13. Magazine - Hello Mister Curtis (With Apologies)

1. Hello Mister Curtis (With Apologies)
2. Holy Dotage

The first post-punk single, Shot By Both Sides, was released by Magazine in 1978. Singer Howard Devoto had previously been in Buzzcocks when they made Sprial Scratch, one of the original punk EPs; he left because he saw that punk had become too generic already. Magazine went on to do four albums, the best being The Correct Use Of Soap, and received critical acclaim before splitting in 1981, shortly after the legendary John McGeoch left the band. Devoto did a few other projects - Luxuria, ShelleyDevoto - then reformed Magazine in 2009. Sadly, John McGeoch had passed away in 2004, and Barry Adamson couldn't make it either (don't know what his excuse was, lazy I suppose). Their fifth album, No Thyself, was released last year, not that anyone noticed. It's great, and here are two tracks from it that comprised a 10'' single. Also check out their stuff on Jools Holland from 2009.

2011, Wire-Sound

12. Ted Chippington - Man In A Suitcase

1. Introduction
2. Rock And Roll On 33⅓
3. Ready Eddie
4. Life On The Road
5. Rocking Ribbons
6. Comedian By Trade
7. She Loves You
8. Interview
9. Feel Like Buddy Holly
10. True Greatness
11. Atmosphere
12. True Stories
13. Rocking With Rita
14. Weirdness Oh No
15. BRMB
16. Cheers

A whole album this time, and it comes from the cult comedian Ted Chippington. If you download this expecting jokes, however, you might be in for a shock. If the great Stewart Lee (who cites Ted as his biggest influence) can be compared to The Fall - relentlessly repetitive, structured, intelligent - then Ted Chippington is comparable to Captain Beefheart - formless, nonsensical, confusing and often irritating. The album is a mix of stand-up from unexciting towns (Dudley, Exeter, Preston etc.) and cover versions, all delivered in a flat Midlands monotone. You can see where Richard Herring was coming from when he talked of Ted having "contempt for the very idea of jokes". This album, which made the top 10 in the Indie Charts, is largely unlistenable, poorly-recorded and full of heckling, but you'll probably end up laughing for reasons you'll find difficult to understand. Sit back, relax, and tolerate Britain's original post-alternative comedian.

1986, Vindaloo Records

11. Young Marble Giants - Final Day

1. Final Day
2. Radio Silents
3. Cakewalking

Young Marble Giants are a band that sounds like no other. They are a fine example of minimalist post-punk, with the addition of an organ and homemade synthesiser. Final Day, which is quite a scary and emotive song, peaked at no. 6 on the UK Indie Charts, four places below its successor Testcard. I own their sole album, Colossal Youth, and can assure you of its brilliance. I think you can download it here. Young Marble Giants split in 1980, which is a shame, because they could have been very influential, but probably inter-personal loathing got the better of them. Stuart Moxham formed The Gist (me neither), Philip Moxham joined The Communards and Everything But The Girl, and singer Alison Statton formed Weekend. 

1980, Rough Trade

10. Cardiacs - Is This The Life?

1. Is This The Life?
2. I'm Eating In Bed

Christ, this is proggy. Cardiacs were quite a small band (though you'd never guess from the size of their Wikipedia entry, clearly a few fanatics out there). They played quite a bit in Surbiton, the spiritual home of rock music, in the late '80s, and continued to play gigs up until singer Tim Smith's heart attack in 2008. He's now recovered and a new album is to be released. Is This The Life? was the only Cardiacs minor hit, reaching no. 80 in the charts, and the band were never asked to do a Peel Session. This may be their most well-known song, but their best is A Little Man And A House, which appears on The Seaside, the album to get. I don't really know what this song's about, but it sounds very powerful - I know how pathetic that might sound, but even a glance at the lyrics doesn't particularly help.

1988, Alphabet Business Concern

9. The Mekons - Where Were You?

1. Where Were You?
2. I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)

This second single, a double a-side, by The Mekons (following Never Been In A Riot) was released in their transition from punk rock to post-punk. John Peel was very fond of this band, playing Where Were You? three times in 1979, helping it to no. 41 in that year's festive fifty. Where Were You? has one of my favourite intros of all time, and the other side is a satisfyingly chaotic affair. The Mekons were formed in 1977, from the same group of Leeds university art students (they always make the best music) as Gang Of Four and Delta 5. You can download their first album, The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen here, but it's not that good. Apparently their best is the 1985 album is Fear And Whiskey (re-released in 2002) if you can find that. And, of course, you can listen to this single right here.

1978, Fast Product

8. The Nightingales - Use Your Loaf

1. Use Your Loaf
2. Inside Out
3. Under The Lash

One of my favourite bands, The Nightingales. They're often described as Birmingham's version of The Fall, which can't be a bad thing. Their first album, Pigs On Purpose, is one of the best ever by anyone... alright then, download it here, on someone else's blog. Is that good etiquette? The Nightingales' first single, Idiot Strength, was not included on the reissue of the album, and as such I am yet to acquire it, so here's their second one. Brilliantly, they're still going today and released an album earlier this year - No Love Lost - which you can hear on that Spotify they have now, and is actually rather good. Use Your Loaf did not make it onto the Indie Charts, ludicrous when you look at the wonderful lyrics... "The jokes were handed down like diseases". The Nightingales played more Peel Sessions than than any band other than The Fall and Half Man Half Biscuit (seven, to be precise) and also appeared on the famous indie compilation Pillows And Prayers, with their song Don't Blink. This is post-punk at its best.

1982, Cherry Red Records

7. PragVEC - Wolf

1. Existential
2. Bits
3. Wolf
4. Cigarettes

I particularly like the first song here, even though it's all in French, a language I never mastered. PragVEC formed in 1978 from ex-Derelicts members Susan Gogan and John Studholme, along with David Boyd and Nicholas Cash. They played about twenty gigs in their short two-year existence, as well as recording three sessions for John Peel. Perhaps most famously, they are referred to in the Half Man Half Biscuit song PragVEC At The Melkweg, a band I adore and after whom this blog is named - see Joy Division Oven Gloves. That's pretty much all the info I can find on PragVEC, except that they made an album, Spec Records Presents No Cowboys (if anyone owns this please do get in touch), and also there's a few interviews with them you can read here. Their other single, Expert, can be found on the Youtubes.

1978, Spec Records