NeilInFrance
Well-known member
Sent the following mail to nick.roberts@bbc.co.uk
Hoping he will take it seriously, but don't hesitate to ask him for a tune for me by email or on Twitter https://twitter.com/nickyrob with the hashtag #BeatSurrender
Hi Nick,
I’m 55 years old on Saturday August 27th. As I am your biggest fan (I’m 6'10 and 23 stone – joke), I’m sure you’ll want to dedicate the whole show to me, so here’s my playlist. With some notes below.
The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1966)
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (1972)
The Goodies - Wild Thing (1975)
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (1977)
X Ray Specs – World Turned Dayglo (1977)
No More Heroes - The Stranglers (1977)
Blondie -11:59 (1978)
Ramones - Judy is a Punk (1976)
The Jam - A' Bomb in Wardour Street (1978)
The Clash - The Guns of Brixton (1979)
The Specials - Monkey Man (1979)
The Beatles - Get Back (1970)
Japan - Adolescent Sex (1978)
Altered Images - Happy Birthday (1981)
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love with Somebody (1978)
BowWowWow - Go Wild in the Country (1982)
The Jam - Beat Surrender (1982)
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (1983)
Toy Dolls - Nelly The Elephant (1984)
Time Zone - World Destruction (1984)
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (1984)
This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren (1983)
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge (1978)
The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl (1986)
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Love Missile F1-11 (1986)
The Primitives - Crash (1986)
Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday (1987)
Pogues - Sally MacLennane (1985)
Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (1988)
Throwing Muses - Saving Grace (1988)
Les Négresses Vertes - Zorbi la Mouche (1988)
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
The Stunning – Brewing Up a Storm (1989)
Moe Tucker – I’m Waiting for the Man (1991)
Breeders - No Aloha (1993)
Maximo Park - Our Velocity (2007)
Anti-Nowhere League - So What (only if you want to retire from the radio straight after the show)
I’ve been listening to you present Beat Surrender for over ten years (has it been that many?). My usual Saturday routine has been to listen to Middlesbrough underperform on radio Tees and then tune in to Beat Surrender as I cook the evening meal (sometimes switching to Radio Newcastle when Tees wasn’t carrying the program). It has been a wonderful experience. Reconnecting me to music I love and the North-East. Highlights have been many Saturday evenings where my teenage daughters have screamed downstairs to “turn the music down.”
The choice of songs is in almost chronological order and very much centred on my early life and music as I discovered it. I’ve done my best to remain within the Beat Surrender ethos of independent, alternative and Brit Pop and I worried about not having too many swearwords until the last one (which has them all).
The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1966)
This is a bit of a cheat because it was a hit before I was born. But they seem to be a group who were always present as I grew up and are very much Geordie-pop legends.
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (1972)
My Mum worked in children’s homes from the early 70s and I was very much aware of young girls dressing up and being utterly devoted to act like David Bowie, Marc Bolan and then the Bay City Rollers. Bowie’s influence was massive. My personal fascination – aged 7 - was with Garry Glitter, but perhaps less said about that, the better.
The Goodies - Wild Thing (1975)
I loved the silliness of the Goodies as a kid and one of my greatest achievements has been to transmit the virus to my own French daughters. But even when Wild Thing was a hit for the Goodies, I knew it was originally a hit by The Troggs, my musically education had started. But this is more fun!
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (1977)
It is hard to imagine the impact that God Save The Queen had on UK society in 1977. It was banned from the radio and TV. The only way to hear it was to buy the record or know someone who already owned it. My mate Nick walked around a park below his flat in Monkseaton with his Mum’s copy under his arm, inviting people up to listen to it. Hearing it, then watching other people listen to it, changed my life. I often say to people that I was a 10-year-old Punk. But looking at the dates now I was only 9 years-old!
