Safety Net.C86 21 Years On!
6 Comments Published by Augustus Payne on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 23:27.
Jangly Guitars, Childlike Innocence, Stand Up Drummers, DIY Politics and the last truly great underground movement!C86 is much more than just a tape released by the NME. It was in my opinion the must misunderstood and undervalued musical movement since punk. There was such a wealth of amazing bands toiling in obscurity.
Think about it bands like The June Brides, The Shop Assistants, The Flatmates, The Pastels, Talulah Gosh, The Field Mice, The Sea Urchins, Razorcuts, and McCarthy just to name a few! I wish there was even 1/10 of bands this amazing around today. It should be a crime that these bands aren’t talked about in the same hushed tunes usually reserved for bands like The Smiths. These bands and many more were making pristine pop singles that sounded like they could come derailed from the tracks and that’s just what made these bands so great they weren’t afraid to take chances. Just remember the musical climate of the mid 80’s it was at its overproduced worst! The C86 sound is usually a combination of Byrdsian guitar jangle, Girl Group’s la la la’s, 3 Minute 3 Chord Classic Pop, Inspired Strumming, Political Motives, Stand Up Drummers and the beautiful innovative pop of Orange Juice.
The so called C86 look was cardigan’s,stripy shirts,anorak's and fringes like Roger Mc Guinn for the guys, and barrettes, bob’s and librarian skirts for the girl’s. It was also the first time since punk rock that people that didn’t have any musical skills could be in bands. “There’s a famous story about a member of Talulah Gosh just sucking on a lollipop for an entire show” The most important element in the C86 Era that a lot of people miss is that these people weren’t the most talented musicians but they had fantastic ideas and the guts to pull it off. That’s what truly made the C86 era meaningful and important 21 years on!
Essential C86 Albums
The June Brides, For Better Or Worse
McCarthy, I Am Wallet
The Pastels, Truckload Of Trouble
The Field Mice, Snowball
Talulah Gosh, Backwash
The Shop Assistants, Safety Net
The Flatmates, Potpurri
Razorcuts, R is For Razorcuts
The Sea Urchins, Stardust
That's only half the story. History can not and should not be air brushed. C86 was as much about Bogshed, Big Flame, Age of Chance, Half Man Half Biscuit etc. It wasn't all about anoraks, fringes and stripey tops, y'know.
Of course there's always more to every story. I was just commenting on my personal favorites from the c86 era
Fair enough! I am just getting a little tired of the constant re-writing of history that seems to be happening. :-)
I like all the bands you reference as well!
Nice little read but I would also mentioned Upside Down by the Mary Chain, Subway Records and the role fanzines and flexi's played as well as the stuff Trev (Lost Music) mentions.
Keep it up Augustus - I have enjoyed what you have posted to date!
This is my little take on C86:
http://www.indie-mp3.co.uk/2006/01/c86-tape.html
I recommend people read Krister Bladh's essay as well:
http://www.indie-mp3.co.uk/2005/12/c86-essay.html
Fanzines,The mary chain and subway were really crucial to the movement!I also just remembered I forgot to metion on of my favorite labels 53 & 3 playing a key role in the c86 era.