Teenage Fanclub

At last! A bit of plastic that's worth more now than when I bought it. Teenage Fanclub's cover version of The Ballad of John and Yoko, released for one day only in 1990 on one-sided 7 inch single; by crikey if it's not worth about 20 of your British Pounds Sterling today.

Of course records are deleted all the time and it was always a good way of picking up a few extra sales back in the good old days, but there's only 5000 copies of this particular single in existence. See, 5000 copies.

Teenage Fanclub are still going of course, but in the early 90s the "fannies" were the epitome of indie-pop. I've seen them live a couple of times back in the dark ages and Bandwagonesque is still one of my favourite albums from those halcyon days. It's dated now of course, but it only takes the first couple of seconds of Star Sign to get me up and dancing around my living room.

Here you go, a nice scratchy (and one of only 5000 copies in existence) vinyl mp3 of Teenage Fanclub - Ballad of John and Yoko.

Lush

Now I remember Lush being around much earlier, and a quick wander round Wikipedia suggests that this single - Ladykillers - is actually the band's penultimate release; funny how your memory plays tricks.

So, the official story is: British shoegazing band, formed 1998, featuring Steve Rippon, Emma Anderson, Chris Acland and Miki Berenyi.

It's probably Miki that chaps of a certain age will remember most fondly. Apart from the jolly old indie pop that Lush could bang out on occasion, Miki was the way to a young man's heart in the early 90s. Part-Japanese, Part-Hungarian, all lovely.

We should also remember that sadly, Chris Acland the band's drummer committed suicide in late 1996 at the age of just 30.

This is the Ladykillers, jolly sing-along britpop jangleyness in its pomp. Recorded from the 1996 green vinyl 7" single. Enjoy.

Lush - Ladykillers

Jesus Jones

There was quite a fashion in the early 1990s for 'indie dance' music; along with Jesus Jones, bands like EMF, The Shamen and Pop Will Eat Itself were plying their trade around the indie discos and concert circuit and were making quite a name for themselves.

Jesus Jones were the next big thing. Again big in Japan, they also had not inconsiderable success in the USA; something few English bands manage at the best of times, and something usually reserved for middle-of-the-road cobblers.

Info Freako was the band's first EP and it's still as good today as it was then. A grinding, shouting, emotive primal scream of a record. The 12" was originally something of a rarity and at the height of their fame a copy would set you back £15 if you could find one. I know this because my mate Will bought one (from Vinyl Exchange in Manchester I think) as he was convinced Jesus Jones were going to be the next U2.

They weren't of course and you can now pick up a copy for £3 off ebay. And you should. It's fantastic. I've listened to this track 10 times in a row today and it still sounds as good.

Jesus Jones - Info Freako