Alternative Radio - Early Recordings (1982-1984)

Alternative Radio were born from the ashes of Buster (1974-1977) ─ featuring Pete Leay (vocals and lead guitar), Rob Fennah (vocals, rhythm guitar), Kevin Roberts (vocals, bass) and Les Brians (drums) ─ a quite successful act (especially in Japan) mostly targeted at a teenage audience. After the split of Buster (and a couple of years of Fennah’s attempts in various musical directions) in 1981 Fennah, Brians (a.k.a. Les Smith) and Roberts were joined by Dave Knowles on keyboards and formed a new band, Alternative Radio, after the title of one of their first songs. In 1982 they won the 1982 edition of 'Battle of the Bands', held at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, whose panel of judges included, among various MM and NME journalists, Noddy Holder (Slade), Mick Karn (Japan), Roy Wood (The Move & Wizard), Angie Bowie (check the live version of ‘Foreign Countries’ recorded live at Granada TV studios a few days after the competition). In February of the same AR came out with their first vinyl release, the self-titled ep AR.

Alternative Radio (1982)
a. Alternative Radio
b1. I'm Fallin'
b2. Foreign Countries

After the ep, the band went through a period of line-up adjustments. By the end of 1982 Roberts was replaced on bass by Rob Fennah’s brother’s Alan, who was soon to move on to drums and percussion when, in 1983, bass duty were taken up by Steve Barratt (a.k.a. Barrett). This line-up recorded and released the band next single, Valley of Evergreen, in February 1984.

Valley of Evergreen (1984)
a. Valley of Evergreen
b. What a Dream

After this single, Alternative Radio became very much a label for the Fennah brothers, who, with the collaboration of several players released their first lp in 1985 and continue to produce and play music to these days.

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Early recordings

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(see also:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=153808497
http://www.pulse-records.co.uk/artistprofilemore.asp?id=1&IH=profile&artistname=Alternative%20Radio )

Wah! - Part 1 (1980-1981)

After the release of the second single, and the departure of guitarist Redmond, Pete Wylie decided to reshape the group as a four-piece – featuring Wylie (Guitar, Vocals), Washington (Bass), King Bluff (Keyboards) and Joe Musker (Drums, ex Dead or Alive) – shortened the name to Wah! And started working on a long player vinyl release. With the album on the way, Wah! recorded their first Radio One BBC Session in March 1981:

Peel Session (broadcast: 14/04/1981)
- Sleep
- The Checkmate Syndrome
- Cut Out
- Forget The Down

In June of the same year the album Nah Poo! The Art Of Bluff came out. Apparently the title has to do with the fact that the keyboardist King Bluff – not originally intended as a stable member of the band – managed to bluff his way into the group.

Nah Poo! The Art Of Bluff (1981)

1. The Wind Up

2. Otherboys

3. Why D'You Imitate the Cutout?

4. Mission Impossible

5. Somesay

6. The Seven Thousand Names of Wah!

7. Sleepp

8. Seven Minutes To Midnight

9. The Death of Wah!

To promote the album in the summer of the same year a couple of singles were released

Forget The Down (July 1981)

a. Forget The Down

b. The Checkmate Syndrome

Somesay (September 1981)

a. Somesay

b. Forget The Down (this time)

The A side was on their debut album, Nah = Poo - The Art Of Bluff (though the single was a re-recorded version of the song). The B side was a non-LP track but had previously been released as an A side.

Wah!

