Thanks to David Hassall for the interview.

++ The only article I’ve ever found about The Train Set was on the Foxdude Records page and the information there is still not much. The only bit of information that strikes me is that the band was only around 1988 to 1990 according to it. Why did The Train Set last that little?

The Train Set were formed around 1985-86 as far as I’m aware, maybe earlier. I joined in 1986 when their singer Camel saw me playing at the college we both attended. I was on a music course and he was on a film course.

Basically the band lasted as long as they could release records, and then everyone just drifted off to other things. By then the original bass player had left to teach English in Brazil. I don’t think anyone heard from him ever again.

++ How and where did the band start? Who were the members? When and how you join the band? What was that thing in common amongst you that made the band work?

I think they started when they were at school together. The three main members were Camel, the singer (named after a character on a chocolate bar – his real name was Clive); Booty, an amazing and talented guitarist and Chiggy the bass player. They were all from Crewe, which is very relevant to the band name. They were joined by Adam Halford, left-handed drummer from a town called Winsford and myself, from Chester. So all in all, we were all from small provincial towns. They were about 23-24 when I met them, and I was 17. There wasn’t too much in common between the band with that particular line-up, and there was always friction between various members of the band, with the exception of Adam, who was by far the most organized of all of us.

++ All of your output was released on Playhard Records. I only know that the label also released a The Bodines 12″. Can you tell me a bit more about the label? How did you end up releasing with them?

Playhard was set-up by a renowned DJ from Manchester called Dave Haslam and Nathan McGough, the son of the Liverpool poet Roger McGough. There were a few bands on the label: The Bodines, King of the Slums, The Exuberants, Kit and The Train Set. Basically they were the only label that would have us! The original deal was made in the Cornerhouse cinema on Whitworth St in Manchester. From that we recorded a total of seven songs, all of which are available to listen to on Last.fm

++ 1988 sees the release of “She’s Gone”, which, I have read, got really good reviews. I also read that at the time 12″ singles weren’t that much appreciated. The Madchester fever was starting as well. What do you remember of those recording sessions and how the single was received?

We recorded “She’s Gone” in studio in central Manchester. I don’t remember much about it except it was in an old warehouse that could only be reached by a rickety old elevator. The main thing about that was just as we were leaving to go to the studio we couldn’t find Booty for hours, it turned out he had been arrested for suspected theft, a crime he was completely innocent of.

The rest of the tracks were recorded over in a studio called Slaughterhouse in Driffield, East Yorkshire. It was a bizarre place, one part of it was an old street that had been covered over and was used an ambient recording area. We arrived the week after the Happy Mondays had been recording there. They’d made quite an impression on the local night-clubs. The locals were still friendly with us in spite of this.

She’s Gone was released twice in the space of a few months, both times on 12″ which will have been to ensure the highest sound quality available at the time. The second time it was released it was named Single of the Week in the NME, which was quite an achievement at the time. It was marvelous to hear out on the radio and when people started singing along with all the tracks it all felt worthwhile.

It was then that the band made the move from their respective home-towns into Manchester. Camel lived in the building next door to Tim from James. He used to pop round occasionally. We actually ended up as second support on tour with them and the Happy Mondays.

++ One year later you release “Hold On”, another 12″. Do you feel the band was going in the same direction as in the first single? Were you all happy with the final result of your singles?

I think all the tracks on the second EP were really good, the only thing was the track order. Because of the subject nature of “Hold On” it was felt that that should be the ‘a’ side, when really ‘Harped on ‘ should have been. It was a much more positive track which really worked live as well. It’s just one of those things that you wished you’d done differently in hindsight.

++ Where there more recordings from the band? Maybe some demos that have been totally forgotten? A retrospective release would be amazing, you know

I’m afraid there are no other recordings I’m aware of. We did have a set of around an hour and a half, so there was more material, we just never got the opportunity to record it. The thing I remember most is our encore versions of “Miss you” by the Rolling Stones, and the theme from the Love Boat, which really used to throw a standard indie crowd.

++ How would you describe The Train Set sound? What were the bands that influenced you?

The key influences for the band were the same as everybody at the time – The Smiths and The Bunnymen. Personally I can’t stand The Smiths, but I worship The Bunnymen. The rest of the band really liked The Smiths, but I just didn’t get them. Beyond that the main musical input was from Booty, who was an amazing guitarist, with a completely natural musicality. We used to spend hours working out the minutest detail. We probably overworked the material, but the tightness of the band was a key element to the whole sound. There was nothing we’d recorded we couldn’t produce live from the same line-up.

++ Did The Train Set play many gigs? any particularly special gigs that you remember?

We gigged extensively on the college circuit, and did two UK tours firstly supporting James, with the Happy Mondays, and then subsequently supported the Mondays on the Bummed tour. That was an experience. Although not as chaotic as you might think. We knew the Mondays quite well as our Manchester rehearsal space was next door to theirs, under a local venue called “The Boardwalk” on Little Peter Street.

One particularly memorable gig for me was at the Astoria on Charing Cross Road in London. Everything just went perfectly, it was the best we’d ever sounded and the audience really enjoyed us. Of course playing at the Hacienda was especially good, it was such an important place, although the sound was always awful there. It was just the wrong shape. The best audience ever was in Norwich, after the gig we were taken around a variety of parties, ending up on an isolated farm in the middle of nowhere wondering where the hell we were and how we’d go there.

