We Free Kings - Preacher's Songs (1991) **UPGRADE**

Thanks to Santaci for pointing out a glitch at the beginning of  'The Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy', which I had missed, despite listening to the album a few times. As the copy of the song that I used was the only one available online, I purchased a copy of the original single, which I can now add to my collection. I've ripped and tagged it to replace the original file, and so if you download the new version you will have the only perfect recording of the song online. 
We Free Kings were an Edinburgh-based folk/punk/rock act formed in the mid-1980's by Joe Kingman on vocals and guitar, Seb Holbrook on guitar, Phil Bull on cello, Colin Blakey on whistles and reeds, Pam Dobson on melodeon, Aidan Reilly on mandolin, Geoff Pagan on violin, and Kenny Welsh on drums. Blakey had been a member of The Green Telescope, who released a couple of singles in the mid 80’s, and one day he saw  a bunch of hooligans busking opposite the market, and he had his whistle with him and asked if he could join in. Before long he was gigging and recording them around Edinburgh, and a few weeks later he heard about an Irish tour that they had lined up, so he phoned Joe Kingman, and he was told that there was a seat on the bus for him.  They built up a sizeable Scottish following through energetic live dates with acts like The Waterboys, and Kingman used to share a flat with their singer Mike Scott. After a self-financed storming debut single in 1986 with ‘Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy’, they signed to D.D.T. and released their debut album, ‘Hell On Earth & Rosy Cross’ in 1988. The following year Blakey left to join The Waterboys in Ireland, and so Kingman, Holbrook, Pagan & Bull then regrouped with Mark Ritchie (guitar), Simon (bass) and Grangemouth drummer Greg Drysdale (ex-One Over The Eight), and this line-up released the 12” single ‘Howl’ for Avalanche Records in 1990. They were later thrown off a UK tour with The Waterboys by an insecure Mike Scott, and the band split almost immediately afterwards, with Drysdale joining The Diesel Kings, and Bull, Pagan, Holbrook, and Kingman joining The Clan. This post collects together their singles and EP’s plus a few previously unreleased demos, and highlights yet another overlooked band of the 1980’s.

 
Track listing
 
01 Love Is In The Air (single 1986)
02 Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy (b-side of ‘Love Is In The Air’)
03 Oceans (from the ‘Oceans’ EP 1987)
04 Wipe-Out Gang (from the ‘Oceans’ EP 1987)
05 Still Standing (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
06 Run Run Run (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
07 Unholy Ground (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
08 This Train (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
09 Easter Road (previously unreleased)
10 King Of Thieves (live on FSD 1987)
11 Preacher’s Song (previously unreleased)
12 Be So Cruel (from the ‘Howl’ EP 1988)
13 Silver Or Lead (previously unreleased)
14 Underwater (previously unreleased)

We Free Kings - Preacher's Songs (1988)

Following my recent post from The Green Telescope, a comment from santaci alerted me to a band that Telescope member Colin Blakey joined when he left them, and so after a bit of research we now have a post from We Free Kings.

We Free Kings were an Edinburgh-based folk/punk/rock act formed in the mid-1980's by Joe Kingman on vocals and guitar, Seb Holbrook on guitar, Phil Bull on cello, Colin Blakey on whistles and reeds, Pam Dobson on melodeon, Aidan Reilly on mandolin, Geoff Pagan on violin, and Kenny Welsh on drums. Blakey had been a member of The Green Telescope, who released a couple of singles in the mid 80’s, and one day he saw  a bunch of hooligans busking opposite the market, and he had his whistle with him and asked if he could join in. Before long he was gigging and recording them around Edinburgh, and a few weeks later he heard about an Irish tour that they had lined up, so he phoned Joe Kingman, and he was told that there was a seat on the bus for him.  They built up a sizeable Scottish following through energetic live dates with acts like The Waterboys, and Kingman used to share a flat with their singer Mike Scott. After a self-financed storming debut single in 1986 with ‘Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy’, they signed to D.D.T. and released their debut album, ‘Hell On Earth & Rosy Cross’ in 1988. The following year Blakey left to join The Waterboys in Ireland, and so Kingman, Holbrook, Pagan & Bull then regrouped with Mark Ritchie (guitar), Simon (bass) and Grangemouth drummer Greg Drysdale (ex-One Over The Eight), and this line-up released the 12” single ‘Howl’ for Avalanche Records in 1990. They were later thrown off a UK tour with The Waterboys by an insecure Mike Scott, and the band split almost immediately afterwards, with Drysdale joining The Diesel Kings, and Bull, Pagan, Holbrook, and Kingman joining The Clan. This post collects together their singles and EP’s plus a few previously unreleased demos, and highlights yet another overlooked band of the 1980’s.

 
Track listing
 
01 Love Is In The Air (single 1986)
02 Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy (b-side of ‘Love Is In The Air’)
03 Oceans (from the ‘Oceans’ EP 1987)
04 Wipe-Out Gang (from the ‘Oceans’ EP 1987)
05 Still Standing (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
06 Run Run Run (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
07 Unholy Ground (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
08 This Train (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
09 Easter Road (previously unreleased)
10 King Of Thieves (live on FSD 1987)
11 Preacher’s Song (previously unreleased)
12 Be So Cruel (from the ‘Howl’ EP 1988)
13 Silver Or Lead (previously unreleased)
14 Underwater (previously unreleased)

The Green Telescope - Thoughts Of A Madman (1988)

