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Need an mp3 player? Well, this was...  Want some more indie history? Check out... Trouser Press |
The early Thatcher years were a grim time for Britain. The world economic slump bit deep and UK dole queues were lengthening, while neo-Nazis gathered in the shadows. All was not gloom, however - as usual, music came to the rescue. At one point it seemed as though every second person in London was in a band, ran a small independent record label or reviewed gigs for the NME. This website offers a random slice of the music of the time, in the form of eight tracks from North East London independent label Melodia Records' Red Tape. The tape was a 1984 benefit release, and featured 'leftover' raw-edged recordings donated by bands whose normal output was refined to a far higher level. The result is, to say the least, of uneven technical quality - but, in my view, that is what gives the tape its own peculiar appeal. Sadly, Melodia is no more and, to my knowledge, none of the bands featured are still gigging, though most of the individuals involved are still going strong in music and media. Take this for what it is, and enjoy it as a set of out-takes from pop history. And so, on to the music... |
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| Fin Fahey |
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| DAMAGED YOUTH |
Front Line [MP3, 3323K] (recorded at Islington Bus Company) Veterans of countless North London benefits and rallies, reggae dubsters Damaged Youth engage in some righteous dissing of British neo-Nazis. |
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| PEKING OPERA |
Baby Doc[MP3, 3340K] (recorded by Lester Bennett) Not actually performed in a sugar-cane plantation in Haiti, though it achieves the same effect from being recorded on a two-track. Somehow, fusion combo Peking Opera's vocal wall-of-sound transcends the obvious technical limitations. |
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| LAURENCE MACKENZIE |
Wedding Steel and Flesh[MP3, 1784K] (recorded at Elephant Studios) Blues poet, ex-anchorman of the now-legendary Razor Phraser and the Angst Guitars, and still a doyen of the Hackney music scene, Laurence explores the problematic interface between man and machine. |
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| TO THE FINLAND STATION |
7:84[MP3, 2270K] (recorded at Elephant Studios) Against the background of a poignantly minimalistic beat, Finland Station frontman Julian Macqueen lays down the dialectic in a plea for enhanced social equality. Somewhat marred by a not-totally satisfactory bit of Socratic dialogue (although one suspects irony). |
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| THE BALLOONS |
In Short [MP3, 2037K] (recorded at Elephant Studios) Loveable South London funsters The Balloons register their disgust at the imminent demise of the Greater London Council in a style reminiscent of Captain Beefheart and The Fall in the throes of a barroom brawl. From their LP Love Runs (Thru' Your Elbows) |
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| ZA ZA PARTY |
The Big Heat[MP3, 3333K] (recorded at Cargo Studios Rochdale) Za Za Party was an alias used by South London power pop ensemble The Leopards (for some contractual reason now lost in the mists of time). This is an engaging little track that prefigures Garbage in some stylistic respects. |
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| REVERB AND BARBED |
Real Animal[MP3, 2697K] (recorded at Elephant Studios) An early appearance of Guy Chadwick, later of the highly successful House of Love, who still enjoy a cult following on and off the Web. This number combines a hint of Joy Division gothic with some Morrisseyesque soul-searching. |
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| A POPULAR HISTORY OF SIGNS |
Dancing with Ideas[MP3, 3260K] (recorded live at 'Utopia' by 'Ace') Centred around the talents of frontman Andrew Jarman (bass/vocals) and Peter Scammell (keyboards) and usually described by London's Time Out as 'moody evocative electropop', APHOS still figure as a collector's item (see their entry in Trouserpress). Here Andy bemoans the blandness of post-punk pop music. |
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Please send any enquiries, corrections or comments to Albedo Webmaster.
This site was compiled at Albedo Systems, June 1999. Many thanks to Fiona Daly and Dylan Curtis for their creative input. Original tracks copyright ©Melodia Records 1984. Original cassette cover art by Dubious Means. 
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