Pixies '88

One of my first gigs outside of Glasgow was when I headed down on the overnight coach from Buchanan Street to meet Martin, my pen friend I had been writing to for a couple of years, to go see Pixies at The Mean Fiddler in '88. I survived the endless bus trip and found myself in The Big Smoke with a few hours to spare until I would see the band that was my latest obsession. Suffice to say they did not disappoint with a setlist made up from Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, the latter still one of my all-time favourite albums. I'm pretty sure I booked the trip through a local travel agent, that's kinda what you done in those days. Can't recall the name of the hotel I stayed in but it certainly wasn't The Ritz.

I had been to London previously but that trip made me see it in a totally different light and was the catalyst for making me want to go back again and again over the years. After wandering around Camden I met Martin and we headed to The Mean Fiddler in plenty of time to see Pixies, who were the support act. Much as I love Throwing Muses I have a feeling they were like how the hell do we follow these guys!! I'm pretty sure Kristin Hersh jokingly said something along the lines of "What about those Pixies – motherfuckers, huh?" when they came on stage. 

Surfer Rosa wasn't long out and I had almost worn my copy out, along with my copy of Come On Pilgrim. But seeing them live and hearing those songs live was something else altogether. I'm fairly certain they came on with The Holiday Song and literally took the roof off the venue. Another dozen or so songs later they were off, leaving me, Martin and the rest of the crowd wanting more. I saw them many times in the next few years but that night in London will always hold a special significance. The dynamic between the four of them on stage was electrifying. 

Helps Me Find Hemingway

In my teens I had a bit of an obsession with the writings of Ernest Hemingway. So much so that in my early 20's I persuaded a good friend to go to Paris with me for a few weeks. Much as I wanted to see this incredible city, I also wanted to follow the Hemingway Trail and visit the places that he lived and the many places he frequented. I still recall the look on Colin's face when we ordered a couple of drinks at La Closerie Des Lilas at some exorbitant price, all so that I could say I had sat in the same seat that Hemingway sat in 70 years previously.

Not quite sure if Robert Forster and Grant McLennan shared my teenage obsession but their love song to an imaginary librarian who helped them find Hemingway suggests they were fans. Karen was released as the b-side to their wonderful debut single Lee Remick. A longer, darker, artier song it perfectly complimented the more poppy a-side. Described by Robert as the first great song he wrote, it echoes Patti Smith's Dancing Barefoot which seems to be just a coincidence as Karen came out slightly before Patti's classic track. Musically and lyrically Karen is one of my favourite Go Betweens songs and, along with Lee Remick, was the song that started a lifelong love of all things Robert and Grant related.

I know this girl
This very special girl
And she works in a library, yeah
Standing there behind the counter
Willing to help with all the problems that I encounter

Helps me find Hemingway
Helps me find Genet
Helps me find Brecht
Helps me find Chandler
Helps me find James Joyce
She always makes the right choice

Warm Nights

After seeing Robert Forster live again recently it sent me back to revisit his extensive solo back catalogue. My personal favourites were, and still are, Songs To Play, The Evangelist and The Candle and The Flame. Listening to all nine solo albums, it made me realise I had somehow missed the wonderful Warm Nights. Quite how I do not know. Produced by his old friend from the halcyonic Postcard days, Edwyn Collins, this is a truly unique album among his prodigious solo output. With added string and brass, there is a lightness about the album that is truly endearing, reminiscent of the best of Jonathan Richman's work. The reworked Rock'n'Roll Friend is rather splendid - a brave decision to rework one of the most beloved of Go Betweens songs, but it works beautifully. There's a groove throughout the album that isn't usually something you associate with Robert Forster, giving the songs more space and rhythm. Inspired by Brisbane, you can almost feel the humidity seeping through the grooves on this much underrated album. 

Union City Blue

You never forget where and when you bought your first records. I was ten years old and adored Blondie. I can't recall how much I paid for Union City Blue, from my hard earned pocket money, but feels like only yesterday I handed over the cash in Woolworths, East Kilbride. I still have the 7" to this day and still love it. The sheer unadulterated joy of coming home from EK town centre and popping the needle onto those grooves has never left me. There's something magical and timeless about the song. Doubtful I thought this at the time, but over the years I have come to realise it's a pretty melancholy tune. The song explores themes of urban disillusionment and the struggles of everyday life in a city that never sleeps and does so beautifully, with a melody to die for. 

There is always going to be something special about first records and this one for me is still very special. I was a tad too young to see Blondie live in their heyday but have been fortunate to have seen them a few times over the years and this track sends me right back to being that ten year old boy buying his first single. Nothing against downloads but does sadden me that many youngsters today will never experience that joy of buying their first records. 

