UKH

Some bands and albums just don't make it for one reason or another. They sink without trace, or perhaps have fifteen minutes of fame before disappearing until resurrected by crate-diggers years in the future. I wondered what your particular favourites in this vein might be, but I'll start with one of mine: the first One Dove album, Morning Dove White.

Morning Dove White comes into the fifteen minutes of fame category - decent reviews, featuring in end-of-year lists, a bit of a hip cachet, but only moderate sales. But to me it's a heady combination of spacey synths, beguiling vocals from Dot Allison, and an inventive dub-wise production from Andrew Weatherall. After that they recorded a second album that was never released (although you can find some of the tracks on Soundcloud). Business hassles and falling out followed. That album was never released. To me they were a real loss. This first track on the album gives you a good flavour of their sound - youtube.com/watch?v=tX4IfDBcf28& .

So, have you got any albums or bands that you hold close to your heart but which for some reason never quite achieved the fame and status that they deserved? All genres welcome...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Witness; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness_(UK_band)

Neutron Star ( A spin off from the band "Man".)

Heidi Berry; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Berry

My own band, The Roomtown Bats.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Earl Brutus - Tonight You Are The Special One. Their 2nd and last album. Intelligent and funny, often bizarre, lyrics. Great playing, catchy hooks, some driving beats often with a 70's glam rock feel. I LOVE this album.

In reply to Big Ger:

>My own band, The Roomtown Bats.

Gawd help us all...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Maybe not exactly lost, but Suede have been perhaps ‘missing in action ‘ ever since Bernard butler left. Everything since dog man star has been, to use one of their own song titles, trash

But having long since given up any expectation of them producing anything worthwhile again, I recently stumbled across ‘night thoughts’- I completely missed that it had even been released.

It’s remarkably good, far better than anything they’ve done for over 20 years. Best comeback album ever? Maybe not, but struggling to think of a better one...

In reply to Big Ger:


I loved your should've been a hit 'I don't like Tories'.
You could've bought Cornwall with the royalties.

In reply to Big Ger:

Interesting selection, and definitely lost - can't find any Neutron Star so far. Witness clearly had some potential from the couple of tracks I've found so far. Can't find Neutron Star, but I remember Man. Heidi Berry was on 4AD, so I do remember hearing her. Very folky (not a criticism...).

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Maybe not lost, but certainly lost their way!

In reply to Bob Kemp:

From the same era Spooky - Gargantuan. Really summed up the euphoric dubby house music of 1993.

In reply to aln:


Yeah, I missed them completely. I will look that one up. Would have liked to have seen them - sound pretty mental.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Levitation? Need for Not was an amazing urgent sounding album.

Can Loop be considered forgotten?

In reply to pasbury:


That's fun - who was the vocalist?

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Rocket from the Tombs, who split and morphed into slightly less obscure The Dead Boys and Pere Ubu.

This predates Sonic Youth and Nirvana by the best part of two decades, and it's awesome.

youtube.com/watch?v=BoboBaxTh58&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Various sampled vocalists, like orbital used to do.

Reminds of another one Something Good by Utah Saints vocals by a sampled Kate Bush.

In reply to pasbury:


Totally missed them. Will investigate...

Well, I'd completely forgotten them...

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:

That is on my Christmas list- thanks.

Honolulu Mountain Daffodils.

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoboBaxTh58>

Oh my jeezy peeps that's fantastic!

In reply to pasbury:

Playing with knives?

In reply to Lusk:


We could have been contenders...


I know, due to that I had to wait another ten years before I could afford to buy it. Still, it's been a good purchase since. Want to visit Cornwall? Send me £50 via paypal, and your address and date of birth.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

My bad Bob, they were called the Neutrons, not Neutron Star;

youtube.com/watch?v=ZnyGCEYPSxE&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

never understood why Spirogyra (the Canterbury based group, not the American Spyro Gyra) didn't have more success with their first LP St. Radigunds ( youtube.com/watch?v=3MTAWHuIT8k& ) although singer Barbara Gaskin did go on to sing with moderately succesful Hatfield & the North & to have a hit with a cover of 'It's My Party and I'll cry if I want to'.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

The infadels - we are not the infadels

Guillemots - through the window pane

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Thanks for reminding me of a great band, Breakdown being my favourite. I stage managed this band once, a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, escorting Dot to the stage damn near got a black eye. But thats another story, and not even a very good one.

In reply to pasbury:



I'm now wondering now if there's a distinction between lost and forgotten... they're certainly lost, because it's bloody hard to find anything on the web now. If you search for 'Loop band' now you get a load of hits about resistance band exercises!

In reply to bouldery bits:



Funny band Guillemots. I've got one of their CDs somewhere. I played it regularly for a few months then never again. I can't remember any of the songs but I seem to recall one where someone played a typewriter.

In reply to pasbury:



Well, Loop toured a new album last year and I think their back catalogue has had a recent reissue so they are still in their fans minds at least (love their cover of Cans Mother Sky)

My shout would be for the Chameleons, their debut Script from under the Bridge should be in every ones collection.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Gaslight Anthem never got the status they (Or atleast Brian Fallon) craved so badly, I'm a big fan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ZN7NyPfb4).

And this guy's solo project "Shoes and socks off" is very obscure but I always thought was going to 'make it' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_3swOHBxWI).

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I wondered what your particular favorites in this vein might be, but I'll start with one of mine: the first One Dove album, Morning Dove White.

This first track on the album gives you a good flavour of their sound - youtube.com/watch?v=tX4IfDBcf28& .

Heck Bob, you're a man after my own soul. One Dove were one of my all-time faves so thanks for the reminder. One White Dove shared one of my cassette tapes along with Vanessa Paradis' Joe le Taxi, Latin Quarter's Radio Africa and Prefab Sprout's album Steve McQueen.
Some other great contributions from others too up above.

In reply to pasbury:
A new version of 'Meanwhile Gardens' with Terry Bickers' vocals added back on was released a couple of years back. It was unexpectedly brilliant. Dark Star (basically Levitation as a 3-piece, without Bickers) had a good album 'Twenty Twenty Sound' as well, before disappearing again.

Depending on your tastes, I would also recommend the following forgotten albums:

Delgados - Peloton: Twee noise pop.
Dub War -Wrong Side of Beautiful: Welsh raga metal (although sadly not sung in Welsh). Much better than it sounds.
Swervedriver - Raise or Mezcal Head: Like Dinosaur Jr. with added wonky noise.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I'll never understand why Headswim weren't massive.

youtube.com/watch?v=LPPakTC5pZU&

In reply to bouldery bits:



Both great choices but Guillemots particularly. Through the Windowpane was perfect. Red very hit and miss but the closing three tracks are sublime. Walk the River seemed on first listen to be weirdly unadventurous but on repeated listens I've come to love the sadness that runs through the record. Then we came to 2012 when they were set to release four albums (!), only once of which saw the light of day.

In reply to Big Ger:



Curiously enough they were on the soundtrack of a BBC Play for Today by Peter McDougall, about sectarianism in Glasgow. It had Billy Connolly in it.

If you were into them and Man you might remember Mighty Baby, who were also purveyors of that psych jam band kind of thing. Britain's answer to the Grateful Dead.
youtube.com/watch?v=gatuDgxIrUw&

In reply to malky_c:

We must have very similar record collections - the only one I don’t possess is Dub War. Delgados never achieved the recognition they should except for the adulation of John Peel listeners. Swervedriver’s albums you mention are indeed brilliant.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Dr Feelgood; great live with Wilko Johnson on guitar but somehow never got the recognition before he left.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Would "The Enid" count?

Great band, never got the acclaim they deserved, seen them live too many times to count.

A "cult" Band?

youtube.com/watch?v=ph0t_ZdwtR4&

In reply to Bob Kemp:
Gyrate by Pylon.

Even though they are included in the Athens scene that produced R.E.M. I don’t think many people have heard the record and it’s superb. It sounds like so many bands who mix pop, funk and punk; but check the datestamp - Pylon were first.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Hank Wangford and The Lost Cowboys, a great band that are still going strong on the club scene and also formed the Nude Mountaineering Society.

http://www.hankwangford.co.uk/nums.html

In reply to Big Ger:
I’m sure The Enid would count - lost in the tidal wave of punk/new wave when prog became a dirty word. Still going I believe?

In reply to Bob Kemp:


Yes, if they had got their first album out a few years earlier they could have been up there with Yes and Genesis in the prog hall of fame.
They are indeed still going but curiously now with no original members though with the blessing of Robert John Godfrey, the founder and only member throughout, well until he retired. He was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago and gradually withdrew whilst coaching the new youthful members in the art of composition.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Fantastic thread, great suggestion in the OP and lovely to see others cite it too.

I saw One Dove live twice, which is actually quite a lot for an average punter given that they didn't really last very long. Morning Dove White did get a lot of positive press attention and healthy amounts of radio support.

Dot had a promising career as a singer-songwriter and producer. 4 solo albums but none of them took off, which was a real shame as she skilfully balanced "accessible melodies" with "not being bland and generic" (and her second solo effort was a lot more electro, in response to charges of her first solo being "a bit Beth Orton").

In reply to Bob Kemp:

pec beat me too it.

In reply to Bob Kemp:



Thanks for that; I'd forgotten all about them.

What about Northside?
Always rated them.
But nobody else did.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

My contribution is, for a change, not Electrelane.

Staying on the Scottish theme...
Sons and Daughters.

