News
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
September Update Now Live At
New Release on CD and digital download:
VARIOUS ARTISTS
‘AVON CALLING 2’
Released worldwide on 14th September 2010
20 SUPERB TRACKS ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Buy now from www.bristolarchiverecords.com or HMV, AMAZON, PLAY.COM or any good Record Shop
In 1979, Bristols’ music scene was riding the crest of the new wave, spawning numerous bands and performers whose influences and indeed physical beings have gone on to feature in some of todays’ big music makers.
During this period local musician Simon Edwards decided to form Bristols’ first independent label, HeartbeatRecords, to capture all the excitement and get Bristols’ music out beyond the M32.
With so many bands to choose from the label set about releasing a series of 7” singles, and such was the demand realised by these that a compilation LP featuring fifteen of these bands was released. The album, topically titled AVON CALLING went on to achieve near legendary status – even hailed by John Peel as “truly superb, the compilation that all others should be judged by”.
Such was the interest in the album that the bands involved continued to supply the label with demo tapes, and the lucky ones went on to release more singles, even 12” EP’s and ultimately LP’s. The sheer volume of demos and the eventual logistical constraints of “just how many records can one man put out in a year” meant that only a few would actually see further releases – though the content was in most cases nothing short of superb.
Label boss Edwards openly admits to continually returning to many of the songs purely to just listen and enjoy some “bloody good music”. Long has it been his ambition to put together an album of these songs – for no other reason but to get them out there where they belong, so they can at last be heard by others and the bands once more be applauded for making such exciting and essential sounds.
Well, the dream has finally been realised and Bristol Archive Records have given him the platform to finally release AVON CALLING 2, a collection of previously unreleased recordings from the vaults of Bristols’ Heartbeat Becords. Featured bands include EUROPEANS, APARTMENT, SNEAK PREVIEW, JOE PUBLIC, 48 HOURS, ESSENTIAL BOP, THE DIRECTORS, THE X-CERTS and SOCIAL SECURITY.
This new album full of forgotten treasures will sit perfectly along side the original AVON CALLING release and go some way to completing the story of just what was happening in Bristol back in 1979/1980 and how the music sounds as relevant today as it did back then.
Tracklisting:
1 SOCIAL SECURITY SELF CONFESSION
2 EUROPEANS THE ONLY ONE
3 APARTMENT BROKEN GLASS
4 PRIVATE DICKS YOU GOT IT
5 X – CERTS PEOPLE OF TODAY
6 ESSENTIAL BOP AUDITION ROOM
7 APARTMENT RETROSPECT
8 SNEAK PREVIEW MR MAGOO
9 JOE PUBLIC LETTERS IN MY DESK
10 48 HOURS TRAIN TO BRIGHTON
11 DIRECTORS SHOWCASE
12 PRIVATE DICKS WANT SOME FUN
13 SNEAK PREVIEW I CANT GET OUT
14 STEREO MODELS MIDDLE OF NO WHERE
15 THE PHONE ANY TAKERS
16 SEAN RYAN SUICIDE MAN
17 JOE PUBLIC FASTER
18 TVI’S DANCER
19 DIRECTORS EMPTY PROMISES
20 UNKNOWN YOU MIGHT AS WELL ENJOY YOURSELF
DIGITAL ONLY RELEASES THIS MONTH:
ARC 167 ANIMAL MAGIC
Originally released on Recreational Records in 1982
Recorded at Crescent Studios, Bath 11/12 April 1982
Engineered by Steve Street
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 170 SHARON BENGAMIN
Originally released on Shoc Wave Records in 1980
Drums
Rhythm Guitar
Keyboards Joshua Moses
Lead Guitar Larry Wilson
Sax Nigel Wood
Bass Gene Walsh
Percussion All
Vocals Sharon Bengamin
Produced by Gene Walsh
Rereleased with the permission of Gene Walsh
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 171 SHOES FOR INDUSTRY
Originally released in 1980 on Fried Egg Records
Recorded at Sound Conception Studios by Ken Wheeler
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 172 SHOES FOR INDUSTRY
Originally released in 1979 on Fried Egg Records
Recorded at Sound Conception Studios by Ken Wheeler
Crystal Theatre presents Shoes For Industry
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 173 BUGGS DURRANT
Originally released in 1983 on Shoc Wave Records
A Side Written by Errol Williams and Produced by Gene Walsh
B Side Written by Richard Gibbons and Produced by Roger Lomas
Rereleased with the permission of Gene Walsh
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 164 DAN RATCHETT
Originally released in 1989 on Freshblood Records
A Musi –Tek Production
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 165 MYSTERY SLANG
1. I’m Mad At You ( J.L Hooker and L Gardez)
2. The Golden Cross ( L Gardez)
3. Seven In A Ditch (L Gardez)
Produced by Stephen Street 1989
Constructive Music . Tristan Music
All instruments played by Mystery –Slang and Stephen Street except:
David Catlin Birch B/A
Simon Roberts Harmonica
Front cover photograph by Neil Davenport
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC166 HERB GARDEN
1. Bulldozer Jones
2. Red Van
3. Convicted Man
4. Sunburn
5. Ice Cream Man
Dave Bass
Rat Guitar
Phil Lead Guitar
Carl Vocals
Ben Drums
All songs written by Herb Garden 1989