We did play some shocking venues as well, I never liked playing Dingwalls in Camden, especially after an altercation with the bouncers during a gig with My Bloody Valentine. Again in Camden I remember playing a venue called the Greyhound. We were headlining and being supported by the Milltown Brothers. There was a really good audience for them, but as soon as we came on the place emptied. Completely. That was a long and miserable 250 mile drive home through the night.

++ Were you involved with any bands before or after The Train Set?

Whilst working with the Train Set I was also starting to get involved with session work and engineering. As the band drifted apart I worked with My Jealous God playing keyboards for their UK tour. After that I worked on more and more dance material, releasing white labels under a range of names, with a variety of singers – the one I’m most proud of is “Quiet Child” by The Sound Foundation. I also worked on remixes for bands like The Christians (The Bottle & DMC remixes of Forgotten Town), and some did some session work with K-Klass, rewriting and playing the main keyboard lines for their remix of Bobby Brown’s “Two Can Play That Game”.

++ Why do you think that during those late eighties there was an explosion of pop kids playing guitar pop? What do you think was the main catalyst for this to happen?

Thinking back to the time, The Smiths and The Bunnymen were a complete breath of fresh air for many people. I think there was a backlash against dance-orientated music at the time. It was all rather lame, just waiting for Acid House to emerge. That what was so interesting about Manchester at that moment, as it was really a crossover between the two genres.

++ What was the best of being part of The Train Set?

Being on the road could be fun, but waiting around for them after the gigs had finished was not. They had a great enthusiasm for enjoying themselves wherever they could, but somebody had to make sure the equipment was safe. It was great to see the songs you’d written being enjoyed by the crowd. That was just what it was all about.

++ Are you still in touch with your fellow The Train Set members? Do you know why the band was called like that?

I haven’t seen any of them for at least 10 years, although I did bump into one of the roadies at Crewe Railway Station a couple of years back. I don’t think he was pleased to see me – we’d never got on. I don’t really know what they’re up to now. I just hope they’re happy.

The name of the band is a cheesy pun based on the fact that the home town of the band, Crewe, is essentially one giant railway junction serving the whole of the north of the UK. That was it, nothing more meaningful at all.

++ Thanks so much! Anything else you’d like to tell the independent pop world out there?

It’s been a pleasure. The only thing left is to quote the great Viv Savage “Have a good time, ALL the time”.

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Listen
The Train Set – Stop Stalling

The Catherine wheel (also Catharine wheel, pinwheel) is a type of firework consisting of a powder-filled spiral tube, or an angled rocket mounted with a pin through its centre. When ignited, it rotates quickly, producing a display of sparks and coloured flame. The firework is named for the wheel on which St. Catherine was martyred.

Don’t confuse them with the same name band from UK. These Catherine Wheel were from Sydney, Australia, and they weren’t press darlings at all like their British counterparts. Their lifespan was quite short, just two years, from 1989 to 1991. During this time they released 10 songs, all of them little pop gems that history has forgot. I can’t believe there’s no single blog post about these wonderful band in the whole internet! But then, in a way, it’s nice that bloggers are not getting their mouth full giving all their discography for free on rapidshare. I’ll make some justice today.

Catherine Wheel were Andrea Croft, Grant Shanahan, Brett ‘Bert’ Thompson and ‘Biff’ Smith. The band came to life after The Honeys disbanded. It was then when ex-Honeys Andrea, Grant and Bert came together as Catherine Wheel releasing their first single that included Almost Blind, Sunny Sunday and Look At Her. It was released on the That’s Bizarre label. I still have to get around this one. But I bet it’s a cracker. I found a review online on the KVD Records page that says:

The band have managed that rare trick of making smooth and pretty pop music but keeping the edges that make it have a life. “Almost Blind” and “Sunny Sunday” are the sort of pop people made in the sixties without embarrassment or guilt, but few even try now, and fewer succeed. Really good female/male vocal harmonies make this stuff a real treat for the ears. “Look At Her” goes too far in the folk direction and doesn’t make it through a full play, but the other two are plenty good for lots of listens. Let’s Active fans probably should be thinking in terms of purchasing multiple copies.

I do have and enjoy quite a lot the brilliant Blue Avenue / Last Explanation single. This, their second 7″, again released on the That’s Bizarre label in 1990, has the band’s best two tracks. Blue Avenue counts with a saxophone and it’s the only track (besides ‘Blackest World’) I know where Grant is the main singer as the vocal duties were usually exclusively Andrea’s. Still she does backing vocals on the catchy choruses of this wonderful song. What a timeless tune! Then you flip the 7″, and you get such a rewarding tune: Last Explanation. I wonder how this track is not a classic down under. It has that same magic The Hummingbirds used to pull out, that same bittersweet vocals of the antipodean Look Blue Go Purple, and the charm of Even as We Speak. How did they do it? I think I should dedicate some time having a listen to the whole oeuvre of The Honeys, but also to the later bands they were involved with. Andrea Croft’s Polyanna and The Snow Leopards and Grant and Brett’s Eva Trout. And mind you, The Honeys are back together gigging around.

Their last release was the “Self-Portraits” 5 track CD-EP on their usual label, That’s Bizarre. This time it got the Shock Australia distribution and it was quite easy to track down for me. On this release Biff Smith is replaced by Matt Handley on guitar. This EP opens with Reach, which is one of my favourite songs by them, it’s the star of this release. A lovely jangle pop tune, nice arpeggios and sweet vocals like a speed-up The Carousel. The third song, ‘Blackest World’ is another great tune, that, under a Chills-like guitar assault and a saxophone (again!), Grant croons till Andrea joins for an epic melody. The remaining three songs (’Wilsons Beach’, ‘Mama’ and ‘Self-Portraits’), are quite good as well but they are more calm, less bouncy, reminding me to the early 90s British band The Heart Throbs.

