AAGA CD - NOW AVAILABLE

Now that Christmas time is closing in on us all once again, some of you will no doubt be wondering what to buy off the record tokens you get. Problem solved - treat yourself to this AAGA CD.

The compilation called "The World Makes Me Sad Sometimes", on Rightback Records, is the first time a collection of AAGA's original 80's material has been given an official release, and so a good opportunity to hear for yourself why Factory Records wanted to showcase the band in Manchester at the time.

You'll know by now that I have featured many of  AAGA's cassettes on Retro, all displaying their homemade covers, well keeping the self assembly process going, here above is the CD cover when it was still work in progress at the design stage. The cover visuals were a joint effort by Mike Kane's daughter & son, with the AAGA logo the work of Dundee graphic artist, Nick Wright.

It will of course be available on iTunes and so on.

Finally, below is another reminder of the band's sound, this time from a gig at the Tayside Bar in 1984 -  catching AAGA in one of their more mellow moods.

A gig I was at too!

Thanks to Craig and Brian.

DUNDEE COMPILATION CASSETTE - 1982

Well I've raided just about every tune from this cassette during the course of doing Retro Dundee, but I haven't actually done a feature on the tape itself - so better late than never.

Here is then the extremely rare Dundee Compilation Cassette which was made available locally in the early 80's, and was put together by AAGA Productions.

Musically it consisted of a mixture of alternative, pop, rock, new wave, electronic and experimental - and stating the rather obvious, all the acts were from Dundee.

Rockpile and the Tayside Bar were the places to go to grab a copy.

A review of the cassette was published in local fanzine, The Voice, in 1982, which is the 2nd item above and was given a track-by-track assessment. If you want to read the large version, just give it a click.

While I'm here, I'll squeeze one more track out of it.

Here below is Waiter Waiter with a catchy wee song called "Discipline". 

THE PRINCIPAL PLAYER - EARLY 80'S

[THE PRINCIPAL PLAYER
Throughout the ten-year DATA project, Pete Horobin used several names - Principal Player, Acrobat, Monty Cantsin and Karen Eliot. The Principal Player was the first born and performed many actions – publicly and privately – in Dundee. These actions invariably examined the ordinariness of everyday activities – politics – improvisation and experimentation. Actions were scripted so that anyone could act out the role of the Principal Player. Scripts were sent through the post to correspondents and put up in Willie Frew’s pub on the Hawkhill.]

Shown above are 3 of the scripts the intro caption refers to.
These were put up on display in Willie Frew's for all to read - or in the case of the top example - scribble over!
Below is a recording Pete made when in Principal Player mode.
It was done at 3.00 a.m in the DATA Attic, using tape machines, a radio and various timpani.
It's called "Star Chant" and he adopts a Robert Wyatt style of vocal on this one while the wheezing, whirring and purring melodious machinery sets the hypnotic ambiance!

Courtesy of The Attic Archive

SP&S RECORD WAREHOUSE - 1970's

 

The SP&S record warehouse opened in Coldside Road in 1975.

It specialised in vinyl & tapes that had been deleted, but were all brand new, not second-hand.

This was specifically for the retail trade, not general public, and they supplied shops all over Scotland, not just Tayside.

The business didn't last too long, however, as the Dundee depot didn't get beyond the 70's.

These 2 ads date from 1975 & 1976.

If you want to read the ad info - just click them to enlarge.

TAYSIDE CASSETTE CENTRE AD - 1973

In '73, the Tayside Cassette Centre were in 73...Perth Road.

So they specialised in music tapes, both cassette format and 8 track - definitely no vinyl.

Why then do they have a gramophone in their ad?

Duhhh!!!!

ALTRES DEMO REVIEW - 1984

This Deadbeat mag review dates from May 1984 and is for Dundee's electronic whizz kids, Altres. This was a 7 track demo cassette called "Rise" that they released on their own label, Multi-Purpose Productions. It was something a bit different from the usual alternative rock & pop the fanzine covered, Altres making dreamy hypnotic synth based instrumentals. The tape did get a thumbs up from the reviewer though, and reckoned there may be a future for them in TV soundtracks!
The cassette was available to purchase from Rockpile, JJ Records and Grouchos. Or you could have have got it direct from Kevin himself.

