Indie Love Songs

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Songs to make you cry

Here are the Top of the Blubs

  1. Brian Kennedy – Captured
  2. Jade – Fly on Strangewings
  3. Van Morrison – Coney Island
  4. Joni Mitchell – A Case of You
  5. Clifford T Ward – Home Thoughts from Abroad
  6. Tracy Chapman – Fast Car
  7. Tom Baxter – Almost There
  8. Wendy & Lisa – The Life
  9. Tracey Thorn – By Piccadilly Station I sat down and Wept
  10. Indigo Girls – History of Us
  11. Simply Red – Maybe Someday
  12. Mount Desolation – Coming Home
  13. Amy Macdonald – What Happiness Means to Me
  14. Olafur Arnalds – 3055
  15. A Certain Ratio – The Big E (I won’t stop loving you)
  16. Bob Dylan – Workingman Blues #2
  17. Cat Stevens – Lilywhite
  18. Cathy Burton – Hollow
  19. Clare Maguire – Hope there’s someone
  20. Damien Rice – Cold Water
  21. Five for Fighting – 100 Years
  22. Fleetwood Mac – Landslide
  23. Gerry & the Pacemakers – You’ll never walk alone
  24. Horse – Careful
  25. Leon Russell – A Song for You
  26. Level 42 – It’s Over (remix)
  27. Mike Scott – What do you want me to do
  28. Renaissance – Northern Lights
  29. Shelagh McDonald – Stargazer
  30. Something Corporate – Konstantine
  31. The Fat Lady Sings – Arclight
  32. The Hollies – He ain’t heavy
  33. The Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost in You
  34. Guillemots – We’re Here
  35. Willie Nelson – you were always on my mind

Nick Clegg recently admitted that he sometimes cried when listening to certain pieces of music. In the same interview he also said that he didn’t want to become a ‘human punchbag’ for the Coalition Government. It is not recorded whether the two things are connected. As someone who is urging us to put on a brave face as his Government do a ‘repair job’ on the economy, I would ask which of his two faces should we emulate? Anyway, as CS Lewis put it, we are sometimes ‘surprised by joy’ in our everyday lives and this can include music, inducing tears and other forms of emotion. An experience triggered by strong memories, the loss of a loved one, the start or end of a relationship or by just experiencing the wonders of nature on a beautiful Spring day whilst listening on an iPod. For the first time, Nick set me to thinking. Which songs have moved me to tears of exhilaration as well of sadness? Tear smudged and peppered with sparkles of happiness they follow below:

  1.  Brian Kennedy – the most beautiful male voice in the world kills you in the last refrain
  2. Jade – for a moment in the Sixties everything was possible..
  3. Van Morrison – ‘Why can’t it be like this all the time?’
  4. Joni Mitchell – Joni the woman sings Joni the girl. The insight of age tugs at you.
  5. Clifford T Ward – a small death abroad, Keats, Browning and other romantic poets..
  6. Tracy Chapman – We’ve all driven a fast car and left people behind.
  7. Tom Baxter – A relationship that didn’t quite make it. Exquisite.
  8. Wendy & Lisa – Not just any life, the Life.
  9. Tracey Thorn – The saddest voice in the world singing about crying. Perfect.
  10. Indigo Girls – Don’t listen to this alone. The references to Paris will pierce your soul.
  11. Simply Red – Mick Hucknall knew how to manipulate your heartstrings. On this he means it.
  12. Mount Desolation – Keane with emotion. Come home.
  13. Amy Macdonald – Happy and sad all at the same time.
  14. Olafur Arnalds – The sole instrumental. You’ll understand why it’s here.
  15. A Certain Ratio – Manchester in the rain. You won’t stop loving this.
  16. Bob Dylan – A hymn – or an elegy to the working man?
  17. Cat Stevens – Once we were all lilywhite..
  18. Cathy Burton – One of the saddest post-breakup songs ever – and she’s from Littlehampton, the other LA.
  19. Clare Maguire – sings Anthony Johnson in a style so intimate and sad you can hear her crying inside.
  20. Damien Rice – As cold as it gets. The strings alone will destroy you, even before the ‘If I lost you’ refrain and the eery reverse vocals.
  21. Five for Fighting – a commentary on getting old. ‘Fifty, there’s still time for you.’ Phew.
  22. Fleetwood Mac – On the impossibility of rebuilding lives and relationships. Stevie Nicks should know.
  23. Gerry & the Pacemakers – It’s a football thing…
  24. Horse – Unimaginably beautiful Scottish voice. She’s a secret few people know about. Never has being captured sounded more liberating.
  25. Leon Russell – four decades on, this gets me every time..
  26. Level 42 – Beautiful and unbearably melancholic lament to the end of a relationship.
  27. Mike Scott – Whispers ‘I’m listening’. Who to? God, of course.
  28. Renaissance – ‘The Northern Lights are in my heart and my mind, they guide me back to you..’ Beautiful song, beautifully sung by Annie Haslam.
  29. Shelagh McDonald – a choir of what sound like monks join in and create havoc with the emotions
  30. Something Corporate – 9 minutes of angst. By now you’ll be able to handle it..
  31. The Fat Lady Sings – ‘When you shine, you burn me down..’ The Irish always do this sort of thing best..
  32. The Hollies – Yes, it was used for a beer ad. No, Neil Diamond hasn’t written anything better.
  33. The Psychedelic Furs – There’s a ghost in all of us.
  34. Guillemots – Making the most of every day. We’re here. It’s as simple and as profound as that.
  35. Willie Nelson – Even when he’s happy, Willie still sounds sad. This song will finish you off.

Sad, yes, but all these songs are emotional in a good way. Keep your ‘kerchiefs handy, crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy the emotional slalem.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ayf3spnvm6nix51

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January Laments – New Indie Love Songs

Clare Maguire – the perfect voice of sorrow

 

  1. Twin Shadow – Slow
  2. The Decemberists – January Hymn
  3. Ellie Goulding – Your Song
  4. Clare Maguire – Hope there’s someone there (Antony & the Johnsons cover)
  5. There will be Fireworks – Says Aye
  6. Biffy Clyro – Many of Horror (When we Collide)
  7. Funeral Party – Youth & Poverty
  8. Perfume Genius – Mr. Peterson
  9. The Veils – Grey Lynn Park
  10. Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers
  11. Jessie J – Do it like a Dude (Acoustic)
  12. Tennis – Waterbirds
  13. Peter Bjorn & John – May seem Macabre
  14. Elbow – Lippy Kids
  15. John Grant – Where Dreams go to Die
  16. Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill
  17. James Blake – Limit to your Love
  18. Chase & Status feat Plan B – End Credits

It’s January 2011 and the Atlantic rain is driving in on the unlimited causeway of my mind as I sit in one of the quieter moments of another new start, new year. As always at these times, I have the music. Unceasing, unquenched, always new, it moves in from the sea, like the damp mists of Telscombe Cliffs to where I have returned, in the lee of the great South Downs. I have donned the sharp clothes of an ad man again, writing bespoke words and opening doorways to bright new futures for people who are passing through the same door in the opposite direction.

The music is pregnant with bright shiney new musicians singing about life and loss like babies with age lines. Incongruous but oddly moving. One such, George Lewis Jnr calls himself Twin Shadow, and hails from the Dominican Republic by way of Florida and recruits his muse from British electronic music of the 80s, reminding me of a defunct band called White Door. The languid, dangerous menace of ‘Slow’ suits my mood.

The Decemberists are a five-piece indie/folk rock band that formed in 2000 in Portland, Oregon, United States. The band currently consists of Colin Meloy (vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, pedal steel), Jenny Conlee (organ, piano, accordion), Nate Query (electric/acoustic bass, cello) and John Moen (drums). This track is from ‘The King is Dead’ and is about the month in which I am writing. They sound English, more homegrown than me even. For this I am impressed and slightly intimidated, like someone who catches himself in a mirror by accident.

