Reinheitsgebot - The complete R.S.C. sessions

Although Reinheitsgebot played live twice in a formative version featuring future Glassglue/Hungry Dog Brand drummer Emyr Tomos during September 1984, it was not until the first of November of that year that the "definitive" line up - that of Ian McMillan on vocals, Maeyc Hewitt on bass, Scott Saunders and Alan Holmes on guitars and Mark Thomas on drums - made their public debut.

Having built up a dedicated local following, the group made the first of two visits to RSC Studios in Bath on December 17th 1984. Here they struck up a fruitful rapport with producer Rob Craven, resulting in eighteen of the twenty seven tracks recorded during their lifetime. A second visit the following May yielded a further nine.


In between the two recording sessions, the group played a series of live dates in their home area of north Wales, the most memorable being one in a local mental hospital in March '85 and one a month previously supporting top chart act The Blow Monkeys, where the group was actually fined for mistakenly eating some of Dr Robert and co's food!

Things were not to last, and soon after the second trip to Bath the group played what was to be their final gig on 15th June 1985 at Treborth playing fields in Bangor. Drummer Mark left to pursue other interests, the rest of the group eventually metamorphosing into Third Spain and the rest, as they say, is history.


Although they existed for a mere nine months during which time they played only fourteen concerts, Reinheitsgebot left behind a legacy as impressive as many groups manage in that many years. Now at long last we have an opportunity to hear again and reassess the many facets of this seminal group - the wistful paeans to the passing seasons, the aching cries of longing, the vehement rockers, the darkly brooding atmospheres - they are all represented here in this trawl through Reinheitsgebot's rich archive.

Reinheitsgebot - R.S.C. Studios, Bath
December 1984 & May 1985

Ian McMillan - vocals, harmonica
Maeyc Hewitt - bass
Scott Saunders - guitar
Alan Holmes - guitar
Mark Thomas - drums

1984 session:
1 Winter's Warmth
2 Sunday Sunday
3 One Apart
4 Linda Says
5 Words Don't Know
6 Autumn
7 Help Eleanor Come Home
8 Waiting for Daybreak
9 Summer
10 Sunset Sky
11 Cry Again
12 In the Morning
13 Quicksand.mp3
14 Still Not There
15 Cheer Up
16 It's Only Fortune
17 Splendid View
18 Sad Angel
tracks 1-5 recorded 17th-20th December 1984
tracks 6-18 recorded live in the studio 21st December 1984

1985 session:
1 Waiting for Daybreak
2 Winter
3 Linda Says
4 Wrong Side of the River
5 In the Morning
6 One Apart
7 Winter's Warmth
8 1000 Different Things
9 Still Not There
recorded May 17th, 18th, 20th and 21st 1985
mixed May 24th, 25th and 29th 1985


get the 1984 session here
and the 1985 session here