Jemblog

sunshine playroom - 1985-1990

Some things i remember about the sunshine playroom

- Bobby Gillespie dancing to Thinking of You by Sister Sledge virtually every week in 1989.

- Going every single wednesday night (even once when I had flu) for nearly 2 years betwen 1988-1990.

- Sam, Louise, Julia, Dave (went back to Birmingham), Simon with the beard, Sean and Gordon, (the DJs)

- When it all started to go wrong when they did the club up in 1990 and they ripped out the carpet.

- Rob Iced Bear.

- Hearing Loaded for the first time.

- Hearing Sweetie by The Chefs for the first time

- My hair cuts.

- Dancing a lot.

- And then i started going to the Bubblegum Factory instead.
 

My record diary 1980-84 - cover

For nearly 10 years I kept a record diary logging every record i bought and gig attended. This is the cover for what i rather pompously called at the time Volume 1. Actually there were 3 little books like this although i seemed to have  lost "volume 2" (1984-88) a while back.
So this was me between 14 and 18 going mostly to the Brighton Centre for gigs it appears and seeing The Stranglers (can't remember any of it), Spandau Ballet, Madness and Gary Numan. A full list follows. Of course it does. What else do you do when you are a teenage boy without a girlfriend to your name. I kept an awful lot of lists.

Gary Numan I can remember most vividly because of the smell  of the white ice. There was an awful lot of white ice, neon and Gary in leather suits with red stripes, driving around the stage in something like K9. All credit to the bloke he put on a bit of a show.

One last thing I think i went to most of these gigs with Michael Newton. He know writes grown up history books for a living and probably doesn't want to be reminded or wonder why on earth we both went to see Kid Creole and the Coconuts. But we did and I have it documented in a WH Smith notebook with yellowing sellotape.

Kaleidoscope Pop

This is a flyer from March 1987 from a club night held in Rickys in Leeds.  Rickys had a lot of chrome and presumably didn't play the Pastels on anything other than Tuesday (or was it thursdays) nights. I saw My Bloody Valentine play there in early 88 by which time they had started to become v.noisy indeed. I remember once asking the DJ once to play more new stuff by which i probably meant The Primitives or Biff Bang Pow! or something. I kissed my future wife in that club anyhow, the drinks promotions were 70p! and Bobby Gillespie (as the flyer promises) didn't turn up on March 22nd. He had to sign on that day instead. Well it was the eighties. He did show up at some point apparently but i missed it.  God I loved that club.

More Dion and why not

The Guardian has a "Music's Secret Weapons" list this week (ie: 49 movers and shakers talk about their favourite "hidden gems". I won't get round to entering the competition to win £500 and write No.50. Anyhow Sean Rowley has already bagged mine. The genius that is Born to be With You from Dion. Still makes me weep every time.

If singers employed the Lee Strasberg method Dion would have been Brando. To inhabit a song is a gift given to few performers, and for me Dion is the master. This was produced by Phil Spector and its shadow looms across contemporary music from Spiritualized to Primal Scream. As for me and my humble opinion, the greatest singer joined the greatest producer in the studio and made the greatest record ever.

ICA C86 Nights in 2006

It was rumoured as long ago as February when Bob Stanley gave an interview to Uncut but the C86 week at the ICA is now confirmed except its now a couple of nights at the end of the month.
I just got this mail from the Wolfhounds mail list. Tickets go on sale on Monday. The ICA site also confirms the existence of Hungry Beat; Bob Stanley and Paul Kelly's  "a fascinating look at the British independent music scene of the 1980's" and I think they mean a lot more Steven Pastel and Lawrence than Ian Astbury or Wayne Hussey here. Some footage will be shown over the weekend. Duffle coats at the ready!

“The ICA celebrates the rise of British independent music, with two nights of live music, DJs, documentary footage and more, co-curated by the ICA, members of St Etienne, Heavenly Recordings, and Rough Trade Shops. Up from the underground, this is the story of British independent music in the 1980's: what we now call 'indie' music.”
http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=12257

Friday 27th October: The Magic Numbers, Gokart Mozart, Vic Godard & the Subway Sect + DJs St Etienne and Jeff Barrett

Saturday 28th October: Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera), Phil Wilson (Junebrides), The Wolfhounds + DJs The Pastels

Tickets £22:50 – Get them from Monday at the ICA. These will go quick. Wolfhounds will be on at 8pm so no hanging around in the bar trying to look cool. You’re as old as us so grow up.

back back back!

Although my job involves trying to help others to blog. I've been rather sporadic at keeping this going. The last post was a year ago. Typepad got suspicious and suspended my account. I had occasional nightmares that some one might swipe  my jem.blogs domain. But they didn't. In the meantime i've had a go with Common User (last post: May 5th 2006) at blogspot. I even flirted with some getting fit malarkey. I've been rather more diligent at kept my Flickr account going and posting links to the lovely del.icio.us. So here i am back back back! for at least 1 post and probablyabout 5 more. This time we'll see. Here's a funny photo of what I've been doing instead.

