BROADCAST #43
AIR DATE: 10-24-06

Fanatics! I have been working on this broadcast since August of this year. I had been planning to do this all Peel broadcast for some time. I worked on this one several nights on the last band tour in the back of the bus as we rumbled across America. I had to call in some favors to get some of the tracks as you will read below.
     For those few of you who don’t know who the legendary man of the British airwaves, John Peel is, here’s the briefest 411: John Peel had a career on BBC radio that spanned decades. He had a deep and sincere love for music of all kinds. He was truly a music Fanatic of the highest order. Probably most well known for the sessions countless bands recorded especially for his show, they became known universally as “Peel Sessions.” Bands would often try new material in the sessions, different arrangements, etc. For the thousands of loyal listeners all over Britain and by way of traded tapes for the rest of us, these sessions were pure gold.
     Thankfully, these sessions started seeing official release. The BBC is a treasure trove of audio and the Peel Sessions are a big part of that. At the end of these notes, I put in a site address that has all the session information for all the bands as well as a ton of information on John Peel.
     John Peel died from a heart attack while on vacation in Peru in October of 2004 at age 65. If you type his name into your browser, lots of things pop up but the address below will give you a ton of information.
     It was always a dream of mine to do a Peel Session. We asked at the BBC in the 80’s around the time we had recorded the Life Time album and we got word back that he didn’t like our music and didn’t like me.
     When you go through the list of bands that recorded for his show, it’s such an unimpeachable testament to his dedication and true love of music. He’s missed all over, every day. So tonight, nearly two years after  his passing, we paid tribute to John Peel. I hope you enjoyed the show.
     Here’s that Peel site address: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/
     For you Europeans, Australians and New Zealand Fanatics, there is a re-broadcast time of Friday mornings, 0200 – 0400 hrs. West coast time so you all can check out the show and not have to set your alarms to too rude an hour.
     Stay Fanatic! —Henry

PS: Check the below notice. Pere Ubu are coming to town this coming Sunday. I haven’t seen them play in a long time. I can’t wait. I’ll see you Fanatics there! 
=====================================================
===ATTENTION SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS===
==========PERE UBU ALERT!!!===========
========THIS COMING SUNDAY===========

When: Sunday October 29th
Who: Pere Ubu
Where: UCLA - Royce Hall
Time: Doors at 6:30 p.m. / Performance begins 7:00 p.m.

Special Notice: This date will be the only one on the tour that is a "double bill," with the band playing a full set in addition to performing an underscore to the movie X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes.

Address:
UCLA Live
Royce Hall
340 Royce Dr.
Los Angeles, CA  90095
=======================================================
The Ruts – It Was Cold: Peel obviously liked The Ruts. The band did three sessions for Peel’s show.
     01-23-79: Savage Circle / Babylon's Burning / Dope For Guns / Black Man’s Pinch (Give Youth A Chance) / Criminal Mind (On-air 01-29-79)
     05-14-79: SUS / Society / You're Just A... / It Was Cold / Something That I Said (On-air 05-21-79)
     02-11-80: Staring  At The Rude Boys / Demolition Dancing / In A Rut / Secret Soldiers (On-air 02-18-80)

These tracks were all released on LP and CD and went out of print. As many of you Fanatics know, I have been playing a lot of the Ruts Peel Sessions to get them out to you in case you don’t have these versions of the songs. It’s too bad these tracks are unavailable at this time. It is very likely that these tracks will be out again perhaps as part of a more substantial release. The Ruts will always be one of those great discoveries a music Fanatic will make. Now and then, someone will tell me they heard The Ruts on this show, went out and bought the band’s classic album The Crack and have been hooked ever since. Thanks to John Peel, we have more Ruts to listen to.