X Ray Spex – World Turned Dayglo (1977)
Again, it is so hard to imagine now how much Punk deranged at the time. From a child’s perspective, adults seem to be very scared of the Punk movement and tried to keep children away from it (which made it all the more fascinating). There seemed to be strong hatred of Poly Styrene and she was more taboo than Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious (which is so sad looking back). I never heard The World Turned Dayglo (or Bondage Up Yours) until I was over 40 and probably on Beat Surrender. Seems shocking hearing it on Beat Surrender still
No More Heroes - The Stranglers (1977)
The Stranglers were another Punk group who caused controversy, this time citing Leon Trotsky as a hero in a hit record. But this made them more like heroes in our house. We moved to Oxford from Whitley Bay at this time and spent two years there as my parents became mature students. Talking to Paul, a 21-year-old student friend of my Dad’s from Sunderland, in 1977 he told me “Punk was dead”. I couldn’t believe it was true and spent the next 10 years looking for the punk revival.
Blondie - 11:59 (1978)
Parallel Lines is the first ever album I bought with my own money. I later bought it as a cassette and a CD. I still think of it as the best album ever made. I could pick any song but choose 11:59 as it mentioned “Social Scientist”. My Dad was studying in Oxford to be a social scientist.
My Mum was desperate to know if I fancied Debby Harry. As well as being the singer of Blondie she was a pin-up. Again, hard to imagine now, but you could see semi-nude pictures of Harry everywhere including in ticket offices in train stations. My Mum’s punch-line was that Debby Harry actually older than her.
The Jam - A' Bomb in Wardour Street (1978)
The Jam were massive. It was the first time that anything that could be considered alternative had been so popular in the charts. I was celebrated at school because I’d seen them play on the back of a van during an anti-nazi league march in London.
The Clash - The Guns of Brixton (1979)
My Dad bought me the London Calling album in Oxford, saying he was too old for it. He had been impressed by a documentary on the band which showed them letting fans into a concert through the dressing room windows. This is another top album where I could have chosen one of many songs, but this one because of its nod to reggae and a change in style.
Ramones - Judy is a Punk (1976)
Still very young – probably a 12-year-old Punk by now – I bought an album called “New Wave” which mixed UK and US punk starting with the Ramones Judy is a Punk and also featured the New York Dolls, Richard Hell, The Damned, The Talking Heads and the Runaways. It was an amazing discovery that Punk existed before the Sex Pistols and outside of the UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wave_(compilation_album)
Again it is difficult to imagine the time where you could only hear music you either owned as a record or you heard on the radio. It felt that there was no other way that I could have come into contact with this music and its unique experience without having randomly stumbled on the record in a record shop.
The Specials - Monkey Man (1979)
In 1980 my friends at school were fans of Madness, Bad Manners and we found common ground with The Specials. The Specials album was another of those that I listened to over and over. It was the first album I bought as a cassette rather than a vinyl.
The Beatles - Get Back (1970)
But then strangely I got side-tracked into The Beatles and started a collection of their albums as they were released to cassette. I didn’t get to Get Back until the end of this adventure, but as the last Beatles song it seems appropriate here. By the time John Lennon was shot I was already a big fan. Woman was the first single I bought as a cassette.
Japan – Adolescent Sex (1978)
In the early 80, a friend called Graham got me into Japan and we were the Whitley Bay anti-Duran Duran Front. However rather than being a fan of the contemporary Japan I got into their back-catalogue and discovered what they did in 1978 was what I liked best. Mick Karn on bass is the best. If you’re not allowed to play a song with “Sex” in the title, play Gentleman Play Polaroids for the lovely bass.
Altered Images - Happy Birthday (1981)
I still have a crush on Clare Grogan 40 years after Gregory’s Girl and I was also a fan of her in Altered Images. I loved her radio programs on 6Music too. This is for me, because it’s my birthday.
Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love with Somebody (1978)
This was another case of discovering much later a group that I loved. I picked up the Love Bites cassette in a sale and listened to it again and again. Many songs from this album could be here, but this one because it also became a hit in the 80s with Fine Young Cannibals.
BowWowWow - Go Wild in the Country (1982)
Strange now I’m looking back, although they were the champion of recording music on cassettes and I was buying all my music on cassette, I bought See Jungle! See Jungle! as a vinyl album. My Mum accused me of only being interested in the naked girl on the cover. Anabelle Lwin was the same age could have been in my class at school. We were 14. My interest was in what Malcolm McLaren was doing.