The Cords

The C86 NME cassette was released at just the right time in my life, I had just started going to gigs and so may bands featured were being played regularly on John Peel. Once I started going to gigs there was no stopping me and C86 was one of the catalysts for this. I was fortunate to see a number of the bands on the cassette round about that time, bands like The Shop Assistants, Primal Scream, The Pastels, The Bodines, The Wedding Present and The Soup Dragons. There was barely a week went by that we weren't at venues around the city such as Glasgow Tech, Rooftops, Fury Murrys, Strathclyde Uni and The Garage. It was a wonderful time to be in your mid to late teens as there was no shortage of great bands to go and see. The C86 cassette was hugely influential in my musical education and was well worth saving up those coupons from the NME and sending off for. 

Fast forward almost 40 years and the spirit of C86 is very much alive in the music of The Cords, two teenage sisters from Inverkip. Eva and Grace are uniquely The Cords but it is hard not to imagine them being fans of all things C86. I have a feeling they grew up in a household with a pretty decent record collection and fully embraced the music that their Mum and Dad would have been listening to. I had the good fortune to see them play live recently at the Creeping Bent 30th Anniversary gig at Oran Mor in Glasgow. On stage their beautifully raw melodies really come into their own and their too short set was a joy to see. These are pop songs at their purest and there is an effortlessness on stage that belies their tender years. The interplay between the sisters is lovely to watch and their joy of playing live is palpable to see. Eva's vocals follow a rich lineage of female singers like Tracy Tracy, Alex Taylor and Amelia Fletcher and would melt the hardest of hearts. 

The Cords are definitely a band to watch out for and if you get the chance go and see them live, you won't be disappointed. They are being championed by the likes of Monorail and it's not hard to see why. 

Barrowland Doors Open

A couple of weeks ago I was one of the 120 lucky souls who manged to get on The Barrowland Doors Open day for 2024. Once a year the doors are thrown open and those fortunate enough to secure a ticket get to see inside one of the truly great venues, a venue shrouded in history and through whose doors so many legends have walked. 

The tour was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. Our tour guide Andy imparted so much knowledge about the history of The Barrowland from its inception in 1934, the opening of the current venue in the 60's (after a fire ravaged the original venue) and its current status as a venue for gigs. The stories were a joy to hear and made you think of all the legends that have walked these corridors and played on that stage.

I feel so privileged to have seen so many wonderful gigs here over the years, since first walking through those famous doors in 1986 to see The Cramps on their Date With Elvis tour. Some of the greatest gig nights I've had have been in this place and thankfully bands are still playing here and I've lost none of my enthusiasm and love of going to see live music (especially here). This coming week I will be there to see The Jesus and Mary Chain again, almost 40 years after first seeing seeing them grace that world famous Gallowgate stage.

On the tour you got to see the dressing rooms (accompanied by some great stories about the likes of Lemmy and Shane MacGowan) and to stand on that hallowed stage. This was literally a dream come true for me, especially when you realise that you are standing on the same stage that the likes of David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Terry Hall have stood on. To see The Specials on that stage is something I will never forget, Terry was my first musical hero and they were the band I always wanted to see at The Barrowland and had the honour of doing just that. 

It was just sheer luck that I was one of the fortunate ones this year that got on the tour, I can't recommend it highly enough for those who have the same fortune as myself. 

I hope and pray that The Barrowland is there for many year to come and that future generations get to spend at least one night in this incredible venue. 

Long live The Barrowland, the greatest of venues. 

Be My Light...

When I was in my early to mid-20's I used to DJ (in the loosest sense of the word) in a club in East Kilbride called Crystal's on a Thursday night. It was termed a Rock Club but was more of an Indie Club. I would play the perennial rock tunes - Ace Of Spades, Born To Be Wild etc - in the first hour before the indie tunes kicked in. It was at the height of Britpop so a large part of the choons were from the likes of Oasis, Blur, Elastica, Sleeper etc...Not sure how it transpired in the first place but do recall it was a huge amount of fun - chaotic fun, but most definitely fun.

Robert Fields, who I DJ'd for, also put on live bands on some of these nights. Some were local bands, some bigger names such as The Bhundu Boys and His Latest Flame. One of the bands I recall, largely because I was such a fan was Gene. Incorrectly dubbed as Smiths copyists, Gene were such a great band in their own right. Gene had a tougher sound than The Smiths drawing not only from the fey tradition of British indie-pop, but also from the three-chord raunch of The Faces, the working-class punk of The Jam and the soulful stomp of Motown.