The Buzzcocks - Noise Annoys: As far as I know, the Buzzcocks Peel Sessions are in print on CD. Here’s all the session info I could find.
     09-07-77: Fast Cars / Pulsebeat / What Do I Get
     04-10-78: Noise Annoys / Walking Distance / Late for the Train
     10-18-78: Lipstick / Everybody's Happy Nowadays/ 16 Again / Promises
     05-21-79: I Don't Know What To Do With My Life / Mad Mad Judy / Hollow Inside / E.S.P.
I like all the Buzzcocks Peel recordings but perhaps having listened to the album and single versions of all these songs, I prefer them over the Peel versions. Still, for Buzzcocks Fanatics, all these alternate versions are a great addition to the collection.

Damned – Neat Neat Neat: John Peel was a Damned supporter for sure. I think The Damned’s Peel Sessions are stellar and we’re so lucky to have them. As far as I know, there are two Peel Sessions for The Damned:
     12-10-76: Stab Your Back / Neat Neat Neat / New Rose / So Messed Up / I Fall
     05-16-77: Fan Club / Feel The Pain / Stretcher Case Baby / Sick Of Being Sick
The Damned did several BBC recording dates as well as these. They can be found on the CD releases Sessions Of The Damned and The Radio One Sessions. Both are available and worth it. I believe we listened to the The Radio One Sessions version of Smash It Up when we had Damned drummer Rat Scabies as our guest several broadcasts ago.

Wire - Practice Makes Perfect: My favorite Wire records are the first three: Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154. I am not all that familiar material after the reunion. I have Snakedrill and a couple of other releases and they’re great but the first three albums are still my favorite and I listen to them quite often. The first three out of the five sessions the band did for Mr. Peel are from that era. It’s great stuff and as far as I know, still in print.
     01-31-78: Practice Makes Perfect / I Am The Fly / Culture Vultures / 106 Beats That
     10-03-78: The Other Window / Mutual Friend / On Returning / Indirect Enquiries
     09-18-79: Crazy About Love
     04-09-00: Pink Flag / Boiling Boy / Lowdown
     09-17-02: Spent / I Don't Understand / 1st Fast / 99 9
The first three Wire albums have all been remastered an sound better than ever. Worth checking out.

Nico – Frozen Warnings: How cool was John Peel? A Nico session?! I first read about the Nico solo albums a long time ago in a book about the Velvet Underground. I didn’t have the funds to buy records in those days but I was lucky, Byron Coley gave me a few Nico records, Desert Shore and The Marble Index. They blew me away. Slowly over time, I acquired some of her other albums, The Drama Of Exile is great and The End has some amazing moments like We’ve got The Gold and Valley Of the Kings. I had versions of this Nico Peel Session with varying quality from tape trades for years but it finally got an official release a few years ago and I believe it is still in print. I am a little confused about the Nico Peel Sessions as the site lists only one, from 1974 and doesn’t list the only one I have found commercially available, which is from 1971. Details below:
     02-02-71: Secret Side / No One Is There / Janitor Of Lunacy / Frozen Warnings (On-air 02-20-71)
     11-18-74: We've Got The Gold / You Forgot To Answer / Janitor Of Lunacy / The End  (On-air 12-03-74)
I would like to hear this other one, if it exists. Any alternate takes from The End era would be a good thing.

Fugazi – Glue Man: This is a bit of a treat. Fugazi did a Peel session many years ago and it came out great. The stand out track to me upon first listen was Glue Man, a song that was already intense in studio version and mesmerizing live when you saw how Ian got the guitar to make the sound it does. I really wanted to play this track on the show but wanted to get the green light from Ian so I wrote him and asked if it was cool and he was more than happy to give it the ok and actually provided the audio source that we heard tonight. Thanks Ian! Here’s the details of the session:
     12-11-88: Waiting Room / Break In / Merchandise / Glue Man (On-air 12-13-88)
This session has not been formally released but I bet if you did a little searching on the internet, you might be able to find these tracks. I hope either Dischord or the BBC puts these out at some point. The more Fugazi the better.

