydor and soon began recording their debut, Faust, which sold poorly but received critical acclaim for its innovative approach and established a devoted fan base. Meifert was sacked shortly afterwards because, as Peron wrote in 2004, "he discussed things, because he had flat buttocks and an absolutely beautiful girlfriend, because he practised every day, because he always kept his room neat and woke up every morning to first wet a cloth he'd put in front of his room to keep the dirt out, because he played such a hard 4/4th that we had to travel into the tongue, ready to drop, ding dong is handsome top."

In 1972 the band recorded its second, slightly more accessible album So Far. Faust became one of the premier bands in the international appreciation of the genre that would eventually be known as krautrock.

Zal Cleminson - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band & Orphans of Ash

Zal Cleminson - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band & Orphans of Ash - in conversation with David Eastaugh

A self-taught guitarist, at the start of the 1970s he played and recorded with the Glasgow-based band Tear Gas. The musicians in that band then provided the backing for Alex Harvey in The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB). Cleminson was an extremely distinctive stage presence with SAHB owing to his white-face mimemakeup. He started wearing the mime makeup when the band started playing larger venues, so they could see what he was doing on stage easier. Cleminson has said "The mime face came about with bigger gigs - more people could see what I was up to".

Graham Bailey - The Sound, The Crazies, Outsiders & Second Layer

Graham Bailey - The Sound, The Crazies, Outsiders & Second Layer - in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Note: THE CRAZIES - A SIMPLE VISION LP

The legendary session from members of The Outsiders, The Sound and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils. released for the very first time Overseen by Adrian Janes and remastered by Nick Robbins with sleeve design and artwork by Bi Marshall

In December 1978 Pete Williams, later to achieve cult infamy as Lord Sulaco of the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, decided to realise a notion which he’d long kicked around with some of his musician friends.  This was to record some original songs for which he - who had never been in a studio in his life – would provide the lyrics and sing.  These friends were the Outsiders, at that time consisting of Adrian Borland (guitar, vocals), Graham Bailey (bass) and Adrian Janes (drums), plus an increasingly regular guest player in Bi Marshall (clarinet).  (A year later, Janes having left, the Outsiders became the Sound.)

The Sound were formed in South London in 1979 from the remnants of the punk band the Outsiders. The original lineup of the Sound consisted of Adrian Borland (vocals, guitar) and Graham Bailey (bass guitar), both ex-Outsiders, along with Mike Dudley (drums) and woodwinds player Bi Marshall (born Benita Biltoo). While not a member, ex-Outsider Adrian Janes would contribute ideas and co-write lyrics to the Sound's music.^[1] Borland and Bailey also made up the band Second Layer, formed around the same time as the Sound.

The Crazies with Adrian Janes

The Crazies with Adrian Janes in conversation with David Eastaugh

 

New album on Optic Nerve - A Simple Vision

The legendary session from members of The Outsiders, The Sound and Honolulu Mountain Daffodils. released for the very first time Overseen by Adrian Janes and remastered by Nick Robbins with sleeve design and artwork by Bi Marshall.

In December 1978 Pete Williams, later to achieve cult infamy as Lord Sulaco of the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils, decided to realise a notion which he’d long kicked around with some of his musician friends.  This was to record some original songs for which he - who had never been in a studio in his life – would provide the lyrics and sing.  These friends were the Outsiders, at that time consisting of Adrian Borland (guitar, vocals), Graham Bailey (bass) and Adrian Janes (drums), plus an increasingly regular guest player in Bi Marshall (clarinet).  (A year later, Janes having left, the Outsiders became the Sound.)

With no prior preparation other than Williams writing a set of lyrics (reputedly all based on newspaper stories), he then hired Elephant Studio in London for a day’s session.  This was engineered by Nick Robbins, later to produce the Sound among others, but at that point at the very start of his career.  This was no bad thing, since he was as open to the bizarre working methods of the Crazies (named after the George Romero sci-fi horror film) as they were innocent of their strangeness:  improvise a song during one run-through, record it, and then move on to the next one, each to be created in the same way.

This extremely efficient method left enough studio time after recording six songs for the rest to head off for something to eat, while Williams scribbled lyrics for a final composition, ‘When We’re Dead’, which was recorded upon their return.

The surviving members (Bailey, Marshall and Janes) all recall this as one of the most enjoyable and relaxed sessions they were ever part of.  The same experimental freedom and warped humour can also be heard in the albums Williams and Borland made as the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils a decade later.

 Cassette copies of the resulting album were produced for all concerned, and it seems that there was an idea of making it more widely available in this format, but this was never to occur.  It is only now that, with the original tape rediscovered, that the Crazies’ ‘A Simple Vision’, mastered by Nick Robbins, can at last be perceived by the wider world.

The Woodentops with Rolo McGinty

The Woodentops with  Rolo McGinty in conversation with David Eastaugh

The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial line-up of Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar, formerly of The Wild Swans and The Jazz Butcher), Simon Mawby (guitar), Alice Thompson(keyboards), Frank DeFreitas (bass guitar), and Benny Staples replacing Paul Hookham (drums).

After a debut single, "Plenty" on Food Records in 1984, which received a glowing review from Morrissey in Melody Maker, they signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records, releasing a series of singles in 1985 and their debut album, Giant, in 1986. Generally well received by critics, the album's sound was characterised by acoustic guitars, but also featured accordion, marimba, strings, and trumpet sounds. The album reached No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart. A single from the album, "Good Thing", reached No. 7 on the UK Indie Chart.

The band then became more experimental and frenetic when playing live, using more electronicsounds. This first became apparent as documented on the live album Live Hypno Beat (1987), which was recorded in Los Angeles in 1986. The band also started to become more 'raw' and unpredictable live, becoming one of the most exciting independent groups from the UK, while gaining an early hit on the burgeoning club scene in Ibiza with '"Why".

Mark Stewart - The Pop Group - Part Two

Mark Stewart in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Pop Group are an English band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed diverse musical influences including dub, funk, and free jazz with radical politics, helping to pioneer post-punk music.

The group released two albums, Y (1979) and For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?(1980), and the singles "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" (1979) and "We Are All Prostitutes" (1979), then split in 1981. Its members worked on a variety of subsequent projects, including New Age Steppers and Rip Rig + Panic. In 2010, the band reunited, touring and releasing new material.

Twisted Sister with Jay French -new book Twisted Business

Twisted Sister special with Jay French in conversation with David Eastaugh - talking about his new book Twisted Business

Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock".

Twisted Sister evolved from a band named Silver Star, and experienced several membership changes before settling on a classic lineup consisting of Jay Jay French (guitars), Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda (guitars), Dee Snider (lead vocals), Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (bass), and A. J. Pero (drums) in 1982 which recorded four of the band's first five albums. Twisted Sister's first two albums, Under the Blade (1982) and You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll (1983), were critically well received and earned the band underground popularity. The band achieved mainstream success with their third album, Stay Hungry (1984), and its single "We're Not Gonna Take It", which was their only Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Their next two albums, Come Out and Play (1985) and Love Is for Suckers (1987), did not match the success of Stay Hungry, and Twisted Sister disbanded in 1988.

Subterraneans special with Jude Rawlins in conversation

Subterraneans special with  Jude Rawlins in conversation with David Eastaugh

Jude Rawlins is an award-winning English singer, songwriter, filmmaker, author, poet, and music producer. He works primarily in the medium of rock music, mostly with his band Subterraneans, which he formed in 1992 with guitarist Carl Homer. Subterraneans have released ten albums, as well as creating critically acclaimed scores for the movies Pandora's Box and Derek Jarman's Glitterbug.