Ahead of the tour, Will Potter is interviewed for the Indie/Alternative podcast to talk about the 30-year anniversary of Asquarius, new music, musical influences and more. Listen links here: https://linktr.ee/IndieAlternativePodcast
Author: WillCud
Bass player in UK indie band CUD, comic-book writer, children's genre and activity book author.
CUD join PWEI for 2023 Manchester show
Tickets are on sale from Weds September 21 at 10am. Click here to snap ’em up!
Whatever Happened To The C86 Kids?
C87 kid Will Potter rewinds and reviews Nige Tassell’s Indie Odyssey
More than 35 years ago, the NME invited a grab bag of 22 bands to submit tracks for a cheap-and-cheerful cassette compilation, a coupon offer for regular readers. The wags at the Musical Express called it C86, a follow-up to 1981’s, er, C81. The line-up (The Mighty Lemon Drops, The Wolfhounds, The Bodines, Mighty Mighty, The Shop Assistants, Close Lobsters and such) epitomised the period’s independent music scene and C86 soon lent its name to the melodic, sometimes wistful, sometimes awkward, indie-pop of the era.
Inspired by a re-listen, journalist and sports writer Nige Tassell decided to go on a quest to track down the bands behind C86. As such, the book bears comparison to Dave Simpson’s 2008 book The Fallen, that attempted to track down every member of The Fall. Nige’s resulting interviews with the ‘C86 Kids’ provide a snapshot of a time before TikTok, pre-internet, a fanzine-friendly period when word of mouth, John Peel and the inkies (NME, Sounds and Melody Maker) were the only ways to gain a following. Nige has done his research and provides a vivid picture of the era that broke the bands.
1986 is a period I have much fondness for. I was a student in Leeds at the time. CUD were bedding down. We’d enrol in the class of C87; we didn’t get our own cassette*. We watched, filmed, supported, played pool with, stole beer from, and clubbed with several of the bands from this classic tape, and followed a similar path of Enterprise Allowance Scheme support, Dale Griffin-produced Peel sessions and bankrupt indie labels.
For some bands C86 was a tag better shed but for most it was a career boost. It was a small step to greater things for Primal Scream, Fuzzbox, Half Man Half Biscuit, for example. For others it was a peak. Some here have continued to trade as the original band or joined others. Some are part-time while making ends meet with respectable day jobs. Others were less fortunate. Not every artist is still with us.
Having been post-CUD for a decade before we reformed, and never a full-time indie-popper since, I am much intrigued as to what band members do once the record deals wither and tours end, musical differences intrude and bills land on the doormat. I am genuinely impressed by musicians stepping out of the limelight to knuckle down to the nine to five. The Soup Dragons’ bass player Sushil sums up his motivation: “I wanted to be normal!”
Nige seeks out not just the singers but the tambourine players and saxophonists (well, just the one saxophonist) and provides balanced portraits. These are amiable chats over a cuppa rather than shared crates of beer backstage. The interviewees are honest about both success and disappointments. Considering the subject, much of the talk is of the end of a bright career. The post-band trajectory of Sean Dickson is particularly eye-opening.
For such a well-remembered compilation, it seems many of the bands rue offering a B-side or sub-par recording. Yet, the low-fi quality is part of the tape’s charm. The opener, Primal Scream’s Velocity Girl was a B-side and is a perfectly crafted sub-two-minute tune, a template for The Stone Roses. The 22 songs evoke an innocent era, eager, edgy newcomers making the best racket that fifty quid in an eight-track studio can manage. The compilation is joyous as is Nige’s 35-years-later postscript.
My only criticism of the Indie Odyssey is that Nige includes so much detail of his detective work that you, dear readers, could follow his tracks and hound elusive band members. Please don’t. Just delve into Nige’s research, dig out your scuffed cassettes, gel up your quiff if you still have one, don your Oxfam overcoat or that baggy cardigan you wore to watch the Pastels, and gyrate to the original jangle.
* Though Cherry Red imagined a sequel, C87, in 2016 and put us on it.
Whatever Happened To The C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey by Nige Tassell is published on 18 August by Nine Eight Books and can be pre-ordered from the usual suspects.
In a timely fashion, CUD are playing with C86 alumni Mighty Mighty at the Castle and Falcon, Birmingham on December 3. Tickets here.
30 years of Asquarius Listening Party
We’re celebrating 30 years (to the day of release) of our top 30 album Asquarius with Tim Burgess’s @LlSTENlNG_PARTY
Join the band on Wednesday June 29 from 9pm (UK time). Sign into Twitter, follow @LlSTENlNG_PARTY and @CudBand and watch the tweets in real time. Ask questions/ share memories etc and don’t forget to include the hashtag #timstwitterlisteningparty so everyone can see the conversation.
Pull out the CD, dust down that rare Asquarius vinyl, rewind the cassette tape or stream on Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer! Just be ready to press play at 9pm.
CUD 1992/2022 Tour
CUD are celebrating 30 years of Rich and Strange, and Asquarius with a UK tour this autumn.
Expect the best of 1992, old faves, fresh delights, big tunes and banter. We’re dropping in on some different venues this time, and finally returning to Scotland and Wales. Check out the dates below. Tickets available here.
SEPTEMBER
Sat 17: High Wycombe, Speakeasy Festival, The Venue
OCTOBER
Fri 14: Halifax, Town Festival, Square Chapel
Sat 15: Newport, Le Pub
Wed 26: Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
Thu 27: Leek, Foxlowe Arts Centre
Fri 28: Sheffield, The Leadmill
Sat 29: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
NOVEMBER
Fri 4: Huddersfield, The Parish
Sat 5: London, The Garage
Fri 18: Newcastle, St Doms
Sat 19: Bristol, Thunderbolt
DECEMBER
Fri 2: Manchester, Yes
Sat 3: Birmingham, Castle and Falcon
CUD go to TOWN
CUD are joining the line-up for a new grassroots music festival in Halifax this October. Running from the 13th to 16th, TOWN will be taking place across several venues in Halifax, with CUD playing at the Square Chapel on Friday 14th with Wax Tree Cast in support. Tickets are now available here.
CUD to play Speakeasy Festival
CUD’s first got of 2022 has just been announced. The band will join a sterling link-up at the second Speakeasy Festival on Saturday, September 17 at The Venue, Bucks Student Union, High Wycombe. CUD are part of a weekend line-up including The Primitives, The Frank & Walters, Space Monkeys, The Kynd, Apollo Junction and Helen Love. Tickets are available now, here.
CUD join Long Division 2021
With two acts sadly having to pull out last week, we’ve agreed to fill in the gap and are playing Saturday, September 25 afternoon at Wakefield’s WX (the Old Market Hall), with Brix and the Extricated, Lanterns on the Lake, Glasvegas and The Futureheads. Get there early!
Tickets that give you full access to this and other venues on the day (for The Lovely Eggs, and many more) are still available. Click here for details.
New single: Switched On
Available for pre-order now, CUD have a new single, Switched On b/w (I Like You) Better When You’re Not Around.
Recorded in Leeds, Switched On was road-tested on the last CUD tour and will be available as on 7″ coloured vinyl and as a digital download from September 9.
And here’s the new video!
Tim’s Twitter Party Replay
Missed all the action on March 4 when CUD joined Tim Burgess’ Twitter Listening Party for our Showbiz album (now available on all streaming services)?
Fear not! You can relive it by replaying the tweets in real time. Get your album ready and click here to start!
CUD 