V.A: Just A Bad Dream: Sixty British Garage & Trash Nuggets 1981-89 (2018)

Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well as the compilation album Pillows & Prayers. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists.

 https://www.cherryred.co.uk/

Cherry Red was listed by Music Week as one of the UK’s top ten record companies in Q1 2015 for sales of artist albums.

Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company (similarly named after the song "Cherry Red" by

The Groundhogs) founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens. In the wake of the independent record boom that followed the advent of punk rock, founders Iain McNay (who remains company chairman) and Richard Jones released the label's first single, "Bad Hearts" by punk band The Tights in June 1978.

Cherry Red's early roster included releases by Morgan Fisher under various pseudonyms, using a small studio installed in his Notting Hill flat, as well as material licensed from The Hollywood 

Brats, Destroy All Monsters and The Runaways. The latter was the label's biggest seller until McNay invested $10,000 in the recording of the debut studio album by San Franciscan political punk band Dead Kennedys. Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1979) and its attendant singles sold well worldwide. New A&R head Mike Alway had promoted the Snoopies venue in Richmond, London and been involved with the Scissor Fits, and signed groups including The Monochrome Set, Everything But The Girl, Eyeless in Gaza, Felt, and Five Or Six.

McNay aspired for Cherry Red to be a label that offered a space for artists who would otherwise not

fit the image of some of the more succinctly defined and stylised independents. "Cherry Red Records was always about musical individuality, diversity, character, commitment and passion," he stated in 2008. It also marketed other smaller independent record labels, like Bristol's Heartbeat Records, which recorded the Glaxo Babies.

[AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra

The underground U.K. music scene of the early '80s was dominated by post-punk and new wave, but percolating below the surface were several scenes that looked back to the past for inspiration. Loads of bands were besotted by the garage punk sound of the mid-'60s, the rockabilly sound of the '50s, and the '60s mod scene, and when they filtered it through punk it came out sounding trashy more often than not. Cherry Red's "Just a Bad Dream: Sixty British Garage & Trash Nuggets 1981-1989" gathers up the various threads of this very loosely defined scene, and over three discs does a fine job of capturing the raucous sounds of the era.

Chief early movers on the scene were the raw beat group lovers Thee Milkshakes, jumped-up mods the Prisoners, the garage-meets-surf Stingrays, and psychobilly wildmen the Meteors, and they are all represented.

All the sounds that were scuttling through the underbelly are represented nicely by well-chosen tracks. There are loads of psychobilly, mod, and garage rock with some truly inspired revivalists behind the mikes. Anything with Lenny Helsing involved is sure to be great tracks here by the Green Telescope ("A Glimpse") and the Thanes ("Don't Let Her Dark Your Door") are highlights.

The same with the man who is the poster child for the scene, Billy Childish. Along with Thee Milkshakes, there are plenty of Childish-related bands on hand, including the Delmonas with theirThee Mighty Caesars' "Little by Little." During this early part of the era covered by the set, Alan McGee's Creation Records dipped into psych and garage in their early days, with the Jesus and Mary Chain's brilliant cover of Syd Barrett's "Vegetable Man" and the Jasmine Minks' rollicking "What's Happening" on hand to inject some noise pop into the proceedings.

great early girl group-inspired "He Tells Me He Loves Me" and

The three discs are filled with fun romps like Ug and the Cavemen's silly "Go Gorilla," slick rockers like the Tall Boys' "Ride This Torpedo," swirling psych-pop like the Delmontes' "So It's Not to Be," and the Wolfhounds' howling punk blast "LA Juice." The wide scope of the bands gives an idea of how wide-ranging and diverse the scene was, even within its narrow confines. Only a few duds here and there as well as some dodgy moments of misogyny that could have been skipped keep this from being a classic box set. As it stands, it's merely great, which should be enough to inspire some serious revisitation of an era that was unique and produced a lot of wild and swinging sounds.]

3CD set charting the UK’s 1980s Garage Rock revival, otherwise known as Trash. Sixty of the finest must-have scene hits, lesser known deep cuts and underexposed nuggets.

