Indietracks Festival / all things C86 and indiepop!

[Flex Your Head]

I wish I wasn't at work so I could post more, but yes, Turn it Up was excellent. I won several prizes from the weekly quizzes, mainly gig tickets and the like, but I won a signed Primitives 7" once and a signed Darling Buds one too.

I used to present a weekly games slot on Festival Radio with Jem Stone back in the 90's - very nice chap and my old garden in Telscombe Cliffs used to back on to his brother's house. I'm going to start a Minor Claims to Fame thread!

I worked in Virgin and HMV on Western Rd between 1985 and 1995, so may well have served some of you at some point. I was always blethering on about indie or my other love, hardcore punk, to the punters. Alan McGee would often come in and chat for ages - always friendly and affable. But he'd also offer to bring stuff in too - "You wanna hear the new House of Love stuff? No problem, I'll bring a tape in tomorrow." To my knowledge he never brought anything in for anyone, but no-one minded.

I've got some old flyers and stuff saved to my PC at home, I'll try and post some later.

That Razorcuts clip above is just fantastic. I'm gutted that I never got to see them play as they were one of my favourites at the time (and still are). At Indietracks 2009 (I think), Gregory Webster played an acoustic set on one of the trains. He played I Heard You the First Time and everyone joined in quietly towards the end - truly spine-tingling and wonderful.

Jeez, I could waffle for England!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Ba badada bup bup bada. Bup budada bup bup ba da.

This could actually be a lyric from any number of C86 songs: my first thought was What Went Wrong This Time by The Siddeleys, then it was Just You Mind Your Step Girl by The Soup Dragons. Neither quite worked...

Its 'Delilah Sands'. 100%

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Someone mentioned Bennett Dean earlier in the thread, he was on Turn It Up for a while I believe.

That was me. I'm fairly sure you're right, that he was.

Top chap, and solely responsible for getting me into all this stuff.

 

[Albumen]

Its 'Delilah Sands'. 100%

Of course it is, but I think Tiny was suggesting a fair few indie tracks started this way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33wian1Jmxk

[yt]33wian1Jmxk[/yt]

 

[Stato]

"I worked in Virgin and HMV on Western Rd between 1985 and 1995, so may well have served some of you at some point. I was always blethering on about indie or my other love, hardcore punk, to the punters. Alan McGee would often come in and chat for ages - always friendly and affable."

So can we now say 'I know someone who knows someone who knows Alan McGee quite well?'

I may have bought 'Whole Wide World' from you. Thanks, it's still going strong.

 

[Albumen]

I wish I wasn't at work so I could post more, but yes, Turn it Up was excellent. I won several prizes from the weekly quizzes, mainly gig tickets and the like, but I won a signed Primitives 7" once and a signed Darling Buds one too.

I won loads of stuff on there. Surfa Rosa LP, Emma's House 7", a Cocteau Twins LP to name a few.

 

[Pevenseagull]

this thread has now officially surpassed wikipedia as the most useful resource on the internet

 

[Flex Your Head]

I just got the train from Clock House in Beckenham for a meeting in the city and Amelia Fletcher (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Tender Trap) etc was there at the station. We chatted a wee bit and I felt a bit tongue-tied, but what a bloody coincidence! She was only there cos she'd missed her stop.

 

[Pevenseagull]

I just got the train from Clock House in Beckenham for a meeting in the city and Amelia Fletcher (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Tender Trap) etc was there at the station. We chatted a wee bit and I felt a bit tongue-tied, but what a bloody coincidence! She was only there cos she'd missed her stop.

in terms of where are they nows? Fletcher is now an economics professor (nice little fact)

 

[tinycowboy]

I just got the train from Clock House in Beckenham for a meeting in the city and Amelia Fletcher (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Tender Trap) etc was there at the station. We chatted a wee bit and I felt a bit tongue-tied, but what a bloody coincidence! She was only there cos she'd missed her stop.

She's the Chief Economist at the OFT. I don't mind admitting that I've sometimes daydreamed about what I'd say if i found myself in a business meeting with her. First impulse was that I'd drop names of Heavenly/Gosh songs into the conversation, but quickly ditched that. Probably try to sneak a quiet word in afterwards. I once went for a drink in an Oxford college bar and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her sitting there chatting - she was doing a PhD. A true indie heroine who understood the ethos, didn't think she was too good for it and became an inspiration for many. AND released a single on the obscure Fierce label (I think the ultimate collectable label for C86 stuff is Caff - too pricey for me).

 

[tinycowboy]

I worked in Virgin and HMV on Western Rd between 1985 and 1995

I loved the Virgin on the corner of Air Street, opposite the t-shirt shop that seemed to have the "We are all prostitutes" Thatcher t-shirt on permanent display. Virgin seemed a little bit more dangerous than HMV...

 

[Stato]

Elizabeth Price has done alright for herself as well: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/shortcuts/2012/dec/04/elizabeth-price-talulah-gosh-turner

Have you heard The Hold Steady's 'Heaven is Whenever' which references Heavenly and the death of Amelia's brother and drummer Matthew? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRpFYw6uU7E

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I won loads of stuff on there. Surfa Rosa LP, Emma's House 7", a Cocteau Twins LP to name a few.