One mini-album "Love the Cup"
One fantastic proper album "The Repulsion Box"
One mediocre next album

The Repulsion Box should have made them stars. Not global superstars, perhaps, but they deserved a lot more than what they got. They should have been headlining 1500-capacity venues. Shepherd's Bush Empire kind of places. They never even got to that.
Yet they had a LOT going for them. Male and female vocalists who would duet with sparring lyrics; all of them were cool and good-looking, a nice dirty guitar sound at a time when that was really the fashion, and a superb live presence (Adele Bethel prowling the stage like some sort of Scottish panther, and Scott playing guitar like his life depended on it)

Was it that the world was never truly going to embrace a proper Scots-accented vocal? Was it that Adele wasn't stick-thin? Was it that The Kills and Yeah Yeah Yeahs had already swallowed the entire market for the kind of sound and vibe that Sons and Daughters had?

Love the photo montage on this
youtube.com/watch?v=DCVqtu42BK0&

In reply to alan moore:

Northside got a fair amount of radio play in the days when Mark Goodier had the Evening Session on Radio 1. They often featured in the music press and had tracks on cover-mounted cassettes and the grebo 6th-form girls had their T-shirts and badges. They MUST have had a bit of a following, because I always knew their name and have never forgotten it, yet I don't know what they sound like or look like and couldn't name a record by them!

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Got an urge to post some post-One-Dove Dot

From first solo album
youtube.com/watch?v=JQ2aoHnZdnU&

From second solo album
youtube.com/watch?v=rz48Mwu-xlM&

and I think this is a song from the fourth album
youtube.com/watch?v=Gb-FQwMcXIU&

and of course her single-chord strumming and "la la la" vocal on Death in Vegas' "Dirge" was genius.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I think it's a bit of a shame that - at least on the CD - the production on Morning Dove White does now sound quite dated (I have an ongoing "in my head' project about listing my favourite 20 albums and I'd like to include this but soundwise it doesn't seem to have stood the test of time, whereas "bigger sound" records like Leftism and Music for the Jilted Generation, have endured). Actually most of Weatherall's stuff really sounds locked in its original period. I wonder if a remaster could beef it up a bit.

I say this as someone who has nearly all the CD singles and 12"s and a few rarities like the original white label of Transient Truth. Mostly all signed by Dot. So you can see why I want it to be better than it is (if that makes sense)

Also wasn't there some hoo-hah about getting Stephen Hague to "brighten it all up" before release, such that on the album, only a few Weatherall productions remain untouched?

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:



30 Seconds over Tokyo is fab, I only knew the Pere Ubu version.

BUT
A pedant writes:
Sonic Youth were putting records out in early 1982.
OK, Nirvana's first record release was Nov 1988 so I'll give you "the best part of two decades" on that one, as that (pedantically) starts at 1 day past ten years

In reply to pasbury:


Swervedriver always pop up on indie / shoegazing compilations. I often have “Rave Down” as an earworm.

As for Northside - aren’t we talking that kinda post-baggy era before it all went Grunge?
Senseless Things, Kingmaker, Thousand Yard Stare, Neds, Carter.
I went to one of the last Carter reunion shows the other year. Fantastic gig.
Frank and Walters support slot was good, too.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Bob Calvert's Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters. About how the US sold dangerous aircraft to the German airforce, resulting in a number of deaths. Vaguely psychedelic, vaguely comedic album dealing with dodgy big business. (His next album was about how the vikings found America, but didnt want it.) One the of the forerunners of the anti capitalist movement?

Gaye bykers on acid (or their alter ego's Lesbian dope heads on mopeds). Though, I see they are touring again.
Bong water, just obscure and fun.
Spaceman3, big guitars and wall of noise. Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To, has got to be one of the best titles out there. ( I realize Spiritualized went on to have some success.)

In reply to dread-i:
Sorry to be picky but I thought the Lockheed Starfighter was sold globally, including within the USAF.

I think the Italians called them "Flying Coffin Nails"

Oh!
Great call on Bongwater. Were they that obscure? "Cult" band for sure, but fairly widely known and well remembered now.
Their "Everybody's Talking" was splendid

In reply to pec:

On a proggy line of thought how about Other Way Out by Sun Dial. I think they have continued to produce music to the present but very niche.
Their debut though was a great sunny blast of psychedelia.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


I don't think Haunted dancehall (Sabres of Paradise) does! An epically brilliant concept dance album - who would have thought it!

In reply to dread-i:

Bongwater - good call, I'll have to dig out Double Bummer and give it a whirl.

Reminds me of Mystical Shit by King Missile, part of a very small set of music that's meant to be funny and actually is*. Jesus was Way Cool is my favourite.



*Might be partially dependent on the quality of weed you're on at the time.

In reply to pasbury:


Yes, I was out of line with my comment. I actually meant "the One Dove album, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, and a couple of Weatherall / Sabres singles", rather than "most of Weatherall's stuff"

Saw him perform at Blue Dot festival in July this year. He's gone full on beardy-weirdy in appearance, looks like something from an AD&D convention Music style hasn't changed much.

In reply to pasbury:

Double Bummer has a lot of filler and is quite hard work - maybe OK to enjoy alone but if you were listening to some tracks and someone came in and asked "what on EARTH is this", it would take AGES to explain

I like the one about David Bowie stealing ideas.


I also like that a thread starting with One Dove, has come around to Bongwater, because Kramer worked on Dot Allison's fourth album. Or her third. Can't remember. Probably the third one actually.

And all the Bongwater fans need to check out the film "Making Mr Right", probably Ann Magnuson's most fun bit of film work (and a very rare 80s comedic performance from John Malkovich)

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Can you recommend anything recent - I haven't kept up with what he's doing at all?

In reply to pasbury:


Sorry, not me. I don't follow him really, electronic and "dance" music in his era was never my bag apart from a few obvious big hitters. Loved his "Wilmot" and "Theme" (from $hopping) but never even had Haunted Dancehall. I only saw him at the festival cos it was midnight and there was nothing else going on. I wasn't really paying attention, it was a bit dull to me but could well have been mind blowing for someone else!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Yes, that sounds about right - when they hit the target they were great. I think Breaking No New Ground was more hit than miss. Don't know the later stuff.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I'm on a roll now. I love the Aruca ep and Shot Forth Self Living by medicine from the early '90s. They took the sound of My Bloody Valentine and made it more fierce.

In reply to pasbury:

Medicine with the female lead singer?
They were indeed underrated in sonic terms at least. I think an appearance on the soundtrack to "The Crow" was kind of their high point in terms of exposure!

In reply to dread-i:


Quite liked Freq, from the mid-eighties, where the miners got the Lucky Lief treatment...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I've got a couple of CDs which I really like by a Scottish folk bad, "Afterhours", cannot find damn thing on the m on the net.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

That's them.

Another one; a lost band.
Bardo Pond, been going for years, still at it, unique, heavy as f*ck. The best band in the world.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

youtube.com/watch?v=V6Z-o0DSizg&

In reply to Big Ger:


That name rings a bell. I'll do some digging.

There was an instrumental Irish duo, guitar, fiddle and/or flute called The Hurricane who were friends of a friend. I had a cassette which I think I left in a car years ago. It was trad Irish and utterly brilliant.

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:

Many thanks mate.

In reply to pasbury:


I never really knew them apart from that song on The Crow, and a CD single that possibly had a Cocteau Twins connection (maybe Robin Guthrie did a remix or something), and a few very positive mentions in the music press (even at the time stating that they were an underrated and overlooked band). I'll have a listen tomorrow.

Actually just back from a gig by a band that you, as a Medicine fan, might like.
Pumarosa.
London band, not as strong/fierce a sound as Medicine, but that sort of ballpark. Five-piece with a female vocalist (and rhythm guitarist), lead guitar, bass, drums, and a big bank of keyboards and various knob-twiddling with occasional blasts of processed sax. Fair amount of reverb and delay on the vocal too, so it's a bit Gothy. But they are really good both live and on record.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Enjoying this thread and thought of another that I've not gone on about length before.

Magnapop.

Led by Michael Stipe's sister Linda Hopper, I guess their connections in the wake of REM becoming huge MIGHT have helped but they wouldn't have got far without having material to back them up. 1992-4 saw their album Hot Boxing getting a fair bit of credible attention from the press and the better bits of Radio 1 (Mark Radcliffe, Whiley & Lamacq and maybe Peel)
I saw them two or three times. They never really hit it as big as they should have. Maybe because Linda wasn't yer conventionally attractive "front person" and was already the "wrong side of 30" when they started getting attention.
What was an awful shame for them was that they were on one of those "not really indie but pretending to be" subsidiary labels under a major. That subsidiary got bought (or something along those lines) whilst Magnapop were dropped from the roster...but then due to some contractual thing, the label that bought the subsidiary then owned the name Magnapop which meant the band could not continue to trade as Magnapop!
In a pre-Internet world, this meant that most of us assumed they had split up. Not the case.

At the time I'd only heard a cassette copy of Hot Boxing.
A few years ago I bought it on CD alongside the follow-up album Rubbing Doesn't Help.

What was really noticeable was that the production did not sound dated AT ALL. I think you could put these records out today just as they sound, and pretend that it's a new band In particular the way the drums have been recorded (not that I know anything about such things)

Lay it Down and Slowly, Slowly were the "big hits" off Hot Boxing but I also think this one is worth a shout
youtube.com/watch?v=TeZvzmVcDrM&

and a song called Juicy Fruit from "Rubbing Doesn't Help" but it seems to be blocked in the UK on YouTube

In reply to Blue Straggler:

.

Interesting - hadn't come across them before despite an interest in shoe gaze and similar.