Ellie Goulding re-released her huge album of last year ‘Lights’ with five additional tracks including this one. Your Song by Elton John was a bedroom cornerpiece of my youth and her version is melancholic – in a prim kind of way, but wonderful, and like someone has left her world. I find it oddly reassuring.

Clare Maguire is a singer songwriter signed to Polydor Records. Maguire comes from a large musical Irish family and started singing and writing music from the age of 7. She was announced on the 3 January 2011 as 5th place in the BBC Sound of 2011 list of the top 15 most promising new artists. Clare was also singled out as one of MTV’s Brand New: For 2011 Acts. This version of the Antony & the Johnsons song is haunting with her voice a-quiver over the imminent prospect of illness and death. Beautifully, spectrally gloomy.

There will be Fireworks are Scottish and are proud of it. This song is complex, fragile, moving, singing about the fragility of love, life and the start of whatever the adventure may be. They were probably disgusted about Biffy Clyro’s song being hijacked by a Saturday night reality show. Just say yes, or Aye in the vernacular. Speaking of Biffy Clyro, let’s remind ourselves of how good Many of Horror was before a decorator from Essex got hold of it.

Funeral Party hail from East Los Angeles but sound like they hang out in Clacton fun arcades. They wail about the frailty of youth and its poverty. But the noise they make is a mighty one and they will adorn a million bedroom walls before the year is out.

The plaintive piano of Perfume Genius aka  Mike Hadreas seduces you into this song about Mr Peterson. He made Mike a tape about Joy Division when he was 16 before jumping off a building. I can feel the walls of my room wobble a little at this point. But let’s continue.

Mike Hadreas comes from Seattle, Washington. Perfume Genius began when he moved from New York to his mother’s home in Everett, WA. His story is subversively tragic enough, and beautiful in its own way.

Finn Andrews has the utlimate pre-narcoleptic voice. ‘You are born and then you die.’ The Veils (formed in 2002) are a NZ  band based in London, fronted by Finn Andrews. Their live shows have become famed for their emotional intensity and Finn’s often scarily possessed stage presence.

They released their debut album, The Runaway Found, in Spain late in 2003. The first single from the album, Lavinia, was released through Rough Trade on November 24, 2003. They released the album globally in January 2004 with a different track listing. It went gold worldwide the following year.

The original lineup of The Veils (which included Oli Drake, Ben Woollacott and Adam Kinsella) disbanded in late 2004, and Andrews returned to New Zealand in order to find a new lineup. He spent the New Zealand summer rehearsing with high school classmates Liam Gerrard (keyboards) and Sophia Burn (bass), and the trio returned to London early 2005. There they got connected to Dan Raishbrook (Guitar) and Henning Dietz (drums). However Liam Gerrard left the band half way into their American tour in 2007.

The group recorded their second album Nux Vomica at Underbelly Studios in Los Angeles, with producer Nick Launay, and the album was released September 18, 2006. This song is like a penumbral passer-by in the fog glancing up into your eyes for a second before disappearing into the mist. Away right in the ocean a foghorn blows a muffled cry, no-one hears.

Lykke Li released her debut album, Youth Novels, on LL Recordings in the Nordic region on 30 January 2008, prior to a wider European release in June of the same year. The album was produced by Bjorn Yittling (of Peter Bjorn & John) and Lasse Mårtén. Her voice is effortlessly melancholic, like a ghost caught between walls. There is distant puffs of smoke warning of activity in the Scandinavian department, and there is more from Peter Bjorn & John coming.

Jessie J (born Jessica Ellen Cornish in Essex – a beautiful and picturesque part of Olde England), is a singer-songwriter. First jutting above the parapet as a songwriter for artists including Christina Aguilera and Miley Cyrus, 2010 saw her doing it for herself. Jessie J released her debut single ‘Do It Like A Dude’ in January 2011. Her debut studio album tentatively titled ‘Who You Are’ is scheduled for release In February.

In Dec 2010, Jessie won the Brit Awards’ Critics Choice prize as the artist most likely to break into mainstream music within the next year. This track strips the pop waste from her current single and shows off her voice which is endlessly versatile and sounds like a tributary of the Delta Blues.

Tennis is Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, a husband-wife duo. The idea for the project began one day a couple of years ago when Alaina made fun of Patrick for playing Tennis in college, apparantly because it is a blueblooded plaything of a hobby. A year later the two fled their hometown Denver to spend eight months sailing and exploring the North Atlantic coast. During their adventures they began writing music together documenting their experiences. They remind me of a lighter, more colourful Pacific version of Everything But the Girl, and all the better for it.

Peter Bjorn and John were formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1999. Made up of members Peter Morén on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Björn Yttling on vocals, bass, and keyboards; and John Eriksson on drums, percussion, and vocals. Their new album ‘Gimme Some’ is tougher, more attitudinal and nothing like their best known song, ‘Young Folks’ . They sing: ‘It may seem macabre, but it’s beautiful’ – their finger on the softly beating pulse of contemporary culture as usual.

Elbow is named after a line in the BBC TV mini-series ‘The Singing Detective’ which posits that the word “elbow” is the most sensuous word in the English language. Try it. ‘Elbow’ – you see, it is. This track is from the forthcoming album, ‘Let’s Build a Rocket Boys!’ The smokey, grimey back streets of Manchester collide with wistful nursery rhymes and matchstalk men. Perfect.

John Grant is the lost cousin on the Bella Union label which gave us Midlake and The Low Anthem. Grant’s album ‘Queen of Denmark’ was voted by Mojo magazine as their album of 2010. The duck has turned into a swan. This is my favourite track. The delightfully morose ‘Where Dreams go to die’ moves through your consciousness like a stately hearst. There’s a lot of death about. Fortunately, the funeral is beautiful with a gorgeous soundtrack.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Sleigh Bells is the musical collaboration of Derek E. Miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocalist, lyricist). The two met and formed in 2008, when Miller was waiting tables on Alexis and her mother at a neighborhood Brazilian restaurant. When Miller mentioned that he was looking for a female vocalist for a new musical project, Krauss’s mother immediately volunteered her daughter. Their album featured in everyone’s Top ten albums of 2010. The future’s happening. ‘Pick up the phone then’, they murmur. ‘Have a heart’, they suggest. Then break it.

James Blake is a young British electronic composer wunderkind who graduated from Goldsmiths College as recently as 2009. Pioneering the new slow Dubstep movement, he exhibits his haunting tenor voice on the cover of Feist’s (‘Indecision’) ‘There’s a limit to your love’.  ‘Like a waterfall, it’s slow’ he avers.  However, sometimes slow is good, slow is beautiful and slow can take as long as it wants.

Plan B has become a multi-platinum recording artist, yet back in 2008, when Chase and Status asked him to sing on this club anthem, everyone thought he was a grime-soaked street rapper. This changed all that.

So here it is, the sinuous movement of raindrops caterpillaring down the windowpane set to music. It’s January and I’d like you to share it with me.

The soundtrack starts here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/xr88vi8ebf731kr/January%202011.zip

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Indie Love Songs that defined an era 1984-5

  1. The Blue Nile – A Walk across the Rooftops
  2. Prefab Sprout – Green Isaac
  3. Julian Cope – An Elegant Chaos
  4. The Smiths – Reel around the Fountain
  5. Aztec Camera – We could send letters
  6. The Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost in You
  7. Fiat Lux – Secrets
  8. The Style Council – Spring, Summer, Autumn
  9. Nick Heyward – The day it rained forever
  10. Julian Cope – Head Hang Low
  11. Seona Dancing – More to Lose
  12. Marine Girls – On my Mind
  13. Tracey Thorn – Plain Sailing
  14. Everything but the Girl – Night & Day
  15. Everything but the Girl – Each and Every One
  16. Fantastic Something – If she doesn’t smile
  17. Sade – Your love is King

It was 1984. Two teachers at Worthing High School were in love. One of them was me. The other, Lindy, would a year later become my wife. I created a C90 compilation which consisted of seventeen songs, some of which would become famous. Others would disappear. It contained a young singer-songwriter who would later go on to become one of this Country’s biggest comic exports.

