- Countdown to Festive Season #3: 1980

1980 was a busy year. There was a Military coup here in Turkey, the Solidarity trade union was formed in Poland, Björn Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, while in Australia the State of Origin rugby league series, possibly the world’s greatest sporting spectacle, was born. To make you feel really old, Christina Ricci, Chelsea Clinton, Venus Williams, Jessica Simpson, Macaulay Culkin and Jake Gyllenhaal were born in this year. Lest we forget, this was the start of the decade of debauchery, greed and excess, which could have been predicted when Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th US president in a sweeping victory. Hero of the year was a certain Alan Whipper Wells, who benefited greatly from loads of people not showing up at the Olympics to win the 100m men’s title in a time of about 15 seconds that wouldn’t even have got him to this year’s final.

A Flying Scotsman

In December, shortly before the broadcast of the Festive Fifty, Mark David Chapman murdered former Beatle John Lennon in New York. As a seven-year-old, I clearly remember the night it happened, I guess I was just about at that age where you can gauge the importance of events like this.

BBC NEWS reports John Lennon’s death, December 8th, 1980

The Festive Fifty was still ostensibly an ‘all-time’ list in 1980, although you’d be hard pressed to find anything in the top 50 dating back much further than 1977. You have to look to the extended 65 list to find a few old gems from the likes of Pink Floyd and The Who. Indeed, it was probably fear of this year’s one and two duking it out for top spot in the following years that prompted JP to change to the year’s best format that we came to know and love. If you’d like to listen to the shows, broadcast between 22nd and 30th December, 1980, you can do so here, here, here and here.

While we’re on the subject of festive charts, I should mention that this will be a joint operation between myself and Teenage Kicks Steve, who has just begun his half of the shift with the 1977 chart.

- Jubilee 1977

It seems like I've acquired an obsession with the punk era recently, although I can't fully explain why. Perhaps the proliferation of late 70s Peel shows now appearing has something to do with it, coupled with the fact that I've just received my first copyright-related slap on the wrist over sharing that bloody K-Tel monstrosity with you. Anyhow, by way of keeping this going, I'm sharing this soundtrack that I recently stumbled upon.

Some young punks in action

I haven't seen the accompanying film, and the label 'cult classic' which is regularly applied to it make me feel that I probably wouldn't want to. There is some great musical accompinments, however.

Info kindly borrowed from Wikipedia:

In Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth I (Runacre) is transported forward in time by the occultist John Dee (Richard O'Brien) through the spirit guide Ariel (a character from Shakespeare's The Tempest). Elizabeth arrives in the shattered Britain of the 1970s. Queen Elizabeth II is dead, killed in an arbitrary mugging, and Elizabeth I moves through the social and physical decay of the city observing the activities of a group of sporadic nihilists including Amyl Nitrate (Jordan), Bod (Runacre in a dual role), Chaos (Hermine Demoriane), Crabs (Nell Campbell), and Mad (Toyah Willcox).

The film is heavily influenced by the 1970s punk aesthetic in its style and presentation. Shot in grainy colour it is largely plotless, episodic, untidy, confrontational, often incoherent and noisily anti-establishment and anti-royalty (Buckingham Palace has become a recording studio run by a seedy music producer named Borgia Ginz).

Numerous punk icons appear in the film including Jordan (a Malcolm McLaren protege), Toyah Willcox, Campbell (Little Nell), Adam Ant, Demoriane and Wayne County. It features performances by Wayne County and Adam and the Ants. There are also cameo appearances by The Slits and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The film was scored by Brian Eno.


Track listing:

1. Deutscher Girls - Adam & The Ants
2. Paranoia Paradise - Wayne County & The Electric Chairs
3. Right to Work - Chelsea
4. Nine to Five - Maneaters
5. Plastic Surgery - Adam & The Ants
6. Rule Brittania - Suzxi Pinns
7. Jerusalem - Suzi Pinns
8. Wargasm in Pornotopia - Amilcar
9. Slow Water - Brian Eno
10. Dover Beach - Brian Eno




File size: 69mb

- The Boys were on their Way out of Town: Thin Lizzy, August, 1977

"There are those who believe that there is in place some system, that meetings are held, that charts are pored over… John and I would list those bands who had not recorded a session for a spell, eliminating those whose work no longer pleased us or, more rarely, whose new-found celebrity status would mean that their agents, management and record companies would come together in holy union to frustrate our attempts at rebooking. We'd also add to the list the names of artists we had heard and liked on demo tape or record or seen and liked in performance."

