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

Bridewell Taxis

Ah Manchester, you gave us baggy trousers, ecstacy and the Hacienda. Manchester, home of grown men with pudding bowl haircuts and 35 inch flares. Manchester: Moss Side murders, Hulme squatter and Tony Wilson.

They might have had all that, but we were from Yorkshire and any sane person knew in their heart of hearts that we were better. Let's be really honest here The Wedding Present were (and indeed still are) far better than The Smiths. Noone does angst-ridden misery quite like a man from Leeds. Morrissey? trying too hard, a bit wet. No one can strangle his vocals quite like David Gedge.

And as for the Happy Mondays? Where did they play their mega-gig to end all mega-gigs? Elland Road. Leeds. Home of the Bridewell Taxis.

In the first coming of the city on the right side of the Pennines, the Bridewell Taxis were the cool band, the local lads made good, the scruffy oiks who took music by the scruff of the neck and showed those blood Lancastrians how to do it.

Ready Steady Go says it far more eloquently than I can right here:

"Local legends the Bridewell Taxis were carrying the torch for the city at the time of the Madchester scene. Their impact and success was more remarkable than that of our current crop of leading lights because back then, in 1989, the media was no way near as powerful as it is today.

Lesser bands today are rewarded with far more media exposure than most successful bands did back in the early 90s.

Even in retrospect their legacy should be applauded. Even if they didn't conquer the world they did become the most successful band Leeds has ever produced prior to recent success of the Kaiser Chiefs. Back in the day, this band was the cool band to name drop."

A lovely bit of nostalgia here, the band's second EP and a bit of vinyl that could set you back all of £2 on eBay now, a bit of vinyl that probably cost me £3 from Big Tree Records in Huddersfield - money I should have been spending on cheap bitter. That's 3 quid I'll never see again. Unless they come again and make me a millionaire...

The Bridewell Taxis - Give in

I don't know why I'm flying the flag for Leeds, I'm from Huddersfield. We had some of the best new-wave of new-wave punk in the country; our 'Madchester' bands - and if I can find my white label HX2 12 inch then you'll hear what we had to offer (here it is!), and the Popcorn Groove, they were a band that should have made it - were just swamped.

Leeds? So much to answer for...

Sultans of Ping

Formed in Ireland in 1988, the Sultans of Ping leapt to public consciousness with their catchy singalong pop masterpiece "Where's me Jumper?" - a searing tale of sartorial loss at a disco. Something we can all relate to.

Signing to Epic Records the band almost went from strength to strength and could have been contenders. They recorded with Japanese funsters Shonen Knife, did sessions for John Peel and toured extensively. Although for some reason I'll always associate them with Frank Sidebottom.

As with so many of our early 90s favourites they mae a brief comeback in 2005 and played a number of gigs with Jim Bob from Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine.

To avoid being overly cliched, this is the Sultans' second single, "Stupid Kid". Still as catchy and energetic, still as funny as Where's me jumper. An indie pop classic.

Sultans of Ping FC - Stupid Kid

Power of Dreams

Once upon a time there was an Irish band called Power of Dreams; in 1989 they released a debut EP that had all the majors fighting for their signatures. Caught up in the early 90s indie tidal wave they were feted as the next big things.

They signed a megabucks deal and toured worldwide to rave reviews. Their classic indie-stylings earning rave reviews. They were, along with many other indie bands, "big in Japan".

Alas their fame would not last and in 1994 the band split. Members went their separate ways - some to release solo material, one to play with the Sultans of Ping - of whom more later.

They're making a comeback now. I'mnot sure I hold with all these old bands coming back for one last money-making scam, but there we go. The power of the 35-year-old man's disposable income is what it is.

So here we are; Power of Dreams - 100 Ways to Kill a Love.

Not much of an entry, but it'll do for now.

Ride

Ahhh, Ride. The very peak of early 90s shoegazing. Discovered by Creation Records svengali Alan McGee supporting the Soup Dragons (I'll have to do them as well, I think I've still got a rare early tape somewhere) and famed for their soaring feedback and rhythm guitar.

