'Tom Verlaine' - The Family Cat (1989)

"You’ve got to come to the Agincourt tonight, Michael. They play all indie and goth stuff on a Friday."

"By indie and goth stuff, Laura, do you mean ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘She Sells Sanctuary’?"

"Yes, exactly. It’s great!"

"Is it really?"

"That girl you’re always moping after goes there."

"But does she like it?"

"Well, no – she’s about as difficult as you, Michael. But it’s not just about the music."

"Clearly. Do they play The Family Cat?"

"I don’t know who that is."

"I’ll see you on Monday. Ta ra."

‘Let’s Go Round There’ – The Darling Buds (1989)

“We don’t have to talk,
We don’t have to smile,
‘Cos we’ve only just met,
But please stay for a while”

(“What’s this?” Etched vinyl, kids. Yep, it made a whole side of your expensive record completely unplayable. Buy, hey, look at the pretty flower pattern.)

My Dad wins competitions that he doesn’t even enter. A crate of champagne will turn up at the door. Or tickets will arrive for a weekend away. Once he won a car (which he wanted to sell, but my mum nabbed it).

My winnings total a 12-inch by the La’s (whom I never liked, so that went to my friend Laura G) and a Darling Buds T-shirt. Impressive, eh? I snagged them both in the same competition. A Sunday night phone-in on Radio 210 – the local Reading station. The presenter, Sarah Jane, phoned me after the show to take my details and we got chatting about indie stuff.

The next week I got a name check and the new Buds single dedicated to me. And so began a weekly correspondence where I’d send in requests (The Wonder Stuff for my mum and some Pixies for my sister) and get my letters read out. This continued for about a year and I was mighty chuffed to get a shout out in the final show. The radio just hasn’t meant the same to me since – you never hear a good Darling Buds giveaway any more.

Spotify linky:

The Darling Buds – Let's Go Round There

'Can't Be Sure' - The Sundays (1989)

“It’s good to have something to live for you’ll find;
Live for tomorrow.
Live for a job and a perfect behind,
High time.”

(See what I’ve done here? It’s Sunday. What song should I choose ? Yes? Very clever, I’m sure you’ll agree.)

My friend Laura G was a huge fan of The Sundays from this very first song. Which meant I couldn’t be. Those were the rules. Well, the indie snob rules. If a friend at school discovered a band before you did, you had to dislike that band. In fact, you had to actively dislike them. In every childish way possible. “The Sundays? The Scumdays, more like. Have you heard the secret B-side track on the white label, French import, 12-inch remix of the new Family Cat single? No? Then you can hardly comment on good music can you, Laura?” That kind of thing.

Secretly though, I was quite smitten by The Sundays' first album, ‘Reading, Writing and Arithmetic’ with its tales of hideous towns and finding a pound on the underground. How could I resist any band that sounded like a magical hybrid of The Smiths and The Cocteau Twins. And who didn’t have a soft spot for Harriet Wheeler?

So this is my belated apology to Laura. Sorry. (Voice of the Beehive still suck though.)

Spotify linky:

The Sundays – Can't Be Sure