Month: February 2025

Wedding Present

THE WEDDING PRESENT SINGLES (Part Sixty-Two)

I’ve mentioned previously how tough an ask it is to release 12 singles across a calendar year while maintaining quality control.   The challenge in 2022, as opposed to 1992 when The Wedding Present had first taken on the task, was that the earlier effort had seen twelve new songs and twelve covers, while the latest take had seen just one cover issued as a b-side. 

Yes, some of the songs did date back to maybe 2018/19 when the band had a slightly different line-up, but there must have been real stresses, strains and tensions as the year progressed for David Gedge, Jon Stewart, Melanie Howard and Nicholas Wellauer, especially given that it was a year when they also went out two long tours – the UK in April/May and Germany/Netherlands/Denmark/France in September, as well as a number of one-off shows in the UK as well as their own Edge of The Sea Festival in Brighton in August.

As such, I’m prepared to cut some slack for some of what I’d call the rather underwhelming releases as part of 24 Songs.  Having been very thrilled and happy with both sides of the September release, the single which arrived at Villain Towers in October proved to be one that was quickly consigned to its place on the shelf:-

mp3: The Wedding Present – Astronomic

OK, it picks up a bit after the opening very dreary minute-and-a-half, but not to the extent that it becomes a song that’s worthy of repeated playings.

The b-side is a ballad.  It also contains some of the most bitter break-up lyrics that David Gedge has ever penned:-

So, let me ask you, let me ask you, let me ask you how you thought you get away with doing something like that
Well, it transpires you’re a liar and I think it’s time to call it a day
And, darling, that’s where we’re at

Because you have stolen something from me that I can never replace and you have caused catastrophe
You’re a complete disgrace

Just a pity that the tune was a bit of a letdown.

mp3: The Wedding Present – Whodunnit (7″ version)

Ten down, two to go.

JC

 

Cindytalk

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #439: CINDYTALK

It was back in 2010, over at the original and long-lost blog, when a guest posting from Mr John Greer recalled him seeing The Freeze, a duo formed in the late 70s, and consisting of Gordon Sharp and David Clancy whose music was a mix of glam, punk and art rock with small dollop of Goth.

They were from Linlithgow, which is some 20 minutes west of Edinburgh and is very much a commuter town thanks to it being on the main Glasgow – Edinburgh railway line and close to the M9 motorway which links Edinburgh with Stirling. As Mr Greer recalled, Gordon more often than not performed in women’s clothing and provoked all sorts of audience reactions, particularly at the gigs played across what constituted Scotland’s pub circuit, with many of the venues being located in some of the roughest blue-collar communities of the country, in an era when there was a huge amount of tolerance of anything that wasn’t regarded as ‘normal’.

The Freeze broke up in 1982, with a legacy of two 7″ singles and loads of memories for those who were lucky enough to see them play live.  The duo, however, continued to work together, forming Cindytalk and relocating to London.  What now follows is lifted from a bio penned by Paul Simpson over at allmusic and info on the wiki page devoted to Cindytalk.

Cindytalk is a long-running experimental music project that formed in 1982. Since its inception, the sole constant member of the group has been Gordon Sharp, a transgender vocalist/poet/musician who also goes by the name Cinder. The group’s work has ranged from harsh, volatile post-punk and industrial to dark ambient and noisy drone, often laced with field recordings and constantly in a state of decay or fragmentation.

Initially appearing on British label Midnight Music during the 1980s, Cindytalk has released the bulk of its 21st century output on Peter Rehberg‘s acclaimed Editions Mego. While attending college during the mid-’70s, Sharp formed punk band the Freeze with fellow student David Clancy, releasing two singles and opening for many punk and new wave bands. After John Peel heard their music and wanted them to record a session for his radio show, Sharp and Clancy moved to London and began using the name Cindytalk. Sharp appeared on the Cocteau Twins‘ first Peel session, and 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell invited him to appear on the debut EP and full-length by This Mortal Coil.

