Holt Vinyl Vault

Super-fan Postermaster Flash - with a little help from Hitman Hawkins -  takes a quick spin through Patti Smith's early years in the latest in the Vinyl Vault's Punk Icons series.

Postmaster Flash follows up his birth of Heavy Metal pod with a look at the softer sounds of 1970. Along with the likes of Cat Stevens, ELP and Joni Mitchell, there's another dose of Black Sabbath at their trippy best.

Hitman Hawkins finds himself still trapped in the Eighties as he surveys the phenomenon known as Silicon Soul - all those shiny, sparkly, digitally enhanced pop-soul outfits from the latter half of that decade. From Johnny Hates Jazz and Love & Money to Wet Wet Wet and the Kane Gang - all the sharp suits and slick production can't detract from some fine songwriting and heartfelt performances. They really were good, yer know!

Postmaster Flash takes a fresh look at Punk stalwarts the Stranglers and discovers a new-found affection for the men in black. 

In this week's Vinyl Vault podcast, Hitman Hawkins spins some classic Eighties British Soul, from the decade when British soul music really came into its own. There's Sade, Stansfield and Soul II Soul - and that's just the artists beginning with "S"!

Lend an ear to some of the top singer-songwriting talent among the fairer sex. No ladies of the canyon this time though as Hitman Hawkins casts the net wider and hauls in a stellar catch. There's some household names here, but also some who have fallen off the radar but are long overdue an encore. Let's hear it for the girls!

Sheila A Devotion is back on the road again in the US, where she plots her route with the help of The Doors, The Monkees and Dean Martin, among others. Along the way she gets a spelling lesson from Bobbie Gentry and parties in Las Vegas with beardy rockers ZZ Top!

Postmaster Flash sets his sights on the world of Afrobeat and delivers a veritable potpourri of sounds from the African continent and beyond... 

Postmaster Flash climbs into his leathers for a trip back to 1970 - Year Zero for Heavy Metal. From Black Sabbath and Deep Purple to the Stooges and Spirit - this is where it began!

This week's Vinyl Vault podcast surveys the world of Dutch psych-pop. You know who we're talking about - Shocking Blue, Golden Earing(s), Les Baroques, and Brainbox (precursors to Focus). Honestly - smoke enough weed and what do you expect?