Public Image Ltd. – Poptones: In my humble opinion, PIL is one of the most important bands of the Post Punk genre. If you can call it a genre that is. Let’s just say you can. Punk Rock came in and exploded and the shards and shrapnel went everywhere and we got some great records and music from it to be sure but after awhile, many of the bands and performers wanted to move on. It’s what they did next that is of great interest to me. Those who actually had real music in them often found the Punk collar around their neck to be a little too tight and had to leave it behind, often to the deterioration of their fan base and whatever else they had going. Sometimes, there was great music to be had and there’s a lot of music that came in the wake of what is considered Punk Rock that is absolutely amazing. I would consider some of these bands to be: Gang Of Four, Wire, Mission of Burma, The Pop Group, Joy Division and Public Image Ltd. PIL was nothing like the Sex Pistols, which were a great band but had nowhere near the fucked up brilliance PIL did. No way. Not to put down the Sex Pistols at all, they were great but I think PIL was really on their own musically. The first two albums that feature Keith Levene on guitar and Jah Wobble on bass, Public Image and Second Edition are unsettling and stark expeditions that truly lodge in the memory. I tried to like this band when it was happening. I had the early stuff and dug it immensely but I got sidetracked in the early 80’s when I would read interviews with Johnny Rotten and how he would rip on Black Flag, calling us suburban rich kids or whatever. I don’t know if he ever heard us. I sold all my Sex Pistols and PIL stuff. At one point, we played in LA and apparently he was backstage at the show but didn’t make his presence known and opted to hang out in a dressing room and smoke the promoter’s dope. Probably a good thing as if one of the band, crew or psychotics who hung out with us in those days had spotted him, only Allah knows what would have happened to him. I tried to get him as a guest on my show on IFC but his assistant told us that Johnny wanted an apology from the time I called him my little lap dog on VH1. Fuck that, but all the same, the music is still great and I am very sure of Mr. Lydon’s genius. I wanted to make this show as cool as I could so I went looking for the PIL Peel Sessions. I was able to find them on CD but only as part of a box set that I couldn’t get a hold of. I thought one person who might have a copy might be one-time PIL drummer Martin Atkins who played on the session. I wrote him and asked if he could supply and he got back to me in minutes and said he could and that’s how we got tonight’s track. Pretty cool! Here’s the info on PIL’s Peel Session:
12-10-79: Poptones / Careering / Chant (On-air 12-17-79)

UK Subs – Another Kind Of Blues: With all the combined Peel Sessions of the UK Subs, you get almost the entire album done over three sessions. The UK Subs seemed to be very efficient in the studio with all their sessions containing several songs. If you listen to the sessions, the band are into it! What a band. You all know that I am a long gone UK Subs Fanatic and the Peel Sessions are so raw and rockin’ out and it’s also very interesting to hear guitar maniac Nick Garratt doing different overdubs and approaches to all his killer riffs. Tonight we heard Another Kind Of Blues because there’s some differences in the chorus and again, Nick sounds so fucking cool it’s not to be believed. Also, another plus with these sessions is that you get the song Totters, which Rockers, with slightly different lyrics. This CD is easy to find and if you’re a Subs fan, you gotta have this one! Below are the Peel Sessions for the UK Subs:
     05-23-78: I Couldn't Be You / Tomorrow's Girls / Disease / C.I.D / Stranglehold (On-air 05-31-78)
     09-06-78: World War / TV Blues / Another Kind Of Blues / All I Wanna Know / Totters (On-air 09-15-78)
     06-19-79: Killer / Crash Course / Lady Esquire / I.O.D. / Emotional Blackmail (On-air 06-28-79)