I believe Jim at Egg Records announced he was going to do a CD with obscure Australian pop gems from that period. If he does it, this band should be included. Lovely.

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Listen
Catherine Wheel – Last Explanation

Last month Bluetrain’s retrospective CD titled “Some Greater Love” was released on the Plastilina label. This is an historical piece of indiepop. An artifact, that if you don’t run now, you won’t find copies. Our Japanese pop friends are taking them by storm. It seems they are huge fans of Jo and Danny’s band. Talking with Uwe from Firestation, he says that it’s probably because of the Dreamworld compilation that Vinyl Japan released many years ago. On that “Whaam! Bam! Thank You Dan!” compilation, released in 1995, there were a couple of songs by Bluetrain and Go! Service. That could be it. Another interesting fact that Uwe shared with me is that during the late eighties, early nineties, there was the rumour that a German label called Pastell was going to release an album by Bluetrain… seems it never happened. But, what did happen, was a Bluetrain tribute band in Japan and this CD in Peru! Who would have expected!

Bluetrain were formed from the ashes of Go! Service in 1986 (Go! Service also released a 12″ on Dan Treacy’s Dreamworld Records). From Surrey, Bluetrain were originally – Jo Bartlett, Vocals and guitar, Rudy Carroll Guitar and vocals, Danny Hagan, Bass Guitar, and Kevin Morey, drums. This is possibly the classic line up, and played regularly at indie clubs such as Room at the Top above The Enterprise in Chalk Farm and The Buzz Club in Surrey. They supported label mates The Mighty Lemon Drops, 1,000 Violins and the TV Personalities in London and the South East and toured Scotland, supporting The Pastels. The band went through a few line up changes, most markedly when Rudy left and was replaced by the American Mark Nemetz. This line up release ‘Some Greater Love’ on the Abigail’s Birthday Party cassette / fanzine release, which came with a free lolly!

The tracklist of Some Greater Love goes like this:

01. It Makes Me Realise (from the Go! Service 12″)
02. Real Life (from the Go! Service 12″)
03. I Just Don’t Know (from the Go! Service 12″)
04. Wheels Go Round (from the Bluetrain 12″)
05. Land of Gold (from the Bluetrain 12″)
06. Parade (from the Bluetrain 12″)
07. Because of the Dollars (from the Bluetrain 12″)
08. Some Greater Love (from the Abigail’s Birthday Party cassette / fanzine)
09. Decline
10. You Bring Me Back to Life
11. Reason to Be
12. Twenty Years

So as you can see there’s a couple of unreleased tracks. Even more, there’s included in the CD some multimedia. There’s the promo video for “Land of Gold”, there’s an interview and live performance on the tv show “Time Out”, and last, but not least, a live gig in London 11/08/87. The liner notes on the lavish white & blue 6 body digipack are courtesy of Danny Hagan, the bass player of the band. And the songs have been remastered, sounding better than ever! I’m very proud of this release as you can tell.

A special thanks to Mark from The Mayfields that helped me get in touch with Jo and Danny, if it wasn’t for him this CD would never have happened. Also be around, there will be an interview to Jo very soon on this blog.

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Listen
Bluetrain – Some Greater Love

2009 starts with a great release on the label: The Understudies / Very Truly Yours split 3″ CD! This is the first reference on the 800 series, a 120 copies limited-run split singles where 2 different bands, from 2 different countries, will contribute with 2 songs. The artwork is a lovely photo by my friend Emma of Swedish ducks in her little town of Rättvik. Lucky her, she lives next to the lake.

I’m listening right now to The Understudies early recordings, some very lo-fi ones done at Brian’s living room. Flicknives and Chip Pan Glam early 2008 versions, on a burned cd in a lovely hand made sleeve that I received from Brian many moons ago. They are so charming. But it wasn’t till I listened to the re-recorded versions that I knew the band had that ’something’, that edge, that makes them different from the average band. It even made me think to release a #101 on Cloudberry. Most importantly, it made me believe (again) that I had to continue supporting the music I loved.

Flicknives by The Understudies opens the CD. It’s magical. It brings memories to the Butcher Boy’s brilliant and timeless debut. It traces their links to Glasgow. But it also goes all the way towards London and back to Edinburgh. Their englishness, their  class, impregnated on such a bright song. Brian sings and everything deliciously crackles. He has his own special timbre, like Lawrence of Felt but not quite. It’s disquieting, it’s haunting. A top tune, with some lush guitars that hammer into you. What a way to start! Then Bree takes the vocal duties bringing Chip Pan Glam to me. Is there some glam influence here? Maybe! perhaps on some on the guitars? Could be. What a lovely track. It’s their sweetest, the one that reminds you of the preciousness of The School or Camera Obscura but without that twee-girl naiveté. The Understudies should be one band to keep an eye (and two ears) this year.

Then like a storm comes the Chicago band Very Truly Yours. I’m not that fond of American bands as they overdose me with that twee-cutesy-gumdrop-ukulele that I can’t take anymore! But Very Truly Yours are special. They do continue the tradition of bands as The Softies or Go Sailor, and that’s fine with me. That’s actually good! Why bands don’t do that instead of that folk-pop nonsense? Follow Very Truly Yours love for POP! is my advice. Why? because they add a layered instrumentation, some 60s ambiance, and they grow up bigger than the aforementioned bands. 1, 2, 3, 4 …. and there they go, winning the race, taking you faster than Mr. Bolt into P!O!P! land. Kristine swoons. Lisle jangles. Dan is pounding the bass. Andy keeping up with the drums. Because they cite Heavenly and The Aislers Set as an influence. That’s the bands you secretly want them to wear on their sleeves.

