• The Tapes he left Behind
•  
• On 23^rd March 2017 my close and cherished friend Alan Griffiths died after a short illness. A great shock to all those who knew him. The unexpectedness added to the sense of loss. Alan dead! He was only 57, the same age as me, and our friendship was part-based on sharing and exploring a fund of media memories–music, film, TV–stretching back to our 1960’s childhoods. I had known him since 1981, the year he launched his post-punk outfit The Escape, which extended the dark, brooding vibe of his previous band Apartment.In the melancholy aftermath of his death, a large box of reel-to-reel tapes and two scrapbooks were recovered from the “House of Secrets”, (as he had once dubbed his long term address, a semi in Downend). The recordings had been left mouldering in the loft for nearly forty years. On studying these, I was able to piece together a picture of Alan’s early music, recorded prior to his published and better-known work in Apartment, The Escape and Tears for Fears.For those who only knew the later Alan, that house was indeed keeping secrets: Alan mate, you never told me –or anyone else you met later—that Apartment started out as a four-piece…or that a lot of that band’s early (and very tasty) songs were co-written with the fourth guy! (A mystery man with a plain name who is hence difficult to locate now). And you were a bit stingy with the truth when talking to journalists of the time (1980 or so) about your musical tastes and influences, which seemed to be recently-acquired, and impeccably New-Wavy, ignoring or blanking the musical heritage of the sixties to mid-seventies.…But then again, altering or omitting parts of your back story to suit the expectations of the time is creative in its own way- it’s called self-invention-although it plays hell with trying to work out your true musical history from this distance!Anyway mate, the tapes reveal that you’d already absorbed loads of musical influences from childhood onwards, and even written/performed/produced in some of their styles—Blues, Power Pop, even Rockabilly–by the time you were 20. (One of the first recordings is a Gary Glitter cover!)…. The Punk shockwave jolted you into an altogether higher level of creativity, with attractive, memorable songs pouring out in profusion, and then a chill bleakness creeping over the work, soon becoming your trademark.

Full story coming very soon…………………    

Legendary Bristol prog-thrashers Herb Garden make a rare appearance at The Exchange, Old Market on Friday, 14 September 2018 – their first live gig in 10 years!

‘Herb Garden: 30 years of stinking riffs and pure manure’ sees the Bristol act hit the stage on Friday 14 September, supported by youthful upstarts Milo’s Planes. Doors open at 7.30pm and advice from those close to Herb Garden is: ‘don’t miss this rare show!’

Emerging from deep in Bristol’s thrash-punk rockery, Herb Garden will celebrate three decades years since their first forays into the riff-pits of the late ‘80s hardcore-punk scene. Plus, it was in 1988 they released their first, eponymously-titled 12” EP. And you’re invited. But they weren’t really hardcore right? They sometimes put fans in a punky blue funk or caused a psychedelic flashback.

Who can forget the chorus of Bulldozer Jones, the twin guitar riffing of Sunburn, the purple daze of Convicted Man, or the intense drum battery of Ice Cream Man? These chaps, that’s who! But fear not – they’ve got their heads together, printed the words out, pumped some iron, and learned the songs!

This follows FOUR years of coaxing and persuading band members out of early retirement, to take the stage and follow up the 2014 release of ‘Herb Garden Quartet’ – their first album in 20 years!

Famous for ‘not being very famous’, their excellent European rock-tours, and for Carl giving birth to a garden gnome live onstage (by Caesarean), the Herbs had a five-minute flirtation with rock stardom when their crunchy Warner Bros album Destructive Natural Agent fell slightly short of the Top 100. Staunchly independent ever after (i.e. they split up), this once-in-a-Keith-Moon appearance by our ‘mad Muppets on raver-fuel’ guarantees to “muck out your mojo, thump you in the gizzard, then kiss your mind” according to singer Carl.

Carl, Dave, Ben, Rat, Phil, and conga Martin, invite music fans to help them bump-start the band’s Red Van! Expect free tea, ‘Garden patches, artisan vinyls, download codes for the remasters, and … politely British, Brexit-questioning hugs!

The show is aided and abetted by the fine and dandy Milo’s Planes whose post-hardcore, guitar-driven capers grasp the older generation’s punk baton and tells them in no uncertain terms where to shove it! Let’s all share the lovage!

