Cardiacs are certainly NOT forgotten! By coincidence, I was at a “Sing to Tim” gig literally last week (October 2024, Band on the Wall, Manchester) which was sold out well in advance and which celebrated the genius of the late Tim Smith. To some people (me included), Cardiacs were (and remain) the greatest, most important, most influential and most original band on the planet and they released incredible albums well into the ‘90’s and early 2000s. They did turn into a “guitar band”, but said band released “Sing to God” and “Guns”, both amazing albums; if Tim hadn’t have had the medical emergency which left him very disabled, I bet Cardiacs would still be going today. To class them as an ‘80’s band who essentially faded away in the ‘90’s is wholly ridiculous.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment. The Cardiacs were a great band and at the time in south-west London they were revered in a way that went beyond my admiration for them. We all like different things and this channel is my opportunity to share my feelings, thoughts and experiences with others. Maybe you should consider doing something similar, either in print or online? Cheers and please keep watching (and commenting)!
There was no musical decline for the Cardiacs. The output from the stripped back lineup was still fantastic. RIP Tim. Glad I discovered your incredible music xx
Cardiacs are simply the best live music experience I've ever had. From their annual concerts at the Astoria to the incredible career retrospective at the Garage, where they encored with Is This The Life and the moment the descending drum intro started literally everyone in the venue spontaneously jumped in the air.
Yes the cardiacs, and Tim in particular, were extraordinary and we will never see there like again. Nevertheless, lots of happy memories and hopefully somebody out there now is a fledgling Tim Smith in the making… ✌️ Thanks for watching and for taking part. Please stick around for more!
Great to see you acknowledging The Icicle works , great group . Should have been playing stadiums ( although it's far better to see groups in small venues).
Thanks! Yes, I also prefer small venues and was lucky enough to see the Rolling Stones play the Half Moon Putney and Paul McCartney at the 100 club, both when they were jolly famous! I also tried to encourage that by putting on Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis on at the 100 club, but of course tickets had to be expensive to pay for it all. In retrospect I think it was worth it. Amazing showsall round. Thanks for taking part. Please come back for more!
I love it when you mention bands I used to see regularly. Cardiacs? Even saw them in Berlin once (my Mrs once knew Sarah) brilliant band back then. Saw the Icicle Works at Essex University once too, i remember they had a brilliant drummer. Keep the videos coming Jim, great music, great memories.
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing those memories. This was one of the videos I enjoyed making (which is usually the kiss of death!). Please keep watching. Cheers!
Great picks! Cardiacs' Tim Smith guested on a couple The Sound albums, who are one of my alltime faves. A fan of the Icicle Works, but never got around to listen to McNabb's solo stuff, will fix that. The Jazz Butcher have been favorites since I was a teen, and the three volumes of hardcover book back box sets from Fire records are essential, especially Dr. Cholmondley Repents with all the singles comps collected, including one of my faves, "The Devil is My Friend." Screaming Blue Messiahs also got a box set treatment a few years back. Their debut was part of a wave of post-punk/psych that tickled the top 100 charts in '86 (Gun-Shy made #90) along with Chameleons, Easterhouse, That Petrol Emotion, Woodentops, Mighty Lemon Drops, Shriekback, Feelies, Agent Orange, Comsat Angels and many more.
Wow! Thanks for sharing those great stories and your knowledge. (Have you ever thought about making TH-cam videos?)? Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment: please stick around for more!
Fantastic! Yes it's also a shame that the Clarendon was demolished but at least it was something useful: a bus station (we won't mention the shopping centre)…
I used to correspond with Kavus Torabi when we were mid teens. I'm from Belfast. Kav at the time was from Plymouth and in the band Die Laughing. Kavus used to really champion Cardiacs back then. I'm talking early 1990s. It's only in the past 3 or so years I've started to really appreciate Cardiacs. Kavus went on to join Cardiacs a few years down the line. Kavus is a cracking musician. Worth checking out some of his work particularly Knifeworld.
I was there too! ...well I was at a Cardiacs gig at the Marquee in the 80s... late '85 or sometime in '86 I reckon... One of the best live bands I've seen.
I'll let you into a little secret. At the time, I was never that into the icicle Works, possibly because there was so much else happening. But since I discovered Ian McNabb in the 1990s I've gone back and revisited his earlier days and I'm liking most of what I'm hearing very much indeed. Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
@@JimDriverthat's the thing isn't it, there was so much going on then that it was impossible to listen to everything. Plus tastes change over the years. Both the 70's and the 80's are always worth revisiting. There are so many unknown pleasures for us to uncover
@@JimDriver Ciao Jim and Cameron, for that 'Head Like a Rock' album, there was some rumours of Ian McNabb becoming mates with Neil Young ... might be true, might not .... But the three guys from the Icicle Works really knew how to put songs together and McNabb understood the power of the guitar.
They were the first band I went to see live with just my mates, in Victoria Halls in Hanley in about 85/86. I always had a huge soft spot for overblown histrionic nonsense and Iain McNab could always deliver that.
I totally agree! Definitely top five and off the top of my head. I can't think of anybody I've seen who's done a better show or put more effort in to producing music that ripped through you like a chainsaw.
Thanks for the kind words! Aside from the cricketers, to be honest, they were more on the arty circuit then the rock circuit. We were lucky that Ted lived a couple of miles away and occasionally popped in to the pub to watch bands. . Cheers!
Thank you very much for the kind words and for sharing your memories of the cricketer. Friday nights with Wilko (it was usually a Friday, though not always) were utterly magical! Cheers!
All great bands and great stories. I remember some of these bands, having worked in college radio in the '80s. It was a magical time with new music coming out almost every week from all over the world. "Whisper to a Scream" was indeed huge in the US. I still hear it in the supermarket now and then. That first Screaming Blue Messiahs album is pretty incredible.
Thanks for sharing your fantastic memories of those fantastic times. I didn't realise until very recently how lucky we all were living through it, and me especially for being involved in it. Wow! Thanks for communicating and for watching. Please stick around for more!
@@JimDriver Nowadays, it seems so much harder to find new bands making interesting new music. I continue to scour TH-cam and Bandcamp and occasionally luck into something that appeals to me. Keep doing what you're doing, because I know there are so many older bands that I've missed along the way.
Another great video, bringing back lots of memories. I scored 3 out of 5 on this one, with Cardiacs, Icicle Works and Screaming Blue Messiahs all being bands I remembered from the days when my hands were regularly blackened by the print from the NME. Great stuff.
Thanks for the positive and very interesting comment! To be honest, I'm still playing most of those bands on a loop a couple of days after I posted the video!
Tim Smith was a musical genius, a term over used of course but in his case absolutely no doubt. Whilst the line up changes inevitably influenced the music they were simply progressing rather than standing still, I love all line ups and in fact probably their most revered album seen as their masterpiece is Sing to God, when they were effectively a 4 piece. Such amazing music and I love them, saw them many times and most recently this year at the run of gigs which were brilliant
I loooved the Jazz Butcher in the 80s. Pat's covid performances were lovely. I was gutted when when he died. He was a criminally underrated songwriter.
Yes, I was only joking about Roy. No I don't think he's bumpers but I do know he is aware of how great he is! The last conversation I think we had was about how people think he and Donovan are on the same level,. Happy days! Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
I first saw Cardiacs at the Marquee supporting Here & Now in 1984 iirc. I used to regularly make pilgrimage to the Clarendon during that time. Thoroughly enjoying your recollections
That's great here and thank you for the kind words. As the manager of here and now back in those days the person who introduced them to the marquee, there's a good chance I was at that gig too! Thanks for watching and please stick around for more!