The Jam - Beat Surrender (1982)
Beat Surrender was The Jam’s final single and I seem to remember that their final performance was on The Tube – a new music show recorded in Newcastle – that started to have a big influence on my music tastes.
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (1983)
This choice is less to do with Kevin Roland and more to do with Eileen Gallagher who was my boss in the New Clarendon pub in North Shields when I was eighteen. The New Clarendon had regular music nights, but you were more likely to hear “Come On Eileen” when she was playing darts.
Toy Dolls – Nelly The Elephant (1984)
I started going out on weekends before I was eighteen. Hitting Whitley Bay and then the Bigg Market in Newcastle. I never saw them live but a big moment in many nights out was when the Toy Dolls hit was played. Nelly being my nickname at the time, I was first on the dancefloor.
Time Zone - World Destruction (1984)
After the Sex Pistols broke up, I followed the career of John Lydon and PIL, but I particularly liked this collaboration with rapper Afrika Bambaataa. It was an early introduction to a new music genre and talked about a popular subject at the time – “nuclear war” (what are you asking for). As a member of CND it was one of my principal preoccupations.
This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren (1983)
I heard this song on the radio sometime between 1983 and 1985, instantly fell in love with it but failed to note who the group was or what the song was called. After a few attempts at singing the song to amused record shop owners I gave up. Then becoming a student in Middlesbrough in 1985, my house mate Ian put the record on and I finally found out who it was. Later also blowing my mind when I realised the song was by Tim Buckley and part of my Dad’s record collection.
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (1994)
Ian and a group of new friends got me into the Manchester alternative scene and most importantly The Smiths who I grew on me over time.
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge (1978)
But part of the same group of friends were punks Candy and Eric and through them we into the mid-80s punk scene (ah-ha it wasn’t dead you see!). Candy had VHS cassettes of punk bands where I saw some of my heros from the New Wave album for the first time and also discovered the mesmerising Devo in concert with plant-pots on their heads.
The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl (1986)
We spent a lot of time in Blaises nightclub in Middlesbrough, but also ventured out to concerts including The Cramps in Newcastle. Where I was literally cramped at the front underneath the menacing Poison Ivy.
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Love Missile F1-11 (1986)
A big event among us was the excitement around the launch of a new punk band Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Some of our friends were convinced, but hearing Love Missile for the first time on the Tube in 1986, I was unimpressed. It was better marketing than music.
The Primitives - Crash (1986)
Still desperate for the re-birth of punk, The Primitives were also dubbed a punk band. I went to see them at the Newcastle Mayfair too. A group of lads spent the concert spitting on Tracey Tracey to test her punk credentials. It wasn’t punk to my mind, but I loved it.
Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday (1987)
It seemed I’d hardly discovered The Smiths before they disbanded. Morissey’s solo album Viva Hate with Everyday Is Like Sunday continued my enjoyment of the music though. I was flabbergasted years later to discover that my then footballing hero Bernie Slaven was also a fan. I never imagined there being a cross-over from football to alternative music. This is dedicated to him. I’m sure he listens.
The Pogues - Sally MacLennane (1985)
I had Rum, Sodomy and the Lash as a cassette. I think that my Dad had bought that for me too. Irish + Punk was a double attraction for me. I saw them at Newcastle Town Hall twice. The last time in 1988. And I was briefly the drummer in a band that reprised some of their songs.
Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (1988)
Billy Bragg was another act I saw a few times in concert. Twice in Newcastle. But I never saw him eat a banana. As a solo performer you could say he was more folk than alternative. But in 1988 he was starting to record and tour with a group. This song starts with him singing solo with the band progressively joining in.
Throwing Muses - Saving Grace (1988)
Finally discovering This Mortal Coil in 1985 meant that I also discovered the 4AD record label and I became a keen follower. The Throwing Muses first followed by the Pixies later.
