C86 - The Tape

The C86 tape was originally given away free with the NME. It later appeared as a limited run of 500 as a radio only copy before getting a full release on Rough Trade Records. The tape collated bands from the UK Indie Scene in 1985/86 with the angle that some (Bodines, Shop Assistants, Mighty Lemon Drops) would burst through on the commercial scene. This never happened although bands like The Wedding Present and Primal Scream scored success a few years later.

Another striking point, compared to the the "indie" scene today was how political some of the bands on the tape were. After all, at this time, the NME was a socialist music paper in all but name. Why was this? It was certainly a reaction to the policies of Thatcher's Conservative government which had ripped the heart out of the traditional working class industries and left them in ruins resulting in mass unemployment, poverty and depravation. The steel workers, the ship yard workers, the UK car industry and more importantly the miners who were crushed by Thatcher's government with help from the police and the British industrial ruling class, rendering the British trade unions all but useless. It's no wonder that bands like McCarthy and The Wolfhounds emerged carrying on the musical struggles of The Gang Of Four and The Redskins amongst others. It is also no surprise that many of the non-political bands on the tape came from those areas affected by Tory policies and formed bands, no doubt on benefits for some of the time, because of lack of work and it was better than being on the dole - a quote I read in many interviews with the likes of the Shop Assistants etc at the time.

What other impacts did C86 have? Leading on from punk anyone could be in a band playing shambling Ramones covers! I was even a stand up drummer for two weeks! It didn't matter if you couldn't play as it was all about passion resulting from the disillusion that was prevalent. I never saw as many fanzines as I did at the heights of 1985/86! Fanzines written in the bedroom, bands rehearsing and recording in the living room and 7" records, in plastic bags with paper inserts, distributed from the kitchen. A real cottage industry if there ever was one.

C86 certainly wasn't twee as you may have been lead to believe. Just listen to bands like Bogshed or A Witness. Twee came later with bands like Talulah Gosh and the likes of Sarah Records but was certainly inspired by the bands of 1985/86 as are many today such as Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian and American bands like Dressy Bessy.

Was C86 a definitive round up of the time? No, not really as it contrasted greatly to the sounds of it's predecessor, C81 which covered a wide range of genres unlike C86. As Alistair Fitchett writes the bands on C86, many who looked towards Orange Juice, Fire Engines and Josef K for inspiration but not these bands love of genres such as funk and disco, resulting in a lack of diversity on the tape (apart from maybe Age Of Chance and Mighty Mighty). No reggae, no dance, no dub but it had a little soul so to speak!

Further Reading

For more on C86 read the excellent essay by Krister Bladh which has contributions by The Legend!, Amelia Fletcher, Alistair Fitchett and me amongst others.

C86 entry on Wikipedia

Tracklisting

Side One

1. Primal Scream / Velocity Girl
2. The Mighty Lemon Drops / Happy Head
3. The Soup Dragons / Pleasantly Surprised
4. The Wolfhounds / Feeling So Strange Again
5. The Bodines / Therese
6. Mighty Mighty / Law
7. Stump / Buffalo
8. Bogshed / Run to the Temple
9. A Witness / Sharps And Sticks
10. The Pastels / Breaking Lines
11. The Age of Chance / From Now On This Will Be Your God

Side Two

1. Shop Assistants / It's Up To You
2. Close Lobsters / Firestation Towers
3. Miaow / Sport Most Royal
4. Half Man Half Buiscuit / I Hate Nerys Hughes
5. The Servants / Transparent
6. The MacKenzies / Big Jim(there's No Pubs In Heaven)
7. Big Flame / New Way(Quick Wash And Brush Up...)
8. We've Got Fuzzbox... / Console Me
9. McCarthy / Celestial City
10. The Shrubs / Bullfighter Blues
11. The Wedding Present / This Boy Can Wait