In reply to Blue Straggler:




Check out the middle section of this track from the unreleased second One Dove album... https://soundcloud.com/one-dove/waltzbaby

In reply to Big Ger:


I'm guessing this is them - youtube.com/watch?v=hx0vRcpo6qg&
Seem to be a few Youtube vids from this gig, nothing much else.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Linoleum - one great album, then disappeared

The last minute of this track is a stupendous guitar frenzy youtube.com/watch?v=P7rIGYt87Mw&

And this is a band I hadn't heard of until they'd disbanded

youtube.com/watch?v=GOUAOAgThaw&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Dogs Die in Hot Cars

a brief moment in the festival sun, then sunk without trace
this ones my favourite " I love you cause I have to " and also "pastimes and lifestyles" youtube.com/watch?v=GpdMttDnDbQ&
youtube.com/watch?v=AeywCfxYcas&

In reply to Blue Straggler:


I know what you mean, but I find it dated in a good way, not like that horrible Phil Collins drum sound that's all over a lot of 'eighties stuff for example. It doesn't bother me too much.

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Heh, all this 90s indie stuff has reminded me of another lost band. Unlike my other suggestions I don't particularly think this band should have been bigger, but I'd have liked at least a third album from them.

Whistler. Kind of gentle indie with an interesting vocal from Kerry Shaw who had a gorgeous voice yet was almost "not exactly SINGING". I guess you could call it a laconic delivery.
The biting and sarcastic lyrics really worked well.
It was Ian Dench's band, he formerly of EMF, and quite a departure from that band. I believe Whistler disbanded because someone offered EMF a wad of cash to do some nostlagia tour !

youtube.com/watch?v=4EphOyvFjRY&

youtube.com/watch?v=WAJ8Agofe4s&

In reply to Bob Kemp:


I'd do similar if I'd written something nice that got buried in such wrangles!

In reply to Chris the Tall:

"Heh, all this 90s indie stuff has reminded me of another lost band."

And of course the truly lost Flinch, who didn't even manage to see their debut album released due to some record company bollocks (and possibly band friction).

Yes yes it's more female-fronted indie-schmindie but they had a bit of a bite to them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21FoMo51xuI&list=PLyQq5NtDFRZoqdGm_3s1k...


youtube.com/watch?v=WWkNVoVywRs&

In reply to Bob Kemp:
The The were a band I never understood why they didn't make it big, musically great, lyrical brilliant, with a little bit of politics thrown in for good measure. Still very listen-able today.
youtube.com/watch?v=jgu-nQDSXnM&

Stereo MCs always great, esp. The Fear youtube.com/watch?v=rHVeHiCA8s4&

In reply to Blue Straggler:





Rather nice. Talking of not exactly singing reminded me of Life Without Buildings - not to everyone's taste, and I'm not surprised they didn't last long, but I find this quite uniquely compelling.

youtube.com/watch?v=0SL4_DsUlH8&

Sue Tomkins is still performing - performance poetry/singing. If you thought that track was strange, try this:

vimeo.com/74618301

Her movement is oddly fascinating.

In reply to Bob Kemp:



She looks like a pissed Claudia Winkleman.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

LWB are one of only two bands that I truly regret not taking the opportunity to see play live (although I take solace in the near-certainty that it might have been a bit crap on stage unless one were familiar with all the music)

The Leanover is an astonishing piece of music, I've still never heard anything quite like it - I know there is plenty of quirky and abstract stuff out there, but The Leanover still stands out. Their album is good; I never bought it at the time but got all 7" singles.

"Sorrow" on the album is wonderful.

In reply to krikoman:

I thought The The and Stereo MCs WERE big! Or did you mean "U2 big"?

In reply to krikoman:
"She looks like a pissed Claudia Winkleman."

I'd pay to watch Strictly if Sue Tompkins presented it!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

She's still around - Die so Fluid, who I think are still going

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Hadn't heard of either band, but having followed a few links I prefer the stuff she did in Feline such as this

youtube.com/watch?v=xeef702Kk4I&

Interesting to see how she has changed over the years, from Britpop in Flinch to Goth in Die so Fluid, and Feline seems to be a nice point on the journey !

In reply to Bob Kemp:

How'bout Satanic prog rock band Black Widow! Made Black Sabbath look like the Bay City Rollers but found little success with their Jolly mix of Dennis Wheatley/Aliester Crowley Occultism funny that. But One of my fav bands in my tortured youth.

youtube.com/watch?v=lEmALYV72sc&
youtube.com/watch?v=9dtpvowQa5E&

In reply to Bob Kemp:



Them's the bunnies!

In reply to Bob Kemp:


Just plain odd.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


I suppose The The were there sort of, I always thought they were just under the bar, but looking at album sales they made 2nd and 4th positions. I might have been wrong Heavens above!!

In reply to krikoman:

The The are doing a couple of gigs in London next year. I'm going.

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:


I might try and get there myself, thanks for the info.

In reply to krikoman:

Some from my blog:

Kitchen sink Belgian indie: https://devonrecordclub.com/2011/03/04/round-3-toms-selection/

Early 80s US guitar grooves: https://devonrecordclub.com/2011/04/25/the-feelies-crazy-rhythms-round-6-to...

NZ jangle pop of the highest order: https://devonrecordclub.com/2011/06/29/the-chills-brave-words-round-11-toms...

The wizards of Aus: https://devonrecordclub.com/2013/07/30/the-go-betweens-liberty-belle-and-th...

70s reggae: https://devonrecordclub.com/2015/10/30/burning-spear-marcus-garvey-round-85...

Saucy Northern troubadour: https://devonrecordclub.com/2014/11/20/jake-thackray-the-very-best-of-jake-...

In reply to pasbury:

Nice one - Bardo Pond have always just been a name to me, but have just enjoyed a load of their stuff this evening. This thread is great!

In reply to tomrainbow:

Excellent blog but the Go- betweens and burning spear are not ‘lost’ are they?

In reply to malky_c:

There is so much Bardo Pond music to absorb - I reckon i’m about 10% in.

youtube.com/watch?v=cphNJbM83L0& Back Porch is one of my favourites; sloppy, dirty blues.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I’d like to make a case for King of the Slums. They had a uniquely weird, northern sound and sensibility. The only comparison is with The Fall.
Their song titles were great too; The Pennine Spitter, Venerate Me Utterly, Ardent Swains.

Then there’s the Dustdevils.......

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Wow, love this song

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Plus several years touring as session bassist for Sporty Spice!

In reply to pasbury:


Indeed

In reply to Chris the Tall:
I’ll have to check out Feline. I have done so before and found it a bit “meh” but I was surely biased toward what I’d first heard and experienced in Flinch (saw them do a rare acoustic gig at the Borderline in London, with the much more obscure and possibly more “interesting” Hopper in support...also think I saw Flinch with Marion, Goya Dress and Strangelove at Dublin Castle, or did I only have the 7” EP from that....)

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Hopper are another good candidate for this thread - their 'English and French' album stands the test of time, just about.

In reply to malky_c:

Great ! I never heard them on record, they were just a band that was around and I saw them a couple of times and heard them on the radio and liked them...but not enough to spend my meagre student income on them I will investigate.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Good thread: bringing together in one place all those bands that are routinely dropped into 'best band ever' type threads by obscurantists

In reply to malky_c:


Thought Baby Oil was outstanding!

In reply :

The Nymphs
The God Machine
Swervedriver (already mentioned)

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Good thread with some great music posted . This week I are mostly been listening to Le Sud

youtube.com/watch?v=erVFnfz9HGg& by Nino Ferrer & Radiah

In particular the tracks Hot Toddy & Looking for you , I can just imagine cruising down to Biarritz in the 450 SL late summer with a surfboard stuffed in the back , groovy man . . very groovy .

In reply to Bulls Crack:


I’ve been really impressed by the sheer range of bands that have emerged. I’m going to be following up stuff for months! We are privileged to be living at a time when this is so easy to do. Pre-internet a lost band had every chance of staying lost.

In reply to Bob Kemp:
This is a fine example of a thread that is just working and sticking to the OP.
So often these turn into competitions about “most obscure band” and/or people just listing some favourite bands even if they were they never all that lost (here, The The has pretty much been the only such example and the person “apologised” for that one )

In reply to PeterM:





That was a premature death of the main guy (or a key member) wasn’t it

In reply to Big Ger:

I tried to find some live footage of Life Without Buildings but there doesn’t seem to be anything. I wondered if she ‘danced’ the same way with the band.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


That seems to be a common reason for bands becoming lost. I was thinking about Sparklehorse when I saw this post (wondering if they were really a ‘lost’ band), and there’s plenty more like that. A high-risk occupation it seems.

The other main reason seems to be contractual hassles and music business stuff. It’s funny to think that Bruce Springsteen might have been a lost act for that reason.

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Yes, the bassist if I remember correctly.

And I almost forgot about St. Johnny..
http://www.punchnels.com/2011/07/27/bet-you-dont-know-this-one/

In reply to Blue Straggler:



Agreed, I think if the brief includes 'I really like this band' then you remove a lot of the obscurantist willy waving.

In reply to PeterM:



Well you've hit the mother lode there! Tragically curtailed musical endeavour due to the death of Jimmy Fernandez.
The guitarist/singer Robin Proper-Sheppard formed other bands after (Sophia and The May Queens) which I must check out.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Sunhouse - Something for the Weekend. Such a great album...shame there weren't more.
Remy Zero - Villa Elaine. Think they did another album, but again unrealised potential...

In reply to Bob Kemp:
For Peel fans everywhere - Principal Edwards Magic Theatre. Had an album on vinyl & wore it out.

In reply to pasbury:

I only discovered Pylon because of REM's brilliant cover of Crazy.

One of my enduring favourite bands who despite being around at the right time and place (late 80s US noise) never got the exposure of the likes of Hüsker Dü and Big Black, yet I think they are as good: Bitch Magnet.
Most or all of their stuff is on YouTube or Spotify. No links as I'm on my phone.

