Lost Notes: Groupies

Shelleyan Orphan brought their delirious chamber-pop to SNAP in September 1989. Nominally a duo of Caroline Crawley and Jem Tayle, the group expanded to a sextet for their opening slot on The Cure’s “Prayer Tour.”

On this rare US radio date, they perform a lovely set of selections from their “Century Flower” album.

Cult songwriter Peter Case returned to SNAP in 1989 to support his second solo album, “The Man With The Blue Postmodern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar.”

Backed up by a cracking, no-frills rhythm section, Case rolls out another set of smartly crafted roots-rock interleaved with a few choice covers.

Lyle Lovett stopped by SNAP in April 1989 with the paradoxical distinction of promoting his “Large Band” with a solo acoustic set.

Lovett dips evenly into his albums for this lovely and sardonic five-song performance.

The legendary Robyn Hitchcock was a firm favorite of Deirdre’s throughout the 1980s. Stepping away from his backing band, The Egyptians, Hitchcock stopped by SNAP in April 1989 to play a short acoustic set of songs which would later feature on the following year’s classic solo album, “Eye.”

Long before she was a global phenomenon, Sarah McLachlan dropped into SNAP prior to the U.S. release of her 1989 debut, “Touch.”

She and bass player Jeff Cross play a short duo set spotlighting her earthy but ethereal sound.

A year before they reunited on wax with 1991’s “Mavericks,” The dBs’ Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey dropped in for a surprise appearance on “SNAP!”

Bassist Ilene Markell joined the legendary duo for a casual and breezy set that beautifully prefigured their forthcoming album.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds join Deirdre in-studio on March 3, 1989, for a loose-limbed acoustic set following the release of “Tender Prey.” The set includes two bona fide Cave classics (“The Mercy Seat” and “The Carny”) and an appealingly ragged selection of covers.

Visual footage of the performance was also captured in Uli M. Schueppel's documentary film "The Road to God Knows Where," depicting five weeks of the US leg of the band's 1989 tour.

Canadian slowcore godparents Cowboy Junkies waltzed into the SNAP studios in December 1988, weeks after the release of their now-iconic album, “The Trinity Session.”

Their performance is characterized by the same slow burn that made “Trinity” an instant masterpiece.

In October 1988, Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly made his second SNAP appearance with two members of his band, The Messengers, in tow: pianist Peter Bull and drummer Michael Barclay (here reduced to a backing vocal role).

They play a low-key acoustic set featuring numbers from their latest album, “Under the Sun,” and others from his catalog.

The Railway Children made their US radio debut on SNAP in September 1988.

The Manchester, UK, quartet played a full set of gorgeous and chiming guitar pop, drawn on their two albums for Virgin (“Recurrence”) and Factory Records (“Reunion Wilderness”).