John Byrne joined Cindytalk, and the group released the debut album Camouflage Heart in 1984, to some critical acclaim in the UK music press. Shortly after Camouflage Heart, David Clancy left the band and was replaced by brother/sister team Alex and Debbie Wright. The colossal In This World was recorded over the next three years: two albums of the same name released simultaneously, the first of which was a broken and noisy affair, while the second was an album of creaky ambience featuring Cinder’s improvised piano experiments.

I’ve one track by Cindytalk, courtesy of its inclusion on the Big Gold Dreams box set, and it’s from In This World, the 1988 release mentioned above.  It’s a far from easy listen. It’s also almost seven minutes long…….

mp3: Cindytalk – The Beginning Of Wisdom

There have been 11 further albums since then, with the most recent being 2022’s Subterminal, released on the UK indie label, False Walls.

JC

KLF

THE 7″ LUCKY DIP (28) : The KLF – Kylie Said To Jason

R-112781-1259349301

Back in 1989, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty thought they had a sure-fire #1 hit on their hands with this, something which sounded like the love child of Stock Aitken and Waterman and the Pet Shop Boys:-

mp3 : The KLF – Kylie Said To Jason

The idea was to try and make some money to complete The White Room, a road movie and soundtrack album that had been kick-started with the proceeds of the #1 single Doctorin’ the Tardis. Unfortunately, the idea failed – and in the end neither the film nor its soundtrack would be formally released. But you can get an idea of how it might have turned out based on the contents of the promo video of Kylie to Jason.

Here’s your b-side:-

mp3: The KLF – Pure Trance

Of course, a few years later, a completely different body of work also entitled The White Room would propel The KLF to fame, fortune and notoriety.

JC

Ramones

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #082

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#082: Ramones – ‘Beat On The Brat’ (Sire Records ’77)

Good morrning friends,

you may or may not know that The Clash have always been my # 1 band. Mainly because of the musical variety combined with lyrics which I could sympathize with – there weren’t all too many styles or ideas Strummer and Jones came up with in their career which didn’t fully meet with my approval.

So it is hard to tell why it is that The Ramones have always come in for me a close second. I mean, they were completely different, weren’t they? A million songs, all the same by and large: loud, fast, brute – most of the time fragility or tranquilness has always been a no-go for the band.

Thinking of this, I still cannot come to an understandable conclusion, even after all those decades. Perhaps it has something to do with the real origins of Punk (UK? US?) – a question which is still being debated today, although a thousand books have been written on the subject. Perhaps just one single date is important: July 4th 1976, that’s when The Ramones started touring the UK, promoting their first album, produced for $ 6,400 and already played to New York fans dozens of times in CBGB’s and elsewhere. On that evening they played London’s Roundhouse, sold out with its capacity of 3.000, supporting labelmates The Flamin’ Groovies, whom they completely blew away by all accounts.

At the very same evening, 160 miles up north, The Clash played their very first concert in The Black Swan in Sheffield – in front of a handful of people.

At the end of the day it’s all meaningless, I suppose, but one thing is granted: The Ramones have surely been amongst the very first who tried to do things differently over there in New York, along with Blondie and The Dead Boys, and they had a very hard time in finding even a bit of approval. I mean, we are talking 1975/1976 here, with prog rock still being the ultimate ratio – and everyone in those days who had the guts to try to blow away those cobwebs deserves my admiration. And yours as well, I would think.

Bearing all this in mind, there is no question at all that some of the early stuff has to feature here today.

Basically almost everything they did in their career was great, but the first album is a milestone, of course. Therefore, it makes sense to play something from it, one of the brothers’ earliest songs, in fact, their take on New York’s Birchwood Towers kids:

 

mp3: Ramones – Beat On The Brat

This obviously is a single (all really early works, although not released before ’77) combining three fantastic tunes – I could have chosen each of them, easily. And if you think 2:30 minutes is too short for such brilliance, let me paraphrase Johnny Ramone here—“they’re not short songs, they’re long songs played quickly”.

There are quite some things that have given me enormous pleasure in my life. One of those things is that I had the chance to see The Ramones in concert on quite a lot of occasions: a most wonderful experience, each and every bloody time!

Enjoy,

 

Dirk

Fall

ON THIS DAY : THE FALL’S PEEL SESSIONS #17

And at the third time of asking, the series finally delivers in the way it is supposed to.

A series for 2025 in which this blog will dedicate a day to each of the twenty-four of the sessions The Fall recorded for the John Peel Show between 1978 and 2004.

Session #17 was broadcast on this day, 5 February 1994, having been recorded on 8 December 1993.

Recorded a full five months before the 3rd May release of the album that was to house all four tracks, ‘Middle Class Revolt.’ Apart from a lacklustre ‘Behind The Curtain’, with a seemingly disinterested and on-off mic Smith, there’s a crunching reading of city paean ‘M5’. It also contained ‘Hey! Student’, which was a re-working of ‘Hey, Fascist’, heard by John Walters as that very first Fall gig he attended in Croydon, 15 years earlier. Possibly the ultimate Fall mancabilly, complete with album lyric ‘as you stare in your room at Shaun Ryder’s face’ becoming irresistibly ‘as you masturbate with your Shaun Ryder face’.  This reference to Manchester peers Happy Mondays after they had peaked and before Black Grape, captured the out-of-date hipness of many students perfectly.  ‘Reckoning’ may be the closest The Fall ever came to Steely Dan instrumentally (!?) and Smith at his most sloppily venomous and lucid with corkers such as ‘And you’re sleeping with some hippie half-wit who thinks he’s Mr. Mark Smith/Reckoning’

DARYL EASLEA, 2005

mp3: The Fall – M5 (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Behind The Counter (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Reckoning (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Hey! Student (Peel Session)

Produced by Tony Worthington

Mark E Smith – vocals; Craig Scanlon – guitar; Steve Hanley – bass; Dave Bush – keyboards; Simon Wolstencroft – drums

JC

Heavenly, Humdrum, Language Of Flowers

SOME THOUGHTS ON LIFE, MUSIC AND A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

 A guest posting by flimflamfan

It’s often proposed that when life throws you lemons, the positive way forward is to make lemonade, from said lemons.  In 2024 my partner and I were awash with oversized lemons and drowning in zingy-fresh lemonade until the only thing left to do was gasp (in utter disappointment and, of course) for air. It seems we were not alone in our lemon-fest; our small circle of friends wondered what they could do with their own unrelenting lemons.

I can therefore confirm that 2024 was a brutal, exhausting bastard. I’m content to be gazing at it in the rear-view mirror.

For the most part I found it difficult to find productive, enjoyable time to search out or listen to new music.  That’s not to say I didn’t have any time – laziness and apathy played their parts too.

Perusing the New Vinyl Villain introduced me to new bands and also new-to-me bands.  I even went as far as making some purchases based on these recommendations. Blimey!

However, it wasn’t until mid-2024 when, I’ll be honest, matters were shite, that I was introduced to Humdrum by a local pop-picker who indulges in using a shoe moniker.

From my perspective I think it fair to say that there was nothing ‘new’ being offered by the band – a knowledgeable pop person may be able to list each and every influence. I have no such knowledge.  What I can say with some confidence is that each song, when played for the first time, felt like an old, cherished friend who’d bought some swanky new clothes and wanted everyone to feel the quality of this new, robust material.

This, for me, was indie pop by numbers – balanced, knowing and yet, naive.  The LP Every Heaven went on repeat rotation. It played out 2024 and welcomed in 2025.

The familiarity. The comfort was exactly what I needed.  It seems some of that familiarity may be borne from the fact that members of Humdrum had previously been in a band called Star Tropics – a band I’m almost certain I was introduced to via the same shoe-monikered fountain-of-pop knowledge.

Every Heaven is an LP I whole heartedly recommend. It can lift the most weighted of spirits

mp3: Humdrum – There And Back Again

An album that was a constant companion in 2024 was the twenty year old, sole LP by Language of Flowers, Songs About You (2004).  A trip from Glasgow east to west by train accompanied by this LP and The Darling Buds Peel Sessions is one of my most pleasant memories of 2024.  Imagine my delight when Daydream Records announced that Songs About You was to be released on vinyl for the first time (in a tiny run of 200) and that the running order of the LP would change to accommodate the reduced time available on the vinyl pressing.  I ordered my copy from the specific limited edition of 25 and… paid more for postage than I did for the LP, only to learn many months later that Monorail (a rather wonderful record shop in Glasgow) would stock very limited quantities.  It’s very likely one of the most expensive new LPs I have ever bought, and I look very much forward to receiving it – some 6 months, and counting, after it was supposed to arrive.

