Good morning all. Inspired by an exceptionally lovely message from @passing4human.bsky.social, I've revisited and (slightly) updated this piece which is ostensibly about Pure by The Lightning Seeds but, as is my wont, ends up about being about a lot more besides. www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

“I think all my songs are about being scared of change.” How one song explained Ian Broudie’s past and predicted his future. | Pete Paphides

Because it was Top of the Pops, I know the exact date I first heard one of Ian Broudie’s songs. Not only do I know the date, but I remember

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We’re huge fans of Honeybus and all the associated solo albums and unreleased gems The call and response backing vocals on She Sold Blackpool Rock are a genuinely genius bit of songwriting (Then she told me that she knew) (How they make the letters go right through) Off to put Story on now

So much to love about Honeybus: how Pete Dello was so instantly unimpressed by pop stardom; how the rest of the band rose to the challenge of making an amazing album without him; and, best of all imho, the imperishably strange magic of their shoulda-been smash She Sold Blackpool Rock.

“I don’t belong to the public and I don’t belong to anybody really.” Why pop stardom ended almost as soon as it began for Honeybus | Pete Paphides

For me, there are few happier places than a randomly discovered documentary that tells, in molecular detail, the story of a how a really gre

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I think I might be entering my Autumn Of Goth and it's all Cathi Unsworth's fault. www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

“I don’t know why Slade The Leveller couldn’t sleep, but actually, the main reason I couldn’t sleep is that I’d left it too late to revise for my O-levels.” | Pete Paphides

The past week spent reading Cathi Unsworth’s Season Of The Witch: The Book Of Goth has been an absolute revelation to me. My only slight not

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Let's hear it for Bernard Jewry/Shane Fenton/Alvin Stardust – serial opportunist, pop supersub and not your typical renaissance man. www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

How Shane Fenton walked his way to pop stardom in a dead man's shoes. And then repeated the trick ten years later. | Pete Paphides

Pre-Fabs Mansfield combo The Fentones get a glancing mention in Bob Stanley’s magnificent new book The Shadows: The Definitive Story. They w

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Timeline is once agail an infinile streab of crossly-postit and screen-grabby of hateymost and offensy dross from digifold cesspits. Deep folly! More unfalollowit, and considerapers of deletage of this final social media presence.

As a fellow Lampeter alumni I really enjoyed this. Sadly Hag passed away a couple of years ago and the shop no longer exists but whilst it did it was glorious. It also came with a worker called Bob who was brilliantly critical of music taste and who sold me my first album by The Fall (who he loved)

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · last wk.

Scenes from a West Wales market town in 1989 and why, at this time of year, you'll always find me listening to The Notorious Byrd Brothers. www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

Scenes from a West Wales market town in 1989 and why, at this time of year, you'll always find me listening to The Notorious Byrd Brothers. www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

“Who was Hag? A mental image formed in my mind. I expected some spiral-eyed acid casualty who had come here 20 years previously, perhaps when Hawkwind played here.” | Pete Paphides

It’s autumn 1989 and I’m in a state of mild confusion. This being my first ever Wednesday in the Welsh market town of Lampeter, I’ve walked

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Bloodflowers is the best Cure album and that’s a hill I’m willing to be debagged on.

This is great. Follow the evolution of one of the best pop songs ever (and my ringtone). And to accompany this, read @petepaphides.bsky.social piece on the band and the movie about them. Everything about a-ha is more complicated than you think.

On a-ha – The Movie: "It's Some Kind Of Monster without the therapist. It’s Get Back without Paul." | Pete Paphides

On a-ha – The Movie: "It's Some Kind Of Monster without the therapist. It’s Get Back without Paul." by Pete Paphides on Patreon. Join Pete Paphides's community for exclusive content and updates.

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wrongtom@wrongtom.bsky.social · 2w ago

Arguably the greatest song to be recorded 4 times by 3 iterations of a band under 3 different names and in 2 languages, and then remixed once before it reached number 2 (eventually scoring a number 1 when it was covered by my mate's little brother's band a decade and a half later)

My wildly subjective take on this brilliant article is that in 1985, Wood Green, & its new shopping centre, was the spiritual home of American independent music’s lyrical literary - Southern Gothic & Emily Dickinson - aspirations. Wood Green is a magical place. So were 80s shopping centres.

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · 2w ago

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

This is a lovely piece. It's interesting, though, that in framing things relative to the departure of John Lombardo after The Wishing Chair, it backgrounds what to me was the most notable -- and to me, saddest -- aspects of 10K's journey to full-blown AltPopularity. ...

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · 2w ago

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

When I was a teen, I wanted to be Natalie Merchant. This is a lovely retrospective

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · 2w ago

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

[FOOTBALL SPOILER] . . . . . . . . . Should Phil Foden feel happy that his sending off didn't cost Man City the game or worried that they did better without him?