For vaguely related obscure/forgotten 80s alternative/Peel Show material, try Mission of Burma, Polvo and The Iowa Beef Experience who are a bit like the Butthole Surfers minus the laughs.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Couple more not overly obscure bands that seem to have disappeared without a trace:
A.C. Acoustics - 'Understanding Music ' is probably my favourite, but pretty much everything is good apart from their patchy first mini-album.

Seafood - toss up between 'When do we start fighting' and 'As the Cry Flows', but again most of their stuff is good.

There's a theme here - you can tell when a band are on their way down when they sign a deal with Cooking Vinyl.

In reply to Removed UserStuart en Écosse:

A second vote for Bitch Magnet:

Cantaloupe from their first ep is such a harsh sounding track.

And youtube.com/watch?v=oyjJTZIF72I& Americruiser is quite magnificent.

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Absolutely. Why not?

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:


Good to see a '60s lost band. Very of its time...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Also going back a bit further, a couple of bands that greatly impressed me as a youth...

Spirit - youtube.com/watch?v=0xSbsKHfMFE& - I had that as a 45. Couldn't afford the album... Their later album, 'The Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus' was probably their best. Had brilliant photos by Ira Cohen on the sleeve which were arguably one of the best representations of the acid experience around.

United States of America - youtube.com/watch?v=_Jwi78dYK2o&
They're not quite so lost now, in the sense that they seem to have been quite influential on a few bands. Thinking about Stereolab and Broadcast in particular. At the time they seemed very much ahead of their time and out of the mainstream.

In reply to Bob Kemp:



As a Deadhead I shall give Mighty Baby some airtime, thanks for the link.

Here's a bit of the Grateful Dead for those who have never heard them: youtube.com/watch?v=PKtrz_fvmoc&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

And a bit of Jerry Garcia with David Grisman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=FFX5L1Ithuc

In reply to Bob Kemp:

With Spirit and the Dead we're getting well into the mainstream.

Here are Silver Apples, the American Can if you will:
youtube.com/watch?v=uzBlQAqILK0&

In reply to Bob Kemp:
I love that spirit album, but you're stretching the 'forgotten' brief

United states of America sound interesting...

My next suggestion seems to have been forgotten; the eponymous first Masters of Reality album from 1989.

They have made other records since but that first one is amazing - one of those fully formed bits of genius that pop up out of the blue from time to time. Chris Goss is the main man and associated with QOTSA - gives a good indicator of the masters of Reality sound.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Talking about John Peel and '60s (and into the '70s) lost bands, what about Medicine Head. Low key but some magic music in their day. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+medicine+head&&view=de...

In reply to OMR:


On his own label; Dandelion Records. Home to many obscure artists.

In reply to pasbury:


I think they were pretty much lost until that ‘Stairway’ court case last year. Most of my friends were saying ‘Who?’ But one person’s ‘lost’ is another person’s ‘Been listening to them for years’!



Remember the name -checking them out...

In reply to pasbury:


Thanks. I thought they would qualify but I guess it's all quite subjective...

Anyway, you got me thinking...perhaps these are a little more 'lost':

Peel favourites: https://devonrecordclub.com/2013/05/27/the-only-ones-the-only-ones-round-50...

Modern day doom synth:https: https://devonrecordclub.com/2012/12/05/john-maus-we-must-become-the-pitiles...

Eithipian jazz anyone?: https://devonrecordclub.com/2012/07/18/mulatu-askatke-the-story-of-ethio-ja...

REM's forebears with added pop: https://devonrecordclub.com/2015/03/22/the-dbs-stands-for-decimals-round-79...

Probably my favourite album of 2016: https://devonrecordclub.com/2017/09/03/king-we-are-king-round-102-toms-sele...

The sound of the Rockies : https://devonrecordclub.com/2016/09/02/robbie-basho-visions-of-the-country-...

Hope these are obscure enough to qualify...

In reply to tomrainbow:

That'll do nicely.

I'll be checking out the dBs.

In reply to malky_c:


really? I missed that. I had a copy of Meanwhile Gardens on tape (via a mate who was in a band whose album Levitation's drummer produced), which has obviously been misplaced long ago. I'll have to have a look. Any idea where I'll find it?

In reply to mav:

It must be on YouTube somewhere - the original version certainly is. New version is on Spotify if you use that.

In reply to pasbury:

Such as Tractor. A gem of a heavy album which was, to be fair, remembered enough to be reissued in the late '70s, but on a small label only and soon to disappear again. youtube.com/watch?v=Cj2DC5cwlLQ&

In reply to Bob Kemp:
Loved MWD but the One Dove cover of Jolene (B side of one of the singles) is off the planet good.

In reply to Toccata:

Interesting. I really really wanted to love it at the time (see earlier post about having been a major fan) but I had to admit that it just didn't click with me, and this has not changed with the passage of time. I shall revisit it again though, it's been a while since I heard it.

In reply to Toccata:


Yeah, I found that on the Soundcloud page I linked to earlier. A really nice surprise!

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Risking this one not really being THAT obscure/lost (not that it's an obscurity competition!), and they had a decent enough run, but I always thought that Rilo Kiley had all the ingredients to become genuinely huge - like headlining yer Brixton Academy size venues. OP does say "....never quite achieved the fame and status that they deserved? "
Perfectly accessible well crafted indie-pop, a superb three-album run, very good live, very photogenic (not just Jenny but also Blake - plus the drummer was really cool...in fact the whole band pulled off the "effortless cool" thing really naturally and well), very likeable.

It just never quite happened.
I heard Mark Radcliffe on the radio interviewing Jenny about this (well, not an interview but just the between-songs chit chat when she was a session guest promoting one of her solo records) and they both acknowledged that the "More Adventurous" album (the third main album; geeks would call it the fourth) was meant to catapult them to mainstream stardom, but Jenny said she was kind of glad it didn't happen because it would have meant 2 years of touring those songs. An interesting point.

Very hard to pick out a single representative song as there is so much good material in their catalogue (the fourth album was rather disappointing admittedly, but then a few years ago they released an album of deleted songs, most of which were top notch!)

I'll go with this one:
youtube.com/watch?v=aoa5uIsWRtw&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Some more One Dove rarities here but seems scrappy sound quality (and "Swampman's Revenge" seems like a solo instrumental just dicking about on a Bontempi! )

http://www.onedove.net/media/index.html

And maybe you can pester the second poster on this thread from 7 years ago!
http://forum.popjustice.com/threads/one-dove-dot-allison.17115/

In reply to Bob Kemp:


If you're looking at bands which have passed, rather than been lost;

Love; youtube.com/watch?v=Q1L11Y0I5E0&

I've had this on vinyl, cassette, CD, and now MP3. A classic, timeless album, never gets old, never not worth listening too.

When I saw The Damned earlier this year, they did their version of "alone again or", lovely stuff.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

youtube.com/watch?v=1yH3bJm92RY&

A little fabulosity from th’ faith healers

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Nik Turner's Sphinx were as mindblowing
as early Hawkwind when hey played live.I had a bootleg cassette tape of theirs and I don't know if it was Gili on vocals but it was excellent unfortunately I lost it at a party. If anyone can find it had tracks called On The Edge,Sonic Savages,Devas etc ,love Nik Turner,but you won't find them.

In reply to pasbury:

Ah I believe I was at their final ever gig! But I didn't really know them (was probably there for a support band)

Someone in the crowd shouted a request for "Everything, All At Once, Forever" and I didn't know it was a song, I thought he was just being "funny" what with it being the final gig so he wanted to make sure they played everything

I liked Tom's next band Quickspace Supersport (soon changed to just Quickspace, presumably for legal reasons). A great song called "Do It My Own Way" which wasn't a million miles from the Life Without Buildings vibe.

youtube.com/watch?v=MHY0yfvtYRQ&

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Ooh I like that. Slits, Raincoats kinda feel

In reply to Bob Kemp:

The Dancing Did - And Did Those Feet.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Do you remember Curve? They were going to be the next big thing for about 15 minutes in 1991.

They were quite charismatic with a brand of power pop that has been copied extensively.

youtube.com/watch?v=lqtxTl4m6l4&

In reply to pasbury:

Saw them live in Bristol back in the day, goth tinged pop, heavily reliant on the attractions of their singer.

Not bad for all that.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Budgie never had the recognition they deserved.

In reply to 8A machine elf:
Doing some googling seems to suggest that Nik Turner Space Ritual might be what you need to be looking for? I tried googling for Sphinx, and nothing came up, but Nik Turner's Space Ritual produced results. It might have to become a little bit of a quest where you buy different recordings to recreate the track list you had?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?biw=1366&bih=662&ei=EuUrWuCsII_8kwXR9qrQBQ&...

In reply to Big Ger:


was going to post their first album that i only recently heard on u tube but hardly a lost band-have influenced many heavy-rock/metal bands
youtube.com/watch?v=ugzwH0iMxmc&

some late sixties pop from the band ELO could have been
youtube.com/watch?v=2rJDiPvJTwE&

In reply to 8A machine elf:
Being 'a completest', it seems like (potentially expensive) fun, to have to buy different recordings...

In reply to pasbury:


Yes- was going to suggest them myself. Saw them a couple of times, once at the QM Union in Glasgow. Never quite followed up the early stuff, then overtaken by events (britpop)- but rediscovered them recently on Apple Music, their good stuff was pretty good...

In reply to Timmd:

Thanks for that Tim I seen Space Ritual twice once near Birmingham and once at the Wickerman festival they were good but they didn't do any of the Sphinx tracks I loved.

In reply to malk:

Nice (the second one).

