C86 Show - Indie Pop

Martin McAloon https://www.martinmcaloon.com/ Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they released their debut album Swoon to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985's Steve McQueen and 1990's Jordan: The Comeback, have been described by Paul Lester of The Guardian as "some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era". Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the "most beloved" pop music of the 1980s and 1990s.

Welsey Stace in conversation with David Eastaugh https://wesleystace.bandcamp.com/ https://www.wesleystace.com/albums Recorded at Studio 1935 in Philadelphia’s historic BOK Building, One Last Heist is produced, arranged and written by Wes and longtime collaborator David Nagler. The core band comprised Nagler himself (keyboards), Eddie Carlson (bass), and Stéphane San Juan (Caetano Veloso, David Byrne, Marcos Valle) on the drums. These backing tracks were supplemented by stellar guitar work from Joe Gore (Tom Waits, Tracy Chapman) and Justin Mazer (Bob Weir), extra drums from Patrick Berkery (The War on Drugs) and backing vocals by Chris von Sneidern. The bells and whistles - string quartets, clarinets, flutes, flugelhorns etc - were contributed later by friends all over. This heist began with frustrations about the one before, Stace recounts: “We'd intended the previous album Late Style to be the most elegant record imaginable, but COVID was a scruffy time and much of it was recorded in isolation in far-flung locations, without the chemistry and esprit de corps of musicians playing together in real time in the same space. It just couldn’t be done how we wanted. So the prime motive here was to go one better, to arrange the songs first, then record them as a band, playing live in the studio, to let it be a ‘players’ record, allowing for expressive solos, room to relax a little. Studio 1935 is open plan, very welcoming, not lots of isolated booths, so we were all able to congregate, interact, and improvise.”

Morgan King in conservation with David Eastaugh https://morganking.bandcamp.com/ King's musical career began in 1979 as drummer for Manchester band Illustration, who were subsequently signed by the indie label, "Some Bizzare" featuring on the Some Bizzare Album. After several years immersed in the UK indie scene, King's musical direction changed considerably with the advent of house music in the late 1980s. In 1988, King moved to Chicago and started writing with Kym Mazelle and Marshall Jefferson on Mazelle's first album, Crazy, which was released the following year. In 1989, King joined his third band, the Manic MCs who had a UK top thirty hit with their first release, "Mental".

Vince Hunt in conversation with David Eastaugh A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band, who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP Loudhailer Songs brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel, for whom they recorded four sessions. Their career was brought to a halt with the death of guitarist Rick Aitken in 1989. Founder member and songwriter Vince Hunt revived the band with a new line-up for a series of UK-wide dates in 2014 marking the 25th anniversary of Aitken's death, and the band continues to play live.

John Whybrew in conversation with David Eastaugh https://portioncontrol.bandcamp.com/music https://portioncontrol.net/ Emerging from the immediate post-punk musical landscape, Portion Control swiftly developed a raw, minimal sound utilising sequenced synthesisers, samplers and strident vocals built on driving, rhythmic structures. Their fiercely independent approach and experimental use of early technology positioned them as pioneers of the electro-industrial genre, as exemplified by their 1982 debut album, ‘I Staggered Mentally’, mini-LP ‘Hit The Pulse’ (1983) and second album ‘..Step Forward’ (1984), all formative works in the evolution of hard-edged dark electronic dance music.Following a hiatus that began in the late ’80s, Portion Control staged their return in 2004. Symbolically plotted on the steps of the British Museum, they introduced a darker, tighter style that nevertheless retained their uncompromising edge. Releases such as ‘Wellcome’ (2004), ‘Filthy White Guy’ (2006), ‘Pure Form’ (2012) and the trio of ‘SEED’ EPs issued in 2020-25 documented this renewed phase, combining the band’s original aesthetic with contemporary production techniques.Throughout their career, Portion Control have remained resistant to commercial pressures while continually exploring new directions in sound. Their body of work stands as a significant contribution to electronic music history, both for its originality and for its lasting influence on subsequent artists within genres such as industrial, EBM, techno and darkwave.

Gregor Gall in conversation with David Eastaugh Link to book is https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marxism-in-music-9798765140888/ the discount code is MARXISM35 In Marxism in Music: Constructing a Communist Contra-Culture with The Redskins, Rock'n'roll and Revolution, Gregor Gall examines how The Redskins, so-called for their skinhead aesthetics and commitment to a socialist ideal, were a deliberately political band and built a counter-hegemony through their music and activism. At the height of Thatcherism in Britain, The Redskins were aligned with the politics of the Socialist Workers Party, though the party did not accept their idea of that a working-class culture could exist. Despite resistance and contradiction, The Redskins created stirring and danceable music that introduced young people to socialist politics, playing over 250 gigs between 1982 and 1986, of which one quarter were benefit gigs for, as an example, striking miners. Featuring a foreword by Redskins bass player Martin Hewes this book analyses the band's political intentions, interpersonal and inter-party tensions and the outcomes of their ideological, political and creative choices by drawing upon interviews with Hewes, other musicians like Billy Bragg, and the band's followers. The book uses as a comparison another left-wing band of the same period, Easterhouse, to tease out how and why The Redskins were and are influential amongst a certain milieux and how going against the grain, even among comrades, made for the group's particular contribution to music culture and politics.

Steve Addabbo in conversation with David Eastaugh https://www.steveaddabbo.com https://shelterislandsound.com American record producer, songwriter and audio engineer, who helped launch the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. He had a vital hand in Vega's hit single, "Luka" and Colvin's album Steady On. He has produced and/or engineered for artists including Bobby McFerrin, Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, Gary Lucas, Richard Shindell, Suzanne Vega, and Dar Williams.

Matt Eaton in conversation with David Eastaugh https://www.facebook.com/pushthepram/?locale=en_GB https://pram.bandcamp.com/music Pram are an English post-rock band formed in Birmingham in 1988 by singer-keyboardist Rosie Cuckston, guitarist Matt Eaton, drummer Andy Weir and bassist Samantha Owen. Subsequent lineups have changed frequently, most notably with Cuckston's departure in 2008. Their electronic pop sound, described as "equally quaint and unsettling," employs unconventional instruments and draws on stylistic influences such as krautrock, exotica, and dub. The group signed to Too Pure Records in 1993, where they released their debut LP The Stars Are So Big, The Earth Is So Small... Stay as You Are. They later signed to Domino. Following the 2007 album The Moving Frontier, they took a lengthy hiatus, returning in 2018 with Across the Meridian.

Dave Jackson in conversation with David Eastaugh https://theroomtheroominthewood.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Room-100063702032127/ The Room are a new wave band from Liverpool formed in late 1979. They released three albums and several singles before breaking up in 1985. Two of the band members went on to form Benny Profane, Dust, and Dead Cowboys. The band reformed in 2023. he Room, returned in 2023. Original members Clive Thomas, Dave Jackson and Becky Stringer are joined by new bloods, Ethan Kyme and Darren Brown. They have since released two albums, Restless Fate (2023) and The Telling (2024) on 9x9 Records, will release their third album, Doom Pop! in September 2026. Album opener, Drill, Baby, Drill is a response to the orangepig-who-would-be-king and his enablers. Nine new dark-tinged pop songs, plus a re-recorded version of their 80's John Peel favourite, Things Have Learnt to Walk that Ought to Crawl. Pressed on eco-vinyl giving each copy of the LP a random colour mix.

Brian Protheroe in conversation with David Eastaugh https://brianprotheroe.bandcamp.com/ English singer, songwriter, narrator and actor. He is best known for his first single, "Pinball", released in August 1974, which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 40 and reached a peak of number 22. n 1973 Protheroe was playing the part of a pop singer in a play called Death on Demand, when a representative from Chrysalis Records heard a song he had written for the show. His first single, "Pinball", was released in August 1974, and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 40 and reached a peak of number 22. Then followed by an album of the same name. The follow-up single "Fly Now" made Capital Radio's "Capital Countdown" chart.