Wah! Heat

Peter Wylie began his musical career in 1977 as a guitarist for the Crucial Three (with Julian Cope and Ian McCulloch), served a couple of month (Sept-Nov 1977) in the Mystery Girls (with Cope, Peter Burns and Phil Hurts), then Nova Mob (Dec. 1977 - May 1978, with Cope, Budgie and Pete Griffiths). When Cope joined McCulloch in Shallow Madness, Wylie formed the Opium Eaters with Budgie, Ian Broudie, Paul Rutherford (Sept. 1978), then the Crash Course (Dec. 1978 - Jan 1979, with Mick Reid, Andy Eastwood Paul Cunningham and Rob Jones). Wah Heat! eventually formed in February 1979, with Wylie on vocals and guitars, Rob Jones on drums and Colin Williams on bass, soon to be replaced by Pete ‘Kid’ Younger (ex Those Naughty Lumps). The three-piece act recorded their first single, then released in February 1980:

Better Scream (1979/1980)
a. Better Scream
b. Hey! Disco Joe

After the single the band went through a series of line-up adjustments: Younger left to be replaced by Carl Washington (a.k.a. Washing-Ton, Oddball Washington, who became Wylie's right-hand man), Colm Redmond (ex Psychamesh) joined on guitars, and King (Ken) Bluff (a.k.a. J.J. Tyler, K.J. Tyrer) assisted on occasions on keyboards. In May 1980 the five-piece line-up recorded their first Peel session, performing their upcoming single plus b-side, and, curiously enough, the first version of future single, to appear in 1981 (Somesay):

Peel Session (Recorded: 19/05/1980 - Broadcast: 10/06/1960)
- Other Boys
- Don't Step On The Cracks
- Somesay
- Seven Minutes To Midnight

The band started gigging in the Liverpool-Manchester area, often supporting arch-rivals Pink Military (too experimental and artsy in contrast to the band’s aggressive and basic rock approach). During the recording session for their next single, it became clear what was to be the guitar player’s role in the band: to play live, but not on records. On this basis Redmond quit the band and, after a short period with Faction, became a full-time member of the Pink Military by the time Wah! Heat’s second single was released in September 1980 – credited to Wylie, Washington, Jonie (plus King Bluff):

Seven Minutes To Midnight (Sept. 1980)
a. Seven Minutes To Midnight … to be Continued
b. Don't Step On The Cracks

Wah! Heat

(pictures copyright of the author)
(see also www.minimal-wave.org/site/modules.php?name=topMusic&op=artist&idartist=158 )

It's Immaterial - Early Recordings (1980-1984)

It’s Immaterial grew out of the diminishing Yacths. In fact, John Campbell (vocals) left the group in 1978, followed by Martin Dempsey (guitars) in 1980. While Dempsey became a member of Pink Military, Campbell teamed up with Jarvis Whitehead (vocals, keyboards) and founded It's Immaterial. Yachts finally split up in 1981, and Henry Priestman, after a short period with Bette Bright & the Illuminations, then went on to join (if briefly) It's Immaterial (before Wah! and, later The Christians). The three piece line-up was completed by Paul Barlow (drums, later Wah!) and Julian Scott (bass), with Martin Dempsey occasionally assisting.
The band first vinyl release was in July 1980: the single ‘Young Man’

Young Man (Seeks An Interesting Job) (July 1980)
a. Young Man (Seeks An Interesting Job)
b. Doosha

The single – echoing the Yachts and Wah! Heat – was to be followed by a couple of single releases in 1981:

A Gigantic Raft (in the Philippines) (July 1981)
a. A Gigantic Raft (in the Philippines)
b. No Place For A Prompter

Imitate the Worm (November 1981)
a. Imitate the Worm
b. The Worm Turns

The same month (11 Nov. 1981), Campbell, Whitehead, Priestman, Scott and Barlow recorded their first Peel Session (performing their recent signles Gigantic Raft, Imitate the Worm, plus what was to be their next single White Man’s Hut, and an unreleased track, Rake). In July 1982 the same line-up minus Scott recorded another Peel session with songs, three of which never to appear on any other official recordings (Huzah Huzah Physic Stick, Life's My Favourite Instinct, Speak and Washing The Air – then appeared on the b-side of the 1985 single Ed's Funky Diner) . In October 1983, almost two years after its first performance on the first Peel’s show, the band released White Man’s Hut their fourth single.