Here's the Tornadoes, with an incredibly catchy number and some great camp. "See you down the Dilly!"
youtube.com/watch?v=f6K6gxSKld8&

In reply to 8A machine elf:


I have an album of theirs, Xitintoday (mint condition vinyl, with the booklet insert too). It's completely bonkers, very Glastonbury scene late seventies stuff complete with things recorded inside the Great Pyramid. Good? No, but that's not the point.

On a proggy scene, can I add Eloy? They turned out a lot of rubbish, essentially copying other bands like Deep Purple, Floyd, Yes and so forth, but they eventually got their act together for a couple of albums in the early eighties, Planets and Time To Turn. Based around a concept that is frankly rubbish and with some vocals that can only be described as an acquired taste, they nevertheless have some terrific prog tunes on them.

T.

In reply to pasbury:
As others have said, "lost" is very subjective of course, but for me, Curve were pretty big. John Peel favourites, the "go to" band for adolescent males who didn't want to go full Goth and who needed someone to fancy
They played fairly big venues around 1992 and frankly should have sued Garbage in 1995 for stealing their entire sound Funnily enough, that electro-Goth sound always did seem to bring better success to American bands (see - aforementioned Medicine, and of course Nine Inch Nails)
But it might be fair to say that Curve never managed one solid consistent album - seemed more like a band for 12" EPs.

I read an interview with Toni and Dean about 10 years ago where they said they kind of realised that they were not cut out to be a band but, rather, they were very good sonic engineers.

No Escape from Heaven was my favourite.

I did see them - somewhat "after the fact", in 1996. Coincidentally Garbage were playing in a venue 3 times larger on the other side of town on the same night.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:


A perennial prog problem, from Anderson to Lee.

I hasten to add, I was never that big into Curve myself, but they did seem to loom quite large at the time.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Yes I heard that album once and that was enough but the live material I am referencing was completely different.

just bumping this currently neglected thread

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Good bump.

Here's one: Flying by the Telescopes.

youtube.com/watch?v=HcGWPpoIf4A&

For once the first youtube comment is actually true; 'This is how the world looked and sounded like in 1991/92'

i kind of remember....

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Fill Your Head With Rock was a brilliant sampler featuring many fine bands and singers who are largely unknown today. Sadly it is not on CD. Many tracks can be heard on YouTube though.

In reply to eric the good:

It's on the torrents, (a friend tells me.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fill_Your_Head_with_Rock

Some class acts there.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I mentioned Sun Dial way up there^

here’s my favourite of their song from Other Way Out.

youtube.com/watch?v=-ZMojbSdbEE&

In reply to eric the good:

I had that for a while, but it disappeared somewhere along life's highway. Actually, I think it was one of those albums that got passed around at school in the days when it wasn't easy to find or afford things. You'd hang on to them for a few months then someone would say, 'Er, remember that LP I lent you...'. The earlier ones were really good too - The Rock Machine Turns You On, and a second one whose name escapes me.

The main artist who's stayed with me from that album is Lauro Nyro, who I still think is fantastic, not entirely forgotten but pretty niche these days. And Spirit, who I mentioned earlier. Trees were an interesting band in the folk-rock genre. The track on that sampler, The Garden of Jane Delawney, was probably their best known song - youtube.com/watch?v=hF2GHHCLFTM&

Curious fact about them - if you live in London or use parts of the UK rail network you'll most likely have heard their singer, Celia Humphris many times - she works as a voice-over artist now, and did many of the recorded station messages you hear on these services.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

So, from an early era, Barclay James Harvest might fit. They were on the cusp but just sank. I think they might still exist?

Another band that could fit from the early 80's was Tygers of Pan Tang. Always a metal band so always gonna be stuck in that category.

The last one I can think of is 10,000 maniacs from the US.

In reply to Removed User:

Wow I have been shying away from mentioning Young Marble Giants based on them being a bit too well known as cult legends....and you bring up barclay James Harvest and 10,000 Maniacs !
Again as others have said, one person’s obscure cult band is another person’s U2!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Yes. I was focussing on my interpretation of the OP's intent which wasn't perhaps to pull out completely obscure band names from the local pub scene but on those that should, perhaps, have done better than they did.

As I'm here now, how about Manchester Orchestra? Ae they a better fit?

In reply to Removed User:

I think that "should, perhaps, have done better than they did" is a reasonable interpretation, but Blue Straggler's point is also valid - there are a few bands that I thought about that either a) always had cult status or b) now have cult status but were obscure for a long time, but in the end I haven't mentioned. BJH and 10 000 Maniacs probably come into a third category, bands that were quite successful for a few years but then were exiled to the outer fringes. I'd say a good deal of the more successful prog-rock acts come into that third category! (Not that I'm including 10 000 Maniacs in that category btw. )


I'm just investigating now... from their Wikipedia page it looks like they might identify a fourth group - bands that have been around for a while without major success but keep plugging away... but all welcome anyway. This thread has had a lot of very interesting responses, and taken me down many forgotten byways. Good stuff!

In reply to Bob Kemp:



That would be Irish indie band "A House" active circa 1986-7 to 1997 or so.
When they split up, it was (apparently unironically) reported in the NME as "After just over a decade, A House have finally accepted it's time to give up")

Their "I Am The Greatest" album is probably in my 20 favourites of all time. It might seem a bit "arch" to some, but I like it. I think it was their "big" album. Lead single was the arguably novelty "Endless Art" which people may remember as its stop-motion video (shot for £2000, somehow...) was on The Chart Show which is where I first discovered them.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

My own post about A House, coupled with the OP, made me dig out one that I perhaps don't hold dear to my heart but which deserved a little more acclaim - it also ties in with Life Without Buildings as some of LWB helped out as session musicians on the album:
Let's Get Lost, by Desert Hearts

A good title, for starters
Got some good support on Radio at the time iirc
Signed to Tugboat, an offshoot of Rough Trade (see also: Life Without Buildings)

Good neat tight little indie tunage, with a male lead vocal but frequent vocal backup by the female bassist (but they were NOT trying to be Pixies)

From Belfast, and listening to it now, the tight and angular guitars were maybe just a year or two ahead of their time. I am hearing Franz Ferdinand in this.

Desert Hearts seem to have distilled a lot of the best elements of post-punk.
It's not on overlooked classic or hidden gem, particularly, but just something that I thought might be better remembered. Maybe JJ72 had already cornered the Irish-3-piece-with-female-bassist indie-schmindie market!

In reply to Bob Kemp:
lots of lost/obscure bands here: https://www.mixcloud.com/soundhog/

recently discovered Nucleus from there: youtube.com/watch?v=MC2QUELg59k&

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Young Marble Giants are a wonderful one-off whatever their cult/legend/obscurity status (which i suspect is hugely age dependent anyway).

Good call - I thought i’d bought Colossal Youth in my youth but actually I never did.

In reply to pasbury:
I don’t think YMG’s status is that age dependent. They were well before my time (I was 5 when the debut was released) but music press always bigs them up and bands still cite them as an influence..

That Hole’s cover of Credit in the Straight World was an album track rather than a rather more throwaway b-side, says a lot to me.

Although there was just the one album (and that was recorded in just a few days) there is a lot of auxiliary material. I think you can get a triple CD release of Colossal Youth !

I often associate that album with odyshape by the Raincoats as they are from the same period and I had a tape with one on one side and the other on the other.
The Man Amplifier is the best

In reply to malk:

Some blasts from the past there...

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Classic lost band really. A House almost completely passed me by apart from Endless Art. Not sure why - they should have appealed. But we were much more dependent on chance encounters with bands on the radio and what was in the local record shops then.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

"Disco Inferno" were brilliant, but never broke through.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Inferno_(band)

Loop made amazing drone rock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_(band)

Sensorium made one great goth album then quit

In reply to Bob Kemp:

It is worth checking out the I Am the Greatest album now that it is presumably easy to do so

To be honest it is one of only two A House albums I own and it’s the only one I ever really listened to (I got an earlier one on cheap second hand vinyl some years later, and some later CD singles eg “Here Come the Good Times”) but I am sure the band would agree that I Am the Greatest was the high point

In reply to Big Ger:


Cheers, I must check out Disco Inferno - always on my radar at the time but I did not pay enough heed. Ian Craise used to pop up on my old FB account making comments on music industry friends’ threads, he is quite self deprecating

In reply to Bob Kemp:


Another good source back then was record label samplers that you would sometimes get as cassettes if you mail-ordered a record from the label. I got a Setanta one with some A House order and it had early The Divine Comedy on it and “Rare” (Sean O’Neill from The Undertones) and The Glee Club none of which I would have otherwise encountered

The Glee Club belong on this thread, of which, more later!

In reply to Blue Straggler:



I never got into those, because I never really used mail order. I've still got loads of NME cassettes though, which were a handy source, plus some that came with the glossies like Select.

I just had a look on Spotify and there's a C86, 87 etc. playlist there. Reminded me of the Band of Holy Joy, who I loved, and who are still going I believe, so in Cat 4...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

One which I still listen a lot to is I’m stranded by The Saints. Australian punk band which actually pre-dated the pistols, clash etc and to my mind has dated a lot better. Brilliant album which deserves more recognition.

In reply to wynaptomos:


Arguably the first recognisably punk single (ignoring arguments about the Monks, Sonics, Stooges etc. etc. as being punk-before-punk) - before New Rose? I think they blew it by not adopting a punkier image. Shame really.

Another band that kept going apparently.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

BOHJ were great esp positively spooked album. Didn't know they were still going.

In reply to Chris H:

I think Manic, Magic, Majestic... is probably my favourite - at the moment. Positively Spooked is great too.

Here's a recent track...
youtube.com/watch?v=5AuQLrfZ2Zs&

And here's Tactless, introduced by Vic Reeves...
youtube.com/watch?v=PgKPVqulyZU&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Ok, so at the risk of another rap across the knuckles from Blue, where does Sham 69 fit in this conversation?