Ricky Gervais in 1983

That year a band formed two years earlier by a student at UCL, Ricky Gervais and his friend Bill Macrae – Seona Dancing – broke up dispirited after the disappointing performance of two single releases. On London Records, More to Lose and Bitter Heart charted at 117 and 70 respectively. I was never a great fan of Bitter Heart, but More to Lose was different. At 6:01 in length, it was a 12” single I couldn’t get out of my head. Critics claimed it sounded like Bowie – a claim that Gervais never disputed, but it had an elegance, a longing and a majestic intro and outro that marked it apart. It wasn’t comic and Gervais at that stage was a serious musician who had put several bands on at UCL as an Entertainments Officer for the Student Union watching from the sidelines and dreaming.

This was his big break – you can tell from the serious money spent on the promotional shots that were given out to Radio 1 and other stations at the time. There was no cynical sneer on the face. He was sincere – and so was I.

I created a cassette with all my favourite love songs from 1984/5 to give to Lindy – to make it clear that I was no ordinary music lover. The tracks listed above were exclusive and special – even though some of the bands went on to become household names. In 1984 The Smiths were just breaking through and Reel around the Fountain was just a track on their debut, ‘The Smiths’ in February that year. Hand in Glove had flagged up their potential to the nation but not many people were listening yet. I was. The track went on the tape.

In March 1984, Paddy McAloon and his band Prefab Sprout released ‘Swoon’. It was a revelation with this County Durham based band sounding like they had flown in from Marin County, California singing in beautiful harmonies about subjects no-one else would touch. Green Isaac captured my imagination as it played on rotation in my car and in my head. The world domination of Steve McQueen would come later.  At this stage, Prefab Sprout was an undiscovered treasure. I shared it on my tape.

Fiat Lux formed in 1982 with Steve Wright (vocals) and David P Crickmore (guitars, bass, keyboards). Ian Nelson (sax, keyboards), younger brother of Be-Bop Deluxe guitarist and lead vocalist Bill Nelson, joined shortly afterwards, creating the classic line-up of the band until the mid 1980s, when Crickmore departed.

Wright and Crickmore attended Bretton Hall College, Wakefield, where they studied drama, meeting after the first joined the latter’s New Wave band, Juveniles (whose two songs were released in a various artists compilation called Household Shocks). After graduating, Wright joined a theatre company called the Yorkshire Actors where he met musician Bill Nelson, the former guitarist of Be-Bop Deluxe. Wright gave Nelson a demo tape he and Crickmore had recorded. Impressed with their music, Nelson produced and arranged one of the demo’s tracks, “Feels Like Winter Again,” b/w “This Illness” and released it on his label Cocteau Records. In April 1982, Bill Nelson’s brother Ian Nelson was added to Fiat Lux’s lineup. They named themselves Fiat Lux, which is the Latin translation for the Biblical quotation “Let There Be Light.” “Feels Like Winter Again” was the first of Fiat Lux’s radio successes. This led to them signing a record deal with major label Polydor. At this point Hugh Jones was brought in as their record producer.

Fiat Lux - Secrets

In 1984, the haunting ballad ‘Secrets’ drew comparisons to Depeche Mode’s synth-pop; it became Fiat Lux’s most well-known song. Fiat Lux’s utilisation of cello in “Secrets” broadened synth-pop’s stylistic range. However, Fiat Lux’s debut album was never released. The group’s output was limited to several singles for Polydor and a series of TV appearances including Old Grey Whistle Test. There was also a long format video release “Commercial Breakdown”, which included live versions of the shelved Polydor album tracks.

Crickmore departed after the chart failure of their fifth Polydor single release and the band continued recording some songs with a colourful array of top session musicians, before disbanding in 1985.

Wright joined Camera Obscura, replacing Nigel James, and formed Hoi Poloi, another short-lived pop group. He then abandoned the pop world to become a TV director. Nelson continued to work with his brother Bill, joining the line-up of Be-Bop Deluxe, in the early 1990s. Sadly, Ian died in his sleep on 23 April 2006.

Roddy Frame’s Aztec Camera first UK 7″ single was released by Glasgow based Postcard Records in March 1981, and contained the songs “Just Like Gold” and “We Could Send Letters”. An acoustic version of the latter song appeared on the influential C81 compilation cassette, released by NME in early 1981. A second single, “Mattress Of Wire”, was also the last Postcard Records release before the group signed for Rough Trade. Aztec Camera’s debut album, High Land, Hard Rain, was released in April 1983. The album was successful, gathering significant critical acclaim for its well-crafted, multi-layered pop. We could send letters was a wonderful paean to long distance love – I thought that might be our destiny in 1984, but things took a different path.

Guitarist/vocalist Paul Weller broke up the Jam, the most popular British band of the early ’80s, at the height of their success in 1982 because he was dissatisfied with their musical direction. Weller wanted to incorporate more elements of soul, R&B, and jazz into his songwriting, which is something he felt his punk-oriented bandmates were incapable of performing. In order to pursue this musical direction, he teamed up in 1983 with keyboardist Mick Talbot, a former member of the mod revival band the Merton Parkas. Together, Weller and Talbot became the Style Council – other musicians were added according to what kind of music the duo were performing. With the Style Council, the underlying intellectual pretensions that ran throughout Weller’s music came to the forefront.

Although the music was rooted in American R&B, it was performed slickly — complete with layers of synthesizers and drum machines – and filtered through European styles and attitudes. Weller’s lyrics were typically earnest, yet his leftist political leanings became more pronounced. His scathing criticisms of racism, unemployment, Margaret Thatcher, and sexism sat uneasily beside his burgeoning obsession with high culture. As his pretensions increased, the number of hits the Style Council had decreased; by the end of the decade, the group was barely able to crack the British Top 40 and Weller had turned from a hero into a has-been.

Released in March of 1983, the Style Council’s first single “Speak Like a Child” became an immediate hit, reaching number four on the British charts. Three months later, “The Money-Go-Round” peaked at number 11 on the charts as the group was recording an EP, Paris, which appeared in August; the EP reached number three. “Solid Bond in Your Heart” became another hit in November, peaking at number 11.

The Style Council released their first full-length album, Cafe Bleu, in March of 1984; two months later, a resequenced version of the record, retitled ‘My Ever Changing Moods’, was released in America. Cafe Bleu was Weller’s most stylistically ambitious album to date, drawing from jazz, soul, rap, and pop. While it was musically all over the map, it was their most successful album, peaking at number five in the U.K. and number 56 in the U.S.

The Style Council - My Ever Changing Moods

“My Ever Changing Moods” became their first U.S. hit, peaking at number 29. In the summer of 1985, the Style Council had another U.K. Top Ten hit with “The Walls Come Tumbling Down.” The single was taken from Our Favourite Shop, which reached number one on the U.K. charts; the record was released as Internationalists in the U.S. The live album, Home and Abroad, was released in the spring of 1986; it peaked at number eight.

The Style Council had its last Top Ten single with “It Didn’t Matter” in January of 1987. The Cost of Loving, an album that featured a heavy emphasis on jazz-inspired soul, followed in February. Although it received unfavorable reviews, the record peaked at number two in the U.K. That spring, “Waiting” became the group’s first single not to crack the British Top 40, signalling that their popularity was rapidly declining. In July of 1988, the Style Council released their last album, Confessions of a Pop Group, which featured Weller’s most self-important and pompous music – the second side featured a ten-minute orchestral suite called “The Gardener of Eden.” The record charted fairly well, reaching number 15 in the U.K., but it received terrible reviews. In March of 1989, the Style Council released a compilation, The Singular Adventures of the Style Council, which reached number three on the charts.

