Category Archives: Trembling Blue Stars

Festive Fifty Stuff for a Friday

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John Peel and his wife Sheila, affectionately known as The Pig

I’m glad that quite a few people have been enjoying these Peel posts. I won’t be doing these forever, or I may take a different approach to these, but for the time being, I will do a few more Festive Fifty posts (the only annoying thing about them is just how long they take to do!)

First up, a band who have evolved constantly over the last thirty years, even if they only released five studio albums and one compilation in that time. It’s hard to imagine it not being worth the wait, though. Green Gartside and his merry men:

Scritti Politti -‘Faithless.’ mp3 (1982 Festive Fifty no.13)

One of the most heartbreaking bands ever, with surprisingly their only festive fifty entry:

Trembling Blue Stars -’Abba On the Jukebox.’ mp3 (1996 Festive Fifty no.19)

Morrissey had many entries in the Festive Fifty with the Smiths and for the first few years of his solo career, quite a few too. This was the last of his:

Morrissey -’November Spawned A Monster.’ mp3 (1990 festive Fifty no.16)

Underworld only ever had two entries in the Festive Fifty, no surprise that this epic track was one of them.

Underworld -‘Born Slippy (NUXX).’ mp3 (1996 Festive Fifty no.5)

Another band I remember hearing on Peel and scrawling on my school bag…

Huggy Bear -‘Herjazz.’ mp3 (1993 Festive Fifty no.3)

Over the place of a decade, John Peel gave a lot of coverage to Cornershop. This was their final entry.

Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur -‘Topknot.’ mp3 (2004 Festive Fifty no.40)

An aching anthem about being an outsider…and this time, Morrissey wasn’t the singer

Bronski Beat -’Smalltown Boy.’ mp3 (1984 Festive Fifty no.48) (N.B. This is from my vinyl copy of the Age Of Consent and is a bit crackly in places)

As mentioned previously, The Wedding Present were up there with The Smiths and The Fall in terms of entries. This is my favourite song of theirs to make the Festive Fifty

Wedding Present -’My Favourite Dress.’ mp3 (1987 Festive Fifty no.6)

Rather like Blur, Radiohead actually seemed to do better on the Festive fifty further into their career than earlier on:

Radiohead -‘There, There.’ mp3 (20003 Festive Fifty no.37)

And finally, mad, and wonderful -Spizzenergi:

Spizzenergi -’Where’s Captain Kirk?’ mp3 (1980 Festive Fifty no.40)

Have a good Friday!

Edx

Abba On The Jukebox?

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Many years ago, whilst driving alone at night I was listening to John Peel. And there was one of those moments, where you hear something that touches you.

And on the night in question, in 1996, April I think, it was this song by Trembling Blue Stars.

Trembling Blue Stars-‘Abba On The Jukebox.’ mp3

This is simply one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I’m not an expert on twee-pop by any means (but try And Before The First Kiss or The Roaring Machine for people who undoubtedly are), but I know what I like and I love this.

A couple of years later I managed to pick up the album Her Handwriting
and there were a lots of brilliant songs just waiting for me there, including these two:

Trembling Blue Stars-‘A Single Kiss.’ mp3

Trembling Blue Stars-‘Do People Ever?’ mp3

Buy Her Handwriting here

And of course, how could I forget the masters of the Sad Song themselves? Sod post-modernism, camp and all the justifications, critiques and other rubbish that’s lobbed in their direction, Abba really understood POP.

Abba-‘The Visitors.’ mp3

Buy The Visitors here