simong

“They were from Wakefield. Got a decent reputation in West Yorkshire in the early 80s but never really took off.”

“The magazine was published by The Cartel, the independent record distribution network. It was a pretty good thing, had a flexidisc in it and I think it was free. Very sub-Smash Hits layout but useful for learning about what was up and coming.”

“The bassist is Paul Keogh isn't it? Always looked completely out of place as a goth among Salford attic lurkers. I think a friend of mine dated him in the mid-late 80s.”

“I seem to recall that there were supposed to be all sorts of things happening between bands which didn't really come off apart from Bill Grundy's drunken tirade and Paul Morley MCing or doing a extended bit. I can remember him introducing Luxuria for their first gig.”

“Heh, yes, we did. It went all the way around the hall once and got bigger applause than some of the bands.”

“I assume the 'They Must be Russian' who supported the Eardrop Explodes *cough* are They Must Be Russians from Sheffield, who handily link this archive in with the excellent SheffieldVision (www.sheffieldvision.com)”

“Excellent picture! Something I haven't really thought of for 23 years.”

“The 'why can't popstars dance' question is of course a quote from Big Flame's 'Why Popstars Can't Dance' which is in turn a quote from George Michael. Not sure what came first here.”

“Life were a vastly underrated corner of the Factory stable. I have two singles, 'Tell Me' and 'Optimism' and interviewed them for a fanzine when they supported A Certain Ratio at Teesside Poly in 1985. Did they do anything else?”

“Could well be, Factory might have ordered too many of them too.”