h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpAoX6IxoFo

Well hello again boys and girls. On tonight's programme sessions from Bauhaus and the Twinsets, amongst the delights on record the new Cure LP, a selection of future favourites from Pinky Blue, which is the new Altered Images LP including the, er *John chuckles* modesty forbids, the new Gang of Four single, something Icelandic and the usual selection of demanding and unpleasant records. We start though with Pinky Blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtpNSdSAjyI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rfi9iJyymE

It is, I think, immensely heartening that in 1982 something can be as wonderful as that. From the LP Pinky Blue, Altered Images, and the title track, followed by Forgotten. And more from the band before the end of the programme, of that you can be sure. From The Untouchables and the LP Flex Your Head on Dischord Records from Washington DC, Rat Patrol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3nhRfXBKBs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkocC1HQR4c

High time I think, for a Vernon's Girls revival. That comes from the LP Jack Good's Oh Boy!, Don't Look Now, But, and before that The Untouchables and Rat Patrol from the LP Flex Your Head.

The first from The Twinsets, Johnny Come Home.

I can find no video of this online, which is a pity because they sound like one of those early 80s, female vocalist jangle/twee pop bands (Chefs, Girls at Our Best) that made the period so interesting for me. So here's The Chefs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgfLnuhHfP4

Those are The Twinsets and Johnny Come Home, and from the LP Pornography, which is the new LP from The Cure, on Fiction Records as previously, A Short Term Effect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRA55OmxGv0

The Cures*, and that's from the new LP Pornography, A Short Term Effect the title of it, and another track from the LP before the end of the programme. This is something I should have mentioned on last night's programme in fact, a letter from Deb Vicker writing from Bilton in Rugby, Dear John Bald-is-Beautful Peel, could you dedicate bit at the end of your programme to Vanessa Clewitt as she doesn't know if she was born two minutes before or two minutes after midnight on the 27th of April. I wrote last year but to no avail. Just one of millions Deb, just one of millions. PS, she's sixteen on the 27th or the 28th. Well, as I say it's either the 28th or the 29th tonight. Is it the 28th tonight? One loses track of time. Hold on a second, is it the 28th today? Indeed it is. So, I'm sorry about that Deb, and indeed, er... Vanessa Clewitt as well. From The ADC Band, this is Roll With the Punches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-GQQsi6HF8

*Not a typo

The ADC Band, from the LP Roll With the Punches, that's the title track on Cotillion Records, an American import. And on last night's programme I mentioned that so far the best entry we've had in our kind of, well what was it, a sort of spiritual footballing song to be called 'Well Brian, It was a Fifty-Fifty Ball' came from Alwyn O'Hare from Willesden Green London NW2, but here's, here's a very strong one indeed which I won't read out to you because, in fact it's unreadable, from Oi Jones, and Gary Marvin Suggs Hall and F. Nightingale, no relation, writing from Kenilworth Court, Beeston, Nottingham, and theirs is by all means a contender. A very beautiful work indeed. King Stitt and The Dynamites, The Herbsman Shuffle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-6K9BpskPI

That's King Stitt and The Dynamites, Herbsman Shuffle, another old reggae record, the main reason being that it's an old reggae record is because er, we don't seem to having much luck in getting any new ones at the moment, but next week next week, you wait and see. From Bauhaus, the first from them, it's called Three Shadows Part Two.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcS08eT9oWk#t=5m32s

(5m 32s - 8m 28s)

Ermmm, can I think about that and, perhaps, er, tomorrow... that's Bauhaus, Three Shadows Part Two, and a note saying er, "We've hastily assembled a mixed bill of old favourites for a benefit show at the Zigzag Club in Westbourne Park, west London this Saturday May the 1st, Inner City Unit with Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible"... lovable pair that they are, are they still around? Great. Wonder how they keep going really. "Creation Rebel, their first live show in a long while, Here and Now, Attila the Stockbroker and sounds by Sensimillia" And apparently all of this benefit is to finance a major free rally in Brockwell Park, Brixton, London on May the 23rd featuring the mighty Jah Shaka, Attila, King Sounds, guests, dance, mime, stores and fun fun fun. You must remember fun, come on, you've heard people talk about it. From Cook The Books, and the er, Cracking Up cassette, This is Not the Time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMG2qcSCbj8

Cook The Books and that's called This is Not the Time from the Cracking Up cassette of Liverpool area bands, and a very valuable cassette it is too, well worth having in my estimation. This is the single from The Associates which you must know by now. This is the er, the four minute and five second version of it, I dunno. Club Country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrjRJWVCfSk

The Associates of course, and that's called Club Country, and we've had a bit of a show of hands here in the studio and we think that it's time for another track from Altered Images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE0JTU12VKI

Altered Images and another track from the LP Pinky Blue, and that was for Heather Wear who lives in a place called er, Balloch I think, in Stratchclyde Scotland, one of the great number of unsuccessful contestants in our er, 'Well Brian, It was a Fifty-Fifty Ball' competition. Nice try Heather but... *sound of a letter being scrunched up into a a ball*. Pretty tough. I'm a pretty ruthless bloke at about 500 miles distance *chuckles*. From The Hi Fi Brothers, this is Going Out of My Head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0AMZ-1GvqY

Throw your rice were you saying? Those are The Hi Fi Brothers, that most dangerous of all species - zany Italians, that's on Italian Records and that's called Going Out of My Head. Hardly recognisable actually. Here's another old song, this one's Stranded in the Jungle, it's by The Twinsets.

Once again there's no video of this song (a pity), so here's Girls At Our Best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnoVhDnCL8M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKlxEkWMRA

What a wonderful record that is. Genie and Tash on Volcano Records and it's called The Ladies Side, before that The Twinsets and Stranded in the Jungle.

And a letter from er, Chesley Sampson who was formerly of the band Misty of course, who are still in Africa otherwise we'd have them in for a new session, and er, he's got a band called Natural Roots now and they're appearing live at a big sports day and dance, it says in Southall, The Dominion Ballroom, Kings Street Southall actually on May the second which is Sunday, er, sounds by Liberation, Papas, Liberation from Southall, Papas from High Wycombe. And er, as I say that's that, er, this Sunday in Southall. Now, where were we... oh yes, The Descendents and er, well, a brief piece called I Like Food.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-uLTTT3BPc

Yeah, it'll catch up with you though. The Descendants on New Alliance Records, and that's called I like Food. Another from Bauhaus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcS08eT9oWk
(Beginning - 5m 28s)

Bauhaus sounding, I'm sure you'll agree, most un-Bauhaus-like really. That's called The Party of the First Part. This is from the LP Club Ska 67 which was immensely fashionable a couple of years ago, of course during the Two-Tone business, I'm sure you all had access to copies back then. From Sir Lord Comic and his Cowboys, Ska-ing West.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXdtB5THUzY

(I still have my copy of Club Ska 67 btw )

Sir Lord Comic and His Cowboys, and there's nothing I like more on these programmes than to be able to bring young hearts together, and er, a letter I just opened while that was playing which comes from er... I won't give her address actually because, well for reasons which you'll understand later, Dawn though, writing from Llanelli. And she says "On Wednesday the 21st of April outside the entrance of the National Art Gallery in London I took a picture of a punk who I need to contact. It was around 5pm and he was sitting down with his friend facing Trafalgar Square. He was about 16 with fair close-cropped hair and was wearing a white t-shirt with 'Punk's not dead' on the back, jeans, black Doc Martens and a black leather jacket. If you remember I was the one in the uniform, green blouse with a bow tie and peroxide hair, the girl who waved and took your picture. Please would you write to me, it'd be great really to hear from you. Dawn, aged 15, Llanelli." Now er, obviously *John chuckles* there'd be several hundred, if I give the address out there'll be hundreds of letters sent to Dawn, but if you're the person who's concerned in this and er, the hundreds of you can all write to me care of the BBC and I'll send your letters on to Dawn. It's the very least that I can do. So, as I say, young hearts brought together. What a nice old chap I am to be sure. From Minimal Man, an LP called The Shroud Of on Subterranean Records from California, Blue Step.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbIA32gk3rQ

From an LP which I've had for some time actually and I keep going back to and re-evaluating, from Minimal Man *chuckles*, whatever that means, re-evaluating. What I mean is I listen to it a lot and try to figure out if it's any good, and I can't, I still don't know to be honest. The LP's called The Shroud Of, it's on Subterranean Records and that was Blue Step, and from Blue Step it is but a short distance to The Blue Orchids. This is from their LP The Greatest Hit, impending from Rough Trade, Wait.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwB1CXvP-Qo

Those are The Blue Orchids and that's from the LP The Greatest Hit and it's called Wait, and on tomorrow night's programmes sessions from The Cherry Boys, and several requ... well quite a lot of requests for this, perhaps the favourite of the sessions which were broadcast during our Liverpool Week, and also the Radio 1 debut of er, The Ravishing Beauties, a big favourite with our producer Chris Lycett. From The Twinsets, Suspicious Minds.

Still no Twinsets on YouTube so here's The Skodas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_56xKpI0Zwk