Cardiacs are mint ,never seen them but own all the cds, Tim actually wrote every bit of music for all the instuments and i believe did all the videos and sound engineering mixing etc, the guy was a genius R.I.P. Tim
I agree with almost all of what you say but I always thought they were in their element on stage. I think if Tim has lived and functioned, he could have been a genius with all the modern technology. Cheers!
Still listening to Cardiacs and the Jazz Butcher. I saw the Jazz Butcher at the Richmond in Brighton some time in the early 90s. Remember the gig was sold to me by a mate who mentioned the the bass player from Bauhaus was in the band. Good to be reminded of the Icicle Works and Screaming Blue Messiahs….
Thanks that great story. I forgotten the Bauhaus connection! Yes, in retrospect, I forgotten how many fantastic bands I saw back in the 1980s. I was so very lucky! Thanks for taking part. Please stick around and watch more!
Yes, I quite agree: as I say, I've been a big fan since head like a rock Thanks for spreading the word about Ian's touring and recent albums. I think we can all be grateful he didn't get this Barry Grant part in. Brookside. That would've spoilt everything!
Loved The Jazz Butcher since the 80s when a friend brought back a bunch of albums from a trip to London. The band had quite a following in Texas, of all places. RIP Pat.
That's great to hear and thank you so much for the very kind words. Part of my recent for making videos is to share the excitement and joy. I was lucky enough to experience firsthand. Plus a bit of information here and there… ☺️
Thank you very much for those kind words. You really don't know how much it means when people enjoy what I do. Part of the enjoyment is getting to share my passions. Please stick around for more and comment as appropriate. Cheers!
Good job on the call-out of Cardiacs. As others have mentioned, most certainly not forgotten and currently undergoing a bit of a post-Tim resurgence in popularity, along with the promise of new releases in the not-too-distant future. As well as Cardiacs, the band, there’s a whole ecosystem of musicians around them producing some amazing music of all styles from chamber music to folk to psychedelic. Well worth exploring.
Yes the cardiacs always did have a cottage industry surrounding them, which is very healthy in my opinion and more band should take that lead. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and please keep watching!
Thanks very much! Please keep watching and commenting. Great to reconnect: in retrospect, I think Rhythm Festival was my greatest gift to mankind. Pretentious moi? 😀 No, in all seriousness, I'm very proud of those Festivals!
Being from the Kingston area I saw Cardiacs loads of times and they were always incredible. Usually appearing on the verge of total collapse they’re live persona masked incredible musicianship and a band that deserved to be so much bigger. RIP Tim.
Cardiacs fab - cant believed only just discovered them! Blurt absolutely excellent and still very much alive! my band supported them at The Bull and Gate about 20 yeas ago! THe Jazz Butcher also marvelous and I met Pat Fish a couple of times at gigs I happened to be also playing at wIth Jowe Head (Swell Maps and Television Personalities). Check out the recently revived Maps when you get a chance - Dave Callahan (Woolfhounds) a longstanding fan is part of the new crew and they are often joined by Luke Hanes (The Auteurs). A supergroup!
Thank you for sharing those fantastic memories of your band! Your passion for music really shines through! I'll definitely have to check out Maps. Cheers!
Thank you very much for your positive comment. It really does make it all worthwhile. Please keep watching and I assure you blurt will remain on my playlist until the day I die. (Wasn't that an Eric Clapton quote?) Cheers!
The Icicle Works - saw them on the Love is Wonderful Colour tour at Essex Uni, Colchester - as with many other great bands of the day the students Union bar would put of for about £2.50 and it was the last tour stop before London. My two penneth on the Cardiacs - seen them many a time and the hardest audience was when they supported Chumbawamba at the T&C - the kids who had come to hear Tubthumping were bemused by them even they did condescend to playing Is This The Life? Sadly that Pub University touring circuit along with the majority of the smaller venues in London have all gone.
Great memories thanks for sharing them. I think the decline of the university circuit, which was a direct result of Thatcherism contributed towards the less than ideal Music situation we have today! Thanks again and please keep watching.
Haha! I'd like to think you are right and that people are generally good and do things because it's for the good of mankind. Unfortunately my 70 years on earth have persuading me that this will be a very small proportion of our population. Still, always good to dream. Thanks for counting and for watching the video: please stick around and do it all again. I genuinely mean that by the way.😇
Thank you! That's very kind of you to say so, though like many people of my age, I feel I forgotten more than I remember! Please keep watching and commenting. We need you!
Not sure if these fit the topic or not, but a couple years ago I was at the local record shop and found an album by some band called the Lucy Show. The song titles suggested it might fit my taste, my best friend/roommate/four legged angel is named Lucy and the record was $2. so I had to... Blew me away. Checked into them on the webs and was lead to the Comsat Angels. Blown away again. Don't know how I had never come across either group in all these years. So many 'hidden' gems out there. Great video!
Thanks for the positive words and for such an informative interesting comment. The Lucy show and the concert Angels are both on my radar and thanks for reminding me! Cheers!
Cardiacs were fantastic and the Screaming Blue Messiahs were one of the best live bands ever, I got to have a few rehearsals/ jams with Bill Carter back in 2014 which was quite the thrill for me 🙌
Well, I hadn't heard of two, was aware of two, and was a big fan of Screaming Blue Messiahs (although I got to them a little late, but I played the hell out of their 1989 release "Totally Religious", which was one of my favorite albums from that era).
Thanks for those memories of screaming blue Messiah. When I was making the video, I could still feel the excitement I felt back when I first saw them on stage. Magic times! Cheers!
Good Choices there. Saw Jazz Butcher on numerous occasions just by chance as supporting group for various events. Always had a great night out watching them. My choices of that decade... Even though you didn't ask. A sample Popular Voice Virgin Prunes The Janitors The Very Things The Playn Jayn The Cannibals I still don't know how these bands could just take over a venue and enthrall. I really miss those days in the 80's of exploring new live music.... Lovely lovely times.
You're dead right about the music and gigs of those days. I don't know whether it was us or the bands, but it was absolutely spectacular so many times. Great choices by the way and I always need people to put forward their own favourite act. Cheers!
Cardiacs were transcendent live act in the 80s; very few other bands could take you out of yourself in quite the way they did when they performed. You are right, though, they lost much of the magic in the 90s Blurt are new to me (I will check them out) but the others still feature regularly in my listening
You obviously have great taste! My go-to album for me from Blurt was the first one I heard, which was called 'The Fish Needs A Bike'. Epic! As regards The Cardiacs, I didn't say so in the video, but I think Tim over-did the drugs towards the end and I suspect that may have done for his health, as well. On that soggy note... Cheers !
Oh mate! Line the video up with the Cardiacs on the cover you knew what reaction you were gonna get! Bands I have seen wearing cardiacs t shirts include : Splodgenessabounds, Hawkwind (well magnus tarantism), T.V. Smith, and Wonk Unit amongst others! Once again cracking video, ( did see them at Glastonbury one year with a Certain John Peel in the Audience..) Punishment of luxury, Earl Brutus and the legendry pink dots pleeeze!
At the time, I enjoyed it immensely whenever the Jazz Butcher played at the cricketers, but now realise the artistic gold that was passing through my fingers. I consider myself so lucky to be where I was and when thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
Blurt's drummer, Jake, Ted's brother, lives round the corner from me in Walthamstow! I know him and his wife Gloria. (Who dated Bryan Ferry once upon a time).
Upvoted for the Jazz Butcher. They got quite a lot of play on North American college radio stations, and they blew my mind when i was 14 years old and I heard Distressed Gentlefolk!
Yes, the Jazz Butcher managed to grab a lot of peoples hearts, including many record company bigwigs. I was always surprised about who turned up to see them at the cricketers. Thanks for your memories and please keep watching!