Later that year, Weller delivered a new Style Council album, which reflected his infatuation with house and club music, to the band’s record label Polydor. Polydor rejected the album and dropped both the Style Council and Weller from the label.

Paul Weller and Mick Talbot officially broke up the Style Council in 1990. In 1991, Weller launched a solo career which would return him to popular and critical favor in the mid-’90s, while Talbot continued to play, both with Weller and as a solo musician.

This song, ‘Spring, Summer, Autumn’ remains an enduring soundtrack to the Summer of 1984, reminiscent of some of the classic French writing and a romantic salute to Paul Weller’s then wife Dee C Lee. It was simply too good not to commandeer as part of my own Summer of Love compilation.

Nick Heyward - North of a Miracle

Nick Heyward, formerly of Haircut 100 went solo in 1983 and released his first album, ‘North of a Miracle’ from which The Day it rained forever is taken. After the fairly slight pop of Haircut 100 this was a mature, well crafted album with mature orchestration and well structured songs. Reaching Number 10 in the UK album chart, Nick probably thought he was on his way to a substantial solo career along the lines of a latterday Scott Walker, but it was not to be. This song remains amongst the best of his work and although sad, it projects loneliness in a gloriously romantic, cinematic way.

Tracey Thorn began her musical career in the group Marine Girls (1980-3) playing guitar and sharing vocals. The band released two albums (Beach Party in 1981 and Lazy Ways in 1982) and several singles. The group disbanded when Thorn decided to concentrate on her studies at Hull, and on Everything but the Girl (1982-2003). Thorn met Ben Watt at the University of Hull where they were both students, and both signed as solo artists to Cherry Red Records.

Tracey Thorn c 1983

Their first album together was ‘Eden’, released in 1984. Everything but the Girl released a body of work that spanned two decades. Everything But The Girl have been on extended hiatus since 2002. Ben Watt has concentrated on his DJ work, and Thorn has been a full-time parent and, most recently, writing and recording her solo material.

Thorn’s first solo work was a mini-album entitled A Distant Shore (1982). A re-recorded version of the track “Plain Sailing” was released as a single, and was included on the Pillows & Prayers Cherry Red records compilation album.

Thorn has one of the most distinctive and plaintive voices in the British music scene and I make no apologies for including four of her pieces here. She practically defines the UK Indie love song oeuvre. Her voice sounds like the end of the world – or the beginning..

Fantastic Something started in 1980 when brothers Constantis and Alexandros Veis move to London to study the arts and joined Mike Alway’s Cherry Red stable. Inspired by the alluring sounds and aesthetics of Postcard Recordings, they sent Alway a demo and the legendary Fantastic Something and their “If She Doesn’t Smile” 7” is born (Cherry Red, 1983). Then they move to Blanco Y Negro, record a LP and they disappear into oblivion. Shame – but this song kept me warm through 1984 into 1985.

After The Teardrop Explodes disbanded in late 1982 following the completion of three albums, Julian Cope returned to live close to his hometown of Tamworth, settling in the nearby village of Drayton Bassett with his new American wife Dorian Beslity. In 1983 he recorded some introspective works for his first solo album, World Shut Your Mouth, released on Mercury Records in March 1984. This record was followed just six months later by Fried, which featured a sleeve with Cope clad only in a turtle shell. The failure of this record caused Polygram to drop Cope, but he signed a deal with Chris Blackwell’s Island Records. The two songs included here represented Cope at his romantic best – and he would never record anything as personal and engaging again.

The Psychedelic Furs’ 1984 release ‘Mirror Moves’ was produced by Keith Forsey, and featured the songs “The Ghost in You” and “Heaven”. Both charted in the UK, and “Heaven” became the band’s highest charting UK hit at the time, peaking at #29. Columbia Records opted for “Here Come Cowboys” for the corresponding US release but it failed to chart, but “The Ghost In You” was a hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

By the mid 1980s, the band had become a staple on both US college and modern rock radio stations. Simultaneously, they were experiencing consistent mainstream success, placing several singles in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, Still, according to biographer Dave Thompson they would “have more impact on future musicians than they ever did in the marketplace”.

The Ghost in You remains one of my all time favourite songs – with something magical in its wistful attempt to capture an elusive kernel of love from someone who has gone.

Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her middle name, Folasade, means honour confers your crown. Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English district nurse, met in London, married in 1955 and moved to Nigeria. Later, when the marriage ran into difficulties, Anne Hayes returned to England, taking four-year-old Sade and her older brother Banji to live with her parents. When Sade was 11, she moved to live at Clacton-on-Sea with her mother, and after completing school at 18 she moved to London and studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

While at college, she joined a soul band, Pride, in which she sang backing vocals. Her solo performances of the song Smooth Operator attracted the attention of record companies and in 1983, she signed a solo deal with Epic Records taking three members of the band, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale and Paul Denman, with her. Sade and her band produced the first of a string of hit albums, the debut album Diamond Life, in 1984, and have subsequently sold over 50 million albums. She is the most successful solo female artist in British history.

In 1984 and throughout 1985 we swooned to her honeyed voice. It defined an era then. It recalls it now.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/oc4vsb6euo3pgdt/Love%20Songs%201984.zip

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The Greatest Indie Love Songs of all Time (Vol 4)

Broken marriages and passing lovers

  1. Gene – Olympian
  2. Morning Runner – Hold your breath
  3. Modern English – I melt with you
  4. The Smiths – There is a light that never goes out
  5. The Cranberries – Dreams
  6. The Fat Lady Sings – Arclight
  7. James – She’s a Star
  8. Iron & Wine – Love and some verses
  9. Embrace – Gravity
  10. In Tua Nua – Don’t fear me now
  11. The Lemonheads – It’s about time
  12. The Julian Hatfield Three – For the Birds
  13. The Calling – Wherever you will go
  14. Broken Records – A Promise
  15. Pete Docherty featuring Wolfman – For Lovers
  16. Delays – You and me

Like  Vol 1 (British) and unlike Vol 3 (US/Canadian) this collection is mainly home grown. Gene burst onto the British Indie scene in 1993 led by the showmanesque Martin Rossiter who is related to the well known Britsh actor Leonard Rossiter. They formed in London after guitar player Steve Mason saw Watford-based Welshman Rossiter cross the floor of a club, Mason approached him and they began to talk. Their meeting ended with Rossiter handing out his business card (‘Martin Rossiter: Soothsayer to the Stars’) and Mason giving Rossiter a chance to sing with the band. Rossiter appeared on the Band’s earlier incarnation Spin’s last demos as “Martin T. Falls” (a nod to the Mancunian band The Fall) shortly before the decision was made to adopt the name Gene.

Gene comprised Matt James (drummer), Kevin Miles (bassist), Steve Mason (guitarist) and Martin Rossiter (vocalist, keyboards). After disbanding in 2004, the band members have all continued to work in music, in a variety of different ways. Roy Wilkinson went on to manage the band British Sea Power, while Snake Newton went on to mix an assortment of acts including Duran Duran, Sugababes, Pet Shop Boys and Snow Patrol.

With a passing similarity to the Smiths, the Band never really achieved high acclaim and their debut  ‘The Olympian’ charted at Number 8 in 1995 with the single of the same name going to Number 18. I loved their slightly jaundiced romanticism and occasional political incorrectness and when their second album – a collection of B sides and rareties – ‘To See the Lights’ came out in 1996, my affection increased. Why? Because they used Worthing Pier as a backdrop for the album photography, thus sealing for all time their association with British seaside seediness.

Formed in Colchester, Essex in 1979 by Robbie Grey (vocals), Gary McDowell (guitar, vocals), and Michael Conroy (bass, vocals), Modern English were originally known as The Lepers. The group expanded to “Modern English” when Richard Brown (drums) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) were subsequently added to the line-up of the band.