Recorded at S.A.M Studios
Engineered by Sooty/Simon Frazer
Sleeve Steve Taylor
Produced by Paul Jocelyn / Herb Garden
Photo Simon Sherrin
Illustration Nick Hamer
Originally released on Vermin Vinyls
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
ARC 161 ANIMAL MAGIC
1. Grip
2. Go Funky-Doo-Lally
Howard, Mark, Mark, Gill, Rob with Jamie on percussion
All tracks written by Animal Magic 1982
Published by Recreational Music / A.T.V Music Ltd
Originally released on Recreational Records
This was originally a 4 Track 12” two tracks have been excluded due to problems with the transfer. They will appear as a seperate release in the future
Remastered by Steve Street April 2010
DEVAN ARC162 RAGGAFUNKIN
Produced by Desi ‘T’, Le-Roy, & Oliver Jones for Wild Cherry Productions
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Coach House Studios Bristol
All songs written & composed by Desmond Taylor
Originally released on wild Cherry Records in 1994
DEHVAN ARC 163 MYSTORY-I
Recorded at J&J Studios
Recording Engineer – James Barr
Mixed at Easy Street Studios
Mixing Engineer Antony Ric
Mastered at Loud Mastering
Published by Wild Cherry Productions Publishing
Originally released in 2000 on Wild Cherry Records
ARC 159 Stargazer ALBUM ‘Beyond The Skyline’
All of these tracks would have been recorded between 1978 – 1980.Gimme Direction and Tonight being the last of those recordings during that period (at about the same time as the St. Pauls’s riots).The significance being, that the tracks were recorded at Cave Studios, just off Portland Square, St. Pauls.The band were blissfully unaware of anything going on outside and that close to them
WHATS NEXT?
VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983
Released worldwide on 21st February 2011
14 SUPERB TRACKS, 11 NEVER RELEASED BEFORE IN A DIGITAL FORMAT
CD, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD and VINYL
From Pop to Punk, the late seventies and early eighties saw a huge explosion in the number of local bands as more and more people thought they’d give it a go, new studios and independent labels weren’t far behind and Reggae wasn’t going to be left out of the musical mix.
If the majors were even aware of Bristol they showed minimal interest and it was left to the bands themselves and the handful of indie labels to document Bristol’s contribution to what was then a vibrant UK Reggae scene. Working on tight budgets and with no money for marketing campaigns local bands managed to release a small, but steady flow of vinyl, mostly pressed in tiny quantities and often sold direct to fans at gigs, these records, although cherished by those who own them, and sought by those in the know, have been largely ignored by the wider music industry.
Fortunately Bristol music has its own champion in the shape of Bristol Archive Records, a label with a mission to share our great musical heritage with the world, “The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983” is the first and only attempt to document the local Reggae scene from the late seventies until the early eighties. With the exception of the Black Roots tracks none of the recordings have ever been reissued and all were originally released before CD had been launched, so this is their debut in the digital format.
The music itself reflects the dominance of the Roots style in Bristol, even today Roots is by far the most popular type of Reggae in both the retail and live scenes locally, Black Roots live up to their name and show why they were the equal of any UK Reggae band in their day, Talisman, Restriction and 3D Production follow in their Roots footsteps, but a real highlight of this release is the inclusion of the ultra rare “Africa Is Our land” from Joshua Moses, a UK Roots classic. Bristol wasn’t all about Roots though and the other tracks follow a more mellow template, dealing with love and relationships, both Talisman and Joshua Moses show another side to their music and are joined by tracks from Buggs Durrant, The Radicals and Sharon Bengamin who’s “Mr. Guy” is a classic UK Lover’s track in the mould of Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson, Louisa Marks et al.
“The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983” will be released as a fourteen track CD, but you can’t have a proper Reggae release without it being on vinyl so there will be a very limited vinyl pressing featuring an eight track selection and just to keep things local the sleeve art is a mid-eighties carnival shot from Bristol’s own Beezer, (www.beezerphotos.com), featuring a classic image of Jah Revelation sound-system.
This release will shine the spotlight on a long neglected corner of the UK Reggae scene and Bristol’s musical heritage, the same music that would help underpin Bristol’s musical dominance in the following decade.
( Sleeve notes and press release by Martin Langford)
Thanks for reading, check us out at www.bristolarchiverecords.com
Bristol’s famous for many things like Chatterton the poet, Cary Grant and now the Archive can be added to fellow locals ‘Blackbeards the Pirates chest’, as a true treasure trove of wonders.
Bristol Boys make more noise…
Mark Stewart
( THE POP GROUP)
Mike and The Team