In other good news, Language of Flowers is recording new songs. Hurrah! If pop-bliss is your thing, then do seek them out.

mp3: Language Of Flowers – If It’s Not You

As if the above snippets of pop were not enough, there was one more nugget to feed my indie pop hunger. Heavenly, as you may or may not know, reformed for some shows in London in 2023. My tickets were bought immediately. Unfortunately, as is often the case these days, I failed to attend. It was, it has to be said, all very predictable, but still it smarted. When the band announced they would play Glasgow as part of GlasGoesPop (2024), a ticket was once again purchased – except it wasn’t, which is a whole other story in itself.

As the gig date approached, so did my pre-gig nerves. In swooped one that walks these halls to lessen my anxieties and, in fact, make the gig a reality.

As I stood in a corner watching Heavenly play so many familiar songs (except two I had heard snippets of from the London gigs) I was transported back to a time when I was younger. A time I had more confidence. A time when I’d most likely still be standing in a corner watching a band.

It was a superb night of music, with the band doing what it does so incredibly well – making it all look so darn effortless. Approx. ten years since my previous gig. It was more than worth stepping out for.

mp3: Heavenly – Cool Guitar Boy

You may be asking yourself ‘what on earth is the point of this post?’. I know I am.

I think the purpose is that there is often lemonade in our lives – we often can’t see it for the lemons (except when the lemons are drowning in vodka), obviously. Much of the positive ‘distractions’ I’ve needed have been found in these pages – either posts, or replies. There’s a real sense of positivity, and dare I say it, ‘community’? I guess this could be described as a thank you to JC and the many contributors. I guess it could. I guess it could?

flimflamfan

JC adds…….

Regular readers and visitors will know just how much FFF has contributed to this blog over many years;  he hasn’t gone into any detail, but I know that the past twelve months were incredibly difficult for him for all sorts of reasons, but as he mentions in his piece, he’s aware that many others have had awful experiences in recent times.

I really hope that him finding precious time and having the energy to offer up a guest posting after such an extended absence is an indication that the coming weeks and months will prove to be better for him.

And it also allows me to again say to everyone that this little corner of t’internet is a place where, if you want to offer your views, thoughts and opinions on any subject matter under the sun, I can almost certainly guarantee it will be posted  – the usual caveats about not being provocative/offensive will apply!  The email address can be found on a sidebar or below the main body of the text, depending on which sort of device you use to access the blog.

Various

YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN SOMETHING’S RIGHT

Far too old and unfit these days to hit any nightspots.  But if I close my eyes, I can let my imagination run riot.

mp3: Various – You Have To Know When Something’s Right

Propaganda – P-Machinery
Paul Haig – Heaven Help You Now
New Order – The Perfect Kiss (UK 7″)
Spare Snare – I Have You (Hi-Fi Sean Echoplex Dub)
Yazoo – Don’t Go
Cabaret Voltaire – Sensoria
Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax Remix Edit)
Simple Minds – Celebrate
Le Tigre – Deceptacon
Bronski Beat & The Knocks (feat. Perfumed Genius) – Smalltown Boy
James – Goldmother (remix)
Leftfield (feat. Toni Halliday) – Original
Soup Dragons – Mother Universe (12″)
Marina Unlimited Orchestra – Wow! (Love Theme From Marina)

Dance away the heartaches…….