AAGA - BEDROOM TAPES - 1983

When you get an idea, get it down any way you can. Scribble it onto a scrap pad, whistle it into a Dictaphone, anything, as long as the idea is itemized, so to speak, that's the main thing, then you can go back and refer to it later when time comes to do a proper version of it. If you miss the opportunity to get the idea down in the first place, chances are it will never appear again. Gone forever!

I unearthed this cassette by AAGA from 1983 called "Bedroom Tapes", the contents consisting of tunes Mike Kane & Steve Grimmond came up with. Some tracks are a bit loose, some are more fully formed. AAGA made loads of cassettes back then, a few were "one offs" such as this one, others were duplicated then either given away free or sold cheaply.

This particular red & blue one was swiped off the cover of a magazine when Mike worked in John Menzies. Any unsold mags that had tapes attached, Mike would...recycle them, let's say, and record over the contents with his own stuff. All that was needed was a portable tape recorder and whatever band equipment there was.

There are 8 of these homemade lo-fi tracks on this cassette, so plucking one out as an example I have gone for "These Chances". Undeterred by the DIY approach, this tune has a really compelling bassline accompanied by a freestyle kind of singing technique layered on top.

Not intended to be the finished article of course, but you can tell there is a good idea in there bursting to get out!

Glad they made the effort.

STOP PRESS : There are reports coming in of an official CD release by AAGA due out in a few weeks. More on that later.

AAGA - THE NEW SAINTS... CASSETTE

The final AAGA cassette I have in my collection is this one here from around the 1983/84 period - "The New Saints Of Drab Intensity".

There are 4 tunes on it, 2 are live recordings, 1 was done on 16 track and the one here below "Patience Is Virtue" was done on 4 track.

This is probably the most tuneful thing AAGA have ever done. It's even, dare I say, commercial sounding! Quite a sensitive touch to it too.

Thanks once again to Mike Kane.

 

FLUX - DESTROY ALL SYSTEMS - 1987

You may remember I put a track by Flux up last year which turned out to be a rare example of a tune connected to Mike Kane which everyone who commented seemed to like! It was a dreamy ambient chill-out track.
In the caption back then I said I would pick out a contrasting tune from the 1987 "In Flux" cassette and post it later. Now's the time, and so here is a little ditty of theirs called "Destroy All Systems(2)"
I think you can guess by the title that it's Flux in a tuffer mood and with the volume turned up! A dizzying wall of sound out on a mission to subvert the masses with it's relentless chants and slogans pile-driving their way through it all.
Well you didn't think they were gonna let you get comfy in your bean bags, did you?!!

AAGA - WHATALIFE CASSETTE - 1982

The AAGA "Whatalife" cassette dates from 1982 and only contains 2 tracks - "Illness" and the title song.
I can't help chuckle at some of the lyrics in "Whatalife", which are basically saying there is more to life than just going boozing and watching telly. The only song ever to mention the Lea Rig and Harry O..!!
Me being a bit of a dubologist (makey up word!) also gives the echoed phrase weaving in & out, the GG seal of approval!
Thanks to MK

AAGA - THE UNHEARD CASSETTE - 1983

I've still got quite a few items of Mike Kane based material I haven't delved into yet, so ploughing on with a few more post punk goodies, here's a 4 track cassette by AAGA called "The Unheard", done in 1983.
Get a load of the gruff, grimy, gritty, grunge guitar powering it's way through. WOWEE!!
The basic drum machine rhythm along with Steve Grimmond's distant vocal is really all it needed.
All the tracks are untitled, so this is just referred to as "Track 4".
Thanks to MK

BRAIN DAMAGE CASSETTE - 1983

Dundee band, Brain Damage, recorded this cassette called "Death To Timmy Pop" in 1983.
Drummer, Cody, has the actual original master recording on reel but it hasn't been digitised yet.
So from the 7 tracks on the audio tape, I've plucked out a tune called "Believe In Me".
A brash breakneck speed hardcore punk sizzler!