In reply to Removed User:
Six of the best !


Bend over and get ready for six of the best! I think you can get Sham 69 t shirts in Top shop!

But I don’t know much about the band , just a name that has always been around. I’ll let it go

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Been avoiding this thread for no particular reason but it did make me look up The Rezillos on YouTube, totally out of the blue, for a short walk down memory lane. I wonder whatever became of them....

Edit: should have said I didn't think they were 'great' but I did have one of their albums, in fact it was probably one of the first I ever bought.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Footprints in snow is amazing. Featuring sampled footsteps in the snow.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Hypnotone. They made one album (Ai) on Creation records in 1991 which I have in front of me now. Dance music was everything for a while in the early 90 s and for every Orbital or Underworld there were many who never got very far.
Came out at the same time as Screamadelica.

In reply to pasbury:

I was in a duo once in the early nineties, just starting to play the toilet tour and the girl got some session work through some manager type. She did the recording for cash but couldn’t bring herself to play live at almost any cost. The fella was called ‘Fawn’, “you know, like Sting.”, the manager used to add regularly.
I’m pretty glad he was lost before he was found.

In reply to pencilled in:

Eh?

In reply to Blue Straggler:
>> But I don’t know much about the band , just a name that has always been around. I’ll let it go

Well an interesting thing about the name: A couple of the original members were sitting on a train in London, trying to think of a name for their band. On one of the cutting brick walls there was some graffiti and someone had sprayed "Hersham 69" but the Her bit was either faded or sprayed over. So there you have it - "sham 69"

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Bumping this again

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Good call, I've got Jacob's Mouse and Walking Seeds to advocate. I'll listen up and make jolly good case for them .... tomorrow.

In reply to pasbury:
The only thing I know about Jacob's Mouse is that they had a standing-up drummer. Why this tiny bit of trivia about a band I've never knowingly listened to, has stuck in my head for 25 years, I'll never know!

Was the drummer also the lead singer hence the standing-up thing?

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Never saw them live but apparently two thirds of the band were identical twins who both bashed away at the drums!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Walkingseeds were a hairy scouse beat combo operating in the late 80's & early 90's. Did they invent grunge? They were certainly producing the kind of dirty, scuzzed up rock'n'roll a few years before Mudhoney, Nirvana and assorted other Sup-Poppers did it several thousand miles away.
Their first album was called Skullf*ck and featured 'Kill, Kill, Kill for Inner Peace' so it's clear they're not likely to appeal to fans of Belle & Sebastian.
They went on to produce two more albums 'Bad Orb, Whirling Ball' & 'Upwind of Disaster, Downwind of Atonement' with Kramer on producing duties. In amongst the noise there are some spot on melodies and more than a hint of early Pink Floyd.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Comsat Angels. They did a couple of good albums on the Jive label 'Land' and 7 day Weekend' then a rather wonderful one on Island records 'Chasing Shadows' before calling it a day. They had a few before then, and it seems the Jive label wasn't a good time for them.

Its a shame the Chasing Shadows album did not get them greater success, as it holds up really well even today.

In reply to Bellie:
Comsat Angels? I vaguely remember them - brilliant name, from a Ballard short story - but I'm going to have to look them up and find out what they sounded like. Half the fun of this thread...

In reply to pasbury:

Maybe not, but I'm sure I read that Stuart Murdoch was an AC DC fan in his youth, so anything's possible!

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Lets see if anyone on here is of a certain age and from Sheffield, and remembers Radio Hallam's saturday night offering ' New H Muzak' with Richard Tandy, which showcased lots of local bands... of which Comsat Angels was one. I remember first hearing 'Will you stay tonight' and 'Alicia', and the wonderful 'After the Rain'

You'll find all of the Chasing Shadows album on You tube. including the brilliant 'Cutting Edge' - the live version from the tube is excellent, and 'Pray for Rain'

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Blodwyn Pig and Tonto's Expanding Headband together with Old and in the Way and The Stoned Roadies all missed to a greater (or lesser) degree.

In reply to overdrawnboy:


Always loved that name, RIP JG

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Jacob's Mouse, I think they were one of those bands that just had a go and found that they were much better than they expected!
this pretty well sums it up youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2zFH5MQ0w&

Warning this video might lead to a lot of timewasting if you investigate the rest of the alphabet.

In reply to Bellie:

I remember their first few singles; Red Planet, Total War and Independence Day. Really interesting sound typical of the time when there was a lot of diy music coming out of the cracks.

Edit; I'm reminded of The Scars from the same time; their first single Horrorshow had a massive impact on me as sounded so different from my 14 year old soundscape.

Also Into The Garden by Artery

In reply to Bob Kemp:

So, given my past failures at this, I'm gonna go with "The Dust Junkies" as a final shot.

In reply to Removed User:


Pray tell. I've never heard of them.

In reply to pasbury:

British hip hop band. Out of Manchester. Only really did one album. I'd equate them to a British version of the Fun Loving Criminals.

Done and Dusted was the album and it was pretty good iirc.

In reply to overdrawnboy:

Blodwyn Pig were one of the first bands I saw live! I haven't listened to them for over forty years.

In reply to Removed User:


There are no failures in this thread!

In reply to pasbury:


I'll assume that's a joke.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Felt: a 17 year old wrote and played all the instruments on this album youtube.com/watch?v=6k9oPZ1adO0&

In reply to Bob Kemp:


Someone had carved the name into my desk at school in about 1969, thats how I found them, one of the few useful bits of education i gleaned at school.

In reply to aln:


Well not really, it was meant to be an acknowledgement that we don't all have the same musical tastes. Also I have come to realise that my own musical taste tends toward the offensive and degenerate, so I don't want to inflict it on everyone, just those who might share my tastes. I plucked Belle and Sebastian out of the air as an opposite to my taste (without really knowing their music). If you're a massive fan of both bands and are offended then I offer my insincere apologies.

In reply to overdrawnboy:

I believe the first Old and in the Way is still the highest selling bluegrass album.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Don't just bump; give us another gem to chew on!!

 

I've got a few more up my sleeve....

In reply to pasbury:

I am a fan of both bands but I'm not offended. Great thread. 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

That has quite cheered me up ,there is hope for the species. Thanks!

In reply to pasbury:

To be honest I am struggling a bit under my own “rules”

A few in mind but either :

they weren’t that undersung and kind of did OK at least a cult level;

they were so flash-in-the-pan that there isn’t so much to say about them;

I’d feel a fraud for citing them because I wasn’t personally that well aware of them but heir legend has filtered down to me

Examples:

In the first camp, stuff like Cranes

in the second camp, Sharkboy and Flinch

In the third camp, Beat Happening and Slant 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

No idea why some of that was in italics.

 

Beat Happening may belong in the first camp too.

In reply to Bellie:

Er, I remember a bit of that, mainly because I worked in the newsroom at Hallam, so I knew Richard a bit. I went to see the Comsat Angels in Sheffield somewhere too, and used to play Total War a lot.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Killdozer; more mining from my record collection. I’ll attempt a justification for these unwholesome boys later.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

The Enid and Gentle Giant, both very productive but criminally underrated.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

The Sundays. One hit wonders with a truly brilliant singer;

youtube.com/watch?v=2H5qNe2MFzk&

Galaxy 500. 

youtube.com/watch?v=gmrpp9cTxGA&

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Amazing Blondel

youtube.com/watch?v=LPs0gr5zbII&

In reply to overdrawnboy:

That’s a name I haven’t heard for over forty years. I seem to recall prog-folk with ancient instruments- at least  I can picture that but I can’t remember what they actually sounded like. 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

More folk than rock from memory, and for some reason I tend to confuse them with  Dr. Strangely Strange (another group who never quite became famous).

There are also groups who became very well known in one part of the UK but not elsewhere - Runrig were huge in Scotland in the 1980s & 90s but allbut unknown in England.

In reply to Doug:

And another Island band. They had quite a few of those quirky fringe folk or folk-rock acts as well as the higher profile ones like Fairport Convention. 

I guess they weren't likely to be that popular in England because of their nationalist leanings. One of them became an SNP MP didn't he?

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Did seem that Island, together with Joe Boyd, had more than their share of folk rock & similar bands. I think I first heard several of them on the Island sampler LPs such as El Pea & Bumpers

In reply to Doug:

You must be a little bit younger than me... my first Island sampler was You Can All Join In. I had the second one too, whose name I can't remember. I think that one had Dr Strangely Strange on it. 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Nice enough to eat ?

A quick search on Google suggests that the first (you can all join in) was released in 1969 & the last (El Pea) in 1971 so a fairly brief period. I had a few other samplers, but mostly folk of which the only title I can remember is Clogs.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I mentioned The Glee Club earlier (w.r.t record label samplers)

Irish band of the early-mid 1990s that were "kind of folky but not really because it was indie as well". Dominant fiddle playing and a VERY strong female vocal from Joanne Loughman.

Seemed a rather short-lived project. One mini-album (7 songs) on Setanta, and then something that has been a bit of a kiss of death for quite a few bands - the label 4AD picked them up.
Made a more complete album, re-recording the songs from the Setanta one and adding some, but a kind of "4AD sound" was imposed on it somehow - I didn't like it much but at least it gave them a bit more exposure. 

I wonder if their confusing name hampered them. I went to what I thought was one of their gigs in London but it turned out to be an actual Glee Club - happy clapping and all that (I didn't know the term). 

Then I wonder if the massive success of The Cranberries might have made them think "well there can't be room for two similar bands". They packed it all up, Joanne moved the US to be a schoolteacher...but JOY, they reformed a couple of years ago and made a new album and it's good. 