Les Négresses Vertes - Zorbi la Mouche (1988)
In 1987 I met my now girlfriend and mother to my two wonderful daughters. She was a French student in Newcastle, and she came back to work in Newcastle Poly as a language assistant. Among the concerts we saw at Newcastle Poly were the French band Les Négresses Vertes. I didn’t understand a word of it, but the music was good and, wow, could those guys party!
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Having moved to Paris from Fenham (and becoming Neil In France), I bought Nevermind as a CD in a supermarket I was in to buy a new shower unit for our apartment. Listening to the album for the first time while trying to fit the shower unit, I practically destroyed the bathroom. If your doing DIY listening to this, put the power tools down!
The Stunning – Brewing Up a Storm (1989)
Having been on holiday in Ireland the previous year, we had discovered the new local sensation The Stunning who were touring the country and topping the charts. We never saw them in concert in Ireland but caught them in Paris when they supported Nine Inch Nails.
Moe Tucker – I’m Waiting for the Man (1991)
Another amazing concert in Paris was Moe Tucker’s – drummer from the Velvet Underground. She was performing one night at the Casino de Paris (with Stirling Morrison and John Cale) and Lou Reed was on at the same venue the next night. We had tickets to both. Her set ended with Lou Reed making a “surprise” appearance and we witnessed a full reunion of the Velvet Underground and a reprise of I’m Waiting for the Man which also featured on Tucker’s I Spent a Week There the Other Night album.
Breeders - No Aloha (1993)
Another 4AD label band and big favourites of mine. The Last Splash album I played again and again.
Maximo Park - Our Velocity (2007)
Jump forward to my 2007 and it was Our Earthly Pleasures that I was playing in a loop. So much so that my 40th birthday present from my girlfriend was a flight to London to see them at the Brixton Academy. An amazing concert where I began to officially feel too old for this sort of thing.
Anti-Nowhere League - So What
There’s no way you can play it and you may even hate it, but it the song and video
are ultimate 80s punk. How far can you go to shock and when you do – so what. Who cares?
Well there you go. I will look forward to listening to all of these on Saturday the 27th
I'll understand if you don't play the last one ;-)
Love
Neil In France
Hoping he will take it seriously, but don't hesitate to ask him for a tune for me by email or on Twitter https://twitter.com/nickyrob with the hashtag #BeatSurrender
Hi Nick,
I’m 55 years old on Saturday August 27th. As I am your biggest fan (I’m 6'10 and 23 stone – joke), I’m sure you’ll want to dedicate the whole show to me, so here’s my playlist. With some notes below.
The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1966)
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (1972)
The Goodies - Wild Thing (1975)
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (1977)
X Ray Specs – World Turned Dayglo (1977)
No More Heroes - The Stranglers (1977)
Blondie -11:59 (1978)
Ramones - Judy is a Punk (1976)
The Jam - A' Bomb in Wardour Street (1978)
The Clash - The Guns of Brixton (1979)
The Specials - Monkey Man (1979)
The Beatles - Get Back (1970)
Japan - Adolescent Sex (1978)
Altered Images - Happy Birthday (1981)
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love with Somebody (1978)
BowWowWow - Go Wild in the Country (1982)
The Jam - Beat Surrender (1982)
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (1983)
Toy Dolls - Nelly The Elephant (1984)
Time Zone - World Destruction (1984)
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (1984)
This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren (1983)
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge (1978)
The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl (1986)
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Love Missile F1-11 (1986)
The Primitives - Crash (1986)
Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday (1987)
Pogues - Sally MacLennane (1985)
Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (1988)
Throwing Muses - Saving Grace (1988)
Les Négresses Vertes - Zorbi la Mouche (1988)
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
The Stunning – Brewing Up a Storm (1989)
Moe Tucker – I’m Waiting for the Man (1991)
Breeders - No Aloha (1993)
Maximo Park - Our Velocity (2007)
Anti-Nowhere League - So What (only if you want to retire from the radio straight after the show)
I’ve been listening to you present Beat Surrender for over ten years (has it been that many?). My usual Saturday routine has been to listen to Middlesbrough underperform on radio Tees and then tune in to Beat Surrender as I cook the evening meal (sometimes switching to Radio Newcastle when Tees wasn’t carrying the program). It has been a wonderful experience. Reconnecting me to music I love and the North-East. Highlights have been many Saturday evenings where my teenage daughters have screamed downstairs to “turn the music down.”