The Green Telescope were a garage beat band from Edinburgh, Scotland, who formed in the early 80's, and consisted of Lenny Helsing on guitar and vocals, Bruce Lyall on organ and Colin Blakey on bass. Before any records were made, Blakey left and was replaced by Alan McLeann, and the group then added a drummer in Gavin Henderson, although Steve Fraser temporarily took over from McLeann, playing bass on the three tracks the group recorded for the 1985 Psycho label compilation, 'The Waking Dream'. Those three compilation recordings had gained them something of a following, and in January 1986 they redorded a session for the Andy Kershaw radio show. Following this the band released their debut single, 'Face In A Crowd' b/w 'Thoughts Of A Madman', on Wump Records, and featuring new drummer Mal Kergan. Later the same year they released four new songs on the 'Two By Two' EP, which was released by Imaginary Records. In 1988 they contributed their take on Syd Barrett's 'Scream Thy Last Scream' for the Imaginary Records tribute album 'Beyond The Wildwood', but this was to be their last recording as The Green Telescope, and they disbanded shortly afterwards, immediately regrouping as The Thanes Of Cawdor, and then later shortening that to The Thanes. Under this name they released their first album, 'The Thanes Of Cawdor', in 1987, and this saw them win support slots with the Soup Dragons and Primal Scream, and become one of Scotland's best and most respected bands. To hear how they got to that stage of their career, here is everything that The Green Telescope recorded in the late 80's.  

Track listing

01 Face In A Crowd (single 1986)
02 Thoughts Of A Madman (b-side of 'Face In A Crowd)
03 Turnin' Out (from 'The Waking Dream' compilation 1985)
04 Can't Step Off The Path (from 'The Waking Dream' compilation 1985) 
05 I'm A Living Sickness (from 'The Waking Dream' compilation 1985)
06 Two By Two (from the 'Two By Two' EP 1986)
07 A Glimpse (from the 'Two By Two' EP 1986)
08 Make Me Stay (from the 'Two By Two' EP 1986)
09 Thinkin' About Today (from the 'Two By Two' EP 1986)
10 Scream Thy Last Scream (from 'Beyond The Wildwood' tribute to Syd Barrett 1988)
11 Who Knows? (Andy Kershaw session 1986)
12 X+Y=13 (Andy Kershaw session 1986)
13 Try To (Andy Kershaw session 1986)
14 Horror Asparagus Stories (Andy Kershaw session 1986)

Various Artists - Remembering 1968 - A Tribute To Pink Floyd

1968 was a pivotal year for Pink Floyd. Syd Barrett had become increasingly unpredictable during the band's 1967 tour, and by the end of the year the band had added guitarist David Gilmour as the fifth member. Gilmour already knew Barrett, having studied with him at Cambridge Tech in the early 1960's, and the two had performed at lunchtimes together with guitars and harmonicas, and later hitch-hiked and busked their way around the south of France. In January 1968, Blackhill Enterprises announced Gilmour as the band's newest member, intending to continue with Barrett as a non-performing songwriter. The plan was that Barrett would write additional hit singles to follow up 'Arnold Layne' and 'See Emily Play', but in a pique of frustration at the situation he instead introduced 'Have You Got It Yet?' to the band, intentionally changing the structure on each performance so as to make the song impossible to follow and learn. Working with Barrett eventually proved too difficult, and matters came to a conclusion in January, while en route to a performance in Southampton, when a band member asked if they should collect Barrett, and according to Gilmour, the answer was "Nah, let's not bother", signalling the end of Barrett's tenure with Pink Floyd. After Barrett's departure, the burden of lyrical composition and creative direction fell mostly on Roger Waters, and while playing on the university circuit, they avoided Barrett songs in favour of Waters' and Richard Wright's material such as 'It Would Be So Nice' and 'Careful with That Axe, Eugene'. In 1968, Pink Floyd returned to Abbey Road Studios to record their second album, 'A Saucerful Of Secrets', which included Barrett's final contribution to their discography with his 'Jugband Blues' closing the record. Waters began to develop his own songwriting, contributing 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun', 'Let There Be More Light' and 'Corporal Clegg', while Wright composed 'See-Saw' and 'Remember A Day'. Released in June 1968, the album featured a psychedelic cover designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis, and it peaked at number 9, spending 11 weeks on the UK album chart. In December of that year, they released 'Point Me At The Sky' as a single, but it was no more successful than the two singles they had released since 'See Emily Play', with neither 1967's 'Apples And Oranges' or 1968's 'It Would Be So Nice' making any impression on the charts, while Barrett's 'Scream Thy Last Scream' was abandoned completely as a single after recording finished in January 1968. Despite the moderate success of the album, it paved the way for a change in direction, from the psychedelic pop of 'See Emily Play', 'Arnold Layne', and the 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' album into a much darker, more cosmic entity, with spacey tracks like 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' foreshadowing what was to come from them in the next few years. Because this was a transitional time for the band, the music that they produced in 1968 has been picked apart by numerous bands over the years, and covered on albums, single b-sides and tribute albums, and so I've collected the best of them as an alternate overview of a significant year in the life of Pink Floyd. 

Track listing

01 Remember A Day - Crystal Jacqueline And The Honey Pot
02 It Would Be So Nice - Captain Sensible
03 Let There Be More Light - Flying Circus
04 Careful With That Axe, Eugene - Vespero
05 Point Me At The Sky - Mandra Gora Lightshow Society
06 Julia Dream - Us And Them
07 Corporal Clegg - Samarin, Morgan And Hull Llp
08 Scream Thy Last Scream - The Green Telescope
09 Jugband Blues (If The Sun Don't Shine) - Opal
10 Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - Psychic TV