C86 : THE ULTIMATE SERIES (Parts 2, 3 and 4 of 114)

First of all…..many thanks for the positive responses to the idea of this series.  It has to be said that not all the 114 songs that will be featured over the coming months  have aged well….and indeed a number of them were pretty awful to begin with, but then again taste is subjective!!!

Three more today, but thankfully all of them pass the litmus test here in Villain Towers.

Another Sunny Day was the name used by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Harvey Williams, who hails from Cornwall in the far south-west of England. He was one of the first to join the then fledgling, and later to become famous, Sarah Records, based in Bristol.  Between 1988 and 1992, he would release five singles on the label and one other for the Caff Corporation, a boutique label run by Bob Stanley, with each single usually getting a very limited run of around 500 copies. This was the debut:-

mp3: Anorak City – Another Sunny Day

Track 8, Disc 1 of CD86.

SARAH 3.  A flexidisc, released in April 1988 and given away with SARAH 4, a 22-page fanzine. Second-hand copies of Anorak City, if and when they appear on the market, go for upwards of £200.  Just as well, then, that the song has been included on a number of subsequent compilations.

Harvey Williams would later join The Field Mice, Blueboy and Trembling Blue Stars, all of whom were hugely popular bands on Sarah Records or its successor label, Shinkansen Recordings.  He also recorded two solo albums in the 90s.

Anorak City is a wonderful song, albeit, like many from the era, is of its time and place; but then again, that’s largely the entire point about TVV and particularly this series.  I’ll leave the discovery of new bands to others……(insert smiley face emoji!!!!!!!!!!!!).

 

Yeah Yeah Noh are from Leicester and were originally around between 1983 and 1986, before reforming in 2011.  The band was initially signed to In-Tape Records, a label from Sale, just outside of Manchester, which was owned and run by Marc Riley, best known at the time as a past member of The Fall.  The band and would go on to release five singles and one studio album and in 1984 and 1985.

mp3: Another Side To Mrs Quill – Yeah Yeah Noh

Track 2, Disc 2 of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition.

Their fourth single for In-Tape in 1985.  It reached #10 in the Indie singles chart.  The band, after reforming, would re-record the song in 2014.  I’ve had a listen to the update version over at their bandcamp page, and whisper it…..I prefer the 2014 recording, especially as some of the vocal delivery reminds me of Cathal Coughlan.

A few things to mention.  Yeah Yeah Noh were first mentioned on the blog last year, thanks to their inclusion on a guest compilation mix from Leon McDuff.  The band remain very much on the go, gigging and in the process of recording and releasing a new album. They are part of the line-up at the 2026 Leicester Indiepop Festival taking place on 28 February/1 March.

Oh, and Sale, the base for In-Tape Records, is also home to our great friend Adam, whose Bagging Area blog is an essential read on a daily basis.

 

The Wolfhounds are from Romford, on the outskirts of London, and were originally around between 1985 and 1990, before reforming in 2005.  The band was signed firstly to the London-based The Pink Label for whom there would be three singles and one album in 1986/87 before moving to Midnight Music, based in Watford, on the outskirts of London, with two singles and three albums across 1989-90.

They are one of a number of bands who will make more than one appearance in the series, and today’s offering is an absolute belter of a song.  It was their second single for The Pink Label, released in September 1986 and which would reach #6 in the Indie Charts.

mp3: The Anti-Midas Touch – The Wolfhounds

The Wolfhounds have released three studio albums since reforming, the most recent being in 2020.

JC

SARAH 7

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This one is sourced from Scared To Get Happy : A Story Of Indie-Pop 1986-1989, a 5 x CD set issued by Cherry Red Records back in 2013.

mp3:  Another Sunny Day – I’m In Love With A Girl Who Doesn’t Know I Exist

Another Sunny Day featured previously on TVV in April 2015 as part of a series that was anticipating the 30th anniversary of C86.  Here’s what I said, along with a reminder of the tunes from that posting.

“Today’s lot are all the evidence you need to see that the C86 movement was like punk in that it inspired another generation of musicians, many of who came to be seen as representative of the movement even though they had little to do with its origins.