Lurkers – Ain't Got A Clue: Overall, the Peel Sessions of the Lurkers are slightly hesitant when compared to the released versions. Perhaps they tried out new songs on the show. Another band I am a major Fanatic about. If you are regular or even-semi regular listener to the show, you have heard this band before. I have said it at least a dozen times but I’ll say it again: you should check out Fulham Fallout and God’s Lonely Men albums. They are in print with all the corresponding singles and demos, also the BBC Punk Sessions brings you all the Peel Sessions. Here’s your Lurkers session info:
10-18-77: Freakshow / Total War / I'm On Heat / Then I Kissed Her / Be My Prisoner (On-air 10-22-77)
04-18-78: Ain't Got A Clue / Pills / I Don’t Need To Tell Her / Jenny (On-air 04-24-78)
07-25-78: Here Come The Bad Times / God's Lovely Men / Room 309 / Countdown (On-air 08-07-78)
01-24-79: Whatever Happened To Mary / Take Me Back To Babylon / Out In The Dark / See The World (On-air 01-30-79)

The Fall – 2x4: There are so many Peel Sessions by so many bands and artists, I am not sure who has done the most recording for Mr. Peel’s broadcasts. It very well could be The Fall. The band’s Peel Sessions box set was recently released. It’s a monster CD set that to me is the desert island box set. The first time I played the box set. I did the first three CDs on a Friday night and the last three on the following night. I have been back many times since. I am not going to list all 24 sessions the band did, you can find out all that info by going to the unofficial Fall site http://www.visi.com/fall/ or the Peel site listed at the beginning of the notes. If there is any single Fall release you ever get, in my opinion, the Peel box is the one. Tonight’s track came from The Fall’s 7th Peel Session. Details below.
12-12-83: Pat Trip Dispenser / 2 x 4 / Words Of Expectation / C.R.E.E.P. (On-air 01-03-84)

Birthday Party – Sonny’s Burning: For many years of collecting every possible sound this band made, I ended up with several tape dubs of these sessions in varying quality. I had no hard dates or information on the sessions. Finally there were some legit releases of some of the sessions and then a few years ago, we finally got the complete Peel Sessions of the Birthday Party on CD. If you don’t have this one, you can hardly consider yourself a Birthday Party Fanatic. It is my opinion (Oh no, here he goes again,) that the Birthday Party had no bad songs and no bad records. Some songs you may prefer over others, sure but there’s no BP song where you wonder how they lost the plot. I will go further to say that I think their records got better and better and actually peaked at the last one The Mutiny EP. We have listened to a bit of The Birthday Party and Nick Cave on this show and you can bet we’ll be back. Here’s the session info for the band’s Peel Sessions:
09-10-80: Cry / Yard / Figure Of Fun / King Ink (On-air 09-25-80)
04-21-81: Release The Bats / Roland Around In That Stuff / (Sometimes) Pleasure Heads Must Burn/  Loose (On-air 04-28-81)
02-12-81: Big Jesus Trash Can / She's Hit / Bully Bones  / Six Inch Gold Blade
11-15-82: Pleasure Avalanche / Deep In The Woods / Sonny's Burning / Marry Me (Lie! Lie!) (On-air 11-22-82)

Adverts – One Chord Wonders: There’s no way we could do this show without including The Adverts. These were some of the first Peel Sessions I ever heard. Peel must have been a fan as you can see the band recorded quite a bit. All of these sessions have been released on a CD called Wonders Don’t Care that’s in print and easy to find. I have written about The Adverts before, heaping great praise upon them. The band’s singer and chief songwriter, TV Smith, is alive and well and making records all the time. The Adverts made two studio albums, Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts and Cast Of Thousands. Crossing is a classic and is one of those mandatory listens. All their singles have been compiled and put on CD as well and it’s worth checking out as a lot of the tracks are alternate recordings from the albums. So, for a band that wasn’t around for too long, thankfully there’s a lot of recordings. Here’s the session info:
04-25-77: Quickstep / Gary Gilmore's Eyes / One Chord Wonders / New Boys / Bored Teenagers (On-air 04-29-77)
08-23-77: We Who Wait / New Church / Safety In Numbers / The Great British Mistake (On-air 08-30-77)
08-21-78: Fate Of Criminals Television's Over Love Songs Back From The Dead I Surrender (On-air 09-11-78)
10-16-79: The Adverts I Looked At The Sun Cast Of Thousands I Will Walk You Home (On-air 11-12-79)

