The Ex ‎– "Too Many Cowboys" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 25) 1987

Dunno about Too Many Cowboys for a title? How about Too Many Tracks?
Nothing particularly ground breaking, music wise on this long collection of live and studio cuts, from Ex Van Crass. It sounds like The Ex gave a pretty highly charged Live performance,which is probably where they are the most relevant; otherwise its just standard,and very dated ,mid-eighties protest punk. Time hasn't been as kind to this sort of soapbox punk,but it stubbornly refuses to go away, unlike most of the other groups on the Ron Johnson roster, who nearly without exception broke up in or around 1988. But the music of the quirkier side of the labels output seems far fresher and relevant than The Ex's contributions;and it's The Ex who are still around today.No doubt sounding exactly the same, despite the members pushing sixty years of age.
This is no bad thing?

Tracklist:

1 Red & Black 5:47
2 White Shirts 3:53
3 Adversity 0:30
4 People Again 4:12
5 Knock 2:46
6 Hands Up, You're Free 3:06
7 Ignorance 2:54
8 Butter Or Bombs 4:11
9 Dumbo 3:18
10 How Can One Sell The Air 5:46
11 Business As Usual 5:56
12 Olympigs 4:19
13 Choice 2:58
14 A Job / Stupid 2:40
15 Oops 6:32
16 No Fear 5:04
17 Vivisection 1:19
18 A Piece Of Paper 6:37
19 They Shall Not Pass 3:28

DOWNLOAD the ex, why and ZZZZZZ of protest punk HERE!

The Ex ‎– "1936, The Spanish Revolution" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 11) 1986

Apparently, this was one of the great loss makers for Ron Johnson Records......I quote Dave Parsons (Mr Ron Johnson)....."The Ex double-single was a fiasco of Rough Trade's making - they sold it at a price that was lower than the manufacturing cost and because it was reviewed as such amazing product for such amazing price felt that they couldn't put the price up - it sold 15000 copies and RJ lost £15000! Fantastic."

The Ex were a Dutch Crass basically, but had a little more imagination with their limited musical ability.
The soapbox nature of their political ideology, if it can be called an ideology, gets a tad tiresome, as does the endless bleating of Crass.
Personally if you follow any political dogma, and constantly bang on about it, you're as much an enemy as those pricks who feel a need to control other peoples lives.
For me Anarchy should be as politicianless, as much as leaderless; but as always there's always someone, some Human, who wants to be the leader, unopposed if necessary, to crush our collective spirit in a different, but the same, way.
The Ex, in my opinion, were not a Ron Johnson band,and like the Sewer Zombies later on,I cannot explain their appeal!?
Tracklist:

A1 They Shall Not Pass 3:47
A2 El Tren Blindado 3:06
B1 People Again 4:30
B2 Ay Carmela 3:13

DOWNLOAD some stuff glorifying the anti-franco anarchists of 1936 by some 'anarchists' from 1986 HERE!

Stump - " The Complete Peel Sessions 1986-88" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

Stump were exactly the kind of group that Peel would love. Quirky, over-clever, slightly irritating,and popular on the campus, primarily with the geekier end of the university chess club.
For some reason I can't remember Peel playing 'The Cardiacs' at all?....they tick all the Peel Band boxes twice over!?
Naturally, Stump did four sessions before they were drowned in infancy by the moozik biz......and here they are......:

Track Listing:

01 Kitchen Table [26-01-86]
02 Orgasm Way [26-01-86]
03 Grab Hands [26-01-86]
04 Buffalo [26-01-86]
05 Tupperware Stripper [24-06-86]
06 Big End [24-06-86]
07 Satisfaction [24-06-86]
08 Bit-Part Actor [24-06-86]
09 Living it Down [13-01-87]
10 Eager Bereaver [13-01-87]
11 Alcohol [13-01-87]
12 Bone [13-01-87]
13 The Song's Remains [13-09-88]
14 Thelma [13-09-88]
15 Seven Sisters [13-09-88]
16 Straight And Narrow [13-09-88]

DOWNLOAD the remains of a once noble tree HERE!