The choice of songs is in almost chronological order and very much centred on my early life and music as I discovered it. I’ve done my best to remain within the Beat Surrender ethos of independent, alternative and Brit Pop and I worried about not having too many swearwords until the last one (which has them all).
The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1966)
This is a bit of a cheat because it was a hit before I was born. But they seem to be a group who were always present as I grew up and are very much Geordie-pop legends.
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (1972)
My Mum worked in children’s homes from the early 70s and I was very much aware of young girls dressing up and being utterly devoted to act like David Bowie, Marc Bolan and then the Bay City Rollers. Bowie’s influence was massive. My personal fascination – aged 7 - was with Garry Glitter, but perhaps less said about that, the better.
The Goodies - Wild Thing (1975)
I loved the silliness of the Goodies as a kid and one of my greatest achievements has been to transmit the virus to my own French daughters. But even when Wild Thing was a hit for the Goodies, I knew it was originally a hit by The Troggs, my musically education had started. But this is more fun!
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (1977)
It is hard to imagine the impact that God Save The Queen had on UK society in 1977. It was banned from the radio and TV. The only way to hear it was to buy the record or know someone who already owned it. My mate Nick walked around a park below his flat in Monkseaton with his Mum’s copy under his arm, inviting people up to listen to it. Hearing it, then watching other people listen to it, changed my life. I often say to people that I was a 10-year-old Punk. But looking at the dates now I was only 9 years-old!
X Ray Spex – World Turned Dayglo (1977)
Again, it is so hard to imagine now how much Punk deranged at the time. From a child’s perspective, adults seem to be very scared of the Punk movement and tried to keep children away from it (which made it all the more fascinating). There seemed to be strong hatred of Poly Styrene and she was more taboo than Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious (which is so sad looking back). I never heard The World Turned Dayglo (or Bondage Up Yours) until I was over 40 and probably on Beat Surrender. Seems shocking hearing it on Beat Surrender still
No More Heroes - The Stranglers (1977)
The Stranglers were another Punk group who caused controversy, this time citing Leon Trotsky as a hero in a hit record. But this made them more like heroes in our house. We moved to Oxford from Whitley Bay at this time and spent two years there as my parents became mature students. Talking to Paul, a 21-year-old student friend of my Dad’s from Sunderland, in 1977 he told me “Punk was dead”. I couldn’t believe it was true and spent the next 10 years looking for the punk revival.
Blondie - 11:59 (1978)
Parallel Lines is the first ever album I bought with my own money. I later bought it as a cassette and a CD. I still think of it as the best album ever made. I could pick any song but choose 11:59 as it mentioned “Social Scientist”. My Dad was studying in Oxford to be a social scientist.
My Mum was desperate to know if I fancied Debby Harry. As well as being the singer of Blondie she was a pin-up. Again, hard to imagine now, but you could see semi-nude pictures of Harry everywhere including in ticket offices in train stations. My Mum’s punch-line was that Debby Harry actually older than her.
The Jam - A' Bomb in Wardour Street (1978)
The Jam were massive. It was the first time that anything that could be considered alternative had been so popular in the charts. I was celebrated at school because I’d seen them play on the back of a van during an anti-nazi league march in London.
The Clash - The Guns of Brixton (1979)
My Dad bought me the London Calling album in Oxford, saying he was too old for it. He had been impressed by a documentary on the band which showed them letting fans into a concert through the dressing room windows. This is another top album where I could have chosen one of many songs, but this one because of its nod to reggae and a change in style.
Ramones - Judy is a Punk (1976)
Still very young – probably a 12-year-old Punk by now – I bought an album called “New Wave” which mixed UK and US punk starting with the Ramones Judy is a Punk and also featured the New York Dolls, Richard Hell, The Damned, The Talking Heads and the Runaways. It was an amazing discovery that Punk existed before the Sex Pistols and outside of the UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wave_(compilation_album)
Again it is difficult to imagine the time where you could only hear music you either owned as a record or you heard on the radio. It felt that there was no other way that I could have come into contact with this music and its unique experience without having randomly stumbled on the record in a record shop.
The Specials - Monkey Man (1979)
In 1980 my friends at school were fans of Madness, Bad Manners and we found common ground with The Specials. The Specials album was another of those that I listened to over and over. It was the first album I bought as a cassette rather than a vinyl.
The Beatles - Get Back (1970)
But then strangely I got side-tracked into The Beatles and started a collection of their albums as they were released to cassette. I didn’t get to Get Back until the end of this adventure, but as the last Beatles song it seems appropriate here. By the time John Lennon was shot I was already a big fan. Woman was the first single I bought as a cassette.
Japan – Adolescent Sex (1978)
In the early 80, a friend called Graham got me into Japan and we were the Whitley Bay anti-Duran Duran Front. However rather than being a fan of the contemporary Japan I got into their back-catalogue and discovered what they did in 1978 was what I liked best. Mick Karn on bass is the best. If you’re not allowed to play a song with “Sex” in the title, play Gentleman Play Polaroids for the lovely bass.
Altered Images - Happy Birthday (1981)
I still have a crush on Clare Grogan 40 years after Gregory’s Girl and I was also a fan of her in Altered Images. I loved her radio programs on 6Music too. This is for me, because it’s my birthday.
Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love with Somebody (1978)
This was another case of discovering much later a group that I loved. I picked up the Love Bites cassette in a sale and listened to it again and again. Many songs from this album could be here, but this one because it also became a hit in the 80s with Fine Young Cannibals.
BowWowWow - Go Wild in the Country (1982)
Strange now I’m looking back, although they were the champion of recording music on cassettes and I was buying all my music on cassette, I bought See Jungle! See Jungle! as a vinyl album. My Mum accused me of only being interested in the naked girl on the cover. Anabelle Lwin was the same age could have been in my class at school. We were 14. My interest was in what Malcolm McLaren was doing.
The Jam - Beat Surrender (1982)
Beat Surrender was The Jam’s final single and I seem to remember that their final performance was on The Tube – a new music show recorded in Newcastle – that started to have a big influence on my music tastes.
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen (1983)
This choice is less to do with Kevin Roland and more to do with Eileen Gallagher who was my boss in the New Clarendon pub in North Shields when I was eighteen. The New Clarendon had regular music nights, but you were more likely to hear “Come On Eileen” when she was playing darts.
Toy Dolls – Nelly The Elephant (1984)
I started going out on weekends before I was eighteen. Hitting Whitley Bay and then the Bigg Market in Newcastle. I never saw them live but a big moment in many nights out was when the Toy Dolls hit was played. Nelly being my nickname at the time, I was first on the dancefloor.
Time Zone - World Destruction (1984)
After the Sex Pistols broke up, I followed the career of John Lydon and PIL, but I particularly liked this collaboration with rapper Afrika Bambaataa. It was an early introduction to a new music genre and talked about a popular subject at the time – “nuclear war” (what are you asking for). As a member of CND it was one of my principal preoccupations.
This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren (1983)
I heard this song on the radio sometime between 1983 and 1985, instantly fell in love with it but failed to note who the group was or what the song was called. After a few attempts at singing the song to amused record shop owners I gave up. Then becoming a student in Middlesbrough in 1985, my house mate Ian put the record on and I finally found out who it was. Later also blowing my mind when I realised the song was by Tim Buckley and part of my Dad’s record collection.
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (1994)
Ian and a group of new friends got me into the Manchester alternative scene and most importantly The Smiths who I grew on me over time.
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge (1978)
But part of the same group of friends were punks Candy and Eric and through them we into the mid-80s punk scene (ah-ha it wasn’t dead you see!). Candy had VHS cassettes of punk bands where I saw some of my heros from the New Wave album for the first time and also discovered the mesmerising Devo in concert with plant-pots on their heads.
