Lindisfarne - Red Square Dance (1995)

Lindisfarne will forever be remembered for the song 'Fog On The Tyne', although they were so much more than just that. They started out in the mid-60's under the name of Brethren, and when Alan Hull joined in 1968 they changed their name to Lindisfarne, named after The Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the northeast coast of Northumberland. In 1970 Tony Stratton-Smith signed them to Charisma Records and their debut album 'Nicely Out Of Tune' was released that year, defining their mixture of bright harmony pop and up-tempo folk rock. Although neither single released from the album, 'Clear White Light' or 'Lady Eleanor', charted, the band obtained a strong following from their popular live concerts and built a reputation as one of the top festival bands. Their second album, 1971's 'Fog On The Tyne' began their commercial success, reaching number 1 in the UK charts the following year, and the single 'Meet Me On The Corner' charted at number 5 in the UK. 'Lady Eleanor' was reissued as a follow-up to 'Meet Me On The Corner', and this time it reached number 3 in the UK and number 82 in the US. 'Nicely Out Of Tune' belatedly made the UK album chart Top 10 and the band began to attract a larger media following, with some calling Hull the greatest songwriter since Bob Dylan. In 1972 they recorded their third album 'Dingly Dell', but the band were unhappy with the initial production and so remixed it themselves, and although it entered the Top 10 in its first week of release, it received lukewarm reviews.
Internal tensions surfaced during a disappointing tour of Australia in early 1973, and Hull initially considered leaving the band, but was persuaded to reconsider. It was agreed that he and Jackson would keep the group name while Cowe, Clements and Laidlaw wold leave to form their own outfit called Jack The Lad. They were replaced by Tommy Duffy (bass guitar), Kenny Craddock (keyboards), Charlie Harcourt (guitar) and Paul Nichols (drums), but the new line-up lacked the appeal of the original, and with Hull also pursuing a solo career, the band's next two albums 'Roll On Ruby' and 'Happy Daze' failed to chart, and they disbanded in 1975. The original line-up of Alan Hull, Ray Jackson, Ray Laidlaw, Rod Clements and Simon Cowe reformed in 1976 to perform a one-off gig in Newcastle City Hall before returning to their other projects, but the Newcastle City Hall reunion was so acclaimed that the band repeated it a year later, and then decided to get back together on a permanent basis in early 1978. They gained a new record deal with Mercury Records and returned to the charts in 1978 with the UK top 10 hit 'Run For Home', but by then I'd moved on and preferred to remember them for their first few classic albums. They carried on recording albums right up to 2002, and so I was quite surprised to find a recent retrospective which featured tracks recorded in the late 80's and early 90's which sounded just a good as their 70's stuff, so I've taken those songs and added them to some exclusive b-sides and early out-takes, to make an album which in no way sounds like it was recorded over a 35 year period. The title track has an interesting story, as it was originally submitted as the theme to the Moscow Olympics following a suggestion from the runner Brendan Foster, and was completed just as the USSR invaded Afghanistan. A version of it, entitled 'Dog Ruff', was released as the b-side to their 'Nights' single in 1982 so as not to waste it, and I've gone for a literal interpretation of the title for the cover.

Track listing

01 Knackers Yard Blues (b-side of 'Clear White Light - Part 2' 1970)
02 Nothing But The Marvelous Is Beautiful (b-side of 'Lady Eleanor' 1971)
03 From My Window (out-take from the 'Nicely Out Of Tune' sessions 1970)
04 Golden Apples (out-take of a 1969 song recorded in 1981)
05 On My Own I Built A Bridge (out-take from the 'Nicely Out Of Tune' sessions 1970)
06 Newport Mount Rag (out-take 1974, featuring Mark Knopfler)
07 Scotch Mist (b-side of 'Meet Me On The Corner' 1971)
08 No Time To Lose (b-side of 'Meet Me On The Corner' 1971)
09 Drinking Song (an early song recorded in 1995)
10 Finest Hour (out-take 1981)
11 Save Our Ales (single 1989)
12 Red Square Dance (Theme for the Moscow Olympics 1980)
13 Friday Girl (single 1983)