Friends of the Stars, [1] originally known as Buick 6, formed in Birmingham in the late 1990s and quickly became a popular live band [2] associated with the burgeoning alternative country movement and known for catchy, classic songwriting and soaring three-part vocal harmonies. The original line-up, consisting of Craig Hamilton, [3] Anna Russell, [4] Jez Ince, James Summerfield and Nick Wilkinson released two singles on Winnebago Records. After replacing Wilkinson with former Novak [5] drummer Phil Robinson, the band recorded a John Peel session before being forced to change their name following legal threats from an Irish band of the same name.
The band, now known as "The Toques", went on to record another Peel Session [6] and had several close shaves with major labels through a development deal with Sanctuary Records Group which ultimately didn't work out for either party.
Ayrshire-born singer-songwriter Cam Docherty, [7] who had played with the band on their second Peel Session and at numerous gigs, joined permanently on lead guitar to replace Summerfield who left to pursue a solo career [8] in 2004. The band changed their name to "Friends of the Stars" [9] to draw a line under their underwhelming brush with the corporate music business.
With a new do-it-yourself ethic and renewed sense of purpose, the band began producing their own recordings and released debut album Lighting and Electrical on Commercially Inviable Records in 2007. [10] Follow-up album Faith's Meat Kiosk is due for release on the same label on 23 April 2012. Both albums were mixed by Beth McGowan.
Jez Ince stopped working with the band due to family commitments in 2005 and was replaced on bass by Rachael Dobbie in 2008.
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill, Damian O'Neill, Michael Bradley and Billy Doherty (drums). Much of the earlier Undertones material drew influence from punk rock and new wave; the Undertones also incorporated elements of rock, glam rock and post-punk into material released after 1979, before citing soul and Motown as the influence for the material released upon their final album. The Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums between 1978 and 1983 before Sharkey announced his intention to leave the band in May 1983, citing musical differences as the reason for the break up.
Incesticide is a compilation album by the American rock band Nirvana. It consists of their 1990 non-album single "Sliver", B-sides, demos, outtakes, cover versions, and radio broadcast recordings, and as such is not the official follow-up to the band's breakthrough album, Nevermind.
A Certain Ratio are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 in Flixton, Greater Manchester by Peter Terrell and Simon Topping, with additional members Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson (drums), and Martha Tilson (vocals) joining soon after.
Doves are an English alt rock band formed in Manchester. The band is composed of twin brothers Jez Williams and Andy Williams, and Jimi Goodwin. Additionally, the band employs Martin Rebelski, as a touring and session musician on keyboards. The band released four studio albums between 2000 and 2009, two of which reached #1 on the UK album charts. A compilation album, The Places Between: The Best of Doves, was released in April 2010.
Garlands is the debut album by the Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 10 July 1982 by the record label 4AD. It peaked in the top 5 of the UK Independent Albums Chart, and received support from BBC Radio 1 radio host John Peel.
Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.
The Ruts are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly played by BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel. The band's newfound success was cut short by the death of lead singer Malcolm Owen from a heroin overdose in 1980. Despite this the band continued under a different musical style as Ruts D.C. until 1983 when they disbanded, the band later reformed in 2007.
China Crisis are an English new wave and synth-pop band. They were formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon. China Crisis were part of a wave of new Liverpool acts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, led by OMD and also including Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, A Flock of Seagulls and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Nightingales are a British post-punk/alternative rock band, formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England, by four members of Birmingham's punk group The Prefects. They had been part of The Clash's 'White Riot Tour', recorded a couple of Peel Sessions, released a 45 on Rough Trade and, years after splitting up, had a retrospective CD released by US indie label Acute Records.
Misty's Big Adventure are an English eight-piece band from Birmingham. Their music is an eclectic mix of jazz, lounge, psychedelia, 2 tone, pop and punk.
Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two live albums, and a Peel Session.
"Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Belfast record label Good Vibrations, before the band signed to Sire Records on 2 October 1978. Sire Records subsequently obtained all copyrights to the material released upon the Teenage Kicks EP and the song was re-released as a standard vinyl single on Sire's own label on 14 October that year, reaching number 31 in the UK Singles Chart two weeks after its release
Girls at Our Best! were an English post-punk band, founded in Leeds, England in 1979 under the name The Butterflies. They had several UK Independent Singles Chart hits during their three-year existence.
Gossip was an American indie rock band formed in Searcy, Arkansas, originally active from 1999 until 2016. For most of their career, the band consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Brace Paine, and drummer Hannah Blilie. After releasing several recordings, the band broke through with their 2006 studio album, Standing in the Way of Control. A follow-up, Music for Men, was released in 2009. The band played a mix of post-punk revival, indie rock, and dance-rock. Their last album, A Joyful Noise, was released in May 2012.
Lone Star was a Welsh rock and heavy metal music band formed in Cardiff in 1975. They released two albums on CBS Records before splitting up in 1978.
Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots.
BOB were an indie pop band from North London, England, formed in 1986.
Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London.
Big Bear Records is the oldest independent British record label set up in 1968 by Jim Simpson in Birmingham, England. It specialises in blues and jazz recordings.
Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973–1974 is a remastered four-disc box-set anthology by Cockney Rebel, released in 2012. The set chronicles the recording career of the original line-up of Cockney Rebel, between 1973 and 1974. It includes both of the band's albums The Human Menagerie (1973) and The Psychomodo (1974), as well as all the singles and non-album B-Sides. It also features early alternative versions and mixes of tracks from both albums, as well as live sessions for the BBC, including a John Peel session and on the Old Grey Whistle Test.