My friend Jennifer, in her last visit to Miami, made me listen them with attention one afternoon. It makes sense, she is a proud Chicagoan and runs a pop club there. Why wouldn’t she be proud of having such a great local band. I wish there was something like Very Truly Yours in Miami, but there isn’t. I did know Lisle from his fragile sounding Fireflies that recorded a pretty album for Lavender/Music is My Girlfriend and a 7″ for Colm’s Papillons Noirs label. I already knew that he was talented. So take my tip and check his new band with Teresa (ex-The Haircuts) called Two If By Sea. And if you are wondering, Very Truly Yours is no exception for his fine guitar playing.  So I told Jennifer, “I’ll get in touch, we’ll make this split happen”. A couple of days later we were working on it. Two weeks later the CDs were done. Music like The Understudies or Very Truly Yours can’t wait to be listened, they have that sense of urgency that good indiepop bands have. For this CD, the Very Truly Yours songs are new recordings of their the songs that sound much better than the myspace counterparts.

And that’s how such a powerful and strong track as Popsong ‘91 closes the CD. Honestly, I can’t wait to play this song at a dance party, at high volume, it’s catchiness, and the jangly guitars over distorted guitars under the sweet dreamy vocals would be a total floorfiller! Maybe sometime during the summer in Sweden?

This is my press sheet. Take down those corporate templates.

The 3″ CD is out now, you can order directly from the label page.

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Listen
The Understudies – Flicknives
Very Truly Yours – Popsong ‘91

Thanks so much to Guy De Cruz for the interview!

++ When and where did the band start? What was that main reason that make you come together and start it?

In about 1983 I was in a school band with my mate Doug Cheeseman.  We were rubbish but we enjoyed the hopes of stardom. After school we drafted in Mark Parsons on drums and Pete on vocals and became The Bakers Sons.  We were inspired by guitar indie pop and challenged The Housemartins to a game of four-a-side football.  They replied but declined.  I reckon they were scared.  After a year of gigging, Doug decided to go to university and the band split up.  I joined My Life Story as bass player but I was restless and so left to form my own band.  I started on guitar at this point and in 1988, The Men of Westenesse were born.  We began as Me on guitar and songwriting duties, Mark (ex Bakers Sons) on Bass and Rick on drums.
After about a year, Mark got bored on bass and Rick got mored of Mark.  So bored that he went to America!  Mark switched to drums and in came Sean on Bass.  We became great friends and the band worked very well.  We had loads of songs and demo’d very few of them.  Mark was one of the most miserable people you’ll ever meet and went off to sulk somewhere.  In came Andy Hayes to replace him.  Shortly after Doug joined this new band on lead guitar and the final line up was with Jon Grove on drums.  To answer the where part of your question, it began in Cnavey Island and Benfleet and moved on to Southen on Sea – all of which are in Essex (South East of England).

++ Why the name Men of Westenesse?

I always had wanted to call a band I was in Billy Liar but no one thought that was any good.  I had spent ages getting through Lord of the Rings and so plumped for the name from that as I though Strider was quite cool.  I laboured under the misapprehension that some of that cool would rub off. Oh well.

++ Men of Westenesse only released one single, the splendid “Coldest Water”. It included also English Tragedy, This is Your Life, Everybody’s Fan Club. What do you remember of these recording session? Did the single get good reviews?

Thanks for the positive feedback about the Coldest Water.  I remember that the session was our first ever time in a recording studio. I remember that Sean and I paid half each ofr recording and pressing.  I had received some money from my dad’s unfortunate death and Sean had some savings – and a job!
I remember the studio was on a farm and that it was summer.  While we were recording, the smell of pig shit kept drifting through the air conditioning – not nice.

I remember putting an electronic piano sound on the chorus to fill out the sound and it being difficult to get to run in time with Mark’s drumming.  I also remember that Mark’s drumming was so dodgy with regard to timing that we put a click track on the headphones.  It came out in all of ours.  We had to have it so loud that if you turn up this is your life very loud, at the end you can hear the click track picking up on the drum microphones! I enjoyed playing the reverse guitar bit at the beginning of English Tragedy and was always a little disappointed that no one seemed to notice that song as a good track.  When Men of Westenesse got Doug and Jon in, we changed our name to Bootless.  We recorded a single with that band as well – Boating which was on the Firestation Records album and 1981 Hero of the Bikesheds. I remember one newspaper reviewing the single and saying that I had a voice like Leonard Cohen on a downer.  I took it as a compliment. We got an interview with Go! Discs at the tiem and they told me my songs needed to grow up.  A little harsh I thought.  Not a nice thing to say to a twenty year old.

++ What about Cassie Records, who were they?

Cassie records?  Completely made up.  One of my friends at the time had a little girl called Cassie so that was it really.

++ Is Coldest Water your full discography or did you take part of compilations?

A new band that I formed with others was The Hypocrites and we were on a charity cd called Southend Rock.  Corny and not very good but it was for a good cause.  There is also a song on there called Laurel.  Our old drummer Andy thought I was making moves on his girlfriend (I wasn’t I hasten to add) so he wrote a nasty song about me and put it on this cd.  Ah the price of fame!

++ You just released “Are You Brothers?”, a 15 song retrospective CD with Firestation Records. How did this happen?