One of my favourite bands of the 80s and they were quite popular in Canada too,. At least in Southern Ontario where I was fortunate enough to see them a handful of times. Great memories!
For a very brief period in the mid 80s, the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford hosted the occasional rock/ pop gig and I went to them all, being local. I remember Green on Red and James, but also Jazz Butcher! I don't think they were headlining but if they were supporting, can't recall for whom. They made an impression on me and I became a fan that night. Clear memories of hearing Pet Sematary for the first time: 'Saturday morning the cat came back... '
I seem to remember that they did a lot of support tours around there. a great way to get an audience, as it says in the manual. Thanks for coming in and please keep watching!
I put out their very first record “Bus For A Bus” on my little Tortch Records label (alongside The Sound and The Directions of course)z great band and miss Tim !
Good to see The Icicle works get a mention, I went to see them in Southampton in the mid 80's but unfortunately they cancelled the gig at the last minute so I never did get too see them.
That's a shame, but I believe Ian McNabb is about to embark on another tour and I hear his solo shows are pretty outstanding. Thanks for taking part and I hope you'll stick around for more. Cheers!
Great show Jim. I wouldn't say Cardiacs have been forgotten though. If anything they are more widely known and appreciated today than ever before. Dave Grohl saw to that with his endorsement a couple of years ago.
Yes, stomp were another band that played at the cricketer. They didn't really strike me in the same way as cardiacs or several of the other bands in this video, but that's just me. We all have different taste and I tend to remember some incidents and not others. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for watching. Cheers!
Nice to see the cardiacs get a mention Jim....'Is the the life' what a choon!!!, part of my eighties life soundtrack relevant to a very interesting time in my life, whenever I hear it the memories come flooding back, it will remain one of my favourite all time singles ...that said, I really couldn't get into anything else they did, to quirky for me, intellectual rock....IMO they never topped Is this the life Jim did you ever put my old mates band, Buddy Curtis and the grasshoppers on anywhere?
@@JimDriver we were going to see them one night at the cricketers, met Gags in the cafe in the morning, he told us they weren't playing there...they were playing the R.A.H support Roy Orbison on an 8 date tour instead!!!....Gags brother was in a pub and overheard someone say that Orbisons support band had let him down and they were in schtook....'you need a band mate?, I'll get you a band' And off they went....great band, nice fellas, maybe a linited audience and life span...but I like em Bob Young started managing them, then it all went pair shaped sadly
They certainly were good, yes. But I feel Ian McNabb was just feeling his way and his latest stuff is in a different class. That's my view and you are entitled to say anything that you fancy, contrary or not! 😀 Please watch more of my videos and keep commenting if you can. Cheers!
I'm sure I saw Jazz Butcher at the White Lion pub in Putney sometime around 1985. Saw the Cardiacs twice between 1985 and 1987 and The Icicle Works played the old Whitelands College, West Hill, Putney around 1986 - great show that ended in a rousing cover of Pretty Vacant!
Thank you very much: very kind of you to say so I did do a video about those days when Nik died. Have a dig around on TH-cam if you want to see it. Cheers!
Ah, the much lamented Astoria - saw quite a lot of bands there, over the years (principally 90s into the 00s) - there and the Marquee, when it resided on Charing Cross Road! None of those you've mentioned, however. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much for the kind words! Yes, there was a lot of great music around back then and we were very lucky that we could be around and part of it all. Cheers!
Saw The Screaming Blue Messiahs at The Roadmender, Northampton. My mate's band were supporting (Magnolia Siege). Gotta say was the loudest, sweatiest gig I have ever been to. Also had many a mutual friend that were close to Pat Fish, being based in Northampton.
I suppose I was very lucky because I saw every show for free and got paid to do it. It doesn't get better than that, does it? Thanks for commenting and I hope you're going to stick around to watch more videos. Cheers!
Thanks for watching (and for the compliment!) and for sharing your memories of those amazing bands. I hope you keep watching and commenting. Thanks again!
Jim, please put our more vids covering little known bands. I did not know any in this film. I will now be looking on the net for more information,the musicians looked quite groovy.
Thanks! I will certainly do my best. I find it thrilling that I can share the fantastic music I have had the fortune to experience in my lifetime. I realise I am so lucky. Please keep watching and please keep commenting.
Bravo on highlighting Cardiacs, however rather than decline, they are probably bigger now, especially in the USA (mainly due to the many 'Reaction videos). John Peel did have the spin-off Sea Nymphs on his show but it was his producer who vetoed Cardiacs, not Peel himself.
Cheers! Thank you for the kind words. As I predicted, it was very difficult to talk about cardiacs, due to my personal connections andsuch and it as long as possible, to be honest! But I didn't do such a bad job. I don't think the site for adding the word THE before every mention! Please keep watching and commenting!.
All these bands were on my radar and have records by all of them except Cardiacs for some weird reason, actually got the Icicle Works box set last year as don't have a deck to play my vinyl on atmo and can't actually go too long without listening to Evangeline and Understanding Jane.
As for 'turning into just a guitar band' in the 90s - not really, Tim kept all the bells and whistles going live via a meticulously recorded synched tape and while it wasn't quite as mindblowing as the percussion/keys/sax days it was still mindblowing. Are you sure you've heard 'Sing To God' - the magnum opus released in 1996? Their crowd dropped in the late 90s until the internet kicked in and the useless music press could be circumvented and by 2003 were selling out the main Astoria
Thanks for an excellent and knowledgeable comment. I did know about the tapes Tim made and used for the later live shows, but essentially, (for me) the live experience is as visual as aural. Let's agree to differ… 😎 Cheers!
I have heard of some of the people you’ve mentioned but of all those you’ve mentioned, it was the Screaming Blue Messiahs that should have really made it big. As a teenager, I only saw them once on tv, doing Wild Blue Yonder, ****ing brilliant. But never caught them again, that lack of tv airplay is why they failed to hit the heights not a lack of talent.
Definitely not a lack of talent. But I don't think they help themselves to be huge because if you listen to a lot of the lyrics they would be unplayable on the radio. But even so, they should've been much bigger than they were. Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
@@JimDriver thanks to TH-cam ( and yourself) I get to see performances that, as you say, wouldn’t get an airing. One of my favourite albums in my collection is Neither Washington Nor Moscow, The Redskins,but until recent years, I’d never seen the videos or tracks performed live. Keep your good work up ❤️
Great cool! I didn't have much to do with him personally, but I'll certainly try and include them in the future video. Thanks for watching and for commenting. Cheers!
Shame that Cardiacs' pic was used because they most certainly aren't forgotten. Not to their fans who are some of the most dedicated and diehard fans of any band going. I saw them live back in the late 80's at The Venue in London and was hooked ever since. If someone is looking for a real, pure, genuine genius by anyone's definition, backed up by virtuoso level brilliant musicians, look no further that Tim Smith and the rest of the band. This post should really be titled ' British bands who never received the accolades they thoroughly deserved'.
Thanks for that, but remind me not to put you in charge of my search optimisation. The titles are written as they are to entice as many people as possible to watch, which is why there structured as they are at the same time, I do try and keep them factually accurate. As the video is not just about cardiacs, I'm pretty sure 99% of people watching have forgotten or never heard of at least one of those bands. But thanks for taking part and please keep watching! Cheers!
Thanks! I'm not totally au fait with them but I'll certainly check them out. I'm afraid I have no personal memories to share about them but, you never know…
Great stuff, love Blurt and The Jazz Butcher. Icicle Works should have been bigger, but same goes for the Comsat Angels and The House of Love. Early Screaming Blue Messiahs rocks much harder than that silly Flintstone song. Hadn't heard about the Cardiacs before, so cheers!
