Titus writes:
I am pleased that my blog, and the subsequent playing of 2 of Ivor Cutler’s tunes went down so well. Not to everyone’s taste admittedly, but I love eccentrics, and he certainly was one!
I am mindful that lex prefers relatively unknown artists/bands for potential broadcast, and that “well known” rockers are generally under the domain of Clumpton and his “Wrinkly Rock” programme. So – this week I’m concentrating on (IMO) an excellent and totally avant–garde band called 70 Gwen Party, and also on the last band to have their Peel session broadcast before John’s untimely death – Skimmer - on 21 October 2004.
70 Gwen Party were made up of just two musicians, who were Victor N’Dip and Lurgin Pin. They were known for their strong political views and I think generally known as “being a bit prickly”. They recorded on their own Snape Record label including a Peel Sessions compilation. The Peel Show’s backing was endorsed by N’Dip on his sleeve notes for the Peel Sessions CD, when he wrote “the John Peel Show has been a massive inspiration for this band over the years and we’re proud of the fact that many of these recordings are amongst the best we ever made – so from both of us, thanks John”. JP remarked in 1991 “I’ve had lots of demo tapes from 70 GP over the years, and I’m really ashamed that this is their first session – it should be their sixth or seventh”.
Information about the band in its latter years is sketchy to say the least, and I have to say I don’t believe they are still performing, but I will stand corrected by any one with more in depth knowledge. My last knowledge of them stems from 1997. I personally thought that the curiously named LP of theirs “Devil wrapped and Ginsung buried” was absolutely brilliant. The track I have requested lex to play, however. is from the Peel sessions LP and it is ‘Knee deep in evil’ Their music is totally indefinable, and I remember well going to Mike Lloyds’s shop in Wolverhampton (when it used to have independent record shops) and purchasing the 7” Auto Killer Uk c/w Helier Party for £2, amidst strange looks from shop staff and members of the public. Those were the days, my friend.
After a short intermission, we’re onto part two of my ramblings. If I’d mentioned Skimmer, I think most people in October 2004 – me included - wouldn’t really have taken much notice. Yet, as I said earlier, they became unique, being the last band to record a Peel Session before the great man’s death. There were 3 more sessions arranged for other bands, but all of these were broadcast later, in or after November 2004.. Skimmer are a band from Birmingham and were originally signed to the Leeds based Crackle label. For what was basically a post-punk band, they were once surprisingly described as having the ability to “harmonise like hamsters” Ironically, when they did the session, they were themselves getting over their drummer’s death. They made two albums ‘I’ll tell you what’ (2007) and ‘Self Harmony’ (2009). A noble gesture by Crackle was to release a double CD in 2008 called ‘Smitten’, which contained all of the stuff from their long out of print first 2 LP’s plus a few extra tunes.