From Ken Garner’s ‘John Peel In Session Tonight’

Clearly the work of Messrs Lynott et al still cut the mustard in 1977, although it should be noted that this is the final session that the group did for the Peel show, recorded on 1st August, 1977, just as a young Entrailicus was turning the ripe old age of 4.

Thin Lizzy were founded in late 1969 in Dublin by vocalist and bassist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, electric organist Eric Wrixon and drummer Brian Downey. After signing a contract with Decca Records, Thin Lizzy's first hit came in 1973, with "Whiskey in the Jar", a version of the traditional Irish song. The group initially had problems matching the success of "Whiskey...", and Eric Bell left the band in 1974 and was replaced with Gary Moore for a short time until Lynott could find two new guitarists. In ‘75, Thin Lizzy recorded 'Fighting', which was a preview of things to come for the band. Songs such as the cover of Bob Seger's 'Rosalie' and 'Wild One' were featured on the album.

In ’76, the band released their breakthrough album ‘Jailbreak’. The album heralded the success of the dual lead guitar, which became a Thin Lizzy trademark. Songs featured on the album are ‘Jailbreak’, ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’, ‘Cowboy Song’, and ‘Romeo and the Lonely Girl’. Bear these in mind when you vote in the ’76 Festive 50! Later in 1976, the group released ‘Johnny the Fox’. This was critically well received as a good follow-up album to ‘Jailbreak’. Peel however still considered them artistically sound enough to keep the Peel sessions coming, with two of their nine coming from that year. Punk took its toll on both Peel and groups like Thin Lizzy, however, with this session in ’77 being their last, their first having come in November, 1972.


Track listing:

-Killer Without a Cause
-Bad Reputation
-That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart
-Dancing in the Moonlight



File size: 18mb

- Skrewdriver Session, October, 1977

I had many mixed feelings about sharing this session with you all. While the original Skrewdriver had a reputation for violence at their concerts, with none other than Bob Geldof being reportedly knocked unconscious by a friend of founder Ian Stuart Donaldson at one concert, they did not openly support any political party during their early years. The reformed Skrewdriver of the 80s did, however, eventually becoming openly supportive of far right wing groups, after a period of denying such claims. This session dates from their earliest days and not their neo-Nazi dickheads era, which is why I decided to make it available to you all.

Nazis are crap and don't you forget it.

Skrewdriver were formed in Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool in 1976 by Ian Stuart Donaldson (this fact is disputed), after seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester. In 1978, Donaldson moved to Manchester, where he recruited guitarist Glenn Jones and drummer Martin Smith. This lineup toured extensively, but certain venues were reluctant to book the band because of their reputation as a violent skinhead band. Performing largely for a skinhead audience (which they shared with Sham 69 but, unlike the other band, failed to denounce), the first versions of the band released one album and two singles on the Chiswick label. This version of the band split up in January 1979 after a concert in Warrington, but Donaldson resurrected the name Skrewdriver in 1982 using new musicians and becoming far right morons. This session predates almost all of these events, being recorded in October of 1977. Peel was as big an influence as any in guiding the punk movement away from neo-nazism, with his regular, incessant mix of punk and reggae in his shows of the time leading the way for multiculturalism in his listeners and, therefore, followers of punk. Shame he couldn't save Donaldson from the path of foolishness.

TRACKLIST

Street Fight
Unbeliever
The Only One
Anti-Social


LINE UP

John Grinton (Drums)
Kevin Mckay (Bass)
Ron Hartley (Guitar)
Ian Stuart (Vocals)




File size: 9mb

- Generation X Session, April, 1977

‘Why, you bastard, why?’ I hear you scream. I know, I’ve already subjected you to one of these tracks on a podcast, but I couldn’t resist. This is the first of three sessions that Lord William of Idol et al did for the Peel show, spanning from ’77 to ’79.

Dancing with, er, not just himself

Formed in November, 1976 by Idol, Tony James and John Towe, Generation X hold a somewhat dubious place in the punk hall of fame, largely due to the fact that they ignored most of the self-imposed ‘rules’ and ‘ideals’ adopted by other UK punk rock bands. This probably helped the band to become one of the first punk bands to appear on the popular BBC Television music program Top of the Pops. This session is at least very energetic. I have to confess that 'dancing with myself' remains an all time favourite.

Tony James now looks like this

TRACK LIST

Day By Day
Listen!
Youth Youth Youth
Your Generation

LINE UP (to be confirmed by someone with Ken’s book)

Lord William of Idol (Lead Vocals)
Bob Andrews (Guitar, Vocals)
Tony James (Bass, Vocals)
John Towe (Drums)




File size: 12 mb