C&CM Exclusive: Download Rare 1985 Radio Interviews from The Direct Hits!

I'm thrilled to announce that The Direct Hits have graciously donated two radio interviews to C&CM that have been unplayed since their original broadcast in 1985!

Originally broadcast in April 1985 on the South East London pirate radio station, Skyline Radio, host Nick Miller talks to Colin Swan, Geno Buckmaster and Brian Grover about fostering talent on their imprint Direct Records, the mood of London audiences and the interest surrounding their forthcoming tour of Germany and Italy.

The second interview dates from July 1985 and features both Colin and Geno discussing exploits from their most recent tour ("I lost a shoe in Hamburg"), humorous reflections on Live Aid not to mention their thoughts of some new record releases. Both clips are fascinating portrait of the band both before and after their career-defining tour of the continent.

The Direct Hits - The Skyline Radio Interviews (1985)
The Direct Hits - Radio Press (1985)

The discovery of these interviews comes with The Direct Hits unearthing artefacts including previously unseen photographs, gig posters, tickets for the Christmas release of a new book called "My Back Pages". You can keep up to date with this and other upcoming developments on both the band's official page and their Facebook page.

As an added incentive, check out these nifty badges dating from 1987 which recently featured! I want each and every last one of them.

EDIT: Be careful what you wish for! These fair badges just arrived in my mailbox! AMAZING!

And just in case you missed it the first time round, this is the C&CM Conversation with Colin Swan.

I've only encountered it a few times, the songwriter's peculiar insistence that this song does not belong to me. It happened a couple of times during The Beatles Anthology, I particularly remember Paul's memory of conceiving Let It Be (1970). The story goes that came to him in a dream and the melody was so familiar, he insisted that it must've been someone else's song. George said something alarmingly similar in regards to Something (1969). He was so sure that it belonged to someone else that he left it for a couple of days, just to be sure.

I've been thinking of this idea a lot, ever since I heard Joe Meek's first hit for John Leyton, Johnny Remember Me (1961). From the galloping rhythm section to the wailing backing vocals, the song creeps me out something shocking. If it wasn't disquieting enough, songwriter Geoff Goddard also carried this disclaimer that this song did not actually belong to him. Like Paul and George, he woke up one night and sang Johnny Remember Me into his portable tape recorder, however, but he always insisted that he did not write that song. Apparently, Buddy Holly did, beyond the grave.

Ghosts and the supernatural are a little outside of the scope of C&CM and I can't even say that I necessarily believe any of those stories. Yet it's captivating to have a musician say, I am the conduit, I am the means by which the dead can express their music. It's the most incredible fantasy if it were true, if someone could practically harness the creativity of the late Freddie Mercury, Jeff Buckley, Karen Carpenter and any number of impossibly talented deceased musicians. However, I think I might need a bit more than a dream, an assurance and a familiar song to convince me that it is really the case.

Waylon and Buddy, 1959.

Cassettes & Chocolate Milk: Mod Podcast #52
The Chob - We're Pretty Quick
The Messengers - We Can't Get Along
The Buckett City Distortion Racket - I Lied
Heinz - Just Like Eddie
John Leyton - Johnny Remember Me
Buddy Holly - I'm Gonna Love You Too
The Beatles - Anna (Go To Him)
The Love Society - Let's Pretend (We're Making Love)
Herman's Hermits - No Milk Today
Michael and the Messengers - That's the Way a Woman Is

Download (42 MB)