WAITER WAITER AD - 1982

This full page ad appeared in Cranked Up in 1982.
A reminder that you can hear a track from this Waiter Waiter cassette in the September 2009 Retro blog archive.

AAGA - CELL CASSETTE - 1983

In contrast to the bright and breezy AAGA track I put up a couple of weeks ago, on this outing AAGA take us all on a trip to the dark side.
The CELL cassette was done in 1983, and although all the material is untitled, I think I will call this one "Council Scheme Nightmare" ...for rather obvious reasons.
It's not a tune you're gonna be whistling along to, oh no, in fact you better go find some health & safety gear for protection.!!
It starts with a piercing shrill, a noise that undulates throughout the full 7 minutes like somebody grinding a piece of corrugated iron in a manic workshop. The pace is kept at a slow steady pulse by a menacingly hypnotic rhythm created on a drum machine, and then slicing their way through it all like a circular saw on overtime are the scathing lyrics, dissecting the ugly scenes encountered.
A bit of a tour de force I reckon. Dare you check it out?
Thanks to Mike Kane.

FLUX CASSETTE - 1987

This is the Flux "In Flux" cassette from 1987.
The guys involved in the recording were - KL Guthrie - M Kane & E McDougall.
There are 10 tracks in total, and the one here below for you to sample is a number called "So Clear, It's So Clear", a short trippy ambient offering. This is the mellowest track on the cassette compared to the rest of the material, which is rather abrasive, but thought I'd ease you gently into their sound with this piece first, and I'll put one of their contrasting tracks up sometime later.
Although the track here was recorded in '87, it does hark back to the mid '70's in an Eno/Krautrock kind of way.
Thanx to Mike.

TIVVY DEMO TRACK - 1981

From the 1973 to 1978 period, Tivvy were mostly a covers band, playing a broad range of styles from glam, rock, pop, soul, disco to punk.
They did tons of gigs in Scotland, not only as headline act but occasionally sharing the stage with the likes of Slik, Bilbo Baggins and Salvation.
Add to that (as I mentioned in a previous post) an appearance on national TV in 1978.
However, 1978 was also the year Tivvy decided to break up.
But after a couple of Tivvyless years, the guys brought life back into the band again in 1981 upon reforming.
Tivvy then promptly went to Edinburgh to record 2 demos of their own original material.
Band members changed over the years but included - Alec Martin, Bob Kelly, Joe O'Dea, Billy Thomson, Danny Mitchell, Jim Ogg, Mick McGuigan, Steve Knight (pre Associates), Bruce Money, Wayne Hutton.
Below you can tune into the outcome of their '81 recording session.
A track called "Out Of Touch" - a new wave / power pop gem with an off-kilter guitar hook.

AAGA CASSETTE - EARLY 80'S

AAGA were another Dundee band who brought out cassettes of their work in the early 80's.
This one here is their "Secret Pleasures" release, featuring 8 tracks.
Dipping into the darker side of post punk, the lads sound a little sinister on this cover version of "Hard Day's Night", reminding me of the band Magazine a wee bit. Rather eerie, but rather good!
And a reminder that you can catch AAGA in action on video performing live at the Tayside Bar in the early 80's in my January 2009 Archives. Lots of new comments on that one too.

 

WAITER WAITER CASSETTE - EARLY 80'S

Dundee indie band, Waiter Waiter, brought out a cassette in the early 80's called "That's No Way To Go-Go", featuring 6 tracks of their own material. None of the song titles were supplied on the cover so the track below will just have to be referred to as track 1. Obviously, because it is an old homemade tape, it is a bit hissy, but it is a good reminder of how they sounded, a sort of cross between the Fire Engines & XTC.
Oh yeah, and they were yet another Tayside Bar band.