JC

Wedding Present

THE WEDDING PRESENT SINGLES (Part Sixty-One)

16 September 2022 was the release date of the ninth of the 24 Songs singles, and this time it consisted of two very fresh songs as the writing credits are attribute to the four touring and recording members of that year – David Gedge (vocals, guitar), Jon Stewart (guitar), Melanie Howard (bass, keyboards and backing vocals) and Nicholas Wellauer (drums).

mp3: The Wedding Present – We All Came From The Sea

Bit of an unusual one in that it almost has a dance beat to it, with some great bass lines from Melanie driving it along while Jon throws out some excellent guitar licks. I recall it being a real highlight in the live setting on the one occasion I heard it played, which happened to be in Brighton in 2023 at the Edge of The Sea Festival.

mp3: The Wedding Present – We All Came From The Sea (live at Concorde 2)

Seems I wasn’t alone in thinking it could make for a more than decent dance number, as it subsequently became one of the very TWP songs to ever have been given the remix treatment:-

mp3: The Wedding Present – We All Came From The Sea (Utah Saints Remix)

As made available on one of the bonus CDs that came with the 24 Songs box set, released in 2023.

The b-side, and this is far from a criticism, is kind of TWP by numbers….indeed it’s one that I’ve a lot more time for than some of the songs released as A-sides during 2022.

mp3: The Wedding Present – Summer 

Just three more to go and this particular series will come to an end.

JC

 

Church Grims

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #438 : THE CHURCH GRIMS

From the booklet which came with the C88 box set, released by Cherry Red Records back in 2017.

“This Paisley band took their name from folklore and the spirits said to guard over churches.  They were slow starters, forming in 1986 but not making it in to a recording studio proper until spring 1988 when they finally committed their jangly, arched sound to tape. A series of demos then found their way onto various compilation cassettes and a year later, ‘Mr Watt Said’ appeared on Egg’s compilation, ‘A Lighthouse In The Desert’.  It wasn’t until 2003 that Egg issues ‘The Church Grims Basement Tapes 1987-88, featuring six tracks and one remix, that the work of Church Grims could be widely heard.”

I know that Brian over in Seattle is a big fan as he wrote about them over at his former blog, Linear Tracking Lives, in June 2017.

“This will be short and sweet because the Church Grims don’t have much history. That’s unfortunate, too, because when they did make it to wax (well, cassette, in most cases), each artifact turned out to be a perfect piece of indie pop. Like Remember Fun, the Paisley band was signed to Egg Records out of Glasgow, along with groups like the Prayers, Even as We Speak, the Hardy Boys, the Bachelor Pad, Baby Lemonade and several others. There was never an album during their five years together. In fact, the Church Grims’ officially released discography was only four songs, all on compilations. As you’ll hear in a moment, that’s a travesty.

The Church Grims may have been forgotten all together, but a resurgent interest in bands influenced by the ‘C86’ sound that began at the turn of the century prompted Egg founder Jim Kavanagh to dig up the long out of print music from his roster with the goal of getting it out there. In 2003, many years after the band called it a day, the Church Grims finally had a somewhat proper release with ‘Plaster Saints: The Church Grims Basement Tapes 1987-1988.’

“Mr. Watt Said” was the only song from the Church Grims that ever made it to vinyl. It appeared on the four-song Egg sampler “A Lighthouse in the Desert” in 1989. If you only hear one song by them, this should be the one. You know I’m a sucker for trumpet with my pop, and there is plenty of that here. Within seconds, you will think of the June Brides. I can’t give a better compliment.”

mp3: The Church Grims – Mr Watt Said

Things moved on in 2020, thanks to the German-based label, Firestation Records which released Yankee Mags on vinyl and CD, offering up everything that the Church Grims had recorded, including two later songs from 1991 that had been issued as a CD single but not included on the previous compilation, along with a series of demos from 1988 that had previously been unavailable.

Discogs reveals that the members of the band were Mick Smith (vocals/guitar), Tony Boyle (lead guitar/backing vocals), Bob Gregor (bass from 1986-89), Mick McKay (bass, 1991), McNabb (drums) and Greg Bolland (trumpet/backing vocals).   Here’s the song that was included in the C88 box set:-

mp3: The Church Grims – Plaster Saint

They were also featured in the comprehensive Big Gold Dreams box set that I’ve referred to a few times during the course of this very long-running series. I also know that Greg Bolland is a member of The Muldoons, whose debut album Made For Each Other was released by Last Night From Glasgow and given a glowing mention on this very blog back in March 2021.