After a single on their own ‘Limp’ label in 1979, the band signed to 4AD the following year, with two further singles released, and a session for John Peel recorded before the band’s debut album, ‘Mesh & Lace’, in 1981, the band in the early days showing a strong Joy Division influence. A second Peel session was recorded in October 1981. The follow-up, After The Snow (April 1982), was more keyboard-oriented and was compared to Simple Minds and Duran Duran. It was also released in the United States by Sire Records the following year, where it reached number 70 on the Billboard chart, and sold over 500,000 copies. Grey said of the album, “We used to think ‘God, we’ll never make a pop record. We’re artists!’, but things don’t always turn out as you planned and when you actually create a pop record, it’s so much more of a thrill than anything else”. The second single from the album was also a hit in the US, the jangly ‘I Melt With You’ reaching number 78. When he reviewed the album, Johnny Waller of Sounds described the track as “A dreamy, creamy celebration of love and lust, which deserves to be showcased on as 12″ single all by itself, with no b-side”, while his colleague Tony Mitchell described it as “suburban amateurism at its most unrewarding.’

The band relocated to New York and worked on a third album, ‘Ricochet Days’, which again made the top 100 in the US, after which the band left 4AD and were solely signed to Sire outside the UK and Canada. The album ‘Stop Start’ (1986) was the last record Modern English record released by Sire, with the band splitting up after its release.

The link between The Smiths and The Cranberries is of course Stephen Street who produced both bands – although Morrissey and Marr self-produced ‘There is a light’ – the other connection is Geoff Travis who was Boss of Rough Trade, the Smiths earlier label and who also managed the Cranberries. Both songs relied upon later re-releases in order to become hits.

The Irish connection continues with The Fat Lady Sings, formed in Dublin in March 1986. Fronted by singer and songwriter Nick Kelly, the initial line-up also comprised Robert Hamilton (drums), Dave Sweeney (guitars) and Finbarr O’Riordan (bass). The band decided to relocate to London almost immediately after forming, and were based there throughout their subsequent eight year career.

Perhaps more unusual still was the fact that they never recorded a demo – five months after forming their first visit to a recording studio produced ‘Fear And Favour’. This single was paid for out of the band’s own pocket and released by Terri Hooley on his Good Vibrations label. ‘Fear And Favour’ brought the band immediate critical attention from the English music press. Over the next 18 months, self-managed and self-financed, the band began building a live following in both the UK and Ireland.

In March 1988 their second independent single, ‘Be Still’ was released on Harbour Sound Records, once again to critical acclaim. By this time, following various shifts in personnel, the band’s classic line-up was firmly established, with Nick and Robert now joined by Dermot Lynch (bass) and guitar player and multi-instrumentalist Tim Bradshaw.

In October 1989, The Fat Lady Sings released their third single ‘Arclight’ on their own Fourth Base Record label. The critical and public interest in this song, and for the band’s follow-up single ‘Dronning Maud Land’ (released January 1990), together with the enormous live following that they’d build up in both Ireland and the UK (they sold out both the National Stadium in Dublin and the Town & Country Club in London, an unprecedented feat for an unsigned band) attracted major label interest.

In 1990 the band signed to East West Records in London (Atlantic in America). Their first major label single ‘Man Scared’ was released in October 1990. In May 1991, the band’s first album, ‘Twist’ was released. This album spawned 3 more singles: a re-release of ‘Arclight’ (April 1991), ‘Twist’ (May 1991) and ‘Deborah (August 1991).

Arclight is one of my personal favourites – almost unbearably romantic and irreparably doomed – definitely one of the most moving songs of the past two decades and now you can get emotional with it too.

Iron & Wine is the performing name for US Singer Songwriter Samuel Beam who released his first Iron & Wine album, ‘The Creek Drank the Cradle’, on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio.

Also in 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service’s then-unreleased song ‘Such Great Heights’. Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. He then followed up on his debut album in 2003 with ‘The Sea & The Rhythm’, an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.

Beam’s second full-length album, ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ (2004) which features this love ballad ‘Love and some verses’, was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago by Brian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, he recorded the song ‘The Trapeze Swinger’ for the film ‘In Good Company’, and had his version of ‘Such Great Heights’ featured in an advertisement for M&Ms and in the film and soundtrack for Garden State.

For the moment, let’s reflect on this song – ‘Love and some verses’  and its strange vulnerability. I guess love is like that.

‘Gravity’ is the lead single from ‘Out of Nothing’, the fourth album by British band Embrace. Written by Chris Martin, the song was first performed live by Coldplay in 2002. Ultimately, Martin gave the song to Embrace. ‘Gravity’ peaked at No 7 on the UK Singles Chart in 2004. It was released on CD format and red 7″ vinyl. It later became the theme song to the TV show Mike Bassett: Manager, starring Ricky Tomlinson.

The B-side, ‘Wasted’, started off as ‘Logical Love Song’ and was originally conceived during the Drawn from Memory sessions.

The song had another lease of life when it was re-recorded by Coldplay in late 2005 and included as a B-side to their single ‘Talk’. Great song with an impeccable pedigree – the Embrace version is a more poetic performance and it deserves its place in any Indie love song collection. Because of the Yorkshire origins of the Band, the song takes on almost Byronesque proportions.

Another Dublin band In Tua Nua (A New Tribe in Gaelic) was formed by Leslie Dowdall, Jack Dublin, Vinny Kilduff, Ivan O’Shea, Martin Clancy, Paul Byrne and Steve Wickham in the early 1980s.

In 1984 the band were the first to sign to U2’s Mother label and released their first single ‘Coming Thru’. Shortly afterwards Island Records signed the band. A number of singles were released and a debut album recorded. The first Island single was the critically acclaimed ‘Take My Hand’, co-written by a young Sinéad O’Connor. This was followed by a second single, a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s hit ‘Somebody To Love’.

In 1985 Steve Wickham left to join forces with The Waterboys and Island dropped the band. The album recorded for Island remains unreleased.

The album from which this song is taken – ‘The Long Acre’ was released in 1988. It spawned two radio hits ‘All I Wanted’ and ‘Don’t Fear Me Now’. A third single from the album, ‘Wheel Of Evil’, was also released.

The band went to Los Angeles, California to record a third album for Virgin. After the recording was finished the band split, and Virgin did not immediately release the finished product.

Although officially disbanded in 1990, some original members reformed in 2004 to occasionally play live together again. In 2010 MP Records, Italy released Vaudeville and The Long Acre re-mastered with bonus tracks on CD.

Singer Leslie Dowdall still performs, solo or guesting with other Irish and international singers. She released two well-received solo albums in the 1990s; ‘No Guilt, No Guile’ and ‘Out There’.

Paul Byrne and Jack Dublin still play together as the rhythm section in Rocky de Valera and The Gravediggers. Paul manages Irish band Von Shakes while Jack is the main songwriter for Dublin band Audiokiss.

‘Don’t Fear me Now’  is distinguished by a strong rock/county vocal from Leslie Dowdall and the same romantic melodicism found on early Rod Stewart solo recordings – with a very personal lyric that concludes that ‘I’m too tired, but if you wish it I will kiss you once more’. Irresistible.

Evan Dando (The Lemonheads) and Juliana Hatfield went out together in the early nineties. These two songs show how well they went together. The song ‘My Drug Buddy’ was written about her. Does anything more need to be said?

Broken Records have a genealogical link with Modern English as both were and are signed to 4AD Records. Broken English was originally a three-piece comprising Jamie Sutherland, brother Rory Sutherland (violin, guitar and accordion), and Ian Turnbull (guitar, piano and accordion). After a few performances they added Arne Kolb (cello), Dave Smith (piano, trumpet), Andrew Keeney (drums), and David Fothergill (bass).

They released their debut album ‘Until the Earth Begins to Part’ on 1 June 2009. The album has been described by frontman Jamie Sutherland as “based around all the s**t things men do.”

