Third Spain - 4-track recordings January 1986

Third Spain HQ 1986 (photographed 8/6/2012)

On the 27th and 28th of January 1986, Third Spain borrowed a 4-track Tascam Portastudio and installed it at drummer Rick Joslin's waterside residence at Manadwyn, Menai Bridge with the intention of recording a potential follow up to their debut album, released a few months previously. Tascam had introduced the Portastudio a couple of years earlier and it was beginning to revolutionise the music world, but this was Third Spain's first encounter with such technology.

Over the two days, the group managed to record seventeen songs, all written since the release of the LP and Rick's subsequent joining the group. Half way through the recording, news came in that the space shuttle Challenger had exploded on take off, killing all seven astronauts on board. This event cast a sense of foreboding over the recordings, as can be heard in the slightly ominous ambience of some of the songs.

Despite the relative economy of the new recording technology, it's interesting to note that the group still felt it necessary to condense their twenty minute live epic The Old House by the Sea into a mere three and a bit minutes in order to save tape! In the end, none of these songs were actually released and indeed got superseded by a whole new set within a couple of months. Indeed, despite the wealth of excellent material, Third Spain were never to release any further official material during their lifetime. The recordings presented here and previously here, provide a valuable archive and rare insight into one of north Wales most semi-legendary groups.

In 2012, Rick chanced upon an old cassette which he found to contain the original 4-track recordings of six of the songs from the session. These have been remixed with the aid of 21st century technology and appear here in both 1986 and 2012 mixes. Should any further multi-tracks surface in the future, further remixes will also appear here.

above: Third Spain live at the Jazz Room, Bangor 24th October 1985 with (bottom left) Mark Windows of support act The Creations

Third Spain - Manadwyn, January 27th - 28th 1986

Maeyc Hewitt - Guitar
Alan Holmes - Guitar
Rick Joslin - Drums
Ian McMillan - Bass
Scott Saunders - Vocals

1    1000 Different Things  2:42
2    Another Moon Goes By  3:53
3    Barking Up the Wrong Tree  4:42
4    Easier  2:28
5    Fire's Gone Out  4:35
6    High Horses  3:05
7    Home  4:00
8    Living in This  4:12
9    Locked Up  5:59
10    Name the Guilty Men  3:18
11    Never Met Before  2:49
12    Take It Home  2:47
13    The Good Things  4:21
14    The Old House by the Sea  3:17
15    These Shoes Will Do  3:51
16    Wednesday Evening  4:36
17    Which Way To Go  3:43

        1986 remixes

18    Home (Ian's mix)  4:01
19    Locked Up (Rick's mix)  5:58
20    Wednesday Evening (Alan's mix)  4:35

        2012 remixes from original 4-track
21    1000 Different Things (2012 remix)  2:38
22    Easier (2012 remix)  2:26
23    Fire's Gone Out (2012 remix)  4:30
24    Living In This  4:06
25    The Good Things (2012 remix)  4:19
26    The Old House by the Sea (2012 remix)  3:09


all songs by Third Spain 

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A Silly Tree - live Summer 1981

 About time for some more A Silly Tree and this time we've dug out their four final live performances, all from the Summer of 1981. These concerts feature much the same material as the previously posted session from 7th June, but in a live context they tended to stretch out and breathe, while also possessing a greater immediacy.

At this time the group were experimenting with richer textures to flesh out their sound, initially with ex-Inadequates/Verbs/Some Noise frontman Scott Saunders guesting on organ, and then with Phil Layton on saxophone. These concerts saw a relaxed group, throwing in the odd cover version and even digging out the old Zuggs classic Truprint for the 19th May concert. It was also a period where drummer Mark Creathorne was really coming into his own as a songwriter, and many of his compositions peppered the sets.

For the group's final concert, at Plas Coch in Llanedwen on Bastille Day 1981, A Silly Tree were back down to a core quartet and went out with a blistering set that even included a drum solo! During the 11 months that the group existed, they played only 15 concerts, but nevertheless left a legacy that changed the course of the Bangor music scene for ever.

