Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey

Product Information

Various Artists (26) - C86". BBC Music. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13 . Retrieved 2016-07-04. In 1996, NME continued the tradition of compiling a new band album (this time a CD) by releasing C96. This had little impact, with Mogwai and Broadcast being the only acts on the compilation to subsequently enjoy mainstream success. [23] Three other bands on the compilation - Babybird, The Delgados and Urusei Yatsura - had brief success in the United Kingdom after the compilation's release. Told with warmth, compassion and humour, this is a very human account of ambition, hope, varying degrees of talent and what happens after you give up on music - or, more accurately, after music gives up on you. It's a world populated by bike-shop owners, dance-music producers, record-store proprietors, ornithologists, driving instructors, solicitors, caricaturists and possibly even an Olympic sailor. And let's not forget the musician-turned-actor gainfully employed as Jeremy Irons' body double... Home | Institute of Contemporary Arts". Ica.org.uk. 2015-04-22. Archived from the original on 2006-12-03 . Retrieved 2015-06-11. Reynolds, Simon Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 (Faber and Faber, 2005) ISBN 0-571-21569-6

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. ( June 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) NME have also collaborated with Rough Trade Records to release C09 in 2009 for Record Store Day [24] and with Bose Corporation to release C23 in 2023 for South by Southwest. [25] You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. In 2022, journalist Nige Tassell published the book Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey, based on interviews with members of all 22 bands that had appeared on the cassette. It outlines the "many and varied paths through life" these musicians took over a period of more than three decades. [22] Follow-ups [ edit ] This is a very sympathetic account and is both a snapshot in time and an account of what happens after giving up on music. It's a wonderful, life reaffirming exploration of C86's surprisingly wide-reaching legacy.Gourlay, Dom (2014-06-13). "Album Review: Various - C86: Deluxe Edition / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06 . Retrieved 2015-06-11. Indie music and festivals - C86 review of c86 week". Indie-mp3.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08 . Retrieved 2015-06-11.

But by uniting the muddled sounds of “indie” under a single albeit contested banner NME stamped a unique moment in British music. Journalist Nige Tassell, author of 2022 book Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey, would write in The Guardian: “These groups laid the foundations for later outfits such as the Stone Roses, Oasis and Arctic Monkeys who took indie ‘overground’, swapping upstairs rooms in pubs for headline slots at the biggest festivals.” This is a book for those of us, now in our late 50s or early 60s, who grew up devouring the NME as a means of nurturing our music tastes as well as broader cultural interests. It may also help to be male, perhaps? In 1986 I was the tender age of 15 & had zero knowledge of the C86 cassette, but by ‘87 I started really getting into the independent music scene & became aware of the term C86. As detailed in the book it referred to a certain type of music; jangly guitars, played almost exclusively by young white males with bad haircuts. I think it was meant to be an insult, but I absolutely loved these bands & as a result was aware of the musical artefact they had appeared on. I think I still own records (up in the loft) of at least half the bands mentioned. Fire Escape Talking", "Anoraky in the UK,C86, the punk that refuses to die" ("Fire Escape Talking blog", July 7, 2006)In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born. But what happened next to all those musical dreamers?

For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? The 30-year anniversary of C86 saw the original compilation issued in a deluxe gatefold sleeved double- LP edition for Record Store Day 2016. [29] There were, though, no sirens trying to lure me to my death through song. The nearest I came was when sitting in on the first rehearsal since pre-pandemic times of the Birmingham five-piece Mighty Mighty, reconvened to play to an audience of just me. But five follicly challenged men on, or just over, the brink of turning 60 do not seductive sirens make. Still, they sounded just as sprightly and glorious as they had several decades earlier, even if they now needed to take fistfuls of painkillers afterwards to ward off the effects of a four-hour rehearsal. About the Author: Nige Tassell is a music journalist whose writing has appeared in The Word, Q, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and New Statesman among others. He lives with his family in the Mendip Hills in Somerset. Mr Gig is his first book. Google BooksI’m guessing the book had a fairly niche audience but I found it hugely enjoyable and also it led me to explore some of the bands that I didn’t know so well, with the help of Spotify. Very few still make a living from music and the range of jobs they now have is the result of a careers officer having several strong coffees and randomly shouting titles from a work Hann, Michael (14 June 2011). "NME releases a cassette that codifies music". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 October 2014. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

It’s really interesting to see the challenges and problems that each band had before, during and after C86, some complain of too much freedom, others of too much control, some sought mainstream, pop success, others were happy to remain obscure. We really get a broad range of personalities too, those who remain proud of their contribution and others who wish to distance themselves from it and are determined not to be defined by it. Some ended up in the arts and academia others found themselves in retail or the corporate world, and a few are still playing to this day. Some are embarrassed by their connection and others incredibly proud. Some didn’t even want to speak of their experience, whilst others were only too happy to reflect and then there were those who are no longer here. Who, of a certain vintage and a certain propensity for hoarding things in lofts, including cassette-tape compilations sold via a weekly music publication, wouldn't want THIS BOOK?' -- Andrew Collins In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born.Following on from the cult success of C81, NME or anyone else couldn’t possibly have predicted just how seminal their C86 compilation cassette would become. But even today, nearly forty years on a whole generation and then some, know exactly what you mean when you say the words C86. Others were found farther afield. The Mighty Lemon Drops’ guitarist Dave Newton was hunted down to California where he’s a record producer for hire, operating out of the studio in his double garage. He even once formed a covers band – the C86 All Stars – to play the indie hits of the mid-to-late 80s. Dave was clearly still happy to be associated with C86. For many of the bands, the cassette provided their careers with a springboard, often involving signing for a major label. For others, it was a millstone that was hard to shed, a pigeonhole impossible to escape.