‘A Promise’ is taken from this album and its piano based lyricism and use of strings is reminiscent of The Blue Nile in the 80s. A beautiful track and the most recent included here. An honour for them. A treat for you.

Pete Docherty and Wolfman released ‘For Lovers’ in April 2004.

James Jam in the NME sums this track up rather well:

“Man tugs at the heartstrings. Pete takes his hands from the rudder of the good ship Albion to release this lovelorn ballad. Still, it should be glaringly obvious – even to those without a passing interest in the Libs’ never-ending soap opera – that this is brilliant. Encased within the twinkling piano arrangements of old chum Wolfman, Pete proves himself capable of weaving both hope and honesty into the lining of  his exquisite melodies. That it’s actually a bittersweet dedication to Wolfman’s broken marriage and the romantics they’d watch from a Paddington station bar matters little – it’s Pete’s choked croak that musters the shivers. Soulful, sublime.”

Delays feature Greg Gilbert’s falsetto vocals – this song ‘You and me’ is a soaring anthem to two-ness. They hail from Southampton. The City never sounded so good.

‘You and me gonna be fine’. Exit hand in hand walking into the sunset. In love? This is your soundtrack.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?kzzmjtdmgjz

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The Greatest Indie Love Songs of all Time (Vol 1)

The Wannadies – You and Me Song – the ultimate soundtrack to falling in love?

  1. The Wannadies – You and Me Song
  2. Ash – Shining Light
  3. Athlete – 24 Hours
  4. Kitchens of Distinction – Now it’s time to say goodbye
  5. Blue in Heaven – Across my heart
  6. The Bible – Honey be Good
  7. Adorable – Submarine
  8. Shed Seven – Chasing Rainbows
  9. Geneva – Tranquillizer
  10. The Maccabees – First Love
  11. Bombay Bicycle Club – You already know
  12. I am Kloot – Ferris Wheels
  13. The Xcerts – Aberdeen 1987
  14. Ellie Goulding – The End (Demo)
  15. Cathy Burton – Hollow
  16. Amy MacDonald – What Happiness Means to me
  17. A Certain Ratio – The Big E

Welcome to the home of the Indie love song. This is Volume 1. Volumes 3 and 4 appear elsewhere on this Blog.

Despite its free range Indie sound, ‘You and Me Song’ is Swedish. Originally released as a single in 1994, it became the Wannadies biggest UK hit two years later when it reached number 18 in the singles chart in April 1996. It has been used in innumerable films including Baz Luhrmann’s ‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet’. Exhibiting the sheer exuberance of a teenage West Coast Summer and first love optimism it must be one of the most uplifting songs ever. Disagree? Then your Mojo is probably dead..

‘Shining Light’ by Ash was released as the first single from their album ‘Free All Angels’ on 29th January 2001 and has the distinction of being Ash’s biggest selling single to date, reaching No.8 in the UK charts. The song was written about Tim Wheeler’s ex-girlfriend Audrey. Thank you Audrey. Wheeler was driving home in his car when the line and tune “Yeah, you are a shining light” came into his head. He accelerated home (taking care, of course, to stay within the speed limits) and wrote it immediately on acoustic guitar.  A truly glorious song, it remains one of the jewels in the crown of the British Indie landscape and no car CD compilation is complete without it. And it’s a love song. What more do you want? Blood?

’24 Hours’ from Athlete’s number 1 album, ‘Tourist’ in 2005 which sold over 500,000 copies worldwide is less well known than the two lead singles ‘Wires’ and ‘Half Light’ which both went to Number 1 in the UK airplay chart. However, this later single from the album has interesting lyrics which suggest that the protagonist only has a few hours left before it all closes in. It may not be a love song at all but I prefer to think of it as cri de coeur about only having a day left with a lover before a bigger force majeure will separate them. But, hey, I’m a romantic..

Kitchens of Distinction entered our lives when Dan Goodwin (drums) met Julian Swales (gtr) at college in 1980, and Swales met Patrick Fitzgerald (vox/bass) at a party in 1985. The trio began rehearsing together that same year, taking their name from a company of the same name that specialised in home decor and kitchen and plumbing fixtures after Swales spotted one of their advertisements on the side of a bus while riding his bike. Yes, glamorous, I know. The Kitchens’ first single ‘The Last Gasp Death Shuffle’ (which featured Swales on lead vocals and bass, as well as guitar) was recorded in just one day on an 8 track in a Kennington basement and released in December 1987 on the band’s own Gold Rush Records. It was named a single of the week in the NME and led to the band signing with the UK indie label One Little Indian.

Based in Tooting, South London, the band released three albums before 1994’s ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ on One Little Indian Records / A&M produced by Gabriel Pascal. ‘Now it’s time to say goodbye’ was the lead single released in September 1994 and its dramatically tragic vocals and soaring guitars makes it a must for any self-respecting Indie fan with a beating lover’s heart.

Blue in Heaven was a 1982-1989 Irish quartet from Churchtown, Dublin led by singer Shane O’Neill. They reformed in 1990 as the Blue Angels. Signed to Island, in 1985 they released their first LP entitled All The Gods Men which was produced by Martin Hannett. The album articulated Hannett’s end of the world view with cranked up bass in the mix, complemented by O’Neill’s portentous vocals. It was sometimes compared to Joy Division. Who wasn’t? However the album somehow eluded commercial success.

Their follow-up, Explicit Material (1986), saw them team up with Island chief Chris Blackwell and Eric Thorngren which saw them evolve into a more upbeat rock sound with clear Iggy Pop influences, particularly in O’Neill’s vocals, but still retaining their new wave image and pop style lyrics. Their popularity grew thanks to touring with the The Chameleons, Echo & the Bunnyment and The Damned, alongside achieving a minor college radio hit with “I Just Wanna”.

The album appears on many best of lists. ‘Across my heart’ featured on the ‘All the Gods Men’ album and was released as a single in 1984 to negligible success. However, I played it to death back then and twenty-five years later I’m still playing it, converted lovingly from its original 12” single format to digital and sounding all the better for it. Swooping guitar and bombastic vocals – which is why of course Bono loved it too.

The Bible were an Cambridge based Indie band with lead singer Boo Hewerdine as their main songwriter. In 1985 Hewerdine, who worked in a record shop in Cambridge, formed The Bible, recruiting jazz drummer Tony Shepherd and Dave Larcombe (ex-member of the New Romantic group the Roaring Boys). They released an album of songs through the independent Norwich based record label, Backs Records, called ‘Walking The Ghost Back Home’.

The Bible became the music purist’s secret passion band. Two tracks from the first album, “Graceland” and “Mahalia”, were released as singles, but did not achieve very significant sales. The album, however, was loved by people like me, and one or two afficianados at Chrysalis.

Signing to Chrysalis, ‘Graceland’ and another track, ‘Honey Be Good’, were (re)released as singles, and reached the lower end of the chart. A new album, ‘Eureka’, followed, but failed commercially. In 1988, Hewerdine decided to leave the group and pursue solo projects. The remainder of the group renamed themselves Liberty Horses.

‘Honey be Good’ was their biggest selling single which is not saying much. However, its aching longing and passion for the song’s subject make it a candidate for the all-time Indie love song. I last saw Boo Hewerdine playing solo in a café in Rustington, West Sussex. The audience loved him. He seemed poor, but happy. That’s what love does to you.

Adorable and their album ‘Fake’ are the subject of another of my Blog posts so I won’t tell their story here. Although ‘Submarine’ on the surface does not offer much promise in the way of romantic indie potential – it delivers it message so profoundly that it becomes one of the all-time greats. Just listen. This compilation is designed to be played loud in the car. Wind the windows down for this one.