White Man’s Hut (October 1983)
a. White Man’s Hut
b. The Worm Turns

By this time, Barrow and Priestman officially left the band to join Wah! – but kept collaborating with the band – and It's Immaterial became a duo backed by session musicians In November of the same year the band cut the third Peel session, recording both tracks from their current single plus a couple of unreleased tracks (Let's Murder The Moonshine and Challo),and a few months later, in February 1984, they released their last single before setting to plan a much-awaited LP. The main track was a re-working of their 1981 single A Gigantic Raft (in the Philippines).

A Gigantic Raft (in the Philippines) / The Mermaid (February 1984).
a. A Gigantic Raft (in the Philippines) (Tempest Mix)
b. The Mermaid

early recordings (1980-1984)

The Royal Family and the Poor - Part 2 (1982-1984)

After Keane and McDonald parted ways, the former carried on alone, first under the name of The Legend Agency, then as The Project. In 1982 (May-June), the one-man-act plus backing tapes did a tour of Britain supporting the China Crisis, with whose help and support (especially of Gary Daley – a.k.a. Gary Daly – singer), Keane started recording new material, namely the Dawn Song and I Love You (aka Restrained In A Moment). In 1983, through Eddie Lundon of China Crisis (guitar), Keane got in contact with Matt Johnson (The The) with whom he cut other two songs, Moonfish Is Here and the Motherland, but, once again nothing came of it, and a disillusioned (and lost in heroin addiction) Keane decided to retire from the music scene. It was only towards the beginning of 1984 that Keane, motivated by Factory Records, decided to give music another go, put together a new version of The Royal Family – adding to the line-up violinist John Neesham (ex Mel-o-Tones) and keyboard player Lita Hira (ex Stockholm Monsters) – and cut a bunch of other songs, with Peter Hook (New Order) producing, whose imprint is as easily recognizeable in the hyper technological drum and rhythmic programming. Temple Of The 13th Tribe appeared in November 1984 as FACT 95 gathering the new songs and earlier compositions (those penned in collaboration with Daley and Johnson), with Keane-designed artwork and a free booklet of texts and images.


Temple Of The 13th Tribe (Phase One) (1984)

1. I Love You (Restrained In A Moment)
2. Voices
3. Moonfish Is Here
4. Dark And Light
5. Radio Egypt
6. Discipline
7. The Dawn Song
8. Ritual 1
9. Power Of Will
10. Motherland
Temple

The Royal Family and the Poor - Part 1 (1978-1982)

The original nucleus of the band was formed by Mike Keane and Arthur McDonald (10 years older than Keane). The two started experimenting with music in their Toxteth flat around 1978, with Keane providing noises (by dismantling a radio receiver and wiring it up to an analog synthesizer and connecting them both to an old stereo gram, to be then manipulated by moving magnets around the receiver in the radio) produced by a synthesizer plugged into a record player) and McDonald taking care of vocals and lyrics (mostly inspired by Situationism, in like the early Scritti Politti).
In Keane’s own words, is was “an Aural-Pychic-audio experimentation in transpersonal forms of communication between ourselves and the listener”, whatever that means.
In 1979 the yet nameless band was invited by Factory Records in Manchester to record for the label, on Tony Wilson’s suggestion. The producer, intrigued by the weirdness of their music, is also responsible for the band’s name, taken from a book about the Sex Pistols (The Inside Story, by Fred and Judy Vermorel). The line-up was completed by Nathan McGough on bass (ex O’Boogie Brothers, with Ian Broudie and Ambrose Reynolds, son of Roger McGough of the late 60’s band Scaffold, and later manager of the Happy Mondays), and Phil Hurst on drums (ex Mystery Girls, Nightmares in Wax) and, with Keane taking care of guitars, synths and some vocals, recorded material to appear on one of the four sides of the Factory Quartet, intended as a sequel to the much celebrated Factory Sample of 1978, and produced by Martin Hannett.
The Royal Family contributed three proper tracks – Vaneigem Mix, Death Factory (featuring Ambrose Reynolds on guitar) and Rackets – as well as three short dirges, all of which recorded as live. None of these track had much connection with rock and roll, but possibly provide the prototype for what is the closest thing to Liverpudlian avant garde music: freeform and wild sounding impros, minimal guitar riffs repeated over monotonous bass-lines overlaid with Situationist oratory.
That’s how the band was presented in the sleeve notes: “The Royal Family. A remarkable S.I. influenced outfit from Liverpool who, with sing along numbers like "Vanneigem Mix," rose such comments as; 'They show The Gang of Four to be the bubble gum band we always thought they were.' - R. Boone.” The Royal Family’s memebrs were indicated as Levi Windsor, Nathan Windsor, Phil Windsor and Mike Windsor.