Thank you very much for kind words and for commenting generally. Always great to get feedback and hear what other people think. It really was a fantastic time for Music and I can consider myself so lucky to have been part of it with those brilliant artists. Thanks again and please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Check out Cardiacs "Fairytales from the Rotten Shed" on TH-cam... you will never see the world in the same light again. It's just Cardiacs by the way, not the Cardiacs (excuse a pedantic old git his eccentricities). Your welcome.
Agree with you up to a point with The Icicle Works, however when it comes to the Mercury Music Prize, also losing out that year were Pulp with His 'n Hers. I remember being gutted when that album lost out to M People. There are more Lightning Seeds link to the Icicle Works. McNabb also wrote with them and their drummer Chris Sharrock was the Lightning Seeds' drummer when they started gigging. Ian Broudie also produced the Icicle Works. Later Icicle Works drummers Zac Starkey and Matthew Priest also played with The Lightning Seeds for a time, although I think Priest may have been a one off gig. Zac Starkey was Chris Sharrock's replacement.
Listening to Blurt was certainly a challenge! Way too oddball and a bit clever clever to appeal to a mass audience. Would love to see you feature the likes of That Petrol Emotion, Win, The Loft, Blue Aeroplanes, Eddie & Sunshine, Felt, Paul Haig/Josef K, Gang of Four, The Higsons, Sudden Sway etc etc in future videos in this series! All great bands who never quite reached their full potential in my opinion.
Did you listen to Down in the Argentine on the playlist I posted in the description and top of the comments? That's the song that really became an earworm with me. Thanks for your comments and for watching. Please stick around and do it all again!
Thanks for the great suggestions. I've added a few to my lists! Just to let you know, I did feature that petrol emotion in my recent video about the demolition of the cricketer.
Comsat Angels from Sheffield were another band that should have had more success I also saw a lot of early UB40 at the Lafayette in Wolverhampton but around the same time another reggae band Weapon Of Peace were playing They were more "roots reggae" & probably less commercial but in my opinion were as good as if not better than UB40
I think I saw a weapon of peace (hoping I'm not confusing them with weapon of destiny) and I do remember that they were really good. Lots of great music happening at that time. Thanks for some great examples!
I keep waiting to see the band Fischer-Z make one of these lists. signed together with bands like The Stranglers, but shunned by the British press, yet somehow made it big elsewhere in Europe and Australia
I must admit, I don't really know a lot about Fischer-Z. Maybe I should be checking up on them! Thanks for commenting and please keep watching. Cheers!
Saw the Screaming Blue Messiahs in a smallish venue when the first e.p. came out and they were fantastic, I always used to confuse them with The Godfathers. I don't think any of these bands are forgotten.
I've made a playlist featyuring the videos I included: th-cam.com/play/PLeEUmIKakqXNTnBrlRIw-HAzEAqop8fw5.html&si=foJNAFwBKMWFe9Sq
Cardiacs are certainly NOT forgotten! By coincidence, I was at a “Sing to Tim” gig literally last week (October 2024, Band on the Wall, Manchester) which was sold out well in advance and which celebrated the genius of the late Tim Smith. To some people (me included), Cardiacs were (and remain) the greatest, most important, most influential and most original band on the planet and they released incredible albums well into the ‘90’s and early 2000s. They did turn into a “guitar band”, but said band released “Sing to God” and “Guns”, both amazing albums; if Tim hadn’t have had the medical emergency which left him very disabled, I bet Cardiacs would still be going today. To class them as an ‘80’s band who essentially faded away in the ‘90’s is wholly ridiculous.
To class them as the most influential band on the planet is similarly ridiculous.
@@CIMAmotorAgreed. And I'm a fan.
They havnt been forgotten because no one knew them to start with
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment. The Cardiacs were a great band and at the time in south-west London they were revered in a way that went beyond my admiration for them. We all like different things and this channel is my opportunity to share my feelings, thoughts and experiences with others. Maybe you should consider doing something similar, either in print or online?
Cheers and please keep watching (and commenting)!
@JimDriver Cardiacs not The Cardiacs.
There was no musical decline for the Cardiacs. The output from the stripped back lineup was still fantastic. RIP Tim. Glad I discovered your incredible music xx
Tim and cardiacs were great. Cheers!
No way! I've just being having a big dive back into Cardiacs. So insanely different and creative.
It really is! Thanks for taking the time to comment (and to watch the video) please stick around for more!
Talk Talk, The Blue Nile. Two of my fav brit bands from the 80's!! Please do not stop making these 5 More British Bands videos 🤗
Thanks for the input! If only I could stop… 😀😙
Talk Talk were huge here in Continental Europe, not forgotten at all.
Cardiacs are simply the best live music experience I've ever had. From their annual concerts at the Astoria to the incredible career retrospective at the Garage, where they encored with Is This The Life and the moment the descending drum intro started literally everyone in the venue spontaneously jumped in the air.
Yes the cardiacs, and Tim in particular, were extraordinary and we will never see there like again. Nevertheless, lots of happy memories and hopefully somebody out there now is a fledgling Tim Smith in the making… ✌️
Thanks for watching and for taking part. Please stick around for more!
Great to see you acknowledging The Icicle works , great group . Should have been playing stadiums ( although it's far better to see groups in small venues).
Thanks! Yes, I also prefer small venues and was lucky enough to see the Rolling Stones play the Half Moon Putney and Paul McCartney at the 100 club, both when they were jolly famous! I also tried to encourage that by putting on Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis on at the 100 club, but of course tickets had to be expensive to pay for it all. In retrospect I think it was worth it. Amazing showsall round.
Thanks for taking part. Please come back for more!
the icicle works great band, awesome songs
Saw them in March in Newcastle supporting Big Country still brilliant @JimDriver
I love it when you mention bands I used to see regularly. Cardiacs? Even saw them in Berlin once (my Mrs once knew Sarah) brilliant band back then. Saw the Icicle Works at Essex University once too, i remember they had a brilliant drummer. Keep the videos coming Jim, great music, great memories.
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing those memories. This was one of the videos I enjoyed making (which is usually the kiss of death!). Please keep watching. Cheers!
Great picks! Cardiacs' Tim Smith guested on a couple The Sound albums, who are one of my alltime faves. A fan of the Icicle Works, but never got around to listen to McNabb's solo stuff, will fix that. The Jazz Butcher have been favorites since I was a teen, and the three volumes of hardcover book back box sets from Fire records are essential, especially Dr. Cholmondley Repents with all the singles comps collected, including one of my faves, "The Devil is My Friend."
Screaming Blue Messiahs also got a box set treatment a few years back. Their debut was part of a wave of post-punk/psych that tickled the top 100 charts in '86 (Gun-Shy made #90) along with Chameleons, Easterhouse, That Petrol Emotion, Woodentops, Mighty Lemon Drops, Shriekback, Feelies, Agent Orange, Comsat Angels and many more.
Wow! Thanks for sharing those great stories and your knowledge. (Have you ever thought about making TH-cam videos?)?
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment: please stick around for more!
I was at one of the Cardiacs Clarendon Ballroom gigs. Stupendous.
Fantastic! Yes it's also a shame that the Clarendon was demolished but at least it was something useful: a bus station (we won't mention the shopping centre)…
I used to correspond with Kavus Torabi when we were mid teens. I'm from Belfast. Kav at the time was from Plymouth and in the band Die Laughing. Kavus used to really champion Cardiacs back then. I'm talking early 1990s. It's only in the past 3 or so years I've started to really appreciate Cardiacs. Kavus went on to join Cardiacs a few years down the line. Kavus is a cracking musician. Worth checking out some of his work particularly Knifeworld.
Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for him. Thanks too for commenting and please keep watching!
@@JimDriver Kavus is also working with Steve Davis in The Utopia Strong. Yes, that Steve Davis that played snooker.
Another fantastic vid! Love your channel Jim, my fave find of the year!
That really is very kind of you to say say so, even if I think you maybe don't watch enough channels... 😀😇
@@JimDriver 😂🤣💀
Saw cardiacs at the marquee, sometime in the 80's. Unforgettable gig, I was totally blown away. Been a fan ever since.
Thanks for sharing your memories of cardiacs at the Marquee. There's a pretty good chance I would've been there!
I was there too! ...well I was at a Cardiacs gig at the Marquee in the 80s... late '85 or sometime in '86 I reckon... One of the best live bands I've seen.
@@JimDriver Did you ever book the Shrew Kings?
Icicle Works; Understanding Jane one of my all time favourites
I'll let you into a little secret. At the time, I was never that into the icicle Works, possibly because there was so much else happening. But since I discovered Ian McNabb in the 1990s I've gone back and revisited his earlier days and I'm liking most of what I'm hearing very much indeed. Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
@@JimDriverthat's the thing isn't it, there was so much going on then that it was impossible to listen to everything. Plus tastes change over the years. Both the 70's and the 80's are always worth revisiting. There are so many unknown pleasures for us to uncover
@@JimDriver Ciao Jim and Cameron, for that 'Head Like a Rock' album, there was some rumours of Ian McNabb becoming mates with Neil Young ... might be true, might not .... But the three guys from the Icicle Works really knew how to put songs together and McNabb understood the power of the guitar.
They were the first band I went to see live with just my mates, in Victoria Halls in Hanley in about 85/86. I always had a huge soft spot for overblown histrionic nonsense and Iain McNab could always deliver that.
The Screaming Blue Messiahs are one of the best live bands I've ever seen.
I totally agree! Definitely top five and off the top of my head. I can't think of anybody I've seen who's done a better show or put more effort in to producing music that ripped through you like a chainsaw.
@@JimDriver Agree totally - amazing live band - but sadly I don't think any of their recorded output really did them justice...
Blimey !!! Apart from Blurt, this was like a trip through my young adulthood... Thanks a lot, brilliant stuff !
Thank you so very much: that's really kind of you to say so.
Please keep watching and commenting: I appreciate your company!
Very interesting video again Jim. . Amazed I hadn't ever heard of Blurt !
Thanks for the kind words! Aside from the cricketers, to be honest, they were more on the arty circuit then the rock circuit. We were lucky that Ted lived a couple of miles away and occasionally popped in to the pub to watch bands. . Cheers!
I saw Wilko Johnson at the Cricketers 1985 , best gig ever , the place was heaving . Thanks Jim !!!
Thank you very much for the kind words and for sharing your memories of the cricketer. Friday nights with Wilko (it was usually a Friday, though not always) were utterly magical! Cheers!
Can't say I thought much of these bands, either then or now, but probably says more about my particular tastes tbh!
Great video though. Thanks!
Thank you! I really do appreciate the kind words. It is amazing how different peoples musical chaser but please keep watching: we need you!
All great bands and great stories. I remember some of these bands, having worked in college radio in the '80s. It was a magical time with new music coming out almost every week from all over the world. "Whisper to a Scream" was indeed huge in the US. I still hear it in the supermarket now and then. That first Screaming Blue Messiahs album is pretty incredible.
Thanks for sharing your fantastic memories of those fantastic times. I didn't realise until very recently how lucky we all were living through it, and me especially for being involved in it. Wow!
Thanks for communicating and for watching. Please stick around for more!
@@JimDriver Nowadays, it seems so much harder to find new bands making interesting new music. I continue to scour TH-cam and Bandcamp and occasionally luck into something that appeals to me. Keep doing what you're doing, because I know there are so many older bands that I've missed along the way.
Another great video, bringing back lots of memories. I scored 3 out of 5 on this one, with Cardiacs, Icicle Works and Screaming Blue Messiahs all being bands I remembered from the days when my hands were regularly blackened by the print from the NME. Great stuff.
Thanks for the positive and very interesting comment! To be honest, I'm still playing most of those bands on a loop a couple of days after I posted the video!
Tim Smith was a musical genius, a term over used of course but in his case absolutely no doubt. Whilst the line up changes inevitably influenced the music they were simply progressing rather than standing still, I love all line ups and in fact probably their most revered album seen as their masterpiece is Sing to God, when they were effectively a 4 piece. Such amazing music and I love them, saw them many times and most recently this year at the run of gigs which were brilliant
Yes, you make some very valid comments there about Tim and cardiacs. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge: please keep watching! Cheers!
I loooved the Jazz Butcher in the 80s. Pat's covid performances were lovely. I was gutted when when he died. He was a criminally underrated songwriter.
He certainly was. I only caught the tail end of his COVID FB shows, and he was gone before I could contacthim RIP Patrick.
I saw the Jazz Butcher at the Memorial Union in Madison WI in the very late 80s. Great memories! We were big fans.
Great stuff! Thanks for coming Dean for watching. Pleas come back for more!
I've definitely not forgotten the Cardiacs. Seminal band.
Indeed they were. Thanks for watching and for commenting. Cheers!
Cardiacs and Roy Harper in the same presentation - good. Roy definitely doesn't take himself too seriously. He is a down to earth legend.
Yes, I was only joking about Roy. No I don't think he's bumpers but I do know he is aware of how great he is! The last conversation I think we had was about how people think he and Donovan are on the same level,. Happy days!
Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
Still listening to The Cardiacs.
Yes, the cardiacs are pretty timeless in my opinion and I think Tim Smith will "live on" for quite a few decades yet....
Cheers!
Cardiacs were absolutely brilliant live. Back again but will always miss Tim. 😢❤
Me too
Cardiacs! What a band. So lucky to have seen them live a couple of times. Legends!
Great band! Thanks for coming in. Please stick around!
I first saw Cardiacs at the Marquee supporting Here & Now in 1984 iirc. I used to regularly make pilgrimage to the Clarendon during that time. Thoroughly enjoying your recollections
That's great here and thank you for the kind words. As the manager of here and now back in those days the person who introduced them to the marquee, there's a good chance I was at that gig too! Thanks for watching and please stick around for more!
Cardiacs are mint ,never seen them but own all the cds, Tim actually wrote every bit of music for all the instuments and i believe did all the videos and sound engineering mixing etc, the guy was a genius R.I.P. Tim
I agree with almost all of what you say but I always thought they were in their element on stage. I think if Tim has lived and functioned, he could have been a genius with all the modern technology. Cheers!
Tim did not write all the music. All the band contributed.
Still listening to Cardiacs and the Jazz Butcher.
I saw the Jazz Butcher at the Richmond in Brighton some time in the early 90s. Remember the gig was sold to me by a mate who mentioned the the bass player from Bauhaus was in the band.
Good to be reminded of the Icicle Works and Screaming Blue Messiahs….
Thanks that great story. I forgotten the Bauhaus connection! Yes, in retrospect, I forgotten how many fantastic bands I saw back in the 1980s. I was so very lucky!
Thanks for taking part. Please stick around and watch more!
Ian McNabb still touring and recording. The last decade's worth of solo albums have been fantastic.
Yes, I quite agree: as I say, I've been a big fan since head like a rock
Thanks for spreading the word about Ian's touring and recent albums. I think we can all be grateful he didn't get this Barry Grant part in. Brookside. That would've spoilt everything!
Loved The Jazz Butcher since the 80s when a friend brought back a bunch of albums from a trip to London. The band had quite a following in Texas, of all places. RIP Pat.