Shed Seven had 15 or so Indie single hits but never really had a record label who believed in them. Their biggest album was ‘Maximum High’ in 1996 on Polydor which gave the world their best song ‘Chasing Rainbows’ which charted at number 15 in 1996. This is the ultimate song of longing, dreams and unrequited love set to an irresistible chorus and guitars and orchestra arrangement which you really should sing along to if you have a shred of Tennyson or Browning in your body.

Geneva were formed in 1992 in Aberdeen by vocalist Andrew Montgomery and guitarist Steven Dora. They recruited second guitarist Stuart Evans, bass player Keith Graham and drummer Douglas Caskie. Originally the band were called Sunfish.

One of their demos found their way to Suede’s label Nude who signed the band in 1996. The band changed their name, originally to Garland, then later to Geneva, and released their debut single “No One Speaks” the same year.

The band garnered enough press to headline NME’s annual Bratbus tour of up and coming bands in early 1997. The band released second single “Into the Blue” to coincide with the tour.

Geneva released their debut album, Further, early in June 1997. The album mixed powerpop with darker brooding songs. It reached #20 in the UK, and included amongst others the NME-voted Single of the Year, ‘Tranquilizer’, plus ‘Best Regrets, No One Speaks and ‘Into the Blue’.

The second album, ‘Weather Underground’, was released in March 2000, after more than a year of wrangling with the band’s record label. It was preceded by the single ‘Dollars in the Heavens’ and followed by the single ‘If You Have To Go’. The band split later that year.

‘Tranquilizer’ has a particular poignancy for me because in 1997 I was waiting to hear whether I had won the radio licence bid for Brighton. Unable to sleep the night before the announcement, I played this track on repeat for most the night.  Sadly, Passion FM did not win the licence and this track with its haunting refrain, ‘We will be happy while we are still young’ continues to haunt me despite other radio stations and other nights taking their place in my memory.

‘Ferris Wheels’ can be found on I Am Kloot’s fourth studio album, ‘I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge’ which was available at gigs in November 2007 as a limited edition of 2000 copies, before going on general release on 14 April 2008.

In October 2009, they released a double album compilation of B-sides, rarities and unreleased songs collected under the title of B. Their next studio album, Sky at Night, was released on 5 July 2010 on Shepherd Moon records with long time Manchester comrades in arms Craig Potter and Guy Garvey from Elbow acting as co-producers. Their near decade long career has finally been recognised by being nominated for the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize. ‘Ferris Wheels’ is a frankly gorgeous song that trumps anything on the new album. Life goes round, love sometimes hops on. Enjoy it when it does.

‘Hollow’ from 1994’s ‘Burn Out’ – Cathy Burton’s excellent debut album – has accompanied me on ipod and in-car CD from the moment I picked up a demo copy of her album for £1 in a Link Rumania shop in Broadwater, Worthing. It hadn’t been released at this stage and the album resonates with a Sundays Indie vibe culminating in the ultimate break-up song ‘Hollow’ which haunted me then and haunts me still. The fact that she comes from up the road in Littlehampton and I know half the musicians on the record just makes it even better. Only someone who has profoundly loved and lost could have written this song.

‘Aberdeen 1987’ by the Xcerts is just brilliant. A song of longing and loss sung in a broad Scottish accent by Murray Macleod and Jordan Smith who met aged 13 in the headmaster’s room at their school in Aberdeen. After Ross joined on drums The Xcerts went on to record two EPs at the local recording studio Captain Tom’s. After relocating to my next door City Brighton to progress as a band in 2006, The Xcerts parted ways with their old drummer Ross. A replacement was found in Tom Heron, originally from Exeter. The album from which it comes, ‘In the Cold Wind we Smile’ is a full-on rock album which makes this song all the more valuable – a poetic interlude indoors from the rain. Sadly, the band didn’t want their song promoted in this way, so I have removed it from this blog and the music download. Check it out anyway.

I have made houseroom for one of the great  independent songwriting talents in the UK. Chris Simmons is from from Worthing in Sussex who is not only a fantastic talent but a personal friend.

He has just finished recording his debut album “The Boy Will Learn” which includes songs co-written with Chris Difford of ‘Squeeze’ . The record is out Feb 2012 with the first single scheduled for an autumn 2011 release

He also has played with a number of great musicians, amongst them Finlay Quaye, Suede, Beth Orton, The Von Bondies, Jackson Browne, Squeeze, The Maccabees, Ocean Colour Scene, Seth Lakeman and The Kooks. You can find him on YouTube here:

www.youtube.com/chrissimmonsmusic

Back in 2006/7 he was writing amazing songs and keeping them in demo form, like a mastercraftsman hoarding pieces of half-made furniture knowing that one day he will finish the masterpiece. Around this time, a winsome sweet-sounding song emerged called ‘Home’ which starts with a cough but is a lot more than a spit. The lyrics are unfinished, there is a whole verse of ‘las’ and yet it is absolutely timeless and draws me into into its spell every time. ‘You are home’ he sings – and you believe him.

Amy MacDonald may be in the process of becoming our best female singer songwriter. ‘What Happiness means to me’ from her new album ‘A Curious Thing’ released in March 2010. It makes me want to change my name to Happiness.

‘The Big E’ has already been the subject of a post by me called ‘ Is this the greatest undiscovered Indie Love Song of all time?’ How did four dour Mancunians come up with this classic? Thank Anthony Wilson that they did.

The Greatest Indie Love Songs Ever (Vol 1):

http://uploading.com/files/m516bd39/Greatest%2BIndie%2BLove%2BSongs%2Bof%2Ball%2Btime%2BVol%2B1.zip/

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Excavating the Eighties Pt 2 – more rare 12″ vinyl

The fragrant Bea Van Der Maat - singer with Won Ton Ton

The fragrant Bea Van Der Maat – singer with Won Ton Ton

Won Ton Ton’s singer Bea Van Der Maat  is probably the reason to explore this Belgian Eighties outfit.

After Chow-Chow, the forerunner to Won Ton Ton split,  Bea started a career on television and sang in the LSP Band. Her popularity got the group a record contract. In 1987 the group reformed – under the name Won Ton Ton – and released the single included here – “I lie and I cheat”.

Interesting for its self-destructive lyrical theme, this song became a big hit, both in Belgium (n° 10) and in Holland (n° 13). The successors, “Hey Marlene” and the rather prurient “Can I come near you” were less successful.

Bea Van Der Maat ‘s commitment to the band was spasmodic – pursuing a parallel television career (making the move to VTM and presenting “Tien om te zien” – a program carrying the more commercially oriented Flemish music)  and she also brought up two children.

In 1996 she released a comeback album of Triphop music “Thin skinned” that got good reviews but sold poorly.

The Won Ton Ton lineup:

– Bea Van Der Maat – vocals
– Ronny Timmermans – guitar
– Fons Noeyens – guitar
– Els Ravijts / Jos Borremans – keyboards
– Jan Biesemans – bass
– Raf Ravijts – drums

Breathe was a London-based musical group formed in the early 1980s. Originally a larger, six-person band called “Catch 22”, they trimmed down to a quartet to record the album All That Jazz in 1987. This contained their two best-known hits, “How Can I Fall?” and “Hands to Heaven”. The latter charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #2 in 1988, and at #4 in the UK. Bassist Micheal Delahunty left the group in 1989 and the remaining three followed “All that Jazz” with the lesser known “Peace of Mind” in early 1990.

Despite having all the pop potential of an Air Supply, they were destined to remain a cult band – which is why they are here.

Big Sound Authority were an English pop band. The group was formed in 1983 by Tony Burke and Julie Hadwin who both took turns as lead singers. They signed to Source Records and released one album ‘An Inward Revolution’ before splitting up in 1986.

Box of Toys were born from the ashes of A Select Committee (1981-83), a powerpop band formed by Brian Jones, Tim Lees (both later of Something French), Steve Downey (later of Come in Tokyo) and Andy Redhead (on drums, percussion and synth). Even before the band broke up in 1983,in 1982 Redhead teamed up with Phil Martin (on sax, keys and vocals, formerly of 3D), Roy Campbell (on bass and vocals) and Brian Atherton (on vocals and synth, later of ‘The Light’). Even before their first single the quartet recorded a session with the ever prescient John Peel in April 1983.

