The latest installment in the monthly series looking back at the songs which were #1 in the indie charts on the first day of the month 30, 20 and 10 years ago.
Thus far, it has shown decent enough stuff (for the most part) in 87 and 07 while demonstrating that 97 was a year in which the major labels took dross to the top of the indie charts thanks to the exploitation of a loophole around distribution. R. Kelly and The Rembrandts cannot, by any definition, be classed as ‘indie’. Third time lucky perhaps?
1 July 1987 : mp3 : The Soup Dragons – Can’t Take No More
The band’s fifth release and their first, and indeed only 45, to take the top spot in this chart. It was probably helped a bit by the fact it was released in three different vinyl formats – 7″, 12″ and a live 12″ , the latter which included a rather appalling version of Purple Haze. It’s all a long way removed from the baggy/dance stuff that took them into the proper charts a couple of years down the line.
1 July 1997 : mp3 : Blur : On Your Own
Food Records by this time were completely owned by EMI and so Blur were only eligible for the chart via that loophole referred to above. It’s actually one of my favourite tracks of theirs from that era – it’s since been said by Damon Albarn that it was one of the first tunes he wrote with Gorillaz in mind. It climbed as high as #5 in the UK singles chart, again helped by the fact that it was released on 7″ vinyl and well as 2xCD singles with a number of b-sided that had all been recorded live at John Peel‘s home studio at Peel Acres and broadcast on his show on 8 May 1997. Here’s some bonuses for you to celebrate this series featuring that very set:-
mp3 : Blur – Popscene (live at Peel Acres)
mp3 : Blur – Song 2 (live at Peel Acres)
mp3 : Blur – Chinese Bombs (live at Peel Acres)
mp3 : Blur – Movin’ On (live at Peel Acres)
mp3 : Blur – M.O.R. (live at Peel Acres)
mp3 : Blur – On Your Own (live at Peel Acres)
And now, especially for those of you who like the electronic sort of stuff:-
mp3 : Blur – On Your Own (Walter Wall Mix)
It’s a 15 minute remix courtesy of William Orbit.
1 July 2007 : mp3 : Jack Penate – Torn On The Platform
I was working in Canada ten years ago and hearing this makes me glad of that. This is my first exposure to this particular singer/songwriter.
He was on XL Recordings which that same year also released albums by Radiohead and M.I.A. I’m guessing it was the late teens/festival goers who took him to the top of this chart and to #7 in the UK singles chart. Wiki tells me he was popular in 2006/07 but his second LP in 2009 sort of sunk without trace. His fifteen minutes of fame had come and gone.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
That Soup Dragons track still sounds great. Definitely of its time, but what a time it was for indie music!
Somehow I’ve managed to miss previous posts in this series. I hang my head in shame. Great idea for a series. And I’m with Robster on the Soup Dragons track, another that I’d completely forgotten about. Much prefer this era than the baggy monster they became.
Ironically, the second Jack Penate album is a cracker – give it a go. His first did stink though.
Just dug out my copy of Just Can’tTake No More. It was about this time that I met Jim McCulloch in my local and had a pint with him and no doubt talked complete pish to him about maybe getting a bit of a dance groove into their music.