John Peel Archive: F isn't for the Fall...

Once the John Peel Archive got as far as the first 100 'F's, I reckon most people expected the selection to feature at least some albums by the Fall, but it doesn't quite get that far into the alphabet as nearly half of this lot is dominated by John Fahey (an amazing 25 albums) and Fairport Convention (just one behind with 24 albums). There are six by the Faces and five that feature Jad Fair, so that's 60% of the Fs taken care of.

I'm guessing that a lot of people already know the music of Fahey and Fairport so I will feature a couple of albums that are a bit lesser known and deserving of more attention.

First of all it's Jad Fair and Kramer's Roll Out the Barrel. It is a twisted and rewarding set of left-field pop songs, which does hint at the main bands of both these musicians - Fair's Half Japanese and Kramer's Bongwater - yet there is something very individual about it. It is more of a Kramer record than a Jad Fair one, there are plenty of odd sonic manipulations and not much punk rock. It's also on Kramer's own label Shimmy Disc and features his friend Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) on a couple of songs. Roll Out The Barrel became a bit of a lost album after Shimmy Disc was wound-up, but happily it has popped up on Spotify and I've embedded it below.


My second choice had to be one of th' Faith Healers albums included. I chose Lido above Imaginary Friend only because I know it slightly better. This lot were big Peel favourites between 1992-1993 and in fact they released a collection of their Peel sessions a few years ago. Guitarist Tom Cullinan went on to form Quickspace, although th' Faith Healers reassembled in 2009 for some ATP festival action. I caught them at the MBV one and they were just fine. Lido was their debut album and is very much a product of the early '90s Camden scene that also gave us Silverfish, Gallon Drunk, etc. I've embedded it below. Imaginary Friend is also on Peel's shelves and also on Spotify if you fancy some more.


There is one more act I wanted to mention, and that is the mid 90s UK hardcore band Fabric, whose 'Body of Water' album is included this week. Happily, I have found an old interview I did with them, so I will upload that as a separate page tomorrow.

Great Lost Bands no.10: Quickspace

Back to London in the 1990s for this week's great lost band. Quickspace were originally called Quickspace Supersport and were formed in London in 1994. Guitarist and occasional vocalist Tom Cullinan had been in Th' Faith Healers, who had already made some cracking records in the early part of the decade and were often referred to with the 'Peel favourites' tag. Quickspace released records on quite a few different labels, including their own Kitty Kitty label, but their main releases were on Domino (UK) and Matador.
Quickspace Happy Song #1 was their first single, from 1995.



Although they had definite leanings towards more experimental music, incorporating extended repetitive grooves with links to krautrock and arabic music, some of their output was reminiscent of Th' Faith Healers, with the fuzzy guitars and the slightly off-kilter male and female voices, like this 1996 single 'Friend'.



Their profile steadily grew and by the time I moved to London in 1998 I was able to see them headline places like Dingwalls and the Underworld. They released their second album 'Precious Falling' around then as well, which was a lot stronger and more coherent than their self-titled debut. Nothing brings back the vibe of London in '98 like this video for Quickspace Happy Song #2. Some of this was shot near my flat in Finsbury Park.



The ominously titled 'The Death of Quickspace' from 2000 is probably my favourite of their records, and it has held up very well over time. They disintegrated soon afterwards although they released a single called 'Pissed Off Boy' on Domino in 2005, with Roxanne from the Th' Faith Healers on vocals. The next time I heard of any of them was when Th' Faith Healers popped up at My Bloody Valentine's All Tomorrows Parties weekend and played a thoroughly decent set in the early afternoon. The whole Faith Healer/ Quickspace set up has been quiet on the news front ever since.

They Shoot Horse Don't They (from The Death of Quickspace)