Another Sunny Day didn’t release any music until April 1988.  It’s a cracking name for a band especially when it covers the fact there was just one member, a talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist called Harvey Williams.

He left college to sign with a then little-known but ambitious label called Sarah Records.  His first release was a flexi single that came free with a fanzine from the record label.  In due course he would record a handful of further singles and a sole compilation LP for the label all of which today, like anything that was pressed up by Sarah, command high prices on the second-hand market – especially that very rare flexi/fanzine debut that has fetched as much as £180 on Discogs in recent times.  Just as well then that said song was on CD 86:-

mp3 : Another Sunny Day – Anorak City

It’s a tremendous bit of music albeit, at a juncture of nearly 30 years, it feels atypical of its time and place.  I’ve no doubt that those who were right at the heart of C86 and all that subsequently followed regard Anorak City as one of the most important and influential bits of music ever released. But then again, these are the folk who believe, wrongly, that C86 was the birth of indie pop.

Harvey Williams would later join The Field Mice, Blueboy and Trembling Blue Stars all of which were hugely popular bands on Sarah Records. I suppose that makes him the C86 equivalent of Malcolm Ross who was a member of three bands on Postcard Records…..

Being a flexi single there is no b-side to bring you, but here’s a track that wiki describes as Smiths-esque:-

mp3 : Another Sunny Day – You Should All Be Murdered

Smiths-esque is a bit of an understatement…..and listening to what is a truly outstanding record make me wonder why Moz didn’t pick up the phone to Harvey and ask to work with him after Johnny had upped stick and left his band…..”

The Scared To Get Happy booklet, which I wasn’t aware of back in 2015, more or less confirms all of my thoughts, views and opinions on the band/Harvey Williams.  It also states that the track on offer on the compilation was the first single proper, one which crystallised the appeal of both its creator Harvey Williams and Sarah Records.  I’ve tracked down its other two songs:-

mp3:  Another Sunny Day – Things Will Be Nice
mp3:  Another Sunny Day – The Centre Of My Little World

The single is one of those much sought after 45s on Sarah.  There is, at the time of typing this up, just one copy on offer at Discogs and the asking price is £93 plus postage.

JC

NEXT YEAR’S NOSTALGIA FEST (Part 13 of 48)

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Today’s lot are all the evidence you need to see that the C86 movement was like punk in that it inspired another generation of musicians, many of who came to be seen as representative of the movement even though they had little to do with its origins.

Another Sunny Day didn’t release any music until April 1988.  It’s a cracking name for a band especially when it covers the fact there was just one member, a talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist called Harvey Williams.

He left college to sign with a then little-known but ambitious label called Sarah Records.  His first release was a flexi single that came free with a fanzine from the record label.  In due course he would record a handful of further single and a sole compilation LP for the label all of which today, like anything that was pressed up by Sarah, command high prices on the second-hand market – especially that very rare flexi/fanzine debut that has fetched as much as £180 on Discogs in recent times.  Just as well then that said song was on CD 86:-

mp3 : Another Sunny Day – Anorak City

It’s a tremendous bit of music albeit, at a juncture of nearly 30 years, it feels atypical of its time and place.  I’ve no doubt that those who were right at the heart of C86 and all that subsequently followed regard Anorak City as one of the most important and influential bits of music ever released. But then again, these are the folk who believe, wrongly, that C86 was the birth of indie pop.

Harvey Williams would later join The Field Mice, Blueboy and Trembling Blue Stars all of which were hugely popular bands on Sarah Records. I suppose that makes him the C86 equivalent of Malcolm Ross who was a member of three bands on Postcard Records…..

Being a flexi single there is no b-side to bring you, but here’s a track that wiki describes as Smiths-esque:-

mp3 : Another Sunny Day – You Should All Be Murdered

Smiths-esque is a bit of an understatement…..and listening to what is a truly outstanding record make me wonder why Moz didn’t pick up the phone to Harvey and ask to work with him after Johnny had upped stick and left his band…..

Enjoy