- An A to D of Independent Music: 26th May, 1980

I've kept you waiting for quite a while for a new Peel show download, and here it is. Peel is in good form in this show having returned from a stint in Holland, where his gig was met with blatant indifference, so he claims. This show was to be followed by another which would form an A to Z of independent music at the time. I only hope it exists in a shoe box at the back of someone's wardrobe waiting to be rediscovered, because a lot of these songs are absolute belters, no doubt most otherwise lost forever.

Track Listing

Athletico Spit 80 – No Room (rough trade)

The Bongos – Telephoto Lens (fetish records)

Classic example of Peel being caught by surprise by end of record

Charge – You get what you deserve (ycafo records)

Classic example of next track starting early

Cheeky – Don’t mess around (woodbine street records)

Collective horizontal – Edward’s lear (dolman records)

The Cramps – Garbage Man (illegal records)

Crash course in science – kitchen motors (gogo records)

The craw daddies - lolette (voxx records)

The cult figures - I remember (rava records)

The Ds - My toy (optimistic records)

The dambusters - Production line love (deep water records)

The deadbeats - Choose you (red rhino records)

Peel monologue on the importance of independent labels

The decorators - Twilight view (new horizons records)

The denizens - Frontier (citizen records)

Mild rant about hippies

The details - Keep on running (energy records)

Digital dance - I sleep on the waves (digital records)

Discharge - After the gig (clay records)

Despite the fact that you've undoubtedly never heard any of these tracks (the cramps being a possible exception) I highly recommend this show. I actually thought that I'd cracked some Peel masterplan when I was making the track listing for this one, until Peel admitted that it was a purposeful A to Z list, not that A to Zing the songs you play would be much of a masterplan. Any luck with the jelly bellies yet?

While we're at it, although where the direct connection is I'm not sure, here's Mrs. Ravenscroft accepting JP's lifetime achievement award in May:

- Primal Scream: The Last of the Rock n' Rollers

Few bands cause such a divide in opinion as Primal Scream, the fact that they have transcended so many different genres means that there is usually at least one appealing album for everyone. This also means that a lot of people only like that one album and don't care much for the rest of their work.




Like most, the album that got me hooked was the awesome Screamadelica, which remains one of my favourites of all time. Of course, the career of the band includes members of other legends such as the Stone Roses, and appearances in other bands, most notably the Jesus and Mary Chain.

In some ways it seems strange that their most highly regarded and critically acclaimed work was completely ignored when time came to vote for the festive fifties, while the earlier, more conventional stuff made regular appearances in the mid-eighties lists. I guess it helps to show the changing nature of John Peel’s listeners over that period.

The BBC broadcast a great documentary charting the twenty-odd-year history of the band this time last year, which I only recently discovered. It’s worth a listen for anyone like me, who has been briefly in love with this band’s work and remains an admirer of their ethic.

Learn more about the documentary here.

Here's a Screamadelica era clip from Rapido: