This is one of those occasions where info is hard to come by.
The Avons were from Norwich, a city which thanks to the presence of the University of East Anglia, has quite a decent musical heritage.
mp3: Everything’s Going Right – The Avons
Track 8, Disc Three of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition.
This dates from 1986 and is a track on their debut and sole album Music From Three Rivers Reach which was issued by Letharge Records. The label actually only ever released two other records, both also in 1986, and one being the debut single by The Avons and the other being the second EP from Surreal Estate whose debut had been the previous year on the Liverpool-based Probe Plus. The only other thing I can tell you is that two of the four members of The Avons were formerly part of The Farmers Boys, a Norwich-based band who had enjoyed brief success in the indie charts in 1983/84.
This is the second appearance from The Wolfhounds in this series. As mentioned before, they are from Romford, on the outskirts of London, and were originally around between 1985 and 1980, before reforming in 2005.
Last time round featured the excellent Anti-Midas Touch, their second single for The Pink Label, which was released in September 1986 and got to #6 in the Indie Charts. Their debut single, also on The Pink Label, had been Cut The Cake, released in March 1986. The song, all 1:42 of it, which found its way onto the original C86 cassette was an unreleased track
mp3: Feeling So Strange Again – The Wolfhounds
Track 4 on side 1 of the C86 cassette; Track 4, Disc One of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition.
Close Lobsters are from Paisley, whose north-eastern boundary is adjacent to the south-western boundary of Glasgow. It takes about ten minutes to travel from city centre to city centre when you take the fast train.
The band’s first vinyl offering was just 1 minute and 46 seconds in length.
mp3: Firestation Towers – Close Lobsters
Track 2 on side 2 of the C86 cassette; Track 13, Disc One of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition.
By October 1986, they had signed to Fire Records and released a debut single. There would be six singles, the second of which was Never Seen Before, with the 12″ featuring a re-recording of Firestation Towers. There would also be two albums before the band took a break in 1989. Nobody really anticipated the break would last until 2012 when they again played live, accepting invitations to be on the bills of Popfests in Madrid, Berlin and New York, as well as a triumphant homecoming gig in Glasgow.
In 2020, their third studio album, Post Neo Anti: Arte Povera in the Forest of Symbols, was released by Last Night From Glasgow. It was the first new material in more than 30 years.
Formed in London in 1983, The Revolving Paint Dream would go on to have four releases on Creation Records between 1984 and 1989. No real surprise given that label owner Alan McGee was one of the four musicians in the band:-
mp3: Flowers In The Sky – Revolving Paint Dream
Track 19, Disc 2 of CD 86
This is their debut single, released in February 1984, which limped to #27 on the Indie Chart. It was the second single in the label’s history. The next thing to emerge from the band was in 1987, when an eight-song mini LP was released. In 1989, a second single and full length album were put out. And that proved to be all there was, although to be fair, one of the other members, Andrew Innes, became rather busy with Primal Scream at that point in time.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I was obviously a music obsessive in 1986, but can’t say I loved much of the UK music that was happening in 1986 (couple of decent tracks on the Queen Is Dead I s’pose). Close Lobsters turned up regularly on Edinburgh indie bills, without ever making much of an impression.
Romford, on the ‘outskirts of London’, is the start of the Essex suburban sprawl, immortalised in the song Romford Girls by Billy Bragg’s first band Riff-Raff, the lyric of which might not withstand close feminist scrutiny.
I went to college in Ipswich for a few years and regularly visited UON’s union venue, The Corn Exchange and several of the other music venues during the 90’s. A good Indie scene it were
Firestation Towers is a perfect song.
Was back in my hometown of Paisley last month on a bright sunny spring day and took a photo of the old listed fire station which my father worked in as a youngster. It is a beautiful listed building which is sadly lying empty now. Not really adding to the C86 vibe but I think of the Close Lobsters tune every time I see it.
Revolving Paint Dream – In The Afternoon, the B-Side of Flowers in the Sky, is one of my favourite tunes of the period. My best mates older brother got his hands on all the Creation releases at the time, not sure how exactly, but not complaining.