Monday, April 07, 2008

The Pastels in 1984

We started putting records out about 1982 and I think people just felt encouraged by us because we've always tried to be as honest as we can in our music and uncontrived and also really tried to demystify the aspect of being in a band that's got a record due...
Something from the archives: The Pastels’ first Peel Session, recorded on 17 January 1984 (first broadcast 7 February 1984).
Tomorrow The Sun Will Shine
Trains Go Down The Track
Something Going On
Stay With Me ‘Til Morning

The band on this session was:
Stephen Pastel (guitar, vocals)
Brian Superstar (guitar)
Martin (bass, vocals)
Bernice (drums)
Aggie (vocals, organ)
Joe from Henon (guitar, vocals)

“Joe from Hendon” is Joe Foster, then of the TVPs, whose album later that year, The Painted Word, was the closest contemporary kindred spirit to this line-up of The Pastels.

Both The Pastels and the TVPs in 1984 were obviously big fans of the Modern Lovers: in the latter’s case, their Someone To Share My Life With wouldn’t exist without the Modern Lovers’ Someone I Care About; in both bands’ cases, and especially The Pastels’, they shared the wretched dejection, the insularity and desolation, the Velvets’ drone, the torment and the romantic power of the Modern Lovers’ classic debut.

Two Pastels’ demos from around that time, Oh! Happy Place and Supposed To Understand, also make essential listening. Even without Rose and Jill from Strawberry Switchblade on backing vocals, Supposed To Understand in demo form still sounds like one of the best songs The Pastels have ever written.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting to know.