All of the key players! Including Thee Milkshakes, The Sting-Rays, The Cannibals, The Prisoners, The Barracudas, The X-Men, The Tall Boys, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Meteors, The X-Men, The Playn Jayn and many, many more…
Sixty of the finest must-have scene hits, lesser known deep cuts and underexposed nuggets.
Produced in association with The Sting-Rays’ Alec Palao
“I was there” sleevenotes from Mike Spenser, Lenny Helsing and Vic Templar.
Remarkable ‘comic book’ design and packaging makes this a must-see, must-hear, must-have set!

Sometimes, a disparate crowd of random influences and a handful of scene-makers coalesce out of nothing, and before you know it a movement is happening. So it was in the UK in the early-to-mid- ‘80s, when an unlikely set of bands resurrected the spirit of mid-‘60s Garage Rock.
Fusing that sound with elements of the pre-Fab Four, Psych, Mod, Rockabilly and Psychobilly, and greasing the wheels of this new machine with a thick slab of post—punk sensibility, bands across the UK began to shout and holler like they hadn’t in years,

capturing their work on often rough and ready recordings, issued on Big Beat, Hangman, Hit Records, Media Burn, Creation and other equally fried labels. From London, Medway and the South East to Edinburgh and beyond, the Trash movement spread, quickly reaching out into mainland Europe and beyond. Here in the UK, Trash finally enjoyed its moment in the sunshine in 1984, when four of the scene’s key bands appeared on Channel 4’s flagship music show The Tube.

Spiky, brash, loud and unfettered by delusions of grandeur, this is the sound of the post punk UK

music scene looking backwards whilst moving forwards. Not for the faint-hearted, sure, and always likely to tell you where you can stick it, but this is a sound that has stuck. The garage and trash scene, albeit under different names and sprinkled with a layer of post-Millennial self-awareness, continues to thrive around the world. Wherever one finds guitars, amplifiers and the primal spirit, one finds Trash.

Packed full of rarities and collectibles – the Medway Valley and

Billy Childish related material is currently particularly sought after – ‘Just A Bad Dream’ will appeal to fans of ‘80s Psychedelia, Mod Revival, Indie, Psychobilly and, of course, the ‘60s Garage Rock that influenced so many of these artists.

Various Artists

Just A Bad Dream: Sixty British Garage & Trash Nuggets 1981-89, 3CD Clamshell Boxset

Label: Cherry Red ‎– CRCDBOX63

Format: Box Set, Album, Clamshell

3 × CD, Compilation

Country: UK

Released: 23 Nov 2018

Genre: Rock

Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Psychobilly

CD 1.

01. Thee Mighty Caesars: Little By Little

Written-By – Billy Childish

02. The Cannibals: Submarine Song

Written-By – Mike Spenser

03. The Barracudas: Next Time Around

Written-By – R. Wills

04. The Sting-Rays: June Rhyme

Written-By – Alec Palao

05. The Sid Presley Experience: Hup Two Three Four

Written-By – Coyne, Bartle, Murphy, Coyne

06. The Prisoners: What I Want

Written-By – Graham Day

07. The Bugs: Just A Bad Dream

Written-By – Lloyd Tripp, RIchard Smith

08. The Green Telescope: A Glimpse

Written-By – Lenny Helsing

09. The Dentists: Writhing On The Shagpile

Written-By – Jones, Matthews, Murphy, Collins

10. Ug And The Cavemen: Go Gorilla

Written By – Coggins, Gottheardt

11. The Vibes: I Hear Noises

Written-By – Gary Boniface

12. Biff Bang Pow!: The Whole World Is Turning Brouchard!

Written-By – Biff Bang Pow!