Good older songs you can try and look up:
Free to Believe
Icy Blue
Remember the Years

 

In reply to Doug:

That's the one.

I had one or two of the CBS Rock Machine samplers. Samplers were a good way to get hold of a range of music when you didn't have much money for albums. 

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Just listened to Icy Blue - very good

A 4AD band I completely missed...

Brilliant!

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I'll nominate Souvaris who I discovered when I attended an Explosions in the Sky gig and they are in the same quiet/loud post rock vein as them. They've since disbanded. Not all all their stuff was good but there was some gems in there.

Another one is Trademark who were a synth pop band with good lyrics. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_(band)

In reply to Bob Kemp:

 

4AD started picking up bands that had already released stuff on other labels, quite a lot in the early-mid 1990s and I got the feeling that in many cases they didn't push those bands as much as their "own discoveries". 
Tarnation were also victims of this. 

Since the early 00s I don't know if 4AD has ever signed a new "never-released-anything-elsewhere" band. 4AD kind of stopped being "a thing" for me a while ago but I know there are still people who slavishly follow everything the label does, even defending a band they don't like much by saying "they're on 4AD"

In reply to Bob Kemp:

And one, for a time at least, a Labour MSP.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

You may be right there - I can't think of any.

4AD kind of stopped being "a thing" for me a while ago but I know there are still people who slavishly follow everything the label does, even defending a band they don't like much by saying "they're on 4AD"

Even though it's a label that hosted many of my favourite bands over the years I never felt they were perfect, and I don't automatically check out everything they release, even though I'm still on their mailing list.

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I'd like to say Regina Spektor but again I am not personally that familiar with her work, got a couple of bargain basement CDs when they were already old. 
But she strikes me as one of many artists who in a parallel universe could have been a Florence-and-the-Machine. Accessible to the mainstream but with an air of quirkiness that could make her stand out, and seemingly very personable. The first one here, "Fidelity", didn't even get as much attention as Feist who might have been the closest contemporary but I think Regina had a bigger sound...

youtube.com/watch?v=wigqKfLWjvM&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHAhnJbGy9M&list=PL8B027362379D8463&...

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I’m going to go for another rulebending nomination; Graham Coxon. His band could be considered ‘quite’ successful but I think his solo work has always been under the radar a bit.

He’s a brilliant inventive guitarist, moving from his home turf of rock/indie into folk, blues and experimental playing with equal assurance.

I was listening to ‘Happiness in Magazines’ in the car today. It contains ‘ Freakin’ Out’; maybe his best known song but there isn’t a duff song on it.

youtube.com/watch?v=GoD4dXZGM4E&

youtube.com/watch?v=-wdZ44rhTAA&

youtube.com/watch?v=2eEjiqVe0Fk&

Great lyrics, very English, very geeky loserish.

I think the guy is a genius.

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I’ve never quite got Regina Spektor. She reminds me of other people I like and there’s nothing I dislike about her. It just doesn’t work. I wonder if this is a common reaction, hence her peripheral status. 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Inclined to agree artistically yet bizarrely the shortcomings there should be exactly the things that would get her onto Jools Holland and give her a whole big audience of “that sort of music listener”

 

Not being cynical when I cite Jools Holland. I was an “early adopter” of Joanna Newsome back when I used to really keep an ear to the ground. A gig was booked for her at a 300 capacity venue in Nottingham and she definitely was not at that level at that point and I wondered if they would move it to a smaller venue, or put tables out to fill the floor.

 

then she appeared on Jools Holland

 

then her gig turned out to be the most packed gig I’ve ever seen at that venue

 

(this was 2004 or 2005 I think)

 

 

In reply to pasbury:

 

that is a good call. I only have Happiness in Magazines and admit that I haven’t listened to it that much but I know how prolific and consistent he’s been and I did see him at Reading 2004 and he was ace. Seems truly dedicated to his craft. You’d think that the Blur connection would inherently help him to sell records but it does t really work that way eh

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Just looking at the sleeve of the first mini-album now and I think "Drives You Away" was the best at least in terms of vocals.

"Need" was the song that was on the sampler tape, that got me interested in them.
All seven songs on that record are really good though.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Two Scottish bands from early 1970s.

Beggar's Opera. Classical-based prog rock band who were overshadowed by "The Nice."
Album - "Act One" [1970].

JSD Band. Celtic tinged Folk Rock band.
Album - "JSD Band" [1972].

In reply to Winging Old Git:

I remember Beggar’s Opera very vaguely- like you say, very much in the same area as the Nice. I don’t quite remember the JSD band except to say I have a disturbing memory of having seen them live but can remember nothing else. It was the times...

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Hurrah, this thread only made me THINK of The Glee Club without listening whilst I wrote the post above. 

Now I have dug out my 7-song mini album and the 4AD one and enjoy vindicating myself insofar as the Setanta record is still fantastic and the 4AD one sucks all the spirit out of it. But mostly "hurrah" because I am really enjoying hearing the Setanta one again, nice and loud

In reply to Blue Straggler:

 

The YouTube clips I'd put up before were not what would have been my first choices but online Whistler stuff is few and far between so I've uploaded some favourites here.

http://www.blue-straggler.net/miTunes/02%20Thank%20You.mp3

 

a very sarcastic and withering one here:

http://www.blue-straggler.net/miTunes/07%20Heaven%20Help%20Me.mp3

 

and an Emily Dickinson poem set to music

 

http://www.blue-straggler.net/miTunes/11%20I%20Felt%20A%20Funeral.mp3

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Thanks for that. Very good. There's a bit of Dory Previn in the first one - there's a blast from the past for you. The second one was a bit Dubstar - she sings very like Sarah Blackwood - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnZ6lRMBcZU&index=5&list=PLU62MFne4...

(They were another 'lost band' - after the initial rush of success I think they got dismissed as a bit of a poor man's St Etienne.)

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I think Dubstar did suffer from Sarah's rather flat and nasal delivery. Worked really well on their cover(?) of "Not So Manic Now" but their other songs suffered from it IMHO. 

Whereas Kerry's "flat" delivery really worked on the Whistler songs, although they certainly never got a glimpse of the success that Dubstar enjoyed, however briefly.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I recently had to drive 2 hours in the dark in Ireland in a hire car and needed some good tunes to get me through it (I know 2 hours isn't exactly epic but it was all dreary and I was weary and blah blah)

Happily I had an inadvertent "best of Dot Allison" on my phone and this made it a lovely drive! I might not have thought of it were it not for your OP, so thanks for that.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Another thanks for this thread having provoked some memories and made me dig out some CDs that even I had arguably neglected. After enjoying some Dot Allison music whilst travelling in Ireland a couple of weeks ago, I have this week been listening to Whistler's second album a lot in the car (and tonight I dug up the first album). 

Whilst both do admittedly have some weak tracks, when they are good they are GREAT - also I am appreciating some of the songs that I'd previously not been so keen on and in fact I had been skipping them a lot so it's almost like having some new Whistler! I must rip some more and upload, given that there is not much online. 

Even better, via Google I found that the vocalist Kerry Shaw is on Facebook and have dropped her a line no reply yet....ha. Was just asking about her very rare solo album which was only ever a giveaway at her solo gigs (of which there about two, probably) and mail order. I wasn't in the loop at that time....

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Glad to see this thread again! Reminded me of a couple more good ones, albeit very different to Blue Straggler's last offering:

The Beyond - Crawl

ISIS - Oceanic

The Beyond are actually a fairly inconsistent band, but that album has some really good metal on it. Drummer is now in Therapy?, which is what reminded me (They are reforming for one show to support Therapy?)

ISIS may not be that lost to certain people. Some growling on Oceanic, but I've always liked it for the ambient bits even more. 

 

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Toni Childs, belter of a voice...

youtube.com/watch?v=S00HHzXZUrg&

The Blue Aeroplanes never got the recognition they deserved...

youtube.com/watch?v=AoLYhNGwp4E&

Screaming Blue Messiahs, a truly great live band..

youtube.com/watch?v=mR5hFONQfqg&

 

In reply to Big Ger:

Blue Aeroplanes, yes, definitely. Still plugging away round Bristol I believe. Saw them once, very loud, with three guitarists! 

I never got into Screaming Blue Messiahs at the time - wish I'd seen them

The rhythm section seem a bit bitter - mostly about Bill Carter - http://read.tidal.com/article/unsung-heroes-the-screaming-blue-messiahs-goo...

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Yeah, really liked Whistler after you posted that link. Hope you can track down the solo album!

In reply to malky_c:

I'm surprised it hasn't been archived yet. The Thread That Would Not Die!

I'll check those new suggestions out...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I dug up the one track that I own from that album, it's wonderfully bitter! http://www.blue-straggler.net/miTunes/03%20Beautiful%20Sadness.mp3


And on a Kerry Shaw tangent, here is one from her folky-twee "cool songs rearranged for cool babies" project, Ansty Cowfold. Nicer to listen to than Bob Dylan's
http://www.blue-straggler.net/miTunes/04%20Copper%20Kettle%20%28The%20Pale%...

In reply to Blue Straggler:

OK I just found out that Ian was NOT offered a wad of cash for an EMF nostalgia tour but that he was always chasing such a thing, and THAT is why the band split! 
(info from Kerry herself!)

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I had the great pleasure of seeing former Blue Aeroplane Rodney Allan play unannounced in a pub in Pucklechurch about ten years ago. He just turned up with an acoustic guitar and ripped through a few Blue Aeroplanes songs and a few covers of Neil Young, Oasis etc.

Really talented guy.

 

In reply to pasbury:

I saw them in late 1993 on a double-headline tour with A House (a band I mentioned earlier in this thread), and a new little Britpop indie band called Sleeper supporting.