A Silly Tree - Plas Coch, Llanedwen 19th May 1981

Mark Creathorne - drums
Alan Holmes - guitar
Maeyc Hewitt - bass
Maria Hycz - vocals
Scott Saunders - organ/vocals

1  She'll Never Know  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)  2:31
2  Isn't Life Such Fun?  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)   3:13
3  (Cook a) Dark Dish  (Hewitt/Holmes)   5:11
4  Truprint/Problems  (Holmes/Hycz)  6:40
5  Parting Gift  (Creathorne/Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  4:39
6  White Sky  (Layton)  2:44
7  Guilty Feeling  (Holmes/Hycz)  5:04
8  Always Something There to Remind Me  (Bacharach/David)  5:29
9  The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)  (Linda)  5:34


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A Silly Tree - Castle Hotel, Bangor 8th June 1981

Mark Creathorne - drums
Alan Holmes - guitar
Maeyc Hewitt - bass
Maria Hycz - vocals
Phil Layton - saxophone

1  It's Too Late  (Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  3:10
2  She'll Never Know  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)  4:56
3  Falling Back  (Creathorne)  4:00
4  Isn't Life Such Fun?  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)   3:50
5  White Sky  (Layton)  3:14
6  Parting Gift  (Creathorne/Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  5:51
7  Guilty Feeling  (Holmes/Hycz)  6:25


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A Silly Tree - Plas Coch, Llanedwen June 1981


Mark Creathorne - drums
Alan Holmes - guitar
Maeyc Hewitt - bass
Maria Hycz - vocals
Phil Layton - saxophone

1  Target (Creathorne)  2:41
2  It's Too Late (Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  4:39
3  Isn't Life Such Fun?  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)   3:22
4  Falling Back  (Creathorne)  4:15
5  Parting Gift  (Creathorne/Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  4:54
6  Trust  (Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  4:04
7  Playing for Time  (Creathorne/Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  5:53

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A Silly Tree - Plas Coch, Llanedwen 14th July 1981
(farewell gig)

Mark Creathorne - drums
Alan Holmes - guitar
Maeyc Hewitt - bass
Maria Hycz - vocals

1  intro  1:04
2  Parting Gift  (Creathorne/Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  4:35
3  Isn't Life Such Fun?  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)   3:20
4  Falling Back  (Creathorne)  3:57
5  She'll Never Know  (Holmes/Hycz/Stubbs)  4:32
6  It's Too Late  (Hewitt/Holmes/Hycz)  5:07
7  Guilty Feeling  (Holmes/Hycz)  5:53
8  Always Something There to Remind Me  (Bacharach/David)  5:07
9  Guilty Feeling  (Holmes/Hycz)  9:53

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The Enthralling Moods of Pearl Necklace (2007)

 

Comprising ex-Lungs and Glaring Green bassist Tim Parry and solo legend and ex-Cut Tunes / Glaring Green keyboard wizard Stephen Davies, Pearl Necklace are a pub covers duo like no other. Although playing the regular pub entertainment scene around the Bangor area with their traditional guitar / keyboards / backing rhythm format, the duo's repertoire includes works from such unlikely sources as Nick Cave, Joy Division, Black Sabbath, Lou Reed and Suicide. On one occasion, they even performed an entire set of covers of songs by local groups from the past, many of who we've featured here at Turquoise Coal, such as Cut Tunes, A Silly Tree, The Lungs and The Kaseo Kid!

Pearl Necklace live at The Harp, Bangor 2006

The duo can be seen live in action, performing a selection of Nick Cave numbers at the Bulkeley Hotel, Menai Bridge in 2007 on YouTube here, here and here.

 

Below we bring you a mere selection of twelve songs from their extensive repertoire, which were released as the limited edition CD The Enthralling Sounds of Pearl Necklace back in 2007. Unlike most of the groups featured on the blog, the duo are still going strong, so keep an eye out for them at your local pub if you live in the north Wales area!

