Preston Venues 24 and 25

When I left school in 1984, I undertook a one-year course to purloin some more further O’Levels at Newman College based in Winckley Square. I had somewhat to my detriment but to endless fun discovered pubs by this stage and regularly visited Lou’s Longbar in town on a Thursday night as they were somewhat lax in applying the normal age 18 criteria. A further essential part of the social calendar was to attend the legendary college do’s which took place 3 times that year. The very boozy events took place at Clouds nightclub on a Monday night.

At that time, there was a sister establishment in Preston called Tuson College based on St Vincent’s Road in Fulwood. They also held a college do in the same week on a Wednesday and these took place at Brooks Nightclub on Church Street. Rick Clegg and I managed to complete a 100% attendance record at all 6 functions in our college year but on those double do weeks we were extremely jaded come Thursday morning!

Brooks nightclub was based in the former Ritz cinema and was originally Scamps Discotheque and has since gone through various incarnations namely Arabellas, the Place and Aqualenium. Under that latter guise I attended one gig there on 16/05/02.

See the source image
Brooks Nightclub. Image Credit Flickr.

I discovered the existence of this hometown gig in a slightly unusual way. Thus, 19 days before I was leaving a And They Shall Know Us By the Trail of Dead gig in Manchester and local luminary John Robb was holding court by the exit door and outlining an upcoming Goldblade gig in Preston.

Calls were made in the morning to gather interest resulting in a group of us, including the enigmatic Matty Allen, gathering in the Black Horse on the gig night prior to heading onto the venue.

As it was a nightclub gig it turned into a very late one and many drinks were imbibed. Goldblade were supported by local band Onset. On a very small stage the main act commenced their performance close to 1am with Action Record’s Gordon Gibson in attendance. I do not think John Robb was enamoured with the sound system resulting in a fit of pique and the microphone being hurled down after a chaotic and very noisy truncated set!   

Action Records located on Church Street is one of those rare but utterly essential independent record stores. It started out as a stall on Blackpool Market before moving to its current location in 1979 and is still run by the indefatigable and Stranraer’s finest Gordon Gibson. I have been going in there since the early 80’s and remember Saturday afternoons delving into the vinyl boxes on the shop floor and unearthing and buying obscure gems such as Dumptruck and Squirrel Bait from my YTS money.  

They have developed their own record label recording output from acts such as the Boo Radleys. They have been a fierce advocate of record store day and have had many in store gigs including performances from Dirty Pretty Things, Bastille, Billy Bragg and a show from a young Muse in 1999.   

See the source image
Muse pictured with Gordon Gibson in Action Records 1999. Image Credit blogpreston.co.uk

On the night of 23/10/05 I was out watching Nine Black Alps in Manchester, coincidentally my 200th gig, and Magic Numbers were playing at the venue next door, and I heard on the grapevine they were undertaking an in store set the next day. So, the following lunchtime I gathered in a busy shop with Algarve Ray in attendance to watch a short set from a jaded looking Magic Numbers who hail from West London but model themselves on the 60’s Californian sound. They provided a soothing soundtrack within the confines of a somewhat unusual setting!

Five Lost Albums

I thought I would mix it up this week and look at some treasured records that in my personal view, and for whatever reason, did not receive the acclaim they deserved. I have listed these in chronological order: –

Squirrel Bait – Skag Heaven 1986

Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky they were quantified in the emo/mathcore genre (1983-1988).  Influenced by peers Black Flag and more distinctly Husker Du who they supported. I discovered  them via a Bob Mould quote in the NME singles review ‘as the finest thing he’d ever heard’

This second and final album contains 10 songs but is only 25.45 in length. Standout track is ‘Kid Dynamite’ with bracing intro and alarming refrain ‘I don’t need no pig stomping on my buzz’ and has muttered unintelligible incantations. Others to note are ‘Choose Your Poison’ with Black Sabbath War Pigs intro and ‘Slake Train Coming’ which thunders along.    

The record is scuzzy and full of youthful vigour and dark lyrics. It sounded utterly vibrant as an 18-year old and still holds up to scrutiny now.

Former members played with the Breeders and Lemonheads and original member Britt Walford subsequently formed semi legendary Slint.  

See the source image
Squirrel Bait -‘Skag Heaven’ album cover. Image Credit reddit.

Dumptruck – For the Country – 1987

Formed in 1983 in Boston Massachusetts. This was their third album and they decamped to Rockfield Studio in Wales for some solitude to record it. It is country rock in the finest tradition evoking comparisons to Neil Young, Green on Red and Buffalo Tom.

It has a yearning timeless quality and it is a ‘go to’ album for me. Standout tracks are ‘Friends’ ‘Brush me Back’ ‘Hung Out on the Line’ and ‘Dead Weight’.

Through no fault of their own the band got sucked into a record label contract dispute meaning no new material could be recorded and subsequently disbanded in 1991. Half of the band reformed and recorded new material as recent as 2018, but with diminishing returns.

See the source image
Dumptruck – ‘for the country’ album cover. Image Credit you tube – Tony Fivek

Joy Zipper – American Whip – 2002

Dream pop duo from New York, Tabitha Tindale and Vincent Cafiso, who are also a married couple.

Album recorded initially in Glasgow and then co-produced and mixed by Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine. It has a wonky sugar-coated beauty with a 60’s vibe and razor-sharp lyrics. Gorgeous sultry vocals complement each other perfectly and it is lovingly recorded. I hear snippets of Mercury Rev, Raveonettes and Velvets in there.  

‘Christmas Song’ could just possibly be the most shimmering gem of a Xmas song ever written. I also like ‘Baby you should know’, ‘33x’ and the fine outro ‘Valley Stream’ book ends the record.

Their last known recorded material was a contribution to a Smith covers album in 2011.

Former Cellmates – Who’s Dead and What’s to Pay 2008

Formed in Sunderland by ex-Leatherface bassist. Leatherface received Husker Du comparisons but I never really saw that link and much prefer this album.

The record could arguably be vaguely derivative at times and I can imagine not to everyone’s tastes but for me it is imbued with a lot of soul and passion and chugs along mercilessly and has a shambolic charm. There is a bit of Buffalo Tom and Springsteen in there and it has a country rock tinge.

Stand out tracks are ‘Always’, ‘Here’s to the Pretty Girls’ and ‘Why would you Pray for Me?’. They recorded 4 albums between 2005 and 2014 and I am not sure whether they are still operational.

Sennen – Where the Light Gets In (2008)

Based in Norwich in 2002 before decamping to London. They are named after a Ride track, and they are the only one of the five listed I have seen live.

I bloody love this band, who have produced five fine albums between 2005 and 2016 and I could have picked any of them but have selected the second album. Strictly in the post-rock shoegazing genre, displaying a hypnotic lush yearning sound, coruscating guitar and whispered harmonies resembling Loop and MBV.

Standouts are ‘Your Hand in Mine’ and ‘A Lifetime Passed’ which are gentler lovely tracks, that recall Teenage Fanclub ‘Grand Prix’ era. Also ‘Just Wanted to Know’ which morphs into a long thunderous outro.

My overall favourite track of theirs is ‘Falling Down’ off third album Age of Denial which builds layer by layer to a tumultuous conclusion, resembling ‘Ithica 27/9’ by Mogwai and ‘Dirge’ by Death in Vegas.

In my humble opinion, they remain the most criminally underrated band I have encountered.

Now, I would be fascinated to know what would be contained on your lost album list, even if you can only think of one.