I was so chuffed with the Firestation album.  Sean got a letter from Uwe at his parent’s address and passed it on to me.  I emailed Uwe and he asked if he could use one of our tracks for the Sounds of Leamington Spa compilations.  I said of course and sent him all our old demos.  After a couple of chats it was agreed to put them together on an album.  I am pleased as punch – if not a little mystified by the interest.

++ I’ve heard there are even more songs that didn’t end up on the CD. How many songs did Men of Westenesse record? Why weren’t these released during those late 80s?

As far as other songs go, there were more recorded but they were always released on tapes and sold at gigs – you know, self funding band etc.  They werent included on the final album because I think Uwe had a good idea of exactly what he was after and for me, they are all too personal to choose from.  Also, they always sound like not proper songs to me so I let Uwe decide.  They were never released because at the time (sound like an old man now) indie really did mean indie, not a trendy name for a major label front but a real label like the original Creation label.  We couldnt afford to release any other ones.  The Coldest Water cost us nearly £1000 at the time.  I’m not sure about the real amount of how many more were recorded but there were definitely more.

++ Listening to your songs it’s hard to believe why weren’t you more popular. These songs are GREAT! Was it lack of promotion? Why do you think gems like these had to wait 20 years to be unearthed?

I think they never got heard because after the Go! Discs interview and then one with Bad Girl records (Family Cat) I gave up trying.  Maybe that’s why people seem to like them – because they weren’t written for a purpose, they were just written.  They were honest – if a little pretentious.  I think a fear of failure plus laziness on the part of the whole band stopped us getting any further.  But then, everything has a shelf life I suppose and we reached ours and stopped.

++ How did Men of Westenesse songs came to life? Who wrote the songs? What was the process behind them?

The songwriting duties were mine.  Before Doug joined, I would write all the songs, record a demo of them on my 4 track and then arrogantly proceed to tell everybody what I wanted to hear.  I would write the bass line and teach it to Sean.  When Doug joined, he generally wrote his own guitar parts but the songs were always mine.  They were always about something, never random or made up.  Doug and I got to a point where at times he could be very negative about parts of songs so I invented a rule that if you didnt like a part, you couldnt slag it off unless you had written a better part.  I think we disagreed on a lot of things creatively and this was fundamental in the band splitting up.

++ You were in Bakers Sons and My Life Story. Honestly, never heard about these bands before. Can you tell me a bit about them? Did you release anything with these bands? What about Seamus ex band, Jump Boys?

The Bakers Sons did one demo tape and it had three songs on it.  I used to love that band and our attitude but it was a bright short flame. My Life Story are apparently still touring in Europe etc. Quite big apparently.
The Jump Boys were like the Bakers Sons but more influenced by the Undertones.

++ I read that the main influences for you were The Weather Prophets, Lloyd Cole, Felt and especially The Jam. Did you like any bands from those late 80s? the c86 guitar pop bands?

The C86 bands?  I loved them.  I loved anything with clean and really jangly guitars.  I loved and still love any one who can use a D chord and make it really ring.  You cant beat a Rickenbacker or Telecaster for that sound.

I still buy original indie records when I can find them.  The Shop Assistants, Jesse Gaaron and the Desperadoes, The Loft, Orange Juice (a little earlier than 86), later on I loved the first Trashcan Sinatras album.  The Feelies were a great band.  The Lemonheads – again, later but still great.  World Party for the political bit.  Never got too much into the Waterboys – bit too diddlee dee for me.

++ Did you feel part of a scene at all? Were you involved in the fanzine culture?

I dont think we ever felt part of a scene.  We were very insulated and into what we were doing never really lifting our heads to get involved in cliques.  They are, from experience, a very dangerous animal and one that I wanted to steer well clear of.  Having said that, there were some fantastic bands in Southend at the time.  The Windmills were probably the best of them.  Tortoise Shout were a great band and there was, originally an all girl band, Wednesday’s Child who at one point had interest from Steve Lamacq but I think it was too overblown.

++ Were you more of a recording band or did you gig often?

We were much more of a gigging band.  I used to love playing live but we went through a phase where I was writing quiet songs – some of my favourites actually – and you could hear people in the audience talking.  It used to really piss me off.

++ Looking back in time, what is that that you miss the most of being part of Men of Westenesse?

What do I miss most?  Being a part of something that I made, that I trusted and that I had full belief in. That’s prbably another reason why we didnt get anywhere, because it didnt matter if no one else like it, I did and that was all that mattered.  I had the conviction of Morrissey/Marr without the talent.  I blame them personally – bad role models.I

++ Why and when did the band call it a day?

I think the band called it a day because I got tired of the attitude of the others and they got tired of me.  It’s a shame but then it was all quite amicable.  Sean said, I’m fed up with this, I’m leaving the band and I said, ‘Yeah, me too’ and that was it.  Must have been around 1993-4 I think.

++ Anything you’d like to tell to the guitar pop fans of the world?

Guitar pop fans of the world?  Yes I’d like to tell them something.
It’s not worth it unless there’s been some cost to the person writing the song.  A well played D chord is as close as you’ll get to heaven on earth and anyone who says they’re in an indie band now is mistaken.  Keep enjoying real music made by real people.  What’s the line?  ‘All I’ve got is this red guitar, three chords and the truth.’

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Listen
Men of Westenesse – The Coldest Water

Thanks to Stewart Tudor-Jackman for the interview!

++ Who were The Kensingtons? How did it start? Why did you choose that name?