 

Pearl Necklace - The Enthralling Moods of Pearl Necklace (2007)

Tim Parry - guitar, vocals

Stephen Davies - keyboards

1  Nobody but You

2  Opium Tea

3  Bad Moon Rising

4  Breathless

5  Whiskey in the Jar

6  Mad World

7  A Forest

8  Dance Away

9  Love Will Tear Us Apart

10  Loom of the Land

11 Ray of Hope

12  96 Tears

get it here

 

Cut Tunes live 1984

 

Cut Tunes 1984 - L to R: Gary Cut, Ian McMillan, Maeyc Hewitt, Alan Holmes

Here's another missing piece of the Cut Tunes jigsaw, capturing one of their very first gigs, somewhere in Bangor (possibly the University Students Union) in early 1984. The set was pretty typical for the time, featuring a more experimental and industrial sound than displayed on the group's records. The songs are pretty much all unreleased, although a radically different version of Eat The Dog, Eat!! would eventually appear on 1989's Strange Drum LP and a formative duo version of See Him!!! Draw (Zip Zap Zap) appeared on the 1983 local compilation Just When You Thought We Were Dead.

Along with the previously posted 1986 demos, this recording shows just how vital a group Cut Tunes were at their peak, something that is only hinted at on their official releases.

 

Cut Tunes - Live in Bangor 1984

Gary Cut - bass, guitar, vocals, Casio VL-Tone, xylophone, metal

Ian McMillan - percussion

Maeyc Hewitt - guitar, bass, percussion

Alan Holmes - trumpet, violin, xylophone, chimes

Phil Layton - saxophone

1  Fanfare / Mr Entretoute

2  Nice, Appealing

3  See Him!!! Draw (Zip Zap Zap)

4  The Monkey with a Thousand Faces

5  Sada and Kichi

6  The Pillar of Warmth

7  Écrasez l'Imfâme

8  Eat the Dog, Eat!!

all songs by Gary Cut

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Cut Tunes 1986 demos

Although Cut Tunes were quite well documented on three official releases for the Central Slate label, general consensus is that, splendid though those releases were, their awesome live power was never truly captured for posterity. We have unearthed some rare recordings that go at least some way to rectifying that.

First off, we have a rehearsal tape from 1986, capturing the group at the very peak of their power. In just over a decade of existence, Cut Tunes went through an astonishing 23 members, with only leader Gary Cut remaining a constant fixture. Of the myriad of line-ups, Gary often cites the 1986 version as the definitive one, although sadly not one to have made it into a studio. This may not necessarily be a bad thing as the group were not particularly suited to the sterile studio environment, and this excellent quality recording of a group practice arguably sounds better than any of their official releases.

In the few months since the release of their debut 12" EP , the group had lost wind section Ann Matthews and Jim Prosser along with founder member and multi instrumentalist Alan Holmes. In their place were keyboard player Pete Townshend (no, not that one) and drumming duo Steve Tate and Nick Hadley. This greater emphasis on the rhythm section propelled the group to new dynamic heights, and after support slots with Here & Now, Yeah Yeah Noh and Mud, they seemed destined for greater things. However, this was sadly not to be, and it was to be another three years before yet another line-up was to record the next official Cut Tunes release, the mini LP 'Strange Drum'.

  

L to R: Nick Hadley, Pete Townshend, Gary Cut, Steve Tate, Maeyc Hewitt, Ian McMillan

Cut Tunes - 1986 demos

Gary Cut - Bass, Vocals
Steve Tate - Drums
Nick Hadley - Drums
Maeyc Hewitt - Guitar
Ian McMillan - Percussion
Pete Townshend - Keyboards

1  Still a Problem
2  See Him!!! Draw (Zip Zap Zap)
3  Touch Me
4  The Mouth Factory
5  Shapeshake
6  L'Immamou d'Amour
7  Nice, Appealing

all songs by Gary Cut except track 3 (Vega/Rev)


get it here

More of The Inadequates

For the most important cultural entity to have emerged from the north Wales city of Bangor to date, The Inadequates' legacy remains grossly under-documented. Their sole official release was the previously posted compilation The Loudest of the Inadequates (where full and detailed information on the group can be found in the included booklet). We have now managed to unearth three full live performances by the group from consecutive years during the height of their reign.