Notes for editors:

• Herb Garden appear onstage at The Exchange, Old Market, Bristol on Friday 14 September 2018. Doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 in advance and £8 on the door. Support band is Bristol suave-punks Milo’s Planes.
• Listing/ tickets: Exchange event
• Social media: Facebook event

Kevin passed away at his home in Bristol on the 1st July. He fronted Misdemeanor who were big news in Bristol in the 1980′s

Misdemeanor 1979 – 1988

Formed in 1979 from the ashes of Vitus Dance the line-up was Kev McFadden, Bob Watson, Steve Capaldi and Kieren Wright. They were under XTC’s management team, Ian Reed and Dennis Detheridge.

They were the first rock band to play at The Bristol Bridge Inn in March 1982. Traditionally a ‘Jazz’ pub the crowd walked out after the first few numbers! They soon built up a following and played there three or four times a month for the next couple of years counting Bananarama amongst their audience.

They attracted particular interest from local BBC Radio DJ’s Al Reed and Andy Westgate who gave them regular airplay. This resulted in a management deal with Dennis Shehan who also managed Iggy Pop, was a festival organiser and U2′s tour manager. Through Dennis they were taken under the wing of Steve Todd from the Wasted Talent Agency who were promoting most of the biggest bands worldwide and offering Misdemeanour support slots.

They parted company with Dennis in 1986 and advertised for a manager in NME. The ad was answered by Mark Handy who arranged gigs in Paris and launched a supporters club with over 2000 members.

Regrettably, their recorded material never lived up to their live performances. They were disappointed with their appearance on the BBC T.V programme ‘R.P.M’ in February 1981 where they felt that the set had no atmosphere. It resulted in a falling out between Steve and Keiren which resulted in Keiren being thrown out of the band. He was replaced by Kev’s brother on drums but the band never seemed to recapture their old sparkle and fire.

At the time, being managed by Dennis seemed like a great opportunity, but they later discovered that he had turned away Press and A & R interest as he was concentrating his efforts on U2. One of their biggest regrets is that the offer of a tour of the South Coast of America with R.E.M never materialised. Despite the band having made the offer personally, Dennis cancelled without their knowledge as he didn’t consider it of benefit!

Oh what might have been…….

Link: http://bristolarchiverecords.com/bands/Misdemeanor.html

THE BRISTOL RECORDER 4

Various Artists

Released on Limited Edition Clear Vinyl, Gatefold sleeve with 20-page magazine

(500 copies only) for RECORD STORE DAY 21^st April 2018 – Mainstream release date 5th May 2018

Launch Party Night – 27^th April at Rough Trade, Bristol

Music. Vinyl. Magazine.

Back in 1979 The Bristol Recorder was one of Bristol’s most unusual musical entities and in 2018 The Bristol Recorder Volume 4 aims to restore a vinyl voice for Bristol and its music through our relaunch of its original incarnation.

The Bristol Recorder is a unique combination of vinyl record and topical magazine devoted to the music and cultural life of the city. The gatefold sleeve of our LP becomes the front and back cover of the magazine exploring, celebrating and challenging all things Bristol. The ten vinyl tracks are by local and nationally recognised artists and the magazine’s twenty pages are chock full of engaging articles on Bristol’s cultural and social scene, past and present. We have a strong design aesthetic, completely black and white, reflecting our heritage and featuring original photography and illustrations. We are also grateful for the support of both local and national advertisers in the magazine pages.

Most magazines and newspapers are discarded within weeks, if not days, whereas the Bristol Recorder is kept for years. Original copies from 1979 and 1980 are now collectors’ items.

Our musical and editorial standards are high, and the artists featured on vinyl give an eclectic view of Bristol’s music scene, reflecting the huge diversity and quality on offer in our wonderful city.

Track Listing: To be announced

A first edition of 500 copies of Bristol Recorder 4 will be released locally, nationally and globally on Record Store Day, Saturday 21 April 2018. National and international distribution will also be via Shellshock/Discovery and Bristol outlets will include Records Shops, M Shed, The Arnolfini, Foyles, Waterstones, Bristol Tourist Information Centre and Bristol Museum.

On Friday 27^th April we will be celebrating at Rough Trade with a Launch Party Night including a live set from Firewoodisland, Dr Meaker feat. Celestine and John Stapleton on the decks. Tickets at £7 are available through Bristol Ticket Shop.

Bristol Recorder Background:

Bristol is recognised internationally for its huge musical diversity and innovation, and this reputation has grown steadily ever since the pivotal years of punk and new wave in the late 1970s.

Three editions of The Bristol Recorder were released in 1979 and 1980 and major artists contributed tracks alongside original recordings from the best of the City’s thriving music scene. The Thompson Twins, Electric Guitars, Peter Gabriel, The Various Artists and Robert Fripp all appeared and critical reaction was immediate and hugely positive.