Despite never really gaining the fame and fortune that they deserved, Ride put out three EPs: "Ride", "Play" and "Fall" in 1990 that set the marker for the swooping indie pop guitar that bands would follow - with varying successes - for the next few years. While Madchester was all electric dance and ecstacy; shoegazing kept the indie kids dancing aimlessy in circles while wearing hoopy jumpers and felling slightly more happy with life than the poor saps who were still in love with Morrissey.

They were great. My mate Si espoused their wonders after a gig at the Duchess of York in Leeds; they made us all want to buy wah-wah pedals and learn to break amps; I went out with a girl who loved them; ahhh, the 90s.

In 1995 Ride departed; Mark Gardener went off to join Oasis and we all got our haircut, Radio 1 destroyed our ears with Celine Dion and Oasis and Blur fought out a number one with two frankly dull records.

So, Taste. Not the earliest of vinyl, probably not their best record either, but one I bought on one-sided 7 inch "radio play" vinyl at a record fair. Hell, I probably thought they'd go on forever and this bit of plastic would make me rich. Like so many others, it never did and never will; unless in the post-oil apocalyptic world people are fighting for old plastic.

Here it is Taste, by Ride, from the Fall EP

Kingmaker

For a band that were hotly tipped and loved in the early 90s and almost broke into America at the height of indie pop, Kingmaker soon fell from the heights of fame. Now sadly largely forgotten, the band rode the crest of the wave from 1991 to 1995 and could have been big. Now, if they're here it's because the ony way you'll hear them is if you spend £3 on ebay and hope for the best.

The best biography you'll stumble across in the internet and the only real site written by a real fan is:

"Formed in 1990 in Hull, North Humberside, England. Disbanded in 1995.

Teenage schoolmates in Hull, England, Loz Hardy (guitar/vocal) and Myles Howell (bass) placed a want-ad for a drummer and met John Andrew. The rocking Brit-poppers began playing and touring together, gradually picking up a following around Great Britain. After signing a record deal, the band released Eat Yourself Whole, later landing an American deal with Chrysalis. Sleepwalking, their sophomore album, was released in 1993. The group called it quits after the 1995 release of Best Possible Taste, their commercially disappointing third album."

Wikipedia says that in 1991 "With a fan following building up, and lyrical austerity in their melodic music, they were tipped by some as the "next big thing"; but by 1995 "...despite their promising debut, the band rapidly fell out of favour. Paul Heaton of local stars The Beautiful South heavily criticised them as being middle class pretenders, and the rot set in thereafter."

We do know that Loz Hardy had a nervous breakdown before recovering and writing songs with and for Elastica (who are playing on the radio as I type this, so it appears that they're remembered at least) after the band were royally screwed over by their record company.

Anyway. To remember Kingmaker in all their scratchy vinyl glory, here's Eat Yourself Whole, from the Killjoy Was Here EP from 1991. A true classic which, until I started rummaging around in the cupboard, I'd forgotten how good it was. Ahh, the happy memories of jumping around in the Cellar Bar at Manchester University... whole, whole, Eat yourself whole...

Kingmaker - Eat Yourself Whole.

[Update, 21st June 2007] I had to drive 250-odd miles today for work, so to alleviate the boredom I had my mp3 player with me and was listening to the miscellaneous bits and bobs I've collected. One of them was the aforementioned Eat Yourself Whole and I'll be honest, I listened to it five times in a row it's that good.

I'd almost go so far as to say it's my new favourite indie pop song.

Senseless Things

A genuine rarity this one, no fannying around. Selling for almost £15 on some sites I give you one of 1000 original copies of "The Shape of Things to Hum", a 7inch EP that came with Issue 8 of "Cloth Ears" a fanzine that I must have bought at a gig in either Top Spot or The Wharf in Huddersfield in about 1990.

The EP features outings from such luminaries as Exit Condition, Playground and Perfect Daze, but it's the Senseless Things that are getting an outing here, what with them being a proper indie band and that, as well as being chums with cartoonist Jamie Hewlitt - he of 2000AD, Tank Girl and latterly Gorillaz fame.