Stump ‎– "Quirk Out" (Stuff Records ‎– STUF/U2) 1986

Then Stump mysteriously appeared in a high gloss sleeved mini-album on some unknown label called 'Stuff Records'. Obviously to anyone with half a brain cell, this label was a crass attempt by major label wankers Ensign to try and resemble an Independent set up so as not to alienate Stump's fan base......which it did. They even had it distributed by The Cartel, so a stealthy,but doomed, effort was indeed made.
The catalogue number was good anyway....Stuff U2!
The tunes are the usual tremolo heavy, herky jerky, slidey quirk out's that the group were synonymous with. The intensely irritating 'Buffalo' is included, along with a decent tune that could have been written by a person skilled in the art of classic songcraft, "Our Fathers".If there was a Beefheart equivalent to this tune, it would be from fan base losing "Blue Jeans and Moon Beams" rather than fan base rebuilding "Doc at the Radar Station"; and benefits greatly from a total lack of.... 'Quirk Out'! 

Tracklist:

A1 Tupperware Stripper
A2 Our Fathers
A3 Kitchen Table
B1 Buffalo
B2 Everything In Its Place
B3 Bit Part Actor

DOWNLOAD and stuff U2 HERE!

Stump ‎– "Mud On A Colon EP" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 6) 1986

Peculiar London Based Anglo-Irish combo who sounded like Captain Beefheart's Magic Band fronted by Jimmy Cricket. Slightly annoying and 'clever clever'; these show-offs nearly made it as a chart band!?....They signed to a 'proper' record label and consequently were never heard of again.....the same old story. The fact that they were snapped up by one of the shitter 'proper' record labels (Ensign?!) couldn't have helped their prospects for lucrative longevity.
The original singer was none other than that irritating bloke from The Shrubs, Nick Hobbs, who was sacked for being 'too serious'!? Then he got replaced by the slightly less irritating Mick Lynch (who died earlier this year, RIP).
An EP is about all i can take in one sitting, so luckily Ron Johnson didn't inflict a full album on us...leave that to Ensign.
It didn't help that they used a fretless bass! One of thee most awful instruments ever devised, alongside the soprano sax, and the Yamaha DX-7.
Stump, as a whole, were a kind of hip novelty band, who one struggled to take seriously, even though they weren't at all funny(?)....maybe Nick Hobbs should have stayed on? 

Tracklist:

A1 Orgasm Way
A2 Ice The Levant
B1 Grab Hands
B2 55-0-55

DOWNLOAD that mud from your colon HERE!

Twang! ‎– "Sharp" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON14) 1986

Here's another version of 'Sharp' by the very sharp and funky post punk disco combo Twang! One of their very few official releases from a very short career......other groups should learn by their example and split up, especially any group, or relations of, from 1990 onwards(except a few very rare exceptions of course).

Tracklist:

A Sharp
B Eight At A Time

Bonus track:

"Whats the Rub?" -from some free flexi disc what came with a magazine or something in 1986.

DOWNLOAD sharpish HERE!

Twang! ‎– "Kick And Complain" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON22) 1987

Twang!'s razor sharp post punk funk gets the Ron Johnson treatment as it falls off the cliff into near total obscurity.
The choppy lead/rhythm guitars sit in the foreground of the mix, and slash through that absurdly massive gated snare drum nonsense that dominates the midfield, like a bacon slicer attacking a rabid  mousse aux chocolat!
The eighties fashion for creating drum sounds that suggest a Norwegian Icebreaker being dropped onto a Nazi submarine pen ruined a  lot of records dynamics; but this one manages to negate the claustrophobia by keeping the lead instruments sharp and free of those horrible early digital effects units.

Tracklist:

A1 Cut Candidate
A2 Cold Tongue Bulletin
B1 Sharp
B2 Every Home Should Have One

DOWNLOAD before someone complains for kicks HERE!