“What this adds up to, is a good read and a good listen that strikes a happy medium between polished professionalism and the enthusiasm of fanzines. Excellent.”

Time Out Magazine.

“The best idea I’ve seen come out of the independent record structure yet.”

Sounds Magazine.

“Really…every city should have one.” New Musical Express.

With this relaunch, both record and magazine will continue to celebrate Bristol – its people, its places, its achievements and issues. And, of course, its music.

ARTIST: Various Artists

TITLE: “The Bristol Recorder 4”

RELEASE DATE: Record Store Day 21^st April 2018 – Mainstream release date 5^th May

LABEL: Bristol Archive Records

DISTRIBUTION: Shellshock / Discovery

CAT NO: ARC327V

BARCODE:  5052571075319

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.
What will 2018 bring for the Archive? Many more fantastic releases from Bristol bands from the past. A heavy involvement with The M Shed Exibition in May and the rebirth of The Bristol Recorder. More news soon on this exciting Recorder project (gatefold LP, 16 page magazine, Ten tracks, 9 new bands plus one from Bristol’s rich musical heritage making a come back) We can’t wait to share all the details – but rest assured soon come…… Be safe!

DJ George
George Lawson, DJ, born 26 April 1954, died 27 October 2017
It is with Great sadness that George Lawson has died from terminal cancer after a long illness. George was a very important part of the Management at the Cooler Music Venue, Park Street, Bristol having joined the Company in 2003 and was also resident DJ every Saturday night for nearly 10 years, running Klub Kute from 10pm till 4.30am often following live band shows.
George also founded The Kandi Klub in January 1989 playing in Bristol to thousands of frenzied indie people with new and fresh electric mix, indie alternative music as well as the classics of the indie scene of the 80′s and 90′s based at the Lakota, Studio, Thekla and the Bierkellar, often 3 nights a week regularly playing to a 2,000 audience weekly. Many reunion nights were held at the Cooler and more recently New Years Eve parties at the Louisiana in Bristol.
George retired in 2013 to live in Cornwall, his childhood home and followed his passion for Photgraphy, but kept in touch with many of his friend’s of which I am proud and privileged to have known this popular, kind and caring person who shall be greatly missed by many.
Ian Dalton

Gold was formed in 1979 in Bristol, England by guitarists Jon Dalton and Pete Willey. The two had previously played before in the rock band Graffiti but this was more of a junior effort that played some school gigs and “prom” events. Gold was the boys’ first serious band. Jon was 17 and Pete was 19 when they formed Gold. The remaining members of Gold “MK 1″ were, bassist, Andy Scott and Drummer Steve Dawson.

Like many of their contemporaries, Gold had grown up listening to first generation rock and metal bands like: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Free and later acts like Thin Lizzie and Queen.

The first Gold’s music was a combination of space and glam rock served over heavy metal beats. Their set featured space-opera epics like “Mountain Queen” (remembered as a three part trilogy although only the first “movement” was ever recorded). Mountain Queen referenced concepts of “Wisdom Castles” and “Crystal Isles” rendered with a deeper than usual vocal style and a number of tempo changes that suggested the Canadian rockers “Rush” as well as a spacey guitar playout reminiscent of the hippy/space rock leaders: Gong and Steve Hillage who were immensely influential in the West of England at that time.

The band quickly gained a reputation beyond their years and were asked to play live at the prestigious “Granary” club in Bristol. Word spread quickly and Gold soon began attracting larger and larger crowds. At this point, it’s probably true to say that Willey brought the soulful, rocky elements to the music while Dalton supplied the more cosmic side to the proceedings.

One of Gold MK 1′s biggest crowd pleasers was the Power Ballad: “Is My Love In Vain”. A song of struggle and unrequited love with the obligatory “epic” guitar solo in the middle, IMLIV was picked up by legendary rock DJ: Al Read and broadcast numerous times on BBC Regional Radio; even though he had to do so with a taped version as it never made a vinyl release!. Another notable Gold tune of the time was the hard rocker: “Change For The Better” which featured a slamming Stones-AC/DC type backbeat and laconic vocal harmonies from Willey and Dalton. This was perhaps the first sign of where later Gold music was headed.

After nine months or so, Andy Scott decided he wanted to pursue other music styles and the, much loved, bassist left in an amicable split. His replacement Paul Summerill was the perfect match for the band and began the season of Gold MK 2.

Paul’s ferocious Rickenbacker sound was a combination of a chiming high end coupled with the characteristic deep, “Ricky” growl particularly when amplified by his massive Electrovoice bass stack.