The first show, recorded in Bangor Students' Union on May 1st 1977 features a group line up that still included pianist Nigel Sawyer and original guitarist Chris Pilditch performing a set that interspersed the group's originals with a selection of astutely chosen covers by the likes of Dr Feelgood, Patti Smith, AC/DC and Ian Hunter.

The second set, from the 27th October 1978, saw the group playing at the legendary Eric's Club in Liverpool as part of a 'new bands' night, alongside fellow unknowns Teardrop Explodes and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. By this time the group had dispensed with the covers and blasted out a ferocious barrage of original classics such as Watch Your Step, Let's Fuck and Damage.

The third recording here documents the group's final performance, at the Cod Club in Bangor Students Union Jazz Room on April 20th 1979. The bill also featured a set by teenage Cemaes Bay punks CBL and the debut appearance by The Verbs, both of who will appear here in the weeks to come. The one cover in the set was a version of local rivals Hot Water's recently released debut single Different Morning, retitled I'm In Mourning. By a quirk of fate, drummer Mark was to go on to join Hot Water following the dissolution of the Inadequates.

All these recordings are of excellent quality... unless that is, you are the kind of person who judges quality by such parameters as audio fidelity/clarity/frequency response etc...
It is live rock 'n' roll recorded on first generation auto-level cassette recorders 35 years ago for fucks sake - still sounds better than anything coming out of today's state of the art studios though! Just crank up the volume and jump around the room!


The Inadequates - Students Union, Bangor  1st May 1977


Scott Saunders - vocals, guitar
Chris Pilditch - guitar
Nigel Sawyer - piano
Alan Wilkinson - bass
Mark Thomas - drums

1  Up and Down
2  Police Dog
3  Leave the Kids Alone
4  Riot in Cell Block #9
5  The Deal
6  Plaster Caster
7  Momma Always Warned Me
8  I'm a Hog for You Baby
9  Live Wire
10  Live with Me
11  If It Feels Good
12  Inadequate
13  Stepping Stone
14  Free Money
15  Once Bitten Twice Shy
16  Steady

get it here


The Inadequates - Eric's, Liverpool  27th October 1978


Scott Saunders - vocals, guitar
Peter Dudley - guitar, vocals
Alan Wilkinson - bass, vocals
Mark Thomas - drums

1  Gospel
2  Lasers in Space
3  Energy Waltz
4  Do the Pram
5  Programmed
6  Damage
7  Let's Fuck
8  Inadequate
9  Ain't no R'n'R in Bangor Town
10  See Her Face
11  Steady
12 Nihilistic Romance

 get it here


The Inadequates - Cod Club, Bangor  20th April 1979


Scott Saunders - vocals, guitar
Peter Dudley - guitar, vocals
Alan Wilkinson - bass, vocals
Mark Thomas - drums


The Inadequettes - vocals (track 15)

1  Do the Pram
2  Hey God
3  Energy Waltz
4  Party Time
5  The Deal
6  Let's Fuck
7  Steady
8  Watch Your Step
9  Programmed
10  Gospel
11  Inadequate
12  I'm in Mourning
13  Damage
14  Fuck Off
15  Nihilistic Romance

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Radio 23 - Unreleased EP (1992)

Radio 23 provided two of the (many) highlights of Central Slate's 1988 compilation 'Burning Down the Chapels'. The group played live sporadically at the time, with group mastermind Maeyc Hewitt augmented by various accomplices including ex-Cut Tunes keyboard player Meryl Barton.

 

poster for rare live Radio 23 gig, April 22nd 1988

In September 1992, Radio 23 recorded a potential five track EP that has remained unreleased to this day. This period was a turning point in the group's trajectory and within a matter of months Radio 23 had metamorphosed into Nixon & Jarvis, although it was to be another 14 years before the group would release their classic 'Untilted' LP on the Frankfurt based Pure Pop For Now People label.

1  Life with Nina Ricci  1:56
2  Dilworth  1:14
3  Murdered  3:42
4  Untilted  2:54
5  The Gettysburg Address  5:51

all songs by Maeyc Hewitt except track 5: (Maeyc Hewitt / Abraham Lincoln)
all instruments and vocals by Maeyc Hewitt

get it here