Twang! - "Peel Sessions 1986" (a Die or DIY? compilation)

Twang! were a mixture of Josef K, The Pop Group,and the kind of stuff that could get in the charts in the eighties, like Haircut 100 and Living In A Box.A kind of spiky post-punk speed funk, in the mould of Postcard Records,but with lashings of aggression.
Like The MacKenzies, they were rather under-represented on vinyl, releasing a single, an EP, and a twelve inch dance remix piece of desperate rubbish.
Again they were best represented by their two peel sessions from 1986.But with a spectacular lack of success they split up around the time of the Acid House phenomenon....like every other good band did.

Track Listing:

01 Eight at a Time(12-2-86)
02 Cold Tongue Bulletin(12-2-86)
03 Big Dry Out(12-2-86)
04 Law Suit Man(12-2-86)
05 What's The Rap_(29-12-86)
06 Every Home Should Have One(29-12-86)
07 This Is Intrusion(29-12-86)
08 Here's Lukewarm(29-12-86)

DOWNLOAD what every home should have HERE!

Mackenzies ‎– "A Sensual Assault 12" EP" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON15) 1986

When one purchases a MacKenzies record, one doesn't intend to purchase an Art Of Noise/Trevor Horn remix atrocity.......but thats what you get with this EP. Massive and extremely dated digital drum machine sounds, and stereo panned gated reverb nonsense. Almost the worst release on Ron Johnson, only bettered, or worsened, by The Sewer Zombies LP.
They weren't the only group on this label to fall into the eighties 'remix' trap. A Witness and Twang! bid it too......but not quite to this extent of awfulness.

Tracklist:

A1 Mealy Mouths
A2 Trouble
B1 Mealy Mouths (Radio Edit)
B2 Jim Jam

DOWNLOAD this sensual insult HERE!

MacKenzies ‎– "New Breed (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 9) 1986

Incredibly this is the only official release of the original MacKenzies style, before they lost interest and chased some disco cred with the follow up.The fact that they failed to see that they already made very danceable  tunes is nothing short of unbelievable and tragic.
The Indie/Dance crossover tracks they did after this solitary single, were far less danceable in my opinion,and incredibly dated and boring.
Ironically this single is far less dated and the very opposite of boring.....a classic.

Tracklist:

1 New Breed
2 Dogs Breakfast

3 bonus track from c-86 compilation - "Big Jim(There's No Pubs In Heaven)

DOWNLOAD the mackenzies official recorded career HERE!

The MacKenzies - "The Legendary Peel Sessions of 1986" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

Whereas I was complaining that The Shrubs put too much on one record, The MacKenzies didn't put enough stuff on any recorded music format....until now!
Their entire vinyl output was an excellent 7" single, and a not so excellent 12" EP of naff  eighties dance remixes of 'Mealy Mouths'.
They did, however,record two Peel sessions before they broke up; the first of which was so admired by the venerable DJ that he repeated it a record seven times!?
A tragically under-recorded and long forgotten, late flowering of the Postcard sound was The MacKenzies. Fast choppy indie-funk, that made those pale young men just wanna dance,even without the aid of a fistful of disco biscuits.
The MacKenzies would fall victim of the ensuing 'dance' revolution,but not before releasing, a fine single,and one of the very rare 'shit' records on Ron Johnson. The Peel Sessions are the only place where this fine group's well-oiled machinery was ever captured in action.
The bastard offspring of the Fire Engines and Josef K,this group flickered into existence only briefly like a man made heavy element in a particle accelerator.Whose existence can only now be proved by mathematical theory as we wait for the next unstable creation to form.If they had stayed around like an inert gas,or The Fall,they would have been a cult element on the periodic table of pop. Like number 117, Ununhexium, or Uuh; which some lunatics believe is the basis of an anti-gravity system that could propel mankind deep into the cold heart of empty space,where only the most distant stars inhabit.....rather like the music star system.Its best to stay earthbound rather than reach for the stars only to find out that they harbor no life,and confirm that we are,after all, alone!
What I am saying is, that it's best to stop before one does something you're gonna be ashamed of artistically and personally.
If Dire Straits had stopped after their first single, we'd have thought that they were a pretty good group.....but no;and the rest is a tragic example of why one should bow out well before the crest of the wave starts to form.