Everyone seems to have won cool stuff, except me. Most unfair.

Whilst having never won C86 stuff, knowledge OF it, won me the worst prize in history.

I was in a rubbish 'English' bar in Gran Canaria (probably called LINEKER'S or something) in about 1993, and they were holding a music quiz. At the end the guy said he had a SPECIAL question, which had 'rolled over' for three weeks, and was worth a special prize. The question was "Which act holds the all time record for the most top 40 UK hits in a calendar year?"

This was pre-google / smart-phones so he went round the bar with his mic, while the eager sun-burnt Brits shouted out their guesses of Elvis, the Beatles, Take That, Madonna, etc, etc. When he got to our table, and I answered it (The Wedding Present), he actually seemed quite ANNOYED, that his unanswerable question had gone!

Afterwards he came back over and said that he'd just call it a 4 week roll over next week anyway, as no-one would know it had been answered. Then he got out his notebook and asked me to give him some facts he could use as clues - he'd never heard of them. So I had to tell him - from Leeds, 4-piece, Dave Gedge, album titles, etc.

Oh, and the SPECIAL prize turned out to be an absolutely HORRENDOUS t-shirt with 'Lineker's Music Night' emblazoned in bright pink, above a cartoon of a bulldog wearing a Union Jack waistcoat. Classy. And a voucher for a shitload of cocktails which made us ill.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Everyone seems to have won cool stuff, except me. Most unfair.

Whilst having never won C86 stuff, knowledge OF it, won me the worst prize in history.

I was in a rubbish 'English' bar in Gran Canaria (probably called LINEKER'S or something) in about 1993, and they were holding a music quiz. At the end the guy said he had a SPECIAL question, which had 'rolled over' for three weeks, and was worth a special prize. The question was "Which act holds the all time record for the most top 40 UK hits in a calendar year?"

This was pre-google / smart-phones so he went round the bar with his mic, while the eager sun-burnt Brits shouted out their guesses of Elvis, the Beatles, Take That, Madonna, etc, etc. When he got to our table, and I answered it (The Wedding Present), he actually seemed quite ANNOYED, that his unanswerable question had gone!

Afterwards he came back over and said that he'd just call it a 4 week roll over next week anyway, as no-one would know it had been answered. Then he got out his notebook and asked me to give him some facts he could use as clues - he'd never heard of them. So I had to tell him - from Leeds, 4-piece, Dave Gedge, album titles, etc.

Oh, and the SPECIAL prize turned out to be an absolutely HORRENDOUS t-shirt with 'Lineker's Music Night' emblazoned in bright pink, above a cartoon of a bulldog wearing a Union Jack waistcoat. Classy. And a voucher for a shitload of cocktails which made us ill.

now THAT is what I call a top adecdote. I have the day off and am now going to have a pint with a smile on my face.

 

[tinycowboy]

he'd never heard of them...Oh, and the SPECIAL prize turned out to be an absolutely HORRENDOUS t-shirt with 'Lineker's Music Night' emblazoned in bright pink, above a cartoon of a bulldog wearing a Union Jack waistcoat. Classy. And a voucher for a shitload of cocktails which made us ill.

What a sad ending to a potentially good night out - could have turned out that he was a maasive C86 fan and proceeded to blast the bar with obscure but brilliant Weddoes B-side "Never Said" and then followed that up with an all-out disco featuring, amongst others, "Ask Johnny Dee", "Sorry To Embarrass You" and "All Day Long". Now, that WOULD be a holiday to remember...

 

[hans kraay fan club]

What a sad ending to a potentially good night out - could have turned out that he was a maasive C86 fan and proceeded to blast the bar with obscure but brilliant Weddoes B-side "Never Said" and then followed that up with an all-out disco featuring, amongst others, "Ask Johnny Dee", "Sorry To Embarrass You" and "All Day Long". Now, that WOULD be a holiday to remember...

Ha. I like your ending better.

 

[Albumen]

Ha! I ended up working for Lord Gedge last year, having been worshipping his black Tshirt half my life. Bit surreal, but loved it. Good man.

 

[tinycowboy]

Ha! I ended up working for Lord Gedge last year, having been worshipping his black Tshirt half my life. Bit surreal, but loved it. Good man.

Hope it went OK - he gives those sound engineers a bit of stick on the George Best album...

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Hope it went OK - he gives those sound engineers a bit of stick on the George Best album...

Stop asking me if it sands aright. We've 'ad one or two o' them today so far today. Its good, but what you two ah paid to do is make sure it does sand aright..

Always smile at that bit. Can picture the two chaps looking at each other, eyebrows raised, thinking 'what the ****'s wrong with him?'

 

[tinycowboy]

Stop asking me if it sands aright. We've 'ad one or two o' them today so far today. Its good, but what you two ah paid to do is make sure it does sand aright..

Always smile at that bit. Can picture the two chaps looking at each other, eyebrows raised, thinking 'what the ****'s wrong with him?'

I remember these words being repeated every time me and my mate played our guitars at our parents' houses and there was a query about sound quality (good or bad). Quite funny to listen to (Gedge, not us), always made me wonder whether he wasn't a bit annoying and autocratic with 'the band' and studio staff.