Wikipedia has this to say about the band: "Before they split up, the Senseless Things consisted of the following: Mark Keds - vocals/guitar Ben Harding - guitar/vocals Morgan Nicholls - bass Cass Browne - Drums

The Senseless Things formed around the musical partnership of songwriter Mark Keds (vocals, guitar) and Morgan Nicholls (bass, originally guitar), who as 11-year-old schoolboys in Twickenham, London, England, put together Wild Division in the early 80s. With the addition of drummer Cass 'Cade' Browne they became the Psychotics, playing various venues in their local area despite still being at school. Their first gig together as the Senseless Things followed at the subsequently demolished Clarendon in Hammersmith, London, in October 1986. Auxiliary members at this stage included a keyboard player Ben, then a guitarist, Gerry, who deputized for Nicholls while the latter was studying for his 'O' Levels.

In 1995, the band released a final album Taking Care Of Business, and a controversial single "Christian Killer" (renamed "Christine Keeler" for the album). They split up after one last UK tour.

Before they split up, the Senseless Things consisted of the following: Mark Keds - vocals/guitar Ben Harding - guitar/vocals Morgan Nicholls - bass Cass Browne - Drums

Keds went onto form Jolt then Trip Fontaine and now The Lams. He very briefly played with The Wildhearts. Ben went onto join 3 Colours Red and is now a press officer for Help the Aged. Morgan joined Vent with Miles Hunt from The Wonder Stuff then went on to play with The Streets. He is now part of Muse's live set-up. Cass went on to sing for Delakota and then Gorillaz. He also briefly played with Urge Overkill."

The EP was released on 4th Dimension Records (FD22 for completists), a proper independent label based in Kent. In the olden days there were loads of these real 'indie' labels that had grown from the late 70s/early 80s punk scene and were knocking out this sort of stuff. Before the internet and myspace, this was one way to learn about new bands and had something to show for it at the end of the day (or indeed century as this offering shows).

The whole things has survived remarkably well and recorded with only a minor jump and scratch on the first try; the insert for the "Things" reads: "Their intended track for this EP was "I'm on black and White", a real stormer of a song with a truly amazing chorus...However their manager ran off with the master reel on the day it was due to be cut and so poor mark in panic took along a newly-recorded, unmixed version of "Teenage" as a desperate attempt to save the whole thing from total chaos..."; which explains why the record and sleeve say one thing and the actual music says another.

And the fanzine? Well, it's what you'd expect (if you were a chap of a certain age with an unhealthy early addiction to punk, indie and and gigs dirty pubs); although it's got a picture of a rabbit on the cover.

So here you go, "Teenage" by The Senseless Things.

New Fast Automatic Daffodils

Ahh Manchester, you gave us so much and demanded far more than it was worth in return. New FADS (I'm so cool I can call them that, that's what the hip kids did) released their first EP "Lions" in 1989; riding the Madchester wave into the NME and our hearts.

Lions, Big and Stockholm are great bits of music. Lions and Stockholm are the rocky-dancey-indie stuff we know and love, Big is a quite fantastic bit of early 90s almost dance music that's up there with Primal Scream's Loaded for invention and genuine novelty in the true sense of the word. They just don't write them like that any more, and more's the pity.

I remember getting this bit of vinyl. I was after a gig in the Students' Union at Manchester University in, I presume, 1993. They played in what used to be called the Great Hall and is now called the Academy 6 or something. You remember, upstairs by the big bar, the one that sold snakebite for somewhere between £1 and £1.15 a pint depending on whether the barman was a maths student or was "doing art" and couldn't add up properly.

I can't remember if I bought it or they were giving it away,but it's got two lovely live recordings on it and has a big hole in the middle - like the one old jukebox vinyl used to have - and it got me rummaging in the cupboard again for the plastic inster thingy that you need to play it on a record player.

CDs just don't have that excitement. Apart from the short-lived flirtation with 3.5" mini-CDs when the techonology was all new and exciting, they just don't have the interest value of trying to find a bit of plastic you know you've got somewhere just so you can listen to another bit of plastic you'd forgotten you owned. Can you imagine your Take That boxset being quite as thrilling in 15 years time?

So; here is Lions (Live) for your delight and delectation. According to the back of the sleeve it was recorded live at the Melkweg, Amsterdam, 29th November 1992 [FAD01; Play it Again Sam (1993) for john Peel-esque obsessives] and the other side is "Bruises".

Amazingly this bit of vinyl commands prices of almost 8 US dollars on the internet. Think of it, if only I dared part with it I could be rich! Please don't tell me what the exchange rate really is. Nice people to do business with.