Track Listing:

01 New Breed (10-2-86)
02 Man with No Reason (10-2-86)
03 Give Me Everything (10-2-86)
04 Gobstopper (10-2-86)
05 Milk (30-7-86)
06 Big Jim (30-7-86)
07 Mealy Mouths (30-7-86)
08 Jingle (30-7-86)

DOWNLOAD the legend HERE!

The Shrubs - "Peel Sessions 1986/87" (a Die or DIY? compilation)

Surprise! Surprise! The Shrubs did some(2) Peel Sessions.
The usual complex skewed guitar interplay, rolling drums, and manic vocals; resulting in a glorious, abstract, art damaged collection of Shrubbery.
Congratulations to the BBC's Dale Griffin(RIP), who managed to blend the vocals further back in the mix to previous releases by the group.Obviously the Singer (Nick Hobbs) must normally have been in the control room asking for his vocals to be louder; as is a normal pastime for most musicians in the recording studio.
Rule number one for a producer is to never have musicians in the control room during the mixing process....they think that they're 'Artists'!?

Track Listing:

01 John Corpse [22-06-86]
02 Blackmailer[22-06-86]
03 Animal[22-06-86]
04 Assassin[22-06-86]
05 King Um [26-08-1987]
06 Papa Chaperon [26-08-1987]
07 Sullen Days Are Over [26-08-1987]
08 Bullfighter's Bones (Bonus C-86 track)

DOWNLOAD directly to your musical garden HERE!

The Shrubs ‎– "Take Me Aside For A Midnight Harangue" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 23) 1987

What did I say about not allowing The Shrubs to do an LP?....this would have made three great EP's.
The Beefheart Influence looms large, leaning towards an amphetamine fueled Magic Band 'Shiny Beast" era. Morris-Teper rather than Horn Rollo; but whereas the good Captain took a break from the manic-ness  with the occasional poem,field recording, or calm instrumental. The Shrubs are in top gear for nigh on the full 13 Tracks, only ending with a calming Peon-esque instrumental.
However, the music is fantastic; the guitar interplay is worthy of The Magic Band itself, filtered through a very English psyche! There can be no higher compliment than that.

Tracklist:

A1 Mysterious Places 2:58
A2 Luke 2:20
A3 Fashion Show 3:33
A4 Middle Men 3:52
A5 Claykiln Mouth 3:35
A6 Blackmailer's Heartache 3:11
A7 Rivers Of Toads Flow Forever 3:24
B1 Sinister Missions 3:06
B2 John Corpse 3:57
B3 Hail Chauffeurs 4:28
B4 Serial Revelry 2:42
B5 Farmers 4:45
B6 Edith 4:04
B7 Albert Ross 0:54

DOWNLOAD for a midnight harangue HERE!

The Shrubs ‎– "Blackmailer EP" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 17) 1986

Its spring again and the Shrubs are in bloom, nurtured from dormant seeds sown thirty years previously.
These particular Shrubs are a variety nourished by equal quantities of Trout Mask Replica and Pere Ubu, resulting in wiry green shoots tipped with bitter tasting but, nutritionally rewarding berries.
Side A's two seeds were germinated in This Heat's Cold Storage, under the auspices of Henry Cow and The Work's Tim Hodgkinson.
Side B's were re-potted from the BBC's John Peel Show, after being cultivated by the late Dale Griffin in june 1986.
Again, I reiterate, that these Shrubs' tendrils must be pruned back to EP length, as Album length tendrils can irritate due to the annoying sound of the Nick Hobbs warbler which likes to nest among these very leaves.
Thankfully, the leaves of the 'Blackmailer' variety are perfect for these Shrubs.