Apologies for the shameful quantity of typos in the earlier version. I think I've caught them all now.

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · 2w ago

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

Loved reading this.

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · 2w ago

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

There was a period in '83 when Peel was playing songs from Secrets Of The I Ching as much as Hand In Glove or This Charming Man - I couldn't choose a fave.

This is brill, Pete. I love 10,000 Maniacs - came to The Wishing Chair first, mostly because of Just As The Tide Was A-Flowing. Going to stick that on now. Wouldn't a book-length version of this be great, 'ey?

All the best people love the early work of 10,000 Maniacs.

The Leaf Library@theleaflibrary.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is brill, Pete. I love 10,000 Maniacs - came to The Wishing Chair first, mostly because of Just As The Tide Was A-Flowing. Going to stick that on now. Wouldn't a book-length version of this be great, 'ey?

If you only read one piece of music writing today, read this. Loved those John + Mary albums. :-)

Pete Paphides@petepaphides.bsky.social · 2w ago

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

For around a year or so, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs seemed to be moving in sync: writing about the same stuff; working with the same producer and even recording their albums back-to-back in the same London studio. Both records are firm fixtures in my all-time top ten. Allow me to elaborate...

For 12 months, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs moved in sync. But if you only know Fables Of The Reconstruction you only know half the story: Revisiting The Wishing Chair | Pete Paphides

In the Rough Trade pop-up store at this year’s Green Man festival, there were about six boxes given over to second-hand records. I picked up

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I blazed through this, all the time thinking what a brilliant topic it would be for a documentary or a biopic. I hope it falls into the hands of someone who might be able to help make it happen. We truly seem to have forgotten what a radical new sound those early Shadows singles were.

new modern books@newmodernbooks.bsky.social · 3w ago

“This is the last great untold story of the beat boom era - and Bob Stanley is the perfect person to tell it” @petepaphides.bsky.social ‘The Shadows: The Definitive Story’ by @rockingbob.bsky.social 24-09-26 Viva Los Shads! #cliff #theshadows

Anyway, there's always room for some shameless self promo. Here's my piece for @thequietus.com about the recent comp of early Musical Youth recordings, including their original demo of Pass The Kutchie on @petepaphides.bsky.social's Needle Mythology label thequietus.com/quietus-revi...

Reissue of the Week: Mash Down Birmingham by Musical Youth | The Quietus

Wrongtom dismantles the unhelpful idea of the one hit wonder with some help from a new anthology of early recordings by Musical Youth

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My introduction to The Rockingbirds was also the song Jonathan Jonathan - a great piece by @petepaphides.bsky.social www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

“Was it really a good use of police resources to land their chopper in order to caution someone for speeding on an empty road while bellowing atonally to The Rockingbirds?” | Pete Paphides

My summer of 1992 was all about The Rockingbirds. It started with Jonathan Jonathan, a musical fan letter to Jonathan Richman that mirrored

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Thank you @shedfeller.bsky.social – this is quite glorious.

The Alban Kings Songwriting Project@shedfeller.bsky.social · 3w ago

Here he is doing it There are a few of these up there on YouTube and they’re great fun #MusicSky #EltonJohn youtu.be/WD_EUO1dorc?...

And that’s a wrap! Next series, when it’s done Thanks to @marklewisohn.bsky.social @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social @gailrenard.bsky.social Mary Cockram, Andy Bown, @quantick.bsky.social @petepaphides.bsky.social @parlogram.bsky.social Maureen O’Grady, @iammilliam.bsky.social David Hepworth & Ron Geesin

Does anyone else spend possibly too much time trying to figure out how Bernie Taupin and Elton John's lyrics-first, tune-second system works? I have a theory. But it's just a theory. www.patreon.com/NeedleMythol...

Bangerac #10: Elton John: Turn The Lights Out When You Leave | Pete Paphides

Welcome to the tenth in an occasional series which sees my gumshoe poppelganger Jim Bangerac sing the praises of a wonderful song from a not

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I've been playing this album repeatedly over the past fortnight. At various points, it makes me think of Van Morrison's The Way Young Lovers Do, Peter Doherty's Grace/Wastelands, Stephen Duffy's I Love My Friends and also The Clientele and The Waterboys.

“By making the album of his life, Matthew Edwards has made, well... he's made the album of his life.” | Pete Paphides

Do you ever think about how it works when your life flashes before you? Do you imagine something akin to when you’re rewinding a recorded pr

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I simply must share with someone* the realisation that if you sing the opening lines of The Killers' All These Things That I've Done, the melody is improbably close to the verses of Star by Earth Wind & Fire. [*you]

Once in a while I remember that an album that only existed in my head before I set about trying to make it a reality elicited responses like this one (from Andrew Male). And I can't tell you how good that feels.