Tim Quirk in conversation with David Eastaugh https://wonderlick1.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Wonderlick/ Wonderlick is a Los Angeles–based indie rock band established in 2001 by Too Much Joy members Tim Quirk and Jay Blumenfield. Quirk and Blumenfield originally formed the band in December 2000 to record free music for a website, entitled "Susquehanna Hat Company", which they had set up to sell Too Much Joy merchandise. Jay Blumenfield's mother died two days before he got on a plane to Virginia to record this Wonderlick album. He went anyway. He and Tim Quirk — the two halves of Wonderlick, a band that's been making records since 2001 — had spent months planning this trip. Inspired by two wildly successful (artistically AND economically) house show tours and binge-watching Les Blank documentaries, they wanted their next LP to capture the sense of immediacy and abandon those acoustic house shows had fostered. So they hired a mobile recording engineer and fiddler named Mike Mitchell in Floyd, Virginia, a tiny Appalachian town where every other citizen just so happens to be a virtuoso player of old-time music. Their original plan had been to arrive on a Friday night, when the Floyd Country Store hosts weekly jamborees, and hire some of the musicians they heard to record Wonderlick’s latest batch of songs in a cabin in the woods. But Mike assembled a stellar crew of locals before they even arrived: banjo players, an upright bassist, a drummer, a clog dancer. He'd also secured a meditation center called the Shanti for the recording — a gorgeous open space with a wood-burning stove that, the band couldn't help noticing, felt a lot like the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. They'd spent a week Googling the Nashville numbering system, because that's what the Floyd musicians wanted instead of chord charts. The idea was to find out what happens when you teach old-time musicians your punk-y songs. Best case: invent a new genre that somehow sounds like it's been around for centuries. Worst case: waste all the money you earned on your last tour on embarrassingly unreleasable tapes. So Jay flew east with his grief, and Wonderlick got to work. The result is Wonderlick Loves You, an album that has all the immediacy and abandon they’d been reaching for, as well as an undercurrent of woe they hadn’t expected but probably should have been prepared for.

Tom Bailey in conversation with David Eastaugh http://thompsontwinstombailey.co.uk/ Thompson Twins were an English pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently broke up. At various stages they had up to seven members, but their best known line-up was as a trio from 1982 to 1986. The band became a prominent act in the US during the Second British Invasion, and in 1985 performed at Live Aid in Philadelphia, where they were joined on stage by Madonna.

Jerome Soligny in conversation with David Eastaugh https://www.accartbooks.com/uk/book/david-bowie-music-lover/ David Bowie: Music Lover is a compelling mix of personal insight and expert commentary, jointly written by Bowie’s lifelong friend, collaborator and listening companion, Geoff MacCormack, and Jérôme Soligny, author of the seminal Rainbowman, who knew Bowie for 25 years. From Classical to Britpop, Electronica to Delta Blues, the book explores Bowie’s eclectic playlist, redolent of the decades he lived through but also of his deep interest in all genres and eras of music. It’s a story that begins with Little Richard on Bowie’s childhood Dansette record player, and ends with Kendrick Lamar, a go-to listen during the recording of Blackstar, released just two days before he died. An indispensable guide for Bowie fans and all Music Lovers.

Jason Stoll in conversation with David Eastaugh https://jaawband.bandcamp.com/ https://godunknownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/zones-3 https://deadneanderthals.bandcamp.com/album/twin-sister https://sexswing.bandcamp.com/ Jason Stoll is a prolific musician and has featured in many bands including Mugstar, KLÄMP, Sex Swing, Twin Sister and now JAAW. Plus he also runs the God Unknown Records label who have put out records by a diverse range of artists

Frank Sweeney in conversation with David Eastaugh https://www.facebook.com/frank.sweeney1 After forming in June 1983, they first played live as a band in August that year, soon attracting the attention of future Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who gave them several gigs at the 'Living Room', but reputedly decided not to sign The June Brides to his new label as it would have been "too obvious". Two Joe Foster-produced 1984 singles on The Pink Label, "In The Rain" and "Every Conversation" saw The June Brides receive much attention, and these two songs appeared frequently on compilation albums from that era. A year later, the mini-album There Are Eight Million Stories... appeared (produced by John O'Neill of That Petrol Emotion) and went straight to number one in the UK Indie Chart, staying there for a month. The album remained in the indie chart for 38 weeks. Disillusioned with Pink, the band moved to Marc Riley's In-Tape label for two further singles - "No Place Like Home" and "This Town" and, in 1986, opened for The Smiths on their Irish tour dates. The June Brides were asked to contribute to the NME's C86 compilation but declined for fear of being pigeonholed.