CD86

So via Tom on Indie MP3 - Keep C86 Alive (no less) comes the news of CD86. (geddit ?) Apparently 48 tracks all the way from "the birth of Indie Pop" (although the CD has tracks between 1984-1989). The cover looks like a spoof (spotted dresses, WHAAAM, Centre Point ?, "right here" on the guitar) and it all feels a bit crap compared to the very similar and impressive Rough Trade Indiepop Vol 1.
But then its all down to licencing. And if you go through the tracklisting then there's Sun, A Small Star from the Servants, On Tape, Anorak City, Jasmine Minks, If I Said by the Darling Buds. There's even some 14 Iced Bears (not Inside though) and Jack and Julian by the magnificent Bachelor Pad. My one small contribution to art was "promoting" one of their gigs once supporting the equally astonishing Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes. I was DJing and got off with my (long in the future) wife.  What a night indeed. So i'll stop carping as I will inevitably buy it. I enjoy buying duplicate copies of stuff I already own.   All together now.."I've got Falling and Laughing...the original Postcard version."

 

I like Jem

For ages I've been slightly miffed that someone has had the fucking liberty to appropriate my well earned moniker and sell it on to americans and everything attached to some very diluted singer songwriter pop. Couldn't Jem have turned out to be truly outrageous in real life too ?  As is the way though I'd just heard of her. I'd not actually heard her. But that wasn't to last was it. And there she was. Floating about on a tropical Hawiiaan beach singing this bit of froth. Well who can blame the poor lass ? I love this single. Its ludicrously out of time of course summoning up the cliff/elvis travelogues of the sixties, and with a swirly pop sound summoning up nothing more challenging than the lovely Emma Bunton. And whats wrong with that. Wish i will get to about No.8 in the top ten and the album will creep back into the upper reaches of the charts in time for christmas. I've always liked a happy story.

Guilty Pleasures

Ok when I'm down the pub and Dale or George or Richard say what you listening to then of course i drone on about  Bill Fay, Saturday Looks good to me, Tales from Turnpike House, Maria Taylor and anything that seems to turn up on Tangents or Spolit Victorian Child. and loads of others.

But, of course I'm actually listening to these. A lot.

1. 1. Nine to Five -Ordinary Boys feat Lady Sovereign

I saw this first on MTV2 and only looked up as the video seemed to have been filmed in Super 8 and was inevitably set on Brighton beach, underneath the West Pier. The 'normal' version with 19 year old Lady S is a no no and its only the boys Bad Manners skapop version thats worth trying out. A great rip off of some Ghost Town high pitched la la las and the obligatory nice button down shirts. As 9-5 goes then better than Sheena Easton but not as good as Dolly Parton.

2. Fix You - Coldplay

I'm so very very very sorry. But I love this.

3. The Importance of Being Idle - Oasis
Oh dear. Oh dear. But I love this too. I'm a sucker for a falsetto which also explains

4. This town ain't big enough for the both of us - British Whale.

A terrible terrible cover version of the 1975 Sparks No.1. But the Pinky and Perky nonsense of lead singer Justin Darkness is good enough for me. Steve Wright loves this record. How low can i sink ?

5.One Word - Kelly Osborne

Pastiches of Visage in 2005. Kelly's no fool. Glorious Propaganda fuelled pop in admirable attempt to distance herself from the disastrous avril lavigne rawk of the first album. A triumph. and i even have a sneaky preference for that Bad Day one too.

After all that. I feel terrible. I'm going out to buy the news that new Lucksmiths album and Decemberists albums to make amends for these outpourings.

C86, Folksonomies and Information Architecture

C86. I can't stop myself. The wonderful Tangents website is run by the very fine Alistair Fitchett who on his blog the other day, published some honest answers to a questionnaire about the C86 "movement" for a Swedish guy who is doing a thesis on Bogshed or something. Sensibly enough both Alistair and Everett True (who also filled it in) were circumspect about categorising music from this period in this way, arguing that the labelling was inaccurrate in most cases and that, in the end it was just a marketing exercise by NME. I then posted a rather pompous comment to the post arguing that C86 (like "queer" presumably) had been reclaimed by the kids as a bottom up term and was now being used to help people sell stuff on eBay. I'm not certain what C86 has to do with folksonomies as it turns out (as George was quick to remind me). Too much time on Flickr has frazzled my brain. However, it is true that for some reason C86 is the term of choice to shift any of this old nonsense on eBay at the moment being attached to currently 128 items by not just the Shop Assistants, Mighty Lemon Drops and the like but (ropey) old singles by Revolving Paint Dream, Ride, Slowdive and even SWPopsters; The Redskins.
It could be worse. My mate's band the other day were dubbed, of all things; mumblecore, by the bloomin NME. Can't see theses on that in Swedish Universities in 2016.