It started with me at university in the late 80s, just sat in the bedroom writing and recording stuff onto a 4 track in the corner of the room. I was in another band at the time, which I loved, but which wasn’t really suited to some of the songs I was writing. The name came from a great pop song called ‘the kid from Kensington’ by Dogs D’Amour. When I left university and went back home to Somerset I got together with Andy Howlett, who I’d recently met, and then we were off. For a while we also had Adam Discombe (who I went to school with) on guitar. All 3 of us are on the hope Corner lane ep, and pretty much everything else was recorded with just me at home.

++ What inspired The Kensingtons to make music? Were you a Sarah fan? What about trains? Did you travel a lot on them?

The main inspiration for me was simply the fact that I enjoyed my life so much – that’s what made me write songs. Despite the fact that I had no money whatsoever, I was having an absolute ball with my chums. My memory is that the sun was out all the time, I had time to play music, I sold music for a living, and I had a fabulous haircut. Perfect.

I was a Sarah fan until number 60 something, when I thought they got a bit bland to be honest. My favourites were the Sea Urchins, the Hit Parade, and Action Painting.

Trains were just a functional part of my life, getting me from home to either Bristol (for gigs) or back to Leicester (for uni) or to London (to see my now wife). Londoners tend to get more emotional about trains than the rest of us in England. Must be an Underground thing.

++ Were you in any bands before or after The Kensingtons?

Prior to the Kensingtons I was in a few bands that did nothing much. During and after the Kensingtons I was also in Satchel and Cellophane. Satchel (which was me and Andrew Anorak) appeared on a fair few compilation tapes in the early 90s, despite the fact that we only ever recorded 4 songs in one afternoon. And Cellophane appeared on a pillar Box Red single along with southville and a few others. It was called ‘Tales from the pillarbox’.

++ How did the PillarBox Red flexi ‘Searching for the blake hall’ happen?

I’d already been on the Cellophane joint single, and Andrew at Pillar Box had also heard some of my own Kensingtons material. I remember that he phoned me and said ‘’We need a song about trains, and we need it in a couple of weeks…’’. So that original version of ‘intercity Baby’  then got written and recorded in my bedroom within 2 hours. Amazing what you can do under pressure, and with a bottle of cider.

++ Why did it take 3 years for the next record? What were you doing during this time?

The songs for ‘hope corner lane’ were actually recorded in 1993, but the record didn’t come out till early 1995. So the delay was more to do with the record company rather than us. By the time it came out, Andy and I had already parted ways. Basically between 1991 and early 1994 we were writing and playing pretty much most of the time.

++ Hope Corner Lane was released on a German label in 1995. How did Jorg from Meller Welle come to you? How come you ended up on a non British label?

I think Jorg heard us on a compilation tape, and then he ended up putting some of our songs on one of his compilations. I think they went down fairly well, which resulted in the record. I’d have loved to have released more stuff on British labels, but most of our fans seemed to be overseas for some reason.

++ What do you remember of these recording sessions? How did you decide which 4 to put on the vinyl?

We actually recorded them in 1993 at a friend’s studio in Somerset. Because we pre-programmed most of it on a sequencer, we were able to record 7 songs in one day, which is unheard of. To be honest, the 4 that got chosen were the only 4 that came out ok as we did it so quickly. We had a manager by that time too, who was already trying to rip us off, and we weren’t in a great mood on the day because of him being an arse. So at the end of the recording session we fired him.

++ The songs are upbeat, but the lyrics are quite sad, mostly about missing a girl. Were Surbiton girl and Intercity Baby real?

Surbiton girl was real. She used to write to me twice a week once she’d bought one of our tapes, which was of course extremely flattering, but a bit weird. And me being an idiot, I wrote ‘Surbiton Girl’ and sent it to her. That just made her even more of a nutter, rather predictably, so I stopped keeping in touch. I love the song, but I really didn’t handle the attention very well.

Intercity Baby is about the trip from Taunton, where I grew up, to Leicester, where I went to uni. It’s the train journey I knew best.  Although a lot of the songs are quite sad, I really don’t think of myself a sad person. Quite the opposite in fact. I just think sad lyrics are a bit easier to write than happy ones.

++ Why didn’t the Pillar Box split LP with Southville happen?

I don’t know. I remember getting really excited when it was talked about, but I think money was the issue with the label.

++ Why didn’t you release more records? What about demo tapes? Did you record some?

We were happy just doing our thing locally, and really got quite surprised by the attention we had for a while. We never chased anything, the opportunities just ended up at our feet every now and again. We had a number of labels tell us ‘’you’ll be on the next record’’ but they all seemed to run out of money at the wrong time…

I ended recording around 50 songs (mostly at home), and still do so now.

++ Did the Kensingtons gig a lot? Any particular ones you remember? What was your favourite venue?

We probably played once a month or so in the early 90s. My favourite place was a pub in Taunton where we played regularly – we were well known in the pub, it got packed, and we got looked after from the fancy restaurant upstairs. Like all gigs we did, it was very small, but I always used to really enjoy it there. Once I’d decided to move away from Somerset, we held our ‘farewell’ gig there, and that was the one I have the fondest memories of.  A great night.

I also remember our first home-town gig, which was in a very dodgy boozer with a couple of other bands. By that stage Andy and I only had 5 songs, and we hadn’t had time to pre-program any of the drums. So we got a friend of ours who knew nothing about music, and who knew none of our songs, to stand at the back of the stage  next to the drum machine. It only had one drum pattern on it, which therefore became the backing to all 5 songs…and it was started and stopped by me nodding to our mate at the back, who then pressed ‘start’ and ‘stop’. I bet Coldplay don’t do that.

++ How was the relationship between the Kensingtons and fanzine culture? Do you remember being written about in any of them at the time?

