Ö÷²„“óŠć

I have a feeling that tonightā€™s ā€˜neglected Scottish bandsā€™ show is going to be a cracker. Your texts and e-mails started coming in during last nightā€™s show and havenā€™t stopped since.

Paul has spent most of the afternoon dubbing old vinyl singles on the only turntable that still remains in our all digital headquarters.

There have been some amazing discoveries alongside some truly awful things that should never have made it out of the 1980.

Iā€™ve already lined up a great song by The Revillos to start the show, thereā€™s a couple of post punk classics to squeeze in and tonight Christian gets played on Ö÷²„“óŠć Radio Scotland for probably the first time in 20 years. For this I have to take full responsibility.

Some good comments coming in on the e-mail and Iā€™ll try and post a few of them on the blog as the night goes onā€¦

Here's the first from Scott in Rutherglen. Totally agree with his comments about Roddy Frame:

"As in my text last night I think the Trash Can Sinatras were seriously overlooked for some reason, perhaps Frank Reed(er)ā€™s drunken stage antics didnā€™t endear him to the music press....whatever, you played ā€˜Obscurity Knocksā€™ several weeks ago, and would be great to hear that again, but anything from ā€˜Cakeā€™ would be fanastic, especially ā€˜Only Tongue Can Tellā€™. Or ā€˜Weightlifitngā€™ or ā€˜The Safecrackerā€™... all brilliant clever lyrics, and beautifully crafted tunes.
My other completely underrated ( and in my opinion, neglected) band is Roddy Frame/Aztec Camera. I know he has had some success, and some very good success around the Working In A Goldmine era, however that success is totally minute considering the amount of talent the guy has. So can I propose ā€˜Small Worldā€™ from his ā€˜Surfā€™ solo album? As the theme-song from Ö÷²„“óŠć2 show After Hours, it also reminds me of working for John W Hannay in East Kilbride, who actually owned the company MustDestroy.com that Roddy refers to in the lyrics ā€“ and I bet the East Kilbride boy living in East London at the time had no idea that the company was owned by another company from his home town. It is indeed a small world...."

Colin from Dundee:
"I know it's been played on the show before, but can I ask for Win's "You've Got the Power", the 80's song made famous by the lager advert. The main reason this is such a neglected gem is that it is so difficult to get hold of - a rare CD of the album this song comes from went for Ā£150 on eBay. It took me more than five years of searching to get hold of a decent copy! The record may be long deleted but listeners can indulge their nostagia by watching the original lager advert on YouTube!"

Davy in Glasgow:
"Re Wednesday's programme, I hear The Poets are being asked for. From their
earlier incarnation, check out "That's The Way It's Got To be" or the
ethereal "I'm So Blue". From their later days, as The Blues Poets, (Used
to gig Sunday afternoons in The Scotia Bar, Glasgow) on the album made to accompany the James Kelman play, "One, Two, Hey!" (in which the band acted), play "Girl of the North Country" or "Louie Louie".
Then There's Chou Pahrot (Chow Parrot). For it's bizarre Frank Zappa meets
The Sex Pistols Meets Pinky and Perky... "Lemons" (for your face, sitting on
a sideboard. Lemons for your face. Lemons, Lemons, Lemons.)
One of your listeners talks of always fitting a Roxy Music song to any
theme. I always hit on Alex Harvey/SAHB songs. How about setting a
battle of the bands competition on a theme one night?"

Annette:
"Would love to hear "Shoot You Down" or indeed anything by APB on tonight's show. Brilliant band from Aberdeen that mixed punk and funk grooves in their own style, much under-rated. I saw them play live many times in the 80s and their gigs were always full of energy. I'm sure hearing them again will rekindle fond memories for a lot of listeners like myself. Their sound still stands up well today. I hope you can give them an airing."

I love this story from DC in Cellardyke:
"Bryan, way back in the early 1960ā€™s, my mum used to run a boarding house in Cellardyke. At that time, a Glasgow group by the name of the ā€œBeatstalkersā€ were trying to make it into the big time and needed a quiet holiday to help them write the song which would get them into the ā€œbig timeā€. The Beatstalkers arrived and spent a few days staying with us and even managed a fishing trip in my dadā€™s wee creel boat. The group did have a minor hit (1965?).
About the same time, another group visited the old lady who stayed across the road. We didnā€™t think anything about it but we subsequently discovered that old Mrs Wilsonā€™s nephew was Ian Stewart and that his musician pals were none other than Jagger, Richards and the rest of the Rolling Stones!!
More recently, KT Tunstall and King Creosote met just down the street as the early Fence Collective.
Not bad for a corner of a wee toon in darkest East Neuk oā€™ Fife!!
Have you got the Beatstalkers handy? It would be good to hear them again!"

Keith from Kirkcaldy:
"There's one artist who is simply crying out to be heard - that's Jerry Burns, from Glasgow, who's eponymous album in 1992 was a superb collection of haunting, melancholic songs distinguished by Jerry's stunning voice. If you could play "Pale Red", which was a single at the time, I'll be very happy and the listeners will be in for a treat.
I'll never understand why she didn't come to greater prominence at the time but there's still hope that people will rediscover her. She's done a few things since then, including a collaboration with Craig Armstrong, and apparently has an album that could be released this year. Perhaps some exposure on your show could be the starting point. I'd love to see her first album get re-released as well (it's very hard to find) and will fill a gap in my collection - I lost my copy of the LP a few years ago:( "

Mike Tough:
"I have only one suggestion for tonight, and it refers to a band I first became aware of through my cousin who lived in France at the time, as he still does now.
He sent me a tape of The Silencers' first (?) album - A Letter From St. Paul - and I loved it. You could play anything from that LP and I would be a happy man, as would many more of your listeners, I'm sure (especially if they were men, I might add).
I just checked ebay for the CD, and only one copy available for about Ā£23, so if you can't access it I will understand due to its scarceness. However, I can always dig out the cassette from the loft, but I have nowt left to play it on such is my technologically advanced state. Play it, or not, I'm sure I shall enjoy the show as much as ever."

Phew - my head is buzzing after that show. It's 7 minutes past 7 and I am really tempted just to push up the faders and go back on air again. Thanks for the response to one of the best shows we've ever done. A great range of muisc, some really interesting e-mails, lovely comments and a chance to take ourselves back in time when we were young music fans out at gigs all the time and buying albums and singles like they were going our of fashion.

THANK YOU.