The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Forum / A family history, the railway arches of Waterloo, the Bard of Chiswick and success in Canada…

Comments

  2. That’s a beautifully written piece Niall, as ever.
    I can distinctly remember buying The Vibrtators’ ‘Pure Mania’ at a little record shop in Sidcup as a young teen. I was with my Mum & she bought ‘Oxygene’ by Jean Michel Jarre at the same time.
    I think I enjoyed her purchase more than she enjoyed mine, but I remember playing that album to death & seeing them at the Marquee the same year for about £1:20!
    I gathered later that they were essentially an Rn B band who’d cut their hair & jumped on the bandwagon ( & also that they’d made some stupid racist remarks in interviews) but at the time I loved them, & it should be noted that one of tracks on this album was where Stiff Little Fingers got their name.
    As for Robyn Hitchcock, he’s an absolute treasure isn’t he?
    A bit of a groovy psychedelic mystic & a charmer in person. Love him to death.
    Any AWers want a random recommendation, do check out ‘Ole Tarantula’ by Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3. A wonderful album.

    • *Man writes blog about studio which has almost no internet-presence*
      *Man includes a few bands he likes and a couple that are an interesting story*

      *Other man is disappointed because Man hasn’t included HIS favourite bands*

      *Man is puzzled as to why other man doesn’t just write his own blog*

  4. How many times have I walked past those doors and never knew?

    Pat Collier is a hallmark of quality, producer of so many of my records, and a lovely bloke. I met him once when I sat in on a session.

  8. Excellent as ever, @niallb. I always like stuff about how much songwriters/bands made from their work, and it’s doubly good to know that Kimberley Rew did nicely, and is a top feller to boot.
    One thing, though. Death In June are on the Spotify playlist. It may be that few on here, or anywhere else, have heard of them, but having encountered them at a gig at the University Of Kent at Canterbury in the mid-80s, I’d have to say they’re dodgy as hell. Nazi fetishists at the very least, and maybe considerably worse.

  9. As I’ve followed your excellent series Naill, I’ve been hoping you’d get around to doing Alaska. Apart from Abbey Road, it’s the only other recording studio I’ve ever set foot in. I was looking forward to finding out more about the place. I can’t remember exactly when I was there (for about half an hour). Must have been late 70’s. I had a couple of friends who knew Pat so I would have been with one of them. The place was, as you would imagine, the perfect environment for punk. The band there that night had a singer with bottle-blonde spiky hair, so I’ve since convinced myself it was Generation X.
    Keep up the good work. When you’ve finished the book make sure there’s an Audible version please. That’s how I take my literature these days.

Leave a Reply