Thanks for sharing that! Yes, I still remember the tingle in my spine at his gigs. RIP Pat.
A great video. I had not heard of the first two bands and I will be doing a deep dive on both. Thank you.
That's great to hear and thank you so much for the very kind words. Part of my recent for making videos is to share the excitement and joy. I was lucky enough to experience firsthand. Plus a bit of information here and there… ☺️
Jim, great video and I agree, that Ian McNabb LP is fantastic. I listened to it loads of times in the mid to late 90's.
Thank you very much for those kind words. You really don't know how much it means when people enjoy what I do. Part of the enjoyment is getting to share my passions. Please stick around for more and comment as appropriate. Cheers!
Good job on the call-out of Cardiacs. As others have mentioned, most certainly not forgotten and currently undergoing a bit of a post-Tim resurgence in popularity, along with the promise of new releases in the not-too-distant future. As well as Cardiacs, the band, there’s a whole ecosystem of musicians around them producing some amazing music of all styles from chamber music to folk to psychedelic. Well worth exploring.
Yes the cardiacs always did have a cottage industry surrounding them, which is very healthy in my opinion and more band should take that lead. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and please keep watching!
This should have its own series. I watched the previous video. Very good band The Triffids.
Thanks, I really do appreciate it! Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
The Icicle Works were amazing….Ian McNab still plays live….Not forgotten in my mind, and never will be…..
Who is this? Ian McNabb chap? People tell me I made a video about him but I've forgotten…
Hi Jim, It's great to see the videos. Last time we crossed paths was at the Rhythm Festival 2010. The Damned then Ade Edmondson. Great festival
Thanks very much! Please keep watching and commenting. Great to reconnect: in retrospect, I think Rhythm Festival was my greatest gift to mankind.
Pretentious moi? 😀
No, in all seriousness, I'm very proud of those Festivals!
Being from the Kingston area I saw Cardiacs loads of times and they were always incredible. Usually appearing on the verge of total collapse they’re live persona masked incredible musicianship and a band that deserved to be so much bigger. RIP Tim.
Great comment, thanks. Please keep watching and commenting.
Cheers!
Great picks, thanks for that
No problem. Thanks for watching and for the positive comment. Much appreciated, I assure you. Cheers!
Strawberry Switchblade. Loved the style and fun x
Yes, great call. They were a lot more than the press try to portray them as. Please keep watching and commenting.
Cheers!
The Cardiacs/Levitation dual headline tour was epic. Saw four shows on it. I'd seen both bands in their own right a few times before.
Happy days. Thanks for sharing your memories. Please keep watching. Cheers!
Cardiacs fab - cant believed only just discovered them! Blurt absolutely excellent and still very much alive! my band supported them at The Bull and Gate about 20 yeas ago! THe Jazz Butcher also marvelous and I met Pat Fish a couple of times at gigs I happened to be also playing at wIth Jowe Head (Swell Maps and Television Personalities). Check out the recently revived Maps when you get a chance - Dave Callahan (Woolfhounds) a longstanding fan is part of the new crew and they are often joined by Luke Hanes (The Auteurs). A supergroup!
Thank you for sharing those fantastic memories of your band! Your passion for music really shines through! I'll definitely have to check out Maps. Cheers!
Great choices. Blurt are one of the best ever.
Thank you very much for your positive comment. It really does make it all worthwhile. Please keep watching and I assure you blurt will remain on my playlist until the day I die. (Wasn't that an Eric Clapton quote?) Cheers!
I recall going to The Cricketers twice, both times to see the late, great Frank Sidebottom.
Chris was great, wasn't he? The whole Frank thing was such a brilliant idea and he executed it so well. Thanks for sharing that!
The Icicle Works - saw them on the Love is Wonderful Colour tour at Essex Uni, Colchester - as with many other great bands of the day the students Union bar would put of for about £2.50 and it was the last tour stop before London.
My two penneth on the Cardiacs - seen them many a time and the hardest audience was when they supported Chumbawamba at the T&C - the kids who had come to hear Tubthumping were bemused by them even they did condescend to playing Is This The Life?
Sadly that Pub University touring circuit along with the majority of the smaller venues in London have all gone.
Great memories thanks for sharing them. I think the decline of the university circuit, which was a direct result of Thatcherism contributed towards the less than ideal Music situation we have today! Thanks again and please keep watching.
Screaming Blue Messiahs put on a hell of a great performance!
You can say that again (not really, I know what you mean!) Thanks for watching and for commenting: please keep it up!
Some bands just don’t want to sign over their soul, don’t really wish to compromise their greatness, and thus - they get passed over. Thank fck!
Haha! I'd like to think you are right and that people are generally good and do things because it's for the good of mankind. Unfortunately my 70 years on earth have persuading me that this will be a very small proportion of our population. Still, always good to dream. Thanks for counting and for watching the video: please stick around and do it all again. I genuinely mean that by the way.😇
Icicle Works gig at Manchester Uni in 87 /88. Understanding Jane live was awesome.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing please get watching (and commenting)!
yep Kingston indeed ! And yes subscribed. Keep up the good work chap
Thank you very much! I really do appreciate it!
Interesting stuff about the Icicle Works too. What a fount of knowledge you are Jim. 💐
Thank you! That's very kind of you to say so, though like many people of my age, I feel I forgotten more than I remember! Please keep watching and commenting. We need you!
Not sure if these fit the topic or not, but a couple years ago I was at the local record shop and found an album by some band called the Lucy Show. The song titles suggested it might fit my taste, my best friend/roommate/four legged angel is named Lucy and the record was $2. so I had to... Blew me away. Checked into them on the webs and was lead to the Comsat Angels. Blown away again. Don't know how I had never come across either group in all these years. So many 'hidden' gems out there.
Great video!
Thanks for the positive words and for such an informative interesting comment. The Lucy show and the concert Angels are both on my radar and thanks for reminding me! Cheers!
Commenting from Canada - love Jazz Butcher and Icicle Works. Other bands are new to me. Will check them out.
Excellent! (Part of) my job here is done. Thanks for the input. Please stick around!!
Cardiacs were fantastic and the Screaming Blue Messiahs were one of the best live bands ever, I got to have a few rehearsals/ jams with Bill Carter back in 2014 which was quite the thrill for me 🙌
Wow! Sounds great. Thanks for sharing that. Cheers!
Well, I hadn't heard of two, was aware of two, and was a big fan of Screaming Blue Messiahs (although I got to them a little late, but I played the hell out of their 1989 release "Totally Religious", which was one of my favorite albums from that era).
Thanks for those memories of screaming blue Messiah. When I was making the video, I could still feel the excitement I felt back when I first saw them on stage. Magic times! Cheers!
Good Choices there. Saw Jazz Butcher on numerous occasions just by chance as supporting group for various events. Always had a great night out watching them.
My choices of that decade... Even though you didn't ask. A sample
Popular Voice
Virgin Prunes
The Janitors
The Very Things
The Playn Jayn
The Cannibals
I still don't know how these bands could just take over a venue and enthrall. I really miss those days in the 80's of exploring new live music.... Lovely lovely times.
You're dead right about the music and gigs of those days. I don't know whether it was us or the bands, but it was absolutely spectacular so many times. Great choices by the way and I always need people to put forward their own favourite act. Cheers!
I had forgotten about the Janitors. Thanks for reminding me. Also I would add Bogshed to your illustrious list.
Cardiacs were transcendent live act in the 80s; very few other bands could take you out of yourself in quite the way they did when they performed. You are right, though, they lost much of the magic in the 90s
Blurt are new to me (I will check them out) but the others still feature regularly in my listening
You obviously have great taste! My go-to album for me from Blurt was the first one I heard, which was called 'The Fish Needs A Bike'. Epic!
