Chris Stamey in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.chrisstamey.com/

https://chrisstamey.bandcamp.com/

Anything Is Possible, the latest collection of original material (and one affectionate cover) from North Carolina songwriter / vocalist / guitarist / producer Chris Stamey, an indie rock icon with a long and illustrious history that’s encompassed co-founding seminal avant-pop band the dBs, playing with Alex Chilton in the 70s and more recently with Jody Stephens's Big Star Quintet, and recording with the all-star smart-pop outfit the Salt Collective. The new album features special guests such as the Lemon Twigs, Pat Sansone (Wilco), Probyn Gregory (Brian Wilson band), and Marshall Crenshaw among others. The album was produced by Stamey at Modern Recording in Chapel Hill, NC. Anything Is Possible is being released by Label 51 Recordings on 1digital download and streaming platforms today and 12” LP vinyl, CD, August 8.

Gerard Langley & Chris Sharp in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://www.theblueaeroplanes.com/

The Blue Aeroplanes first performed under that name at the King Street Art Gallery in Bristol in 1981. They consisted mainly of former members of Art Objects, with the addition of Nick Jacobs, former guitarist and vocalist of Southampton band the Exploding Seagulls.

The Blue Aeroplanes' first album, Bop Art was released on their own Party Records in 1984, and was rapidly picked up by the Abstract (US) and Fire (UK) labels. It contained material that had been considered as a follow-up to Art Objects' only album, Bagpipe Music. Gerard Langley's largely spoken poetic lyrics were combined with a heavily guitar-centric band that went on to release Tolerance (1985) and Spitting Out Miracles (1987) and several singles and EPs whose B-sides were brought together in the compilation FriendLoverPlane (1988), all on the Fire label.

Cara Tivey in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://dagoogie.bandcamp.com/album/the-golden-thread

https://www.carativey.com/

https://carativey.bandcamp.com

Cara Tivey joined Birmingham band Au Pairs as keyboard player in 1983. In 1985, Tivey got her first recording break with Everything But the Girl on Baby the Stars Shine Bright.

In 1988, she started working with Billy Bragg on the Workers Playtime album, singing vocals on "Must I Paint You a Picture". She shared the bill with Bragg on the song "She's Leaving Home", which they recorded for the Beatles tribute Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father compilation. 

Tivey performed on Bragg's 1990 album The Internationale and on 1991's Don't Try This at Home, before he took a five-year break in recording. Also in 1990 and 1991, Tivey contributed to the Lilac Time's & Love for All and Astronauts albums.

During Bragg's hiatus, Tivey contributed to the Music in Colors album by Stephen Duffy in 1993. She also became Blur's live keyboardist during their Modern Life Is Rubbish and Parklife era.

Alan Williams in conversation with David Eastaugh

The Rubettes' first and biggest hit was "Sugar Baby Love" (1974) which was a number one in the United Kingdom, going on to sell around 500,000 copies in the UK and three million copies globally. With three more songs, "Sugar Baby Love" was recorded  in October 1973 at Lansdowne Studios in Holland Park, London. "Sugar Baby Love" was their only UK No. 1 and sole US Top 40 entry.

Brixton Key

https://brixtonkey.com/

Brixton Key was born in 1950’s London to a party-loving mum and an errant scallywag dad.  As a small boy, he fell in love with the sound of his elder brother’s Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf’s Chess records, Charles Dickens novels, Edith Sitwell poems. causing continual mischief and on the bombsites surrounding his parents central London pub.  

Now longhaired and Kings Road dressed, Brixton copped a gig at the British music weekly Melody Maker.  Writing under the name of Mark Plummer, Brixton wrote features about the likes of Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Hawkwind, Rory Gallagher and The Who.  Tossing away his raincoat and California dreaming, he jetted to San Francisco where he discovered Chris Isaak, managing the pop idol to his hit record, Wicked Game.

Martin Porter & David Goggin in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buzz-Me-Inside-Record-studios/dp/0500028699

Strap yourself in and take a helter-skelter ride through more than a decade’s worth of high drama, hedonism, high tech and musical genius as told by the insiders at the heart of Record Plant studios, one of the most prolific recording factories of all time, founded in 1968 by charismatic audio engineer Gary Kellgren and ace businessman Chris Stone.

Rolf Brendel in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://rolfbrendel.de/

The band was formed in 1981 when vocalist Gabriele Kerner (Nena) came to West Berlin with drummer Rolf Brendel, her boyfriend at the time. 

The band wrote all of their songs themselves, typically working in pairs. They became overnight sensations in Germany when they performed their debut single "Nur geträumt" on German TV in August 1982

The single reached number 2 in the German charts, a position it occupied for 6 weeks, and also climbed high in the Austrian, Belgian, Dutch and Swiss charts.[ In early 1983 the follow-up single "99 Luftballons" spent a further 7 weeks at number 2 before finally reaching the top slot, a position the debut album matched.

