Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey

Product Information

There was an upside as well as a downside,” concludes Stephen McRobbie, of the Pastels. “There’s no doubt that it helped us to reach a larger audience. We probably benefited. But it became more of a signifier than any of us imagined … ” The significance of C86 was recognized by several events marking the 20th anniversary of the compilation's release in 2006: 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? 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. Some of the bands, like Primal Scream, went on to achieve global stardom; others, such as Half Man Half Biscuit and the Wedding Present, cultivated lifelong fanbases that still sustain their careers thirty-five years later. Then there were the rest, who ultimately imploded in a riot of paisley shirts, bad drugs and general indifference from the record-buying public.

I’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. A unique journey into the legacy and afterlives of the artists who featured on the legendary NME C86 tape.One common complaint which seems to afflict most of these acts, was how unhappy they were with the choice of song they put on the compilation. Most insist that they thought it would be more along the lines of C81, which was released to celebrate five years of the Rough Trade label and the wider Independent music scene in the UK in general. So most of the bands approached it with low-expectations, believing that this set-up would be along the same lines in terms of audience and impact. But of course hindsight is always 20/20 and no one was to know just how significant and popular the tape would become. Michael Hann (14 March 2014). "C86: The myths about the NME's indie cassette debunked". The Guardian . Retrieved 2015-06-11. 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.

The C86 comp is a legendary document in indie history, more influential as a one-off than most of the featured bands individually. 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] From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: More than simply the tale of the tape, Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? is an exploration of C86's wide-reaching and often surprising legacy.

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. 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

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. NME promoted the tape in conjunction with London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, who staged a week of gigs, [7] in July 1986 which featured most of the acts on the compilation.

Summary

Nige Tassell -Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey - in conversation with David Eastaugh Reynolds, Simon Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 (Faber and Faber, 2005) ISBN 0-571-21569-6 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... The ICA hosted " C86 - Still Doing It For Fun", [27] an exhibition and two nights of gigs celebrating the rise of British independent music.