Gold MK 2 attracted the interest of a local manager who is, sadly, now only remembered as “Jeff”. Jeff really believed in Gold and suggested that the band should build their fan base by not only focusing on their own following but by putting on Heavy Metal extravaganzas with other top local HM bands. The strategy worked and soon all of the bands involved benefited from the cross-pollination of their respective fan bases.

Gold headlined many of these gigs working with acts like Stormtrooper, Jaguar and Cheltenham based, Stealer.

By now Gold were regular features on the local metal scene playing all the famous Bristol rock venues like The Granary, Tiffany’s, The Locarno, The Stonehouse, The Hollybush and many more. This was also about the same time that the stirrings of a new movement the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” was beginning to take hold in concert with support from the popular national weekly paper “Sounds”. Gold saw this as a great potential opportunity but were frustrated by the lack of interest from record companies and the press, despite their strong following and sell-out gigs.

As a result, Gold split for a while in early 1981. Willey and Summerill formed a power trio with ex. “Shiva” drummer, Phil Williams. Meanwhile Dalton took off on a completely different tangent playing with the jazz-funk outfit “Climax” for a while. But the draw of the rock scene and the constant pleading of the fans proved too much and eventually Dalton folded back in with the power trio to form the 3rd and last iteration of Gold.

If Gold MK 1 was the “Space” Gold, Gold MK 3 was definitely the “Rock” Gold. Phil Williams had the drum sound of a great rock “pro”. He had also mastered the lazy Hard-Rock backbeat so reminiscent of bands like Free, Bad Company and, even AC/DC. In terms of sheer tightness and quality, the live Gold 3 were streets ahead of Gold 1. This also introduced the band to a new and almost totally unexpected phenomenon: full dancefloors!

Gold MK 3 did keep some of the “old” space material like section one of the Mountain Queen to please the long-term fans but also introduced a lot more, straight-ahead, hard rockers like the slide guitar driven “Freight Train” and the street-fighting “This Place Never Changes”. By now it was not uncommon for the fans, a diverse mixture of bikers (most of the Gold members were also bikers), hippies and head-bangers to reward the band with so many set encores that pub landlords and concert promoters had to throw the venue lights up to get the fans to finally drink up and go home. Gold were on a roll and convinced that great times lay ahead then, several months later, tragedy struck.

Gold were now touring nationally. They played venues in places like Southend, Norwich, Doncaster and the Midlands and also throughout South Wales where they enjoyed great support. Many of their Bristol fans also got on their bikes and in their cars to see them play around the country. One night after a particularly late travel back from an out of town gig. The band parked their van outside Dalton’s home and, for once, didn’t take the time to unload their equipment. The following morning Dalton awoke to find the van and all of the band’s equipment had been stolen. The only item left was one of Dalton’s guitars which he had taken in to play a little while before finally crashing out.

The band were devastated. They had no insurance and were completely broke. They fought with how or if they could continue. Commercial forces were trying to mold them into a typical NWOBHM band but Gold valued their musical diversity. They also saw the writing on the wall with regard to the up-coming neo-classical metal with its month-long solos and, often, second rate song structures which is something they didn’t want to entertain given that Gold had always been a tune-based band. With that in mind and with a wider sense of change in the air with the continued rise of Punk and New Wave, the band decided to finally call it a day.

Dalton moved to the Midlands for a short-lived stint with Prog-Rockers “Guizer Jarl” but eventfully took up a career as a touring session musician as did drummer Phil Williams. In fact the two did play once more in a hard rock cover band providing entertainment for, predominately, British and American ex-pats in the Middle east, particularly Dubai.

Dalton returned to the UK in the late 1980s and formed his last band with Pete Willey, the Latin-Jazz “Dit Da” which signaled the beginning of his transition from rock to jazz guitar which continued with his move to the US (Dalton is part Native American) in 1999. In 2003 he signed with the California jazz label: Innervision Records whom he has recorded for ever since.

Pete Willey remained in Bristol as a much respected guitar tutor and educator as well as giving frequent live appearances on guitar AND bass. Phil Williams lives in Corfu and runs a pan-European P.A. and sound reinforcement company. Paul Summerill remains true to his roots as a popular rock and blues musician in the West of England. He’s also an avid curator of all things “Gold”.

With the exception of the aforementioned “Muscle Power”, Gold never had any commercial releases but they did visit the studio on several occasions as well as pulling recordings from the mixing desk on many live gigs. They distributed the music in the form of affordable tape cassette releases to their friends and fans.

The various Gold members still get contacted by those fans who remember the band, the music, the bike runs and the parties (Gold threw a lot of parties ) Many still own those old Gold recordings and still play them to this day.