artist compilations of 2020

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1. quoit “collection” (ohm resistance)
2. heavenly “a bout de heavenly: the singles” (damaged goods)
3. the pop group “alien blood” (mute)
4. the blanche hudson weekend “standing on the lift to the scaffold: 2009-2013” (next phase: normal)
5. prince far-i “the trojan albums collection” (cherry red)
6. ruff sqwad “unreleased gems” (hour vibes, 12”)
7. sven wittekind “reflection 2 - best of 2015-2019 produced & collected by sven wittekind” (sick weird rough)
8. vivien goldman “resolutionary (songs 1979-1982)” (staubgold)
9. the primitives “bloom! the full story 1985-1992” (cherry red)
10. television personalities “some kind of happiness? singles 1994-1999” (fire)
11. lewis parker “the 45s box set” (king underground)
12. kode9 “unreleased for a reason: lost dubs vol.1 [2000-200?]”
13. peace test “collection” (not sure)
14. sandro galli “reload” (space shuttle recordings)
15. beastie boys “beastie boys music” (capitol)
16. dropdead “demos 1991” (armageddon)
17. scholastic deth “bookstore core” (625 thrashcore)
18. the bachelor pad “all hash and cock - the very best of the bachelor pad” (emotional response)
19. chulo “diez amos de poderviolencia (2009-2019)” (to live a lie)
20. onyx “lost treasures” (x-ray records)

sarah christmas party 1993

i also found this in the boxes. as ever, this is verbatim and unimproved - please bear in mind that i was 20 at the time and the "beat poet" (whose generally negative comments are italicised) was 18...

"HEAVENLY + copious support

at the Thekla in Bristol, 22/12/93

The proceedings for this Sarah Records extravaganza were opened by the messy haze of arcane raucous post-glam punk popsters Action Painting! whose eminently unoriginal brand of spiky thrash tunes-by-numbers was nevertheless both entertaining and exhilarating; six songs, including the whirlwind singles "Classical Music" and current yob anthem "Mustard Gas".

Sort of begged the question, why ? If you're going to be rubbish, then why not just quit ?

Next up, Secret Shine. Any band who boast 5 guitarists have to be reckoned with, and a sterling set opening with their crossover indie hit "Loveblind" proved that they're still full of potential despite the occasional monochromatics of the last LP.

You had an idea of what you wanted from Secret Shine, and they fulfilled it, really. Best of the rest, after Heavenly.

Wetherby three-piece Boyracer are already veterans of the live scene, and they warmed the cockles of their ever-faithful Yorkshire posse by a no-frills, exuberant set full of the staccato punch of guitar and pained shouting that has come to epitomise their records. "Doorframe" was followed by competent renderings of "Black Fantastic Splitting", "David Byrne", "Cog" and, most extraordinarily, Even As We Speak's "One Step Forward". Boyracer still aren't as good as they think they are, but I can't really fault their enthusiasm.

Fairly rubbish. There's not much more to be said - you get a good impression from those two words.

Fourth band on, back from their Japanese tour, were Blueboy, who broke out from their normal understated pop timbre to brush off a few cobwebs and give us a brighter, brasher sound. "Meet Johnny Rave" was followed by an off-kilter "Candy Bracelet" and then a bunch of newies, including one ("Self-Portrait" ?) which was redolent of every manic pop thrill you could imagine. I've seen better from them, though.

Fair to middling... None of their songs stuck in my mind.

Second support came from the Orchids, who all took the stage wearing their coats and treated us to an almost exclusively original set of songs that start slowly but manage to weave their way into your affections so much that you can't help applauding at the end. They always manage to sound commercial without ever being obvious, which in these times is a sadly rare gift. On this evidence, no doubt the 'difficult' third album will be polished and a real grower. The middle aged bassist however dispelled their self-created "hard men of Glasgow" image by liberally sipping fruit juice between songs.

Quite impressed with the coats. Rather musical, in fact. I don't think anyone could say 'no'. A bit quieter than the other bands.

The bill, then, was topped by Heavenly, who I've seen somewhere between 6 and 10 times now, and who've never disappointed. "PUNK Girl" and "Atta Girl" were wheeled out alongside an especially barnstorming "Our Love Is Heavenly", the irresistible (if so muted on vinyl) "Sort of Mine", and their most successful attempt yet at the wordy joke duet "C Is The Heavenly Option", with Thekla soundman Dick doing a particularly impressive cameo in the Calvin Johnson role. Then it got a bit weird - well, it was Christmas after all. A medley of Cole Porter, the Smurfs and Lenny Kravitz was followed by drummer Matthew dressing as a vicar and massacring some sixties-type tune with a vigour worthy of his tacky heroes the Cramps. And that wes our lot.

It was fairly clear that everyone had come along to see Heavenly. I thought they were quite impressive, really."

sadly, most people now associate the thekla with a rather different heavenly. but not me... *sigh*.

heavenly. 1996.

the text below is verbatim what i wrote in my notepad when i got home from this gig in nottingham in 1996. you can tell it's verbatim not least because the support band, bis, were entirely new to me then (i do remember amelia saying sthg along the lines of "i can't believe we're being supported by our favourite band") and for some reason i thought they were irish not scotch (and yes, they were on top of the pops within the year). you may also detect a downer already on my part re that particular city, which was basically because when i left my house to go to this gig, i had to dive down a side street to avoid a couple of kids that had marched me to a cashpoint and threatened to kill me two weeks earlier. er, anyway, heavenly were always an astonishingly good live band, and with the exception of napalm death and the fall, possibly still the band i've seen the most times. and it's a gig that matters to me because it was a pick-me-up, and in those pre-internet days it was pure fluke i ever knew about it - i'd literally been on a bus on alfreton road when i'd spotted a poster in the window of a shop with what looked like heavenly's logo, and on closer inspection later in the week, it turned out that it was, indeed, a plug for this:

Heavenly / bis / sugar & lust
Narrowboat, Nottingham 19/1/96

The bands appeared in ascending order of merit, but descending order of self-importance.

S&L are local kids, they started well then tailed off into general TFC-pastiche. An ill advised stab at Happy Days was the low spot.

Bis took the stage, 3 young-ish, fashionable looking irishpeople (they are Heavenly's favourite band). They were flawless, but very hard to pin down - imagine a Riot Grrrl band, except who can play their instruments, especially guitars, with a degree of Big Flame-ish panache, who can service shouted slogans with staccato rhythms, who've been listening to Pulp and the undertones. If you remember late 80s Dutch japester rhythmeisters Buy off the Bar (yes I do, just about) you'll like Bis. I certainly wouldn't rule out buying the single.

Now Heavenly never get stale & they're always slightly better than I was expecting. I suppose having released absolutely nil during 1995, what with helping out Nick Heyward etc & trying to find a new record label, it would have been greedy of me to expect just the back catalogue, but having been blitzed by an opening "modestic" several times more vital than the LP version, I was a tad disappointed that the next 7 songs were newies, though the absolutely brilliant one with the tambourine that sounded a bit like Tramway's 1991 Thekla christmas treat is indeed the new single and already the best song of 1996. Also it was good to hear a lyric about Nick Hornby. Anyway, the set rounded off with "Me & my madness" and in the atmospheric, Jericho Tavern-meets-Camden falcon-esque upstairs room, the smile on my face just stubbornly refused to subside.

And then came the encore. "Atta girl", & I dissolved into a dizzy smiling mess as galaxies collided and comets flew into black holes & Nottingham was all lit up & attractive and welcoming just for a few minutes.

the "new single", of course, was "trophy girlfriend". no idea why i thought bis sounded anything like pulp, though.