Ivor Cutler was a Scottish poet, singer, musician, songwriter, artist and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential eponymous late-night radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme. He appeared in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film in 1967, and on Neil Innes' television programmes. Cutler also wrote books for children and adults, and was a teacher at A. S. Neill's Summerhill School and for 30 years in inner-city schools in London.
14 Iced Bears are a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred on songwriter and vocalist Rob Sekula and guitarist/songwriter Kevin Canham. Their jangly indie pop was characterised by a fuzzy protopunk-influenced guitar sound, and saw them receive modest critical acclaim in Britain's music press as well as prompting disc jockey John Peel to recruit them to record a couple of sessions for his programme on BBC radio. The group released a handful of singles, including "Come Get Me" on the influential Sarah label, and two full-length albums: the eponymous 14 Iced Bears (1988), and Wonder (1991).
Luke Michael Haines is an English musician, songwriter and author. He has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.
Virgin Prunes were an Irish post-punk band formed in 1977 in Dublin. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of singer Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name the Prunes until they split up in 1991.
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.
Joe Foster is an English musician and record producer, who, with Alan McGee and Dick Green, formed Creation Records in 1983.
The Leather Nun are a Swedish rock group. Careening from garage rock to goth and pop-rock.
Timothy "T. V." Smith is an English singer-songwriter who was part of punk band The Adverts in the late 1970s. Since then he has fronted other bands, as well as pursuing a solo career.
Razorcuts were an indie pop band formed in 1984 in London. The group centred on Gregory Webster and Tim Vass, with various musicians including Peter Momtchiloff of Heavenly and Talulah Gosh, Angus Stevenson, and New Zealand drummer David Swift. Early releases on the Subway Organisation label, including the debut "Big Pink Cake", led to a deal with Creation Records, for whom they released two albums.
The Waltones were a British indie band from Manchester, England, who re-formed in September 2017.
The Membranes are an English post-punk band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb, Mark Tilton (guitar), Martyn Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums). Critchley soon left, with Robb and Tilton taking on vocals, and Kelly moving to keyboards, with "Coofy Sid" (Coulthart) taking over on drums.
King of the Slums were a British alternative rock band. Formed in Greater Manchester in the mid-1980s, the band specialised in a kind of electric violin and guitar-driven rock music, and released their debut single in 1986. Whilst the band earned some critical acclaim from the UK music press, commercial success eluded them and the group disbanded in the early 1990s following the release of their second studio album, Blowzy Weirdos (1991). An album of new material plus some older songs appeared in 2009 credited to both King of the Slums and Slum Cathedral User, which was the original name of the group. Three more albums followed, Manco Diablo (2017), Artgod Dogs (2018) and Encrypted Contemporary Narratives (2020) before the death of frontman Charley Keigher in 2021.
The House of Love is the eponymous debut album by the British alternative rock band the House of Love. Released on 16 May 1988 by Creation Records, the album was a critical success. It appeared in many 1988 critics' lists in NME, Melody Maker and Sounds.
Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004. Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band's core members, having previously worked together as Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields, and they share singing and songwriting duties. Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill played on the band's first three albums, In the Presence of Greatness, Teenage Symphonies to God, and Heavy Changes. In the Presence of Greatness was produced by Matthew Sweet, while the second and third albums were produced by Mitch Easter.
BOB were an indie pop band from North London, England, formed in 1986.
Twang were an indie band from Manchester/Preston, England, signed to Ron Johnson Records. Their first release was a flexi-disc, "What's The Rub" in 1985 distributed with Debris magazine. Debut single proper, "Sharp" was released on the Stet label, and later released by Ron Johnson, reaching number 19 on the UK Indie Chart in 1986. This was followed by "Kick and Complain", which reached number 35. A final 12-inch release, "Snap Back", was issued late in 1987. The band were bracketed with other indie acts as part of the 'shambling' genre. However the band and similar hard edged label mates Big Flame and The MacKenzies somewhat disliked what they saw as lazy journalism.
Sudden Sway were an English band from Peterborough, formed in 1980. They recorded two sessions for John Peel and released three albums before splitting up in the early 1990s.
The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.
Intastella were an English alternative rock band from Manchester, England, who evolved from the earlier band Laugh. They had four top-75 hits in the UK during the 1990s.
The Sting-rays were a British rock band from Greater London which recorded on Ace Records' garage and psychedelic subsidiary Big Beat and Joe Foster's Kaleidoscope Sound in the 1980s.