Tracklist:

A1 Blackmailer 1:59
A2 River Of Toads 2:36
B1 Assassin 2:27
B2 Animal 3:01

DOWNLOAD without being blackmailed HERE!

The Shrubs ‎– "Full Steam Into The Brainstorm" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 10) 1986

Now, musically, The Shrubs were fine exponents of the Captain Beefheart dueling guitars in challenging time signatures method of composition.
But, unlike the Magic Band, they didn't have a singer to match the music.Former Henry Cow manager, Nick Hobbs had the microphone, and he irritates the fuck out of me! His over enthusiastic forced warbling outstays its welcome very quickly; as does his obvious desire to sound as weird and unusual as he thinks he is, which sounds as contrived as Don Van Vliet but without the artists sense of the Abstract that the late Beefheart obviously had.
Formerly called The Kevin Staples Band(despite not having anyone called Kevin Staples in the group!), they changed their name to the forgettable Shrubs'' moniker  before they released this debut EP on Ron Johnson Records. And, the 'EP' format definitely suits them, to limit the listeners exposure to the grossly annoying Nick Hobbs, File under annoying lead singers, alongside Steve "Shirley" Solomar of The Spherical Objects, and Alan Jenkins of The Deep Freeze Mice.

Tracklist:
A1 Carbreaker 3:38
A2 Dead Teachers 2:55
A3 Warm Sea 3:20
B1 Black Saloons 3:33
B2 The Dealer 4:42
B3 Bullfighter 3:45

DOWNLOAD on full steam ahead HERE!

A Witness ‎– "I Love You, Mr Disposable Razors" (Vinyl Drip International ‎– SUK 10) 1989

For the completists out there,here's the contrived farewell single from A Witness, with a prime example of what crud was happening in music around the dark days of 'Madchester' stuck on the b-side. The 'art' of the remix had started,and they were nearly ALL shit, and a total rip off and/or cop out. I quite liked Vince Clarkes remix of  "Wrote For Luck" by the sub-moronic Crappy Mondays, but apart from that....shit.

On BBC 4 last night, i was gobsmacked to see listed an hour long documentary on ,so-called, 'Classic Albums', and couldn't believe it when the album in question, was the worst album of all time, "Screamadelica". Seeing the persons responsible for this crime against culture, talking deadly serious and pretentious nonsense about this terrible affront to civilization , as if it was up there with Beethoven's Ninth, or Michaelangelo's Sistene Chapel frescoes (before renovation);left me open mouthed in astonishment.... Fuck Me! Gillespie probably thinks he is Beethoven and Michaelangelo reincarnated.Come back in the form of the lank haired scottish poseur genius himself to punish us.

How they droned on about that fucking terrible "Loaded" Andy Wetherall remix, as if it was some kind of genius, was nothing short of sickening.I had to stop this self-torture and go and do something more intellectually stimulating, like have a shit!

Indeed, A Witness did one of these things on track three, that makes "Loaded" look like the act of genius Bobby Gillespie thinks it is, and the genius that he thinks he is.

Despite the contrived surrealism of the title track, and the dumb crapness of the remix; the version of the song that began modern pop music, "Tomorrow Never Knows", is a pretty decent attempt at a genuine classic, so 3/10 isn't too bad after all,or, after Weatherall.

A Witness fell off a cliff after this,as their guitarist and band leader Rick Aitkin literally did the same and died!

Tracklist:
A1 I Love You, Mr Disposable Razors
B1 Tomorrow Never Knows
B2 Razors Lifestyle Mix

DOWNLOAD mr disposable single HERE!

A Witness ‎– "I Am John's Pancreas" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 12) 1986

Atonal, Angular, Discordant, drum machine driven pop from Stockports finest alternative music combo........its a classic.....can't be arsed to write ought else.