Blue Aeroplane's finale was to get everyone who had ever been in the band, on stage jamming, dancing or singing (or all three). I think there were about 26 on there and presumably that was just those who could make it to that London show! 
God knows what the count is like by now

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Bumping the thread. Haven’t dug up any more bands but I don’t think anyone replied to my waxing lyrical about Magnapop earlier on, and I want to also bump them, as it were

In reply to eric the good:

So was "Rock Machine Turns You On."

In reply to Bob Kemp:

 

Pete Wishart.

 

In reply to OMR:

I take it you are referring to Runrig. Donnie Munro was a Labour Party candidate for the UK Parliament and for the Scottish Parliament but was never elected.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Can't believe I haven't mentioned China Drum on this thread yet. Their first album 'Goosefair' is one I still listen to occasionally (and has 'Wuthering Heights' as a bonus track, which gave them their 5 minutes of fame). Good Husker Du inspired punk.

Just as good is their 3rd album 'Diskin', even if it's a bit odd. They shortened their name to 'The Drum' and started messing with loops and samples. Somehow it ended up working really well, despite their singer deciding it sucked - he left shortly afterwards I think.

In reply to Big Ger:

I haven't listened to Galaxie 500 for many years but just yesterday they popped into my head (I was watching an American show featuring classic cars). I made an effort to find their records in my collection but quickly gave up. Today I read this post and renewed my effort and quickly located 'On Fire' and 'This is our music'. I am now listening to 'Snowstorm'...

youtube.com/watch?v=VejZKCpNnrs&

Thanks Mr Ger.

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

New fast automatic daffodils pigeonhole. One of my favourites, where else can you find a track called Fishes Eyes.

In reply to malky_c

I saw China Drum a couple of times in Glasgow in the late 90s. I remember seeing them in King Tuts and getting wuthering heights as a free single on entry. The flipside was the flying medallions who were label mates (fierce panda?) who they were touring with at the time. Saw them again later around the 'somewhere else' single time which I bought at the gig (in nice n sleazy - must have been on the slide then) and they were no longer a three piece, original singer/ drummer just on vocals I think.

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Reuben should've been way more famous. By far the best of the early 2000s British Rock revival (ties with maybe Oceansize who also should've been way bigger). Their frontman quit music to be an illustrator but has released a couple of extremely good albums. I first saw them supported by Engerica (who I still listen to but recognise are a bit niche) about 15 years ago during my GCSEs

In reply to Bob Kemp:

This thread will not die. If you try we willl come for you.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

The album that this one is on is great: youtube.com/watch?v=LByiVlc6czA&

Not sure they ever managed to follow it up with anything near as good, but I've kept listening to it since childhood.

In reply to Martin Bagshaw:

Argus was indeed a great album, far better than anything Wishbone Ash did before or after. A fellow I meet dog walking recently brought up the subject of classic rock albums and Argus was the first album he mentioned. Mind you, he disqualified my suggestion of the "5000 Spirits" as he didn't consider the Incredible String Band to fit into the category of Rock. 

In reply to russellcampbell:

Not sure there IS a classification that 5000 Spirits would for into... other than brilliance.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I really liked the Roomtown Bats.

 

It's a shame the bassist kept shouting 'G'day mate! I'll do it Dreckly'  before (impressively) downing a fosters AND a pasty simultaneously. He then proceeded to disagree with all the climbers in the audience, seemingly just to provoke a reaction.

Ruined the vibe frankly.

 

Wonder what happened to them...

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I've just discovered this thread and not had time to read it all yet so apologies if I'm repeating anything.

I'm always amazed that the Longpigs didn't last or achieve major success.

I was also listening  One by Perfume the other day and wondering how I never even got to see them live.

Honourable mention to Six by Seven.

But the winner for me is Dark Star who's album Twenty Twenty Sound is still in my all time top 10 yet noone ever liked them but me. I still remember dragging six friends from the other end of Glastonbury at a run to see them, only for all of them to drift to the bar whilst I stood in awe. Alone.

youtube.com/watch?v=vCRhcTJGfwA&

 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Supercharge used to play support to big acts at Leeds University union back in the late 70's.

Front man Albie playing tenor sax and with a fine line in scurrillous jokes and patter plus some great music, blew away a couple of the main acts as I recall.

 

In reply to pasbury:

I was in a band with the future Walking Seeds guitarist, Robbie Parker, when we were growing up in Barrow. None of us could play, but he had a sound in his head that he wanted to achieve. His ticket to the indie outside world was endless patience and an enthusiasm for The Stooges, neither of which I shared but sometimes talent is that simple. Whirling Ball is a pretty good LP - I second that! Now runs Probe Records in Liverpool if all my facts are right. 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

Workshy by Animals That Swim. Would have been huge in a just universe! 

Sunhouse by Sunhouse, and another thumbs up for The Comsat Angels...

 

In reply to XXXX:

Yes Dark Star seemed to be a bit polarising - they played the old free Ashton Court festival once with the same effect. Do you know Levitation from which they sprang?

In reply to pasbury:

Having listened to one or two of the scarce Dark Star videos on the web, there was something about the vocals that grated with me. 

In reply to overdrawnboy:

Looks like Supercharge are still going...  youtube.com/watch?v=r5_ZkKY_XIU&

 - good for them! One thing I love to see is these bands and individuals who are still plugging away despite limited or ephemeral success. Love and devotion to music...

In reply to bouldery bits:

 

Old punks never die, they just get more right wing in their dotage...

 

In reply to Big Ger:

Speak for yourself mate... 

Another early-mid 1990s one

 

Madder Rose. 
American guitar indie-rock which was in fairness ten-a-penny back then, which may have been Madder Rose's undoing. They did OK, with John Peel patronage (two sessions) and also The Evening Session and Mark Radcliffe on Radio 1, and some decent press coverage and small UK headline tours around the first album. I saw them a few times in London 1993-94, and also supporting Violent Femmes in 1994. 

The lead single from the second album got them maybe the most airplay of all, but then all attention seemed to dissipate. I guess that with Belly, The Breeders and Veruca Salt (and arguably Magnapop who I mentioned much earlier), people decided there wasn't room for another female-vocal American indie band with slightly rockin' guitars

I dug out a tape with various Radio 1 sessions from Madder Rose, just last week. They sound really good and a bit different to the aforementioned, with lots of big guitar wig-out outros from main man Billy Cote.

here are some quieter ones from them
youtube.com/watch?v=VMhIKt0NvYY&
youtube.com/watch?v=McGYexu9St0&

here is a Jackson 5 cover
youtube.com/watch?v=bHrg2_cmgvc&

And one of the bigger-sound ones
youtube.com/watch?v=3pHBt5qNjjE&
 

In reply to Bob Kemp:

I might be misguided with this one as I was never really into club culture so this might have been something that was dated and derivative at the time, but I really liked the Hardknox album in 1999. 

The sound is a bit Prodigy I guess. Hardknox was a project of Lindy Layton (she of "Dub Be Good To Me" by Beats International feat. Lindy Layton) and some other dude. I don't think she is doing any vocals on it though.  Just great cheesy big sounds, good for driving and sports youtube.com/watch?v=f4NQ14UsT9Q&

They seem to have been quite short lived. I really don't know much about them at all

In reply to Blue Straggler:

This really is the thread that never dies! Hasn't really attracted much attention from the dance/club element, I guess because the genre doesn't really focus on bands and albums. 

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I do remember them, but I think you've about got it right. Decent sound and a good vocalist, but sometimes it's just not enough.

 

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Perhaps Joy Zipper never made it for similar reasons, it's a crowded field.

But I love Tabitha Tindale's voice (and name);  'a candy apple with a razor blade inside'!

The Heartlight Set is a great record, sunny and dark at the same time.

youtube.com/watch?v=x_ZInIjy5bY&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sv4wEacjPw&list=PLWOTlj6Ursm_lI2v6zJDg...

In reply to Bob Kemp:

They didn't have any "image" to project either, and I think even in indie, this was important. Same issue for Magnapop, and it's not just to do with the lead singer not being the youngest/prettiest.

In reply to pasbury:

Second link isn't working. 
I remember Joy Zipper and quite possibly have one of their albums which I probably bought a few years late in a bargain bin and proceeded to not listen to much. 

Listening to your first link is interesting, I had misremembered them as having an annoyingly deliberately twee cloying lead vocal! I hear no such thing here. But I think they came several years late to the jangly pretty indie world. Kind of band that if they were British and 10 years earlier, would have been on Sarah Records.

In reply to Bob Kemp:

A friend reminded me of Ruby the other day. It was Lesley Rankine (formerly of Silverfish) and a producer (Mark Walk, now I've googled it). Similar in feel to Tricky's more uptempo stuff with some excellently-90s snarling/ascerbic lyrics. Salt Peter had some really good songs on it and a couple of big-ish singles off it. Paraffin I think was the biggest:

youtube.com/watch?v=0btiOltbSLU&

 

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

I don't remember Ruby but I do vaguely remember Silverfish. Did a search and I was surprised to find she's still going, and doesn't appeared to have mellowed a great deal. She must be in her fifties. Another one of those that keeps plugging away regardless of success or not.

https://rubyofficial.bandcamp.com/album/type-cast

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Ah yes it's a playlist - plenty of other stuff on the tubes

youtube.com/watch?v=hkDHBUcV8i0&

No I'd never describe her voice as twee and cloying!

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

Ruby were perfectly fine but I don't know if they were "lost" in terms of being overlooked (which is maybe not what you were saying). They were exactly as obscure as they should have been i.e. nothing in their output says to me "these should have been much better known".

Tiny Meat was their "big hit"
Lesley is 52.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Yeah, but I thought there was enough substance to maintain more than one moderately successful album and thought they/she was going to be pretty successful on their own terms.