I have just read that the 6th Volume in The Sound of Leamington Spa series is due out (at the end of October allegedly - but I can not as yet find anywhere to buy said release). The track listing is shaping up to look like this:

Company of Cowards – Summer Story
Rumblefish - Medicine
The Candie Maids – Threadbare
Who The Hell Does Jane Smith Think She Is – Use Imagination
Easter And The Totem – Acid Reign
The Decemberists – James Is (Still The Same)
The Artisans – All I Ever Wanted
The Hyacinth Girls - Sometimes You're Incredible
The Sullivans – Standing On
Bookemdanno – BJs
Yeah Jazz - Julie And The Sealions
Plume – Everything I Need
Ginger Bottles – Goldfish
A Riot Of Colour – House
The Applicants – Say Goodbye
Mirrors Over Kiev – Different Girl
The Jactars – Not Seen, Not Heard
Lilac Trumpets – My Heart Bleeds
The Potting Sheds – Matches
Emily – Merri-Go-Round

Again the compilation features a whole host of bands that I have mostly never heard before. Back in my Lost Music webzine days I wrote a brief retrospective on the first 5 volumes of the compilation. Here is what I said back in October 2005:

What is the sound of Leamington Spa?

It is a series of CDs collating rare and obscure 80's 'indie' pop. I don't mean the normal sense of indie. A lot of these CDs scratch so far beneath the surface, they're hitting the bone of the indie body.

Their website can describe it better than I:

"The Sound of Leamington Spa is a series of CDs and LPs that give people the chance to get re-acquainted with, or discover anew, a back catalogue of British pop gems that had been banished to an airwave graveyard. Like the legendary Pebbles albums that showcased the hidden wonders of 1960s garage so eloquently, the Leamington Spa series provides a valuable public service to the hungry independent pop music explorer, who wanders through the past as well as the present in search of unmapped landmarks."

So we have established the what in the context of Leamington Spa. But now for the why. Why Leamington Spa? What has the unassuming English town got to have a series CDs named after it. The website dedicated to these compilations explains that a high proportion of indie bands were "recorded at WSRS in Leamington Spa" or "recorded at Woodbine Studios in Leamington Spa" These studios were run by producer John A. Rivers and he probably contributed to some of the sound on those records.

Since it's inception in 1998 - the series has notched up 5 volumes. The latest of which was released this year. As the releases have progressed the gems contained within have (to my ears) become more obscure. I was around and into some 'indie music' in the mid 80's. Although I don't think it had been christened 'indie' back then. When I was teenager. Admittedly I didn't have a vast collection, a result of geography and economic circumstances. There is only so far you can stretch your pocket money, or later on, your YTS money. And even if I had the money getting hold of some of music you heard on John Peel was next to impossible without a cheque book and a steady income. The local record shops? Pah, don't make me laugh.

As it stood I was in touch with the more well known independent bands - such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Primitives, The Soup Dragons, Primal Scream etc. This was largely helped in my 16th and 17th years by a small alternative club run out of Raffles night club in Port Talbot where I chanced on many fledgling bands that came to prominance on the back of the NME c86 'created' scene (whether this was a real a scene of an NME creation remains a source of much debate even to this day.) This club exposed me to bands like The Jasmine Minks, The Darling Buds, Tallulah Gosh and The Primitives. They were fun times. £2 to get in. Chasing girls, dancing to the indie hits and if I was sober enough catching the band. I digress. I was telling you all this because - like I was saying - these compilations seem to have dug a lot deeper than the bands I was exposed to back in 1987. So this is music that is truly lost. Well, until, this CD series unearthed some of these bands from the midst of time.

Volume One - feature some relatively well known bands like The Pooh Sticks, The Hepburns and The Man From Delmonte. This CD was released in October 2000 and is a solid collection of lost gems. After hearing this CD I decided to dig a little deeper and I moved onto....

Volume Two - which came out in 2002 - continued the theme of throwing up unheard of bands. Highlights of this release include - Friends, The Sandalwoods and The Passmore Sisters.

After hearing volume two I developed a theory about the bands collected on these compilations. The bands either fell into one of three categories. The Smiths influenced bands, The Jesus and Mary Chain influenced bands and the bands inspired by The Housemartins. This is not strictly true as earlier influences like the Postcard Records sound and even poppier influences like Haircut 100 surface from time to time. Either way these compilations as a document of the underground pop sound they are vital.

Volume Three followed in 2003 and this time I was struggling to recognise any bands from the outset. This 20 set collection still managed to reveal some hidden gems - bands like The Morrisons, One Thousand Violins, Exit 13, The Gypsy Theives and Snowbirds provided enough highlights to keep me keen for more Leamington Spa releases. I wasn't to be disappointed as......

Volume Four followed on a year later. This time, there were a few band names that ringed bells from nearly forgotten John Peel tapes. So this is probably my favourite Leamington Spa release with favourites being The Clouds, The Candy Darlings and The Nivens all getting on the compilation.

I picked up Volume Five a few weeks ago. It's another good edition to the series. I have already featured The Wildhouse and their superb track 'Ficca' on the site previously. Other good bands brought to my attention include - No Flag Etc, This Poison!, Men Of Westenesse and Gradapenda Rosindale.

For more information on these releases and details of how to buy the CDs - head over to this section of Twee Net - Leamington Spa. It looks like this series still has someway to run as their are over 50 bands that the label are trying to get in touch with for future releases. Which bodes well for me and my addiction to these 80's underground treasure troves.