J Mascis – Same Day: Killer version of this song, rippin’ solo! There’s a good bit of Peel recordings from J Mascis’ other band Dinosaur Jr. It’s all been released and it’s really great but J’s solo stuff is equally strong and all these sessions have been released as well and it’s a good thing because they are great. If you’re a Dinosaur Jr. Fanatic and have not heard J’s albums as J Mascis And The Fog: More Light and Free So Free, you’re in for a real treat. They are great. Sometimes I think More Light might be one of the best things he ever did. You know my line on J Mascis—there’s no bad records. They’re all great. You can get all of J’s Peel stuff on a CD aptly titled J Mascis: The John Peel Sessions. The CD has two extra tracks from other BBC shows J recorded for which is great as we get to hear more. Did you see Dinosaur Jr. play live on my show on IFC?! AWESOME!!! I stood in front of that wall of sound and it damn near did me in. What a band! Dinosaurs Are Not Extinct Dept.: Great news Dinosaur Jr. and J fans. The Dinosaur Jr. albums Green Mind and Where You Been have been remastered with tracks added. And if you think it couldn’t get any better, it did, another new release: J Mascis Live At CBGB's: The First Acoustic Show is also out. Here’s your Peel info for Mr. Mascis:
12-13-00: Same Day/ Ammaring / Waistin / I'm Not Fine (On-air date not listed)
12-20-02: I Feel Like Going Home / Alone/  Everybody Lets Me Down / Freak Scene (On-air 11-28-02)

Generation X – Your Generation: Generation X tore it up for the Peel Sessions! Andrew The Canadian Fanatic and I have burned countless hours telling each other how great this band is. A the CanFan and I are formidable Generation X Fanatics without question. A has been able to get Generation X info from some of his sources on the internet and has come back with some interesting stuff. One of the things he once told me about is a missing BBC session. I checked on a site and found some info on that. Apparently, it was a session for the Kid Jensen Show. It was recorded  06-12-78 and broadcast 06-27-78. Shakin' All Over / King Rocker / One Hundred Punks were recorded. Shakin’ All Over was included on the Radio One Sessions CD and is easy to find but the other two tracks are missing from the BBC vault and are not traded amongst Fanatics from what I’ve read. I have never heard these tracks. The Radio One Sessions is a worthwhile purchase if you’re a Generation X Fanatic. Here’s the session info I could find for Generation X:
04-12-77: Day By Day / Listen! / Youth Youth Youth/  Your Generation (On-air 04-20-77)
07-12-77: From The Heart / Rock On / Gimme Some Truth / No No No (On-air 07-21-77)
01-15-79: Paradise West / Love Like Fire / Night Of The Cadillacs / English Dream (On-air 02-14-79)

The Slits: Love And Romance: For a band who just picked up instruments, you would think they wouldn’t sound very good but The Slits, all female were great. Their album Cut is a surprisingly good Punk record that is more Post Punk to me. Perhaps more people have seen the record cover than actually heard the record, it’s the one where the band is naked and covered with mud, the photo parodied by Mudhoney many years ago. The Slits singer Arri Up is charismatic and talented and her album Dread More Than Dead is worth checking out. Her stepfather is Johnny Lydon! All their sessions are included on one CD that’s in print. I don’t have the newer version that features all three sessions, mine only has the first two. The 1981 session features Neneh Cherry on backing vocals. I have never heard this session.
09-19-77: Love And Romance / Vindictive / New Town / Shoplifting (On-air 09-27-77)
04-17-78: So Tough / Instant Hit / FM (On-air 05-22-78)
10-12-81: Difficult Fun / In The Beginning  / Earthbeat & Wedding Song (On-air 10-26-81)