Magic Numbers in Brighton

  Magic Numbers in Brighton 
  Originally uploaded by jem.

Well everyone likes em now.
The finest, shiniest, loveliest band in Britain came to Brighton again last night. And everyone is singing along to everything. They're chucking new songs at us though they sound like fully formed epics and Romeo is shaking his fist at the end so enthralled at the joyous response he's getting back that you realise that nothing will stop em now.
And still they haven't even released a record. (a mere 500 of a 7" doesnt count). But look out there, their stuff is being *shared* like nobodies business.Its not hard to work it out. So yep its a soft rock, soft voiced harmony drenched 1972 of a band thats gonna slay all of us.
Every damn one. The Gannon/Stodarts mean 4 is the magic number (sorry).

The Go Betweens in Brighton

The Go Betweens in Brighton
Originally uploaded by jem.

Played last night at the Concorde 2. I realised that I've been going to their gigs on and off for nearly 20 years. Blimey. They were gorgeous lovely awestruck fantastic and finished with a tearsome Bye Bye Pride. Buy the new album. Even The Sun liked it.

Oasis: Don't Believe the Truth

The Observer got themselves very excited about the new Oasis album yesterday. “Our bond with them is renewed” concluded Caspar Llewellyn Smith. 5 stars for a new Oasis album. Blimey. Surely a cock up.. So purely for the purposes of “research” I tracked down a few songs from the new CD from a friend of a friend to back up these ridiculous claims.

One (written by Andy Bell) sounds naturally enough, like peak era Ride (ie: the first 3 EPs), another like (a tuneful)  The Faces, and I can confirm that the acoustic Noel/Liam duet is precisely as Noel generously puts it akin to an Oasis B side from 1995. All good, present and correct and already a notch ahead of anything put out by the ever changing fivesome/foursome since er, 1995. Which is exactly how it should be. (apart from Sunday Morning Call)

However  it was then that I stumbled upon“Mucky Fingers” and its not what you’d expect from Oasis at all. Taking its cue from of all things, “I’m waiting for your man”, some lovely one chord piano, dylanesque mouth organ, and an emphatic Noel chorusing “its alright”, its probably the most excited I’ve felt about Oasis since ooh, listening to the demo of Cigarettes and Alcohol on a free NME tape in Feb 1994. They’re back. This time they really are. With grey hair I notice from the new publicity shots.. Well haven’t we all.

Johnny Boy: You are the Generation

Joining Just Like Honey and Eighties Fan in that small (ish) group of ultrafine singles that rip off Phil Spectors finest 3 seconds; the boom ba boom tamboombourine intro of “Be My Baby”, the debut single by Johnny Boy; You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve was the most under rated track of 2004.

Unfortunately they seemed to have joined Michelle MacManus in unleashing a sterling debut effort only to be promptly dropped by their impatient record company hoping for world peace AND a top five placing in the first week. Look trust me…this is my  favourite record with a horn section since “A Solid Bond in Your Heart” (yep, that good). My favourite record with a chorus of “yeah yeahs” since She Loves You and In my (quite tired) world this is side one, track one on Now 60. Buy it now. (except you can’t cos its already deleted..oh dear.)

Ok  it was their 2nd single and praised to the hilt in the Guardian, Observer and a single of the week in NME but whatever.

For some reason I was allowed to DJ on Friday night for my friends joint birthday party.
I was turfed off just as I was getting going (or more likely because I was playing some right old rubbish) by some very excellent youths playing some very old records from 1965. In case you’re curious this was the pubdjcd itunes playlist.

1.Camberwick Green    -Theme/Brian Cant
2 No_One_Takes_Your_Freedom_ DJ Earworm - Scissor Sisters/Beatles/George Michael/Aretha Franklin
3.Livin' Thing Electric Light Orchestra   
4.Catch My Disease    Ben Lee   
5. Marching Here from There/Theme From Screen Test    Syd Dale/Theme
6. I'm In Love With A German Film Star    The Passions       
7.Theme from the Goodies – Bill Oddie/Graeme and Tim
8.Ladyflash - The Go! Team   
9.Stardust – Frank  Sinatra   
10.Love Goes On    The Go-Betweens   
11.Bruce's Big Night - Bruce Forsyth/Theme   
12.Geno - Dexy's Midnight Runners       
13.One Life Away - M Ward
14.Main Theme From The Long Good Friday Francis Monkman   
15.Hart to Hart (‘she’s gorgeous’)  - Theme
16.How Long     Ace   
17.Judy (Wotcha Gonna Do?) - The Pipettes
18.Power Rangers Dino Thunder – Theme
19.January - Pilot   
20.Beatnik - Michel Polnareff   
21.Laughter In The Rain - Neil Sedaka   
22.Recordbreakers    - Theme/Roy Castle   
23.The Winner Takes it All    ABBA
24. Born to be with You –Dion