Last post of the year!! I’m going on holidays to Cozumel, Mexico. To the beach!
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good 2018 and I’m hoping we all have an even better 2019! This year was good for Cloudberry! We released a few 7″ (Salt Lake Alley, Okama Flannel Boy and The BV’s) and one retrospective CD (The County Fathers). Not bad I think!
Next year there will be new 7″s and new retrospectives! I think by February we should be releasing a retrospective by a classic Scottish pop band from the 80s. After that we have another retrospective planned by a Portsmouth band. For 7″s I’m hoping to have a Spanish and French bands joining our series. And that won’t be all. There are more plans! Our Australian indiepop nuggets compilation is starting to take form and I should be announcing something early next year! I’m very excited!
With all of that news, do you really need me to go find music? I’ll skip this time. I want instead that you recommend me some, that you tell me what were your favourite releases this year? your favourite gigs? Please send recommendations my way!
A new blog post will be available on January 2nd! Until then my friends! Have a good one!
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A few weeks ago I got a very nice package from Jesper in Sweden, with recordings of his band My Favourite Martians and also a CDR of recordings by a band called Sallystream. He was telling me that he lost touch with them many years ago, in the 90s, but he loved the music and would love to know what happened to them. So I listened the 8 songs he had burned for me… and I loved them. So here I am writing about them on the blog with the hope of finding out what happened to them!
The band seems to have been based in Norrköping as they practiced at the same studio as My Favourite Martians. They didn’t get to release any records. They did though contribute 4 songs to 2 compilations. I think that could be a good start in solving this mystery.
There was a fine compilation released by Blind Dog (BDCD001) in Sweden called “Dogstew”. It came out in 1993 and included the likes of Cod Lovers or The Persuaders. Sallystream appears here with two songs, “Changing” and “Laura Knows”. These two songs were recorded at KM Studio in Norrköping. On the inner sleeve there are some credits for the songs. So “Changing” is credited to C. Sandell and H. Johansson while “Laura Knows” to H. Johanson and Sallystream. Hopefully these two last names prove to be handy…
Two years later, in 1995, they contributed the songs “The Sun” and “Perfect Match” to the H. Lime Records compilation “In the Limelight” (HLR 951-2). This is another fine comp with bands like aBle, Pineforest Crunch or The Leslies.
Those were the 4 songs that were released. Jesper shared 4 more with me. Sadly two of them, from their 1992 demo don’t seem to have a name. One does but I can’t figure out what’s the name, “Tickled Jon” perhaps? Then there was “Beautiful” from a 1993 demo. I feel there must have been more songs. These can’t just be it.
On the Blaskoteket website there is an article that appeared on Sound Affects #23 in 1994 about Sallystream. This might be helpful! First thing I find is the name of Anna Jonsson, I think she did backing vocals. Then the next name to pop up is Håkan Johanson, vocalist and guitarist (now I have the first name). He is a big fan of The Housemartins. Then the Sound Affects reporter is surprised by the drummer, Jesper Nyström, taste. His favourite bands are Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus. Then the guitar player name is Christian Sandell. I learn too that Jesper wasn’t the original drummer. The original drummer left to China. And then I complete the quintet, the bassist name is Magnus Eriksson. I have the complete band. All their names.
But then I find out that in the Harry Lime compilation the drummer was someone called Joakim Svensson. So there was another drummer change?
I look into what other bands have the members been involved. It seems Christian Sandell had been in Stan, InterRail, Burek V, Eve and the Last Waltz and Oh Lucky Star.
I think that’s quite a good investigation. I see other bands on Popfakta that Magnus could have been involved but they go back to the early 80s. It may be him or not. I can’t be sure. Then about Christian I find many hits with him playing other instruments on the web, even drums. Is it the same Christian? Maybe. I can’t be sure unless I get to chat with him. That would be nice. Find out more about them. Find out why they didn’t get to release a record for example? I wonder if my Norrköping readers remember them?
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Listen
Sallystream – Laura Knows