X Ray Spex – I Am A Poser: Labels keep releasing the Germ Free Adolescents album. The latest one is called Let’s Submerge and it looks to be the ultimate version, containing the album, singles, demos and Peel sessions. We’ve listened to this band a lot and I’m sure you Fanatics do a lot of extra curricular listening to this band. One of the things I like most about this band besides how there’s no bad songs, is that they came and went before they could make that awful record that so many bands do when they hang around too long. As good as X Ray Spex was, I don’t know if another album would have been the thing to do. Not to say that the band couldn’t have done more great work but of all the first wave punk bands, they were one of the most in-the-moment explosions of music that scene had. Perhaps it would have been better if Generation X only did their first album and broke up. Not a great deal of bands from that time had the staying power to make the next album or to even make more than a single, which is one of the reasons I like this genre of music so much. It is the immediacy of it that is still striking all these years later. I have mentioned here before about that interview I read with X Ray Spex vocalist Ply Styrene, who when asked why she left music for a long time with all the success of the Germ Free album, she said that basically she wrote those lyrics when she was right in time with the audience and to try and do more would have been faking it. That’s pretty damn cool. If you have not checked out this band, I suggest you run and don’t walk to this one.
02-20-78: Genetic Engineering / Artificial / I Am A Poser / Identity (On-air date??)
11-06-78: Germ Free Adolescents / Warrior / Age (On-air date??)

Jimi Hendrix – Spanish Castle Magic: We have talked about the Hendrix BBC stuff before on our show. You might remember that we played the Radio One Jingle several weeks ago. I know I don’t need to tell you Fanatics this but you never know, there might be one of the uninitiated reading this and we have to fill you in. This song was released on the Axis: Bold As Love album, the follow-up to Are You Experienced? As I remember in one of the Hendrix biogs I read years ago, wasn’t this song about an island he spent some time on? He was thinking of buying it, right? I’ll have to look that one up. Later: I have been online and can’t find anything that backs up my Island theory. I will have to dig out my Hendrix books and see if I can find it. What I have found is sites talking about a club in Washington state called the Spanish Castle Ballroom that people insist Jimi was writing about. I’ll get my books out and see if I can get some information. Years ago, there was a vinyl only release of the Axis album in mono. Jammin’ Jim Wilson of the mighty Mother Superior made a CDR of it for the benefit of the world. If you like that album and you have not checked out that mono version, it’s worth it. In any case, here’s your alt. version of SCM. Thanks Mr. Peel!
     12-15-67: Day Tripper / Spanish Castle Magic / Radio One Jingle / Wait Until Tomorrow (On-air 12-24-67)

Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song: Many of you Fanatics will most likely be familiar with the version of this song from the peerless Jail Break album. As you can see below, Thin Lizzy had a great relationship with the BBC. A lot of these tracks have been released on legit. CDs and pretty much all the rest have come out on bootlegs. Below is a list of some of the bootlegs for BBC recordings of the band as well as the regular releases of the band that feature the band’s BBC material. There’s a good chance that this will be incomplete as there’s a lot of Lizzy bootlegs out there and I have probably missed some and others have perhaps been released under different titles than the ones I have.

     The Peel Sessions – Strange Fruit
     BBC Radio Live In Concert – Windsong
     More Peel Sessions – Bondage Music (bootleg)
     Deluxe BBC Files – Five Dollar Records (bootleg)

11-14-72: Whiskey In The Jar / Suicide / Black Boys On The Corner / The Saga Of The Ageing Orphan (On-air 11-28-72)
07-31-73: Vagabonds Of The Western World / Gonna Creep Up On You / Little Girl In Bloom (On-air 08-07-73)
     08-06-73: Randolph's Tango / The Rocker / Slow Blues (On-air 08-16-73)
     04-04-74: It's Only Money / Little Darling / Still In Love With You / Blackboys On The Corner / Sitmoia (On-air 04-11-74)
10-03-74: She Knows / It's Only Money / Sha La La La / Philomena (On-air 10-24-74)    
05-29-75: Half Caste / Rosalie / Suicide / Freedom Song (On-air 06-05-75)
02-12-76: Emerald / The Warrior / Cowboy Song / Jailbreak (On-air 03-09-76)
09-23-76: Don't Believe A Word / Johnny/ Fool's Gold / Johnny The Fox Meets The Weed (On-air 10-11-76)
08-01-77: Killer Without A Cause / Bad Reputation / That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart / Dancing In The Moonlight / Downtown Sundown (On-air 10-11-76)

