Here's Johnny - Merry Hell (1986)

As mentioned in the previous post on Liverpool bands of the early 80's, Here's Johnny did actually record an album, but as so often happens, the record company didn't have enough faith in the band to issue and promote it, instead putting their money behind Fairground Attraction, which, it has to be admitted, did work. However, Here's Johnny's album would have appealed to an entirely different market and I can see no reason why it wouldn't have been a success. No doubt it would have been played on the John Peel show, as he would always champion anything from his hometown, and I would certainly have bought it, but we'll never know as it was cancelled soon after recording, never to be heard until now. The album was obtained by dominik500 from band members Colin McKay and David Knowles themselves (who incidentally are working together again, writing and making music with John Wilkinson in a band called The Swan Chorus), and they even gave permission for it to be shared. All four of their singles were to be included, although two of the tracks from their Peel session would remain exclusive to that recording session. The album was planned to be released in mid 1986, and came so close that it was even given a catalog number (PL 71016), but at the last minute the release was cancelled. I've added the b-sides to some of their singles as bonus tracks at the end, so enjoy this effort by yet another band who fell foul of the vagaries of the record industry, and had all their hard work come to nothing. 

Track listing

01 Hellzapoppin'
02 Absense Of Malice
03 Torture Garden
04 Your Room
05 Love You To Death
06 Idlewild
07 Open Minded
08 Reckless
09 How Do You Sleep
10 I Fall Apart
11 Belief
12 All You Ever Talk About
13 Turn On The Charm