Treated myself yesterday to the wonderful Rough Trade shops Indiepop 1 compilation, transporting me back to the late 1980s, Talulah Gosh, early Creation, Sarah Records, paisley shirts and the Camden Falcon. The compilation includes 46 tracks, some from that era, including South London jingle jangle favourites The Field Mice and The June Brides, and some more recent in a similar vein. In the booklet notes, Matt Haynes of Sarah Records reminds us of the DIY ethos of this scene: 'everywhere you looked... people were doing things: wrting letters, editing fanzines, inventing bands, compiling cassettes, setting-up record labels, plotting revolutions'. He also remarks on the cool sexual politics of a scene where women musicians were prominent, and boys didn't feel the need to be geezers (this was after all just before the Brit pop counter-revolution). Of course this aesthetic has continually bubbled up, from Riot Grrrl to Belle & Sebastien, but in an age when every pre-punk bloke-rock cliche from heavy metal to prog has been disinterred, it is surely time for another revolt of the 'twee' underground.
The booklet also includes this fab old flyer from an indiepop night at the Fountain in Deptford. I think this was before I lived round here - does anybody know when it happened, or have any memories of it?
I believe the Noodle King at 36 Deptford Broadway is in The Fountain's old home. Perhaps if you go in wearing an anorak you will be transported through an indie-pop time warp.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Noodle King was converted from the Fountain. I did see a few gigs there around 1986/1987 - mostly local bands put on by SYLVIA, a collective of local musicians. These gigs were in the main bar but I also saw a few gigs in an upstairs room there, including Buick Circus Hour, featuring Frank Sweeney, ex of the June Brides. The flier shown is probably from a year or two earlier.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine actually wandered through Deptford looking for this club a few weeks ago, thinking that it was a current flyer. Never mind, if this is you're cup of tea there's always How Does it Feel... at the Canterbury Arms in Brixton. See http://www.howdoesitfeel.co.uk/club.html
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