The Pixies - Manta Ray: The Pixies could seemingly do no wrong. Their album Doolittle to me is one of the best records of the 80’s. I have all their albums that I know of and like them all. I am obviously not the only one, lots of bands and big cheeses like David Bowie were big fans as well as Mr. Peel. There’s a Pixies CD called Pixies At The BBC that has their Peel Sessions and Mark Goodier show tapings. I have not seen the band play since the reunion and have not read anything about plans for a new album. Here’s the Peel Sessions info:

     05-03-88: Levitate Me / Hey / In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song) / Wild Honey Pie / Caribou  (On-air 05-16-88)
10-09-88: Dead / Tame / There Goes My Gun / Manta Ray  (On-air 10-18-88)
04-16-89: Down To The Well / Into The White / Wave Of Mutilation  (On-air 05-02-89)
06-11-90: Allison / Velouria / Hang On To Your Ego / Is She Weird  (On-air ???)
06-23-91: Palace Of The Brine / Letter To Memphis / Motorway To Roswell / Subbacultcha  (On-air 08-04-91)

Joy Division – Exercise One: It’s a good thing The Joy Division did some Peel Sessions. The band wasn’t around long enough to record much. The band’s first album, Unknown Pleasures, is a mandatory listen. As most of you Fanatics know, the band’s vocalist committed suicide 05-18-80 on the eve of their North American tour. Of all the Peel Sessions I have ever heard, The Joy Division’s are some of my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, the UP album is great but if you listen to it, the tempos aren’t always all that steady and I think the Peel Sessions are in a lot of ways, more solid. In the case of TJD, thanks to Peel and the BBC we have another glimpse of Ian Curtis before he checked out.
01-31-79: Exercise One / Insight / She's Lost Control / Transmission (On air 02-14-79)
     11-26-79: Love Will Tear Us Apart / 24 Hours / Colony / Sound Of Music  (On air 12-10-79)

Led Zeppelin - What Is And What Should Never Be: What can you say about Led Zeppelin that hasn’t been said? You may have some new insight into the band but at this point, having listened to the albums since I was very young and having seen them play, I am just awed and that’s it. If you play hard music, you admire them all the more. Interesting how they got so many bad reviews as their records sold and millions and the tours sold out all over the world and no band has come close to them as a live band ever. Peel was a broadcaster on the Top Gear show at this point in his career and that’s where these sessions were broadcast. All of Zep’s BBC recordings can be found on the BBC Sessions 2CD set.
          03-03-69: Communication Breakdown / You Shook Me / I Can't Quit You Baby/ Dazed And Confused (On air 03-23-69)
               06-24-69: What Is And What Should Never Be / Whole Lotta Love / Traveling Riverside Blues  (On-air 06-29-69)

Unrest – Three Layer Cake: The source for this is from a 7” bootleg. I have never seen this session sold as a legit release nor have I been able to get these songs from another source. The sound quality isn’t the best but it’s good enough and if you like Unrest like I do, then you’re happy that they did a Peel Session. Perhaps it’s not easy for a band to get a Peel or BBC session back for their own use. I put a couple of BBC sessions of my band out on CD and I don’t know if any permission was granted, I know I didn’t wait around for any. Anyway, you all know Unrest by now, if you don’t, Unrest was one of the many bands Teenbeat Records boss Mark Robinson has been in. Unrest was perhaps his most high profile pursuit as a 4AD signing in the UK, extensive touring and prolific releases. Mark keeps putting out great music. Here’s the website for one of my favorite labels, Teenbeat: http://www.teenbeatrecords.com/
     09/10/92: Four Women Walking / Teenage Suicide / Firecracker / Three Layer Cake (On air 10-17-92)

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