We were in them a fair bit. I’ve still got the Waaah! one we were in, plus another few like Cherry Fizz Pop and Scholarship is the enemy of Romance. I loved them, because they are the perfect DIY music tool. I love the fact that noone cared if you sounded shit – as long as you had some great songs.

I used to love the excitement of sending off for a fanzine, and then it arriving with 20 flyers in the envelope for other fanzines and tapes. A great way of getting to hear new stuff and meet lots of fabulous people.

++ Indiepop being underground at the time – did that affect the band?

I liked the fact that indiiepop was a counter culture, and had that perfect bedroom pop ethic. I don’t think if affected us directly though, as we were into a lot of other stuff at the time too like the Wedding Present, Weather Prophets, Mary Chain, MBV and so on.

++ Do you still listen to indiepop?

I still listen to the stuff from the 80s and 90s a lot, but not so much the newer stuff. I found that a lot of the spark had gone from a lot of it, and it became style over substance. Sarah went horribly downhill, the Fat Tulips split up – it was the end of an era.

++ When and why did you call it a day?

I never have called it a day really. I’ve just been a little slow for 13 years. I moved away from Taunton in 1994, thinking that I should probably go and earn a proper living, which I’m still trying to do.  These days I’m in Australia, and still looking for someone else to make music with. The reason it worked with Andy was that we were chums first, and then started playing music together. Over the last few years I’ve started getting stuff together with people, but I’ve just not really clicked with anyone else. I’ve still being recording stuff over the years, but when I do it on my own I’m really slow, and probably need someone like Andy to kick me up the arse.

One thing I have been doing over the last couple of years is trying to record some decent versions of the old Kensington’s material that was only ever recorded onto 4-track tape. Eventually I’ll end up with all the old songs recorded, plus a number of newer ones from the last 10 years.

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The Kensingtons – Intercity Baby ‘94

Wikipedia: Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals of the subclass Ammonoidea in the class Cephalopoda, phylum Mollusca. They are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which they are found to specific geological time periods.

Our own indiepop history: The Ammonites are also an extinct group of guitar pop enthusiasts. They were Rich (guitars/vocals), Robbe (bass), Shane (guitar) and Robyn (drums). Robyn had changed his name from “Robin” in honour of his hero, Robyn Hitchcock. It was a band that only had one proper release and by google indexing standards they are only linked to… well, nothing aside one blog entry by my good friend Alex from Spain. Their time period is easy task. They were around the late eighties early nineties, like most of the bands I like. What else? Rock layers? not quite, this is pretty much P!O!P! with a youthful punk-ish attitude that bursts joy. Class? guitar driven pop. Phylum? They were part of the Rutland family. Does that cover it all? Not really. Indiepop is much more than encyclopeadiac terms.

I’ve been glued to Youtube watching their video for You, Me and the Sun. How old were they? They seem as if they were 16 when they recorded this funny backyard video. I wonder about this track. Maybe it was released on any of those cassette demos? Maybe on The Ammonites tape? Or in the Doncaster EP? Perhaps on the FunLovePopFish one? Could be on the In Their Element? Or on that compilation tape? I can’t tell. I’ve never seen one of these cassettes.  Maybe somebody out there knows?

All of these tapes were released by Rutland Records, home of PO!, The Originals, The Waiting List, and more; in summary, many of the best bands from Leicestershire. So it was no surprise that the wonder kids of Leicester released here their Head Full of Strange 7″. A rush of guitar juvenilia expressed in three songs: A side “Coming Down” and B sides “Stupid” and “Teenage Pop-Kid Dreamin’”. A brilliant debut especially thanks to the nervy Teenage Pop-Kid Dreamin’, with it’s witty tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Ramones’ guitar blazes. This is the last notice there was from the band. It was 1991.

They did contribute to a couple of compilations and split flexis:

// All We Had – on the Mind the Gap compilation. This tape was released by Peter Twee.net, when he used to run this German mailorder. “All We Had” is actually really good, this time The Ammonites go berserk with fuzzy guitars!

// Stupid – same track from the 7″ on a tape compilation that came with the third issue of the Big Muff fanzine. The compilation is not that great and it’s quite long. There are some hits, like The Emotionals or The Love Buttons, and misses, like Sofahead or Scott Bond. There’s a live Amelia Fletcher song though, always interesting for all her fans.

// Missing You – on the first Waterbomb fanzine flexi. A lovely Brigitte Bardot on the picture sleeve maybe missing us? On the credits Robin is still Robin with an I. They share the flexi with Paintbox.

// Jennifer – a lovely track, one of The Ammonite’s best. I do hope my friend Jennifer knows about. I think I forgot to show it to her! It was released on 1990 on The Boshi Label which later became Sugarfrost Records. This was Akiko’s original Japanese label. She used to write the 5000 Miles From George Square fanzine. I really enjoy that her catalog numbering nods to Roddy Frame. This is a split flexi shared with The Philips. This is RODDY 007.

// Stupid – again the 7″ track, this time on another compilation called “And they Call it Pop” on Fragrant Records. I don’t know much about this one.

// It Hurts Inside – maybe my least favourite song by them. Perhaps because it’s the least pop of them all? It appeared on the Everlasting Happiness tape, which is really good overall. This tape was made by another good friend, Andreas Hering from Germany, who now is half of Adventure Playground, bringing some great bands to Hamburg!

// Stupid – again and again! this time on the Just Another… Compilation cassette. The label is Flippin Ace Recording Co. No idea about this compilation. Nada.