From memory they played Crystal's sometime in '94/'95 and they were terrific. Their success was short lived but they did produce some great singles and a decent couple of albums, alongside their very own Hatful Of Hollow - To See The Lights which includes the beautiful For The Dead and the ever wonderful Be My Light, Be My Guide.

A band who never quite got the recognition they deserved who, in my humble opinion, deserve to be remembered for being so much more than Smiths copyists.

No Regrets

Yesterday's post was about The Jam, a band I never got to see live as I was too young. Today's post is about a band that I adore who I could have/should have seen live but for some unknown reason didn't. 

It is June 1983 and I am under my covers, headphones in (as I shared a bedroom with my older brother), listening to John Peel. I can't recall what he played that night, with the exclusion of one band. That night he played What Difference Does It Make, Reel Around The Fountain, Miserable Lie and Handsome Devil. I had never heard anything like The Smiths before and this first Peel session was a game changer. Next day at school it was the main talking point for all the like minded souls who had been listening to Peel the night before. I had found my new band to obsess over, as I had done previously with The Specials and The Jam. Suddenly, The Smiths were everywhere - TV shows, radio, the music weeklies. The Smiths were now the most important band around. 

I was still a tad too young to get into over 18's venues in '85 but by the time they hit The Barrowland for the final time I was already going to see bands live on a regular basis. To this day I have no idea why I didn't go - for years it was always a regret, but nowadays I prefer to focus on how fortunate I have been to have seen all the wonderful bands I have seen. I have seen Morrissey and Marr many times over the years and it is always a joy to hear those Smiths tunes played live. 

Those early sessions captured the essence of the band and tend to be what I listen to when I put The Smiths on. This year saw the 40th anniversary of Hatful Of Hollow, which includes tarcks from that Peel session. Although technically a compilation there is a reason why this album holds such a special place in the hearts of Smiths fans. It is a glorious record that is so much more than just another compilation. 

The Mod Corner

I was thirteen when The Jam split up - I couldn't get my young head around the most popular band in Britain splitting up at the height of their success. When I heard the first Style Council single it began to make sense. The first Jam album I remember getting as a Christmas gift was All Mod Cons - can't recall if it was when it came out in '78 or a year later, but do remember the joy of tearing the wrapping paper off and lovingly coveting this beautiful piece of vinyl. For the next couple of years I still listened to them but was now firmly obsessed by the 2 Tone movement, especially The Specials.

All this changed when I arrived at secondary school - one of my earliest memories was the Mod Corner. This was a group of guys a few years older who had parkas with Jam logos/patches on them who were the epitome of cool. Daily I would walk past, too nervous to approach them. By this time I was rekindling my love of all things Weller/Foxton/Buckler related. I was never a Mod per se, but loved all the music and the clothing. Sta-press were the trousers of the day and we were very fortunate in East Kilbride that we had a shop called Rig Out where you could literally rig yourself out in the latest Mod gear. 

Fast forward to '82 and the crushing news that The Jam had split up - to say I was gutted is quite the understatement. At thirteen, I thought my life had literally ended. I recall all the singles were re-released and all charted in the same week. Every time you turned on the radio you would hear The Jam. 

I was too young to see them live - and didn't have cooler, older friends to take me. I have been fortunate to see Weller live many times over the years, and can't really regret not seeing The Jam as it was an age thing. 

Six albums in five years, some truly great 7" singles and 4 number one hits - all by your early 20's - is quite astonishing. I still listen regularly to The Jam, but that time in the early 80's still holds such special memories, despite never getting close to the Mod Corner...

Lost 80's

Gary Crowley has given us two box sets of wonderful lost 80's tracks featuring lesser known acts like The Suede Crocodiles, Friends Again and Working Week alongside less well known tracks from the likes of Elvis Costello, Madness and The Undertones.

The selection of tracks from the DJ and broadcaster is spot on, introducing people to 80's tracks that have become overlooked or simply forgotten in the midst of time. As a child of the 80's a fair number of these tracks bring back great memories of growing up in that time.

Both sets are full of truly inspiring moments and the essence of the real spirit of innovation that infused so much of the decade's music, all chosen by a true music fan. A view of the 80s from a different perspective that works like a dream. The first set in particular serves as a timely reminder of the plethora of talent which was emerging from Scotland at the time, some of whom went on to become household names - Bluebells, Altered Images etc.

Both sets have lovingly written booklets that compliment the music and make you want to listen to the tracks within. For fans of 80's music from just outside the mainstream these are both essential box sets that are particularly great for a Saturday night home disco, if you are so inclined...