As regards The Cardiacs, I didn't say so in the video, but I think Tim over-did the drugs towards the end and I suspect that may have done for his health, as well.
On that soggy note...
Cheers !
Oh mate! Line the video up with the Cardiacs on the cover you knew what reaction you were gonna get! Bands I have seen wearing cardiacs t shirts include : Splodgenessabounds, Hawkwind (well magnus tarantism), T.V. Smith, and Wonk Unit amongst others! Once again cracking video, ( did see them at Glastonbury one year with a Certain John Peel in the Audience..) Punishment of luxury, Earl Brutus and the legendry pink dots pleeeze!
Remember The Jazz Butcher liked them each time I heard them but never owned any of their stuff
At the time, I enjoyed it immensely whenever the Jazz Butcher played at the cricketers, but now realise the artistic gold that was passing through my fingers. I consider myself so lucky to be where I was and when thanks for taking part and please keep watching.
Cheers!
Blurt's drummer, Jake, Ted's brother, lives round the corner from me in Walthamstow! I know him and his wife Gloria. (Who dated Bryan Ferry once upon a time).
Blimey! Poor Gloria. What a small world and I'm glad Jake is still around. Cheers!
Upvoted for the Jazz Butcher. They got quite a lot of play on North American college radio stations, and they blew my mind when i was 14 years old and I heard Distressed Gentlefolk!
Yes, the Jazz Butcher managed to grab a lot of peoples hearts, including many record company bigwigs. I was always surprised about who turned up to see them at the cricketers. Thanks for your memories and please keep watching!
One of my favourite bands of the 80s and they were quite popular in Canada too,. At least in Southern Ontario where I was fortunate enough to see them a handful of times. Great memories!
For a very brief period in the mid 80s, the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford hosted the occasional rock/ pop gig and I went to them all, being local. I remember Green on Red and James, but also Jazz Butcher! I don't think they were headlining but if they were supporting, can't recall for whom. They made an impression on me and I became a fan that night. Clear memories of hearing Pet Sematary for the first time: 'Saturday morning the cat came back... '
Great story and thank you for sharing it. Please keep watching and sharing. Cheers!
First band I ever saw was The Icicle Works in 1984. I saw them for the second time earlier this year supporting Big Country.
I seem to remember that they did a lot of support tours around there. a great way to get an audience, as it says in the manual. Thanks for coming in and please keep watching!
I put out their very first record “Bus For A Bus” on my little Tortch Records label (alongside The Sound and The Directions of course)z great band and miss Tim !
Wow! Great taste! I'm guessing you were in Kingston or thereabouts. Total respect and thanks for taking part (I hope you subscribed!)… 😗
Cheers!
Good to see The Icicle works get a mention, I went to see them in Southampton in the mid 80's but unfortunately they cancelled the gig at the last minute so I never did get too see them.
That's a shame, but I believe Ian McNabb is about to embark on another tour and I hear his solo shows are pretty outstanding. Thanks for taking part and I hope you'll stick around for more. Cheers!
Great show Jim. I wouldn't say Cardiacs have been forgotten though. If anything they are more widely known and appreciated today than ever before.
Dave Grohl saw to that with his endorsement a couple of years ago.
Thanks very much for the kind words and please keep watching and commenting.
Cardiacs? Who are they… ? 😗
@@JimDriver well they used to be our own local secret Jim. But not any more. The truth, as they say, will out. % - )
That was very interesting.
Thank you very much! Please stick around for more. Cheers!
Still love Cardiacs!
Stump deserved greater recognition, in my opinion.
Yes, stomp were another band that played at the cricketer. They didn't really strike me in the same way as cardiacs or several of the other bands in this video, but that's just me. We all have different taste and I tend to remember some incidents and not others. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for watching. Cheers!
Saw The Icicle Works live loads of times in the 80s. Great band.
Yes, it was amazing time for Music. We were so lucky! Cheers!
Nice to see the cardiacs get a mention Jim....'Is the the life' what a choon!!!, part of my eighties life soundtrack relevant to a very interesting time in my life, whenever I hear it the memories come flooding back, it will remain one of my favourite all time singles ...that said, I really couldn't get into anything else they did, to quirky for me, intellectual rock....IMO they never topped Is this the life
Jim did you ever put my old mates band, Buddy Curtis and the grasshoppers on anywhere?
Thanks for the great comment. Yes, I did indeed put on Buddy Curtess and the Grasshoppers at the cricketers on many occasions. Cheers!
@@JimDriver we were going to see them one night at the cricketers, met Gags in the cafe in the morning, he told us they weren't playing there...they were playing the R.A.H support Roy Orbison on an 8 date tour instead!!!....Gags brother was in a pub and overheard someone say that Orbisons support band had let him down and they were in schtook....'you need a band mate?, I'll get you a band'
And off they went....great band, nice fellas, maybe a linited audience and life span...but I like em
Bob Young started managing them, then it all went pair shaped sadly
Great show I live in minneapolis ,Minnesota I thought I was the only one who knows who blurt is
Ha ha! Pleased to say there are one or two of us around.
Thanks for the positive comment: please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Still have ‘Is this the life’ on 7 inch. The Icicle Works were brilliant. Evangeline is a cracking song.
They certainly were good, yes. But I feel Ian McNabb was just feeling his way and his latest stuff is in a different class. That's my view and you are entitled to say anything that you fancy, contrary or not! 😀
Please watch more of my videos and keep commenting if you can. Cheers!
I'm sure I saw Jazz Butcher at the White Lion pub in Putney sometime around 1985. Saw the Cardiacs twice between 1985 and 1987 and The Icicle Works played the old Whitelands College, West Hill, Putney around 1986 - great show that ended in a rousing cover of Pretty Vacant!
Ha ha, sounds like great times. Thanks for sharing those memories and for watching: please stick around for more!
Love all your vids Jim. What are your memories of Nik Turner's Inner City Unit?
Thank you very much: very kind of you to say so I did do a video about those days when Nik died. Have a dig around on TH-cam if you want to see it. Cheers!
Ah, the much lamented Astoria - saw quite a lot of bands there, over the years (principally 90s into the 00s) - there and the Marquee, when it resided on Charing Cross Road! None of those you've mentioned, however. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much for the kind words! Yes, there was a lot of great music around back then and we were very lucky that we could be around and part of it all. Cheers!
Saw The Screaming Blue Messiahs at The Roadmender, Northampton. My mate's band were supporting (Magnolia Siege). Gotta say was the loudest, sweatiest gig I have ever been to. Also had many a mutual friend that were close to Pat Fish, being based in Northampton.
I forgotten he was based in Northampton. Thanks for sharing that and for your memories of those amazing days. Please keep watching!
I feel lucky having seen the Jazz Butcher here in the US. One of the more fun shows I got to see in that era....
I suppose I was very lucky because I saw every show for free and got paid to do it. It doesn't get better than that, does it? Thanks for commenting and I hope you're going to stick around to watch more videos. Cheers!
Interesting video. The Icicle Works were great. I saw them at Bristol Locarno. Think I also saw the Cardiacs there as a support group.
Thanks for watching (and for the compliment!) and for sharing your memories of those amazing bands.
I hope you keep watching and commenting. Thanks again!
Chris Sharrock was The Icicle Works' drummer - easily one of the best drummers of the last 40 years.
Can't beat a great drummer! Thanks for taking part. Cheers.!
Blurt also a very fine band… saw them at the Moonlight club and recently bought their first album again on Discogs.
Totally agree. Blurt have been a welcome ear-worm for 40 years now. Ted is a genius!
Thanks for joining our little community. Please keep watching!