Tracklist:

A1 Smelt Like A Pedestrian
A2 O'Grady's Dream
A3 Car Skidding
A4 Red Snake
A5 Dipping Bird
B1 Sharpened Sticks
B2 The Loudhailer Song
B3 Legs Be Sturdy
B4 4.49 Stool
B5 Hard Days Love

Bonus Track

Red Snake 12" version

DOWNLOAD to regulate john's blood sugar levels HERE!

A Witness ‎– "One Foot In The Groove EP" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON30) 1988

A very listenable EP from the later incarnation of 'A Witness' with a human drummer. It has a couple of tracks that have that 'I'm sure I've heard this before' quality about them,like Macca felt when he wrote 'Yesterday'. The Riff to 'Raw Patch' had to have been written before surely..... but it hasn't. It has that classic simplicity like an Indie 'Smoke On The Water'.
"Zip Up" would also have been an indie classic if it had come out a year earlier, but unfortunately this record along with every good group in 1988 got swamped by the drugged up dancing hordes of the Magic Roundabout,or whatever those blissed out Chav's and 'luvved up' former football hooligans called the M25 London orbital motorway? 
I can confirm that A Witness never resorted to shaking a tambourine,dusting off the Wah-Wah and getting 'Funky'.They just split up and left all that nonsense to fellow c-86 band Primal fucking Scream.

Tracklist:

A1 Raw Patch
A2 Faglane Morris Wind
B1 Zip Up
B2 Nodding Dog Moustache

DOWNLOAD from beyond the groove HERE!

A Witness ‎– "Loudhailer Songs" (Ron Johnson Records ‎– ZRON 5) 1985

A Quintessential Ron Johnson group was A Witness, and this is an early release for both of these entities.
Looking at the front cover and you'd expect some Industrial group like Einsturzende Neubauten to occupy the grooves within, but no!..... yet another unique take on the classic Guitar Bass Voice and Drums format.....in this case Drum Machine.
Gravelly Bass, Atonal Guitar, and a nasally vocalist singing surreal lyrics over some uncomfortably grating,angular,tunes......this is possibly their best record?  

DOWNLOAD and hail louder songs HERE!

A Witness - "Peel Sessions 1985-88" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

'A Witness' was another of that batch of unclassifiable mid-eighties bands from the north of England that fitted very comfortably on Ron Johnson Records. Again we have a vague Captain Beefheart influence filtered through the very unique landscape of post-punk northern Britain.
The necessitated use of a drum machine ,after the original drummer left, ironed out a lot of the wavering time signatures, but later in their career they managed to secure the services of one Alan Brown from excellent bIG fLAME to fill in on drums. This was an undoubted improvement.
They managed four Peel sessions before the untimely death of atonal guitarist Rick Aitkin via, among all things that cause death in the annals of Rock'n'Roll, a mountaineering accident!? Not something you'd find Keith Moon or Jimi Hendrix doing, too dangerous.Father Yod of Ya-Ho-Wha 13 managed to die in a bizarre hang-gliding accident, thats about as close as we can get to mountaineering in Rock, or on Rock, or in this case Off Rock,as in 'Falling Off'.

Track Listing:

01 The Loudhailer Song [15-12-1985]
02 Smelt Like a Pedestrian [15-12-1985]
03 O'Grady's Dream [15-12-1985]
04 Sharpened Sticks [15-12-1985]
05 Faglane Morris Wind [16-11-1986]
06 Nodding Dog Moustache [16-11-1986]
07 Raw Patch [16-11-1986]
08 Hard Day's Love [16-11-1986]
09 Take me to the earth [10-01-1988]
10 McManus Octaphone [10-01-1988]
11 Sunbed Sentimental [10-01-1988]
12 Zip up [10-01-1988]
13 I love you mr disposable razors [20-11-1988]
14 Life - the final frontier [20-11-1988]
15 Helicopter tealeaf [20-11-1988]
16 Prince microwave bollard [20-11-1988]

DOWNLOAD without witnesses HERE!

The Killjoys - " Demos,Peel Sessions, Live, and Singles 1977-78" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

As previously mentioned ,Birmingham spawned two reasonably well known second wave punk groups in 1977; the excellent Prefects, and the somewhat less excellent Killjoys, fronted by one of the few punk frontmen with naturally curly hair.
The killjoys managed one pretty decent single on the near perfect Raw records, and a couple of other tunes for the label compilation "A Raw Deal", but quickly descended into trying to write 'competent' pop songs like the ones in their second Peel Session from 1978.
This was a nasty habit that infected Kevin Rowland for most of the eighties and beyond, as he became the living embodiment of the oft used phrase; "like punk never happened".
Especially during Dexy's hillbilly phase! Probably thee worst ever band image ever imposed on the listening public, alongside "Come On Eileen" being admissible for evidence for crimes against humanity in the international court of human rights.
OMFG!? Rowlands throaty whine fills me with an unstoppable desire to slice my ears off and fill the remaining holes with sound absorbent insulation foam.
Hard to believe that our Kevin was once the angry looking sneery focal point for Brum's second ever punk band. 
Not only did the vocalist go on to create great aural evil, the female bass player, Ghislaine, went on to commit more crimes against rock in New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Band 'Girlschool'!! .....terrible stuff.

Track Listing:

01 Naive(Raw Single 1977)
02 Johnny Won't Go To Heaven(Raw Single 1977)
03 At Night(Alternative Take 1977)
04 Recognition(alternative Mix 1977)
05 At Night (Rough Mix 1977)
06 Back to Front[Peel Session 11-10-77)
07 Naive[Peel Session 11-10-77]
08 Recognition[Peel Session 11-10-77)
09 At Night [Peel Session 11-10-77]
10 Spit On Me[Peel Session 01-02-78]
11 Smoke Your Own[Peel Session 01-02-78]
12 All The Way[Peel Session 01-02-78]
13 Ghislaine[Peel Session 01-02-78]
14 Recognition[Studio Demos 18-10-1977]
15 Back to front[Studio Demos 18-10-1977]
16 At night[Studio Demos 18-10-1977]
17 Is That What She Said (Live 1978)
18 Johnny Won't Get To Heaven (Live 1977)
19 At Night (Raw Deal compilation 1977)
20 Recognition (Raw Deal compilation 1977)
21 Naive (Unedited Version)
22 Johnny Won't Get To Heaven (Unedited Version)

DOWNLOAD to kill your joy HERE!

The Prefects - "Peel sessions 1978-79" (a Die or DIY? compilation)

The Nightingales were ,of course, once, non-stereotypical 'punk' Group, The Prefects. They even got a birth on The Clash's 'White Riot Tour',with the Slits,and The Subway Sect.The tour that more than anything else spread the seeds of Indie music to fester. Mainly thanks to the Prefects and Subway sect rather than the Clash.

As punk groups from Birmingham went, we had The Killjoys, who sang in a cockney accent(?), and The Prefects, who sang in that classic slovenly brummy drawl, complete with rounded consonants.Its a rule that local Punk groups should sound like where they come from.Its Fook Off rather than Fak Off.

They never released a record in their lifetime, except a posthumous single on Rough Trade that was culled from these Peel sessions.

They obviously were too intelligent to carry on in the limiting 'Punk' groove, and went on to greater, and less popular things in the magnificent Nightingales. 

Tracklist:
01 Things In General (11-08-78) 3:09

02 Escort Girls (11-08-78) 1:37

03 Bristol Road Leads To Dachau (11-08-78) 10:08

04 Agony Column (11-08-78) 2:59

05 Going Through The Motions (08-01-79) 5:02
06 Faults (08-01-79) 1:35

07 Total Luck (08-01-79) 4:21

08 Barbarellas (08-01-79) 1:34

09 625 Lines (Live 1978 Bonus) 1:30
10 VD (Live 1978 Bonus) 0:13

DOWNLOAD under orders from your internet prefect HERE!

