I arrived home earlier today after a weekend walking parts of the South West Costal Path around Swanage and Studland to find that the events at the ICA celebrating C86 has been announced. I'm sure people like myself are, well, just a bit underwhelmed by the bands on offer over the two nights although Phil Wilson and The Wolfhounds should be good!
Why are The Magic Numbers playing was the first thing on my mind as I can think of a number of bands better suited to the event. I don't buy the comment in their case that the bands playing reflect the same spirit of independence as the C86 era artists because let's face it the Magic Numbers play a sound from at least 20 years earlier than 1986!
The ICA celebrates the rise of British independent music, with two nights of live music, DJs, documentary footage and more, co-curated by the ICA, members of St Etienne, Heavenly Recordings, and Rough Trade Shops. Up from the underground, this is the story of British independent music in the 1980's: what we now call 'indie' music.
The line ups are:
Friday 27 October: The Magic Numbers, Gokart Mozart, Vic Godard & the Subway Sect.
Saturday 28 October: Roddy Frame, Phil Wilson, The Wolfhounds (DJs The Pastels)
Tickets are priced £22.50 per night and Saturday looks the better bet.
Why are The Magic Numbers playing was the first thing on my mind as I can think of a number of bands better suited to the event. I don't buy the comment in their case that the bands playing reflect the same spirit of independence as the C86 era artists because let's face it the Magic Numbers play a sound from at least 20 years earlier than 1986!
The ICA celebrates the rise of British independent music, with two nights of live music, DJs, documentary footage and more, co-curated by the ICA, members of St Etienne, Heavenly Recordings, and Rough Trade Shops. Up from the underground, this is the story of British independent music in the 1980's: what we now call 'indie' music.
The line ups are:
Friday 27 October: The Magic Numbers, Gokart Mozart, Vic Godard & the Subway Sect.
Saturday 28 October: Roddy Frame, Phil Wilson, The Wolfhounds (DJs The Pastels)
Tickets are priced £22.50 per night and Saturday looks the better bet.
i'll give both them a miss. looks cack.
Bands on the fortuna pop! and matinee labels seem more in keeping with the c86 spirit, Even the superb Voxtrot. Gig seems to be poo
I agree Fortuna Pop and Matinee are much closer to the C86 ethic. I think there are some other festival type deals that come closer.
The Magic Numbers are a band I can leave, but the ICA is such a great venue!
Luckily I saw the Pastels play there in 2003 and it was rad. I also saw Idlewild, Clinic, and a few other bands.
yep, I think I'll give them both a miss too, and to think, the BMX Bandits were in town only last week...
This has to be some kind of bad nightmare. I really cannot believe the organisers have caved into, what I can only assume was a large bearded bribe, to allow the Magic Numbers play.
Haven't the orignal bands on the tape had at least twenty years to prepare for this? What happened to the Shop Assistants reforming?
Everyone should instead not go to the Friday events but go to the Rosehips renunion gig in Stoke in November.
Meh. Anger!
Apparently the Magic Numbers have partly sponsored the event because they are C86 fans.
After much contemplation I have decided to give both nights a miss and will stay in and play the C86 tape and 1986 Festive 50 instead!
Does seem like a missed opportunity - think I will swerve this one too
hello. I didn't want to write until this was confirmed, which it just was yesterday. funny that I just saw this today, too.
anyway, I've been working for months on organizing a C86 show in Los Angeles and San Francisco. this is what we have happening:
The Mighty Lemon Drops (with Clint from Pop Will Eat Itself on vocals because Paul Marsh doesn't do music anymore!) and the BMX Bandits (Duglas and Stuart with members of the Tyde fleshing out the band), plus a local pop band in each city.
Friday 11/17 in SF and Sunday 11/19 in LA.
Finally confirmed yesterday. Months of heartache and stress, and here we are. I'm nervous and excited and can't believe we did it!!!!!
Wow, looks like they got it figured out in LA. Go figure.
Well done delilah! I have been spreading the word.
To be fair its more than just 2 gigs. There's an exhibition and footage being shown from Hungry Beat; the film being put together by Bob Stanley and Paul Kelly. Saturday night is a great line up. Wolfhounds (who were on the tape) and June Brides (who should have been but turned it down) and Roddy Frame (who's fault the whole thing was).
And the Pastels are DJing (whatever that means).
Friday is an odd one. Lawrence feels right and Vic Godard you can just about get away with. Magic Numbers ? Well this is a commercial enterprise here. I'm not sure how many tickets they would have shifted with the Shop Assistants top of the bill.
And jesus aren't ticket prices expensive these days. Its £25 a night with the "charges" thrown in. When I promoted a gig with the wolfhounds one sunday night in 1988 it was er, £3 to get in, £2.50 for the unwaged.
Anyhow its Bob Stanley's bag. All credit to him for putting it together.
There's nothing stopping anyone else promoting an alternative if the bands were up for it and they could stump up the cash/effort/time.
As you can see by the other comments Jem you are in the minority. You better not read threads on other forums such as Bowlie either!
Seriously though there were so many other bands to choose from. Wedding Present, Half Man Half Biscuit or even Primal Scream. Three bands from the tape still going 20 years on. There wouldn't had been a problem either which putting bands on who have been influenced by C86 such as those on Track & Field or Fortuna Pop. Bob Stanley, fair play to him, has put this together and there lies in my opinion why The Magic Numbers are playing. They are on Heavenly which is run by - well as this is not Private Eye I will let you work it out. Like the CD86 CD I think this is a wasted opportunity but as no one else has come up with an alternative (well for a brief while I tried) it looks like the best we are going to get. Maybe keeping C86 alive isn't that clever after all?
Of course Jeff Barrett runs Heavenly but Bob Stanley has close links with the label (Saint Etienne for starters).
yep. I read the stuff over on bowlie.
Can you imagine anything worse than a reformed mighty lemon drops with clint pop will eat itself on vocals.
Sounds frightful. but yeah. thats my point. If someone wants to promote and put these things together then it seems a bit churlish to knock em.
CD86 or whatever it is not exactly my choice of a run through a very odd 2years in my life but then have you tried putting a compilation album together. its a right old bloody pain especially tracking down the rights for 20 year old tracks from companies set up in people's bedrooms. again good luck to em for getting something out of the door and persuading sanctuary of all people that it might make business sense.
same goes to you and this sterling effort of a blog. fine stuff.
but its like me saying . why don't you mention x or y more. how ridiculous is that. If i'm not happy about it why don't i just go and do my own blog, gig, zine, cd, radio stream, podcastthingummy..............
now thats what c86 was really about.
I can imagine something worse than that. The Magic Numbers headlining a C86 gig! Oh......
Personally if it was the original Droppies then I would have been delighted as long as they stuck to material from 1985-87. Whilst I like the majority of the tracks on CD86 (and will buy it) most of it has been re-issued on CD compilations previously such as Subway Compilations (2005), 53rd & 3rd Reissues (2003?)and Rough Trade indie pop (2004). My suggestion would be either to re-issue the original on CD1 and then have all the tracks that failed to make the cut on a second CD. Failing that CD2 could have been filled with tracks from bands today that are heavily influenced by C86.
Totally agree with your end statement but at the end of the day it's your opinion against mine which is healthy in my view.
Are you going to any of the dates or are you heading to LA with a date with Clint Mansell and The Sherbert Monsters? ;o)