They wanted to release an album. I wonder what happened. They totally disappeared. Robyn went to join Ruth’s Refrigerator, The Calender Dream, a mod band called Immediate and Ambrose Tompkins. But that’s all I can tell. Maybe somebody there knows a bit more? Maybe it’s time to unearth these gems and release that long overdue album? I think it is!

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The Ammonites -You, Me and the Sun

A sudden rush of nostalgia has stopped me from this Australian pop phase I was going through. I’ve opened a time capsule finding the forgotten soundtrack of what I was listening to during the late 90s. It makes me remember Lima’s gray skies oppressing the almost 10 million people that only see the sun during the summer. That winter fog that blinds us while walking down the promenade. The dusty streets that never see a drop of rain. The monochrome clothed people, that like shadows, wander between graffiti and nightmarish traffic. The stray dogs. The shouts of kids playing football on the roads, two stones being the goal posts. The yellow flavored Inca Kola afternoons. Sunday’s at the ice cream shop. Tea time with coca leaves. Those were the days when the bleakness of the city couldn’t crush us. We were up to overthrow the president. We felt we were making history.

Radio days weren’t over. Spanish pop was my first love. Though it wasn’t indiepop clearly, I always enjoyed guitar pop. A pop upbringing that now I feel grateful for. And though this is a wild guess, I’m pretty sure we were the most 80s pop influenced country of the region. It’s still quite common to go to the clubs and listen to The Lightning Seeds, The Jesus and Mary Chain or even The Primitives. This doesn’t happen here in Miami, mind you. Spanish pop was popular, very popular. Till today people are passionate about Aviador Dro, Aerolíneas Federales, Décima Victima, and many more. You can tune radio shows playing these songs on FM. There are bands like Religión or Flash Strato that were more popular in Lima than in Spain.

It was 1997 when “Los Días y las Sombras” by Voz Propia was released. Voz Propia is a cult Peruvian band, they’ve been around since the 80s where they were part of a burgeoning underground movement in Lima. If you ask me a genre I’d say they are post punk. This is their third release and it is their best, which means it is just OK, nothing great. But I always had a soft spot for the opening, eponymous, track. Back then it was like opening a time capsule too: it was recorded in the 90s but it is a song that sounds, breathes, eats, lives, exudes 80s. Another surprise, or maybe a nod, was the album’s artwork, as it shares the same photo as The Pale Fountain’s Pacific Street. I wonder if Voz Propia liked them or if Michael Head would enjoy this record. Do you remember those puzzles, when we were kids, where you had to connect dots to make a picture appear? I like doing that with bands. Finding out how everything correlates, making the six degrees of separation a fact and not a theory. And then I realize, if it was a nod to The Pale Fountains, it could have been a hint to the Liverpudlian scene. And pondering a little more, I get this strong suspicion that this track could have been recorded by The Wild Swans after an intensive Spanish class. What do you say?

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Voz Propia – Los Días y las Sombras

Every New Year, in my country, we have a tradition of burning firework life-sized figures of people that have been bad during the past year. This will make things go great the next year, free of these illnesses. That’s what I want to do. I want to get rid of the bad stuff that troubles us now and start anew; see a brighter 2009!

So, before you continue reading please know: “this is not a love story.” Don’t despair.

// I refuse to do a best of 2008 list. Seems unfair as I’ve loved so many songs and bands over the year. Maybe I should write a book about it. That could be fair.

// All of the end of year lists kind of look the same. Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion are up there. I don’t get why they are up there. Some do deserve to be repeated in these lists like the fabulous Liechtenstein though.

// People don’t change. Our other favourite label will continue releasing series of compilations. Some bands have been asked four dollars so they can be part of it.

// A revitalized label that enjoyed praise on 2008 will start releasing records in digital form. One more goes down to the dark side. Are we all trying to follow the major label model now?

// Magic Marker once wrote: “Starting a record label at this stage seems moronic. I was pretty impressed with Cloudberry though. It is the now classic Long Tail business method. Selling a little of a lot of bands. That was pretty much genius. What a great way to make a name for yourself and raise funds.” – what does he mean?

// Again Magic Marker: “I am not really sure what I am trying to say. I guess that illegal downloading is illegal downloading please don’t justify it. I download stuff as well”. – again, what does he mean?

// Twee.net poll winners most probably will be (fill here), because they ask their bands to vote for themselves and their label. No wonder the first place last year. I love these ethics!

// A label releases a great tribute album. But I believe tribute albums should happen when people are alive. I bet they had good intentions, but it also feels like pure gimmickry. How do you feel about it?

// Bloggers shouldn’t take credit for “mixes” they do. Keep it to your friends like the old times, pass the tape, swap your CDRs. Of course back in the day fanzine writers did take credit for their tape mixes, indeed, but they made it happen, asking bands to be part, organizing it, and recording them! What’s so great of choosing 12 songs (which bands/labels are totally unaware they are being featured) and putting them on a zip file? Anyone can do that. Or is it that these bloggers have such an exquisite taste that we are all in awe?

// “How can you trust someone that sells a CD-R (with 3 songs) for $5 that costs about $2 to produce (an incredibly generous estimate on my part), does no promotion for that release, sells that release by building up a brand, like any good capitalist does, and then claims to be an anti-capitalist representing DIY ethics and the “indie-pop way”. – someone needs a calculator. Hopefully got if for Christmas.

// Procrastination is not something to be proud of.

// I will be called grumpy after this post.

// They will ask me to keep things private.

// That won’t be a New Year’s resolution.

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Listen
Yeah Jazz – This is Not Love