The Nightingales ‎– "Hysterics" (Ink Records ‎– INK 1) 1983

The Nightingales second album betrays a definite Beefheartian leaning, with dueling slide guitars , like a post-punk Zoot Horn Rollo and Antennae Jimmy Semens, but from Birmingham(UK),the birth place of Heavy Metal!? Although one doubts that Robert Lloyd would have made the band wear dresses, feed them only on beans and lock them in a house; as the late Captain did to his group.
This album was without doubt a huge influence on the future Ron Johnson Records stable. 

Tracklist:

1 Big Print 3:50
2 This 3:55
3 The Happy Medium 1:50
4 Nothing But Trouble 3:45
5 The Bending End 4:35
6 Lower Than Ever 2:45
7 Insurance 6:15
8 Whys Of Acknowledgement 2:40
9 Bachelor Land 2:50
10 Crafty Fag 3:35
11 Ponces All 3:50

Bonus tracks:
12 How To Age(Crafty Fag B-side) 6:24
13 The Crunch - Version 2(The Crunch 12") 4:48
14 All Talk(The Crunch 12") 1:51

15 Look Satisfied(The Crunch 12") 3:20

16 Not Man Enough(The Crunch 12") 4:13

DOWNLOAD hysterically HERE!

The Nightingales ‎– "Pigs On Purpose" +all the classic early Singles (Cherry Red ‎– BRED 39) 1982

Wow! How good is this classic debut album from The Nightingales. Its got the lot; cheap sounding weedy guitars played with amphetamine fueled  strumming, repetitive bass-lines, busy speedy drumming, intelligent and funny lyrics delivered amateurishly by that weird 'bloke next door' himself Robert Lloyd.
I remember "The Crunch(12" version)" being played in my local Goth club circa '83, and the dance floor was full of black clad whirling dervishes; I wish one had a smart phone back in those days!?....then it was back to The Sisters of Mercy and Alien Sex Fiend, and things calmed down(Yawn!).

The Nightingales also released a string of singles to rival The Buzzcocks on Cherry Red/Rough Trade/ and their own Vindaloo records.
Starting with.....:

"Idiot Strength" - (Rough Trade ‎– RT075, Vindaloo Records ‎– UGH4.)1981

"Paraffin Brain / Elvis, The Last Ten Days" (Cherry Red ‎– CHERRY 38) 1982

"Use Your Loaf" (Cherry Red ‎– CHERRY 34) 1982

"Urban Ospreys C/W Cakehole" (Cherry Red ‎– CHERRY 56) 1983

All these frankly Brilliant singles are,of course included in the file ,with just one flick of the trigger finger.

If there is a stand out single from this repertoire,then it has to be "Paraffin Brain" and, the fantastically titled, "Elvis, The Last Ten Days". I have restless nights worrying whether this work of genius actually made it to number one in at least one of the infinite number of universes that theoretically populate the wider cosmos. If there was actually a reason for the existence of the multi-verse (which of course there isn't!) then this single would be it......but then of course there would be a universe where 'One Direction' got to number one and have utter awfulness like The X-Factor,Rap Music and U2.....SHIT!...its this universe isn't it!!!!!????...FUCK IT!

Tracklist:

1 Blood For Dirt 2:59
2 Start From Scratch 2:24
3 One Mistake 2:40
4 Well Done Underdog 1:47
5 The Crunch 4:51
6 The Hedonist's Sigh 2:25
7 It Lives Again 3:01
8 Make Good 2:24
9 Don't Blink 4:03
10 Joking Apart 2:17
11 Yeah, It's OK 5:15
12 Use Your Loaf 2:07
13 Blisters 4:35
14 Idiot Strength 3:11
15 Seconds 2:50
16 Paraffin Brain 3:03
17 Elvis The Last Ten Days 2:56
18 Inside Out 3:01
19 Under The Lash 2:15

20 Urban Ospreys 4:26

21 Cakehole 3:20

DOWNLOAD all this classic anti-pop on purpose HERE!