13. The Aardvarks: Drive Me Wild

Written-By – The Aardvarks

14. The Margin Of Sanity: Get What I Can

Written By – Mark Storey

15. The Discords: Little Miss Misfit

Written-By – Pete Dodson

16. The Mild Mannered Janitors: Dirty Jean

Written-By – The Mild Mannered Janitors

17. Blow-Up: 125

Written-By – Burgess, Peter

18. Auntie Vegetable: Stroll On

Written-By – Mann, Maurice, Bradshaw

19. The Inmates: Mr Unreliable

Written-By – Staines

20. Naz Nomad And The Nightmares: Just Call Me Sky

Written-By – Bryn Merrick, Christopher Millar, Dave Vanian, Roman Jugg

MP3 @ 320 Size: 127 MB
FLAC  Size: 358

CD 2.

   

01. Sexton Ming: You Can't Polish A Turd

Written-By – Sexton Ming

02. The Escalators: Munsters Theme

Written-By – Mosher, Marshall

03. The Jesus And Mary Chain: Vegetable Man

Written-By – Syd Barrett

04. The Tall Boys: Ride This Torpedo

Written-By – Nigel Lewis

05. The Thanes: Don't Let Her Dark Your Door

Written-By – Lenny Helsing

06. Bananamen: The Crusher

Written-By – Bob Nolan

07. The X-Men: Talk

Written-By – Miles Aldridge

08. Emptifish: I Want That Girl

Written-By – Emptifish

09. The Morticians: I Don't Care

Written-By – Redfern

10. The Meteors: Swamp Thing

Written-By – P Paul Fenech

11. Jasmine Minks: What's Happening

Written-By – J. Shepherd

12. Nutmeg: And In England They're Going Mental

Written-By – Hobbs, Scurrah, Palastanga, Dalpra

13. Prime Movers: Livin' In My Own Nightmare

Written-By – Graham Day

14. The Mindreaders: Fever In My Pocket

Written-By – Cale, Reed, Tucker, Morrison

15. King Kurt: Nervous Breakdown

Written-By – Mario Roccuzzo

16. The Stayrcase: I Know You Lied

Written-By – Alan McLean

17. The Daggermen: One More Letter

Written-By – Taylor, Smith

18. The Psylons: Waiting Nation

Written-By – Edwards, Packer, Wyatt, Grech

19. The Wigs: The Dead

Written-By – Michael James

20. Thee Headcoats: Young Blood (Live)

Written-By – Billy Childish

MP3 @ 320 Size: 140 MB
FLAC  Size: 417 MB

CD 3.

   

01. The Playn Jayn: You Weren't Born You Were Created (Live)

Written-By – Jones

02. Thee Milkshakes: Brand New Cadillac

Written-By – Vince Taylor

03. The Surfadelics: Don't Be Sorry

Written-By – Lancaster, Lupton, Lee, The Surfadelics, Bernstein

04. Marionette: Too Far Gone

Written-By – Marionette

05. The Beatpack: No Great Shakes

Written-By – Simon Harvey

06. The Unholy Trinity: Rock And Roll Traitor

Written-By – The Unholy Trinity

07. The Delmonas: He Tells Me He Loves Me

Written-By – Childish, Hampshire

08. The Wolfhounds: LA Juice

Written-By – Bolton, Callahan, Clark, Golding

09. Revolving Paint Dream: Garbagebrain

Written-By – A. Innes

10. Clapham South Escalators: Leave Me Alone

Written-By – P Paul Fenech

11. The Primevals: My Emancipation

Written-By – Michael Rooney

12. Change Lings: Shelter From The Rain

Written-By – David Callahan

13. The Surf Rats: Plutonium Mind Shock

Written-By – Gary Marston

14. The Golden Horde: The Curse

Written-By – Simon Carmody

15. The Delmontes: So It's Not To Be

Written-By – The Delmontes

16. The Gruffmen: Farmer John

Written-By – Terry, Harris

17. The Krewmen: The Hell Train

Written-By – Cole, McMillan

18. Sunglasses After Dark: Hellhag Shuffle

Written-By – Harkness, Mitchell, Steadman, Cohen

19. The Jackals Of Fresh Kid: Ringing In My Ears

Written By – O'NeilWritten-By – Clark, Tyack

20. The Screaming Dead: This Is The End Of The World (Demo)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 146 MB
FLAC  Size: 412 MB