A Factory Quartet (Side Four)
1 Dirge 1
2 Vaneigem Mix
3 Dirge 2
4 Death Factory
5 Dirge 3
6 Rackets

The following year Phil Hurst left the band (to join Holly Johnson’s Hollycaust) and was replaced by Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio, who also co-produced the Royal Family’s first single. Art on 45 is Situationist P-funk is certainly cleaner and more danceable but not dissimilar in structure to the tracks appeared on the Factory Quartet. Mike Keane recorded two solo acoustic tracks for the flipside, Dream and Dominion. Recorded in August 1981, this fairly schizophrenic ep (with Johnson producing the a-side, and New Order’s Peter Hook both b-sides) was finally released in February 1982.

Art on 45 (12”)
A1. Art on 45
B1. Dream
B2. Dominion

In the same year Keane recorded a lengthy meditative piece (Midnight Symphony) to be included on a Zoo Records compilation, although finally the label considered the end result too weird, and never saw the light on day (apparently it was re-recorded for a RFATP 2004 release). Nathan McGough left to join Pale Fountains. The band, thus reduced to its original core, performed a few gigs using backing tapes before Keane and McDonald went their separate ways.

Early recordings (1980-1982)

(see also: http://www.cerysmaticfactory.info/fact24.html
http://home.wxs.nl/~frankbri/royalhis.html
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/michaelkeane/wizzt.html )

The Eric's Progeny (1974-1980)

Here's the Family Tree done by Pete Frame in 1980 of Eric's Progeny, from the Deaf School to the Bunnymen, Dead or Alive, Dalek I Love You, Original Mirrors, etc.

(This was only posible thanks to our friend Webbie)

Care - Singles (1983-1984)

Care formed in Liverpool, England, in 1983, when, after the split of the Wild Swans (with original members Jem Kelly and Ged Quinn forming the Lotus Eaters with Peter Coyle), singer Paul Simpson (also ex-keyboardist for the Teardrop Explodes) teamed up with guitarist Ian Broudie (previously of Big in Japan and Original Mirrors). The first single release came out in June 1983

My Boyish Days (Drink To Me) (12”)
A My Boyish Days (Drink To Me) (12" Version)
B1 An Evening In The Ray
B2 A Sad Day For England

The single well-represented the style of the band: shimmery guitar riffs and gleaming synthesizers (though ‘poppier’ and less elaborated then Kelly’s and Quinn’s) accompanying Simpson's dreamy and heartbroken crooning. Two more singles were to follow the first in October 1983, the second one in March 1984:

Flaming Sword (12”)
A Flaming Sword (12" Version)
B1 Misericorde
B2 White Cloud (alternative versions of the original ‘On The White Cloud’)

Whatever Possessed You (7”)
A Whatever Possessed You
B Besides (One And Two)

The duo was working on demos in view of an album (mainly with Ian Broudie on guitars, production and keyboards, with Paul Simpson on the keyboards and guitars, collaborating with Paul Sangster – formerly of Send No Flower together with Alan Wills and Ian Asbury – and Tony Wikelan), to be possibly titled Love Crowns and Crucifies, when divergences in the musical views of the two members – Broudie's taste for gleeful commercial pop vs. Simpson's penchant for darker more serious fare – caused the band to split. Simpson then re-formed the Wild Swans (with Jeremy Kelly and Alan Wills), while Broudie, some time later, would create the Lightning Seeds.

Care – Singles (1983-1984)

(sse also http://www.flamingsword.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.lightning-seeds.co.uk/Care/history.htm )