Philip Sanderson in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://snatchtapes.bandcamp.com/

Storm Bugs are a post-punk band formed in 1978 in Deptford, London, by Philip Sanderson and Steven Ball who had met in the Medway Towns, England. The band have been linked to a number of genres including: cassette culture, industrial music and DIY. Storm Bugs were initially active between 1978–82 and defying gravity reformed in 2001.

After moving to London in late 1978 Sanderson wangled out of hours access to the electronic music studio at Goldsmiths College and also purchased a valve Revox reel to reel tape recorder setting up a DIY home studio to annoy the neighbours. Using both these faculties Sanderson recorded much of the Storm Bugs output from 1878 to 1980 with Ball designing the artwork for the releases.

The first Storm Bugs release was as part of Snatch 1 - on the Snatch Tapes cassette label. Snatch Tapes was part of the cassette culture scene and also released tapes by David Jackman (later of Organum), and Claire Thomas & Susan Vezey as well as tracks by the Lemon Kittens, Alien Brains, Cultural Amnesia and the Beach Surgeons (led by a young Graham Massey, later of 808 State).

Storm Bugs went on to release three cassettes albums on Snatch Tapes: A Safe Substitute (1980), Storm Bugs (1980) and Gift (1981). In 1980 the band released their first vinyl record the Table Matters EP on Loop Records (UK) featuring Cash Wash and Eat Good Beans. In 1981 Storm Bugs released their second single an industrial rockabilly 7-inch called "Metamorphose", on the French L'invitation au Suicide label with this time Ball providing lead vocals. Further recordings were made in 1981/1982 but not released with the band effectively going into hibernation for 20 years. Sanderson and Ball however continued to collaborate on other projects including a short-lived pop experimental band called Swoon Baboon and in 1988 the film Green on the Horizon.

Storm Bugs were rediscovered in 2000 when they were included on the bootleg LP I Hate the Pop Group, on Vertical Slum Records. In an attempt to cash in a year later Snatch Tapes reactivated and released a compilation of some of the bands finer moments from the past, entitled Let's Go Outside And Get It Over, this was the start of a re-issue programme that saw much of Storm Bugs original material being rereleased on vinyl.

The following year, 2002 rare and previously unreleased recordings were collected by the Fusetron label, and released on an LP called Up The Middle Down The Sides. In the same year the band also released a 4-track EP of new material called The Bugs Are Back on the Austrian label Klanggalerie. In 2006 the German label Vinyl On Demand issued a Snatch Tapes compilation called Snatch Paste and this was followed in 2007 by a Storm Bugs LP entitled Supplementary benefit featuring the two 7 inch singles as well as tracks from the early cassette releases. 2008 saw Car Situations (Nasal Passage) included on the Messthetics Greatest Hiss compilation whilst in 2011 the A Safe Substitute cassette on Snatch Tapes was reissued on red vinyl by Harbinger records. In 2013 the track Cash Wash/Eat Good Beans was included on the 7th and final Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music compilation on Sub Rosa.

In 2013 Storm Bugs made their back catalogue available digitally on Bandcamp and released their first new material in ten years the digital single No Nothingness/Triangulation with an accompanying video.

Storm Bugs live appearances have been rare. An unadvertised performance was given at Maidstone Art college in 1979 and a further performance in the summer of 1980 in Brenchley Gardens Maidstone, Kent. On that occasion the band included David Jackman on esraj. In 2012 Storm Bugs performed live for the first time in 30 years at the Rammel Weekender in Nottingham alongside other acts such as the New Blockaders and Cheapmachines. Reviewing the Weekender in the Wire Magazine, Storm Bugs's contribution was judged by Derek Walmsley to be "everything that's right about the weekend"

Mark Flunder in conversation with David Eastaugh 

The McTells - Formed in 1985 in Hertford, UK. Initially a 4 piece comprising Paul Rixon on guitar and vocal, Bill on guitar, Stuart on bass, Mark Flunder from the Television Personalities on stand up drums. Bill later left to form The Big Paintings but the rest of the band continued as a three piece releasing records on Pauls own Bi-Joopiter label and on Frank, K, Little Teddy Recordings and Vinyl Japan.

Kavus Torabi in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://kavustorabi.bandcamp.com/album/the-banishing

https://www.planetgong.co.uk/

https://theutopiastrong.bandcamp.com/album/the-utopia-strong

Musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field (primarily as a guitarist). Torabi was one of the founding members of the Monsoon Bassoon (as singer, guitarist and one of the two primary composers), was a member of the cult rock band Cardiacs, and fronts and plays guitar for the current lineup of legendary psychedelic band Gong.

Torabi also leads his own group Knifeworld and is a member of Guapo and the Utopia Strong.