Category Archives: Matching Mole

Thank you for these, John

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john-peel-grave

Seven years since John Peel died (as I pointed out yesterday).

A handful of tracks from acts that he championed. If you like them, do go and investigate further.

His favourite band…my favourite place to live:

The Fall -‘Edinburgh Man.’ mp3

There was stuff before Punk, y’know…

Led Zeppelin -‘Whole Lotta Love.’ mp3

He knew that there was stuff further than just England…

Jesus and Mary Chain -‘Upside Down.’ mp3

Stuff from further afield than Europe and America:

Bhundu Boys -‘My Foolish Heart.’ mp3

Bob Marley & The Wailers -‘Waiting In Vain.’ mp3

Some stuff shoulda had a much wider profile:

Matching Mole -‘O Caroline.’ mp3

Some utter classics:

The Smiths -‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.’ mp3

…later covered in radical style:

Schneider TM -‘The Light 3000.’ mp3

He certainly knew that it wasn’t just about guitars:

Aphex Twin-‘Girl/Boy Song.’ mp3

…and I don’t think anymore needs to be said about this, other than…ENJOY:

The Undertones -‘Teenage Kicks.’ mp3

What was it about Peel? This was my contribution to Fresh Air’s special:

To me, John Peel was the radio DJ that all others were measured by. His sense of humour and passion for music – ‘I just want to hear something I haven’t heard before’ was infectious. Right up to the day he died, here was a man who cared about music.

The list of bands he championed from early beginnings who went on to have a massive impact – even if only for a while – is very long but would include artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Kelis, Captain Beefheart, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Nirvana, The Cure, White Stripes, Happy Mondays, Queen, PJ Harvey, David Bowie…He took flack from the far right for playing reggae. He played the Sex Pistols when no-one else would touch them. He championed styles from Prog-rock to Dubstep to ‘world’; happy hardcore to folk to death metal. As a teenager I would listen under the bedclothes trying to stay awake until the end of the show (in 1992, if you missed a radio show, that was it, there was nowhere to go to listen again, unless someone happened to have taped it).

I’ve only done a handful of shows on the radio but when people say to me that they can hear the Peel influence, I’m flattered. It is not over-exaggerating to say that without John Peel the musical landscape of the last forty years in the UK (and indeed further afield) would have been vastly different were it not for him, and all the poorer for it.
I missed the night he read my name out on there, but fortunately by this stage the internet had come along).

If I’d ever been in a band that had got beyond the gigging and demo stage, given the choice between a Peel session and Top Of The Pops I would have chosen the Peel session.

Would I have been begging him to play 17 Seconds Records’ acts on his show? D’uh!

Is it time to rethink my views on prog?

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Soft Machine, above.

For many years, I’ve been fairly opposed to the whole concept, never mind the music, of progressive rock. Many years ago, a friend’s dad played me Pictures At An Exhibition by Emerson Lake and Palmer, and it put me right off. (And I do like classical music).

Added to which, as someone who felt that punk was what had led to his beloved indie scene, it was a feeling that progressive rock’s sole function was to be so damn hideous that punk had to happen. With the exception of Pink Floyd -‘ They’re not prog, they’re good!’ I snapped at someone one time – I saw the early seventies as a wasteland, with a few notable exceptions -Bowie, Roxy, Nico, Reed etc.. and American soul and funk. I bought a Yes best of a few months ago, it ended up being returned fairly quickly. I love much of Peter Gabriel’s solo stuff, yet find much of the Genesis stuff hideously self-indulgent. I have of course since discovered Richard Thompson and John Martyn. I don’t see them as prog, but they have helped me realise that there was great music there in the first part of the seventies. I’d always loved Kraftwerk; in the last few months Can, Faust, Neu, Amon Duul II and Harmonia have shown that Germany was producing weird and wonderful stuff, and in the case of these, it influenced some of the more open-minded punks. (See here for more about that Johnny Rotten show on Capital Radio. Not a Stooges or Dolls track in sight).

Perhaps it’s time to be a little less blinkered. I suppose Steve at Teenage Kicks must take the credit for pointing me in the direction of both of these tracks, they are fabulous. I’ve posted them before but I figure these are definitely worth hearing again.

Matching Mole -‘O Caroline.’ mp3

Roy Harper -‘When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease.’ mp3 (both cropped up here, no less!)

And these two tracks are pretty cool, too:

Soft Machine -‘I Should Have Known.’ mp3

Kevin Ayers -‘Oh! Wot A Dream.’ mp3

More Peel, people?

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John Peel in 1976.

As before, thanks to people who have helped me complete gaps, so I thought I would share some of these with you:

First up, many thanks to Steve for this, which was actually a UK Top 20 hit single the following year, but I couldn’t find. Cheers Steve!

Racing Cars – ‘They Shoot Horses Don’t They?’ mp3 (1976 Festive Fifty no.7)

Another beautiful, sad song…maybe there WAS some good music pre-punk after all *tongue in cheek*

Matching Mole -‘O Caroline.’ mp3 (1976 Festive Fifty no.46)

Meanwhile, those three elusive tracks from 1985:

One Thousand Violins -‘Like One Thousand Violins.’ mp3 (1985 Festive Fifty no.49)

Three Johns -‘Death Of The European.’ mp3 (1985 Festive Fifty no.14)

Woodentops -‘Move Me.’ mp3 (1985 Festive Fifty no.19)

And one from 1998:

Quickspace -‘If I Were A Carpenter (session).’ mp3 (1998 Festive Fifty no.39)

Obviously, there are other mp3s I have been sent, thank you, these will appear at some point soon. And I’m also planning on having another Shop Assistants fest next week. Watch this space…