Nicholas Freeman & Ramiel Petros in conversation with David Eastaugh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bpJfIG03yE Former Norwich City star Tony Powell vanished from professional soccer in the 1970s. Decades later, he's found managing a West Hollywood motel, the last tenant of a disappearing place and of a life lived in secret.

Bruce Watson in conversation with David Eastaugh https://bigcountry.co.uk/ Big Country Redux are led by Bruce Watson, one of the founding members of Big Country, alongside the late, great guitarist, singer and songwriter Stuart Adamson. Now, Big Country Redux announce the ‘Eastworld’ album, which will be released on CD, Vinyl and Digital on 19 September through Absolute. The album will be preceded by the first single, the title track ‘Eastworld’ on 5 June 2026. The album consists of 10 brand new recordings of Big Country songs originally written or co-written by Stuart Adamson, which were released as demoes or sketches, but never previously properly developed or lavished with the attention they deserved. With the publication of the well-regarded book on Adamson’s life ‘Stay Alive’ by Scott Rowley, and a forthcoming documentary, the spotlight is on the band and the legacy once again. Bruce Watson said of the ‘Eastworld’ release, “Some of these songs will be known to the diehards as they have sneaked out from the archives as unfinished demoes or ‘internet only’ releases, but these are all songs that deserved to be developed further at the time they were written. I am delighted to have now completed them; it is a true privilege to get this newly recorded material out there. All of these songs were sketched out on old reel to reel tape recorders in dingy basements or in small 8 track studios”.

Alfie Agnew in conversation with David Eastaugh https://professorandthemadman.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/professorandthemadman Sean Elliott and Alfie Agnew are the songwriters and co-frontmen of Professor and the Madman. Elliott sees Dreamworld as a continuation of themes discussed on the group’s previous album, the critically acclaimed Séance, released in 2020. “Séance was about re-establishing contact with an era, a way of life, that seems to be making a comeback,” he said. “Like many people, the ritual of bringing home a vinyl record and immersing yourself in its journey was crucial to Alfie and me. With Dreamworld, we’ve expanded that concept to include the idea that a song cycle can still provide escape—even if briefly—from the daily chaos. Modern life is fueled by anxiety, and most of these new songs express that.” Dreamworld’s musical foundation is inspired by ‘60s baroque pop, but cocktail jazz interludes, classical flourishes, backwards guitar, and playful psychedelia sit comfortably alongside the tempest of punk-pop and alternative rock. “12 Strings and Tambourines” and “Temple of Madness” feature virtuoso performances from The Damned’s rhythm section of Rat Scabies and Paul Gray. Elliott and Agnew trade off lead vocals on all the selections (except for a rare duet on “Songs in My Head,” to which Agnew also contributes trumpet) while also handling the lead and rhythm guitar parts, and keyboards. To create music this ambitious, it’s appropriate that the pair ventured outside of their Hollydale home studio in Fullerton, California, for the first time.

Robert Wringham in conversation with David Eastaugh https://wringham.co.uk/film/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54J_1Be63q4 In the 1980s and 1990s, Anthony Irvine was a comedian and cabaret performer. His act was a little unusual. As the Iceman, he went on stage… to melt ice. Literally. He’d bring a large block of ice onto the stage then proceed to melt it (or fail to melt it) in a variety of creative ways. Among his fans were Mike Myers, Jo Brand, and Bill Bailey. In 2010, when Robert Wringham wrote his book about this era of comedy, the Iceman could not be found. But a couple of years later, Anthony Irvine popped up again. This time as a visual artist called aim. What was going on? How much permanence and success can we assure for this man whose entire act was about impermanence and failure? The blocks live on! Starring ANTHONY IRVINE and ROBERT WRINGHAM with RONNI ANCONA, ROBIN INCE, STEWART LEE, NEIL MULLARKEY, SIMON MUNNERY, MARK THOMAS, and JO BRAND.

Stephen Lawrie in conversation with David Eastaugh https://thetelescopes.bandcamp.com/ The Telescopes are an English noise, space rock, dream pop and psychedelic band formed in 1987 by artist, composer, and musician Stephen Lawrie, with band members David Fitzgerald and Joanna Doran joining later. The band's line-up is in constant flux; there can be anywhere between 1 and 20 members on a recording.