Peel Session (April 1983)

– When Daylight Is Over (Sunset)
– Time Takes Me Back
– Precious Is The Pearl
– I’m Thinking Of You Now

In 1983 ‘Precious Is the Pearl’ (included here) and When Daylight Is Over (Sunset) appeared on their second single (12” version, together with a second b-side, It Goes Without Saying). The band split in late 1984, and Andy Redhead joined a later version of  3D.

Cactus World News was an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1984. The original members included: Frank Kearns, Eoin McEvoy, Wayne Sheehy, and Fergal MacAindris. Their early influences were The Clash, The Ramones, Talking Heads, U2, The Waterboys, and R.E.M.

Their first recording, and best known song, was The Bridge. They performed at the Self Aid concert in Dublin on May 17, 1986. The two 12″ tracks here fought hard to avoid the charts and were destined for obscurity – but not in these parts.

One of my favourite guitar tracks from the Eighties comes from another widescreen Irish band, ‘Blue in Heaven’  who assumed legend-like shape in 1985-6 although unfairly lumped in with the ‘Big Beat’ movement and so suffered by comparison to stadium-fillers like Simple Minds, U2 and even the Waterboys.

They released 2 full length albums on Island Records: All the Gods Men (1985) and Explicit Material (1986). They also released several singles and EPs. ‘Across my Heart’ is their masterpiece. Judge for yourself – it still sounds wonderful.

Vincent Montana Jnr is part of the wider Philly soul-disco scene working as a composer, arranger, bandleader, percussionist and producer. His credits include MFSB, Salsoul Orchestra, Goody Goody and many others but ‘Heavy Vibes’ is a particular favourite with its jazz vibes and light touch – particularly enjoyable on the extended Paul Simpson’s club mix here.

Real Life was a Melbourne-based Australian New Wave band that made waves with both their debut single, ‘Send Me an Angel’ (1983) and with ‘Catch Me, I’m Falling’ (1984), both of which were featured on the band’s debut album Heartland (1983).

The band originally consisted of David Sterry (lead vocals/guitar), Richard Zatorski (violin/keyboard), Alan Johnson (bass) and Danny Simcic (drums). Steve Williams (keyboard) replaced Zatorski in 1986, who was then replaced by George Pappas in 1996 after a long hiatus of band activity.

This 12″ version of ‘Send me an Angel’ is just one of seventeen versions of the song – and probably the best.

The Prime Movers were a three piece band from the greater Los Angeles area. During the mid 80s The Prime Movers made the big(gish) time after releasing the critically acclaimed LP “Museum” on their own Birdcage Records.

They signed to Island Records and  two singles, ‘On the Trail’ and ‘Dark Western Night’ entered the UK charts.

Nothing can be found about ‘Whirl’ whose sole 12″ release ‘Clear’ is included – suffice to say that it represents a great piece of Eighties Indie rock – with just enough melody to make it worthy of reprising here.

Fifteen rare tracks – including the hard to find Icelandic version of The Sugarcubes’ (featuring Bjork) breakthrough ‘Birthday’ are waiting for your listening pleasure below:

1.  Big Sound Authority – Don’t let our love start a war (12″)

2.  Blue in Heaven – Across my Heart (12″)

3. Box of Toys – Precious is the Pearl (12″)

4. Cactus World News – Worlds Apart (12″)

5. Cactus World News – Years Later (12″)

6.  H20 – I dream to Sleep (7″)

7.  H20 – I dream to Sleep (12″)

8.  Here’s Johnny – I fall apart (12″)

9.  Montana Sextet – Heavy, heavy Vibes (12″)

10. Real Life – Catch me I’m Falling (12″)

11. The Prime Movers – On the Trail (12″)

12. The Sugarcubes – Birthday (Icelandic version – 12″)

13. Turquoise Blue – We are Lost (12″)

14. Whirl – Clear (12″)

15.  Won Ton Ton – I lie and I Cheat (12″)

Apologies – link has been removed because of an objection from one of the copyright holders above.

by

Rare Eighties music gems (ripped from 12″ vinyl)

April Showers - Abandon Ship (with superb orchestration by Anne Dudley)

April Showers - Abandon Ship (with superb orchestration by Anne Dudley)

Jonathan Bernstein and Beatrice Colin together formed April Showers – a fleetingly brilliant Glaswegian pop duo who released just one single “Abandon Ship” on Big Star, a subsidiary of Chrysalis in 1984.  It quickly gained a cult following due to its sparkling production from Anne Dudley (Art of Noise) and string-heavy arrangements. This quality was echoed on B-side “Everytime We Say Goodbye” with the 12-inch featuring an instrumental of Abandon Ship “Abandon Ship Sing-A-Long-A-Wonder Mix”. Due to its rarity and the presence of Anne Dudley this record is now highly sought after – good job I recognised its quality back in 1984! Both vocal version and instrumental are included in the compilation below. 

In converting some rare Eighties vinyl to CD I thought it would be churlish of me not to share some of this hidden treasure. Where tracks are easily obtained via download sites or on CD compilations I haven’t included them. Hence Nick Neyward’s ‘instrumental version of ‘Whistle down the wind’ is included here because the vocal version is easy to obtain.

The instrumental 96.8 is on the B side of ‘The Highest High’ by China Crisis (1985), the year that I launched a Saturday afternoon sports show on Worthing Hospital radio and used this piece of music as its theme. It still sounds great to my ears – and is absolutely unavailable anywhere else.

The Secret Seven are so obscure that they do not have an entry on Last FM – but the 12″ mix of ‘Hold onto Love’ is an eighties favourite of mine – all glorious 7 minutes of it with sumptuous string arrangements and the signature programmed drum sound of the time.

Another favourite of mine was Virgin Dance – part of the thriving Liverpool scene that produced The Teardrop Explodes and others. The quintet consisted of Edwin Hind (vocals & guitar), Kenny Dougan (guitar), Lorraine Gardner (keyboards), Graham McMaster (bass) and Cliff Hewitt (drums, previously in Modern Eon). Led by vocalist Edwin Hind, the band released one album, “Against the Tide”, and scored one indie hit, “Are You Ready (For That Feeling)?” which is included here in both its 7″ and 12″ guises.

‘Weak in the presence of Beauty’ by Floy Joy was later covered by Alison Moyet but this version has the thrill and the passion of its writers in full flow.

Blow Up despite the name were nothing to do with the 60s film of the same name although they derived their name from it.  The title of the track suggests they had Brighton roots and that was where I was living at the time, which is how Norman Cook who was working in Rounder Records in The Lanes, Brighton at the time managed to convince me to buy it. I have never regretted it. Norman (Quentin in those days) always did have great taste.

White & Torch were a Walker Brothers for the Eighties and ‘Parade’ is simply superb, both in vocal performance and arrangement – majestic sounding even now.

1. April Showers – Abandon Ship (12″)

2. April Showers – Abandon Ship (12″ instr)

3. Blow Up – Pool Valley

4. China Crisis – 96.8

5. Floy Joy – Weak in the presence of beauty

6. Mondo Kane – New York Afternoon

7. Nick Heyward – Whistle down the wind (12″ instr)

8. Sivuca – Ain’t no sunshine (12″)

9. Sophie & Peter Johnston – Happy Together

10. The Beautiful Americans – Beautiful Americans (12″)

11. The Secret Seven – Hold onto love (12″)

12. Two People – This is the shirt (12″)

13. Virgin Dance – Are you ready for that feeling? (7″)

14. Virgin Dance – Are you ready for that feeling? (12″)

15. White and Torch – Parade (12″)

Here they are:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/3i186z9b7b7lth5/Eighties.zip