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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 18, 2022 11:24:45 GMT
I'm in
I anticipate more Nige Tassell goodness
Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey
A unique journey into the legacy and afterlives of the artists who featured on the legendary NME C86 tape.
In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born.
But what happened next to all those musical dreamers?
Some of the bands, like Primal Scream, went on to achieve global stardom; others, such as Half Man Half Biscuit and the Wedding Present, cultivated lifelong fanbases that still sustain their careers thirty-five years later. Then there were the rest, who ultimately imploded in a riot of paisley shirts, bad drugs and general indifference from the record-buying public.
Now, for the first time, music journalist Nige Tassell tracks down the class of C86 and recounts their stories, both tragic and uplifting. Yet, while the pursuit of long-lost musicians can often manifest as earnest hagiography, Tassell's unique, light-hearted approach makes this a very human story of ambition, hope, varying degrees of talent and what happens after you give up on pop - or, more precisely, after pop gives up on you.
It's a world populated by bike-shop owners, architecture professors, dance-music producers, record-store proprietors, birdwatchers, solicitors, caricaturists and even a possible Olympic sailor - and let's not forget the musician-turned-actor gainfully employed as Jeremy Irons' body double... More than simply the tale of the tape, Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? is an exploration of C86's wide-reaching and often surprising legacy.
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Post by personunknown on Mar 18, 2022 11:52:20 GMT
Indie born in 1986? There was an official MRIB indie chart started up in 1980, with the likes of Crass, Discharge etc. Rough Trade, Beggars and Postcard were all established. It was a good tape but this looks like someone is playing hard and fast with a timeline to suit his book. Some could even argue that by 86, some indie was just as much the musical establishment and there was no credence whether you were signed to a major label or not. Tempted to say this book will smack of NME student elitism.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 18, 2022 12:29:09 GMT
All fair points PU
Could there be a difference between indie music and "indie"?
Music released on an independent label versus the idea of it as genre?
Around the same times as C86, Alan McGee used the money from The Jesus and Mary Chain signing for Warner to release singles by Primal Scream, Felt, and The Weather Prophets
So far as I can remember, the mid 80s is when that "indie" scene really took off, and C86 felt like a significant milestone
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Post by personunknown on Mar 18, 2022 14:08:39 GMT
Indie Kids as a minor youth cult was a thing as early 81. Disaffected middle class student types who realized that under Thatcher their liberal social studies or arts degree didn't have the value it used to. Belted raincoats, donkey jackets, kicker shoes. My sister five years younger than me was off to see Aztec Camera, Orange Juice etc she saw an unknown band called The Smiths 1983. By 86 it was mainstream and passe imo.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 18, 2022 14:13:52 GMT
You’re not a fan of that C86 stuff then?
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 18, 2022 14:31:08 GMT
You’re not a fan of that C86 stuff then? I loved the likes of The Bodines, Weather Prophets, Primal Scream, Felt, The Loft, The Pastels etc But can see how it winds up a lot of people too
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Post by doug61 on Mar 18, 2022 14:41:30 GMT
Christ, no.
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Post by personunknown on Mar 18, 2022 14:51:40 GMT
You’re not a fan of that C86 stuff then? I like some of it, I just don't think it deserves too much acknowledgement as a major music form. There were a few crap punk groups but there were dozens and dozens of useless indie bands.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 22, 2022 8:23:59 GMT
Surely no arguments with Up The Hill, Down The Slope.....
The Loft - Up The Hill And Down The Slope (1985)
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Post by stu77 on Mar 22, 2022 10:28:13 GMT
Sarah Records seemed to be specialise in this kind of music.
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Post by wardance on Dec 26, 2022 19:10:34 GMT
Picked the book up in the sales at Foyles, along with Exit Stage Left ( The curious afterlife of pop stars ) by Nick Duerden and In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in 70's Britain by Will Hodgkinson. All half-price.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Dec 27, 2022 7:54:02 GMT
Look forward to your reaction wardance
And on Exit Stage Left
And on In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in 70's Britain
Three potentially great books there
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jan 6, 2023 21:32:04 GMT
Started this one
V good so far
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jan 11, 2023 14:12:37 GMT
About halfway through now. Patchy. One chapter per artist/song on the original NME C86 tape. The more interesting the story the better the chapter. Unsurprisingly. Although most chapters contain intriguing information, and it's interesting finding out what's happened to the people involved in the intervening decades.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jan 11, 2023 15:07:08 GMT
Also fun to revisit the original music before each chapter
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