The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl (1986)
We spent a lot of time in Blaises nightclub in Middlesbrough, but also ventured out to concerts including The Cramps in Newcastle. Where I was literally cramped at the front underneath the menacing Poison Ivy.
Sigue Sigue Sputnik Love Missile F1-11 (1986)
A big event among us was the excitement around the launch of a new punk band Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Some of our friends were convinced, but hearing Love Missile for the first time on the Tube in 1986, I was unimpressed. It was better marketing than music.
The Primitives - Crash (1986)
Still desperate for the re-birth of punk, The Primitives were also dubbed a punk band. I went to see them at the Newcastle Mayfair too. A group of lads spent the concert spitting on Tracey Tracey to test her punk credentials. It wasn’t punk to my mind, but I loved it.
Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday (1987)
It seemed I’d hardly discovered The Smiths before they disbanded. Morissey’s solo album Viva Hate with Everyday Is Like Sunday continued my enjoyment of the music though. I was flabbergasted years later to discover that my then footballing hero Bernie Slaven was also a fan. I never imagined there being a cross-over from football to alternative music. This is dedicated to him. I’m sure he listens.
The Pogues - Sally MacLennane (1985)
I had Rum, Sodomy and the Lash as a cassette. I think that my Dad had bought that for me too. Irish + Punk was a double attraction for me. I saw them at Newcastle Town Hall twice. The last time in 1988. And I was briefly the drummer in a band that reprised some of their songs.
Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (1988)
Billy Bragg was another act I saw a few times in concert. Twice in Newcastle. But I never saw him eat a banana. As a solo performer you could say he was more folk than alternative. But in 1988 he was starting to record and tour with a group. This song starts with him singing solo with the band progressively joining in.
Throwing Muses - Saving Grace (1988)
Finally discovering This Mortal Coil in 1985 meant that I also discovered the 4AD record label and I became a keen follower. The Throwing Muses first followed by the Pixies later.
Les Négresses Vertes - Zorbi la Mouche (1988)
In 1987 I met my now girlfriend and mother to my two wonderful daughters. She was a French student in Newcastle, and she came back to work in Newcastle Poly as a language assistant. Among the concerts we saw at Newcastle Poly were the French band Les Négresses Vertes. I didn’t understand a word of it, but the music was good and, wow, could those guys party!
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Having moved to Paris from Fenham (and becoming Neil In France), I bought Nevermind as a CD in a supermarket I was in to buy a new shower unit for our apartment. Listening to the album for the first time while trying to fit the shower unit, I practically destroyed the bathroom. If your doing DIY listening to this, put the power tools down!
The Stunning – Brewing Up a Storm (1989)
Having been on holiday in Ireland the previous year, we had discovered the new local sensation The Stunning who were touring the country and topping the charts. We never saw them in concert in Ireland but caught them in Paris when they supported Nine Inch Nails.
Moe Tucker – I’m Waiting for the Man (1991)
Another amazing concert in Paris was Moe Tucker’s – drummer from the Velvet Underground. She was performing one night at the Casino de Paris (with Stirling Morrison and John Cale) and Lou Reed was on at the same venue the next night. We had tickets to both. Her set ended with Lou Reed making a “surprise” appearance and we witnessed a full reunion of the Velvet Underground and a reprise of I’m Waiting for the Man which also featured on Tucker’s I Spent a Week There the Other Night album.
Breeders - No Aloha (1993)
Another 4AD label band and big favourites of mine. The Last Splash album I played again and again.
Maximo Park - Our Velocity (2007)
Jump forward to my 2007 and it was Our Earthly Pleasures that I was playing in a loop. So much so that my 40th birthday present from my girlfriend was a flight to London to see them at the Brixton Academy. An amazing concert where I began to officially feel too old for this sort of thing.
Anti-Nowhere League - So What
There’s no way you can play it and you may even hate it, but it the song and video
Well there you go. I will look forward to listening to all of these on Saturday the 27th
I'll understand if you don't play the last one ;-)
Love
Neil In France