Jim, please put our more vids covering little known bands. I did not know any in this film. I will now be looking on the net for more information,the musicians looked quite groovy.
Thanks! I will certainly do my best. I find it thrilling that I can share the fantastic music I have had the fortune to experience in my lifetime. I realise I am so lucky. Please keep watching and please keep commenting.
Bravo on highlighting Cardiacs, however rather than decline, they are probably bigger now, especially in the USA (mainly due to the many 'Reaction videos). John Peel did have the spin-off Sea Nymphs on his show but it was his producer who vetoed Cardiacs, not Peel himself.
Cheers! Thank you for the kind words. As I predicted, it was very difficult to talk about cardiacs, due to my personal connections andsuch and it as long as possible, to be honest! But I didn't do such a bad job. I don't think the site for adding the word THE before every mention! Please keep watching and commenting!.
All these bands were on my radar and have records by all of them except Cardiacs for some weird reason, actually got the Icicle Works box set last year as don't have a deck to play my vinyl on atmo and can't actually go too long without listening to Evangeline and Understanding Jane.
Thanks for sharing that with us! Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
As for 'turning into just a guitar band' in the 90s - not really, Tim kept all the bells and whistles going live via a meticulously recorded synched tape and while it wasn't quite as mindblowing as the percussion/keys/sax days it was still mindblowing. Are you sure you've heard 'Sing To God' - the magnum opus released in 1996? Their crowd dropped in the late 90s until the internet kicked in and the useless music press could be circumvented and by 2003 were selling out the main Astoria
Thanks for an excellent and knowledgeable comment. I did know about the tapes Tim made and used for the later live shows, but essentially, (for me) the live experience is as visual as aural. Let's agree to differ… 😎
Cheers!
The Monochrome Set worth a mention
Yes, I've got monogram set on a list to do at sometime in the not too distant future. Thanks for the heads up. Please keep watching!
@@JimDriver the Adventures from Belfast are also worth a shout.
I heard about Blurt on a comp CD put out by LTM Records. Good stuff
Those comp CDs were great for finding new bands weren't they? Thanks for commenting and for taking part. Please stick around for more!
I have heard of some of the people you’ve mentioned but of all those you’ve mentioned, it was the Screaming Blue Messiahs that should have really made it big. As a teenager, I only saw them once on tv, doing Wild Blue Yonder, ****ing brilliant. But never caught them again, that lack of tv airplay is why they failed to hit the heights not a lack of talent.
Definitely not a lack of talent.
But I don't think they help themselves to be huge because if you listen to a lot of the lyrics they would be unplayable on the radio. But even so, they should've been much bigger than they were.
Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
@@JimDriver thanks to TH-cam ( and yourself) I get to see performances that, as you say, wouldn’t get an airing. One of my favourite albums in my collection is Neither Washington Nor Moscow, The Redskins,but until recent years, I’d never seen the videos or tracks performed live. Keep your good work up ❤️
The Wooden Tops
Great cool! I didn't have much to do with him personally, but I'll certainly try and include them in the future video. Thanks for watching and for commenting. Cheers!
Never heard of any of them Jim but interesting stuff
Thank you very much: please keep watching! All I can say is, you've heard of them now! Cheers!
Shame that Cardiacs' pic was used because they most certainly aren't forgotten. Not to their fans who are some of the most dedicated and diehard fans of any band going. I saw them live back in the late 80's at The Venue in London and was hooked ever since. If someone is looking for a real, pure, genuine genius by anyone's definition, backed up by virtuoso level brilliant musicians, look no further that Tim Smith and the rest of the band.
This post should really be titled ' British bands who never received the accolades they thoroughly deserved'.
Thanks for that, but remind me not to put you in charge of my search optimisation. The titles are written as they are to entice as many people as possible to watch, which is why there structured as they are at the same time, I do try and keep them factually accurate. As the video is not just about cardiacs, I'm pretty sure 99% of people watching have forgotten or never heard of at least one of those bands. But thanks for taking part and please keep watching! Cheers!
@@maxdefrost1036 agreed in full. Cardiacs defined genius.
Always loved the icicle works a great band.
Indeed. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
The Cardiacs were one of a kind. They make my brain feel like scrambled egg!
Yes! A lot of it came out of the mind of Tim Smith which is somewhere not many of us are qualified to go. Thanks and please keep watching!
If you haven't done already, please include Faith Brothers who were magnificent with their 2 albums early 80's.
Thanks for that suggestion. I'm certainly going to beat it in mind. Cheers!
Considered easterhouse?
Thanks! I'm not totally au fait with them but I'll certainly check them out. I'm afraid I have no personal memories to share about them but, you never know…
Great stuff, love Blurt and The Jazz Butcher. Icicle Works should have been bigger, but same goes for the Comsat Angels and The House of Love. Early Screaming Blue Messiahs rocks much harder than that silly Flintstone song. Hadn't heard about the Cardiacs before, so cheers!
Thank you very much for kind words and for commenting generally. Always great to get feedback and hear what other people think. It really was a fantastic time for Music and I can consider myself so lucky to have been part of it with those brilliant artists. Thanks again and please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Check out Cardiacs "Fairytales from the Rotten Shed" on TH-cam... you will never see the world in the same light again. It's just Cardiacs by the way, not the Cardiacs (excuse a pedantic old git his eccentricities). Your welcome.
Agree with you up to a point with The Icicle Works, however when it comes to the Mercury Music Prize, also losing out that year were Pulp with His 'n Hers. I remember being gutted when that album lost out to M People. There are more Lightning Seeds link to the Icicle Works. McNabb also wrote with them and their drummer Chris Sharrock was the Lightning Seeds' drummer when they started gigging. Ian Broudie also produced the Icicle Works. Later Icicle Works drummers Zac Starkey and Matthew Priest also played with The Lightning Seeds for a time, although I think Priest may have been a one off gig. Zac Starkey was Chris Sharrock's replacement.
Thanks for the great information. I love it when people add to the conversation and we all share our knowledge. Please keep watching and commenting!
Listening to Blurt was certainly a challenge! Way too oddball and a bit clever clever to appeal to a mass audience.
Would love to see you feature the likes of That Petrol Emotion, Win, The Loft, Blue Aeroplanes, Eddie & Sunshine, Felt, Paul Haig/Josef K, Gang of Four, The Higsons, Sudden Sway etc etc in future videos in this series! All great bands who never quite reached their full potential in my opinion.
Did you listen to Down in the Argentine on the playlist I posted in the description and top of the comments? That's the song that really became an earworm with me.
Thanks for your comments and for watching. Please stick around and do it all again!
Thanks for the great suggestions. I've added a few to my lists! Just to let you know, I did feature that petrol emotion in my recent video about the demolition of the cricketer.
Comsat Angels from Sheffield were another band that should have had more success
I also saw a lot of early UB40 at the Lafayette in Wolverhampton but around the same time another reggae band Weapon Of Peace were playing
They were more "roots reggae" & probably less commercial but in my opinion were as good as if not better than UB40
I think I saw a weapon of peace (hoping I'm not confusing them with weapon of destiny) and I do remember that they were really good. Lots of great music happening at that time. Thanks for some great examples!
I keep waiting to see the band Fischer-Z make one of these lists. signed together with bands like The Stranglers, but shunned by the British press, yet somehow made it big elsewhere in Europe and Australia
I must admit, I don't really know a lot about Fischer-Z. Maybe I should be checking up on them! Thanks for commenting and please keep watching. Cheers!
Saw the Screaming Blue Messiahs in a smallish venue when the first e.p. came out and they were fantastic, I always used to confuse them with The Godfathers. I don't think any of these bands are forgotten.
I wish I could remember which bands you mean… 😎🤓
Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching!